BE HONEST AND MOVE TOWARDS SOMETHING MEANINGFUL: MOHIT CHOBEY

Mohit Chobey is a business leader, TEDx speaker, a competitor in the Ironman competition, and the writer of “1000 KMs to Leadership”. Starting with the story about his writing, he shared, “I have been informally writing, in terms of blogs, but I think the formal process of getting into authorship happened pretty recently. I had a plethora of writings, in which I had put together many of the experiences in terms of how I saw myself evolve as an individual, a human being, and the process of becoming an endurance athlete.”

Elaborating more on that experience, he said, “One of the most impactful events which happened to me was when I undertook this journey to South Africa, and participated in something called the Comrades Marathon. It’s more than 100 years old and the largest and possibly the biggest ultramarathon in the world with 90 km of distance (covered) over 12 hours.” “During the process, the way I evolved, I think the articulation of those feelings was something very difficult. Over the years, I kind of put together my thoughts, and eventually, it forced me to come out with a book—it is actually a series of three, this is just the first in the trilogy—called “1000 KMs to Leadership.”

Mohit comes from an Army background and reflects their resilience. “I think genetics always plays a role. The environment in which you’re brought up makes a difference for me too, since my father donned the uniform for 38 years, and I’ve been to some very interesting escapades and adventures along with him. He was a national-level hockey player and I think to that extent, at least, the athleticism and the sports element was ingrained in me. Very early in my life, sports became an integral part of me. So, it will be apt to say that it was part of my upbringing, which helped me become an athlete,” he shared.

Chobey added, “Some other traits which also developed because of the fact that I resided in different cities and went to different schools. That allows a certain amount of versatility and adaptability. And I think that helped me become a much better and stronger business leader and be able to manage situations much better.”

Thus, while growing up, Mohit Chobey was able to soak in the metropolises of India as well as get an insight into what rural India or Bharat is all about. Talking about the same, he said, “My first few years in the corporate world were with FMCG companies and they further ensured that my understanding of India was not limited to the metropolis, but to the last mile, to the hinterland and the villages. And it is a matter of fact, that this entity, this nation of ours, is actually a conglomeration of different aspects. You have to dive deep into it, dwell into it, to really get a holistic understanding of the nation. And I think, early in my career, that’s something which happened to me. I’m very grateful for that.”

Not too many knew of the Ironman competition before Milind Soman completed it. Involving a 3.8-kilometre swim, typically in open water, followed by a 180-kilometre bike ride and culminating in a full marathon of 42.2 kilometres, the challenge covers an overall distance of 226 kms, in anywhere between 15 and a half to 17 hours, depending on the terrain. “For me, I think the trigger point came after I became a fairly serious endurance athlete in the running space. I was exposed to the idea of Ironman and, as I believe challenges help us evolve as individuals, this is something which I was really looking forward to. I knew it was not really my domain, because swimming in the open water takes you into a different level altogether. I’ve tried to capture some elements of it in my second book, but the challenge is something which I thrive on,” said Mohit.

Mohit Chobey is also a business leader and has been a TEDx speaker too. He also ended up writing an article on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “It’s called ‘Opportunity in Adversity’. Too many times we end up getting so overwhelmed by the change in fortunes and situations that we do not see the opportunity which it presents. To put it into perspective, I could come up with my book because of Covid. I’m not undermining the kind of global impact it has had. The fact of the matter is: It created a certain time availability,” he shared.