As someone who sought retirement at the early age of thirty years, Nishan Rajakaruna has embarked on a journey that leads not only towards financial well-being but rather peace and happiness as well. Being the Chief Executive Officer of Total Travel Solution, he has achieved a great number of milestones along the way with a goal and focus on creating successful entrepreneurs for the future of Sri Lanka.
Taking a look into his educational background, Nishan had graduated with a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University, which is one of the top sixteen universities within the USA. However, due to the economic crisis USA had faced back in 2009, Nishan was unable to score a job as a chemical engineer and had to therefore return to Sri Lanka with shattered dreams and an empty bank account. He was also unable to seek
help from his parents as they too had faced losses in their business
over time.
Nishan started his first job in a small travel agency and had worked there for a span of three months. “It’s where I learned the basics of the tourism industry”, he tells us. Alternating between his initial jobs specifically due to the minimal pay, Nishan considered his next job at a well known tea exporting company, where he received a salary of forty thousand rupees; an amount considered to be a big sum back in the year 2010. During his four years there, Nishan began to save money. Having had a rough total of
two hundred thousand rupees in savings, Nishan chose to invest that money in Total Travel Solution, a travel agency that Nishan brought to life on the 23rd of September 2011 using his basic knowledge. By far, Nishan has been featured in prestigious and prominent magazines since Spring 2020. He was recognized under the category of ‘top 13 innovators under 35 years’ and as one of the ‘leading young entrepreneurs’ of Sri Lanka. He comments “It’s a great pride not only for me but also for Sri Lanka. I was the first Sri Lankan to ever be featured in the Bucknell magazine”.
Owning a travel agency that was considered under the top ten agencies in the Sri Lankan-Spanish market from 2012 to 2018 was another one of his substantial achievements. Especially since his qualifications were based in an entirely different industry. Nishan recalls having done an estimate of eight hundred bookings amidst those seven years. “Total Travel Solution is the business that changed my life and made me rich”, he explains, “I got lucky and signed a contract with one of the biggest travel agencies in Spain,
which enabled me to get into the top 10 agencies in the Spanish market.”
Not only had Nishan had to learn a lot on his own, but he also handled a one-man-show operation for the first five years of Total Travel Solution. “I was the CEO, I was the clerk, I was the manager, I was everything”, he says. “It was a great learning experience.” Running his company solo gave him an upper hand, as no other travel agency had the same statistics as his. Total Travel Solution has brought a revenue of roughly two
million USD into Sri Lanka. Although having an initial priority towards making money and becoming rich, upon reaching his financial target
at thirty, Nishan took on the decision to retire and venture into a spiritual path rather than setting forth another financial target with greed for money. Thus wanting to create a lifestyle with different priorities in mind, he studied a lot about Lord Buddha’s teachings and meditation. He began living a life that led in the direction of utmost peace and happiness. “Once
you remove that greed for money you will realize and find true happiness”, he shares. Not only has he fulfilled a great deal in his professional life but also gone to experience the world by visiting 16 beautiful countries and residing in 136 beautiful resorts all within the age of thirty-five. Being a self-made entrepreneur with a net worth exceeding 100 million LKR, Nishan proves to the younger generation the endless possibilities of attaining an equilibrium between inner-peace and success.
It’s no secret that the tourism industry, alongside many other industries, went down in business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, with more free time on his hands, Nishan took to watching success related videos by famous success coaches. Alongside watching their videos, Nishan was coached by a world-renowned success coach, Dean Graziosi, who was
mentored by Tony Robbins, one of the best success-coaches in the world. Nishan was also enrolled as an inner circle member, thus inspiring him to start his own coaching business. Having been guided and mentored by the best, Nishan too is now recognized as a successful coach, coaching hundreds of individuals over time.
Commencing a brand called Coach Carter, Nishan has coached a lot of students. He has also coached students with genuine financial problems without any charge, many of whom grew to become good friends through the process. “This is not a business I started for money, it is a business I started as a passion to help the young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to go from zero to the top like I did”, he tells us. Coach Carter has been getting amazing reviews and has gone on to coach about a hundred students upto-date. “I did not expect the brand to come this far”, Nishan says. While he has a few other businesses under TTS Holdings, he considers Coach Carter and his travel agency, Total Travel Solution to be the two most important ones. The third, Drive Media, is an upcoming venture that is yet to be introduced in the upcoming days with a massive launch. The fourth is TTS Exports, a small export company. However, Nishan’s focus is on Coach Carter while he awaits for the tourism industry to pick up again. When asked about some of his success habits that have brought Nishan this far, he shares with us the top three success habits from a renowned book called the Millionaire Success Habits. The first habit being financial planning, the second is hard work and the third is discipline. Nishan also explains that alongside hard work, one must also know to work smart when the situation calls for it. “I practice what I preach and I set myself as an example to my
students.”
Nishan also follows many principles that he stands for and once again the top three of his principles include honesty/trust, good manners/ethics and spirituality. He adds, “My soulmate, my best friends & my business partners are also selected based on these 3 criteria”. Attaining these principles also means circling yourself around people who do the same and have a good heart. However, Nishan claims, “Being successful comes with an equal share of pride and loss. Sometimes, we have to detach ourselves from previous friendships. This can arise from jealousy or simply a negative mindset. So goes the saying ‘The road to the top is very lonely’”
Success-coaching being a growing industry in Sri Lanka hasn’t yet gained the recognition and fame within the country. According to Nishan, about 99% of the Sri Lankan youngsters have not cultivated their mindset to learn from successful people and grow with coaches. Explaining his daring initiative, he comments, “Despite the many challenges faced by changing
the mindset of Sri Lankan youngsters, the brand Coach Carter has survived a pioneering journey in this new industry”. Nishan’s change in priorities within the last ten years as an entrepreneur has guided him in becoming a more spiritual person, progressing towards Nirvana in search of true happiness, whilst coaching the youngsters to improve, succeed and reach the top. He encourages the younger generation to do the very same in order to attain a journey filled with success. “I would like to say that the young generation has a lot of talent and that talent should be channeled towards being successful, achieving dreams and improving Sri Lanka.” Nishan further invites all youngsters to reach out to him and enroll in his success course to build a bright future ahead with the perfect balance of health, wealth & spirituality; his true definition of ‘success’