‘Terminal 4: An Entrepreneur’s Journey from Bicycle to Business Class’ is a collection of stories by Nilesh Makhwana learned during his “journey from a repeated high school failure to a successful entrepreneur”
Indian-Australian entrepreneur Nilesh Makhwana, who moved from India to London as a young boy before settling in Australia, has penned a book about the challenges and complexities of moving countries, living between cultures and forging one’s own path to success in his new book, reported PTI.
Named ‘Terminal 4: An Entrepreneur’s Journey from Bicycle to Business Class’ is a collection of stories by Nilesh Makhwana learned during his “journey from a repeated high school failure to a successful entrepreneur”.
“I have been encouraged by friends and family throughout my life to write down the funny stories and interesting things I learned while travelling around the world,” he said. “But I never considered how my journey could support others until I arrived in Australia and became a mentor to people living far from their homeland. I became invested in helping international students and migrants give back to their new communities, maintain their values and thrive,” Makhwana told PTI.
He also grew passionate about supporting people – particularly Indians – who face extreme social pressure when they fail school or a business venture, end up committing suicide. “My own life is a series of failures on my mission to find happiness and purpose in another country, so I decided to put pen to paper to inspire others,” he mentioned about the idea that gave birth to his book. The book is a “roller coaster ride of anecdotes and emotion, ultimately designed to give readers the push they have been waiting for to leave the comfort of home and embark on their own adventure”.
Speaking about the title of the book, Makwana mentioned that Terminal 4 at the Heathrow Airport was the first stop on his international student journey and his gateway to London
Makwana speaks about how he repeatedly escaped from class and failed his high school exams. “My first significant Australian business venture failed after I committed to the wrong business partner; I felt like I was failing in London, when a month after I arrived, I was ready to give up on my dreams of earning a degree abroad…These were incredibly challenging and emotional moments, but they were crucial to motivating me, teaching me lessons, and giving me the tools I needed to succeed. As I mention in my book, failure is a part of success – not the opposite of it”, he said.
Speaking about the title of the book, Makwana mentioned that Terminal 4 at the Heathrow Airport was the first stop on his international student journey and his gateway to London. “Roughly a year after I arrived, I began working for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines which operated from the same spot. As a member of their team, I received airfare discounts and made the most of them every chance I got by travelling around the globe. At this point, Terminal 4 was the centre of my life and effectively became my gateway to the rest of the world, too. When I landed in 2012 Perth, Australia, it was Terminal 4 again,” he remembered.
He and his wife head an NGO – Borderless Gandhi – which they founded in 2014 to promote the teachings, values, and philosophies of global icon Mahatma Gandhi. “The organisation leverages artistic mediums and social media to share key messages of peace, equality and nonviolence with Perth and the rest of the world every year on Gandhi’s birthday. One of our most notable exhibitions was ‘Mahatma in Colour’, which featured several handpicked, digitally restored photographs taken throughout Gandhi’s life,” he said.
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