Vivek Bhargava @45: Upping the happiness quotient at work & in life

Celebrations come not just with big successes, but also with big moments. iProspect India, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), went all quirky to celebrate the 45th birthday of Vivek Bhargava, CEO, DAN Performance Group, in advance. From creating funny caricatures of Bhargava to laughter generating birthday videos to special messages and rooms filled with balloons – the iProspect team left no stone unturned to heighten the surprise elements, which never fail to astound Bhargava. 

Adgully caught up with Bhargava, who celebrates his birthday today, for an impromptu tete-a-tete on his bucket list, life’s philosophy and what he looks forward to the most. 

Speaking about the next milestones that he plans to achieve, Bhargava said, “I have goals every year in various areas of life. Money is one thing, but that is very different from career, health, family, learning & education goals, the legacy that I want to leave behind, etc. I look back at what I have achieved and which areas need more focus. I work on that.” 

Adding further, he said, “I also have goals for spending money every year. Most of the upgrades that I do in life are I make 4X of what I have right now. I believe in the laws of the universe, where you wish for something and it comes true in your life. Whatever material object that I own is the result of what I wanted for the next year and something has always made that work for me.” 

As far as his wishlist for his company, Bhargava mentioned “Building the DAN Performance Group to 10X of what it is today is on my cards for this year as the possibility of digital is that you can really grow 10X, this is my goal as far as DAN Digital is concerned.” he added. 

For someone who has always sought excellence and passion in both his professional and personal life, Bhargava believes that life is not about goals, but about discipline. “If I want to read 50 books every year, I’d rather read a book for half an hour every day. I would do the same for my health since I am also focussed on sports, so instead of settings goals, I try to set up discipline. But if I have to describe my goals, I would say winning the National Championship in Table Tennis with a gold in the 39-plus category.” 

He is also excited about attending the TED Talk in Vancouver this year, he is also hoping to attend FIFA World Cup in Russia this year. 

A giver in terms of the vision that he has for the digital domain and his profession, Bhargava said, “A recent big account win was quite like an ideal birthday gift. But my philosophy is a little different, I think happiness is the muscle, you can work on it every day. Unless you work on your happiness every day – whether it is to work on new things or learn new things every day – you cannot become happier. I try to work on my happiness every day instead of depending on external factors to be happy.” 

Complementing his colleagues on their extraordinary efforts to surprise him on every birthday, he quipped, “One thing that always amazes me is how the iProspect team uniquely celebrates my birthday – right from making a video with my mask or making my sketch, getting me very unusual birthday cakes and other things. It is very funny and in a way this is what I look forward to every year.” 

Amid all the celebrations, Bhargava has not forgotten his other love – Table Tennis. He considers participating in the Table Tennis Nationals to be a great way to celebrate his special day. As he shared, “The one thing that I would like to have as a birthday gift is for my table tennis team, The Shaze Challengers, to win the cup in the Ultimate Table Tennis League this year.” 

In conclusion, Bhargava has one piece of advice for the youth – to chase happiness and not success, because “Happiness brings you success, success does not bring you happiness.” 

Here’s wishing the ‘King of Digital’ many more moments of happiness!

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