I received a very promising marriage proposal; one that my parents wouldn’t dream of turning down. I suddenly found myself not with a law degree but with a husband, a house to run, and a part to play.

And I played it well. From the outside, my life looked incredible: I had the perfect husband (kind-hearted and loving, as well as wealthy), two perfect children that I absolutely adored, diamonds, nice cars, brilliant holidays—the works!

And yet, I woke up many mornings wishing I hadn’t. As strange as it seems, I felt hollow and unfulfilled.

A voice in my head was screaming “Puja, there’s something more that you can be doing with your life!” It left me feeling guilty and ungrateful because, in so many ways, my life was wonderful.

When I could no longer ignore that voice in my head, I mustered up the courage to tell my husband that I couldn’t do it anymore. The extent of his support and understanding truly moved me – he wanted me to live out my dreams.

I took a Montessori course and opened a pre-school called Alps in 2006. It was my first professional success, and a few years and hundreds of kids later, I realised that counselling parents was my favourite part of the job. My other favourite pastime was reading self-help books, and that’s when it suddenly clicked that I wanted to help people who struggle the way I had.

I flew halfway across the globe in 2010 to attend Jack Canfield’s Breakthrough to Success, the first of many, many courses I would end up taking from the world’s best teachers like Tony Robbins and Brian Tracy.

In 2011, I launched Life by Design.

I woke up every day with a renewed excitement to live. I discovered that we could all live the life we desire. And ever since that realisation, there’s been no looking back. I’ve always believed that I’ve had a purpose. I fought the odds and embraced my life’s goal.