0:00
It wasn't do good work because the world is telling me to do good work.
Search this video
0:01
It was I like to put my heart into things.
0:04
It was the only way I knew how to operate and I think that came from the basis of dance.
0:11
It was how do I do everything with that love?
0:14
How do I choreograph my life and give dance into everything I'm doing because it adds joy to it to everyone around.
0:28
Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health podcast in the world thanks to each and every single one of you who come here every week to listen, learn, and grow.
0:35
Now, today's guest has been a guest on the podcast before.
0:40
There's very few people who've been on the podcast twice.
0:42
She is going to be one of them.
0:44
She is one of my dearest friends.
0:45
Me and Radhi consider her our family here in LA.
0:50
She's the one who's made us feel so at home and made this place feel like home.
0:54
But, beyond all of that she is the founder of ClassPass and the author of this incredible new book called LifePass, Drop Your Limits, Rise to Your Potential.
1:06
Her name is Payal Kadakia and you need to go and grab this book.
1:10
We're going to put the link at the top of the comments.
1:12
So, while you're listening to this interview, make sure you go and grab a copy. This is launch day. Payal, welcome.
1:19
Thank you so much for having me, Jay. Thank you.
1:21
Thank you for being here because I remember when I sat down with you.
1:25
Can you believe it's been 3 years since our first interview? Wow. 3? years.
1:30
2019 was when we launched the podcast.
1:32
You were one of the first guests in the first 6 months. It's been 3 years now.
1:38
You've got your amazing new book out, which I was fortunate enough to read before.
1:42
I want to start off and I said this yesterday when we were doing our summit conversation, but you know what I love about you is that no one would know how mighty you are because you never try and make people in your personal life feel that way or understand that.
1:58
Like what I value about you the most is your humility, your groundedness, your sincerity, because it's so endearing. Yeah.
2:06
Then when you realize that you're a powerhouse, it's like, "Wow, that combination is so beautiful."
2:09
So I feel like you represent the modern entrepreneur in the most amazing way.
2:16
And I want everyone who's listening today to connect to that.
2:18
Yes, Pilo built incredible business and like all of this amazing life, but it's like the heart with which you've done it and how you've protected that heart is is what I value in you.
2:30
So I wanted to start with that because I really appreciate that. you.
2:33
And I have to say I give that credit to my parents because I think when you've seen people struggle and go through something and then when you then have the gift to be able to give to others because of the hard work of other people, I think you just are so grateful for the journey and I'm never ever would take any of this for granted. Aw, I love it.
2:54
I know, I'm tearing I love it. up thinking about it. It's beautiful. Well, you know what?
2:57
just started crying all of a sudden.
2:59
It's your your pa- thinking of your parents does that.
3:01
And your parents are amazing and and you know, I've had the fortune of spending time with them and it's it's so beautiful to see your love for them and connection.
3:08
You know, they're so proud, of course, but let's dive in.
3:11
Last time you were here, we actually talked about the journey of like building ClassPass.
3:14
We talked about SA which I want to talk about today as well.
3:17
Pilo founded her own dance company, SA Dance Company.
3:19
I've seen them perform at least three times now and it was absolutely incredible. Both coasts. Yeah, both coasts.
3:24
But let's start with the discovery of purpose. Yes.
3:30
Because you were on a certain path and then at one point you veered away.
3:35
I want you to help us understand when did you first understand even internally, even if it wasn't in these words, what purpose was and that you wanted to live for something deeper?
3:46
So I really believe for me it started when I was close to 4 or 5 years old.
3:52
And I know most people do not discover purpose and passion at that age, but for me, and this is a very, very interesting dynamic cuz most people would never think a moment like this is how you found it.
4:05
But, I went to a party, like a family friends party from with my parents, and they asked me to dance.
4:10
And I got onto the dance floor and started to performing.
4:13
And of course, like it's nice to have everyone looking at you and all of that, but it wasn't about that for me.
4:19
It was this feeling that there was something inside of me that I gave to others, right?
4:24
There was magic created between the audience and me in that moment.
4:29
And I didn't obviously know it at the time, so I talk about this and obviously in a hindsight way because when you're 5 years old, you're not thinking about this stuff.
4:37
But, in that moment, I felt something sort of come out of me that honestly nothing else could compare to.
4:44
And I think when you have something in your life that brings you so much joy, brings you so much happiness, it's really hard to find anything else that's going to compare to it.
4:56
And I know we'll get into it whether that's things like money and all of that.
4:59
And I tried to hang on to that feeling, right?
5:02
And I really believe my life has been a fight to hang on to that feeling.
5:07
And then with ClassPass, it was to share that feeling with others so they could have it in their life as well.
5:13
Yeah, that's so beautiful.
5:13
There's a There's an amazing ancient text in India, and the verse reads, "When you protect your purpose, your purpose protects you."
5:27
And I love it because you often think of your purpose as something you have to find or create. Yeah.
5:33
And actually, the wisdom reminds us it's something you have to protect. You already have it. Yes.
5:37
Can you tell us because last time we talked about the whole journey, what I'm more fascinated in is having taken this journey to build a business, to grow, to take your passion into this bigger industry, how did you have to protect your purpose?
5:51
Because I think that's something that people don't think about a lot.
5:55
I mean, the whole time my life, I I truly believe I fought to dance.
6:00
I I 100% believe that my life, even now, it's not easy. And why do I say that?
6:07
It's because society is has its own expectations of me.
6:09
I have you have identity issues where you're like, wait, can I be doing that?
6:13
I'm this person and I'm that person.
6:14
But I have learned to take away a lot of those things and say, but no, my heart is in this and this is what I love and I love what you just said about it's already inside of you because when I think about the journey of me being corporate America, right?
6:28
And I think a lot of people, you're in your job, you're kind of going through the motions of it.
6:31
You don't necessarily I don't know, you don't love what you do, but you're in it, right?
6:35
Because you have to pay the bills, etc.
6:36
For me, you know, I had this thing that I was doing on the side, right?
6:39
But it was fulfilling me.
6:41
And the more I started doing it, the more it gave back to me, right?
6:46
So, that whole protection side that you were just talking about, I truly believe and I talk about this in the book in the synchronicity of the world helping me through.
6:52
When I was questioning it, as long as I found the time to dance, I felt like the universe was giving me signs, whether it was, you know, I talk about the story where saw ended up on the cover of the art section of the New York Times and it was a moment when everyone was telling me to go to business school, right?
7:08
And that seemed like the right path in everyone else's sense of the world.
7:13
And here I was getting this sign from the world telling me I was on the right path by following what I loved.
7:19
And all those moments helped me to just continue to hang on and I do believe those things happen because it was like a sign from the universe saying, keep going in this direction because the world wants you to do this and to me that is protection.
7:35
Yeah, that's that's such a wonderful way of looking at it and you know, the times I've seen you dance, it truly is the most magical experience.
7:41
Like seeing someone in their element and you're just fully immersed, you're fully absorbed.
7:45
I love that you just said you had to fight to dance. Yeah.
7:50
Because I think we think that purpose should just flow.
7:52
And we think sometimes that the word synchronicity as you used means it just kind of happens.
8:00
You said you had to fight.
8:00
Tell us about how we learn to fight for what we care about because I think that's not often spoken about.
8:07
We think that if you care about something it should just magically manifest. But you're fighting. Like I love that.
8:14
I mean in anything in your life, you need to know what your priorities are.
8:18
They cannot be set by other people, right?
8:21
And that comes down to everything with your professional career, your personal life, your family, right?
8:27
People are always asking, "Oh, how do you juggle this and that?"
8:28
It's because I know what is important to me and that doesn't come from anyone else.
8:34
And once I know it's important, those are the things going in my schedule and I don't feel guilty about it.
8:38
It's usually the guilt, right?
8:40
Why when I even say I fought to dance, it was because once again, it was everyone wanted me to do other things, but the more I thrived in doing it and obviously the more I built a system to really say it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks, what matters is what I do and what I want to give to the world.
8:55
I learned to prioritize and make sure that I put a plan against doing the things I loved.
9:01
And I think we forget that.
9:01
We forget that it's supposed to be our priorities that come first, right?
9:05
We put everyone else's priorities first and it's not selfish to do that at all by any means.
9:12
Our true purpose in the world is to do that thing that we were put on earth to do.
9:19
That's actually the best thing you could do, right?
9:21
In the world to be selfless.
9:23
And that's what I really want people to understand and you know, I always felt through my journey.
9:26
I know there were moments when I was working so hard and people may have been like, "Hey Pahl, like you know, you've been MIA for so long.
9:33
Like you missed this and you missed that."
9:36
But I woke up every day and I knew even though I had maybe no customers at the time, I knew that I was trying to solve a problem.
9:42
And obviously once I did, it all made sense.
9:44
But, in my heart I knew I was on a mission, right?
9:47
We forget what that feels like to be on a mission, but there is nothing that feels comparable when you're on that mission to make an impact in the world.
9:55
And I think that's truly like the heart of all of this for me.
9:59
I love that you use that phrase there because I think when you talk to any real successful entrepreneurs, they all were trying to solve a problem. Yeah.
10:11
They weren't trying to build a billion dollar company.
10:12
They weren't trying to build a company on the front of Forbes.
10:17
They weren't trying to build a company that gets acquired.
10:19
Like, I think we hear those terms so much now. Mhm.
10:23
And it's like almost like people set themselves up for failure because they start a company to exit. Right.
10:29
Or they start a company to sell it. Right.
10:31
Whereas whenever I've talked to you for years, you've always talked about this idea of solving a problem.
10:37
Can you walk us through how that is a amazing way to unlock your potential?
10:42
Because I think it's something we don't consider.
10:44
I actually had a conversation just like this.
10:46
I was back in London during during Christmas. Right.
10:49
And I was driving to an event and I met someone and he was saying to me that I think, you know, I just need to make more money.
10:57
Like, how do I make more money? And I appreciate that.
10:59
A lot of us need to make more money and find new ways to make more money.
11:04
One of the And and I said to him, I said, "Well, let's ask this question differently."
11:08
I said, "What if you ask the question, what problem can I solve?" Mhm.
11:10
And I said, "I'm sure you're going to come up with way more ways to make money than if you think how can I make money?" Right.
11:15
Because when you ask the question, how can I make money, then you only think of that those things.
11:17
Walk us through how you really focus on a problem and how to problem solve Right. as an MIT dancing CEO. many parts to that.
11:29
Um let me I'll start a little bit with the beginning of how my idea of what problem came to me, right?
11:37
And I think what's really interesting is through my life I was living many identities.
11:40
So, I was Indian, I was American, I was this dancer girl in the middle of a business world.
11:45
I never felt like I could fit in.
11:48
And when I met the career field of entrepreneurship, which was 10 years ago, this was not something that most people were doing at the time.
11:56
I actually saw it as just a way to be free, right?
11:58
I saw it as a way to impact the world and solve a problem.
12:02
I didn't see it as you know, the fame or having this many people on my team or any of that.
12:08
And I actually think to be honest, and I spent a little bit of time my first few years because you kind of get thrown into this incubator world of tech startup momentum and you start doing like things for brand and you start doing things to raise money and to get press and you forget about that main point.
12:23
And I had to go back to that.
12:26
And so, the reason I found my problem was because I faced it, right?
12:30
And I think that is such a great way to find a problem to solve in the world.
12:34
It's what are you struggling with?
12:36
And most of the times I think the best ideas come out of your own struggles.
12:40
I mean, Uber did that, Airbnb did that. And it really did.
12:42
I went to go find a ballet class and it sounds so simple. I couldn't find it.
12:47
So, I decided to solve that problem, right?
12:49
And there was obviously more to that, right?
12:50
This wasn't just a okay, let's solve it with tech.
12:54
This was really for me, I had been fighting to dance my whole life.
12:57
I wanted to take this fight to other people, right?
13:00
So, that kind of in a way goes a deeper level than the what the what is.
13:04
It goes down to the why, you know, that we always talk about it.
13:07
There's a one layer deeper to that why.
13:09
But I think when you have a problem to solve in the world, the reason it's so important is because how do you know when you've solved it?
13:15
And if you are just going out there to build a company, how do you measure your impact, right?
13:20
When you talk about purpose and all of that.
13:22
And it's not that you need to be able to measure it.
13:24
Like doing good is doing good, right?
13:26
If it's two people, one people one person, it doesn't matter if it's 100, it's great that you're giving.
13:30
But, I think for me, when I realized people were going to class because we're a product, and, you know, even yesterday I was talking to someone and they were like, "Oh my god, I just want to tell you like I found all these new studios in Los Angeles because of ClassPass."
13:42
I'm like, this story never gets old to me because I know how impactful going to one class is for one person.
13:49
You know, and I think you have to really be bought in to the solution that you're solving for because it can't feel like, "Okay, I checked it off and I'm done."
13:57
And I think that's where some people get stuck, too.
13:59
It's not a one-and-done, it's a journey, and it's a constant journey that that keeps going forward.
14:04
But, the other side of this a little bit in the foundational thing.
14:08
So, yeah, I had a great education that helped me, you know, learn to problem-solve from MIT, and I worked at a consulting firm.
14:14
So, I did have the mindset. But, you know what?
14:16
I think of the success behind my company truly comes from my creativity.
14:20
It does not come from the fact that I had all these skills and this experience.
14:24
I obviously that set me up very well, and it gave me a great network, but the true magic came from my hustle, came from my discipline, it came from everything else that I cared about, and I felt made me see this problem in a different way, in a unique way than anyone else was looking at it.
14:43
And that's really, I think, what people have to think about when they're going out to solve a problem is, what's that unique problem only you can solve? Right?
14:50
And you We were talking about this I think yesterday, but it's also then what do you have the expertise to do? Right?
14:55
Like, I knew what classes felt like.
14:58
What tech person in the world, combined with someone who loved class, was ever going to come together to be able to solve this problem?
15:03
And I I say this now, obviously, with a lot of confidence, but obviously when I was going through it, I felt embarrassed for parts of me, right?
15:12
Like, oh, do I not know tech enough?
15:14
Okay, wait, do I, you know, how am I going to do that?
15:16
Oh, no, like, should I hide my dance side? All of that, you know?
15:19
But, you learn that the more you do something that is so in line with what your purpose is, all that stuff goes away.
15:25
Yeah, I I really appreciate what you said because when you're building something, truly focusing on how this helps one person. Yes.
15:36
One case study, one user.
15:36
And when you can take one person on a journey from A to Z, that journey helps you help 100 people, 1,000 people, a million people, a billion people.
15:48
If you can't get that to work for one person, you're not going to be able to scale it.
15:53
And I think often we think, "No, but I want to help a million people and I want my company to have 100,000 customers."
15:59
And it doesn't start there.
16:01
It starts with that one use case, that one person.
16:06
This is I actually think the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make today is they go in trying to solve for these big data numbers and they forget that data doesn't do your thinking for you, right?
16:17
And the magic of especially lifestyle brands and companies, the magic happens in the customer to customer interaction and how someone feels from your product and how they like it and enjoy it.
16:27
Like you said, it's it's everything from coming to the website to purchasing it, you know, and everyone gets kind of caught up on like launch day. But you know what?
16:35
You launch every day as a as a founder of especially of a consumer company, you launch every single day because someone new is finding you.
16:41
And I think that's a shift in the mindset that a lot of people need to have. And I love that.
16:47
I mean, it's it's so true.
16:47
I think some people they forget that if not even doing it for one, they raise all this money and they build all this momentum, but they haven't proven the fact that it works for one person. Yeah, well said.
16:58
Tell us about what you just brought up there because we've talked about this as well.
17:02
And it's interesting for me asking you this because now when I talk about having lived as a monk, people are always like, "Oh yeah, Jay Jay talks about that."
17:09
And and there'll be some people who'll be like, "Oh, well, he's talking about it because it sounds cool."
17:13
And I'm like, "I actually was embarrassed when I went back into the workplace to tell people I'd lived as a monk. Interesting.
17:21
Because they didn't have So it wasn't that I was Some people would say, and I know no one who listens to the podcast, but some people would say, "Well, oh, Jay does that because it makes him sound like he's done something amazing with his life."
17:33
And I'm like, "No, no, no.
17:34
Actually, when I first came back into the workplace, I was insecure about it." Right.
17:38
Because it was like, "You're 3 years behind." Right.
17:39
Like I'm 26 years old in a 21-year-old graduate position. Right.
17:44
So you didn't do the path everyone else was doing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Of course. And it was there then.
18:15
Walk us through how you dealt with it then.
18:18
Like when you were like, "I'm a dancer, but here I have to be a CEO."
18:21
And of course, you know, women entrepreneurs and female entrepreneurs, like that whole journey is added to this whole journey of you as an individual.
18:32
How did you handle it then of What were the mistakes you made?
18:36
That's what I was going to say.
18:36
I was going to start with Well, let me tell you all the ways I did it wrong.
18:40
Because, to be honest, I think for the first half of my life, most of what I did with a lot of these identity issues that I think we all face is I just separated them.
18:49
Put like Indian pile in one place, put American pile here, put dancer pile here, business pile here, and I built my own worlds, right?
18:56
So like they were all just very separate.
18:59
And you know, because I was type A, I was like, "Let me succeed at being all of them." Right?
19:02
That was sort of my way of learning how to do well and build skill. Great.
19:06
So that was what I originally did.
19:08
I think for me, a a threads started happening.
19:10
The Indian-American one sort of came together with dance, right?
19:13
And as I started feeling like I had an environment to succeed in and that was thriving, it helped me be both sides of who I was, right?
19:21
And I think people underestimate their environments that they're in, and they are sometimes put in environments that do not serve them and their authenticity, and you really need to question it.
19:32
You do not need to stay in place that is trying to suppress you.
19:36
And I mean, I always think about this.
19:38
I'm sure there are people who I worked with in corporate America when I I literally was probably quiet.
19:41
I was like I tried to like disappear in the room, who were probably like, "That girl built that built that company?"
19:47
You know, because I wasn't in the right environment, you know?
19:50
And and it really depends on where you are.
19:52
I think for business and sort of creative dance or pile what happened originally, like I remember when I went go to fundraise, I would like show up in these business suits, and I'm a petite human being, so I always felt uncomfortable.
20:05
I always felt like I was like drowning in the clothes and and didn't feel like, you know, I could be, you know, the tiny but mighty person I feel like I can be sometimes.
20:14
And I remember never feeling great in those meetings cuz I almost like over-rehearsed like data, I over-rehearsed like all the finance num- numbers and all the things that actually didn't matter at all.
20:25
And I started to realize, and this took me a minute, and I remember actually this conversation.
20:29
I was sitting with someone in my Techstars company um group, he was another CEO, and he's like, "Piyush, you've clearly like succeeded in your life.
20:36
You have a formula, a pattern of success in your life. What is yours?
20:40
Like follow that if this is not working."
20:42
And as he asked me that, I broke it down to it.
20:45
And so, I know how to like succeed in dance, right?
20:48
I've been able to like get the dried job. And what do I do?
20:50
It's like I go and study, I rehearse, I try and find a way for it to connect to me and authenticity with storytelling.
20:55
And I realized I was missing that whole side of it from pitching my company cuz I was walking in like a robot.
21:02
Like how is anyone going to like me? I didn't like me.
21:06
And I think that's really when I realized I needed to be the full version of who I was.
21:11
And so I started walking into those rooms and I would be wearing my leggings instead of wearing a business suit.
21:16
And I think people were like, you are the right person.
21:19
And by the way, MIT was never going to leave me, right?
21:22
Like Bain was never going to leave me.
21:24
I still had that credibility.
21:26
I needed to wear that in a way that made me feel confident.
21:28
And over time, I just stopped seeing any of the differences and I think that's really the most important thing I would tell people is at some point you just have to actually embrace all those things that make you different and know that your journey set you up to be that successful in that moment to do whatever you were going to do going forward.
21:48
Yeah, that that that's so so powerful like what you've just said because the challenge is that we only attract the right people into our lives when we don't hide parts of ourselves.
21:58
Because if you hide parts of yourselves, you're only attracting what they find attractive is parts that you haven't hidden.
22:08
And it can be really uncomfortable to not hide parts of yourself because chances are most people aren't going to vibe with you, but the right people are. Yeah.
22:17
And I think that's what you're waiting for and I think it's really scary to go into a room and have the uh there's a brilliant book I read recently called The Courage to Be Disliked. Okay.
22:28
And I was like, that's really what you need is like we all need the courage to be able to walk into a room and be okay with that this person may not vibe with me, but there will be someone who will. Right.
22:39
And walk us through what do you think I I want to hear this because I I think your dance experience is just it's what gravitated me towards you.
22:46
So that's another perfect example of what we're just saying.
22:49
When I first discovered you on Instagram, it was like I would just see you post and I was like, wow, this is amazing.
22:54
Like who's this American Indian girl or Indian American girl who's posting these girl woman who's posting these who's posting these incredible like very classical timeless work of art pictures of dance with Sa Dance Company and I was just like this is just I've never seen something like this before.
23:13
Tell me about what you think dance taught you about life. Oh, yeah.
23:18
Because I I think you live the way you dance. Yeah, and I hope to.
23:22
I mean I I always say like I hope I'm choreographing through life, you know, and I used to always feel when I was walking through like the streets of New York, I just felt like I was dancing and you know, when you meet like the barista at Starbucks, like I feel like you give that energy if you feel like that and and I do feel like it's like it's an enlightenment and it's a blessing. needed a musical.
23:41
This is why this is why Pial, if you direct musicals or theater productions or movies, please reach out because when you said that, all I visualized you was like doing a musical where you're like singing and dancing and you're looking at the barista.
23:54
Okay, as an aside and this is actually a really funny funny story is when I was younger, like literally like 5 years old, my parents would take long drives, right?
24:03
My sister would be like looking out the window and I would put a headphones on and listen to Bollywood tracks and literally see people dancing in the mountains in my head.
24:10
Like I have been choreographing since I was so young in my head.
24:14
Like I don't know why, but probably watching too many Bollywood films when I was younger, but I just I don't know, I just saw the world that way.
24:21
I just saw that's how people work together.
24:22
So as an aside, but going back to what dance has taught me, I think to start with that I have to go back to Ushanti, who is my dance teacher who literally taught me obviously not just how to dance, but she taught me how to show up to life, right?
24:35
In India, we talk about Gurujis, right?
24:37
A lot and it's someone who bestows knowledge upon you.
24:41
You respect them because the one thing that's indestructible is knowledge, right?
24:45
She of course was teaching me steps, you know, and at the time I didn't necessarily appreciate everything.
24:51
I was like, "Wait, I want to go and have fun with my friends."
24:52
But she was teaching me about where I had come from, right?
24:56
The women of India, my ancestors, which made me feel much more stronger in who I was, even though, once again, I didn't know it at the time.
25:04
But, she also, you know, she expected us to be on time, right?
25:06
She expected us to practice.
25:08
She expected us to have our hair up.
25:10
And I know it sounds a little forced and it can, you know, to some people are like, "Oh, wow, like that she's so strict."
25:15
But, I am so glad I had her in my life.
25:18
And even today, she is one of the first people I call to be like, "Hey, I'm dealing with this. What should I do?"
25:24
Because she will give me the toughest, but the best advice, right?
25:29
She And she even the other day, I think I sent her a dance video.
25:30
And she's like, "You know I'm not going to praise you.
25:33
So, if you're sending it something to me, I'm going to give you real feedback."
25:36
And I love that, you know, because it keeps me growing in everything that I do.
25:40
And I think as I grew up and started dancing more.
25:42
So, college is sort of this other time that happened in my life when, once again, like I'm a tiny person.
25:47
I'm the baby of my family.
25:49
I didn't know what it meant to be a leader, right?
25:51
I had never taken on that role.
25:52
And I think in anything in our lives, right?
25:54
People don't realize you can take a leadership role in the smallest thing.
25:58
It could be literally planning a family vacation, right?
26:00
It's really just about learning how you work and how you lead with like a vision, right?
26:06
And so, for me, even at college, it probably started with choreographing 40-person dance shows, right?
26:10
When how do you organize people like that and think about communicating, right?
26:13
And getting everyone to move in the same way.
26:17
There is no difference between that and running a team.
26:19
And then, by the time I started Sa and I was building confidence because I was good at executing these shows and these performances, and people were gravitating towards it because they were like, "Wow, you're really good at what you do."
26:30
And which helped me build confidence, even though, once again, this was a side thing I did my whole life.
26:35
And so, at the time I was building Sa and started, you know, putting down money towards like doing big shows in New York City, and seeing like Indian celebrities want to come to it, seeing a sellout shows, you know, the week before, seeing my ability to never you know, find a stage manager and a lighting designer when I didn't know that world at all.
26:54
Like I was in the business world.
26:55
I didn't have any idea and I was in the middle of New York City.
26:58
To see a lot of that just made me believe in my ability to execute.
27:01
And I think we forget how important execution is and the confidence it gives you, right?
27:09
So you can have an idea, but if you've never really completed something in your life, you don't know, right?
27:14
And you know, in in the smallest form like ClassPass to me literally started with 100% dance show because that was the first thing I ever did that was sort of my own with a vision and I got people to come and band against. And you know what?
27:29
Those people some of those people who came to that first show of mine became my investors in ClassPass.
27:32
And I think everything is connected because it my other point on this is I always did good work, right?
27:38
Because I was always doing what I loved, right?
27:41
It wasn't do good work because the world is telling me to do good work.
27:44
It was I like to put my heart into things.
27:47
It was the only way I knew how to operate and I think that came from the basis of dance.
27:52
It was how do I do everything with that love?
27:56
How do I choreograph my life and give dance into everything I'm doing because it adds joy to it to everyone around.
28:03
Yeah, I I think that point that you made is so important because you were doing everything you did with love, care, and attention.
28:11
So people when they saw you, whether you were dancing or whether you're in a meeting, they could trust Pao does things with love, care, and attention.
28:21
And that's why the people who came to your dance show became your investors.
28:25
The problem is we see everything as disconnected.
28:26
We think well, that's what I love and that's what I hate or that's what I really want to do and that's not what I want to do.
28:32
But actually when you approach even things you don't want to do with love, care, and attention Right. people take note.
28:40
And then that starts to become a connection.
28:42
Like the fact that you used what you learned in dance to choreograph teams.
28:46
Just that idea, if anyone's listening to that right now, you may be going to a job every day that you don't like, but I promise you there's a skill in your personal life that you love that you can apply there, or there's a skill in that workplace that you can apply to your personal life, and all of a sudden it becomes meaningful.
29:04
I spent years working at Accenture, which was not my purpose or not my passion.
29:08
However, when I look back on it, I see it as some of the best training I ever received because I learned so many invaluable skills that I would never have learned anywhere else.
29:19
You can either look at that experience and negate it and think, "Oh, well, that was a waste of time."
29:22
Or you can go, "Well, what's the one thing I got there that actually helps me build what I'm building?" Which is your journey.
29:29
I mean, let's let's dive into when you're choreographing life, which I just love that even just that is just such a beautiful thought.
29:37
Mentors is not something that you left just for dancers well.
29:43
Mentorship is something that I saw in you.
29:46
You've constantly chosen to be humble and want to learn from everyone around you.
29:52
How did you, as you became more successful, remain grounded to want advice when I think so many people when as their career grows, they almost think, "Well, now people should come to me for advice."
30:03
How did you keep that balance because I have seen you do it, but I don't I think it's quite surprising to a lot of people in general, not about you, but in general.
30:13
I think as human beings we can constantly grow, and maybe this is, you know, deep rooted for me in the way I was taught with U Shanti with I will never be and be able to know all the knowledge of even dance in my life, right?
30:25
And I think when you think about that and learning a skill that could literally be a lifelong learning journey, all of this can be.
30:32
Even entrepreneurship, like ClassPass was a journey.
30:36
My business journey, everything gets me one step further, and I think the power of it is keeping myself growing with teachers, right?
30:44
I mean, that's the basis of ClassPasses.
30:46
We should never in our lives ever be at a place where we want to stop growing and learning.
30:53
I think the second we do, we we get bored, and we get sad, and what's the journey, right?
30:58
It's It becomes meaningless.
31:00
And what are you going to do sitting there at the top by yourself?
31:04
Anyway, what is that, you know?
31:04
There's always more to do, and really, there's always more to give. Yeah. Right?
31:09
And I think that's really where it comes from.
31:10
But, you know, I think obviously like there are times in my life, and I actually have to balance it right now because a lot of people do want my advice, which is why I wrote my book cuz I felt like that was a responsible way for me to do it.
31:20
But, at the same time, like I have to also limit that to be able to say, "Wait, I want to grow, too."
31:27
And I think that's a really interesting thing to even think about at this point in my life is, you know, what's going to inspire me?
31:33
What's going to help me grow?
31:35
And I'm constantly thinking about that.
31:37
What friends do I want to spend time with? Right?
31:39
What mentors do I need because I'm going through like a shift right now.
31:42
You know, I'm very, very conscious and self-aware of where I am, and I think that really adds to it.
31:50
But, at the end of the day, like I I would never want someone to ever feel like they are the smartest person in the world.
31:55
I mean, I don't like working with people like that, to be honest.
31:58
That's just like not my not my way of working.
32:00
Um but, there are people, and I think a lot of times, Sally, that actually comes from insecurity.
32:06
Yeah, it's a defense mechanism.
32:08
It's a defense mechanism.
32:08
And so, I think when you truly are confident in a way, you don't have to prove anything.
32:17
And I think that's what people have to remember.
32:19
It's It's not about acting like you're smart. Yeah.
32:24
It's truly about just being able to to live and be without society making you feel like you're insecure, so let me act a certain way cuz it comes across unnatural.
32:34
I think you've just hit on a really important point.
32:36
Part of our imposter syndrome comes from us thinking we have to say something or we have to be at this table because we have something to offer.
32:45
The smartest people in the world ask more questions than they talk.
32:46
Like they're actually thinking about like oh well, what could I learn from this person or how could I learn from this person?
32:53
And so when you go into somewhere, we think confidence means talking the most.
32:58
And confidence actually means being confident to say I don't know and let me ask the most.
33:02
And so if you're sitting here listening to this going, well Jay, if I was in an environment with mentors and people, I wouldn't know what to say. Ask questions, right?
33:10
Like asking questions is is the safest way to learn.
33:15
One of the things I love about this book pile is not only is it your story, but it's so practical and I just want to hold up some things to some people so you can see that, you know, there's there's these beautiful moments in this book that you take this opportunity to make things really practical and asking people to reflect.
33:30
Uh and and I love that because often these books, when they're written by entrepreneurs, it's like here's my story and here's how I did it. Right.
33:37
And and yours doesn't do that.
33:37
Um yours continues to give people systems and frameworks.
33:43
checkpoints and advice on top of, you know, the stories and especially the constraints I've been through, but at the end of day, we all face roadblocks in our lives and I really believe and you know this about me, like you can take any of them away if you just try and if you put a plan together, right?
33:58
My whole system has been really about thinking about what the plan is, right?
34:05
So if I don't have enough money, okay, what is my plan to have enough money, right?
34:08
It's not about giving up on the dream.
34:10
It's about planning for it.
34:12
Yeah, and let's let's dive into that.
34:14
When when when you were writing this book, I remember we talked about the word constraints a lot and and limits is is is the is the word. Are constraints real? No.
34:23
I mean, that's really what I want people to see is that you can find a way through across any tree that's fallen in the forest, right?
34:32
Especially if you know your true north, it's really about finding your way through it.
34:36
It is not about stopping at the tree and then stopping going to where you want to go.
34:43
And I think that's really what people need to see is how do I maneuver my way to not lose track of where I want to go.
34:50
And they don't they don't exist.
34:50
They really don't and you can really find a way to work through it.
34:55
You need to do a lot of self-reflection, understand how you work, and then go and do it. Action, right?
35:02
Is really the best way to move forward.
35:03
Yeah, and what are the biggest mistakes you think when we make plans?
35:06
Because I love this topic because I was sharing with everyone recently when I was on the Today show for the beginning of the year, I was saying to everyone that we need to shift from goal setting to growth setting.
35:16
So, we keep setting these big goals.
35:18
I want to do this, I want to be this.
35:20
But it's like the growth, like what skills do I need? What's my plan? What's my approach?
35:26
Like that's what you should be focused on.
35:28
It's like saying, I want to do a podcast with Pile.
35:30
And you can have that as a goal, but it's like, well, have we thought about what we need to build a podcast?
35:35
Like what we need to start.
35:37
So, walk us through what are the mistakes we make when we create plans?
35:42
Or do we even create plans?
35:42
Because I'm not sure we do.
35:44
I think we just set these pie in the sky plans.
35:46
This is a great the whole I know, the whole book explains this.
35:48
Well, the whole last third of this book is the Life Pass method, which is my I call it goal setting method, but really what it comes down to is these itty-bitty goals, which are so minute that they do not feel big at all.
35:58
But like you said, it's about getting started.
36:00
And the way I've thought about it and it helps to solve a lot of the problems is I first start with you reflecting because you need to know where you are today before you start setting goals.
36:10
And a lot of times we start setting goals without really taking stock of where we are today.
36:13
So, that's sort of mistake one, right?
36:15
Then the second one is I go into a dream mode, right?
36:19
Which is what do I want to do and do any be in a year.
36:21
But that is not about check marks like I'm going to run a marathon and buy a house and all these big things like you just said, I like to anchor them in an in words, in feelings.
36:32
How do I want to feel in a year? Love that.
36:35
Because that's something I can, you know, can really put intention behind, right? And put into my body.
36:40
I can go back to and feel like am I going towards that or not where, you know, run like I said, running a marathon is just a check mark in our life.
36:49
Then the next part of it to me and and this is because I'm super analytical and like love time.
36:55
I think people really need to think about where they spend their time.
36:56
So this whole next part about focusing, you cannot set goals in every aspect of your life all the time.
37:01
It's never going to work, right?
37:03
You're never going to be able to make an impact on every aspect of your life.
37:07
You're probably going to end up failing and then being able to feel like you can't do anything.
37:10
So my structure in the third step is really all about focusing in on three to five areas of your life that you can focus on, right?
37:18
And so that might be like, okay, my family, some friends and work, right?
37:21
And you get to the point once you're there, then the like the last part of this and this is I think what I feel like I've done really well throughout my life is I know how to set the goal, right?
37:29
Because it's all of it's not even a goal like you said, it's really about the action you need to take to get to where you want to go.
37:34
And you know, pretend you want to go and learn tennis, right?
37:38
A lot of people would be like, yeah, okay, I'm going to play tennis and the whole year will go by and they'll never sign up. Yeah.
37:43
It literally comes down to maybe it's take 1 hour to get on to the internet and search for three instructors near you. Find reviews on them. Sign up for one class.
37:51
Even if you don't go to the class in that three-month period that you're doing this exercise, you're still making progress because you at least are getting closer to doing that first class, right?
38:03
Because until you actually go and show up to to that first lesson, you haven't gotten anywhere in that goal.
38:09
And I think that's what people forget and there's a lot of mistakes you, you know, people don't share their goals.
38:13
I think you should always be so proud of what you want to do.
38:15
You'd be so surprised how much your friends and family will support you if they know what you really want to accomplish in your life.
38:24
So, it's I mean I have a lot of that this in the book, but That's yeah, it was a Yeah.
38:27
It was a loaded question cuz I was like that is the whole book.
38:31
It is, but I like you said, I do think um people make a lot of mistakes here and it's really like I said, and and this is, you know, one way of thinking about it.
38:38
It really comes down to having a practice for yourself of how do I look inward, focus myself, and then set goals, and feel the confidence of I set these goals, I did it.
38:48
Okay, great, let's set bigger goals next time, right?
38:51
You can only get to the bigger goal if you start with the smaller step and fulfill that.
38:55
When you have a dream and it feels really big, the question is, what's the smallest thing I can do right now? Right.
39:05
Like what's the what's the first thing?
39:06
And that's what you just broke down.
39:06
It was like, I want to play tennis every day or every this year, but it's like let me just find an instructor.
39:12
And that's very achievable, right?
39:13
And I think that's the point that I remember sitting down with a friend once, and he really wanted to direct theater shows.
39:23
And I was like, that's a big goal.
39:23
And we literally just broke it down to the tiniest thing he could do today.
39:28
Like that's and it's literally like with something like that, I think I have it in my book, it's like even watch three three plays. Yes, yes. Right?
39:34
Like I know it's weird, but it's like watching three plays.
39:35
And actually, it's funny, right?
39:37
I think you you've talked about this a lot.
39:40
Sometimes people think like watching stuff that we enjoy, it's part of your goals, too, right?
39:44
So, a lot of times people will be like, oh, that's like leisure time.
39:47
I don't have time to watch the plays.
39:48
But no, you just put it as a part of your plan towards your goals.
39:52
So, in a way, sometimes doing these processes of setting goals makes you also realize like the reason you're inclined to watch that movie, it's because you need inspiration right now in your life.
40:00
And that is still like fulfilling.
40:03
It is not about you being like lazy, right?
40:04
And I think that's I never feel lazy even when I'm like chilling.
40:08
I think we talk about this a lot is like sometimes we need that time, right?
40:12
And that's like a part of scheduled time in a way that I know I need to replenish.
40:16
I never think of it as I'm being lazy.
40:19
I mean, our times are are so busy, but I think we have to think about what we need, not just professionally, and not just to like in obligation of other people.
40:28
It's also what we need to keep moving forward.
40:32
Yes, definitely, definitely.
40:32
And and that's what what I find so fascinating about what you just said is that we get lost in just how big it is, and it feels so heavy. Yeah.
40:46
And it feels so far, and it feels so out of reach that we just give up. Right.
40:51
And I'll give an example of something right now.
40:52
So, I'm at a stage where we're growing, and I really want to be a good leader, and that's something that's new to me in this world of work.
41:02
If I was a leader in the monastery, it was different to being a leader here. Yeah.
41:06
And so, my goal is to read a chapter a day of this book that I've been reading called The Culture Code, which is just a phenomenal book about that.
41:14
And I've been doing that.
41:14
When I was reading your book, I was feeling like I was growing in so many entrepreneurial ways. Right.
41:22
I was sitting here reading Life Pass when you sent it to me in advance, and I was like, "Oh, wow, like this is what I need to do with people.
41:27
This is what I need to do with time."
41:28
And so, your goal right now, if you have a passion, is just read Life Pass.
41:32
Like, literally, like no, genuinely, like that can be as simple as it is.
41:36
Like, you may say, "I've got a passion. I have a goal.
41:40
I want to build it into something real."
41:42
And when we say something real, it could be It doesn't have to be a a billion-dollar company.
41:46
It can mean something that takes care of me and my family, right? Like, it can be that. Yeah.
41:51
But then, apply what you're learning here, and your goal right now could just be, "I'm going to read a chapter of this book a day.
41:55
I'm going to read a chapter a week." Right.
41:56
"I'm going to read a chapter a month."
41:58
And and you break that down like that, you're going to start seeing these mindsets get into your psychology, and that's really what we're talking about here.
42:07
It's that it's psychological change. Exactly.
42:09
It's about creating a habit of doing this, right?
42:10
It's not about doing this once.
42:12
It's nothing's going to happen if, you know, we we all always talk about that.
42:15
You can't do something once.
42:17
It's about building a practice about how you also can trust yourself, right?
42:20
How you get into a place where this becomes about you being excited about it.
42:25
No, you know, goal-setting list should be a to-do list, right?
42:28
Nothing in your life should feel like a to-do list.
42:29
It should feel exciting like it's moving you forward, but you're the only person who can tell yourself that. Yeah.
42:34
Let's talk a bit about Zayn. Aw.
42:36
It was his It was his second birthday. so sweet. Aw, baby. Uh and he's so grown up.
42:43
I mean, he is so grown up.
42:45
I've watching him grow over the last 2 years.
42:47
Yeah, you you've had a you know, because of of the pandemic, it's great that he's had a good year.
42:51
Yeah, and I felt like the last 3 months he grew even more cuz I didn't see him because I was in London.
42:54
And I was just like, what?
42:54
I was like, he's so tall.
42:58
But, let's talk about what you're learning through motherhood because I think that that's a new chapter in your life.
43:06
It's a new new chapter, a new space, a new move for you, and it's like uh that requires different growth.
43:14
I mean, what have What are you learning personally from motherhood that you think you didn't learn from other things?
43:21
I mean, nothing prepares you for motherhood until you become a mother.
43:25
And obviously, there's a lot of changes that happened cuz COVID happened right when he was born, but I think outside of that, what I've had to really just be conscious of, once again, my time, which I always was, but even more so.
43:34
I think it was easier when, you know, I would feel guilt or not feel guilty about like going on an event or something.
43:40
It's really hard when you're like, "Oh, I just want to spend time with my baby," you know?
43:44
Uh so, there's there's hard times, but I love what I do.
43:46
I think it's made it more important for me to love the work I do, right?
43:50
Because I will always be an ambitious woman, and I want to, you know, I really think it's so important for for women to know they can always be ambitious at any point in their life.
43:59
You have to build a support structure around that is another thing I've learned, right?
44:02
Like, this is, you know, me and Nick talking. Nick is my husband.
44:05
Um you know, it's me and him talking about like what support structure do I need right?
44:09
structure do I need right? Like we have this book coming out it was that's why I like my family is here everyone because I'm like what you need support in order to do these things in our lives and I think a lot of times especially as women we don't know know how to ask for help and you know a baby is a 24/7 job and they're great you know, but you need to
44:27
be able to also know how to take care of yourself do the things that you still love or you will be you know, completely you know, just doing one thing the whole time and I think that's it's obviously you have to figure out your choice in that and then the last thing is like I think a lot of it comes down to also figuring out with expectations of society. I do think like there's a lot
44:45
I do think like there's a lot of things that still happen to mothers, you know, feeling like you should be doing this and that and maybe that's a blessing of covid is I just like wasn't around society that much.
44:55
So I think I just got to develop my own bond with my son in my way.
44:56
I you know, I wasn't around anyone else to be like is this the right way or wrong way and I think you know, I get I feel like a kid with him.
45:05
I think that's like my favorite favorite thing is you just play with him.
45:09
You know, and it's just it's just really beautiful to experience the world through his eyes, you know.
45:15
Yeah, it's beautiful to watch you guys together like I love seeing Zane like want to run away to you all the time, but it's like what I think is really healthy is you know, I I was on I was on Chelsea Handler's podcast last week and she does this segment where she invites people on from our audience to talk through their challenges and and someone came on and they were just being an honest mom like
45:34
they were just being honest and saying look I love my kid but I'm really struggling to find time for myself and I feel like I'm losing myself like I'm losing my identity and I was just like I was so happy to hear that honesty and that vulnerability and even what you're saying today it's like I still have to have my like I still have to find a way because I love my child but I still have me Yep. and you know, when
45:51
and you know, when I see Zane and it's like he loves music and and he loves dancing and it's like he obviously when he watches you is is being inspired The other day I think I was I had saw rehearsal and he came into my studio and then my mom was like, "What was mama doing in the in you know and he calls it my office?"
46:10
And he starts dancing you know he's like oh you know cuz and I'm like I'm really happy because I didn't grow up with that right?
46:16
I didn't grow up with someone being creative always around me and thinking like that's a way to live and I was thinking about that like I want him to feel like he could be anything in his life right?
46:27
life right? And and not force him to sort of live by a certain or certain path and I think that's really beautiful and and you know I I think in general for women and you know and I I obviously I think these last two years were personally actually harder for me because I had to work through these things and I haven't had to work work myself out of expectations and out of sort of structures of the world in so
46:49
long like I started class pass 10 years ago I was in it and I remember going back to and actually in a weird way like as I was writing this book it all was coming back to me too where I was 10 years ago to be like wow I need to break these boundaries again on expectations and I hadn't gone through that in a while so just kind of going back to that going back to a sense of the center right? Because I was on such a strong
47:09
Because I was on such a strong momentum my whole life and then I had a kid and I just realized I had to like rethink so much and recenter right?
47:16
And so in a weird way my own book even helped me you know I think that's like the beauty of these books is when you're writing them they they give back to you and I remember moments especially in the past you know few years where I was like, "Wow I remember the feeling of where I was 10 years ago."
47:30
And sometimes I feel like I'm right back there and I have to I'm going through all of this again and I think that's why it's so important to realize this is a muscle to work through constraints it is not and it's a mindset right?
47:42
It is not about okay I'm going to do it once and it's gone you have to constantly work through it and if you really care enough which is what we started with then you will you will find a way.
47:50
I love it and that's and that's why I think this is a book that people can read again and again and again because like you said as soon as you finish something or complete something, it's incredible how the constraints just come rushing back to the next phase of life.
48:03
And we keep putting new limits wherever we get to, and that's why when you were saying to us to drop your limits and rise to like that's something that we're going to do again and again and again.
48:13
And so whether you're someone at the start of your journey or whether you're someone who's had some success and achievement and then you're trying to find your way, you know, this book Life Pass will actually help you in all areas of that because it's the same thing we keep going through again and again and again. Piyush, you are amazing. I'm so grateful.
48:33
I am hoping that each and every single person goes and grabs a copy of Life Pass.
48:36
It's available right now.
48:38
We will put the link in the comments. Go and order your copy. Order one for a friend.
48:43
I also think it's just so one of the things that I loved when I moved here is that we've built such a beautiful community of South Asians in LA who've connected with each other just through genuine friendship and family.
48:58
And I feel so, you know, grateful to have that have that feeling because it's always nice being around people who share that culture and and share that heritage with you even though we grew up in different countries.
49:09
And you know, to to see you doing so well and to see you sharing your story.
49:14
And I know that it just comes from a place of wanting to help people.
49:17
And that's and that's why I'm recommending this book so much is because I know that in your heart it's like you only wrote it to help people.
49:25
Like that's the only reason.
49:25
I know that this journey of writing this book is hard.
49:29
Writing a book is not easy and you had a baby at the same time.
49:31
And it's like you and you're doing so many other things.
49:36
And so I know that you wrote this book only to help people. 100%.
49:40
I just want people the same way with ClassPass.
49:42
It's it's an extension of that, right?
49:43
It is an extension of the vision of ClassPass with helping people fight through anything in their life to live their dream.
49:49
And I feel like I have done that, and I I feel like I'm still doing that, and I never want any anything to stand in anyone's way. I love that.
49:57
Pyle, these are your final five, which are a rapid-fire round.
49:59
So, you have to answer in one word or one sentence maximum. Okay. All right.
50:05
Pyle, these are your final five.
50:06
Question number one, what is the best advice you ever received?
50:09
Best advice, to bet on myself.
50:12
What is the worst advice you ever received? To stop dancing.
50:18
I can't believe anyone ever said that. That's amazing. All right.
50:19
Third question, how would you define your current purpose?
50:24
To create timeless things. Ooh, I love that. That's beautiful. All right.
50:29
Question number four, what is something you used to value that you no longer value?
50:35
I used I know this sounds funny because I it's the sense of home.
50:37
Like, I think I've learned to not value I don't know. I don't value things.
50:42
Like, I just value I value like dance so much, especially in COVID.
50:47
And I know now now I'm not doing it one sentence, but I think COVID just made me realize how much it's not necessarily about, you know, the environment.
50:56
It's about having like the space to do what you love. I love that.
50:59
And fifth and final question, if you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
51:06
Don't ever sit at your desk for eight hours. Mm. Move. Move. Dance. Yeah, play. Do something. I love that.
51:13
Everyone, Pyle Kadaki, the book's name is Life Pass. Go grab your copies.
51:18
Make sure make sure you tag me and Pyle on Instagram.
51:21
Make sure you go and follow her if you don't already, and let us know what resonated, what connected.
51:27
This was a phenomenal episode, and I can't wait to see what you do next, Pyle.
51:31
I'm so excited and grateful to have you in our life, and I know that this is just the beginning of a new chapter, so Thanks so much, Jay. I appreciate it.
51:40
If you want even more videos just like this one, make sure you subscribe and click on the boxes over here.
51:44
I'm also excited to let you know that you can now get my book Think Like a Monk from thinklikeamonkbook. com.
51:54
Check below in the description to make sure you order today.