​​[00:00:00 – 00:00:08] Nitin Bajaj

Everyone. Welcome to the industry show. I’m your host, Nitin Bajaj. And joining me today is Riaz Patel. Riaz, welcome on the show.

[00:00:08 – 00:00:09] Riaz Patel

Thank you very much.

[00:00:10 – 00:00:14] Nitin Bajaj

Great to have you here. Let’s start with the big question. Who is Riaz? There’s

[00:00:16 – 00:01:12] Riaz Patel

there’s two ways to answer that. One is, my profession is I’m a I’m a executive producer and director. I create television shows, specifically projects that transform, and shift people’s perspective. So done shows for almost every network, that create transformational experiences for real people. That’s my profession. A way I’ve started introducing myself that that leads up to what I do is I was I was born in one hemisphere and raised in the other. For much of my life, I would wake up in a Muslim house in a Christian world where I was sent to Jewish schools where everyone assumes I was Hindu because of my last name Patel. That I’m a guy, but being gay, I’ve never been one of the guys. I’m often with the girls, but I’m not one of the girls. It really is a a a strange way to live life where I’m always in the corner watching groups. And so that too I think that second explanation is more of who I am and the way I operate and see the world.

[00:01:12 – 00:01:43] Nitin Bajaj

I love that, and thank you for sharing that. Thank you for thinking about these dichotomies, if you will, that defined us and build the character with us. So looking forward to learning more and sharing more about you and your journey, the amazing one that you’re on. So tell us about ConnectEffect. What is it? And along with the mission, vision, what I’m most curious about is why do this? You could have done many different things. Why this and why now?

[00:01:44 – 00:04:05] Riaz Patel

So ConnectEffect is a startup that creates connection. The Connect Effect literally is if you can create the right connection, if you can optimize the connection between people, it opens up the doors to free honest conversation. And that kind of conversation is the foundation of community. That’s the ConnectEffect. Connection to conversation to community. And so what we do is we create that connection. We do it through an in person experience. It’s about fifty three minutes that we’ve took six years to develop that six that fifty three minutes. And it takes any audience of people, strangers, and connects them deeply meaningfully to one another in under an hour. It is used at colleges where young people find it hard to connect. It’s at conferences where people find it hard to meet meaningfully in network. We do it with an association with community health groups, large health care systems that realize that loneliness is a real health problem, mental health and physical health problem. And we do it at companies that say, with a work for home or whatever it is, we have no sense of teamwork. I did not realize when I started developing it. I started developing in 2016 that we would be where we are now. That after COVID, this idea of work from home and this lack of physical proximity would make it hard to connect when we even are in physical proximity. I tell people all the time, even if you bring people together, that doesn’t mean that they physically will they’ll actually connect. And it’s funny as you asked me to introduce myself. We realized after many years, the key to connection is often the introduction. And the way that we introduce ourselves doesn’t always lead to connection. Often, we’re introducing ourselves with our achievements. This is my very important job. This is my very nice shoes. Doesn’t lead to open ConnectEffect. I think we’re in an epidemic of isolation and loneliness. And so what we do is we come in, with a team, and we’ve created this entertainment experience. It’s designed to entertain. And the reason it entertains is because when you’re in an entertainment experience, you relinquish your ego in a way that if you’re in a workshop, if you’re in a deliberative debate, if you’re even doing an icebreaker, it’s very cerebral. And often that doesn’t permeate to create an emotional transformative experience, and this is designed. The visuals, the sound, everything is designed to create a transformative experience, an immersive one. And we’ve done thousands and thousands of people last year. And I can tell you in ‘1 this year, we’ve already surpassed what we did last year that

[00:04:05 – 00:04:06] Nitin Bajaj

Wow.

[00:04:06 – 00:04:46] Riaz Patel

Everywhere needs help connecting. Every company, every college, every place I go, there’s a lack of of ConnectEffect, meaningful connection. What I think is interesting is I find that we’re in an epidemic of loneliness, but we all know people. For some reason, we’re not talking to them. Whether it’s social media has allowed us to collect injustices, whether we’re I know young people are afraid to say the wrong thing because if it’s caught on social media, live forever. That the idea of connecting strangers is something I think could be the solution because there’s an unlimited resource That if you can meet people exactly where they are and connect them, that is a really meaningful way to help people be feel seen and heard.

[00:04:47 – 00:05:36] Nitin Bajaj

This is beautiful. I love this. And I think and you’re the expert here. One aspect of loneliness is that sense of belonging. And as you mentioned in your introduction, you have this lack of sense of belonging, but you do still belong. You’re the expert because you’ve lived through these experiences. And I’m glad that it’s you that came up with this and came to define this and understand and realize that there is a lot of loneliness. Kudos to you on helping people connect, reaching them where they are in their time of need. It is truly an epidemic and unfortunate one because in many ways, in, in all the technical definitions, we are more connected. The world is smaller. Mhmm.

[00:05:36 – 00:05:36] Riaz Patel

It

[00:05:36 – 00:05:42] Nitin Bajaj

has been for several decades now and it’s getting smaller, but it’s really getting apart. So

[00:05:43 – 00:07:34] Riaz Patel

It’s funny you say smaller because it’s not only getting smaller in terms of the interconnectedness that, you know, when you apply for a job, you have applicants from all over the world. They can submit. And so that’s one way, but also our lives are getting smaller that we’re staying at home. We’re reading things that we already agree with. We’re not making an effort to see each other, and we’re definitely not making an effort to go into spaces that feel uncomfortable where we think we can be judged. So everything is contracting. And we say often that there’s a lot of contact, but there’s not ConnectEffect. That you’ve contact with anyone, anywhere, anytime. I remember see hearing the movie, the title everything, everywhere, all at once, and I thought it was a documentary about this era of social media. I’m like, that’s true. It’s everything, everywhere, all at once. And that’s how ConnectEffect begins because we’re at this unprecedented friction point in the world that we are living our lives on a daily basis between two worlds. One is the real world. I’m physically here in a space. There’s a desk in front of me. There’s a little dog at my feet. But there’s also the screen world. And so we are living our lives between these two spaces, and we’ve confused them. And we think the real world the screen world is the real world, but anything you ever see on a screen is an edit, and we sometimes forget that. And we had fires in Los Angeles. And at that time, we needed to know our real world. Like, our neighbors, we needed that connection. No one from DC was coming to save us. So I keep wanting people to connect locally, to focus locally because that’s your real world. And I think we forget that because when we’re seeing everything everywhere all at once, we it’s overwhelming, and it burns through. Before breakfast, people have seen 45 tragedies around the world. How do you how do you mentally cope with that, especially if you’re younger? And so I think that idea of the world getting smaller is applicable not just to the world, but to our lives, specifically becoming smaller.

[00:07:34 – 00:07:47] Nitin Bajaj

So true. And one thing you mentioned that I wanna dig a little deeper on, because I remember that was one of my first questions to you. Fifty three minutes. Tell us the the logic, the thought process behind it.

[00:07:48 – 00:10:50] Riaz Patel

There there’s an underlying system to connect effect called epic. There’s been two Forbes articles about it. Forbes called it a game changer for those trying to break down walls and build bridges. It’s been referenced in seven books to date. I just got a copy of a book that someone’s made a chapter about it. So it’s a way of connecting. So epic is e is equalization. It’s the most important step when it comes to connection is equalization that you cannot really connect with someone if you don’t feel on a profound level that they are your equal, human to human, which is why so many attempts to bridge divides don’t work. Because secretly, in the back of our mind, we think we’re smarter, they’re less informed, and that inequality can be felt. And so the first thing we do, I’d say, in the first twelve minutes is we equalize the audience. So we do it in a very creative way that no one’s ever experienced before. It actually starts with a gesture. I think you experienced it. There’s a gesture that we tell people this will be yes, this gesture. Mhmm. And then we ask them a series of questions, yes, no. And so no one has to raise their hand, which people find very uncomfortable, but they just put their hand over their heart, and that becomes yes. And so it’s a way of showing the audience very beginning. Look at how much you have in common with these people that are not visually obvious. The next step of p is personalization. The only truth that we know in a world of infinite edits that are coming to our screens is the truth of our own lives. So the more you personalize, not this happened today in the news, but this is why in my life experience, this is important to me. The more you personalize your conversation, that is a solid foundation for connection. If you’re just talking about information that you’ve gotten from your screen, you’ll never you’ll talk up across purposes because there’s numerous edits of the same information. So EP personalization, eyes investigation is that we’ve lost the ability to really listen. I think we’re waiting to speak. It’s it’s when we’re overwhelmed by information. People feel like they always have to have something to say. They always know what’s going on. I always say the words I never hear from anyone is I didn’t know that. Everyone’s, oh, yeah. Yeah. I know that. And then they it’s investigation that when someone’s talking to really listen, to follow-up, I think for young people to get very overwhelmed with what are they going to say. And I always say don’t worry about that. You can’t know what you’re gonna say until the person is finished speaking. So investigation when someone is talking. And then finally collaboration. The great conversations are collaborative. Great relationships are collaborative. And so there’s an underlying system. And so what we do is when we connect people, about five minutes before we finish, we say, how do you feel about the people around you? And almost always, we’ve done this thousands and thousands of people. They’re like, I’m shocked by how deeply I feel ConnectEffect this person that I just met. And so we pull back the curtain and we reveal the trick. And we say, remember the beginning we did this? That was equalization. And then remember when we asked you guys this? That’s personalization. And so we ideally, when they leave, they know the magic trick to be able to replicate it in their own lives because that’s the point is that we’re trying to remind people. We say it’s a hard reset of humanity. When your computer’s on the fritz, you control alt delete. To a degree, our humanity is on the fritz. So what we’re doing in that time is we’re control alt deleting and resetting. Oh, wow. You’re a human being. In all these ways that you’re not just labels, you’re not an edit, you’re an actual human being, and that’s what we’ve hard resetting in that time.

[00:10:50 – 00:11:19] Nitin Bajaj

I love the system. It’s beautiful. I’ve seen it work, and it’s amazing. And I’m glad you’re taking it to thousands of people across, and I know millions need to get access to it. So kudos again to you and the team for doing the work you’re doing. Thank you. This is obviously a a challenge, and and we were just talking about this. The more the need, the more grave the situation is. But I would love for you to call out the biggest challenge you’re facing.

[00:11:20 – 00:11:21] Riaz Patel

In in my real world

[00:11:22 – 00:11:22] Nitin Bajaj

Mhmm.

[00:11:23 – 00:14:03] Riaz Patel

I think it is I would say it it it’s probably the isolation that I think even building something when we go back to back on Zooms, there’s no moment to process, and so it’s hard for things to stick. I can have a great meeting, Zoom with someone. Mhmm. And then I can see as it gets to fifty nine past the hour, their face fall, and they’re about to hit the stop button and then enter the new meeting. And so there’s no time for things to permeate. And I think that’s true of relationships. I think that’s true. It’s funny. You go through your feeds, and you’ll say, oh my god. Someone lost their father. You’ll type something. You go to the next one. Oh, that’s funny. Like, we’re not to go back and forth and back and forth through so many points of contact without that connection, I think we’re all feeling it. And I definitely feel I have two small children that are seven and eight. And I know when a lot of their friends come over, it’s can we watch TV? Can we get on the screens? And it’s no. I think that all pervasive ease of the screen world is a a universal friction point in all aspects of life. It’s a problem with parenting. I would definitely say scheduling play Patel is go back and forth and back and when people are so overscheduled that everything feels like it’s a heavy lift that is very little that’s just easy and effortless. And I think that’s really a a problem as we go through life to feel like everything just has so much coming at you every minute. I counted the other day. I think I have 17 apps that I need to check daily for my kids, for the girl scouts, for the boy scouts, for their teachers, for the homework, for various boards that I’m on, the networking app here, and then LinkedIn, and it just went to build anything. It’s funny. I create connection in the real world. My agent, my team is always they won’t know about you unless you get to them in the screen world. So it’s okay to social media for Instagram and TikTok. And it’s just it’s so much that I understand why at the end of the day, people are reluctant to do the work, quote, unquote, of putting themselves out there, which is why with ConnectEffect, from the moment you arrive at the door of an event we’ve entered, we welcome you, we greet you, and then we take you along. We show you exactly where to sit. We introduce you to people. All you do is follow along. It is so effortless that if you just follow along, you will end up. And it’s actually interesting. We got a feedback from a group of educators that work with neurodivergent stick kids who had come to ConnectEffect, and they found it was actually they were able to connect. And so the teachers came and said we had to experience it because we had all these kids who have such a hard time connecting because they can’t read the social cues. The EQ is very hard for them, and they just followed your system, your show, and they got to really know people and be seen and be heard. And so it it really is trying to make it as effortless as possible.

[00:14:04 – 00:14:07] Nitin Bajaj

Big challenge, but I’m glad you’re on it.

[00:14:07 – 00:14:08] Riaz Patel

You’re the

[00:14:08 – 00:14:17] Nitin Bajaj

best person to do this, so thank you again. Okay. On the flip side of challenges come opportunities, what’s the one that you’re most excited about?

[00:14:18 – 00:16:57] Riaz Patel

I think it is this moment where I think people are feeling that I call it the big show. DC media, Silicon Valley, it’s a big show, a multibillion dollar show. As I’m talking to people, I’m finding that they are now open to the idea that both sides to a degree are not looking after them. And I I this is not just in America. If you go around the world, there are many places where they also feel this division, algorithmically pushed division. And so I’m finding for a lot of people this burnout with believing that the screens are truth, that’s the way to go. And so I think as an opportunity to go back to an era of community, I think once America in particular for a large period of time has demonized religion, and I think that was a space where people would ConnectEffect third space, it’s called. First space is your home. Second space is your work. Third space was, you know, your church, your community center. That’s gone. The third space is gone. And the first and the second are combining into one. So I think opportunity wise, what we really wanna do with ConnectEffect. First step is delivered. We bring ConnectEffect to other people. Second is hosted in two counties, and now it’ll be three. In America, you can drop in on ConnectEffect every week at a local coffee shop where we’re there. We’re hosting. You can see us. And so the opportunity to reinvent that third space, that community center as an entertainment venue. And the reason it has to be entertainment is because it can’t feel like work. It can’t feel like it’s another thing to do. We have we have incredible long to do lists. And so I think for me, the opportunity to create the dream community where people come in of any background, any it’s funny. I find we’re very inclusive in America, I’ll say, of gender. We’re very inclusive of race. I don’t think we’re inclusive of age. I think as people become older, they’re very much sidelined in the Western world. And so I think one of the things with ConnectEffect we love is it connects across generations that you literally have a 15 year old and 92 year old really seeing and engaging each other in meaningful ways. All their other interactions are, I’m gonna volunteer for the old people. I’m gonna it it’s not as equalized. And so I think there’s a new opportunity to create community that doesn’t follow the lines it used to where the Christians went to church and the Muslims went to mosque that a really fully inclusive open community of, I’m just a person. We all live near thousands of people that we know we won’t normally meet, that we find spaces to meet. That’s what I’m most excited about.

[00:16:58 – 00:17:00] Nitin Bajaj

Me too. I’m looking forward to that.

[00:17:00 – 00:17:01] Riaz Patel

Yes.

[00:17:01 – 00:17:25] Nitin Bajaj

Now as we talk about the future, I would love to pause and reflect and, ask you to share two moments from your personal or your professional career where, one, things did not work out as you had expected. There was failure. There were lessons. And another one where things exceeded your own expectations and, became a success beyond your imagination.

[00:17:26 – 00:21:58] Riaz Patel

Oh, I’ve got two. The first one would be my initial role in entertainment was in scripted film. And so I ran the company that produced a film called Gosford Park. It went on to be nominated for an Oscar. It won an Oscar for best screenplay. And so I received funding for a scripted film production company, and I negotiated with this home and office security company in Memphis, Tennessee for a year to get them to agree to fund this scripted film production company. And finally, we agreed paperwork was being signed, and they were flying to New York. I lived in New York City at the time, to sign the deal. And they said, let’s go out for dinner. And so I was getting ready for dinner, and I got a text saying the flight is delayed. Can we do breakfast the next morning? That was 09/10/2001. September eleventh happens, obviously, first thing in the morning in New York City. What is going on? Home and office security company with clients including American Express that are in the towers. So immediately, it’s, okay. We’re just gonna hold, figure out what’s happening. And then 23 later, they say, we have no idea what the world’s gonna be. We could be engaged in a war now. We’re gonna pause all of our investments. And so I’d already hired some people with seed money. So I had people who’d left their jobs to come to this company that no longer had funding. It was the most dark period of my life, not only because I was downtown in New York City and the smell was like nothing I can ever express, but that everything I worked for disappeared overnight through no fault of my own. And so I did what I could to try and liquidate my savings to give these guys rent to pay. And about six months later, I had lunch with a friend who had gone to AMC at the time in network, and he was hired to create reality shows. And so we’re having lunch, and I said, what about this? People have a fantasy based in a movie. Why don’t you train them to become the fantasy? I could be James Bond. Okay. We’ll train you to be James Bond. I could be Indiana Jones. Okay. We’ll train you, and then we’ll film it on film 35 millimeter film like the movie. And so he called me the next day and said, my boss wants to meet you. And I was like, oh, no. That was for you. I I don’t know anything about producing TV. And he said, do you want me to cancel the meeting? And I was like, no. Don’t. And this is before YouTube. And so I spent the weekend. Okay. How do you make a TV show? How would I set up the cameras? Ended up having the meeting. They gave me a very small amount of money to to film a pilot presentation, and they loved it and picked it up. And so I became a showrunner, executive producer without ever working my way up. In reality, creating shows that made people’s dreams come true. And that is where I found my life’s purpose. That for the next fifteen, twenty years, I created shows that authentically changed real people for the better. None of that would have happened if I’d received the money from the production company and September 11 hadn’t happened. So it was one of those times that I remember literally waking up feeling nauseous. I remember being sick throughout the day. What was happening? It was a dot com bust, the war, and I was like, this is the worst time in the world to start a company. And yet it ended up giving me the path that I know now is not just entertainment, but entertainment that really impacts, which is my life’s work. So that was one where everything dark turned better. The one where something good, I was offered a show. It was a makeover show, and I remember thinking the way people dress is an extension of the way they see themselves. And so I fought the network that I really want to make a show where we address the underlying psychology, and we created the segment called the psych of style, the psychology of style that would debunk the way someone saw themselves, whether they saw themselves as too heavy or too clothes aren’t important or whatever it is, some extension of the way they see the world in themselves. And I fought and fought, and they just weren’t on board. They’re like, just make a good makeover show before and after. And I was like, no. I think people need to know why they’re doing this. It was this whole fight that went on for weeks and weeks. I thought they were gonna replace me. They didn’t. They picked up 13 episodes, and it was nominated for an Emmy. And I remember that day where I woke up and all these emails. I’m like, what is going on? And the network threw this party for me and was like, we we were it’s our first nomination. And I remember thinking none of you believed in this show. None of you wanted to do it my way. And yet this small network at the time had an Emmy nomination, and we got another one the next year. We lost both times to Martha Stewart, by the way, which doesn’t seem fair because I’ve never been in prison. So why we’re on equal footing didn’t make sense to me. But it was a big moment that I really believed in something, and they didn’t. And it ended up going beautifully. We ended up shooting 72 episodes. It launched in five continents. There was an Australian version. There was an Asian version. And it was all from this idea that let’s take what’s a normal makeover show and really make it go deeper into the way people see themselves. So that’s my second one.

[00:21:58 – 00:22:20] Nitin Bajaj

That is so beautiful. First off, congratulations on both those. And bringing home the point that in adversity is really where we go deeper into ourselves and hopefully find purpose. And we just have to stay the course, be relentless and persistent. So you’re a true testament

[00:22:20 – 00:23:28] Riaz Patel

to that. Think quiet. I think in a world where we’re constantly scrolling and going back to back with meetings and emails, we’re never caught up. Like, there’s never caught up. I don’t know about you, but it’s never caught up where there’s not red notifications that I’m just gonna ignore. But the the real downside of that is we don’t get a moment to really reflect. I I don’t even mean meditation. Like, really just think. That’s where great ideas bubble up. I really think that anything I’ve ever created has happened from silence at some point. And so I think in those moments of adversity, the temptation is to just keep scrolling, going down deeper deeper into the rabbit hole. I always think, okay. Got it. Take a step back, and then just look at the real world around you. What can I do? What can I try? What can I change? And from that comes the Patel. And I never knew where I would end up. And even when I started ConnectEffect at twenty sixteen, I had no idea. For years, my agents were like, what are you doing? And I’m like, I don’t know. But I think there’s something here. Just one foot in front of the other. There’s so much to be gained by trying. Just trying. You could fail. It could not work, but the effort always has a way of paying back.

[00:23:29 – 00:23:33] Nitin Bajaj

So true. And I wanna take a step aside.

[00:23:33 – 00:23:33] Riaz Patel

Mhmm.

[00:23:33 – 00:23:47] Nitin Bajaj

And, obviously, you’re very passionate about this, but I would love to know if there are things you do to just step back and, you know, do some pausing and reflecting? And what are those things?

[00:23:48 – 00:25:36] Riaz Patel

So there are a few things. I would say every morning when I wake up my kids, there’s a very large beanbag in their room where we we read together. We have morning snuggles. And so I get up first thing. I wake them up. They groggily come over to the bean Bajaj, and we sit there in in silence. And we just either we’re quiet. Sometimes the dog comes over and finds his way in. And we’re just there. And we’re taking deep breaths. And I tell them think about your day and what’s, you know, what you’re excited for. And so there’s always, like, this ten to fifteen minutes of silence where we’re half awake, half not, where we’re just holding each other. And I think that’s a really beautiful way to start the day where, you know, it’s passive, but it’s quietly reflective. Mhmm. I love conversation. I love when I travel next to someone and assuming engaging that this person’s okay being talked to. Just trying to get a sense of the way they live the world and see the world. I always think anything I ever learned about the world, I don’t think that comes from screens. It comes from Uber drivers. It comes from people I’m sitting next to. And so I think a really good way, and I feel this often when people, especially young people, feel overwhelmed by the thoughts in their own head, is then get into someone else’s head Mhmm. And really understand the way they see the world. And there’s so much to be gained there. So I think in my overthinking mind, often when I’m traveling, my intention is to meet someone and just see the world their way. And that really does bring down the overthinking, and it allows me to know that that I’m one of many parts to this chain, this world. There’s only one there are many ways to live life. This this life we have in America is one specific way, very focused on productivity. But there are many other ways to live life, and I think that gives me pause and reflection when I really get to know someone and see the world through their eyes.

[00:25:36 – 00:25:41] Nitin Bajaj

That’s a great hack. I’m gonna try it, and I’m traveling, so I’m gonna put it to use pretty quick.

[00:25:41 – 00:26:30] Riaz Patel

Yes. I know you’re gonna be on long planes. And that’s that’s what ConnectEffect does is we always have people you sit in a pod with three people you don’t know. And the way we arrange people, we make sure that you’re sitting with people you don’t know. And the whole idea is if you connect to these people deeply in fifty three minutes, you can connect to anyone. And the whole idea is they really do see the world through each other’s eyes, which I think is a real solution to the mental health crisis. Because I think people are very much in their heads, in their space, in their world, on their screens, and it feels bottomless. And I think when you connect to someone in a meaningful way, you really feel the sense of community, which is why we’re here on this earth, this community. And so I think that’s what we’re trying to do that I felt it had benefited my life throughout my life, and I wanna recreate it in the most easy entertaining way for people because I think that sense of community is the most needed thing.

[00:26:31 – 00:26:36] Nitin Bajaj

I agree. A book or a podcast that, you want to recommend?

[00:26:38 – 00:27:32] Riaz Patel

A book that I used to give people is Stolen Lives. It’s a nonfiction book written by I think her name was Malika Okafor. She was the daughter of an army general in Morocco, and there was a coup. And her father was either in prison. I can’t remember. But she and her brothers and sisters were imprisoned for fifteen, twenty years. And it’s one of those stories of resilience, of how life comes at you through no fault of your own, of what do you do when everything you’ve known is taken away. And I found one of the most beautiful stories of human resilience. It reminds me of Elie Wiesel’s work from the holocaust. I I find and she’s beautifully Patel it wonderfully, but you really do see what the capacity of a human being is. And I find it a book that everyone should read.

[00:27:32 – 00:27:44] Nitin Bajaj

Well, thank you for that recommendation. Now onto my favorite part of the show, we call it one line life lessons. And I’m very excited to hear your one line life lessons.

[00:27:45 – 00:29:08] Riaz Patel

So a few of them. And I think I’ll use, if I can, quotes that I think about. One is when people show you who they are, believe them. It’s what I’ve always believed. I’ve always seen. And as I get older, I think it’s so true. When people show you who they are, believe them. Buddha said, all that we are is a result of what we thought what we’ve thought. I think that is absolutely true. There’s a line from a musical that I loved, Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, and I actually had it printed in my yearbook. If you know what you want, then you go and you find it and you get it, and you give and you take and you bid and you bargain or you live to regret it. That was it’s always been getting into Hollywood when I come from generations of doctors. That was really a guiding principle for me was really going after what you want. And another one, Brene Brown, is if you own this story, you get to write the ending. That I think that we are in an era where people feel to a degree someone else is to blame, and to a degree that may be true, but I don’t think that empowers you to be able to change your situation. And so the more you own your story, the more you determine the ending. And I really think that I take responsibility for everything in my life. Even when I’ve been wronged, there’s nothing I can do about that, but I think that’s probably another one that I really believe

[00:29:09 – 00:29:42] Nitin Bajaj

1. Love that. Riaz, thank you so much for sharing your journey, your story, your life lessons, but most importantly, for doing what you’re doing. It’s a great service to the community, something that we really and desperately need, in today’s time and age. So thank you for being you. Really appreciate you and, continued great wishes for success. We’d love to bring you on and talk about more of these stories and journeys that you’ve been able to unlock for us.

[00:29:42 – 00:29:48] Riaz Patel

I would love that. I would love that. And thank you for such a thoughtful conversation. Such a thoughtful conversation. Thank you.