How Neha Negandhi Empowers Women to Heal and Transform

In this episode of Conversations with Rich Bennett, Rich sits down with Neha Negandhi, a TED Speaker, certified life coach, and co-host of the podcast Lentil Soup for the Soul. Neha shares her inspiring journey from magazine writing to hosting a radio show, and now podcasting, as a platform for empowering women through self-healing and personal growth. The conversation delves into how she encourages listeners to shift their mindset, overcome obstacles, and view challenges as opportunities for growth. Neha’s stories, including her father's battle with cancer and her journey to break into radio, offer a powerful testament to resilience and the strength of vulnerability.

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Keynote Speaker for Businesses and Nonprofits: Book Neha Today (nehanegandhi.com)

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Transcript

Rich Bennett 0:00
Thanks for joining the conversation where we explore the stories and experiences that shape our world. I'm your host, Rich Bennett. And today, we have the incredible nation, the Gandhi. Nayyar is a TED Speaker certified life coach and the dynamics of the podcast. Lentil Soup for the Soul. She's dedicated to empowering women and fostering self-healing through her inspiring work. So join us as we dive into her journey, the impactful stories from her podcast, Why she started the podcast and the powerful tool she shares to help us all become our best selves. Hey, how you doing, Nayyar? 

Neha Negandhi 0:39
Oh, my gosh. Wow. What a intro. I love that. That is amazing. I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. 

Rich Bennett 0:47
Oh, my. My pleasure. So I want to ask you, just before we started, we were talking and you mentioned you were in radio. What did you actually do in radio and how did you get into it? 

Neha Negandhi 0:59
Oh, my God. This is the funniest story. Okay. And this really happened. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 1:02
Okay, 

Neha Negandhi 1:04
I by trade before the radio show, I was a magazine writer and I still am amazing writer. And I, my editor at the time gave me this amazing story to interview a Nobel Prize Peace Prize winner. And I was like, this story. I mean, the article, the whole thing. I was like, this conversation that we just shared has to be on a bigger platform. So then in there, I decided I was going to start a radio show. I lived in Atlanta at the time. I still do, 

Rich Bennett 1:37
you 

Neha Negandhi 1:37
and 

Rich Bennett 1:37
know. 

Neha Negandhi 1:38
I knew zero people in the Atlanta radio market. So it was just great impetus. 

Rich Bennett 1:44
It makes it kind of hard. 

Neha Negandhi 1:46
Just automate yourself. So then I guess this is this one idea that I think I would leave this so fervently if you don't know. Ignorance is bliss. And so I said to myself, How am I going to start my own issue? I decided that I was going to walk into a radio station and ask them for a show. And this is the bulk of it. This is what you would do a lot of, you know, things as 

Rich Bennett 2:09
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 2:09
Literally walked into a radio station and I said Hi, hi to the receptionist, this young lady and I would like to have my own radio show here at the station. And the look on her. 

And then she said, ma'am, that that's not how it works. 

Oh, okay. Well, how do I do that? She gave me some stuff, and, you know, and I'm telling you how the universe works in mysterious ways. But before you know it, I. This took some time. Six months to eight months. 

Rich Bennett 2:51
It would be good. 

Neha Negandhi 2:52
Yeah. Did it do work? Well, it did work at that station, but a different station and. 

Rich Bennett 2:56
Right? 

Neha Negandhi 2:57
So, um, I'll be I hosted a radio show called Scene for the Inside Interviewed. It was a talk show, 30 minute talk 

Rich Bennett 3:04
Mm 

Neha Negandhi 3:04
show. 

Rich Bennett 3:04
hmm. 

Neha Negandhi 3:05
It aired broadcasted at 7 p.m. from 7 p.m. to 730. And I was talking with celebrities and how they use their platform to create social good in our communities. And, you know, it was it was it was amazing. I mean, my guests were, you know, like, you name the Who's who of Atlanta music scene, I had 52. 

Rich Bennett 3:26
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 3:27
Collective soul. It's Cee Lo Green. And I just. Jeff Foxworthy was on my show, and I could go on and on, but the platform was really about, you know, what they did to be socially responsible. And it was an amazing. 

Rich Bennett 3:40
I love that. 

Neha Negandhi 3:41
Right. And so and then I had my second born. She was born and then I went on maternity leave and then COVID happened and. 

Rich Bennett 3:51
Oh, boy. 

Neha Negandhi 3:52
Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, with. 

Rich Bennett 3:55
Yeah, but. But now you're doing pie kissing, which gives you even a bigger audience. 

Neha Negandhi 4:02
Well, yeah, it does. And I think the podcast is gives a lot of flexibility and. 

Rich Bennett 4:09
Yes. 

Neha Negandhi 4:10
It it really because for radio it was like tune in or you know listen on the on the back in whenever but it was this the podcast I can say to anybody at any time click here and whatever platform you listen on. So I mean that's really important not. That's a whole different avenues. Until. Listen. 

Rich Bennett 4:32
The other thing I love about podcasting versus radio, and I tell everybody this, So as you're listening to a pie, well, let's say you're listening to a talk show on radio. The radio doesn't have something that a podcast app does. It doesn't have a pause button. 

Neha Negandhi 4:52
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 4:53
So yeah, you're listen to a podcast and you're halfway through it. You can hit pause and come back an hour days later and continue listening to it. Radio You cannot do that. Yet. 

Neha Negandhi 5:05
Hundred. 

Rich Bennett 5:05
Yet. 

Neha Negandhi 5:06
Yes. Yet because there is radio now you can rewind. 

Rich Bennett 5:11
All. 

Neha Negandhi 5:11
Yes, yes, yes, yes. There was something. I was on my car and I was on my car. Car. But I swear I could press rewind on it and something happened and it went back. A song When me. I don't know. Don't. Don't quote me on this. Which I'm not. You know, I'm not the most techie girl in the whole. 

Rich Bennett 5:27
It was on your car. 

Neha Negandhi 5:29
It was on my car. It was on my car. 

Rich Bennett 5:32
Sure it wasn't Spotify. 

Neha Negandhi 5:33
Maybe. Maybe it was on Sirius. Maybe he was known as listening to Sirius XM. 

Rich Bennett 5:37
Okay. 

Neha Negandhi 5:38
Maybe. 

Rich Bennett 5:40
I mean, you figure TV has it. Hi, Chris. I'm surprised that radio. Well, I guess. Well, I guess with radio they can't because you still have your AM FM bands. 

Neha Negandhi 5:52
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 5:52
Which does not have that. And I don't even know if will ever have that capability. But radio's changed. Well, you went in right before COVID. 

Neha Negandhi 6:03
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 6:04
I started radio in 89. 

Neha Negandhi 6:06
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 6:07
And lastly, should I wear That was 2000. Now, the legislation I worked to, I did say also, you know, but even even the sales in radio 

Neha Negandhi 6:17
The 

Rich Bennett 6:17
has. 

Neha Negandhi 6:17
world is different. The world is going. 

Rich Bennett 6:19
Oh, it is. 

Neha Negandhi 6:21
But I will say this about podcasting versus radio. You know, there are 1.6 million podcast out there. There's no barriers to entry. 

Rich Bennett 6:30
Oh, there's more than that. 

Neha Negandhi 6:31
Obviously, this is the last that I read. 

Rich Bennett 6:33
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 6:34
I think the world of podcasting is amazing and I'm so much, you know, what you just said and all the benefits. But I think there's also a form of daunting ness about it, too. Whereas radio, you know, I mean, the harder to get in. But there seems to be a little bit more of of, of a smaller space plan when it comes to radio. 

Rich Bennett 6:56
Yeah, well, and I think what it is, too and I've seen this happen since I've been podcasting, and especially when COVID hit, when COVID hit. Well, before COVID, I tell everybody this, there is like 700,000 podcast out there. COVID hit. That number went up to like 7 million. Yeah, because everybody thought they could start a podcast and be a podcaster. They didn't realize all the work that goes into it. 

Neha Negandhi 7:23
Right. Right. 

Rich Bennett 7:24
So now I think that number I think the last time I looked at podcasting index, I think the number was like four, a little over 4 million podcast. But keep in mind, that doesn't mean there are active podcasts. 

Neha Negandhi 7:41
Right? Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 7:42
And I think for Active Case, it was only like, I don't even think it was a million. 

Neha Negandhi 7:48
Really? Okay. 

Rich Bennett 7:48
Yeah, to be honest. 

Neha Negandhi 7:50
Then you are. Yeah. My you know, my figures are when I get my numbers, I just sort of stick to it. I don't see the the dates that it came out. 

Rich Bennett 7:58
I have. I have to send you 

some links on, you know, what to look. Look at, because there's a there's a couple of different sites that I follow that will keep you that or keep you up to date on that as well as the charts. That's one thing I love about podcasting. There's a. Well, of course, you have your Apple chart, you have your Spotify charts. The one I love the most, and if you haven't checked it out yet, you need to. It's called Good Pods. It's like Billboard board meets social media, meets like a chat room or whatever, because people, they have the charts. So it'll show you where your podcast ranks in each category. 

Neha Negandhi 8:47
Right. 

Rich Bennett 8:48
And then people can leave a review, not just about the podcast, but about each episode. 

Neha Negandhi 8:55
Oh. 

Rich Bennett 8:56
You can reply back to the people. 

Neha Negandhi 8:58
Oh, it's interactive. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 9:00
Oh, yeah, Yeah. Oh, it's. I love it. I love it. And they're getting ready. They're getting ready to make some changes to it for the better. So, yeah, because that's how I found out. So when I went on there to look at your website and listen to it, that's how often I think you have, what, 16 episodes record? 

Neha Negandhi 9:18
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 9:19
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 9:20
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 9:21
That tells you about the podcast. 

Neha Negandhi 9:23
that's. 

Rich Bennett 9:23
Of course you can subscribe to it and all of that. So it's actually set with Lentil Soup for the Soul and that made it. How did you come up with the. 

Neha Negandhi 9:36
So I. I co-host the podcast with my friend. And so we were kind of thinking about names, what to call it. And we both a she actually came up with that. I, she was. 

Rich Bennett 9:48
Okay. 

Neha Negandhi 9:49
She had the series The Chicken Soup for the Soul. 

Rich Bennett 9:52
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 9:53
In our house as a teenager growing up. And, you know, she used to read and, you know, be like, what do you know? You know, what have we shifted this? And really kind of made it a little bit more cultural and just it's a lentil soup for the soul. And that's how we kind of changed that kind of a song we came up with. And I was like, Oh, that's amazing. That's such a such a kind of a grab as you go kind of name. And I'm kind of stuck, so. 

Rich Bennett 10:17
I like it. So what actually inspired you guys to start the podcast? 

Neha Negandhi 10:21
You know, we always have these really intoxicatingly. Important conversations about life and love and culture and women and all these different things. And I was like, you know, these conversations that we have, there's learnings that we can glean from it. And and, and I'm like, what if we shared some of this with others? And so this podcast idea was kind of blown. It was sort of my idea was that we should go on a we should do a podcast together. And it took us how many years to come to the point that we both felt like, yes, this is the right time to start because I have two young children and, you know, she has a thriving massage therapy business. So, you know, we just had to find the right moment in time to put to work. And so it it does. And it started and I mean, it's good. It's it's it's therapy in a way. 

Rich Bennett 11:20
Yeah. Oh, it is. And like, with me when I talk to my, you know, all the different guests I've had on, I learn something all the time. 

Neha Negandhi 11:29
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 11:29
Which is what I love, 

Neha Negandhi 11:31
I'm by no learning 

Rich Bennett 11:33
you 

Neha Negandhi 11:33
nothing. 

Rich Bennett 11:33
know? 

Neha Negandhi 11:33
All right, now we may get old. Well, you know, the morning never gets old, but I. 

Rich Bennett 11:38
Remember, as we get old, we get wiser, though. 

Neha Negandhi 11:41
That's right. That's right. We're like fine wine, right? I know, I know. I know. 

Rich Bennett 11:45
My what do you call not cosmetologist? God. 

Oh, God. The people that check your skin every. 

Neha Negandhi 11:54
Dermatologist. 

Rich Bennett 11:56
Dermatologist cosmetologist. Where is my mindset? 

Neha Negandhi 12:00
Really? 

Rich Bennett 12:01
Last time I went to my dermatologist, he told me I had wisdom spots. I'm like, What? He's like, You have wisdom spot. So I went. He told my wife, I said, You. The wiseguy wisdom species are aged. But I said, No, they're not. The doctors told me their wisdom spots, their wisdom spot. 

Neha Negandhi 12:20
Exactly. And go with it. Go with the. 

Rich Bennett 12:23
Yeah, exactly. So your PAC is actually focused on empowering women through self-healing, right? 

Neha Negandhi 12:30
Yes. Yeah. Well, empowering, you know, women and men. But yeah, we've I mean, we're two women. So in our primary audience are women. So we may speak to the audience a little bit more, but we do we try to, you know, say, as you said, give words of wisdom, gives them sort of tools and tips on how to shift the mindset. 

Rich Bennett 12:55
Yeah, 

Neha Negandhi 12:56
Right. And we we really delve into vulnerability. We we really share the things that, you know, hurt us or inspired us or, you know, we're barriers for us and then how we overcame that and then to motivate, inspire others to do the same. Um, I don't think I think of barriers as limitations or actually I think of them as catalysts for change. And how do you shift that or pivot it to make it the best part of who you are? Because we all have to stuff. Do we overcome? It's not like we are all born with perfect lives. There's no such thing. Otherwise 

Rich Bennett 13:34
right. 

Neha Negandhi 13:34
we can pull ourselves of God, right? And so how do we then take that what we've been given and say, this is the most perfect thing that was given for me not to make. 

Rich Bennett 13:46
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 13:47
So. You know, 

Rich Bennett 13:50
Now 

Neha Negandhi 13:51
I. 

Rich Bennett 13:51
with I know you guys have, you know, pretty new. You've only been 16 episodes in, but 

have you heard any gotten any response from any of your listeners yet? 

Neha Negandhi 14:05
Oh, my gosh. Like 

Rich Bennett 14:07
Okay. 

Neha Negandhi 14:07
so many. Like so many. 

Rich Bennett 14:09
Good. 

Neha Negandhi 14:10
It's been phenomenal, I have to say. And I think what I do like about podcasting, there's a sense of intimacy there. And they feel like you're your friends because, you know, they hear you in their ears or in their car and they're in a very quiet space. And then they're like, This is my phone. And so people stop me because the stories I've shared in the podcast that I don't remember, we were talking and I don't often remember what I said, and I'm like, Oh my God, I'm wishing your dad well. And I'm like, Why? What happened? 

Rich Bennett 14:41
This. 

Neha Negandhi 14:46
You know, and I totally forgot that in the podcast I shared that my dad has cancer. My dad is battling multiple myeloma cancer, and he's doing really well, thank God. And, you know, he's been battling this for two years, and I shared this on the podcast. And, you know, they're all like, Oh, you know what? You know, we're praying for your time. We're sending good wishes. And I'm like, 

Oh, thank you. Right. And there's so many more I could say. Or there's like, you know, Oh, my sister graduated from Appalachian State University because I shared that. I graduated from Appalachian State University, and I was like one of two Indian-Americans there because my origin is from India, my peers in the media. And so I was sharing stories about what it was like to be on a college campus with, you know, with not many people that look like me. And what. 

Rich Bennett 15:32
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 15:32
What that look like, what barriers that that that, you know that came up from that but you know and then and they're like, oh my God, you know, when I went to college there are all these stories that come up and they're so connecting and they're so they resonate because I'm like, we are impacting somebody. They're listening to us. They're they're, they're it's causing them to pause and rethink what they're going through. And if we can do that, I'm, I, I'm good with my job is good, 

Rich Bennett 16:03
Oh, yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 16:04
you know. 

Rich Bennett 16:05
And that's, I think, one of the biggest to me, one of the biggest rewards is when a listener gets in touch with you and thanks you for something like that because they'd learn something from it. 

Neha Negandhi 16:17
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:17
You know, it just. Oh, God. It's like. I don't know. You know, like when you volunteer and do stuff in the community, how you just feel so fulfilled. 

Neha Negandhi 16:28
Yes. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 16:29
Same with you listeners. You know, when a listener comes to you and and I've had this happen and I'll never forget I had a gentleman from Canada contact me because he heard one of the episodes that we did about addiction recovery. He contacted me and thanked me. He said, you know, you had your guest on and my daughter's going through recovery and I didn't know what to do. And listening to their story, that helped me. And now she's doing better. It's just us. So I can't tell you how many times I've been brought to tears. 

Neha Negandhi 17:03
Does 

Rich Bennett 17:03
You know. 

Neha Negandhi 17:04
not. And that's like heartfelt, you know? 

Rich Bennett 17:07
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 17:08
Well, it's like those full circle gratitude moments, right when you give to the world or to the universe and it comes back to you. Because it does it does get the love that you put out comes back three fold. And so to me, those are your full circle gratitude moments that are that are gifts. 

Rich Bennett 17:24
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 17:25
You know, so. 

Rich Bennett 17:26
Now with your package and with you being a life coach, do you tie that into the package as well? 

Neha Negandhi 17:33
Everyday. I think it's I think it's hard to differentiate the two because I think life coaching has a lot of common sense and a lot of what we do and a lot of goal setting and a lot of achieving and a lot of what you already do, but making it better. So in a lot of shifting, shifting of the mindset. So yeah, there's a lot of that that comes and I don't like coach one on one. I love doing it in a group sort of format. 

Rich Bennett 17:57
Group setting J. 

Neha Negandhi 17:58
Drops of around that, around nothing of that. But I think this whole life coaching and this whole. I really want to, you know, think about it as mindset, mindset shifting, because if we can get it into our heads that whatever is given to us was given to us for a reason and a purpose. And if we can understand that, and then in take that to be good and take that to be positives instead of like, Oh, woe me, I. 

Rich Bennett 18:29
Right? 

Neha Negandhi 18:29
I feel like, you know, and I often think about this because I think about, you know, the battles that people face. And I may not face the same battles like I don't face the battles of cancer like my dad has. 

Rich Bennett 18:41
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 18:41
However, he has the best mindset about it. He is truly positive. And I really believe that that has helped to help to help helped all of us as a family. Because here's our father on patriarch of our family, and he's making the best of the situation. He's never, ever said to us, Why did this happen to me? I am about to go into, you know, the years of my life that I'm supposed to live in peace. He's never said that to us and to us. We're just like, wow. So I take so much inspiration from that and say. Now the things that we face in our world and in our lives, if we can think about them as gifts, gifts that we're given and how to unwrap it one piece at a time to make it the best thing, and then you change that around to give it back as a gift to the world. These other full circle gratitude moments, that's what we talked about. So now. 

Rich Bennett 19:41
How is your father actually doing? 

Neha Negandhi 19:43
He is so gone. I wish. I mean, he's 81 years old and. I mean, amazing. Like I you know, his tests are showing, well, his multiple myeloma. And, you know, though the doctor says he's never going to be in remission, you know, we just think God, every day, 

Rich Bennett 20:00
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 20:00
every day that he's just thriving every single day. So, yes. 

Rich Bennett 20:05
I actually had a gentleman on with multiple myeloma. 

Neha Negandhi 20:08
Really? 

Rich Bennett 20:09
Guess I'll have to find out is his name. Because if you're interested in talking to him. He was amazing, simply amazing. And actually wrote a book 

Neha Negandhi 20:20
Really? 

Rich Bennett 20:21
about. 

Neha Negandhi 20:21
Oh, my God. You just shoot me. Yes, you. Let me. 

Rich Bennett 20:24
I will. 

Neha Negandhi 20:25
You get to my dog? Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 20:27
Have you thought about having your dad one? 

Neha Negandhi 20:31
No rich. 

No, I haven't. You know I haven't. Yeah, it's interesting. Is it? Just because we do, there's a little bit of a language barrier, you know, So we have to sort of compensate for that. But, um. No, I don't know. I. I know I haven't. But you. Yeah, I. 

Rich Bennett 20:52
I have a funny feeling. It'd be pretty inspiring if you did. 

Neha Negandhi 20:55
I think so too. I, I am. I'm a bit of a daddy's girl, so I, I have two sisters, so there's three of us. But I'm a bit of a daddy's girl. And my dad, I would say, to do the stuff. My dad is a master storyteller. My. 

Rich Bennett 21:10
Oh, 

Neha Negandhi 21:11
Oh, my God. The way he tells stories is the way I got it from. I say this 

Rich Bennett 21:15
right. 

Neha Negandhi 21:15
so many times. I. I know so much about my dad and the way he was brought up in India. And, you know, you know, riding his bicycles through the town. And I could just picture his life. I could just picture because he, like, paints that story so vividly that I'm right there with that. And and so you're right. It's a very I take I think it's seriously easy to record my own past because I feel like I carry that forward. And so I, I recorded their their stories. But that's interesting that you ask me that. And I don't even have to take a serious think about this. 

Rich Bennett 21:51
I think you should. 

Neha Negandhi 21:52
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 21:54
And I've had I've had different people on, I've told you, but I had somebody I'd find a couple different people from India. But when you're talking to somebody that's been in another country and just to hear the stories of everything they've gone through, good and bad. But it it's living wise, it's different in these other countries than it is here. And I think after you talk to them, a lot of people here take a lot of stuff for granted. 

Neha Negandhi 22:23
My gosh, my. 

Rich Bennett 22:25
Without a doubt. And when I hear these stories. Oh, my God, I'm just. I'm blown away. 

Neha Negandhi 22:33
Right. Right. 

Rich Bennett 22:34
People were amazing. 

Neha Negandhi 22:36
What they do. I mean, really, and I think about that I like as I like to children right now. My son is 15. And the things that he thinks are problems. I kind of like have to scoff and people make me. Please, kid, how I come coming from a kid that has everything handed to him. His has his his definition of a problem is know it. And I talked to your grandfather. Talk to your grandfather's friends. Talk to your grandmother. Talked. Talk to those people that have really faced some serious problems. Into a country where they knew nothing and they had to build a life for themselves when they had to raise children, where they had to make a living, when they they didn't use money, they had no sense of community here, and they 

Rich Bennett 23:25
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 23:25
will die for nothing. My dad will tell you he came to this country with $8 in his pocket and built 

Rich Bennett 23:31
Wow. 

Neha Negandhi 23:31
the. Amazing life for all of us. Right and left, paved the way, paved the way for us. And so it's like, I mean, he will tell you like he was three jobs, worked as a security guard. I mean, just worked as a dishwasher, a busboy, like everything, anything to make money so that his family would have shelter, food in love. I mean, those are the three things that he valued more than anything else, which then I'm like, that's what I want to give back to my kids. I'm like, you know, you see this? You see the generation before you, what they did for you, what they paid for you, that that's who you should be learning from. And we assist you in as your parents. We are here as guideposts. We are as good listeners, sincerely believe that, you know. And so, yeah, I glean a lot from the past. I believe that there's a lot of learning to be done. 

Rich Bennett 24:26
Absolutely. Absolutely. A lot of learning. And it's something that good or bad. Never forget, never forget the past, because we can learn from it. 

Neha Negandhi 24:36
100%. 

Rich Bennett 24:37
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 24:38
You know, 100%. You know, I you know, I'm really I'm kind of like reading a lot and researching a lot is this loneliness epidemic that's really prevalent and. 

Rich Bennett 24:48
Oh. 

Neha Negandhi 24:48
Society right now. 

Rich Bennett 24:50
Especially when COVID hit. I think 

Neha Negandhi 24:52
Los. 

Rich Bennett 24:52
it. 

Neha Negandhi 24:53
Yes. And I I've been reading a lot about it because, like I said, my son is 15, so he's a teenager. My daughter's almost seven. And it's like, what? This this loneliness and isolation and alienation that's facing us now, you know, what does that mean? What are the ramifications of that? And how does that affect mental health? That is a. 

Rich Bennett 25:15
Oh. 

Neha Negandhi 25:16
Big thing. That is my primary thing in life. How does that affect your mental health and what are you doing to shift? Not because. 

Rich Bennett 25:24
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 25:24
How can we help you? How are we as someone, as an older generation from these younger people, 15 to 20 year old? How can we help? That's I have to say, that's one of my biggest things right now. And, you know, if I could do a podcast or write a book or do articles. However, to help with that, do a workshop to bring young people together so we can have a real space to talk about this. Where where there's no sense of shame or there's no sense of stigma. There's no sense of, you know, trust barriers in that space. How can we really delve into this in a conversational, interactive format is one 

Rich Bennett 26:01
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 26:01
of my is one of the things that I'm really working on, right. 

Rich Bennett 26:05
One of the things I found amazing because we we talk about mental health a lot, and I've had my daughter was in that grad debt covered, graduating class. 

Neha Negandhi 26:16
Who knew? 

Rich Bennett 26:17
Yeah. So she was 20, 20, so she really didn't get a graduation. I mean, they did, 

Neha Negandhi 26:24
But. 

Rich Bennett 26:24
but not like, you know, you could have have people in there. One at a time. They walked into the school and then up on the stage to get their diploma, walked outside the school, and you could say it was just it was sad. One of the things I've noticed, which we've discussed this a lot. Anxiety, depression and suicide has been on the rise ever since Curb It. But when you talk to these kids, well, some of them are adults now. It's it helps. I found that when they come on the show or if they listen to it, it helps them because they know it's okay to talk about it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of 

parents, grandparents and other adults that really don't know how to talk to the kids that are going through this, though. And that's a problem because one of the things I hear, especially with. You know, these young people, if they're if they're in depression or anxiety, this just frustrates the hell out of me. I've heard an adult tell somebody, say, well, it's all in your head. Don't you know, just get it out of your head. 

Neha Negandhi 27:44
Hmm. 

Rich Bennett 27:44
First of all, well, duh. Yeah, it's in your head, but 

Neha Negandhi 27:48
Well, 

Rich Bennett 27:48
you just 

Neha Negandhi 27:48
running. 

Rich Bennett 27:49
can't. 

Neha Negandhi 27:51
Well. 

Rich Bennett 27:51
Rid of it. Everybody's different. 

Neha Negandhi 27:54
Everybody's different. And I feel like. I feel like. I try to say that young people don't often have the space to talk about things and they don't have the trust in others to share. And I am I am so vigilant about like in almost adamant about creating that space. And I feel like that space, that that phrase is kind of overused. But to make an environment for them to say what is on their heart or on their mind. Without any sort of shame. 

Rich Bennett 28:39
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 28:39
And I feel like we as the the you know, the generation that's, you know, that's come before them have to do that for that. I think that's what we owe them. I honestly believe that. And so I'm I if I could do my part to do that, to create that space, to say to them that they're safe, that whatever they need or want is available to them. Because, you know, I think this the current times that we live in now, which I didn't have when I was growing up, was that there are so many non-profits. There are so. 

Rich Bennett 29:14
Oh, yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 29:15
This is to help their every there's so much available hope that if they're you know, if their financial situation doesn't allow for it, that there's hope for that. I mean, there's help. There's help. There's help. There's help. It's the fact that we've got to coax them out of their of their this thing, their blinders they have on that. 

Rich Bennett 29:35
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 29:36
Nobody wants to listen to me. No, I can't trust them. They're going to shame me. They're going to make fun of me. They're going to do what you said, get out of get it, you know, get just, you know, just get it out of your head. And I'm I. 

There's no there's no way that a young person would then trust. Anybody, if they're going to come to you with that kind of want to talk, you know, And so. 

I believe that we have to do that. I believe we have to do that because the numbers, if you start looking at the data, the data is already showing us some really some trends that we may want to think about reversing. Right. If we start 

Rich Bennett 30:19
Yes. 

Neha Negandhi 30:19
thinking about, you know, more women in college, that means more women are coming out of college versus men. And then there is this there's this shifting of society because women are coming out making more money now, you know, that's fine. That's great. I'm all for that. We should we should support that wholeheartedly. But we should also support men going into college and graduating and making, you know, money, too, because eventually the woman and the man will find each other, find a meet. And then that's important that they make one of the primary things that they make about the same money. I think that 

Rich Bennett 30:53
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 30:54
the important factor to think about and so there's data out there that we need to think about how we can at least equal an equal on on all fronts, that I'm 

Rich Bennett 31:06
You. 

Neha Negandhi 31:06
I'm a big proponent of that. 

Rich Bennett 31:09
Well, I think the other thing, too, with as far as guys going into college, 

I think you're also seeing a lot more of them going back into the trades because the trees have been hurt. My son just did that. My son was going to college, then decided to get out of college and join the electricians union and go through the apprenticeship program. So this way he was he was getting the education and being paid. To work while he's going through the apprenticeship program. And now here he is, a certified electrician with the union and making good money and loves it. 

Neha Negandhi 31:50
And that's what I'm saying. I mean. Vocational vocations. Let's put the loved back into it. Let's nurture that. You know, I mean that those skills are so needed and. Like their prime. You're right. They're hurting for people. And I'm. 

Rich Bennett 32:07
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 32:08
What happened in this reversal about, you know, I if I it's my soapbox but I feel like. There's a lot we can talk about and a lot that can be said about this. And again, I will say I'm a big proponent of every woman pursuing and doing 

Rich Bennett 32:26
Yes. 

Neha Negandhi 32:26
anything they want dream of. I'm a product of that. So in no way would I ever take away anybody from doing that. However, I just want to see it be a little bit more equal. 

Rich Bennett 32:37
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 32:37
On off lots of. 

Rich Bennett 32:39
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 32:39
So. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 32:41
Oh, absolutely. I think the other thing is to especially of the younger generation, a lot of them feel like they can be social media influencers. That's their dream. That's what they want to do and doesn't happen to everybody. And if you look if you look at the ones that are social media influencers, when it comes to mental health, oh my God, some of them are the worse 

Neha Negandhi 33:06
So sad. So sad. 

Rich Bennett 33:08
is. 

Neha Negandhi 33:08
And I mean, yeah, I mean, if that's what your, you know, your dream is to be a social media influencer. Good for you. Yeah. You know, but. Everybody can't be that. And then look at the data, Right? How many? How many reach that point? And, you know, if you if it's like 1%, then you know the rest of the 99% without a plan B, Right. You know, a plan B, what? 

Rich Bennett 33:32
Exactly. 

Neha Negandhi 33:33
For you to make your capital and to get your you know, to get your work, because it's, you know, we as a society function like that. Hey, I didn't make the rules. We all have to play in the same sandbox. So I. 

Rich Bennett 33:45
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 33:47
And while you're young, it is not time to build up your capital, build up your network and do all that stuff. So then you can, you know, in the later stages in life, you know, enjoy it. So I think it's important that we we talk about the love of vocational school and being a tradesman or tradesman know whatever that is. And if social media influencing is your thing. Yeah, good for you. However, there's other things out there too. 

Rich Bennett 34:16
Yes. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I was going to be a rock star. 

Neha Negandhi 34:23
You still are. 

Rich Bennett 34:25
No, no, we're not. The being kicked me out. 

I like doing this a lot more. Anyways, if I would, if I would have actually become if I were to follow my dreams in the world or whatever, I probably wouldn't be here today. Yeah, You look. 

Neha Negandhi 34:43
Well, you're rocking the pod pod pod world, so you know you're doing all right. Doing all right. You've been doing this for almost ten years. That's. That's a lot. That's. 

Rich Bennett 34:53
Yeah. Thanks. They, huh? You know, when you told me that before we start recording, you made me feel even older. 

Neha Negandhi 34:57
No. Come on. 

Podcasting, as we've kind of talked about, right? You kind of come and go, you know, and you know, and for you to do this for ten years and now you're starting to do consulting, I think you should think too, you know. And I think I think are you you're totally mocking us. 

Rich Bennett 35:16
I do love it. I do love it, actually, with yours. Let me ask you this, because this is so especially for new podcasters. I love this question, especially if I can help. What's been some of the biggest challenges for you? Well, for you and your cohost with the podcast. 

Neha Negandhi 35:34
Oh, I got a hands down. I think it's to how to grow your listenership. I think. I think we're good with, you know, getting our fans to listen and our friends of friends, we sort of have those circles, you know, they talk about. But how do you reach those people, like, for example, that live in Minnesota? I mean, we don't know any better than the Minnesota. How do you reach those people? How do you like. Yeah, that's been one of the biggest things that kind of keeps me up at night. Like, how do you how do you grow your listenership authentically, authentically. Right. 

Rich Bennett 36:04
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 36:04
Grab those people that are interested and gravitating towards listening to women talk about shifting your mindset and all this stuff. How do you do that? So yeah. 

Rich Bennett 36:17
What? Well, first thing first thing I would say is when it comes to that. Ignore the downloads. Too many people focus on the downloads. Downloads don't equal listeners and they don't equal place. Because somebody could download your podcast and never even listen to it. You can have 20 people sitting around listening to your podcasts, but it may only show us one. Yeah. It's not like radio where they there's no true measure. There's nothing that can truly measure the success of a podcast. One of the things I mentioned to you before, and this I believe this is what helps is the charts. Look at the charts as far as getting listeners, because a lot of people say you've got to be all over social media. That doesn't hurt. But your podcast listeners aren't. If they see that you post on social media, there's no way for them to click it. Start listening to the podcast. They're not going to because they're on social media. I found the best place to find other listeners on another podcast. You're doing it 1 to 1 thing right now, being a guest on another podcast on Image podcast. That's a big help. That helps a lot. I mean, you think I'm in 99 different countries right now. 

Neha Negandhi 37:40
My. 

Rich Bennett 37:40
So, you know, those people in all those countries are going to hear this episode with you. 

Neha Negandhi 37:46
I seen. 

Rich Bennett 37:47
The other thing I do is when I said to reach podcast listeners, advertise on other podcast, there's different platforms out there where you can create an ad for your podcast and it'll play on several different podcasts. That's where you're going to find your podcast listeners. 

Neha Negandhi 38:07
Well, that's great. No, I never. This is. This is great. I. 

Thank you, Raj. I. 

Rich Bennett 38:16
I said, I love doing this. I love helping other podcasters as well. It's just as if they have a good podcast. I want to help them and you have a great podcast. 

Neha Negandhi 38:25
Thank you. That means a lot coming from you. Truly mean that. 

Rich Bennett 38:30
One of the funniest things 

this is it sounds kind of goofy, but it worked 

so I love where, as my kids call them, dad shirts. Earth was stains on them or whatever. So I had one. And across the front it says CW RB, which is short for conversations with Rich Bennett and on the back I got a big QR code. It just says, Scan this. 

Whether I go to a ball game or whatever, that's I'm aware where people. It looks kind of weird because you think people are taking a picture of my ass or something. 

Scan the QR code, which takes them right to the podcast. 

Neha Negandhi 39:19
God is great. You're like a walking advertisement. 

Rich Bennett 39:23
Yeah, you got to market it and you don't be afraid to market it. Marketing, however, you got to be creative, you know, and QR codes. Everybody's got cell phones nowadays, mobile, whatever you want to call them. Well, you can use I use a website I believe is called Kite Link, where if you create the QR code from that, if somebody 

scans a QR code, it's going to open up whatever podcast that they listen to automatically. 

Neha Negandhi 39:58
Oh. Oh. 

Rich Bennett 39:59
For that. Yeah. So, yeah, there's so many different ways and things you can do. It's. It's fine. 

Neha Negandhi 40:09
That's amazing. I 

Rich Bennett 40:10
I'm. 

Neha Negandhi 40:10
see. I just learned a lot today. 

Wow. 

Rich Bennett 40:15
That's my goal. And actually, you got it, because when you guys first started, you were just talking to each other, right? 

Neha Negandhi 40:22
Yes, exactly. 

Rich Bennett 40:24
Now, but now you're getting guests on. 

Neha Negandhi 40:27
Yes. Yes, we 

Rich Bennett 40:28
So 

Neha Negandhi 40:28
are. 

Rich Bennett 40:28
where where are you finding your get? And I'm going to make a prediction right now. I think matter of fact, I don't think I know once you do an episode with your father, it's going to be your most listened to episode. 

Neha Negandhi 40:42
How? How low. 

Rich Bennett 40:44
I'm just saying. I'm just saying. I think it will. I know it will be. 

Neha Negandhi 40:48
I'm sharing this with my dad. He's going to he's going to love this. He will eat this up, you know, Don't need. You will eat it up and have it up. 

Rich Bennett 40:57
Where do you guys find most of your list? Are most of your guests now? 

Neha Negandhi 41:00
Um, so I, you know, I think I mentioned I've been in Atlanta for. 

Rich Bennett 41:06
Right? 

Neha Negandhi 41:06
For many years, for ten years now. And. And then I took it on a stint to live in Seattle. And then I lived in Atlanta for another ten. 

So I knew a lot of people. I'm deeply vested in this community. And I sit on I've sat on several non-profit executive boards, and because of that, I happen to know a lot of people that live here. So when we started the podcast, we kind of made a list about the people that we thought would make good just. 

Rich Bennett 41:36
Yes. 

Neha Negandhi 41:36
And I just started emailing them and calling them and saying, Hey, we're doing this podcast. Would you consider being a guest on up? And you would put in, you know, this? Most people love to talk about themselves. I mean, is anyone giving you a platform to do that? And, you know, and we'd send you the questions in advance. So, yeah, 30 minutes of their time, they say yes, thankfully. And they have been wonderful. It's truly been wonderful. So, yeah, you. So, yeah, it's really reaching out to my network of people. 

Rich Bennett 42:11
So you've also you said you've written for magazines re. 

Neha Negandhi 42:15
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 42:16
So. So when when are you going to write a book? 

Neha Negandhi 42:20
I. Oh, my gosh. Should I just not mention I would love to write a book. I nothing would make me happier than to write a book. 

I think. I think it's got to be the right time. I. 

Rich Bennett 42:33
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 42:34
You know, I feel like I feel like my kids are I know there's not an excuse because everybody doesn't. And I, I still think it's another season for me. I don't know what season you. 

I still think, though, for me it's another season. I don't know when I'll let you know, which I'll let you know. 

Rich Bennett 42:56
Well, you're got to because you're going to have to come on and promote the book. 

Neha Negandhi 43:01
You're so good. I want to take you home. I want to take you out. I really enjoying this conversation. I'd. Well, thank you, though. I just mean so well that, you know, you would have me back on. And after I write a book, it's going to become a bestseller. And then you're predicting my dad to be the highest grossing person. I think that's amazing. 

Rich Bennett 43:22
You'll be back on before you write a book. Because what I would love to do is, like I say, I love talking to other podcasters. And actually I have a young lady that I'm recording with this week and. It's been a year since the last time we talked. She's doing a podcast, so she's coming back, going because I wanted to talk to her a year afterwards to find out how it's going, which I know it's going very well because I looked at the charts and she's like, in the top of the charts. I don't know. She knows that. 

Neha Negandhi 43:53
A. 

Rich Bennett 43:54
Yeah, but it's it's going very well. So I definitely. If not within a year, it'll be before that because I want to find out how everything's going and how that episode with your father went. But actually, what are your future goals for. Lentil Soup for the Soul and how do you envision the podcast evolving over time besides having your father on? 

Neha Negandhi 44:16
No, I don't. 

I you know, I. Well, let's just see how it goes. I you know what? We we are just like a week at a time. A week at a time. You know, we're looking gassed and and and, you know, I will say we are thinking about taking a little break for the summer. Guess the summer was just kind of a little you will not see with lot of movie direction. 

Rich Bennett 44:40
Right? 

Neha Negandhi 44:41
But vacations and X, Y, Z. But I'm so we may say season one and 

Rich Bennett 44:46
Yes. 

Neha Negandhi 44:47
20 and and then, you know, we'll come back to it. But yeah, I think for us it's week to week and and growing and I, I really believe it's doing authentic to our message and in still connecting very much to our audience. I we're both very much into that you know and growing our sponsorship pool and you know doing all the things. But I think all of that will come, you know, with time. 

Rich Bennett 45:15
I will. 

Neha Negandhi 45:16
Yeah. Yeah. So I, I, you know. Well, maybe we'll get a T-shirt with or without QR code on. 

Rich Bennett 45:22
I got it. You may be surprised. 

Neha Negandhi 45:26
You betcha. I mean it. I don't know, I. You know. So. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 45:31
Actually have you have you and your co-hosts been on other podcasts together? Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 45:38
No, we have not together. 

Rich Bennett 45:40
What? 

Neha Negandhi 45:41
Yeah, we 

Rich Bennett 45:42
When 

Neha Negandhi 45:42
were. 

Rich Bennett 45:42
I 

Neha Negandhi 45:43
No, no. I mean, because we're three and a half months in, right? So we're still kind of babies and they're still figuring all of this all this out. But but yeah, I you know, I mean, and and, and everything individually, we have some individual pursuits that we're interested 

Rich Bennett 45:57
write. 

Neha Negandhi 45:58
in as well. And so, you know, one of mine is, like I said, just to grow this, this just, you know, shifting of the mental mindset and really understanding, you know, how how we can best support the people that need our help and, and, and doing this podcast too. But you know hers the hers are her individual goals maybe a little bit you know it's not aligned more to her to her like a massage therapy or other things. So we converge when it comes to the podcast and then we also diverge into our own specific individual goals as well, which I think is a great partnership because I, I truly believe that in order to be a really good partner, you have to have your individual things that make you feel so. So, yeah, I, um. But this I love like I love, I love, I love interviewing and I love, I love talking to people and really understanding, you know, and learning. I think we talked about this also we started with and really learning and how to best you know, how to how to best shift that mental space is just so important to me. 

Rich Bennett 47:08
Yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely. You also do keynote speaking. 

Neha Negandhi 47:13
Yes, I do. I do. 

Rich Bennett 47:16
Tell us a little bit about that, because I know you. I think you know you. I don't know. Have you travel the country, do a virtual or jazz there or whatever, but. 

Neha Negandhi 47:25
I mean, I would love to travel the country, but I, yeah, I, I, so I, I do it here in Atlanta. I started out with a nonprofit that I'm at that I'm involved in. They came up to me and said, you know, we we need a keynote speaker. Are you interested? And I was like, sure, yes, let's do this, because I think we all have stories to tell, but it's really about who is your audience and how to best connect to that audience, that that that audience opens up their hearts to you. And I think that is the most important thing that we can do. So this particular fundraiser, I will say I came from I don't know, there was a movie that came out in 2015, a documentary. It's called India's Daughter. I don't know if you've I've I've heard of it, but it's a documentary that that was done by a British filmmaker based on a rape that happened in New Delhi, India. And it was a highly publicized case that happened. And this British filmmaker went and did a documentary about it around and around the facts and what happened and the victim and and also the perpetrators. The film was released and I was like, This film is so important. It's so important that it gets. 

Rich Bennett 48:46
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 48:46
Seen, and it gets a wide, wide audience. I understand that this crime didn't happen in America, but I felt so, so impelled to do something about it. So 

Rich Bennett 48:59
And. 

Neha Negandhi 49:01
I did. I gathered my forces together and we flew the filmmaker here to Atlanta, and we had wrapped around this and we had a screening, a screening of the film, and it was attended by over 400 people. And I just felt like if we could create this sort of platform to show this type of film and what it means and the difference that we can make to change people's lives, like we don't ever want to see this happen ever again, how we can make that difference, then we can then. And so I'm always like rooting for that. So I. So it kind of started from there and it kind of started with like, how do I how do I, you know, make this more of a story? How do I make this more connecting to our audience? And so, you know, we did that film and we did that. And then, you know, sort of events from that. But I will say, you know, one of the gifts that God gave me was how to understand who I'm speaking to and how to make a place for them in their heart, like how to like, say, how, how, how this is going to be relevant to you and how this is going to connect to you. And I, I mean, I believe that's a gift. You know, I think 

Rich Bennett 50:23
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 50:23
only when I gift saw, write and also own what's what's the barriers that we face. But that's one of the gifts that I have. And so I take that really seriously. And I'm like, if I can talk to an audience and I can and make them understand that, what are these faces? US faces, 

Rich Bennett 50:41
Mm 

Neha Negandhi 50:41
everybody, 

Rich Bennett 50:41
hmm. 

Neha Negandhi 50:42
nothing is done to you, is done for you. And I always emphasize that. And so. And if I can share anything that we're hoping and I do, I really tried to. One of the most important things that I did before I took on any kind of keynote or any kind of like emceeing thing is who's my audience? Who am I going to speak to? How is this going to be important to them? How what can I say or add or do that will impact them too, to then, you know, emotionally connect? 

Rich Bennett 51:12
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 51:13
So yeah, it's yeah, it's important. So that's what I do. And I hope that I can continue doing it because it's really important to me. 

Rich Bennett 51:21
You will be 

Neha Negandhi 51:22
Oh. 

Rich Bennett 51:22
surprised. How many different nonprofits are you associated with? 

Neha Negandhi 51:26
Oh, my gosh. 

Through the years. I can't even I. Oh, my God. I mean, I was say. 

Rich Bennett 51:32
All right, let me rephrase this. Because I forget. I mean, I'm associated with God knows how many, but how many boards do you sit on? That's probably the easiest way. 

Neha Negandhi 51:44
Yeah, that's good. Yeah, I, you know, I insisted on I used it on Junior League of Atlanta's Executive ward, which is one 

Rich Bennett 51:51
Oh. 

Neha Negandhi 51:51
of my five enjoys. I sit on Atlanta Youth Tennis Education Foundation and my son is a competitive tennis player. So I wanted to see how we can give back to that as a community. I sit on the executive board. I have to say that I've cut back at some of my nonprofit roles Did the connections and the roots run deep. And so I feel like, you know, when I once I want to get back into that nonprofit space, when I have the bandwidth to do it, I certainly will. But I feel like right now, my my way of giving back to our community is really opening up and creating that space is like I talked to like I talked about I'm I'm really into I just So in March of this year, I emceed an event for Women's Day and the keynote speaker at that event wrote a book called Purple Lotus. And we were talking and she was bringing up some stories and wanted to get very interactive with the audience and the whole. The book is based upon immigrant Indian women story about how women come to this country knowing their husbands are meeting them for four days and just coming in now where you're like, they go to life with this person, build a life in a country that you've never been to and be happy while you're doing it, right. I mean, that's just 

Rich Bennett 53:06
Wow. 

Neha Negandhi 53:06
it's it's it's it's kind of like, oh, my God. You know, and but people do it all the time, every single day, but every day they do it. And so we encourage the women to stand up and share their stories in this in this space. We were at 

Rich Bennett 53:24
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 53:24
at first there was crickets. And this one lovely lady stood up is share her story. And tears were down people's faces and this other person stood up and she gave her story and it was like a domino effect and. I mean, it was the power in that room was palpable. And I was like, Oh my God, if we can do this here, and if we can get them to open up and share and trust us. And it really made a difference. It really a lot of women came up to me afterwards and said, I've never done that. I've never shared my story like. 

Rich Bennett 54:03
Wow. 

Neha Negandhi 54:05
And here is a woman that's like I met my husband for days. We were married, met four days later, we married and he went back to America. Came back to America. And then I was I came here a year later. And having met him, I was like, wow, wow. I know. There's no. 

Rich Bennett 54:25
I can imagine. 

Neha Negandhi 54:27
And this is not like, oh, it's helping a one person. 

Rich Bennett 54:31
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 54:32
This happens all the time. All the time. Maybe not so much today. Nowadays. Times are we're so much more connected. And that. That. That. 

Rich Bennett 54:40
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 54:41
But in my generation. Yes, so many. So many. So. Like what? Like what does that mean? Would the barrier surface? How did they overcome that? How are they, like, happy in and living and thriving And now they, in fact, are giving back to our community. Right. Like, how do we like that full circle? That's a full circle. 

Rich Bennett 55:03
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 55:05
And so, like I. Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 55:11
Mm. 

I even from both ends. From from the woman and and the man. I just. I can't imagine that. 

Neha Negandhi 55:24
Yes. So read the book. 

Rich Bennett 55:27
That was. That was. And what's the book called again? 

Neha Negandhi 55:30
Purple Lotus. Purple, 

Rich Bennett 55:32
It is. 

Neha Negandhi 55:33
Purple Lotus. It's such a good book. The author is just an amazing woman. And I just I cannot say enough about about the book and the story she tells, because it is a story of so many other immigrant women who. 

Rich Bennett 55:47
Have you had her on your podcast? 

Neha Negandhi 55:49
Episode number four 

Rich Bennett 55:50
Oh, okay. 

Neha Negandhi 55:50
episode on. 

Rich Bennett 55:51
Oh, okay. 

Neha Negandhi 55:52
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 55:53
Okay. 

Neha Negandhi 55:55
Our first guest. Our first guest was the author of this book. 

Rich Bennett 55:58
Okay. All right. And that's episode number four. 

Neha Negandhi 56:01
Episode number four. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 56:03
So I got to definitely go listen to that one. 

Neha Negandhi 56:06
Please, Please do. 

Rich Bennett 56:08
Because I've listened. I think I've listened to the first well, of course, the trailer. 

Neha Negandhi 56:12
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 56:13
And then the first three. 

Neha Negandhi 56:15
Oh, wow. That's amazing. 

Rich Bennett 56:18
Well, I get it because I, 

I get people that also send me their podcast to critique them. 

Neha Negandhi 56:27
Interestingly. 

Rich Bennett 56:27
As well. So. And then on top of it. Well, you figure. Do you actually do you who does the editing for your podcast? 

Neha Negandhi 56:35
So my co-host, Johnny, and she and I used to have first couple episodes we did together, and now she's sort of taken the reins and does. 

Rich Bennett 56:42
Okay. 

Neha Negandhi 56:43
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 56:43
So I mean that alone. So if I record a one hour podcast, another hour of editing, because you got to listen to the full podcast. Then of course the marketing and all that. I did one. So one of my sponsors wanted to do one about living a fulfilled life. 

We did it in person. It was myself, my son, my wife's cousins. There is five of us total. And of course, yeah, they wanted old fashioneds, so I made them some drinks. But that was an hour and a half, an hour and a half. And I spent over 8 hours Eddie in. 

Neha Negandhi 57:30
Oh, wow. 

Rich Bennett 57:31
And the reason being is because, yeah, I checked all the settings. Everything was fine. Somehow or another, I ain't going to mention, Oh, but somehow or another. One of the guests must have turned their microphone off and didn't know it. And I didn't know because the board was behind me. So I couldn't see it. 

Yeah. So I'm like, Wait a minute, why am I only seeing four tracks? There should be five tracks here. 

Neha Negandhi 58:00
Oh, my goodness. 

Rich Bennett 58:01
So luckily, yeah, after, like I said, 8 hours of editing, I was able to pull his voice out from the other two microphones that the other are all the microphones that the other guys were talking into because we were at a roundtable. 

Neha Negandhi 58:16
Why me? 

Rich Bennett 58:17
Sounds like Vegas, but yeah, 8 hours. Was it worth it? Absolutely. 

Neha Negandhi 58:25
Your. 

Rich Bennett 58:25
Because it was a good message coming across. 

Neha Negandhi 58:27
Right, right, right. 

Rich Bennett 58:29
Yeah, actually. And if you haven't had this yet, you might. Have you ever had a guest come on yet? Especially if it's their first time ever doing a podcast that was just nervous. 

Neha Negandhi 58:42
No, not yet. Because. 

Rich Bennett 58:44
Okay. 

Neha Negandhi 58:45
We usually bring on like executive directors and CEOs of. 

Rich Bennett 58:49
So there used to. 

Neha Negandhi 58:50
So they're very used to talking. And then we before we do a lot of like we we're like, hey, let's let's talk. Let's, let's let's. Because we in our podcast, we really try to get them to be vulnerable with us. Here are some of their stories because that's what our podcast is about. And so. 

Rich Bennett 59:10
Right. 

Neha Negandhi 59:11
They got to trust us in order to do that. Right. And so we tried really hard to sort of get them to say this is, you know, this is the space and, you know, we're here to. Kerry, You and Kerry, you know your story and Kerry your legacy. So let's open up and share. That's that's what we do. 

Rich Bennett 59:32
Be honest, Nihar, how many tissues have you gone through? 

Neha Negandhi 59:36
This question is a great question. 

It's such a great cause. We always have. We always have a box around. I mean, it's. 

Yeah, I you know, I will say that I have not I have not had an Oprah moment yet on our podcast. 

Rich Bennett 59:56
You will. 

Neha Negandhi 59:58
But I will. I believe that I will remain with my dad. Who knows? I. 

I. Yeah, but I that's. Yeah, but we have, we've, we've had some, some tissue moments on our block. Sure for sure. That's good. That's good. That's good. But. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:15
And usually those are the best ones. 

Neha Negandhi 1:00:20
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:21
I can't. I don't even know how many I've had. Has been a lot. 

Neha Negandhi 1:00:24
Yeah. 

I love that. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:28
Something very important. Tell everybody your website so they can find you and your podcast and. 

Neha Negandhi 1:00:36
So again. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:36
Your future book. 

Neha Negandhi 1:00:38
Yeah, I read your book. 

Yeah. So. Yeah, well, I get it on my website. Is Nana gone? Because the podcast is on there, so please it's and A and E, G and D. Dot com. I'd love for you to visit and check it out. It's got, you know, the writing and the podcast and all the things that I love. There's workshops on there that if you're ever in the Atlanta area please join us for. It's really I'm I'm very mindful of, of, of keeping that space and holding that on. So yeah please please visit. Love to. Love to have you all. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:18
Before I get to my last question, how many podcasts have you been a guest on so far? 

Neha Negandhi 1:01:24
One. Yours. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:28
Well, crap, I Ingleby would answer that question. 

Oh, that's a that's all. I could turn it around. I could turn it around. But before I ask or before I. Wow. This is going to be a hard one. I before I turn it around, is there anything you would like to add? 

Neha Negandhi 1:01:47
I would like to add. Oh, my God, 

I love this is just this has been a pleasure. You are a great host. I hope that your audience learns as we've learned from each other. I wish that. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:04
I have. I know they will. 

Neha Negandhi 1:02:06
Yeah I so I wish that I, i, I, I wish for them to have full circle gratitude moments. That's what I hope and that's what I extend to them. So I, I always want to, I always want to leave feeling like I've connected to, to y'all and to your audience. And so I gift them. That I gift the future full of full circle gratitude moments. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:34
So this is going to be hard. So the last question I always ask, I always ask everybody, especially because most of the guests have. Been interviewed before, but I'm your first. 

Neha Negandhi 1:02:45
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:47
It's kind of sounds weird, but because I always ask them what you know, Is there anything I has never asked you that you wish they would have asked you, and so it would be that answer will be or what would it be like? Question What would be your answer? But I want to turn it around. 

Neha Negandhi 1:03:00
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:00
Since you're new to this. I've been doing this since 2015. I'm going to allow you to pick my brain. Is there anything that you would like to know about podcasting that you just can't figure out or are having problems with? 

The question you want to ask me. 

Neha Negandhi 1:03:22
So 

if you had a top five list of your top guests that you want to have on your podcast, what is the way to get your number one? How do you get the get? That's what I call the. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:41
You mean like a wish list of guest? 

Neha Negandhi 1:03:43
Yes. And how do you go about getting number one, whatever number one is for you on that list? How do you get. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:51
Funny. Funny you mention that because when I first started, I did have a wish list. And then I was I listened to some other podcasts that these people have been on. I got rid of my wish list. 

Neha Negandhi 1:04:08
Oh inches. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:09
And here's here's why Most people that wish list is like your top celebrities and stuff like that. 

They're not going to bring you more listeners. They're not going to promote that episode like other people will. I found my best guests are people like you. You know, 

people in then a lot of people don't really know even. I mean, I've had some celebrities on here. But it's the people that have something to offer. And you have something to offer. God. Yeah, it's just I. No one's going to have it. Everybody that's listening is going to they're going to be waiting for you to do the episode with your father. But now I just. And that list is always growing because somebody that even if you get somebody that was on that list, that wish list that you had, that you get another guest on that that you had no intentions of getting on, wasn't all your wish list. That gas may blow you away and you'd be like, Oh my God, I look, you know, I've learned so much. That guest did a lot more than this person on my wish list. I mean, there are a lot of people who still have a wish list. There are. There are a couple people I would love to get. Why I'm a wrestling fan. 

Neha Negandhi 1:05:35
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:36
And. 

There's a young lady. She's a referee in WWE, in WWE. She goes by Jessica Carr. I would love to have her on, but not necessarily to talk about wrestling. Well, I mean, what she's doing in wrestling now, but her journey, 

you know, she was overweight and and just everything she's gone through. But her 

I guess her her self-discipline and her. Outlook on life has changed so much for the better, and I would just love to talk to her about her journey and everything she's gone through because to me, she's a she's a big inspiration to a lot, especially other women out there. She. 

Neha Negandhi 1:06:27
Something. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:29
Big inspiration. And that's 

probably the one person on my that is on my wish list I would love to talk to. Well, I mean, there I still got the wish list, but I really haven't looked at it and God knows how long. 

Neha Negandhi 1:06:43
Well, you don't need to. You're doing phenomenal. You really are. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:46
Oh, and Danny Trejo. That's the other one. 

Neha Negandhi 1:06:50
If you know what. I know that. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:51
He's an actor. And but here's again, I don't want to get him on to talk about acting. He does a lot with people in addiction recovery. That's what I want to talk to them about. 

Neha Negandhi 1:07:05
This amazing. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:06
So it's it's you know, these people I want to talk to about other things that you you know, that you really want to talk to them about. 

Neha Negandhi 1:07:17
Wait, wait, wait, wait. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:18
You know, because everybody's got, you know, these 

how do I explain this? Everybody hears like if you let's say you get an actor on. 

You're going to ask him the same questions that everybody else is probably asked. 

Neha Negandhi 1:07:36
Mm. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:38
The thing is, you want to and you said it before. You know, you want them to open up, be more vulnerable. Some actors will some actors were some celebrities or some celebrities won't. But you can. There's still other things you can talk to them about that they've never talked about before. 

Neha Negandhi 1:07:54
Right. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:55
But you've got to let them know that ahead of time, too. Well, you know that. 

Neha Negandhi 1:07:58
Well, that's how. Well, I mean, that's one of the reasons I was able to book who I booked on my radio show. I mean, I was in a small market with, you know, I didn't have a name, but what I wanted to talk to them about was the social good and how they were being socially responsible. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:15
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 1:08:15
I mean, I mean, I had more yes's than I knew what to do with sometimes. Right? 

Rich Bennett 1:08:20
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 1:08:20
And I mean, and I would go to people that I had no business going up to, and I'd be like, I don't want to talk to. You know, it was all about, you know, their nonprofit that they started and. They would be like, Yes, sure, yeah, I'll I'll send your son in for that. You know, I had a Brit, a big Braves player, Atlanta Braves player on. I sometimes I remember their names, but you know, and then in your mind you get the one and they sort of like leads to you know just. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:49
Mm hmm. 

Neha Negandhi 1:08:50
Like, Oh, well, I booked so-and-so and don't you want to be around someone so and so? So I get it. I get it. I think 

Rich Bennett 1:08:57
Yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 1:08:57
you should use your platform, though, to get. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:00
Oh, yeah. 

Neha Negandhi 1:09:01
Along, because I think what you're saying is that there's I mean, their stories need to be to be broadcast. And then we I mean, I would I would love to hear her story. I think that would be really cool. The wrestling question you talked about, you know. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:13
Oh, she she's amazing. And she. And she's from here. 

Neha Negandhi 1:09:18
Oh. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:19
That's the thing. She trained well or she was training other wrestlers right down the road from me. Matter of fact, my son went to the wrestling academy there, and thank God he quit. I mean, he he did, I think, for a few months. And he came over one day. I said, hey, Bubba, is it has a wrestling boys. I quit. I said, Why? And he pulled up his shirt. He had nothing but welts on his back from 

Neha Negandhi 1:09:46
No. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:47
Yeah. Yeah. Because you. Bouncing off the ropes. You get bruises and everything. 

Neha Negandhi 1:09:51
I. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:52
You know. But yeah, I mean, she there's so many amazing people out there with. I told you about the one guy I had on that has multiple myeloma and he wrote a book and just hearing his story was amazing. Yeah, there's just so. Oh, it is so funny. You're going well, you're already having fun, but your journey is just starting and podcasting. You're it's. Oh, my God. The freedom you have with that over when you were doing radio is amazing because you're doing a 30 minute show on radio. Your package. You can go for 30 minutes, you can go for an hour, you can go for 3 hours. There's no limit. 

Neha Negandhi 1:10:36
Right. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:37
Like I said, people have that pause button. 

Neha Negandhi 1:10:39
Mm. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:39
If it's a good conversation, they're going to listen. They may not listen to the full episode that day, but they'll come back and listen. 

Neha Negandhi 1:10:48
Yes. Not true. So you. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:50
Keep at it. Keep going because. 

Neha Negandhi 1:10:52
You. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:53
You're kicking ass already. And I know you guys are going to do a lot more. And 

like I said, you're going to be back on here again. I actually I might even do a podcast roundtable. Just get. 

Neha Negandhi 1:11:08
I. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:09
Round table. 

Neha Negandhi 1:11:10
I love that. I love that. I. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:12
Is that where you kick ideas around? 

Neha Negandhi 1:11:15
Yes, I know. And there's so much learning in there. Oh, my God. Let's do that. Let's do that. Let's do that. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:21
Well, keep. Keep on me. Don't let you keep brag. Be so rich when we doing it. When we doing it worrying because you know I'm old. Yo, look, I'm old. Santa Claus is old, so. 

Neha Negandhi 1:11:34
Right. Right. Right. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:35
So, 

Neha Negandhi 1:11:36
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:37
Matt. Oh, go ahead. So. 

Neha Negandhi 1:11:40
You so much. I'm so, so grateful. Grateful for you and this opportunity. And I'm just. Thank you. Thank you so much. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:48
It's been an honor. It's been a true pleasure. I want to thank you and continued success. We'll have to do one eventually where we can. Where I can get both of you on. 

Neha Negandhi 1:11:58
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:58
You and your co-host. 

Neha Negandhi 1:11:59
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:00
I just did that with two young ladies, so we'll have to do one with you as you and your co-host as well. 

Neha Negandhi 1:12:05
Yes, for sure. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:07
Thanks. They are. 

Neha Negandhi 1:12:08
Thank you so much. Take good care. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:11
You do. 

Neha Negandhi 1:12:11
All right.