We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chamel Raghu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Chamel, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I think we were all optimists at birth, I hope to always be one. I can’t imagine any living thing that doesn’t wake with optimism; the hope that the tree will get sunlight, the hope that the lion will catch its prey. I don’t consider my optimism to be any different than theirs; however, maybe in our modern lives we are given plenty to get down about. When this happens, I tend to fall back on one singular thought; failure is not an option. Maybe with this psychological bayonet at my back my thoughts have become optimism! All joking aside, when life does get heavy, there is something inside all of us that either switches on, or switches off. I try my best to keep the positive switch on, I really can’t explain why.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
There was a time when I believed I was an artist. I devoted every thought, every action, every breath towards painting and drawing. In some ways it was an escape, but in others it was the purest form of self-expression I have ever had. As I look back on this time, I am the proudest of myself in terms of self-expression and the work I did. I mention this in the past tense because after completing my last painting (Rebirth of Asia) in 2015, I have drawn, but not painted. I do not know what has kept me from the craft, but I can say that there is much brewing in my mind pertaining to painting in the future. I feel I have failed to express myself honestly when not creating art. I do regret this. Upon much contemplation I have come to the personal realization; that art is the honey of life.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Though I think our journey never ends, I would definitely say perseverance, irreverence, and honest self-expression will leave no regrets. The perseverance explanation is best summed up with the bayonet at my back; basically, failure is not an option. The irreverence is much harder to pin down. I believe every one of us from birth has a distinct personality, unlike anyone else’s. I believe that the manifestation of this uniqueness is lost upon us as we go through life. The irreverence for this coalescing that we tend to become rounded up into is what has driven me in life. Perhaps this is just me wanting to be myself. Perhaps it is just a reaction to what has already been created! Either way, I would rather create something new, than follow what has been done. I hope this is a function of honest self-expression.
My advice for folks who are early in their journey is very simple. Just be yourself and you will have no regrets. Can you imagine a young Beethoven wanting to become a clone of Mozart? What a sad world we would live in today! When it comes to developing or improving on what I had mentioned, that is all up to the motivation of the individual.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My father is from Kerala, India. My mother is of Cantonese descent (Southern China) but was born and raised in Malaysia. When they moved to America in the 1970’s (from London, England where they met), they brought with them cultures which had been developing for thousands of years. While some of the tenets of their cultures may have fallen out of favor today, I am grateful for what they have taught me. The most important things I believe are instilling a respect for my cultures, respect for elders, a drive for the pursuit of knowledge, a relentless work ethic, appreciation for the arts, and placing stress on the nuclear family.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.chamel.com
