Meet Sar, our Campus Celebrity of the week! At just 21, Sar has been featured in Forbes and Inc. and runs a design business that he started in high school. Say hi to him on Facebook and LinkedIn or follow him on The Huffington Post and Medium!
Name: Sar Haribhakti
Year: 2018
Major: Economics
Birthday: September 15th, 1994
Hometown: Vadodara, Gujarat, India
How did you become a writer? What fuels your passion?
I did not become one by myself. I actually got offered to become a writer for the Huffington Post unexpectedly by Arianna Huffington. I reached out to her for her thoughts on an article I had published on Medium. She got back to me with her thoughts and offered me a writing position. Ever since that day, I have been writing a lot and it has been very rewarding. Though I am not the most creative writer, I write to share my personal experiences to help and inspire others. I have answered this question several times to so many people. I actually have written an article on how I became a writer for The Huffington Post for The Huffington Post. Positive feedback and requests to republish my content in various publications have been encouraging me to write daily.
What topics do you write about?
All my writing so far has been about nurturing relationships with people. What I write is hugely impacted by research, reading and experimentation in the realm of relationship building. I write on these topics from my experiences with friends, mentors and communities of entrepreneurs, authors and highly driven people. I write about such a strange topic because no one our age writes about it and most people either brush off relationship building as something reserved for the “adults,” or they think it is all about leveraging others. I aspire to debunk that.
What do you in your free time other than writing?
I am big on TV shows and podcasts. Also, I read a lot. I’ve also forced myself to get into a regular workout and meditation schedule.
Favorite thing about University of Rochester:
Meatless Mondays at Douglass. And it’s quite amusing for me to walk out from Danforth with several plates in my hands despite being half-full (I have a small appetite).
Dream Job:
Ideally, I would love to have a job where I can connect ideas, people and experiences for a purpose. There might not be many jobs that fit such a wacky description, so that’s a problem unless I create a job that fits my personality.
What advice do you have for other students who are interested in blogging, writing and entrepreneurship?
I don’t think I am in a position to advise my friends and peers. But, I have been inspired by several millennials that just follow Nike’s mantra – “Just Do It.” We hear everyone around us say follow your passion. I see millennials making it big in different industries all around me. Amidst all this, we should constantly remind ourselves not to get intimidated by them, but to get inspired by them. I think the task of finding a passion can be overwhelming. It is okay to not have your passion figured out. But, it is not okay to second guess yourself. It is not okay to not have a growth mindset for yourself, your family and your community. So if you want to start a company, start it. Commit to it, figure things out later. I want to become an author. I committed to it on my birthday. I am still figuring things out.
Life Motto:
“Invest in people more than you invest in real estate, cars or stocks.” I grew up seeing my grandfather living by this mantra. I ultimately understood why he said so and did so after he passed away when I saw my Dad working with the same mindset. I have somehow made it my own life motto. My grandpa did it through our historical financial firm, my dad is doing it through our family foundation, and I hope to do it via writing and entrepreneurship.