# A Method to Happiness | Prashant Issar | TEDxBITSoM Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V07nd6KjNKg Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/V07nd6KjNKg Generated: 2025-11-18T17:09:20.188+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Prashant Issar, Managing Director of Bellona Hospitality Services Limited and Founder of Ishara, shares his personal "Method to Happiness" which centers on consciously choosing to say "yes" to life's challenges, rather than defaulting to the negative response of "no" or dwelling on perceived shortcomings, emphasizing that happiness is an active, conscious choice that requires practice. **Key Points:** - Prashant Issar, Managing Director of Bellona Hospitality Services Limited and Founder of Ishara, advocates for a conscious 'Method to Happiness'. - His method involves consciously choosing 'yes' instead of defaulting to 'no' when facing daily challenges, problems, or aspirations. - He recounts his personal experience of being rejected from the defense forces despite being from a highly intelligent family, which reinforced the need to actively choose a positive path. - Issar believes happiness is not short-lived or relative, but a conscious state one must practice daily, similar to learning a skill. - He cites an anecdote where he read that it takes 21 to 23 times to form a new habit, suggesting consistent positive responses solidify happiness. - He encourages the audience to find the nearest 'Phoenix Mall' and then practice saying 'yes' to challenges in their lives to build this habit. ![Screenshot at 00:14: Prashant Issar is introduced on stage at TEDxBITSoM, displaying his credentials as Managing Director of Bellona Hospitality Services Limited and Founder of Ishara, setting the stage for his talk on finding happiness.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-00-14.png) **Context:** Prashant Issar, presented at a TEDxBITSoM event, shares personal anecdotes from his life, including his early academic experiences in a highly intelligent family and his career transition from hospitality to entrepreneurship with his restaurant Ishara, to illustrate his philosophy on achieving happiness through deliberate positive affirmation rather than passive acceptance of circumstances. ## Detailed Analysis Prashant Issar delivers his talk, "A Method to Happiness," by contrasting his upbringing in a highly intelligent family where the default response to difficulty was often intellectual analysis, with his own realization that happiness is an active choice. He contrasts the negative default of saying 'no' or focusing on problems (like being rejected from the defense forces or struggling academically) with his decision to adopt a deliberate 'yes' mindset, even when it felt difficult or unnatural. He explicitly states that happiness is not temporary or relative, but a conscious practice that requires repetition—citing a statistic that it takes 21 to 23 repetitions to form a habit. Issar shares how he applied this principle to his life, including succeeding in the competitive London restaurant market and later in India with his restaurant Ishara, which employs people with hearing and speech impairments as a matter of inclusive policy. The core message is that by consciously choosing to say 'yes' to challenges and practicing positive responses daily, one can cultivate genuine, lasting happiness, rather than waiting for external circumstances to align perfectly. ### Personal Background and Early Struggles - Speaker grew up in a highly intelligent family but struggled academically and was rejected from the defense forces; he realized that intellectual analysis alone did not lead to happiness. ### The 'Method to Happiness' - The core concept is consciously choosing 'yes' instead of defaulting to 'no' when facing challenges, problems, or aspirations in life. ### Habit Formation for Happiness - Issar believes happiness is a skill that requires practice, citing that it takes 21 to 23 repetitions to form a new habit, meaning consistent positive responses lead to lasting joy. ### Professional Application - He successfully applied this method in his career, notably in the highly competitive London restaurant market and in India with his restaurant Ishara, which focuses on inclusion. ### Ishara's Inclusive Philosophy - The restaurant Ishara actively employs people with hearing and speech impairments, demonstrating a commitment to inclusion as part of their business ethos. ### Call to Action - Issar challenges the audience to find a nearby 'Phoenix Mall' and immediately begin practicing saying 'yes' to challenges to rewire their mindset towards happiness. ![Screenshot at 00:01: TEDxBITSoM event branding screen.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-00-01.png) ![Screenshot at 00:14: Prashant Issar introduced on stage with his title slide credentials.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-00-14.png) ![Screenshot at 00:47: Speaker Issar explaining how external factors like neighborhood or country do not guarantee happiness.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-00-47.png) ![Screenshot at 01:15: Speaker Issar standing on stage next to the large illuminated TEDx BITSoM logo.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-01-15.png) ![Screenshot at 02:09: Issar expresses gratitude to his mother for giving him 'beauty genes' while discussing his early life.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-02-09.png) ![Screenshot at 03:54: Speaker Issar uses a hand gesture while emphasizing that 'no' is not an acceptable answer to life's bigger questions.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-03-54.png) ![Screenshot at 05:56: Issar recounts doing hotel school and how 'that worked' for him initially.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-05-56.png) ![Screenshot at 07:36: Issar makes a gesture while telling the audience to Google his name to verify his references.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-07-36.png) ![Screenshot at 09:01: Speaker standing still with hands clasped, reflecting on his journey.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-09-01.png) ![Screenshot at 10:41: Issar explaining that he was well-prepared for the challenges of his MBA, contrasting it with the unexpected challenges of life.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-10-41.png) ![Screenshot at 12:32: Speaker Issar looking down, questioning why bad things happen to him personally.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-12-32.png) ![Screenshot at 14:04: Issar using hand gestures to illustrate a statistic about how many times it takes to form a habit \(23 times\).](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/V07nd6KjNKg/00-14-04.png)