Weekends are all about downtime. After a week full of work to meet deadlines, everybody needs some breather to relax and recuperate. From watching a favourite web series to planning a vacation, weekends are designated as family and me time. Alexander George Muthoot, joint managing director, The Muthoot Group talks to BrandWagon Online about his weekends, favourite vacation destination and more.
What is the one thing you like to do when you are not working?
I love to meditate and practice Yoga while I am not working because it tremendously helps me distress and revitalise. I also love adventure sports, it keeps me going! I am a certified scuba diver and like skydiving!
How do you spend your weekends?
Spiritual enrichment is my fuel! I go to the Church every Sunday without fail which greatly helps my mind, body and soul. After Church, there are usually a few social commitments which I attend during the weekend. Rest of the day, I usually spend some quality time with my family. We either go out with some close friends, watch TV together at home or I spend time playing games with my son and daughter.
What are your favourite gadgets?
I love gadgets and can never leave my iPhone or iPad behind. Besides those, I recently picked an interesting gadget called Whoop – it is a cool health and fitness tracker that holistically measures strain, recovery, and sleep. It helps me keep a check on my stress levels, sleep cycles, recovery patterns, heart rates, calories, goals, well-being and much more.
Given an option to choose another career, what would it be?
I am passionate about what I am presently doing as it transforms lives and hence there has never been a second thought. However, if I had to choose an alternative, I would have loved to work in the field of social welfare and community service.
Today, organisations are doing great work in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) but there is one more area which I feel needs our collective attention and contribution and that is Individual Social Responsibility (ISR). I would have started a community welfare institution and worked dedicatedly towards serving the poor, needy and underprivileged; bringing them relief by helping them with basic life necessities such as hygienic food, clean drinking water, clothing and shelter. I would have also worked more dedicatedly towards involving and getting more people to participate in noble ISR activities such as blood donation, clothes donation, teaching less fortunate children, etc. I would have partnered with like-minded people within my circle of friends, family and well-wishers and endeavoured to do my best by reaching a maximum number of people during my lifetime. That would have given me a greater sense of satisfaction and fulfilment.
Which is your favourite vacation spot?
My favourite vacation spot at the moment is Dubai! I love Dubai because it has so much to offer. It has something for everyone – be it me, my wife or our children. Also, it is not far from India so it’s always easy to get there and come back without spending too much time on long-hour flights.
A TV show, a movie, and an ad campaign you highly recommend watching?
Well, I love watching stand-up comedy, comedy shows like Trevor Noah are really funny. I find stand-up comedians extremely creative, they are blessed with the ability to make people laugh and look at the lighter side of life. In terms of movies, I love watching biopics because true and real-life stories inspire me; stories of how people rose and made it big, despite various challenges in life. I recently watched a movie called 12th Fail. It’s an amazing true-life-inspired movie that shows how a person with humble means worked hard to make his dreams come true without compromising on his values and integrity. I like such movies. As far as an Ad Campaign is concerned, my favourite Ad Campaign is “Muthoot Finance -Sunheri Soch”. We launched the campaign for two successive seasons which captured real-life stories of common men and women who realised their dreams, believed in themselves, and availed a gold loan from Muthoot Finance. It makes me feel great to see crores of Indians whose lives have been transformed by Muthoot Finance.
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