Meet Sneha Sabu

We were lucky to catch up with Sneha Sabu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sneha, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

There are several issues and causes that resonate with me. Child safety and protection, women’s empowerment, poverty alleviation, using strategies to make a difference in the lives of people, and building my ikigai where communities and connections coexist to make the world a better place is where I find my purpose. I want to be a true masterpiece of myself by focusing on my purpose and existence.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am an author, strategist and a development thinker. My first book, Stay Safe with Ruby and Reuben was written to create awareness among children on a range of issues such as good and bad touches, how to be safe in school, how to be safe while going and coming back from school, secret codes, and safe sleepovers. I worked with multiple not-for-profit organisations to make this book available free of cost to children in 26 schools in North Eastern part of India. With the growing number of child sexual abuse cases across the world, creating awareness is one of the steps that would help children respond in situations that compromise their safety. My Lost Pages is a collection of twenty-five poems exploring diverse themes such as self-worth, environmental concerns, and personal experiences. The poems employ a conversational tone and vivid imagery, creating a unique rhythm that varies from piece to piece. These two books won 18 international awards.

As a full-time strategist, I find it meaningful when strategies can positively change lives and make our communities more sustainable. I believe preparing strategic plans for local councils in Australia helps respond to social, economic, environmental, and civic leadership issues impacting the LGA. Addressing and responding to these issues through strategies is a strategic approach to social impact. I was involved in preparing country strategies for 18 countries in the Asia Pacific region as part of my work with an international not-for-profit organisation. This opportunity enabled me to understand issues faced by multiple communities at the local level in multiple countries. Working with communities at the grassroots helped me understand development realities better and kept me grounded. This journey has brought a better perspective to life and what it entails. It is experiences such as this that helped me associate with people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, understand the diverse views and the need to be inclusive in problem solving. Every community is different and tailoring the solutions to meet the needs of the end user is inevitable in sustainable approaches.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe in connections and interpersonal relationships. For me acquiring technical knowledge and skills is an easy task. What I cherish the most is the hope human connections bring to the table. This is the differentiator between machines and the existence of human race. While these are my soft skills, my hard skills include strategy planning, research, writing, crisis management and critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

I believe in being a true masterpiece of myself. In a world where we can be anything, I choose to be me any day. I love and adore myself and I believe without loving myself I cannot love others. So, I want to be myself and be there for others as a starting point. I want to explore more countries and continents – travelling has always broadened my perspectives. Considering I have only a decade left, I ll write as many books as possible, since these books would stand the test of time and that would be a legacy. I would also continue to undertake strategy planning until the last day. I will live everyday to the fullest, meet the favourite people as frequently as possible so I create lasting memories of the time on earth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.snehasabu.com