An Inspiring Journey
Creating Fun and Playful Learning Experiences Using a Deck of 52-Cards
CA. Anish Baheti
Chartered Accountant, MBA from University of Sydney, Certified Life coach, Certified Brain mapping practitioner
Foreword by Venkat
It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Knowing and understanding needs is only the first pillar on which a useful invention stands. The inspiration, perseverance and value envisaged are the three other important pillars which bring an innovative idea to reality. Value can be generated by either making something better or solving a difficulty. To be inspired to solve the problems of learning difficulties needs an empathetic heart. Anish’s innovations, in my understanding, are driven by empathy for others’ learning experiences and the outcome for Accounting learners was his amazing 52-card deck. This story narrated by Anish brings his inspiring journey towards the making of the Numb€₹$ Deck followed by a unique Life Deck to power one towards mindfulness and move purposefully from self-inquiry to self-realization.
Anish has a natural talent to translate abstract concepts into easy-to-relate material components like the LEGO pieces to have fun and learn. Enjoy his wonderful journey of innovation in his own words!
Inspirational Keynote Speaker, Anish Baheti is an award-winning author and a purpose coach to professionals of all walks of life. He’s often heard saying that God has been kind in showering him with two skills – Simplifying the Complex and Inspiring the Uninspired.
As the Founder and CEO of Train My Brain®️ (IND) & Concepts Coach®️ (AUS), Anish has delivered thousands of entertaining, energizing, and engaging sessions. Helping educational institutions, corporate offices, entrepreneurs, teachers, students, and athletes alike, Anish has formed a lasting presence in the world of life improvement.
Anish earned his Chartered Accountant degree from ICAI and his MBA from the University of Technology, Sydney. He’s also a Certified Life Coach from Australia and a Certified Brain Mapping Practitioner from the UK. Anish’s honors include winning the Outstanding Leadership Award in Las Vegas USA in 2022, being voted as one of the winners of the Education and Training Award in Australia, and has been named to BW Education 40Under40 list in 2020. Train My Brain® has also won the Best Companies Award in Dubai UAE in 2022.
An Inspiring Journey
Creating Fun and Playful Learning Experiences Using a Deck of 52-Cards
So, it all started when I was doing an MBA in Australia and one of the core subjects was Accounting. It came naturally to me as I completed my Chartered Accountancy back in India, but I saw a lot of blank faces in the class as the pace of teaching was not matching up with the pace of the learners. A lot of them were from non-accounting backgrounds, so they were bored, switched-off, and disinterested in learning the language of business. The Prof. teaching us assumed that all the learners had basic knowledge about accounting, and clearly that was not the case. So initially I stated helping my friends; some were from engineering backgrounds and while some just didn’t like it at all but still needed to pass the core subject. They would often ask me basic questions and I thought to myself that if the foundation could be made simpler and fun, they would actually enjoy Accounting.
That was the point when I felt a strong itch to simplify accounting and may be in the process inspired my peer group enough to fall in love with numbers. I wanted to create something physical with a digital option and I wanted it to be experiential learning for them. Not only that, it needs to be taught in a simple, fun and shortest duration possible. That’s when I came up with an idea to create a deck of 52-Cards to teach Accounting to Non-Accountants in 60 minutes (90 minutes with some practical exercises)
It is currently taught in 3 formats globally: on-demand video courses, live online sessions, and face-to-face workshops. Usually, we form groups and give each group a deck of cards called The Numb€₹$ Deck. The session starts with the five basic elements and how they are tied up in the financial statements; learning to demystify the debits and credits comes next, using a unique format to solve any business transaction, and finally how each transaction impacts the 3 key financial statements. They play with the cards and learn accounting; its so simple that we even 5th grade students did it in 75 minutes. Wait, what?!
“The session was very good in covering the fundamentals of accounting. I would definitely recommend it to others. Specially the deck of cards is an amazing tool for learning Accounting”
– Warren, USA
“I come from a non-accounting background and am a small business operator with 23 years of business life. He was able to ‘unpack’ concepts in a playful manner. I tip my hat to you Anish.”
-Robert, Australia
I was so addicted to the concept of making it inspiringly simple that I started crafting another deck of cards, but this time on building mindfulness and self-awareness one card at a time. The Life Deck (52 cards from ‘needs’ to ‘purpose’) captures the journey from self-inquiry to self-realization beautifully and can be implemented by anyone in a self-paced way. A sufficient stand-alone roadmap for self-improvement, ‘The Life Deck’ works especially well when used as a guide for putting into practice the principles of self-awareness using a deck of 52-cards by the same name.
Let’s see how we can be more mindful about stress (Card No. 19)
We all know what stress can do to our lives and how we react or respond to stressful circumstances will affect our health.
Run: When you run away from your stress, it gives you a false feeling that you have controlled the situation, though, in reality, you have only avoided the pressure temporarily. The up arrow also indicates the ‘flight’ reaction to stress.
Confront: Your immediate perception of the situation is a possible threat to your own survival and hence the desire to combat it. In this state, thinking turns less than rational and fear of losing control is inflated. The forward arrow shows the ‘fight’ reaction to your stress.
Hide: The reaction from the brain when there is no action, is of shock. The physiology of the person would be alarmed, stiff, or crumpled. The idea is to shield whatever significance is left over and to stay put. The down arrow shows the ‘freeze’ reaction to your stress.
Mindful: This is the state where you are in effect watching your stress rather than living it. Instead of reacting to your stress, acknowledge it. While all the above three reactions automatically imply a lack of choice, being mindful gives you ample opportunities. The back arrow suggests taking a step back and ‘flowing’ forward.
The Life Deck perplexes, and charms, revealing an easy-to-follow recipe for our complicated lives. I wish Anish Baheti all the very best for this endeavor. May students and citizens find support here to face the ups and downs of life!”
– Actress, Amala Akkineni
Amazing, inspiring and encouraging! Feeling reignited to pursue my passion and live unfettered from a
place of joy!! Thank you, Anish, for this experience–I am excited to see what unfolds and how I soar!
– Annalisa, USA
CA. Anish Baheti
Chartered Accountant, MBA from University of Sydney, Certified Life coach, Certified Brain mapping practitioner