Priyanka Chopra Jonas ON: This ONE SECRET Will Make You SUCCESSFUL In Life! | Jay Shetty | Transcription

Note: This transcription is split and grouped by topics and subtopics. You can navigate through the Table of Contents on the left. It's interactive. All paragraphs are timed to the original video. Click on the time (e.g., 01:53) to jump to the specific portion of the video.

Introduction

Intro (00:00)

Otherwise, I think you've got to sometimes push the envelope. There's been too many generations that have been defined by what people think we can achieve or limitations that have been imposed because of people not being able to think or dream big enough. And I think it's every generation's responsibility to show the endless possibilities to the next. Everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health podcast in the world thanks to each and every single one of you that come back every week to listen, learn, and grow. Today's guest is someone that I've been looking forward to interviewing for a very long time. I believe that she was actually one of the first names on my list when I launched the podcast two years ago of someone that I was really excited to sit down with. So to me, this is a super special moment and I think you're in for a real treat. Today's guest is the one and only Priyanka Chopra. And today we're talking about her new memoir Unfinished.

Priyanka'S Personal Journey And Insights

Priyanka's Advice from her 17 -Year-old Self (01:07)

For the two people who are listening who don't know who Priyanka is, Priyanka is an actor, singer, and film producer. She's been in the entertainment industry for over 20 years that spans both the East and West. Her Bollywood super stardom began when she won this world 2000 and she hasn't slowed down since. From starting her own production company and now having so many successful hit movies and TV shows in the US and of course most recently marrying her beloved Nick Jonas, Priyanka's story is remarkable to say the least and you can pick up her book Unfinished on February 9th. Please welcome to the show On Purpose Priyanka Chopra. Thank you so much. Everyone forgets that. It's a new edition and I've had 35 years of my life as just Priyanka Chopra. Most people know me as just that so it's going to take a second. It's fine. I've been watching you for so many years since I was a kid and obviously you were a kid too. You started in the industry and I've been hearing your name and saying your name for so long. No offence, Nick. My wife is also the same. She has my name last on her name too so people forget me all the time. So we have something coming. It's not really forgetting you, Jay. It's forgetting your last name. There's a difference. True. Thank you for the clarification. That makes my ego feel a bit better. But honestly it's such a joy to have you here and then what I said when we first launched the podcast you were one of the first names that I wrote down as someone that I was excited to speak with. And I saw a few days ago on Instagram you posted a picture of yourself at age 17. And it was a great throwback and I was wondering two things. The first thing is what is a piece of advice that you wish you had at 17 and the other way around? Is there a piece of advice or wisdom that your 17 year old self would potentially share with you now where you are today? Yeah, I have actually answers for both. What I would tell that 17 year old, you know, I was bright eyed, bushy-tailed. I'd just been selected into the Miss India pageant. I'd just turned 17 and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm going to be a model. And I'd never thought about that. My teenage vanity was peaked. And what I would have told that girl is, you know, just breathe and just chill a little. I was very hard on myself because everything that I sort of, everything that I've made so far, you know, with the encouragement of my family has kind of been self-made, you know, I had to learn on the job. Nobody, I didn't know anything. I came from in high school and an engineering background or I wanted to be an engineer. And life just kind of had other plans. And you know, you kind of, are you going to swim? Are you going to sink? And I will always swim. So I've just kind of, it's, I think that what I would tell, I used to really take it very seriously. I berated myself a lot and I was the heart of myself. And I would tell my younger self, chill out. Time heals everything. It'll all be fine. And what she would probably tell me is to not get caught up in my schedule and in the multiple things that I juggle and not forget the excitement of doing what I'm doing. Sometimes it's hard, you know, after you do it for such a long time, you have to remind yourself to be excited and be inspired and, you know, feel sort of alive instead of it being a job. And yeah, I think that's what she would tell me. I love that. That's a beautiful, both of those are beautiful answers. And I wanted to ask that to you because I think often we think like, oh, we have the wisdom now and we can advise our younger selves. But in the way you shared your answer, there's, there's so much wisdom coming back. And I think that's a great reminder for everyone. Now, I saw a video again on your Instagram where you just received the book a couple of days ago. I had the digital version up until this morning when I finally got the physical version. So I've been flicking through on the digital version.

The most exciting chapter in her memoir to write (05:43)

It's nice to have it physically here. I'm intrigued that, you know, what chapter of your life, you spoke about excitement there, what chapter of your life was the most exciting to reflect and write upon? Is it such a fascinating thing to write a memoir? But which one, which part of it was your favorite of going through? My childhood, because I hadn't thought about it for a really long time, you know, I was in fact just writing the memoir was so healing and weirdly sort of inspiring. I just remember never remembering, you know, I sat down to write it and I had never thought about what had happened in my life. I never looked back. I was only running, you know, as you know, the entertainment business. Our jobs are very transitory, you know, it's not consistent. It's not stable. What you are as much as your next job, you don't know where your next check is coming from. You don't know where you're going to be moving. So you know, there's a constant like hustle and you're running all the time. And I just never looked. And when I started writing the book, I was forced to look and I was very excited to write about my childhood because I could taste it. I could smell it. I remember those Mo'Gra flowers, the Ratky Rani that used to be in all the army barracks. I remember, you know, the feeling of the cold walls, these to always be white, the garden, my bike, moving to a new city every two years. It was such a time of adventure for me and a time of sort of unlimited possibilities, you know. And I was raised with that. My parents always made me feel like the world is my oyster, you know, I can go anywhere I want. And that was such a time of wonder, you know. Yeah, well, it's beautiful that you have such strong vivid memories and it sounds like, when I'm thinking about our audience that's listening and watching or will listen and watch this afterwards, it sounds like everyone needs to revisit their childhood or remember and write a memoir. Even if it's not a memoir that gets published and goes out to the world, it almost feels like reflecting is really important. What helped you? Were you speaking to friends from back then or were you speaking to your, you know, who are you connecting with to reignite some of those memories? Oh, everyone in the memories. You know, I called my mom, my brother, my cousins who I grew up with friends from the time I corroborated the stories because memory is a weird thing, you know. I remember it a certain way. Somebody else remembers it a certain way. And there was this one story I remember. I was kicked out of MoMA for touching a painting when I was 15, 16 or something. And I remember that day being wonderful because we went to the Statue of Liberty after and like, you know, we got hot dogs and we were walking around New York City. And I remember it being like, oh, I touched, you know, a painting that's so cool that I touched. I think it was a starry night. And my cousins who were with me remember the day completely differently. They were tortured, embarrassed. My cousin was an art student. She was like, you got me kicked out of MoMA. And like, I was like, wow, I didn't remember that at all. That's brilliant. Was that your rebellious side or was that a mistake? Was it curious? I'm just curious. I just, I feel like rules sometimes. And trust me, I mean, I'm in a public profession. I have to follow them. But you know, sometimes we conform to rules that just sort of stop our ability to grow. And unless it's like hurting someone or something, which by touching starry night, I probably was hurting the painting. But at that time, I didn't know. The value of the painting just went up. It just went up. But you know, like, otherwise, I think like you've got to sometimes you have to push the envelope. There's been too many generations that have been defined by what people think, you know, we can achieve or, you know, limitations that have been imposed because of people not being able to think or dream big enough. And I think it's every generation's responsibility to show the endless possibilities to the next. Yeah, you've definitely done that. I mean, you're constantly breaking rules in your career and your journey starting from touching that painting at MoMA all the way through today. But was that an energy and a mindset that you believe you had at that young age?

Self-Confidence (10:48)

Or is that something you think you gradually developed? Where did that confidence come from? Because when I hear you say it today, it comes with confidence. Obviously, it comes with having done it. And I think there are a lot of people out there who may feel that way, but they then also feel insecure that are they the right person to do that? Do they have permission to do that? There's something that then still holds them back. What was it for you that allowed you to go all the way? Well, two things. My parents, for sure, I grew up in an environment where I was not shamed for my ideas. At 12 years old, I told my parents I wanted to live in America with my aunt and, you know, my parents were like, "Bye, peace." You know, it was fine. We had a logical pro and con conversation. I was raised, sort of, to have opinions, even if the room was hostile. So I think that really gave me a sense of self, and I think it's really important in parenting for us to treat our children like they're developing their own minds, because that's so important for them to have a sense of self and feel like, you know, they're not robots, but they're actually thinking and they have a say in their decisions. It really lends for adults being able to have a sense of confidence. And second, to really understand and accept that confidence is not something you always need. You don't. You know, so put it in a backpack. It's okay, give it a break. Let it be in your purse, let it be in your wallet. Let it chill for a second. Feel insecure, feel like scared, feel afraid, feel vulnerable. But when you need the confidence and you walk into that room, you'll have it, because you didn't keep using it. You didn't need to constantly have a, you know, cover of or sort of like a uniform of confidence. You don't have to always show confidence. You don't have to exude confidence. You never, you don't. You just have to pull it out when you need it. And then when it's in the reserve, it's so much more powerful, because you're allowing yourself to be all the things I feel insecure. I'm terrified that this book is coming out. It's the first time I've ever written. And I've never been so personal in my whole life. I've been a public person for 20 years. Never scratched beneath the surface. I've gotten away with sharing whatever I wanted to share about my life and not more, you know? My story is people think they know it, but they really don't. And I've managed that for 20 years. But I think I now on the other side of 35 was feeling a sense of confidence and a sense of self in my capabilities, in what I bring to the table. It only took 20 years for me to get there, but I got there. And I think all those insecurities that I address in my book don't scare me that much anymore as they did at that time. As they worried me. And I was like, I don't want to talk about it. Nobody needs to know about my life. But now I'm at a place where I'm just like, well, it's still on my terms.

Becoming a Book Author (13:47)

And I'm hoping that people maybe get to know me a little bit more than a fashion meme or a headline or something like that. Yeah, I think that's what I love about it. From the few pages that I've flicked through, I definitely see you allowing yourself. And that's the power of a book though. And so I relate to that insecurity. My first book came out last September. I know. We know our first book. I was so... I have it. I was so... Oh, that's awesome. I'm so glad you have it. I was so nervous. So I know what you mean by that. And especially for you at this stage in your career of yours as a memoir, mine had part stories. It wasn't a memoir. So I can only imagine. But I see you doing that. And books are so powerful for that. And that's why I really hope everyone who's listening and watching right now, if you're enjoying this conversation, go and pick up the book because I do think that media, the news, the short meme, the clip, it portrays such a limited view of someone like yourself. And it's a superficial view, really. And it's okay. It's a choice also. I want for people to consume only a part of me. I want to be able to preserve my humanity, my family, my life, my opinions. I may have chosen a public profession, but I'm not an elected official. I don't owe an explanation to anyone for the choices that I make. I'm here to create work. I'm doing a job just like everybody else. Mine happens to be an entertainment. And it happens to have a lot of cameras on my face. It's fine. I made that deal with the devil. So I've kind of made peace with the fact that I prefer it being from a distance. But at the same time, I think now I've been a public person for more than half my life. It's my normal. And only now have I reached a point where I'm allowing the walls to sort of fall down and letting whoever wants to know me get to know me as the person that I am, before that I was very protective of who I was. Because maybe I was insecure about who I was. Or I still didn't have a sense of self. I don't know. But I think in the journey of life, I've reached a place where I'm good with who I am.

Having a Strong Need for Approval (16:12)

So that's wonderful to hear, by the way, and I can feel it off your energy. What's the part of yourself in this book that you share that you think most people are going to be surprised by? Where you think that people maybe just be like, "What?" And I'm sure there's many. But what's something that stands out? There are a few. Which I think people may be surprised by that I was vulnerable enough to discuss. And I think my failures, my struggles, rejections, sadnesses that I've never really, people have never seen. I always wear a brave front. I always have a little bit more of a stronger front to be taken seriously. I built that very early at 18 to be thrown into the limelight of this job. I mean, you've been in it for a long time. It's a crazy profession, the expectations, the pressure. To deliver under that scrutiny, to be artistic, to yet have a point of view, to be unique, not have your own trajectory, because that's the only way it'll work. Nobody wants me tos in the entertainment business. You have to always have a sense of evolution. So it was really, really scary in the beginning. And I think everything just changes with time. This was one of the good changes that came out of it for me. No, absolutely. And I'm hoping that I wonder, do you think that's changing now if someone's coming into the entertainment industry today at 18, or do you think it hasn't changed? Where's your perception on that? When you're guiding young artists or seeing people that you follow on social media or whatever it may be, are you feeling it's changing? Has it improved or no? The pressure you mean? Not the pressure, more the, like you were saying, like when you came to the industry, you had to put on a brave friend, you had to wear that face. It was the only way to survive. Do you feel it's the same now for young talent as well? I think, well, I was talking about definitely as a female in the entertainment business. Oh, as a female, okay. Yes. I think so. I think, you know, it's still hard when you're starting out for women to be taken seriously, for your ideas to be given the kind of credence that a man's would as quickly, probably, you know, especially in professions where you, you know, normally you don't see women because, you know, women have never been pushed in that direction, or women have never wanted to go in that direction because it was never normalized for them, that their ambitions could go in that direction, business, politics, you know, to be heads of companies, engineering, it's like, you know, coding, policymaking, like stuff like that, lawyers, women have just about in the last few generations been coming to the fore and, you know, are standing neck to neck with guys, but it's still an anomaly. It's still not as normal in terms of numbers. It's still not equal. So until that happens, I think it will be hard for, you know, young girls to be taken seriously when they come into professions that are predominantly male, but it's okay, you know, women before us have fought the fight and women after us will fight the fight, it'll just hopefully not be the same fight. Hopefully our generation will not let our kids inherit our problems, you know, as women, we are definitely working in that direction, but I think as the world needs to sit up and take notice that this demand is loud because it's a requirement.

Demand change for women in entertainment (20:03)

This demand is loud because that's what's right. And that is the reflection of the world. Women are 50% of it and we should be reflected in, you know, every area and basically feminism is that right? Like, don't decide for me what I should be doing, when I should be doing it and how I should be doing it. Just like men have had that freedom. Give me that as well. So I guess it's that. No, no, no, no, you're not deviating at all. It's a strong message and I stand by it. So it's a great message and it's really interesting where male privilege is a really interesting thing to reflect on. I remember when I first started reflecting on it, it was even really a few years back and I feel very much I was raised by my mom and I have a younger sister, so I'm very close to the women in my life, but it started to strike me in a crazy way that I grew up having had certain dreams of becoming something that my sister couldn't have had. And that wasn't because of the way we were parented, it was because of what you saw. And when that really hit me and I stood and looked at that and I often encourage a lot of my friends in that direction too, I'm like, if you really think about, if they have a son and a daughter, I'm like, if you really think about some of the options that don't seem available to your daughter that she may never consider a career. And I really think that that consideration is where the equality is, like the opportunity of even having that idea of I could do that. - Exactly, the opportunity of having choice, I think. You know, a lot of women, I am extremely privileged that I was raised by a feminist, I'm married to a feminist. I'm extremely privileged that my parents, which is why I brought up parenting earlier, a big reason I have a sense of confidence and I'm on this side of the fight because it's not as hard as it is on so many women around the world. I still had to fight, of course I had to break down the doors and I had to prove a point to be taken seriously. I was kicked out of movies and replaced and all the things. But I still had it so much easier, there are women around the world that don't have a say in their life that are married off when other people decide that people choose who they are married to, whether they can work or not, when they should have children, what kind of children they should have. And that doesn't mean giving up culture, that doesn't mean giving up tradition. It just means creating opportunity. My father told me when I was very, very young, my mom's since I was nine years old, you will have financial independence before anything you do. It doesn't matter whose daughter you are, it doesn't matter who you're married to. You'll stand on your own feet and there's such a power to that, to having to be raised by parents who put that in my head. So I was ambitious from 12 years old. I decided every year what I wanted to be and it changed every year. I love hearing that and it reminded me of something you've said before when you were speaking about your father there, about how Nick for you shares this same admiration of your power and your ambition and feels supportive and excited and enthusiastic about the way you carry yourself. Tell us a bit about how, I feel like that's such an important thing for both them, anyone in a relationship to feel like their partner is inspired by their values, their beliefs and their dreams.

How to learn from a partner who shares your values (23:47)

What is it felt like in the past where you feel like you haven't had that? And if someone who's listening or watching is feeling like maybe I don't have that, how do you think someone can navigate that or to ultimately attract the partner that does have that? What's that journey like? Because I think a lot of people feel like they're with someone who may not understand or get their dreams, especially when they're starting out. Then it's the wrong person for you and if you have the, especially if you're starting out and you're testing the waters and I think it's so crucial if you have a choice in your life to end up with someone who is not enthused by your dreams, is at least interested in them, is at least excited about them or is at least encouraging, that's exciting. Because everyone's busy and everyone has a thing in their lives. But to make the effort to make the effort to make you feel like your dreams are as important as the other one is such a gift and I have been very blessed to have that. So I find wherever you are in your relationship, obviously you and Nick lead extremely busy lives. My wife and I lead busy lives and I feel even if someone's not in the entertainment industry or the media industry, everyone feels like they live busy lives. What does support look like when two people are busy, driven and ambitious? Because you obviously have it, you're speaking about it right now and it's beautiful. What does that actually look like in a real practical sense? Obviously the last six months or the last 12 months have been different. But in reality, what does that look like? Because I feel that maybe sometimes we have false expectations, sometimes you want, you know, it's not natural that you can be at every show Nick does. It's not natural for him to be at every set you're doing. Same with me and my wife. Like my wife can't be at every event I'm speaking at. I can't be at every interview or something she's doing. What does support look like? What does love look like in a very real practical sense? I think when it comes to support specifically, I think giving the other person this space to do what they're doing is very important without them feeling like, for example, I'm here in London for a year right now and Nick is filming in LA. And I can't travel, but before the holidays he made sure he was here for two months to settle me in, you know, to make sure that the house was all set up and everything was sorted and we were together for the holidays. That's because he was free at the end of the month. And that support, you know, it doesn't have to be large. It doesn't have to be, you know, a big expression of, I don't know, love or big gift. It's not. It's about giving space. It's about giving freedom. It's about appreciation. And I find this one thing really helpful. I always think about when, you know, he's busy or he's adding a crazy day, which he does for me as well, which is amazing and everyone can follow this and it's super easy. Is to think about how can I make that person's day easier? Just like, and that's such a lovely, loving thing. Just sometimes I'm, you know, back to back, especially when I was doing promo, I was doing like 20 interviews and suddenly there'd be like a really nice cocktail that would come in in the evening or suddenly there'd be a really nice cup of coffee or, you know, something to eat for me that would come in. And it's just like so sweet to think about that. Or if I'm sitting outside, you know, you'll bring a blanket and put it. It's just being thoughtful and aware about your person. And you know, that's the greatest form of love is showing it without really asking for it. Yeah, that's such a great piece of advice. I love that to be, you said to be thoughtfully aware. And I think that's so true. And the beautiful thing about everything you just said is that it's free, it's cheap, it's small, it's simple as in it's accessible. And it's the best gift. Yeah, and it's the best gift. Yeah, when you feel like someone's in tune with you and your emotions and how you feel, how you might be tired or how you might be sleepy or how you might be cold, like those small things when you feel someone's aware. And I love that piece of advice. I think it's something that everyone's definitely learned more about in the pandemic where we're exposed to each other. Tell me a bit about the title unfinished because I obviously it leads to your determined, ambitious voice. But what other parts of your growth, maybe internally, personally, do you feel you're unfinished on or working on? I mean, so much.

What Priyanka thinks about her life right now as a whole. (28:57)

I've just about, you know, in my 30s and this decade has been amazing because I've just, you know, found my strengths, I think, as a woman. And what I'm looking forward to going forward is I'm very nascent in my career in America right now. It's just been five years since I've started working here. I just about have done my first, you know, leading feature film. I've just about done my first dramatic part here. I want to be able to build, you know, the kind of career that I have the good fortune of building in another amazing industry in India. I've done such a variety of roles there, worked with the best filmmakers, best actors.

Raising awareness on more South Asian stories being appreciated and recognized in other parts of the world. (29:39)

I want to be able to have that experience here. So I'm like my artistic side now that I've started on this journey in this part of the world is peaked to be able to do that as well. As a producer, I want to be able to create a lot more South Asian content in Hollywood. I just, I didn't see enough parts for myself. I didn't see enough of it on TV and considering how large the South Asian population is in around the world and how English speaking we are, you know, English language entertainment should be reflecting that. So I want to be able to tell stories in India as well. And as here, I want to build as an entrepreneur. It's something I didn't do, you know, up until now, because I was building my acting career so much. So, you know, founding my own brand, investing in tech, I find that really fascinating. My philanthropy, I want to be able to set up my foundation really well. My work with UNICEF. I've just about moved into our new house after almost 10 to 15 years of living in rentals or hotel rooms, you know, because I always just kept moving. I was so nomadic. I'm looking forward to, you know, watching the trees grow in my garden. I love that. Watching trees grow is great. I love that. You're, you're, that's brilliant. Hearing you, hearing you say that, I love hearing you talk about the South Asian storytelling, like obviously that that relates very strongly to me and my roots growing up in London as well where I think we have an incredibly strong South Asian community where you are right now where I was born and raised. And I definitely felt this, yeah, lack of, lack of representation, lack of the ability to dream. Lack of opportunity. Lack of opportunity to dream in a certain way. And, you know, my career has been totally random, but it's, and, and, you know, I'm doing something today that I would never have imagined even knowing it existed. See, even that you and I, two South Asians sitting in these boxes and talking about the fact that the careers that we are thriving in, that we have worked so hard to make was never in our minds was never a possibility.

Representation matters especially to a generation who were told well settle for stable instead of chasing your dreams. (32:05)

But I would have never dreamed about it because it wasn't in my realm of dreaming, but that's not how it should be considering the, we're one fifth of the world's population. We're huge. We're everywhere. Okay. And I think, and it shouldn't be so hard for me to, you know, come into an industry and say, I want an opportunity and for people to be like, oh, well, we're going to have to create that now, won't we? We've existed for a really long time. You know, it's the irony of it is so amusing, but sad at the same time. Yeah.

Do not let society limit you from achieving all that you can. (32:51)

And it's very strongly with me because I didn't even know any careers existed. And when I say this, I don't say it lightly. I genuinely didn't believe careers existed outside of medicine, engineering and business. Like I didn't really know, I didn't know that you could have a successful career in anything else. And at 17, when I was, it was a fluke, why I got, got into the Miss India pageant. And that kind of kick started everything for me. But I wanted to be an engineer because those were the options, doctor, engineer, lawyer. And you know, if you come from an academic family of failure, if you come from an academic family or, you know, our parents, our immigrants and our parents, like my parents, even in India, where, you know, building their businesses for the first time, it wasn't inherited from them. So they also were surviving. And I think it's that survival instinct that sort of pushed them to put the aspirations that they knew best, you know, on their kids. Like this is the best job. You'll always make money. You will be stable. Yes. You know, but also the internet sort of changed our, I think, our generation. The fact that the internet made the world such a small place, which is another big reason why we should see so much more representation, is because we're catering to the whole world now. Definitely, definitely. You're reminding me of a few years ago, I, before I actually started doing what I do today, I went to a presenter training day run by the BBC in London at Pinewood Studios. I'm sure you know it or have seen it. And we went to the studios and it was an ethnic minority TV training day. So it was only for ethnic minorities. So I went into this room and there were just five brown and black people in there. That was it. And it was a free training session on presenting and seeing if you had the skills to be in media. And then I remember at the end of it saying like, Oh, you know, like, is there any opportunity? Where do we, and they were like, No, no, no, there are no opportunities. And I said, boy, you called us all here to train us to tell us there are no opportunities. And they were like, Oh, but you can start a YouTube channel. And that's, that's, you know, what you're saying about social media is so true that it was so hard to find an entry point without being able to create your own community. And I think I love the way the world's gone because now it's allowed each and every single one of us to create a community around what we care about. And that's what I wanted to ask you that today you're an entrepreneur, you're an actor, you're a producer, you have your own production company. How do you define Breoncatro Projones's purpose that kind of cascades into all those areas?

Above all of Priyanka's accomplishments, she thinks her purpose is to be a goal setter. (35:43)

Like, like, what do you see as your purpose and the work that you're doing? Because to me, it seems it's always been driven by purpose. It definitely has. It's always to evolve. I feel like my purpose is to find the next thing that I can do, the next new thing, the next thing that I can push the envelope on or the next thing where I can push the goal post, I want to do something different. That's not, but I've always been driven to, you know, and that doesn't mean every choice is that, but that's the eventual big picture purpose, you know, to be able to sort of, I've been given such an incredible opportunity from the beginning of my career. You know, I don't take that lightly to be, there are so many people around the world that are probably more talented than me, probably more deserving than me. But, you know, the sum of the opportunities I chose is the reason why I'm here today. And I don't take that for granted at all. And that's my purpose is to make sure that, you know, every single day is spent with a pursuit of excellence in every single choice that I make. What are three truths that you live by if you had to define three things that you always live by that you don't negotiate with, that guide you, that guide your decisions and guide your life when you're looking at those projects?

Advice And Personal Reflections

If it resonates and pushes . (37:03)

As you said, you always want to find that next thing that you're going to break through and that you don't want to be scared of trying new things. What are some of those? If it resonates with me, like if I read something and I'm moved by like the white tiger, for example, I read the book and it really like there, you know, some books you just remember always because they were such a vivid journey and the white tiger was one of those for me. It was such a vivid journey. And when I read that it was being adapted, I chased it. I went after it and I was like, I need to be, I need to do this. I need to be a part of it because it moved me. It was a story that I feel like needs to be told is topical, it's entertaining. It's based on a universal theme of the haves and the have-nots that exist everywhere. So I think that I feel is my purpose to be able to be moved by the things that I choose to align with and I think also for it to be a growth for me. For it to be taking me to the next step, I don't like to stay in the same place for a very long time. You know. Do the same kind of thing for a very long time. I want to go to the next thing. What is better? And my job sort of lends me to be able to do that because it's very transitory. There's no, you know, you don't know where your next job is or where your next check comes from or anything, right? So it allows me to pick and choose what I think is the next step, but those two things are very important, I think. Those are great truths. Those are great truths and I think they come across in your book when you kind of see like, how is this person had like 10 careers, you know, in a good way, in a strong sense of being able to find that. And I wonder, obviously, you've played so many roles and studied so many characters in your life was writing this book almost like studying your own self as a character in terms of like the role you played. So the reflection of this book is sort of me now, you know, talking to my younger me growing up. So I comment on myself and stuff and like, come on, you know, don't don't note to self. I have a lot of notes to self in the book. So sort of a commentary on that, but I think I wasn't examining myself as a character because I think I was sort of going along with my journey all over again. I was experiencing my journey all over again. I didn't have to create anything. I just had to remember it as vividly as I could. And I don't know, I hope I got everything right. I've tried to. But memory is a funny thing. And I just experienced it. It was almost like when you're in a train and you're looking outside and the world is sort of moving by or in a car. You're looking outside and the world is moving by.

Be patient with what is unsolved in your heart (40:21)

That's how I felt when I was writing the book. Yeah, you share this beautiful quote in chapter eight that really stuck with me. I've never read this one before and I absolutely love discovering writers and thoughts. So thank you for introducing me to this. It says, it's from letters to a young poet and it says, be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. And I thought the selection of that quote, it really spoke to me. How do you balance your drive and what's next with that passion, sorry, with that patience and with that approach because often it can feel like, you know, it's like you're trying to find that next thing, trying to grow and evolve. But you're also beautifully speaking about patience. Well, I bifurcated. I'm not patient in my job, but I'm patient as a person and my job doesn't make me. It's not, my job is not my whole, you know. And this is again something I didn't know earlier. I've grown into understanding this. My younger self probably wouldn't, my 20s, I didn't know this, but I've bifurcated very clearly, you know, my professional life is my professional life, my personal life is my personal life. They meet in the middle sometimes because I'm a public person, but I still have an immense part of me that's not for public consumption and it's not for anyone else but me. So that side of me is patient. That side of me has become, you know, calmer, a little bit more having, you know, stable, maybe having my feet on the ground a little bit. But my professional self is still in tizzy. I'm impatient. I want the next thing right now. I wake up in the morning thinking about my entire day and how I'm going to achieve every single thing at zero to 60. And that works for that girl. It doesn't work for this girl. And it took a lot of introspection for me to get here actually. In that chapter, I actually talk about that journey of getting to that place because I wasn't there. And a lot of my professional attitude, which was, you know, I am going to do everything I can to make this the best. I took a lot of the onus of life upon myself as well and it hurt me. And it, and I didn't need to take the responsibility of life. Life happens and we've kind of got to navigate it every single day and, you know, live it for being on the right side of the truth and being a good person and, you know, having joy in the day because life is a gift and, you know, it needs to be celebrated. And so my personal side of that pre is real chill and loves life and, but the other girls, she's crazy. That's a fantastic distinction. And I love that. I'm so glad that you shared that with us. That's such a great way of helping people understand how two seemingly opposite ideas can coexist. And I think we often feel like we have to choose like you're either driven or you're calm, you're either ambitious or you're, you know, conscious and aware. And I'm so happy you said that because I couldn't agree more. I think it's fun letting two ideas collide and live within the same space in person. And I think it's natural as well. It is natural. Dicotamines are the most consistent things you'll see around. Nobody's one thing. No emotion is a singular emotion. You are at any given moment and that's an actor thing, I guess. When you're playing a character, you have to think about everything that character is playing. You can't just be like, oh, this is an angry scene. I'm going to just be angry and yell my eyes out, you know, yell my whatever, throw it out. You're not, that's not a good actor. You're not even scratching beneath the surface. The actor who thinks about, oh my gosh, I'm getting late or I have to have this conversation. It's also cold and I'm like mad about whatever last week, my job, I got fired. You've got to think about all of those elements. So in the same way in life, we never have to choose one thing. So that we need to take that pressure off of our backs that you don't have to be on one solitary journey. You can choose to be on any journey at any time. You can choose to feel as long as you take the pressure, we put too much pressure on ourselves to function. We create boxes and glass ceilings for ourselves because we're like, oh, this is the only way I can be. And that's how you're successful. There's no black or white in the world. Everyone lives in grace. Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing that passionately. I can feel your, feel your passion just like flying through the screen. You're like, everyone is listening and watching. This is just, you know, straight, it's beautiful.

FILL IN THE BLANK (45:29)

It's fantastic. We, Branga, you've been so kind with your and generous with your time. We end every podcast with two segments. These segments are called fill in the blank and the fast five. The fill in the blank is a fill in the blank round, very aware. And then I'll introduce the fast five later. So if you're ready, this is your fill in the blank. Okay. So the hardest part about my job is the hours and the, well, fill in the blank. The blank is the first. It's basically, I have to explain that because, you know, my job can come up at any time on any day. It doesn't matter if it's someone's birthday. It doesn't matter if it is, you know, my anniversary. It doesn't matter if like I am, I don't know, going to a friend's wedding. If the job comes up, you've got to kind of deliver. That's the hardest part, really. Yeah. And I want to be honest and let everyone know right now it's 7 p.m. where Priyanka is. It's 11 a.m. or I am. So she's still here kindly doing this interview. So just, just to be really honest about the hours and the work that I'm going to be doing until 1 a.m. Yeah. I believe you. I believe you. Okay. Next one. 2020 gave me a new perspective on creativity because I'm, I gave me a sense of balance. I became a lot more creative, I think. Yeah. That makes sense. Feelness, that clarity, that slow down for once. The luxury of time, which I never have. And I've never chosen this forced. This forced time was very helpful. Yeah. I love that. My power comes from my family. Working hard makes me feel fulfilled. Every telling is. A joy. And my dogs are. My world. I love it. Okay. This is your final five. So questions can be one word to one sentence maximum. You did extremely well on the fill in the blank. So these are one word to one sentence maximum. Okay. Who do you go to for their opinion about your work? I love my body. Great answer. I love it. I love it. It's a great answer. I let the people decide. You know, one of my favorite things about you over the years is just how straight talking you are. And obviously my intention has only been positive towards you. But I've loved watching your interviews where someone asks, tries to ask just an awkward irrelevant question. And you always just give them the best answer. It's just so fun to watch. It's so fun. Thank you. I haven't been able to be on the other end of it, thankfully. But it's great. It's great.

The best piece of advice you've ever received (48:40)

Okay. What's the best piece of advice you ever received? To have courage of conviction. My mom said that to me when I was very young. She said, if you're going to tell the truth or if you're going to tell a lie, just know that whatever you do, you have to stand by it. The good, the bad, ugly.

The worst piece of advice you've ever received (49:02)

It's all yours. Wonderful. What's the worst advice you've ever received? I don't retain bad advice. Great answer. That's a great answer. It's also, yeah. It makes perfect sense. Why would you? I don't have the place in my brain for it.

What's something that's true for you, but others may disagree with? (49:22)

There's too many other things floating around. I love it. Number four, what's something that you know to be true for you but that other people may disagree on? So, something that you're confident is true but other people may not understand it for me. Um, that I'm actually like you among. People won't believe it because most people even my closest family would be like, you know, because I'm always like in a tizzy, but I'm actually inherently. A monk. Rather close to monk, not really actually. I love it. No, I love it. That's great. That was the whole reason why I was encouraging people to have a monk mindset that anyone in the world can have that. So I love hearing. That's beautiful. You don't have to live like a monk to think like a monk. So I'm glad. Totally.

Universal Principles

One law that everyone should follow (50:16)

That's great. Okay. Fifth and final question. Like one law in the world that everyone had to follow, what would it be? No one goes hungry. Is my law. It's the worst thing to see. Um, yeah, if we could change just that, it would really change a lot of things. That's such a great law. We've never had anyone say that before. So I'm really, I'm really happy you shared that. And I couldn't agree more. As a monk, we worked on several food distribution programs in India where I was and it was, it was so meaningful to see, but there's so much work that needs to be done in that space all across the world. All over the world. Oh my God. I'm going to go everywhere. That's like such a basic right and need for a human being to just live. And you know, I've done obviously coming from having grown up in India, but also I've worked with kids around the world with UNICEF. And it's just, it's like that's got to change. A hungry child is, it's just, it's not right. It's not natural. You know, yeah. And, and it's like, you know, we talk about, as we were talking about the dreams and the ambitions, but it all starts with food and water. And you know, it starts with those basic necessities to help that person. So that's, that's a beautiful way. And we also as privileged society have become very desensitized to it, you know, you drive past home the shelter, you're not thinking about it. And I'm not saying that, you know, each person needs to empty their wallets and like make a difference to the world. I think, yes, it is the responsibility of the large earners, definitely, of, you know, the billionaires of the world, because in a big way. But I think also the responsibility of each one of us to just do whatever we can, you know, and that doesn't have to be large. It could be just kindness, compassion, change someone's life. Just look around you, your neighborhood.

Role Of Parenting In Personal Development

The power of good parenting (52:27)

Just that, that itself will be helpful, you know, when I was, as a kid, my mom told me, no matter how badly off you are, how bad your circumstances are, someone's worse off than you. And that's just the truth of the world. Yeah. I love how much you remember and quote your parents. It's such a beautiful thing because it shows you the power of good parenting and it really is from a young age because it's such a special thing. So they also repeated themselves a lot. That's brilliant. I love that. They just kept saying the same thing every birthday. Same thing. I was like, all right, I get it. Well, the repetition worked. It worked. Yeah, I wrote a book about that. I love it. Yeah, the repetition worked so much that if you want to be parented by Pranke Chupra Jonas's parents, that's, this is what's in the book. So please go and grab a copy. We're putting the link everywhere for Unfinished, a memoir by Pranke Chupra Jonas. Go and grab the book, go and read it, go and share it. Read it together. Start a book club around it. We're going to make this one of our book club picks for the on purpose community. So I'll be sharing that with all of you in all the notes as I'm reading through it. Recommend that you do the same. Pranke, I'm so grateful for your time, your generous time for staying up with us. I know you've got lots more of these to do. And I look forward to meeting you very soon. So thank you so much. Thank you. Is there anything you want to share last year? I was going to say this was so nice, Jay. It was such a lovely conversation. I always knew it was going to be, but it's your, you're just insightful and I can see why, you know, you do what you do so well and more power to you, you know, keep pushing it. Thank you. Thank you so much, Pranke. Such a pleasure. And yeah, all the best for the rest of your interviews and the rest of the tour. And yeah, look forward to speaking to you soon.