From college dropout to coming on top in rankings of coachings in Mumbai – how Rohan Makhija framed his journey

He is 20-year-old self-taught chess, Rubik cube, and cricket player who quit a promising career to follow his passion. Using social media to its fullest, he has made it to the top, with thousands of Instagram followers.

From college dropout to coming on top in rankings of coachings in Mumbai – how Rohan Makhija framed his journey

“I was doing great in my studies till Grade 10th, and because of my interest in sports, I quickly got admission in one of Mumbai's best colleges in Commerce - Kishanchand Chellaram College, popularly known as KC College'', laughs Rohan Makhija. Speaking about his journey to Startup Times, he gets up, close and candid,

 One can easily trace this Mumbaikar's career, one that is an inspiration to many. 

 

The dawn of Mumbai Training Institute (MTI) 

Rohan was a student when he started MTI. His fire of settling down with some self-employed business led him to follow his passion. Although he was not sure in the beginning, what he wanted to do as soon as he got the idea. He finally quit his college to follow his instincts.

Rohan was from a Middle-Class Family and had straightforward yet inspiring dreams since childhood, like settling down with some self-employed business. But never thought or let the thought of a job come to his mind! For him, "Job is slavery!" because what you are doing for others in that 8-10-15 hours every day, you can invest that time for yourself or on yourself by either following your passion or making a career in something you're passionate about.

He started playing serious season ball cricket & in Grade 7th from a very early age and he got selected in the school's ‘Cricket Team’ as a Wicketkeeper-Batsman. Rohan was also good at other outdoor sports like Football, Basketball, Volleyball, etc. & indoor sports like Badminton, Chess, Carrom. He represented his school in these sports on District & Zonal Level. As soon as he got admitted in college, he started playing full-time cricket with serious practice & matches for 8-10 hours.

Because of focusing more on cricket, he was getting less time to focus on studies to get more than average grades. For anything as a career whether it be sports or anything you always need some financial stability with talent. At that time, Rohan was facing financial issues as he never took or wanted to take his parents' help in terms of finance to pay his college fees, cricket expenses, travelling & other expenses.

All these problems never stopped him from grabbing the opportunity he always dreamt of. He went on with the mantra that the definition of the issues is: a question raised for inquiry, consideration, or solution. 

To overcome his financial problems, he started playing local cricket tournaments and earned around 4-5k every month. However, it was still not enough to keep going, so he searched for some local chess tournaments in Mumbai.

After struggling and searching for some time he got the number of one chess coach representing India from 2008-13. His fees for the Tournament in Navi Mumbai were Rs.500. Rohan messaged him & luckily, he knew him already and also about his financial condition. When Rohan said that forget about 500 bucks, he couldn’t even pay 200 bucks at that moment; the coach allowed him to participate free on one condition that he would have to help in arranging chess boards, write the score on the board of every player & also at the same time, play & win all rounds.

It was a challenging condition, but it was his destiny testing him to give him new heights of success. He accepted the conditions and went to play all over from South to Navi Mumbai for the tournament. He not only helped him but also won all rounds. Seeing his skills coach not only called him for every tournament to help but, instead of taking Rs. Five hundred gave him 500 bucks as a reward. 

Finally, everything was going good and smooth, but as they say, time never stops, be it good or bad. Everything was running smoothly, be it his studies, cricket, or chess. He was being paid for his hardships. Rohan also found some students for coaching & used to travel all over Mumbai in order to give coaching. But on one fine day, he got to know about his coach's frauds with his students & about some cases going against him through Google. He chose not to believe them at first, but when the same thing that was written against him, happened in front of his eyes, without even thinking twice about anything good or bad, about his career & life, he just left working with him.

 

Problems are not stopping signs; they are guidelines

Rohan worked with him from January to October 2019. After leaving him, he sat down and thought that if he could do this for someone else, then why not for himself? And from here, his journey started again with new thoughts, new inspiration, and new ideas. The next day, he went to BMC Ward & officially registered for the Mumbai Training Institute (MTI) & started Chess & Rubik's Cubes Coaching Personally & in Groups ALL OVER MUMBAI.

He was in contact with some best international coaches who taught in Mumbai & abroad, online too for years so he approached them & they got ready to work independently & to work for MTI. Rohan never told anyone in these years to work "under" him or MTI. They all are working independently for themselves without signing any contract or deal.

Once again, everything was going well, but destiny never stops testing you. This time he was not getting enough time to manage studies, cricket & MTI altogether. It was the time when he decided to quit BCOM after completing the first year. After 2-3 months of SYBCOM, he left his studies, passion for cricket & KC College & took this calculated risk of handling MTI as the only thing in his life representing India & expanding it All Over Mumbai. He rented 25+ Centers in Mumbai for Group Coaching & started providing personal coaching. After leaving studies & full-time cricket in just a few months, he came on top in Rankings of Coaching in Mumbai. All was going well, his supporters in Mumbai & All Over India were increasing & MTI was reaching new heights in no time. And then came a time when not only Rohan but everyone was in a battleground. A battle which they never started, however, was and are still stuck there. This time it was a severe Pandemic, and now it was not possible to expand MTI & go out for coaching & business tie-ups.

 I see the invisible.

I believe the incredible.

I attempt the impossible.

Robert Schuller 

Rohan chose to see his problems as a map for his life. The idea of the expansion of MTI all over the World through the Online Platform in this Pandemic came to his mind so that their services should benefit not only Indians but also people across the globe. From childhood, Country was the first motivation for him, so whatever he started doing since he established MTI was & will be only for the Country's benefit.

 Country is the biggest motivation anyone can have. His niche is very rare & no one is doing what Rohan is doing right now. "You can search you will not find any coach putting such live videos on YouTube & everywhere on social media, nor any GIC or Life Insurance Agent is promoting Insurance by making such videos nor any Deposit Agent is promoting Deposits like this."

People criticized Rohan at first that he was not popular at all & when they typed his full name Rohan Makhija then only, they got miser pictures of him. Rohan then decided that when they search the first Alphabet of his name "R" with his Institute's name "MTI," they will be able to see his entire journey.

He started working 24/7 after that, and now you can see the results yourself; his organic reach is in millions now. Now you just have to type Rohan Makhija or #R #MTI on Google or anywhere on social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. You will see his entire journey & details there. Even we tried this on Google and got his details in one go.

 

MTI as a career

Now Rohan is working 24/7 for his Institute & Country. He is working on new achievements every day and surely will grab them with such hard work and dedication. In the future, he wants to collaborate with all famous personalities & want to reach & expand MTI more & more all over the World but by staying in India & Representing his Country.

 Rohan is an apt example of how one fights every battle, uses the resources available, strengthens his passion, and conquers the World. 

Whatever you're doing with your work, stay true to what you want to do; that will be what sets you apart. It does not matter where you are standing today or where you will end your career & life. The thing that only matters is that you should be real & should never leave the right path, whatever happens in life. Even if you are in a situation where you can't see any door open, you just have to wait for that door to open, or maybe you're standing in front of the wrong gate, says Rohan Makhija as we wind up an incredible journey of self-belief. 

As human beings, we tend to think we have all the answers, and so when a problem arises that we did not see coming, we freak out. This is where we need to learn to trust life, trust ourselves, and embrace the ups and downs that are part of being human. Take one step, and then one more, with hope in your heart and a smile on your lips, knowing you are safe and guided. Life indeed is about the journey of becoming, not the destination. So, face your problems with courage, embrace the lessons, and don't forget to enjoy the ride.

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