August 19, 2025 • 28 mins
What happens when you leave decades of corporate success to follow a mission that moves your soul?
Top YouTuber Jen Hardy from the "Fabulous Over 50" podcast interviews the host, Yogesh "Yogi" Patel, on his own podcast, sharing more of his journey from tech sales at Apple and Dell to creating YoggNation: The Spirit of Gratitude podcast.
💡What you will Learn
- How personal challenges can spark life-changing purpose
- Strategies for turning rejection into opportunity
- The role of gratitude and presence in everyday resilience
🔑 Key takeaways:
- Adversity can be transformed into inspiration for yourself and others
- Vulnerability and authenticity strengthen personal and professional impact
- Chasing tranquility leads to a more balanced, meaningful life
Listen now to discover practical wisdom, inspiring stories, and a fresh perspective on overcoming challenges.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Yoga Nation, the Spirit of Gratitude
podcast on the One Integrationplatform.
Hello friends, my name isYogesh Patel and this podcast
explores the themes of bullying,self-awareness and the power of
our inner spirit, including thesilent battles we all face.
Join me every week as I invitehigh-profile guests, as we
explore how adversity shapes us,how gratitude lifts us and how
(00:24):
we can all uncover the innerstrength that we all have within
ourselves.
Join the conversation.
I appreciate you listening in.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Today I have got someone with an incredible story
for you, and I brought him toyou for a reason because there
are so many of you that thinkabout doing what he's done, and
it was a very brave thing to do.
So I would like him to tell hisown version of the story.
So thank you so much, Yogesh,for joining me today here on
Fabulous Over 50.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Thank you, jen, wonderful to be here and hello
to your audience.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
And if you could start out by saying who is
Yogesh?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Oh, great question.
So I always like to start outby with a little joke.
Why did and I go by Yogi, bythe way so why did God create
Yogi Bear?
Because he made a boo-boo.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I'm sure that for the audience over 50, you know
exactly the cartoon that I'mtalking about.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
But, jokes aside, who I am is?
Well, let's start out by myself.
Yogesh Patel yogi chasestranquility, that calm,
undisturbed mind that just triesto be balanced in all facets of
my life.
However, the podcast that Istarted August of last year,
(01:50):
2024, yoke Nation, the spirit ofgratitude.
That person has the size of aneagle as large as the United
States, and so it's a delicatedance between who I am and who I
project at any given moment intime.
Am I, am I more yogi?
Yogesh patel yogi or am I moreyog nation?
(02:11):
That's who I am.
So I've got an alter ego.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I love that, though, because I feel like a lot of us
do.
Right, we have this person onthe inside that just wants to
get out and speak a little bitmore, and you have found a
platform to be able to do that,which is incredible.
But it's the way you, thedirection you took in getting to
this platform, that I reallystood out to me, because you did
something a lot of people wantto do.
(02:38):
You, you set a goal foryourself and you said you know
what, I'm over here and I'm verysuccessful over here, but now I
want to be over there.
So you know what I'm going todo.
I'm going to do it, and youknow there's not a lot of doers
out there, and you are a doer.
You made a choice and you'redoing it.
Can you tell people what youwere doing and what you decided
(02:59):
to move over to, because I findyour story so compelling.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Thank you.
So I spent nearly 30 years ofbeing in high-tech sales, having
worked at companies like Appleand Dell and startup
organizations as an enterpriseaccount executive, and how this
vision of the podcast began waslooking at my daughter's
(03:26):
struggles being bullied inmiddle school because she has
Tourette's.
She's 21 next week, oh mygoodness.
But in middle school, thosewere probably the most toughest
of years.
She was made fun of, teasedkids pulling her hair I don't
know why they do that in middleschool, but yet they do.
And you know, as a result of ofthe building that she
(03:49):
experienced in middle school,she was able to, uh be a writer
of two books, because writingwas always one of the things
that calmed her ticks down,because she was really focused,
and so she wrote two books, uh,bringing awareness to tourette
syndrome and bringing awarenessto bullying, the second book
being a number one release onamazon when it first came out,
(04:10):
uh, titled the terrible bullies,and the book terrible was in
quotations because you find outthat, well, she has three
messages.
Number one that the personthat's being bullied- you know,
have the courage to stand up andstick up for yourself, find
those resources that can helpsupport you.
Number two was for the personthat is being the bully here
have the awareness that whatyou're doing, you're saying, is
(04:33):
harming the individual.
Stop it right, karma's going toget you.
And the third I think is mostimportant is what terrible is in
quotations, because you findout that all bullies are not
terrible.
And so those are the threemessages that she shared in her
second book.
And you know, beyond just thebullying experiences and the
adversity that she had toovercome psychologically and
(04:53):
emotionally she also worked atthe Ritz-Carlton for a year.
It's like how does a kidgranted, she's our daughter, the
way that Ami and I had raisedher how does a kid, going
through this emotional trauma,set out to do these things in
spite of this adversity that shefaced?
And so I happen to believe thatyou know, over time, as she
(05:13):
grew into a maturing adult, it'sthe resolve, it's the
resiliency and it's her owncharacter that she developed
with these bullying experiencesthat she had to overcome, and so
I thought that it made sense toshare this message in a way
that, or through the podcastingmedium, I could hopefully
(05:35):
inspire, educate, entertain alistener, but, more importantly,
they'll learn something aboutthemselves.
And so, bottom line, jen, toanswer your question in a
nutshell, I found my purpose inlife.
And that's what I'm doing, whyI'm doing it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
So incredible and your podcast is relatively new
on the podcast scene and yet youget very incredible
high-profile guests.
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I'm allowed to dream.
You know it's like gee.
Wouldn't it be nice if I had anNFL legend come to talk about
diversity?
And he talks about, you know,gratitude being the the XO of
all things that we have from ahuman standpoint.
You know, being able to youable to call an astronaut and
(06:27):
say, would you care to beinvited to this?
I guess it comes with my salesbackground.
It's okay if I hear no.
Perhaps for me, a no is reallynot a not, yet I don't know.
Diversity is also important interms of the guests that I have
on, in terms of their age,profession, background, culture,
(06:49):
because, jen, I'm sure, as youknow, the listener needs to have
some sort of relationshipeither with the host or the
guests, and so what I try and dois trying to bring guests that
are well-rounded, that aresuccessful, that are
well-rounded that are successful.
Again, all episodes are notnecessarily about bullying, but
perhaps finding stories abouttheir inner spirit or their
(07:09):
self-awareness that the listenercan identify themselves and say
yes.
From what say Luke Rustershared, I can relate to that.
I can take that journey ofself-discovery within myself.
It's, you know, former UFCfighter Cliff Starks.
When I asked him, it's likedude, aren't you afraid to get
hit?
In the octagon he goes yes, Iam.
(07:30):
However, I turned my fear intofaith, or Bandit the Manoj Dutt,
who's the personal priest forNick Jonas and Dranka Chopra.
You know he shared that 90% ofall of our worries, problems,
struggles, challenges areself-created in mind in terms of
the wrong expectations, thewrong beliefs, the wrong
knowledge, the wrong way thatyou are perceiving right.
(07:51):
That's not necessarily true.
So those are the things that Iget inspired and it's like gee
if I can get these individualswhat if?
Right Now granted, it comeswith a lot of blood, sweat and
tears, right, but I'm justgrateful that you know I've
taken the I guess not the power,but what I've learned in sales
(08:13):
and how to apply it in somethingthat is so purposeful for me
that I just want to share to theworld.
So that's what gets me excited.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
I love it.
So you, you go out and youinspire people with these
incredible guests and your ownwords, you, the way that you
speak and how you talk aboutbeing grateful and gratitude is
something that not enough people, I believe, are speaking about
right now.
I think it's so importantGratitude right, because I feel
(08:44):
like our culture is a lot of Iwant Right, I want that, buying
culture, and if I only hadwhatever.
But you're talking about beinghaving gratitude right now that
something clicks right withinthat individual.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
It's the right message at the right time Right
now, I think, for me,fortunately, because it is
called the spirit of gratitude,people tend to gravitate, but I
mean, if you look more about,you know what Lewis Howes talks
about with his guests or withJay Shetty or yourself.
There are these clips that makeyou self-reflect.
And again, I'm just trying toput more messaging, more
(09:26):
positive messaging, out there,because I also happen to believe
that the reason why I chose themedium of the podcast is
because there's just not enoughwisdom on social media, you know
, there isn't quality messagingto help young adults and
adolescents especially, you know, overcome adversity, whether
it's bullying or fighting theirown inner demons, and so that's
what I try to inspire.
(09:48):
But you know, the demographics,you know, show that it's a
percentage equal of both men andwomen in the age groups of
their 20s, 30s and 40s and 50s,and so it's a universal message
that I believe that anyone thatyou know speaks through a
microphone does happen to havethat I just, you know, happen to
believe that I try and refineit in such a way that I ask
(10:12):
these intelligent questions,doing my homework on each guest
to allow them to share theirexperiences, allow them to be
vulnerable, to make a person, onthe other hand, a listener, to
say, wow, if Ruben Gamage couldsurvive Hurricane Katrina.
Seeing dead bodies, seeingfeces float in Louisiana being
(10:34):
transported into Phoenix andstanding up a nonprofit to help
disadvantaged men, turn theminto leaders, there's something
to be said.
So I know it's not sexy, itmight not be a shower thought
that I could do, but uh I'm just, uh, you know, I'm just, I'm
(10:55):
just grateful now it doesn'tcome with emotional toll, right,
I mean it is hard, uh, but I'veaccepted it, I've chosen it,
and the reason why it becomeshard is because, you know, it
does tend to to weigh on thefinancials.
I'm not getting too specific,but there are times where I'm
like, ok, how am I going to makesure I feed my family and not
(11:16):
have a credit score score godown?
So there are some of that.
That goes on, you know.
But again the the the positivesoutweigh the negatives.
But again, the positivesoutweigh the negatives, and this
is something that I'm verypassionate about.
I've chosen to do this fulltime.
Let's see how long it takes mewithout having to go back to the
(11:36):
working world and learn the W-2.
Through God's grace, let's seewhat happens.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
I love it, okay, and so you decided, because you know
tech sales is pretty lucrative,and when you made decided to
follow your dream, which I mean,I cannot a hundred percent back
that, how did your family feel,though?
Were they a hundred percentbehind you too, or were there?
Was there a pushback, orthere's no pushback.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
They're a hundred percent supportive.
They are still a hundredpercent supportive today.
Um, you know, I'm just gratefulfor that because I tend to look
for them for that emotionalsupport that I need every so
often where I break down and say, oh my God, how are we going to
do this?
How are we going to overcomejust the day-to-day and it
(12:23):
happens to a lot of families Ijust so have, and part of it is
and something that I learnedabout myself is the gratitude
the older self has to theyounger self.
And let me explain.
You know that's why it's.
You know, putting money intosavings in retirement is so
(12:45):
important.
Not that to say that you willeventually take it out.
Just imagine the future youbeing thankful and say, hey,
instead of spending $5 on aStarbucks every day and putting
that $5 into something that'sgoing to grow over time, making
that money work for you.
And so you know, again, I thanka lot of the decisions I made,
(13:11):
uh, younger.
That allows me to agree to acertain degree, the flexibility
of what I'm able to do, to, uh,have control of my time.
I mean, I pride the freedom thatI have, you know, and of course
, there's pluses and minuses toeverything.
Jim, you know being able towake up when you want, have the
(13:32):
schedule that you want, but itcomes at a cost, right, make no
mistake?
And are you prepared to dealwith it?
Emotionally, psychologically,mentally, which bleeds into the
physically?
Because I believe that theother half is making sure that
you know you don't go insanedoing this.
You know protecting your sanityand that's where exercise comes
(13:53):
in and just exercise and doingthe thing that you like to do
hobby, wise, whether it'sreading a book, taking a nap,
you know doing what you do,doing what you need to do to not
only, you know, invest yourtime appropriately, but invest
your energy in the right places.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
So you know, a lot goes on in terms of you know
what?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
uh, you know what I think about on a daily basis
it's amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
That's where I chase tranquility.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
right, that's where I chase tranquility, that calm,
undisturbed mind, you know.
Am I able to fulfill it everyday?
No, do I try to.
Yes, is that what thedefinition of success would be?
Yes, it's that pursuit.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
I love that and I love the word chase.
Right, You're not saying, oh, Ijust sit back and I'm tranquil
all the time because I've got itdown right.
No, no, that's you're saying.
I am constantly pursuing that,though, and and I don't know
that word as you were speakingjust really hit me why you've
chosen it, and because words areso important, aren't they?
And I just if so, for those ofyou listening, just hear, you
(15:02):
know, yes, he's gone out andhe's done this thing and it's
incredible, and he set himselfup to be able to do something
incredible.
But also, there is work.
There is work on thepsychological side, on the all
fronts, and you have to bewilling to do it.
But let's look into thisgratitude word a little bit.
I know there's a lot of peopleout there.
There are a lot of peoplestruggling.
(15:24):
They're not grateful.
They may be in a position intheir life and they're thinking
why would I have gratitude forthis?
Can you answer that question?
That's a deep question.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
It is On the onset and I may be rude, may be
controversial, but, no, youcan't.
And I say this with sincerityand respect, in the sense that
(16:01):
we all go through emotionaltrauma.
Whatever, I don't know you, youdon't know me.
However, the thing that I canonly offer you in this moment of
time that we're together, whenyou ask me this question, is I
don't, I haven't been in yourshoes, I don't know what it's
like, right?
If you give me the opportunityto allow me to listen to why you
(16:25):
think that, right, maybe I can.
There is something that I couldoffer, maybe a quote, maybe
something from my personalexperience for them, for that
individual to say, huh, I didn'trealize that.
Does that make sense?
So I would need to learn moreabout the individual, why
(16:45):
they're saying that.
I mean, I think they're comingat a place where you know,
perhaps there had been somethingin the past that has allowed
them to become angry orsomething.
But you know, part of it is alot of it is communication and
having that empathy, having thatkindness, uh, sympathy towards
others initially, now, over time, hopefully, you know, you
(17:08):
develop a relationship andrapport, uh, but you know
sometimes, uh, the more you knowpeople, the more you don't want
to know them, if that makessense.
But be kind, kind, right, bekind, be empathetic, and you
know, if, if you, if someonesays that to me, I will take
time to listen to what they said, why they said it, and if they
(17:33):
are unwilling to and I guessthat's where I revert back to
that controversial statementthat I made I can't help you.
You have to open up, you haveto be vulnerable, you have to
allow me to understand andempathize what you're trying to
say.
I think that's one of the mosthonest answers I've ever gotten,
(17:55):
Sorry go ahead.
It's about honest, right it's.
It's about open, honest,vulnerable conversations.
You know, I had the CEO of theTourette's association with a
question I asked her to tear up.
I didn't mean to, but again,it's that vulnerability.
But I think people that are soafraid it's not bad.
It's not bad people, Just openup.
(18:17):
Someone's going to listen toyou.
Trust, because there is someoneout's going to listen to you.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Trust, because there is someone out there who will
listen to you.
And yeah, that's incredible.
And I think if you're in aposition where you're not
feeling gratitude, like you said, I mean, you may be knee deep
in it, maybe you can't, but ifyou chase gratitude right, like
you chase tranquility, you willeventually catch it.
Yeah and it.
If you chase gratitude right,like you chase tranquility, you
will eventually catch it.
Yeah, and it's.
(18:42):
And it's being present tooright it's being present.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
You know, if you can't express a gratitude
because of things that happenedin the past, you're still not.
I mean, you're not living inthe present.
And for me, if you ask me thatquestion, I want you to be
present.
And for me, if you ask me thatquestion, I want you to be
present, right, um, and even forthose that do appreciate
gratitude as they're struggling,it gives you that motivation
(19:09):
that it's going to be okay thenext day if that makes sense.
And so I can, you know,certainly you know relate to
that because, uh, for the past,I don't know, 30 years I've been
dealing with eye issues.
I don't talk about this too much, jen, on the podcast, because
my motivation, my inspiration,is my daughter, but I look at my
own journey and what I've beenable to overcome from a health
(19:32):
issue where you know within 24hours, I was going to lose my
left eye.
I was either going to see it ina glass jar or I was going to
have surgery.
So I elected to have surgeryand the one thing or maybe it
wasn't surgery at the time, itwas bacterial infection that was
going to lead me to lose theeyeball right, just because of
(19:53):
the optic nerve damage in theback.
And so the one thing I againyeah, I didn't feel sorry for
myself it's like, okay, it sucksright, I have to do what I have
to do.
But then the next morning it'slike the only thing I wanted was
sorry I'm going to get a littleemotional here was looking at
(20:17):
my daughter and the spiritualenergy that she had to make sure
that it's going to be okay.
I will be able to see.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
I know this is not going to capture the best audio,
but you can no, no, no, I'm notworried about that.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
The raw emotions I have, even 24 years later.
I'm not worried about that.
The raw emotions I have, even24 years later.
That is what I'm grateful for.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
That's why I started the podcast and I appreciate you
sharing that, because I knowthat wasn't at all easy.
And I think it touches onsomething and, sina, you're
going to make me cry is thatpeople may look at you and think
he's so successful, he's doingall these things, he's doing
what he wants, he's got thisperfect life right, because
everybody thinks everyone elsehas a perfect life.
(21:13):
But what they don't realize isthe struggle that you went
through to get here.
Yeah, and if you didn't?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
through that would you be as?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
grateful.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
I just thank you for being vulnerable and sharing
that.
I think people need tounderstand that.
You know because people willlook at me.
That's why I did the video Idid about you know who is Jen
Hardy.
You know because people arelike what is this?
You know doing all these thingsand why do you get to do all
these things?
I don't get to do all thesethings and no well, but you have
(21:47):
to understand.
I'm lucky to be doing any ofthe things and you know, and for
you, you know, to just see yourdaughter today is a gift.
Every day that you see as agift and if nothing else went
well that day, that could besomething that you're grateful
for.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, I always like to joketo people that Yog Nation again,
yog Nation is spelled with twoGs, not one.
The extra G stands for eithergratitude or gangsta.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
That's what I like to do to inject some humor into
this, I guess the gratitudesubject itself could be taken
seriously, or just somethingthat you know makes you reflect
at the end of the day.
So that's what I try and doevery day.
You know I don't know socialmedia, so I have a team that
helps me get that message across.
(22:37):
I have a lot more views andfollowers, something that I'm
working to try and correct andchange.
So, even being over 50, I'mstill learning, and sometimes I
don't like it, but it's likeokay, got to do what you got to
do.
And I think that's not thelesson too, in terms of helping
(22:57):
you get from point A to point B.
Is that, besides just beinguncomfortable, right or being
comfortable with beinguncomfortable?
It's like you got to do whatyou got to do.
I mean, you're either going tosacrifice your time, money or
effort.
What is it that you choose?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
So it's again it's, and it's great to learn.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
You know from fellow podcasters like you and others
that I could just learnsomething.
I think that's where also thegratitude comes in too, because
it helps you appreciate theperspective of a Reuben Gammage,
of a Parnik Manojnath right, ofa Matthew Earl Jones right.
The younger brother of lateJames Earl Jones, who talks
about kindness is the domain ofthe strong and if you think
(23:39):
about that statement alone,right Again it leads to that
empathy and sympathy.
And again I mean he's been aHollywood producer behind the
camera.
His brother, older brother,james Earl Jones, likes to be in
front of the camera, so it'sjust.
Again I'm grateful of themessage that.
I'm sharing.
I'm grateful that these highprofile guests are saying yes
(24:02):
and I'm grateful that, mostimportantly, the message is
being heard and received.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
So you brought up being over 50.
And so people who are listening, if they're of a certain age,
what one piece of advice wouldyou give to them before we go
today?
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Over 50?
.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Over 50.
Or anyone, I mean humans ingeneral.
Right Either way.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
I mean it's going to be trite to say, or commonplace
to say, don't give up.
Right, that's obvious, becausemany people may not internalize
that.
I don't know.
It's just being over 50, I'm inthe Gen X population and we Gen
(24:56):
Xers rule.
Let's just put it that way.
We were brought up in an erawhere we learned from our
parents.
We learned what good mannersare and we had that collective
wisdom of playing the playgroundand what fistfights would do to
learn about how we would copewith life and then teaching that
(25:19):
to our children.
It could be millennials oralphas or gen.
I don't even know what the hellthese generations are called
anymore, but I don't know.
Just I mean, I'm sure it's notthe answer you're looking for,
but for the person that's over50, we Gen Xers, man, we got
this, we rule the world.
(25:41):
We know what we're doing right.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
and that's where the gangsta in me comes in there you
go, and, and you know, and yousaid never give up, and and it
may sound trite, but there isone person listening who needed
to hear that today and and youfollowed up with the whole thing
, right, and that is just keepgoing, just keep going well.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
I think it's also, whatever it is, well, I think
it's also important for theperson that's listening.
It's not just yes, I heard you,but I'm myself, I don't know
you.
I am allowing you and givingyou permission to think that
because I think a lot of themessaging out there.
People are afraid.
They just need someone to givethem an initial spark to push
(26:23):
them forward.
It could be a stranger, itcould be a friend, it could be
someone from law enforcement, acounselor, a school resource
officer, it doesn't matter, ateacher.
It's like just someone needlingyou, pushing you, just to say
it's okay, you got this.
And I think that is more of theappropriate answer to your
question, jen.
Is you know for a person, thatmy advice to anyone?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
I love it.
All right.
And now somebody that wants totune in.
They want to listen to more ofyou.
Where are they going to findyou?
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Great question.
So I am found on both streamingand social media platforms.
Streaming, everything is Yoga.
Nation based, that's Y-O, whatthe spelling is
Y-O-G-G-N-A-T-I-O-N.
So you'll find every new weeklyepisode that comes out on
(27:16):
Tuesdays that's put on socialmeet or, excuse me, on the
streaming platforms and YouTubesocial meet or, excuse me, on
the streaming platforms andyoutube.
And then on wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, it's five
shorts, uh, five instagram reels, uh, that I put uh on facebook,
instagram, youtube tech talkgetting some good wisdom out
there.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
So hope you listen in amount in.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
So I hope you listen in, I hope you like.
Please tell me your thoughts.
It's too obvious to say likeand subscribe and I'm not going
to do that.
But at the end of the day Ijust want the messaging from any
of my guests to somehow find away to see if it makes a
difference in what you're goingthrough at that particular
moment and if you're looking forsome inspiration, definitely
(28:06):
want to check it out, because Ihave watched a lot of his
episodes and they are allincredible.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
So thank you, yogi, so much for joining us today.
You have given us a lot tothink about and we are grateful
for you thank you, jen,appreciate you having me on.
Welcome to the Yoga Nation, the Spirit of Gratitude
podcast on the One Integrationplatform.
Hello friends, my name isYogesh Patel and this podcast
explores the themes of bullying,self-awareness and the power of
our inner spirit, including thesilent battles we all face.
Join me every week as I invitehigh-profile guests, as we
explore how adversity shapes us,how gratitude lifts us and how
(00:24):
we can all uncover the innerstrength that we all have within
ourselves.
Join the conversation.
I appreciate you listening in.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Today I have got someone with an incredible story
for you, and I brought him toyou for a reason because there
are so many of you that thinkabout doing what he's done, and
it was a very brave thing to do.
So I would like him to tell hisown version of the story.
So thank you so much, Yogesh,for joining me today here on
Fabulous Over 50.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Thank you, jen, wonderful to be here and hello
to your audience.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
And if you could start out by saying who is
Yogesh?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Oh, great question.
So I always like to start outby with a little joke.
Why did and I go by Yogi, bythe way so why did God create
Yogi Bear?
Because he made a boo-boo.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I'm sure that for the audience over 50, you know
exactly the cartoon that I'mtalking about.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
But, jokes aside, who I am is?
Well, let's start out by myself.
Yogesh Patel yogi chasestranquility, that calm,
undisturbed mind that just triesto be balanced in all facets of
my life.
However, the podcast that Istarted August of last year,
(01:50):
2024, yoke Nation, the spirit ofgratitude.
That person has the size of aneagle as large as the United
States, and so it's a delicatedance between who I am and who I
project at any given moment intime.
Am I, am I more yogi?
Yogesh patel yogi or am I moreyog nation?
(02:11):
That's who I am.
So I've got an alter ego.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I love that, though, because I feel like a lot of us
do.
Right, we have this person onthe inside that just wants to
get out and speak a little bitmore, and you have found a
platform to be able to do that,which is incredible.
But it's the way you, thedirection you took in getting to
this platform, that I reallystood out to me, because you did
something a lot of people wantto do.
(02:38):
You, you set a goal foryourself and you said you know
what, I'm over here and I'm verysuccessful over here, but now I
want to be over there.
So you know what I'm going todo.
I'm going to do it, and youknow there's not a lot of doers
out there, and you are a doer.
You made a choice and you'redoing it.
Can you tell people what youwere doing and what you decided
(02:59):
to move over to, because I findyour story so compelling.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Thank you.
So I spent nearly 30 years ofbeing in high-tech sales, having
worked at companies like Appleand Dell and startup
organizations as an enterpriseaccount executive, and how this
vision of the podcast began waslooking at my daughter's
(03:26):
struggles being bullied inmiddle school because she has
Tourette's.
She's 21 next week, oh mygoodness.
But in middle school, thosewere probably the most toughest
of years.
She was made fun of, teasedkids pulling her hair I don't
know why they do that in middleschool, but yet they do.
And you know, as a result of ofthe building that she
(03:49):
experienced in middle school,she was able to, uh be a writer
of two books, because writingwas always one of the things
that calmed her ticks down,because she was really focused,
and so she wrote two books, uh,bringing awareness to tourette
syndrome and bringing awarenessto bullying, the second book
being a number one release onamazon when it first came out,
(04:10):
uh, titled the terrible bullies,and the book terrible was in
quotations because you find outthat, well, she has three
messages.
Number one that the personthat's being bullied- you know,
have the courage to stand up andstick up for yourself, find
those resources that can helpsupport you.
Number two was for the personthat is being the bully here
have the awareness that whatyou're doing, you're saying, is
(04:33):
harming the individual.
Stop it right, karma's going toget you.
And the third I think is mostimportant is what terrible is in
quotations, because you findout that all bullies are not
terrible.
And so those are the threemessages that she shared in her
second book.
And you know, beyond just thebullying experiences and the
adversity that she had toovercome psychologically and
(04:53):
emotionally she also worked atthe Ritz-Carlton for a year.
It's like how does a kidgranted, she's our daughter, the
way that Ami and I had raisedher how does a kid, going
through this emotional trauma,set out to do these things in
spite of this adversity that shefaced?
And so I happen to believe thatyou know, over time, as she
(05:13):
grew into a maturing adult, it'sthe resolve, it's the
resiliency and it's her owncharacter that she developed
with these bullying experiencesthat she had to overcome, and so
I thought that it made sense toshare this message in a way
that, or through the podcastingmedium, I could hopefully
(05:35):
inspire, educate, entertain alistener, but, more importantly,
they'll learn something aboutthemselves.
And so, bottom line, jen, toanswer your question in a
nutshell, I found my purpose inlife.
And that's what I'm doing, whyI'm doing it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
So incredible and your podcast is relatively new
on the podcast scene and yet youget very incredible
high-profile guests.
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I'm allowed to dream.
You know it's like gee.
Wouldn't it be nice if I had anNFL legend come to talk about
diversity?
And he talks about, you know,gratitude being the the XO of
all things that we have from ahuman standpoint.
You know, being able to youable to call an astronaut and
(06:27):
say, would you care to beinvited to this?
I guess it comes with my salesbackground.
It's okay if I hear no.
Perhaps for me, a no is reallynot a not, yet I don't know.
Diversity is also important interms of the guests that I have
on, in terms of their age,profession, background, culture,
(06:49):
because, jen, I'm sure, as youknow, the listener needs to have
some sort of relationshipeither with the host or the
guests, and so what I try and dois trying to bring guests that
are well-rounded, that aresuccessful, that are
well-rounded that are successful.
Again, all episodes are notnecessarily about bullying, but
perhaps finding stories abouttheir inner spirit or their
(07:09):
self-awareness that the listenercan identify themselves and say
yes.
From what say Luke Rustershared, I can relate to that.
I can take that journey ofself-discovery within myself.
It's, you know, former UFCfighter Cliff Starks.
When I asked him, it's likedude, aren't you afraid to get
hit?
In the octagon he goes yes, Iam.
(07:30):
However, I turned my fear intofaith, or Bandit the Manoj Dutt,
who's the personal priest forNick Jonas and Dranka Chopra.
You know he shared that 90% ofall of our worries, problems,
struggles, challenges areself-created in mind in terms of
the wrong expectations, thewrong beliefs, the wrong
knowledge, the wrong way thatyou are perceiving right.
(07:51):
That's not necessarily true.
So those are the things that Iget inspired and it's like gee
if I can get these individualswhat if?
Right Now granted, it comeswith a lot of blood, sweat and
tears, right, but I'm justgrateful that you know I've
taken the I guess not the power,but what I've learned in sales
(08:13):
and how to apply it in somethingthat is so purposeful for me
that I just want to share to theworld.
So that's what gets me excited.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
I love it.
So you, you go out and youinspire people with these
incredible guests and your ownwords, you, the way that you
speak and how you talk aboutbeing grateful and gratitude is
something that not enough people, I believe, are speaking about
right now.
I think it's so importantGratitude right, because I feel
(08:44):
like our culture is a lot of Iwant Right, I want that, buying
culture, and if I only hadwhatever.
But you're talking about beinghaving gratitude right now that
something clicks right withinthat individual.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
It's the right message at the right time Right
now, I think, for me,fortunately, because it is
called the spirit of gratitude,people tend to gravitate, but I
mean, if you look more about,you know what Lewis Howes talks
about with his guests or withJay Shetty or yourself.
There are these clips that makeyou self-reflect.
And again, I'm just trying toput more messaging, more
(09:26):
positive messaging, out there,because I also happen to believe
that the reason why I chose themedium of the podcast is
because there's just not enoughwisdom on social media, you know
, there isn't quality messagingto help young adults and
adolescents especially, you know, overcome adversity, whether
it's bullying or fighting theirown inner demons, and so that's
what I try to inspire.
(09:48):
But you know, the demographics,you know, show that it's a
percentage equal of both men andwomen in the age groups of
their 20s, 30s and 40s and 50s,and so it's a universal message
that I believe that anyone thatyou know speaks through a
microphone does happen to havethat I just, you know, happen to
believe that I try and refineit in such a way that I ask
(10:12):
these intelligent questions,doing my homework on each guest
to allow them to share theirexperiences, allow them to be
vulnerable, to make a person, onthe other hand, a listener, to
say, wow, if Ruben Gamage couldsurvive Hurricane Katrina.
Seeing dead bodies, seeingfeces float in Louisiana being
(10:34):
transported into Phoenix andstanding up a nonprofit to help
disadvantaged men, turn theminto leaders, there's something
to be said.
So I know it's not sexy, itmight not be a shower thought
that I could do, but uh I'm just, uh, you know, I'm just, I'm
(10:55):
just grateful now it doesn'tcome with emotional toll, right,
I mean it is hard, uh, but I'veaccepted it, I've chosen it,
and the reason why it becomeshard is because, you know, it
does tend to to weigh on thefinancials.
I'm not getting too specific,but there are times where I'm
like, ok, how am I going to makesure I feed my family and not
(11:16):
have a credit score score godown?
So there are some of that.
That goes on, you know.
But again the the the positivesoutweigh the negatives.
But again, the positivesoutweigh the negatives, and this
is something that I'm verypassionate about.
I've chosen to do this fulltime.
Let's see how long it takes mewithout having to go back to the
(11:36):
working world and learn the W-2.
Through God's grace, let's seewhat happens.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
I love it, okay, and so you decided, because you know
tech sales is pretty lucrative,and when you made decided to
follow your dream, which I mean,I cannot a hundred percent back
that, how did your family feel,though?
Were they a hundred percentbehind you too, or were there?
Was there a pushback, orthere's no pushback.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
They're a hundred percent supportive.
They are still a hundredpercent supportive today.
Um, you know, I'm just gratefulfor that because I tend to look
for them for that emotionalsupport that I need every so
often where I break down and say, oh my God, how are we going to
do this?
How are we going to overcomejust the day-to-day and it
(12:23):
happens to a lot of families Ijust so have, and part of it is
and something that I learnedabout myself is the gratitude
the older self has to theyounger self.
And let me explain.
You know that's why it's.
You know, putting money intosavings in retirement is so
(12:45):
important.
Not that to say that you willeventually take it out.
Just imagine the future youbeing thankful and say, hey,
instead of spending $5 on aStarbucks every day and putting
that $5 into something that'sgoing to grow over time, making
that money work for you.
And so you know, again, I thanka lot of the decisions I made,
(13:11):
uh, younger.
That allows me to agree to acertain degree, the flexibility
of what I'm able to do, to, uh,have control of my time.
I mean, I pride the freedom thatI have, you know, and of course
, there's pluses and minuses toeverything.
Jim, you know being able towake up when you want, have the
(13:32):
schedule that you want, but itcomes at a cost, right, make no
mistake?
And are you prepared to dealwith it?
Emotionally, psychologically,mentally, which bleeds into the
physically?
Because I believe that theother half is making sure that
you know you don't go insanedoing this.
You know protecting your sanityand that's where exercise comes
(13:53):
in and just exercise and doingthe thing that you like to do
hobby, wise, whether it'sreading a book, taking a nap,
you know doing what you do,doing what you need to do to not
only, you know, invest yourtime appropriately, but invest
your energy in the right places.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
So you know, a lot goes on in terms of you know
what?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
uh, you know what I think about on a daily basis
it's amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
That's where I chase tranquility.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
right, that's where I chase tranquility, that calm,
undisturbed mind, you know.
Am I able to fulfill it everyday?
No, do I try to.
Yes, is that what thedefinition of success would be?
Yes, it's that pursuit.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
I love that and I love the word chase.
Right, You're not saying, oh, Ijust sit back and I'm tranquil
all the time because I've got itdown right.
No, no, that's you're saying.
I am constantly pursuing that,though, and and I don't know
that word as you were speakingjust really hit me why you've
chosen it, and because words areso important, aren't they?
And I just if so, for those ofyou listening, just hear, you
(15:02):
know, yes, he's gone out andhe's done this thing and it's
incredible, and he set himselfup to be able to do something
incredible.
But also, there is work.
There is work on thepsychological side, on the all
fronts, and you have to bewilling to do it.
But let's look into thisgratitude word a little bit.
I know there's a lot of peopleout there.
There are a lot of peoplestruggling.
(15:24):
They're not grateful.
They may be in a position intheir life and they're thinking
why would I have gratitude forthis?
Can you answer that question?
That's a deep question.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
It is On the onset and I may be rude, may be
controversial, but, no, youcan't.
And I say this with sincerityand respect, in the sense that
(16:01):
we all go through emotionaltrauma.
Whatever, I don't know you, youdon't know me.
However, the thing that I canonly offer you in this moment of
time that we're together, whenyou ask me this question, is I
don't, I haven't been in yourshoes, I don't know what it's
like, right?
If you give me the opportunityto allow me to listen to why you
(16:25):
think that, right, maybe I can.
There is something that I couldoffer, maybe a quote, maybe
something from my personalexperience for them, for that
individual to say, huh, I didn'trealize that.
Does that make sense?
So I would need to learn moreabout the individual, why
(16:45):
they're saying that.
I mean, I think they're comingat a place where you know,
perhaps there had been somethingin the past that has allowed
them to become angry orsomething.
But you know, part of it is alot of it is communication and
having that empathy, having thatkindness, uh, sympathy towards
others initially, now, over time, hopefully, you know, you
(17:08):
develop a relationship andrapport, uh, but you know
sometimes, uh, the more you knowpeople, the more you don't want
to know them, if that makessense.
But be kind, kind, right, bekind, be empathetic, and you
know, if, if you, if someonesays that to me, I will take
time to listen to what they said, why they said it, and if they
(17:33):
are unwilling to and I guessthat's where I revert back to
that controversial statementthat I made I can't help you.
You have to open up, you haveto be vulnerable, you have to
allow me to understand andempathize what you're trying to
say.
I think that's one of the mosthonest answers I've ever gotten,
(17:55):
Sorry go ahead.
It's about honest, right it's.
It's about open, honest,vulnerable conversations.
You know, I had the CEO of theTourette's association with a
question I asked her to tear up.
I didn't mean to, but again,it's that vulnerability.
But I think people that are soafraid it's not bad.
It's not bad people, Just openup.
(18:17):
Someone's going to listen toyou.
Trust, because there is someoneout's going to listen to you.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Trust, because there is someone out there who will
listen to you.
And yeah, that's incredible.
And I think if you're in aposition where you're not
feeling gratitude, like you said, I mean, you may be knee deep
in it, maybe you can't, but ifyou chase gratitude right, like
you chase tranquility, you willeventually catch it.
Yeah and it.
If you chase gratitude right,like you chase tranquility, you
will eventually catch it.
Yeah, and it's.
(18:42):
And it's being present tooright it's being present.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
You know, if you can't express a gratitude
because of things that happenedin the past, you're still not.
I mean, you're not living inthe present.
And for me, if you ask me thatquestion, I want you to be
present.
And for me, if you ask me thatquestion, I want you to be
present, right, um, and even forthose that do appreciate
gratitude as they're struggling,it gives you that motivation
(19:09):
that it's going to be okay thenext day if that makes sense.
And so I can, you know,certainly you know relate to
that because, uh, for the past,I don't know, 30 years I've been
dealing with eye issues.
I don't talk about this too much, jen, on the podcast, because
my motivation, my inspiration,is my daughter, but I look at my
own journey and what I've beenable to overcome from a health
(19:32):
issue where you know within 24hours, I was going to lose my
left eye.
I was either going to see it ina glass jar or I was going to
have surgery.
So I elected to have surgeryand the one thing or maybe it
wasn't surgery at the time, itwas bacterial infection that was
going to lead me to lose theeyeball right, just because of
(19:53):
the optic nerve damage in theback.
And so the one thing I againyeah, I didn't feel sorry for
myself it's like, okay, it sucksright, I have to do what I have
to do.
But then the next morning it'slike the only thing I wanted was
sorry I'm going to get a littleemotional here was looking at
(20:17):
my daughter and the spiritualenergy that she had to make sure
that it's going to be okay.
I will be able to see.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
I know this is not going to capture the best audio,
but you can no, no, no, I'm notworried about that.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
The raw emotions I have, even 24 years later.
I'm not worried about that.
The raw emotions I have, even24 years later.
That is what I'm grateful for.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
That's why I started the podcast and I appreciate you
sharing that, because I knowthat wasn't at all easy.
And I think it touches onsomething and, sina, you're
going to make me cry is thatpeople may look at you and think
he's so successful, he's doingall these things, he's doing
what he wants, he's got thisperfect life right, because
everybody thinks everyone elsehas a perfect life.
(21:13):
But what they don't realize isthe struggle that you went
through to get here.
Yeah, and if you didn't?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
through that would you be as?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
grateful.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
I just thank you for being vulnerable and sharing
that.
I think people need tounderstand that.
You know because people willlook at me.
That's why I did the video Idid about you know who is Jen
Hardy.
You know because people arelike what is this?
You know doing all these thingsand why do you get to do all
these things?
I don't get to do all thesethings and no well, but you have
(21:47):
to understand.
I'm lucky to be doing any ofthe things and you know, and for
you, you know, to just see yourdaughter today is a gift.
Every day that you see as agift and if nothing else went
well that day, that could besomething that you're grateful
for.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, I always like to joketo people that Yog Nation again,
yog Nation is spelled with twoGs, not one.
The extra G stands for eithergratitude or gangsta.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
That's what I like to do to inject some humor into
this, I guess the gratitudesubject itself could be taken
seriously, or just somethingthat you know makes you reflect
at the end of the day.
So that's what I try and doevery day.
You know I don't know socialmedia, so I have a team that
helps me get that message across.
(22:37):
I have a lot more views andfollowers, something that I'm
working to try and correct andchange.
So, even being over 50, I'mstill learning, and sometimes I
don't like it, but it's likeokay, got to do what you got to
do.
And I think that's not thelesson too, in terms of helping
(22:57):
you get from point A to point B.
Is that, besides just beinguncomfortable, right or being
comfortable with beinguncomfortable?
It's like you got to do whatyou got to do.
I mean, you're either going tosacrifice your time, money or
effort.
What is it that you choose?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
So it's again it's, and it's great to learn.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
You know from fellow podcasters like you and others
that I could just learnsomething.
I think that's where also thegratitude comes in too, because
it helps you appreciate theperspective of a Reuben Gammage,
of a Parnik Manojnath right, ofa Matthew Earl Jones right.
The younger brother of lateJames Earl Jones, who talks
about kindness is the domain ofthe strong and if you think
(23:39):
about that statement alone,right Again it leads to that
empathy and sympathy.
And again I mean he's been aHollywood producer behind the
camera.
His brother, older brother,james Earl Jones, likes to be in
front of the camera, so it'sjust.
Again I'm grateful of themessage that.
I'm sharing.
I'm grateful that these highprofile guests are saying yes
(24:02):
and I'm grateful that, mostimportantly, the message is
being heard and received.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
So you brought up being over 50.
And so people who are listening, if they're of a certain age,
what one piece of advice wouldyou give to them before we go
today?
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Over 50?
.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Over 50.
Or anyone, I mean humans ingeneral.
Right Either way.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
I mean it's going to be trite to say, or commonplace
to say, don't give up.
Right, that's obvious, becausemany people may not internalize
that.
I don't know.
It's just being over 50, I'm inthe Gen X population and we Gen
(24:56):
Xers rule.
Let's just put it that way.
We were brought up in an erawhere we learned from our
parents.
We learned what good mannersare and we had that collective
wisdom of playing the playgroundand what fistfights would do to
learn about how we would copewith life and then teaching that
(25:19):
to our children.
It could be millennials oralphas or gen.
I don't even know what the hellthese generations are called
anymore, but I don't know.
Just I mean, I'm sure it's notthe answer you're looking for,
but for the person that's over50, we Gen Xers, man, we got
this, we rule the world.
(25:41):
We know what we're doing right.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
and that's where the gangsta in me comes in there you
go, and, and you know, and yousaid never give up, and and it
may sound trite, but there isone person listening who needed
to hear that today and and youfollowed up with the whole thing
, right, and that is just keepgoing, just keep going well.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
I think it's also, whatever it is, well, I think
it's also important for theperson that's listening.
It's not just yes, I heard you,but I'm myself, I don't know
you.
I am allowing you and givingyou permission to think that
because I think a lot of themessaging out there.
People are afraid.
They just need someone to givethem an initial spark to push
(26:23):
them forward.
It could be a stranger, itcould be a friend, it could be
someone from law enforcement, acounselor, a school resource
officer, it doesn't matter, ateacher.
It's like just someone needlingyou, pushing you, just to say
it's okay, you got this.
And I think that is more of theappropriate answer to your
question, jen.
Is you know for a person, thatmy advice to anyone?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
I love it.
All right.
And now somebody that wants totune in.
They want to listen to more ofyou.
Where are they going to findyou?
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Great question.
So I am found on both streamingand social media platforms.
Streaming, everything is Yoga.
Nation based, that's Y-O, whatthe spelling is
Y-O-G-G-N-A-T-I-O-N.
So you'll find every new weeklyepisode that comes out on
(27:16):
Tuesdays that's put on socialmeet or, excuse me, on the
streaming platforms and YouTubesocial meet or, excuse me, on
the streaming platforms andyoutube.
And then on wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, it's five
shorts, uh, five instagram reels, uh, that I put uh on facebook,
instagram, youtube tech talkgetting some good wisdom out
there.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
So hope you listen in amount in.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
So I hope you listen in, I hope you like.
Please tell me your thoughts.
It's too obvious to say likeand subscribe and I'm not going
to do that.
But at the end of the day Ijust want the messaging from any
of my guests to somehow find away to see if it makes a
difference in what you're goingthrough at that particular
moment and if you're looking forsome inspiration, definitely
(28:06):
want to check it out, because Ihave watched a lot of his
episodes and they are allincredible.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
So thank you, yogi, so much for joining us today.
You have given us a lot tothink about and we are grateful
for you thank you, jen,appreciate you having me on.
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