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Thu, April 25, 2024

“One of the defining moments has also been to have the guts to quit a career of 18 years and kickstart an absolutely new version of life 2.0 for myself that I am really loving”

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A thorough marketing professional, Anil Banskota, Executive Management and Marketing of B&B Hospital, is currently overseeing the expansion of the hospital’s new state-of-the-art block where the plan is to offer upgraded services and value addition to the customer experience under the banner of ‘B&B Hospital Plus’. He also handles the social media marketing department to help promote services and share stories besides handling aspects of the hospital’s day-to-day operations. Banskota holds an MBA degree from Kathmandu University School of Management and a Master’s degree in New Media Technology from New York University. He started his journey in advertising in 2002 with Thompson Nepal and left the industry in early 2019. Between 2007 and 2009, he also worked as an Interactive Digital Producer in New York creating interactive digital content for various agencies like Oddcast and RGA. Banskota also sits on the board of Malpi International School providing consultative direction to its marketing initiatives. A music enthusiast, he has an album called ‘Prayash’ in collaboration with a friend. In this edition of Business 360, he shares the five things that have impacted his life and career.
Life is a continuous process Life is a continuous process so there cannot be one best decision but a series of crucial turning points where the decisions we take could either steer our lives towards the right direction or make us wayward. There have been many decisions that have changed me and my outlook like getting married because now I am secure that I will have a lifelong friend to grow old with and laugh with. The decision to start a family too is crucial as I now have a son and know I have a future friend who’s got my back. The conscious decision to move back to Nepal has also been an enriching one as I get to live with my family and there is always someone or the other to share things with. One of the defining moments has also been to have the guts to quit a career of 18 years and kickstart an absolutely new version of life 2.0 for myself that I am really loving. And finally, it has to be this path of new self-discovery on how to live a healthier life through proper nutrition and exploration of health-span as opposed to lifespan.
My inspiration is finding purpose in life The greatest inspiration has and will always be the astonishing miracle of life as I ponder and dive deeper to get a glimpse of what makes me who I am today. I would love to say it’s my father, mother or god like everyone else but to me it’s a collection of all that and this notion of incredibly inexplicable coincidences of nature that have shaped my being, my single unique existence – my life, the way it was conspired by nature, how my consciousness was miraculously injected into my parent, then my birth making me absolutely one-of-a-kind among the 7 billion that swarm this little planet, the astonishingly beautiful and loving family I was born into that breathed life and love into me giving me the support to grow and happiness. That is my inspiration. The astounding awe that is nature. The intriguing notion that we have more bacterial cells than human cells and yet we call ourselves human and that we may merely be a vessel to carry the microbiotas within us that scientists are now discovering may literally dictate how well we live all begins in the gut! There is no miracle greater than our individual single-life and the wonders of nature within and without that surround us. It fascinates me, makes me question daily my purpose in life and this to me is the greatest inspiration – being able to wonder and be curious of the unknowns in this living planet, learning and feeling alive every day like as if it were my last, extracting the most out of life to feel better, be happier every instance with gratitude. Life is a miracle and should not be taken for granted. That we should be better today than we were yesterday and be better tomorrow than we are today and leave this planet a slightly better place in our own small way(s) than when we found it drives me every day.
Creating better versions of ourselves We are always receiving constant advice from many sources whether it be regarding life or career. However, the best advice I have received would be to be get married as I now have a friend with whom I can grow old and we have created another miracle who gives us constant joy, friendship and interminable happiness. They say the only purpose of evolutionary life is to create better versions of ourselves and I strongly believe that to be absolutely true. Marriage has resulted in giving me and my wife the greatest joy. Above all else, it gives me a reason to wake up every morning energised and thank God for this spectacular life. If I can put a smile on the face of anyone I come in contact with now and make their life even remotely happier, better, nicer than it was a moment ago, that would be a great success for me. Success is progressive and never perfect. It is a daily goal and never an absolute, since nothing can be absolute in a world that is relative. Success to me is visceral and not material, it’s about how happy you were today than yesterday and ultimately how well you sleep at night.
Do not react immediately At times everything goes smoothly and there are instances when we face hurdles. The best way to deal with a difficult situation would be to not react immediately. Understand that between stimuli and response there is a split second gap that we can all use to channel negative energy into positive energy. Reacting after a slight pause and breathing out which activates our parasympathetic system, helps every time. The parasympathetic stimulates the rest-and-digest that calm our body and mind. One thing to understand is that no one ever wakes up in the morning and says, “I’m going to make life miserable for that person”, unless you’re a criminal or someone really messed up. So, it’s good to understand and see the other person’s point of view before reacting immediately. Maybe that person on the other side has had a really bad day at home, or something bad is happening in their life. Humans are all born good. Therefore, the best way to handle any difficult situation is by showing care and concern before reacting negatively. When I was in advertising I always treated everyone including clients as friends to the best of my ability. I never tried to dictate matters to anyone. Also taking a step back and encouraging people in the creative process and giving them the benefit of doubt rather than taking all the credit seems to have worked for me. Sometimes, understanding the subject matter better than most people in the room really helps to fire-fight difficult situations since that gives you an upper hand to find a solution out of any quagmire. My advice is learning should be a continuous process no matter what industry you are in. On a lighter note, in life, especially in marriage, praise your other half as often as you can. If you are newly married, flowers do help now and then but as time passes by, giving simple compliments now and then can mean a huge difference in how the rest of your day, week or month may turn out!
Change is the only true constant The beauty of life is in its uncertainty and a powerful aphorism that encapsulates that idea is, ‘change is the only true constant’ which means a decision I made to quit advertising recently, a profession I was in for almost two decades, has definitely steered my life into a different space where I’m happier, more content and have much more time to be with my family which is my greatest source of joy and reason for being. I would like to expand on that aspect by mentioning about the Covid 19. It affected the private healthcare system broadly in two distinct ways. At the cost of oversimplifying, firstly, the pandemic hit the business of private healthcare pretty hard and second it was learning how to adapt quickly to stay afloat. It was very difficult to keep the business running since a large hospital like ours for instance has over 1,000 employees and new expansion work happening. When the bottom-line plummets with loan burden thereof it was a mighty challenge to keep the hospital running. But we didn’t lay off a single person despite the financial hardships and managed to run a lean setup. We had reasonable trauma work and also managed to run a Covid ward during the first wave and helped the community at large. When the pandemic first broke out there was absolute confusion about how to handle the situation since nobody in the world knew – there was no blue-print to follow for hospitals, people were scared and it’s only natural. Everyone figured it out through trial and error. As you are aware, many private healthcare providers stayed afloat by becoming a full-time Covid care provider hospital. Now since most hospitals have become smarter in handling Covid, I think the healthcare sector now is better equipped and prepared should there be another wave. READ ALSO:
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E-Magazine
MARCH 2024

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