In Conversation with #EatMyNews

Sonal B Chhibber - Define Success on Your Own Terms, Achieve It by Your Own Rules, and Build a Life You're Proud to Live (Global Indian Influencer)

"Living life on own terms" means the ability to live a life that is meaningful and fulfilling to you. It means being able to enjoy quality time with your family, while also having a purpose-filled career that provides financial freedom.

It also means having the time, freedom, and flexibility to pursue the things that matter most to you. "Never give up on your dreams. It’s difficult to wait, but it is more difficult to regret."

1. Tell us about your background and journey.

Hi all, I am Sonal B Chhibber. I am an Author, Motivational Speaker, Travel Blogger, Wellness Influencer, Authorpreneur, and most importantly a Mother. I am an Indian ex-pat living in Dubai for the past 13 yrs with my husband and 3 lovely kids.

Educationally, I have a degree in Business Management and Teaching and had a successful career in the corporate & educational sector, before taking a career break to balance out my family life. While I love being at home & spending quality time with my family, still a side of me was looking to venture out.

That is when I decided to pursue my passion for writing. After winning a writing contest by Khaleej Times, my inputs started getting featured in reputed newspapers, magazines, websites, books, radio, TV & blog portals in Dubai, India, UK, the USA, and South Africa.

This got me much needed appreciation, acknowledgment, and respect. So, with encouragement from my family, I decided to follow my dreams and #BustAMyth that women who have taken a career break are less ambitious or committed to their work.

As I enjoy writing, communicating, and connecting with people and love to pen down my thoughts, I started my personal blog to share my inputs & experiences, and unleashed my passion for becoming an Author and released my books, and became a renowned Writer.

My favorite self-authored book has been 'Living life on your own terms'. This ideology is the basic foundation of my life as I truly believe in living life on my own terms and encourage others to do the same. I believe in live & let live. I seek to inspire and empower all, especially women.

2. What led you to start your page on Instagram and what is it about?

Well, I always believe when you discover something wonderful, one must share it with others, hence, I decided to share my life's journey, milestones, and lessons with all, especially women, so that moms like me get encouraged to fight back & not give up their dreams after marriage, kids & career break.

So, the basic idea to start my blog @sonalbchhibber was to inspire and promote women from all walks of life across the world. My motto is to empower and support women globally. I write regularly about women empowerment, parenting, ex-pat life, self-care, beauty, wellness, fashion, relationship, mindfulness, spirituality, and travel.

I'm passionate about writing, traveling, teaching, wellness & being 'The Changemaker of Society.' I try to give my 100 % in everything and never give up. I have always lived the way I want and stand for the right issues, no matter what.

So, via my blog, I hope strong women join me on this amazing journey and together we create magic & sweet memories!

3. What are you currently doing and What does your day look like?

Pandemic has adversely affected our lives in many ways. Still, I try to stay positive & do my best. Currently nominated for the Best Writer/Poetess Award, Best Blogger Award, Best Model, Social Media Star award, Change Maker of the year award, Travel blogger award, Wellness Icon Award, Most FashionableInfluencer award, UAE, etc.

Looking forward to attending Filmfare Social night as I'm nominated for awards in many categories & be a special guest at Entrepreneur India's Influencer Summit and Awards'2021. Also, currently, I'm working on my new book, 'Sonal's Travel Notebook'...13 countries in 13 years.

As an influencer, I'm working with various leading brands in the Lifestyle & Fitness segment in Dubai. A staunch believer of the “women empowering women” principle, through my blogs and social media, I'm striving to support and empower moms all over the globe.

Along with my books & philanthropy work, I plan to share more blogs on traveling and make my viewers see different places across the world through my eyes virtually, as due to Covid19, we all are facing restrictions in regards to travel.

Also, many motivational videos will be uploaded on my youtube channel 'Sonal Shines' to motivate people of all ages & zones. The idea is to create empathy and give back to society & uplift people in these difficult times by inspiring and empowering them.

4. Who is your favorite creator and why?

I follow many digital content creators and appreciate the hard work done by each one of them, so it would be unfair to choose any one creator among them, as I believe all are winners & equally successful in their own spheres.

5. How and where do you find inspiration to churn out content?

I think it’s essential to find inspiration from your own life and spiritual experiences.

Having been an avid traveler, I observe places, people, surroundings, real-life incidents, deep conversations & divine connect with nature; to form my opinions & thoughts, which helps me to churn out meaningful & relevant content in form of inspirational poems, motivational articles, empowering videos, travel & wellness blogs, exemplary books, etc.;

This connects my followers, readers & subscribers to my social media accounts and helps me build a personal & long-term relationship with them as I've learned 'people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'

6. What is your idea of success or your mantra in life?

“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you're proud to live.” I believe in being yourself and living life the way you want and get success on your terms.

It's tough but achievable! Living life on your own terms means having purpose and fulfillment in your life, as well as having freedom and flexibility to do what matters most to you. "Never give up on your dreams. It’s difficult to wait, but it is more difficult to regret."

7. Which is your favorite book and why?

My all-time favorite book is, ‘You Can Heal Your Life’ by Louise Hay. This book is a true masterpiece. As soon as I started reading it, I felt a sense of calm & purpose in life.

This book focuses primarily on our thoughts pattern & how we can change our life by thinking positive thoughts & having a good mindset. Louise’s key message in this powerful book is: “If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed.”

Louise explains how limiting beliefs and ideas are often the cause of misery, and how we can change our thinking and improve the quality of our life.

For me, the most vital idea which struck my mind while reading her book was to re-examine our own thoughts and re-discovering that ‘No matter what the problem is, it comes from our thoughts, and the solution lies in changing our thought patterns.’ It’s as simple as that!

The very fact that ‘We control our thoughts and our thoughts don’t control us’ is an empowering statement for me. It’s rightly said, ‘Focus on what matters, & let go of what doesn’t.’

I’m quite an avid reader and love to read many self-help and motivational books, which lead me to discover my spiritual path and calling, but this one for me was just the right one at the right time.

I was so inspired by this book, that I feel everyone should read it and benefit from it like I have. The idea is to search and share things to help and empower all in this human journey called ‘life’!

8. What is the future of influencing on social media going to look like according to you?

Today, social media holds massive power in educating, inspiring as well as entertaining people. This has increased the opportunity for many creators and influencers to engage with their fans with their unique content.

Apart from creating content, influencers also use social media platforms to network and stay updated with the upcoming trends. Nowadays, there are many virtual events to connect and bring influencers, bloggers, and creators who love to share a part of themselves on social media, together.

There are many events for appreciating creators and influencers for their hard work with prestigious awards. Recognizing and encouraging those who stand out in this booming industry of content creation is now imperative! Back in the olden days, only real influencers or role models, were the few selective Movie stars and Sportsmen, because, no one else was that big.

Over the last few years, with the advent of social media, almost every one of us wants to be and is a potential influencer at some level.

Imagine so many influencers influencing the young generation in so many ways! 'With great power comes great responsibility’, so I feel privileged to be called at events as a speaker & motivator for new and budding entrepreneurs & Influencers to network and grow.

In my opinion, Dubai is a 'land of dreams' and an ideal place to grow & prosper for all influencers & creative people. I would say the future of influencing on social media is quite bright & influencers are here to stay! Thank you @eatmynews for counting me as a global achiever and giving me this wonderful opportunity to share my influencer journey with my viewers. Time to rise and shine!

Instagram Handle - @sonalbchhibber

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Sonal B Chhibber is an Indian-born and Dubai-based social media influencer and founder of 'Sonalbchhibber' lifestyle blog, which is now considered one of the most loved Lifestyle blogs in Dubai.

Sonal is the Winner of SHE Best Writer/Poetess Award, Best Blogger & Most Fashionable Influencer Award, Best Model award & currently nominated for prestigious Filmfare Changemaker of the year, Travel Blogger & Wellness Icon Awards, UAE.

Her articles and blogs have been published in various digital publications in the UK, USA, South Africa, India, and the Middle East. As an influencer, she has worked with various leading brands in the Lifestyle & Fitness segment. A staunch believer of the “women empowering women” principle.

Through her blogs and social media, she especially strives to support and empower moms all over the world! She is an acclaimed writer and exemplary motivational speaker too. She is known for her literary, travel, fashion, and lifestyle content.

Along with books and beauty, she shares her blogs on traveling and makes her viewers see different places across the world through her eyes. She is the new age social media star predominantly on Instagram. She inspires and promotes women from all walks of life across the world.

Her motto is to empower and support women globally. Writing is her passion. She believes it's never too late to begin and make your dreams into reality. Her dream is to leave a noteworthy legacy behind, as she believes one should contribute to society, much more than one takes from it.

She wants to motivate & encourage women, help those who need to find themselves, and pursue their passion in life. That's her mission of life now!"

Sonal B Chhibber

Multi Award-winning Author, Motivational Speaker & Digital Content Creator

Youtube Channel -'Sonal Shines'