Raj Girn is an award-winning media and events entrepreneur, brand strategist, marketing consultant, confidence coach, author, philanthropist, and activist. Her portfolio includes collaborations with celebrities, thought-leaders, and global corporations, such as Kim Kardashian, Priyanka Chopra, L’OREAL PARIS, and P&G. With this long list of impressive accomplishments, it would be fair to assume that Raj has always been self-assured and confident. This, however, has not always been the case.
As the second of five kids born to immigrant parents from India, Raj grew up in the United Kingdom and battled insecurity and a lack of identity throughout her entire youth. To make matters worse, at the age of 22, her parents arranged for her to move 3,000 miles away from home to marry a stranger in Canada. Falling short of a fairytale, the marriage only created an environment that continued to breed and cultivate more of her insecurities, loneliness, and fears. “I genuinely had no idea who I was because up until that point in my life, my only identity had been as a daughter, sister, and friend. I had no relationship with myself. I was a bigger stranger to myself than to the people and country I came to call home,” Raj noted.
Thankfully, Raj found a new sense of identity when she became a mother to her first and only son. Unwilling to impart her trauma and dysfunction to her newborn son, Raj decided it was officially time to buckle down and take charge of her life. This eventually meant the end of a marriage but it also meant the start of a beautiful career as the founder of two successful, long-standing businesses, ANOKHI LIFE and Open Chest.
Raj created these companies to bridge the gap between the South Asian lifestyle and culture with North America’s. She wanted to build a platform for those from her same Indian heritage who, like her, could relate to not fitting in and feeling too cultured to be assimilated, yet too assimilated to be cultured. Since their launch in 2002, the two companies have grown to be multi-platform and includes a magazine, a radio show, a television show, and a coveted awards gala, among other things.
These two companies’ successes have helped establish Raj as a highly respected media mogul in Bollywood and Hollywood spheres. Noticing this, many entrepreneurs began calling on her to share her expertise and coach them. After declining these requests for many years, Raj finally decided to say yes to her first client in 2017. As demands grew, in 2020, Raj was left to expand her consulting business into an online program called The Open Chest Chest Confidence Academy.
In this academy, students from all walks of life are equipped with tools that will help them find success in media, branding, and marketing through the lens of communications. What makes Open Chest Academy different from other typical professional coaching programs is the emphasis they put on helping clients heal from trauma and build confidence.
Raj is a firm believer that the trauma one experiences can significantly impact their ability to grow. She states, “I created my personal and professional life through the lens of trauma and a severe lack of confidence, which has left me asking ‘What more could have I accomplished if I had the support that I needed?’”
Raj does not want this to be the case for her clients. She has done the work of having an open mind, a disciplined work ethic, and employing other gurus to aid her in her journey of healing and achievement. In adherence to the Seva philosophy of Sikhism, she is now committed to being the guiding light or guru that would help others do the same. Her goal is to help her clients reach their nirvana by guiding them through the processes and training that have proven successful in her personal life and career.
The Open Chest Academy is a multi-tiered organization, meaning there are levels and opportunities for everyone regardless of what stage they are in their business, how much help they need, or their financial capacity.
Raj has for many years been a thought leader, innovator, and inspiration to many. We look forward to the many proteges she will birth through the academy and the impact and contribution they will all make in society as a result of her guidance and wisdom.
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