[1.1] 12 About 12: Brinda Sharma
Getting stuck in a hailstorm, moving to Dubai, and prioritizing herself
Hi!
This โ12 about 12โ series is simply 12 facts about 12 people who have managed to make a life of travel. Each story is broken down into four parts:
Origin: how did they start traveling?
Grind: what did they sacrifice?
Breakthrough: when did they go big?
Scale: what are they making of it now?
At the end of each email, I compress my takeaways from the traveler into just one thing to remember.
Have an amazing week!
~ Atom
#1
First up! Brinda Sharma. ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ณ
I wanted to feature Brinda first because her background produces the most unlikely of travelers. Born in a very conservative part of India as a woman and in a family of limited means, her story is the epitome of passion and dedication.
Origins
Brinda grew up in a school with kids who frequently traveled with their parents.
She also grew up with parents were neither as affluent nor as liberal. Travel was hardly normal at this time, especially for women.
Nevertheless, Brinda was a passionate kid who loved being outdoors. To make travel happen for herself, she chose a college with a campus surrounded by mountains. Her main goal was independenceโto travel for herself and by herself.
This did not happen for her until her 5th semester. Realizing time in the mountains was running out, she brought together 11 friends to climb Triund, a small hill station at the foot of the Dhauladhar ranges, 2,828 meters above sea level.
High on her independence and the breathtaking views that followed the hail storm that met them at the peak, Brinda decided immediately she needed to travel full time. โI loved the feeling of responsibility,โ she shared in her TED talk.
Grind
Brinda graduated from college in 2017.
She researched endlessly until she got in contact with star photographer, Anunay Sood. In exchange for Brindaโs support in managing his social media, Anunay offered Brinda a sponsored trip to Spiti, a high-altitude region of the Himalayas famous for its natural beauty and cultural heritage. Her dream trip.
By March 2018, Brinda moved to Dubai with Anunay to expand their list of clients. This was not met kindly by her immediate community. It was not common for single women in India to move to another country.
In many ways, by this time Brinda had achieved what she set out to do. But she was not comfortable with this form of traveling, where work interrupted her trips and income was unstable.
So, she looked for a job. In August of 2018, she was offered a full-time role with GSK. Rather than end her travel, this was her breakthrough
Breakthrough
All weekends were booked and all leaves were filed come 2019. Together with Anunay, Brinda visited a total of 12 countries, while her Instagram following soared to 300k ++ followers.
With a growing audience, Brinda discovered multiple new income streams including brand sponsorships. Brinda now has 819k followers on Instagram and continues to travel the world full-time.
THE ONE THING
Prioritize yourself!
Stop killing yourself for your job. You are more than your title.
Never forget your passions. Never forget your goals. Never forget what you enjoy doing. Never forget yourself.
If you have leaves, then donโt be afraid to take them.
And take them all! Theyโre for you to take after all.
Source: From a 9-5 job to 24ร7 travel | Brinda Sharma | TEDxJMC