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Adventure Sports And It's Entrepreneurial Lessons Today let's start by asking some questions, to what extent are we prepared to venture beyond our comfort zone? Join the 4 am club and mountain climbing on the same day? Fight violent whitewater rapids down waterfalls? Are we willing to race against reality and risk our lives on every fast bend on dirty biking roads?

By Kavya Pillai

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Sylvain Mauroux

Today let's start by asking some questions, to what extent are we prepared to venture beyond our comfort zone? Join the 4 am club and mountain climbing on the same day? Fight violent whitewater rapids down waterfalls? Are we willing to race against reality and risk our lives on every fast bend on dirty biking roads? Most of us probably just shook our heads at everything on the list, and in all honesty, that is not embarrassing. Not all look to engage in such activities, although the majority of those who do so report significant and positive improvements in their lives. What struck our particular interest in adventure sports was the number of entrepreneurs seeking this thrill.

We spoke to four such entrepreneurs to understand the hype, experience and their journey in adventure sports. Starting with Ankit Agrawal the CEO & Co-founder of InsuranceDekho who recently went skydiving. Talking about his experience trying such a sport for the first time he said he would recommend the experience to other entrepreneurs immediately. He said, "As an entrepreneur, it is imperative to build a team that supports you through thick and thin. I would highly recommend entrepreneurs to indulge in such experiences that offer valuable lessons in teamwork, camaraderie, and perseverance, which are essential qualities in entrepreneurship." "Moreover, it provides a refreshing break from the mundane business routine and can inspire creativity and innovation," he added.

As for a more experienced adventure enthusiast like Tanya Swetta the CEO & Co-Founder of id8 Media Solutions, her outlook on life is that it is the "biggest adventure." Some of her go-to activities are Scuba Diving, Skydiving, and Skiing and marks "special occasions" for herself and her loved ones to create "memories trying something new." One of her lessons from the experiences has been while scuba diving, "I gained a better understanding of my body on a physical level while diving 12-15 feet under the ocean, I had to learn how to manage my internal body pressure to match the ocean's pressure and keep it in balance." Her advice for anyone starting out is "It's important to choose the right location, partner, and equipment, and to be prepared, as adventure sports can be dangerous but highly rewarding, fostering personal evolution and growth."

Anurag Iyer, the CEO of Big Bang Social shared, "I started my journey in extreme sports way back when I was in my 9th grade. When I did my first high-altitude trek, which was about 14,000ft above sea level." He added, "Have I been scared of trying something new? Of course, everyone has a little fear of trying something new. I was, of course, scared but have always been open and really excited to actually try new sports and new experiences because I think it's life-changing. My learning from these experiences actually is multifold." As for some of his lessons he shared, "It teaches you to focus and to be ready for any kind of challenge and be agile. For example, when we ride on the track at the kind of speed of racing that we do, the only thing that you have to be absolutely constantly focused on is your goal, which we call apex. Everything else around you, the surroundings, nothing matters. The only thing that you're aiming at is to hit your apexes. So I think the learnings I've had from these sports is one extreme focus."

Lastly, we spoke with Anshuka Parwani a celebrity Wellness Expert & Founder of Anshuka Yoga. Her time in flying school, rock climbing, skydiving and bungee jumping has always led to "invaluable lessons". We asked her if she was ever scared to try something. She said, "Scared would be the wrong word, but I've definitely been nervous before anything new that I've tried. And I think that nervousness just makes it more exciting, giving one an adrenaline rush." "All of my experiences and my adventures have taught me the importance of discipline, perseverance, risk-taking and adaptability," she added.

Another lesson for her was "about embracing failure because there are always some tiny hiccups along the way." "I also feel it's really helped me build confidence. So much serotonin, so much happiness and the ability to trust me, my gut, my strength, the decisions that I make, my communication and my leadership skills, and also really, really appreciate teamwork," she added.

Kavya Pillai

Former Correspondent

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