Fashion designer and humanitarian Anjali Phougat says, ‘I’ve reali sed there are no short cuts and hard work is the key to success’!

A successful fashion designer #AnjaliPhougat is also a cause based filmmaker and has been involved with humanitarian work. While she never imagined that some day she will be able to do so much, Anjali is happy how things shaped up for her.

“My life or career did not go as planned and I have realised that things take time. If you have passion and are talented, my advice is to keep going. My learning from my career so far is that one should never give up. No path is easy, one will always see hurdles and therefore going on is the key,” she says, adding to some extent luck does play a significant role in taking one ahead in life.

“But only luck cannot do everything. One should be hard-working, consistent and talented to accomplish something in life. Definitely luck plays an important role but luck cannot bring everything to the table. You need to be passionate to accomplish your dreams. More than luck, I believe in karma. I believe in getting things done on my own through hard work and sometimes smart work,” she adds.

Ask if she thinks a mentor is necessary and often helps one to progress and do better in their career, and Anjali answers in affirmative.

“A mentor is necessary for one’s career and it starts from the beginning of your childhood. I feel my parents are my mentors. My husband is also an amazing mentor in my life. I would have done nothing without his support and guidance. So, I absolutely agree your teachers, your parents and your partner can be your mentors and definitely learning is another journey where you learn from masters and different skill set holders. For everybody, a mentor plays a different role. For me, my biggest mentor is my husband who always showed me the right path,” she shares.

Speaking on her career goals, Anjali continues, “I feel I’ve accomplished quite a lot at a very young age by the grace of god. My fashion line is quite well known in Columbus, Ohio. Recently, I’ve got an invitation from the Cannes film festival. Especially during the pandemic, paving your way to such a grand festival is not an easy thing. But, I’ve bigger goals for my future. In the future I see myself expanding my brand to other US cities. Five years from now, I see myself as a successful entrepreneur guiding and mentoring youngsters, showing them the right path.”

For many, the pandemic made them rethink their career choices, while there are others who have reacted to the situation in a different way. Anjali shares her experience and understanding.

“The pandemic has given us a lot of self- love, introspect and focus more time on our goals, spending more time with family etc. It has also given us more time to rethink about the career journey, reshaping it into a better way. I agree this time has made many of us reshape our career. I feel sorry for those who lost their jobs, those who are unable to afford two square meals a day… Apart from trying to help a few such people in need, I pray for them and hope things get better soon. I also really hope that the economy will get better soon globally and people will find more jobs and more opportunities to pursue their passion,” she says.