What if everything you’ve been told about success is only half the story?
The Unseen Victory is a powerful narrative journey into the hearts and minds of dreamers, underdogs, and comeback warriors — all guided by one hauntingly honest mantra: “Failure humbles. Success misleads.”
Inspired by the timeless wisdom of Shah Rukh Khan — “Success is not a good teacher, failure makes you humble” — this podcast dives deep into the untold stories behind the applause. These are the raw, unfiltered voices of those who fell hard, stood up slower, and rose stronger — not despite their failures, but because of them.
At the core of this revolution is Victories Vibes — not just a brand, but a movement, a digital sanctuary, and a heartbeat for anyone who’s ever felt invisible while chasing their dreams. No toxic positivity. No curated perfection. Just truth, growth, grit — and healing.
📌 Highlights from the Episodes:
🔥 Aarav Malik — from the slums of Dharavi to a rising film star, after 27 rejections and homelessness. His story of resilience led him to meet his idol, SRK, who recognized his understanding of failure.
🔥 Meera Kapoor — once unseen and uncelebrated, now founder of “FailBetter” and a viral voice for women facing silent battles. Her journey began with a heartbreak and ended with a handshake from Shah Rukh Khan.
🔥 Ayaan Sharma — the son of a tea stall owner whose viral open letter on rejection caught the attention of SRK himself. He now runs a foundation helping dreamers like him rewrite their stories.
🔥 Anmol Sharma — who tasted quick fame and even quicker downfall in the OTT space. His podcast “Behind the Applause” now explores the cost of success and the power of falling forward.
🔥 Aarfa Sheikh — rejected by 12 campus companies, now founder of the Victories Vibes Fund for Second Chances, proving failure isn’t something to hide — it’s something to harness.
🔥 Zoya Khan — an aspiring writer dismissed by many, now a published author, workshop host, and podcast creator, echoing SRK’s message: "Keep writing."
And many more...
🎧 Why Listen?
Because behind every polished success story is a raw, real, often-painful origin. Because this podcast doesn’t just celebrate victories — it dissects them. It doesn’t ask, “What did you win?” but rather, “What did you survive?”
Victories Vibes isn’t about selling merchandise — it sells perspective. A T-shirt may carry a quote, but it also carries a code of survival. It’s a badge worn by those who’ve stumbled and still chose to rise.
💡 The Legacy:
The impact of Victories Vibes has ignited a ripple effect across cities, cultures, and screens — connecting thousands who’ve silently struggled. It reminds us that:
If you've ever doubted your journey… this podcast is for you. If you've ever failed… you're already part of the revolution. https://victories-vibes.com/collections/shah-rukh-khan-failure-humbles-success-mislead
00:00Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we're kind of flipping a common idea on its head.
00:05What if the very thing we instinctively run from failure is actually maybe our greatest teacher?
00:12It's a fascinating thought, isn't it? We often chase this, you know, idealized version of success.
00:17Right. But what if it's the stumbles, the quiet moments of defeat, maybe, that really refine us, that lead to something more authentic?
00:25Well, that's exactly what we're digging into today. We're looking at Shah Rukh Khan's pretty unique philosophy on failure and how it basically ignited this powerful global movement called Victory's Vibes.
00:36Victory's Vibes, yeah. And we've gone through, what, a stack of really personal stories, people whose lives were just fundamentally changed by this one idea.
00:43Absolutely. Deeply personal accounts.
00:45So our mission today really is to pull out the surprising insights from these journeys. We want to understand how a single quote became like a lifeline for some people, a catalyst.
00:55For profound self-discovery.
00:58Yeah, it's about seeing how embracing that humility, the kind that failure forces on you, can actually be a shortcut.
01:05A shortcut to a more authentic, maybe more impactful life.
01:08And how this movement, Victory's Vibes, helps people wear their struggles almost like badges of honor. It's quite powerful.
01:17It really is. Let's dig in.
01:18Okay, so where does it start? With Shah Rukh Khan himself, right?
01:21Yeah.
01:21SRK.
01:22Exactly. His own story is, well, it's a testament in itself. He didn't come from Bollywood royalty.
01:27No, not at all. Middle-class deli boy lost his parents young.
01:31Right. No film dynasty connections. He genuinely rewrote his destiny. I mean, facing immense rejection.
01:37There were stories of him sleeping on railway platforms in those early days. He built everything brick by brick.
01:43And that experience, it seems, fueled this really unique philosophy he developed.
01:47Completely. And that core belief, the foundation of it all, is quite simple, but, wow, incredibly potent.
01:54Success is not a good teacher. Failure makes you humble. That's the one.
01:57That's it. And you can see how that wisdom, born from his own, you know, hard-won journey, just resonated deeply with millions.
02:05It feels like it was about grit, not just the glamour we often associate with Bollywood.
02:09Precisely. But what's really interesting, I think, is how that idea then evolved, how it was picked up.
02:16Yeah. Tell us about that. Because Victory's vibes took it somewhere else, didn't they?
02:20They did. What's fascinating is how they took SRK's original wisdom and sort of distilled it.
02:26They reimagined it into this sharper, more direct mantra. Failure humbles, success misleads.
02:34Failure humbles, success misleads.
02:36It's punchier, definitely.
02:38It is. And it wasn't just a catchy phrase. It really became a rallying cry. It hit home for so many people on such a personal level.
02:45And it clearly became more than just, you know, merchandise or a brand slogan.
02:49Oh, absolutely. Our sources, the stories we looked at, they described Victory's vibes as a digital sanctuary.
02:55The sanctuary. I like that.
02:56Yeah. Or a mentor, even armor, a beacon. It suggests this community space, a place that really embraces honesty and grit and healing.
03:04Which is such a contrast to that pressure we sometimes feel, that sort of toxic positivity idea.
03:09Exactly. That pressure to always be upbeat, always performing success, even when things are genuinely tough.
03:16It can make you feel alone in your struggle.
03:18Right. It invalidates the real difficulty.
03:20Victory's vibes offers this counter narrative. It says, look, struggle isn't just a setback.
03:25It's actually a necessary, maybe even valuable part of the journey.
03:29Okay. So to really get it, we need to look at the people, the individual journeys.
03:33Yes. These are raw human accounts. Let's start with Arv Millik.
03:38Arv Millik.
03:39Born in a one-room trawl in Dharavi. He said he found permission to even dream because of SRK, especially after seeing Dilwal, Dilhaniel, the Jayange.
03:47Wow. Okay.
03:49But then his world just shifted. He lost his father at 16, and apparently he stopped speaking for months, just shut down.
03:55That's incredibly tough. So how did SRK's philosophy even reach him in that state?
04:01He heard the quote, the original one, success is not a good teacher, in an SRK interview he happened to see.
04:07And he said it just clicked. Something resonated.
04:10A tiny spark, maybe.
04:11Maybe. He started writing again. And he actually adopted his own twist on the Victory's vibes version.
04:18Failure humbles. Success misleads. It became his personal mantra.
04:22But the struggle was still immense.
04:24I know. Absolutely. He worked as a waiter, faced, get this, 27 audition rejections.
04:3027. Wow.
04:31Yeah. He was homeless for three weeks at one point, even got kicked out of an audition before he could utter a word. Just brutal.
04:38So how did Victory's vibes come into the picture directly?
04:41He literally saw a t-shirt, a Victory's vibes t-shirt with the quote on it.
04:45A physical reminder. Interesting.
04:47It led him to look up the hashtag online. He found the community. And then he just shared his story, very raw, very honest. Something like, I failed 27 auditions. I'm still here.
04:57And that took off.
04:58It went viral within that community. It was a real turning point. This visibility led to a supporting role in an indie film.
05:04That's amazing.
05:05And the story gets better. Years later, he actually met SRK.
05:10No way.
05:10Yes. And SRK apparently told him, you've understood what took me years to learn.
05:15Wow. Full circle. What's Araf Malik doing now?
05:19He's a rising actor, a vocal mental health advocate, and he actively collaborates with Victory's vibes. It's an incredible journey from that Chal and Daravi.
05:28That really speaks volumes about the impact, doesn't it? Going from silence and homelessness to that. Okay. Who else? You mentioned Meera Kapoor's story also stood out.
05:37Yes. Meera Kapoor. Different background from Delhi. She described feeling kind of invisible, underestimated growing up. But she found an unexpected hero in SRK, particularly in his role in Kabi Han Kabi Na, the underdog character, perhaps.
05:52Okay. Relatable. But life threw her some curveballs, too.
05:55It did. A real spiral of setbacks. Denied admission to her dream college, which was a huge blow. Then the devastating loss of her father. She had to quit college, take a part-time job just to get by.
06:05And all of this just led to intense self-doubt.
06:09That sounds crushing. Where was her turning point?
06:11It came during a really low moment, a night filled with anxiety. She stumbled upon a YouTube video of SRK, and it featured his original quote, success is not a good teacher. That discovery led her straight to Victory's vibes and their rephrased version.
06:25Failure humbles, success misleads.
06:28Exactly. And for her, it wasn't just something to understand intellectually. She really started to live it.
06:33Oh, so? What did she do?
06:35Well, first, she actually bought the Victory's Vibes shirt, describing it as her armor.
06:40Armor? That's such a powerful image, isn't it? Using clothing like a psychological shield.
06:45It really is. She joined the online community, started sharing her struggles using the hashtag Victory's Vibes hashtag, and it was there, in that community, sharing and reading other stories, that she had this realization. Failure wasn't shameful. It was necessary.
07:01Okay, so that realization, that shift in perspective, what did it spark in her? What came next?
07:07It sparked action. Inspired, she started a blog called The Humble Hustle.
07:11The Humble Hustle. I like that name.
07:13Her very first post was titled Failure Humbles, Why I'm Grateful I Didn't Succeed Sooner, and guess what?
07:19It went viral.
07:20It went viral. That led her to launch a storytelling platform called Fail Better. She even partnered with Victory's Vibes on some merchandise later on.
07:28Wow, so she really leaned into it.
07:30Completely. She's now an international speaker, a best-selling author. Her book is called Humble Stars, and she hosts the podcast called The Misleading Myth of Success.
07:38That's incredible. And did she ever connect with SRK?
07:42She did, and he apparently told her, failure is the best kind of spotlight.
07:46Failure is the best kind of spotlight. That's profound. Her journey really shows how you can channel that initial defeat into finding your authentic voice, your purpose.
07:55Absolutely. It wasn't about erasing the failure. It was about building from it.
08:00Okay, another story that struck me from the sources was Anmul Sharma. His path seemed a bit different.
08:06Yes. Anmul's story adds another layer. He was from Delhi, middle-class family, declared his ambition to be an actor, which he called a dangerous declaration for his family.
08:15I can imagine. A risky path.
08:17Very. He moved to Mumbai at 19, faced years, literal years, of constant rejections, sleeping on friends' floors, you know, barely scraping by.
08:27But he had this early insight. He realized failure wasn't a stop sign. It was a mirror. It forced him to look at himself.
08:34Okay, so he understood the humbling part early on. Did he eventually find success?
08:39He did, after about four years. He gained recognition in a web series. He experienced success.
08:45Ah, but this is where the Victory's Vibes quote gets interesting, right? Success misleads.
08:50Exactly. This is the twist in his story. He described that success wrapping around him like velvet. It felt good, obviously, but it caused him to lose his hunger, his humility, the very things that got him there.
09:02So success actually derailed him?
09:04In a way, yes. It led to this silent decline in offers, a fall that came after the initial breakthrough. He lost his way because of the success, not despite it.
09:14That's a really critical distinction, isn't it? It's not just about bouncing back from the first failure, but navigating the potential pitfalls of success itself.
09:22Precisely. It adds depth to the mantra. How did Victory's Vibes come back into play for him then, when he was low again, after having succeeded?
09:29Well, at his absolute lowest, feeling lost after that decline, he stumbled upon the Victory's Vibes quote, again, failure humbles, success misleads on Instagram.
09:39And it hit differently this time.
09:41It sounds like it. The brand, the community, became a sanctuary for him then. It helped him see the lessons hidden in the pain of losing what he'd gained.
09:50So he reconnected with that sense of humility?
09:53Yes. He actually shared an anonymous, very honest letter online about how fame had changed him, how success had misled him, and that vulnerability resonated.
10:04The letter went viral, and the Victory's Vibes community really embraced him.
10:08That must have been huge for him.
10:10It seems like it reignited something. He went on to create a film called Humbled, described as raw, honest, and Netflix India actually picked it up.
10:18Wow. Humbled. That's bringing it full circle again.
10:21Exactly. And now he runs a podcast in collaboration with Victory's Vibes called Behind the Applause.
10:26Behind the Applause. What's the focus?
10:28It features unsung heroes, people talking about their failures, their struggles.
10:32It emphasizes that humility, the kind found in struggle, is maybe what protects you from the misdirection of easy success later on.
10:41That's such a powerful message. So these are incredibly detailed stories.
10:44But you mentioned there were many others, right? Showing similar patterns.
10:48Yes, definitely. We saw this recurring theme, particularly among aspiring actors, for instance, like Araf Kapoor from Himachal Pradesh.
10:55Right. Faced mockery, tight finances.
10:58Exactly. And Ayan Sharma from Delhi.
11:00Both dealt with just relentless rejections. But they both apparently whispered, failure humbles, success misleads. Almost like a prayer.
11:10A personal mantra to keep going.
11:12Yeah. And they both found Victory's Vibes online, calling it that digital sanctuary, a place where their quiet struggles felt, you know, seen.
11:20And they both eventually broke through.
11:22They did. Landed roles, found their footing. And what's interesting is that both are now giving back, mentoring younger actors, giving talks, often wearing the Victory's Vibes shirts.
11:32It shows that the visible success came after they learned to embrace those unseen failures.
11:37Makes sense. And it wasn't just actors finding this message resonant, was it?
11:41No, not at all. We saw these powerful stories of, like, entrepreneurial spirit emerging from failure.
11:47Like Mara Kapoor turning her setbacks into a blog and platform.
11:51Exactly. Or Arfa Shaikh. She was an engineering student in Hyderabad. Failed 12 campus interviews.
11:5712. Ouch.
11:59Yeah. Relatives were apparently suggesting marriage was the next step. But she found Victory's Vibes. Got inspired by the stories.
12:06And what did she do?
12:07Started her own blog, Failures First. Her post about failing those 12 interviews went viral.
12:12Now she runs a successful scholarship fund with Victory's Vibes focused on second chances.
12:19Failures First. That's really owning it. It shows how embracing failure can unlock a totally different kind of creativity, a different path to success.
12:28Absolutely. Then there were what we might call the quiet creators. People who found their voice through this philosophy.
12:34Okay. Tell me about them.
12:35There was Arav Mehta from Mumbai. Felt invisible. Average report cards. Dreamed of advertising. Faced 19 interview rejections. 19.
12:44Wow. The numbers are staggering.
12:46Right. Friends. Family. Pushing him towards a safe job. But he found solace in the Victory's Vibes community online.
12:53Started writing anonymous blogs about his failures. Called failure his badge of growth.
12:58A badge of growth. I like that framing.
13:00And that anonymous writing, that vulnerability, led somewhere.
13:03It did. His spec ad script eventually went viral online, landed him a copywriting job, and his first major campaign. It was for Victory's Vibes.
13:12No way.
13:13Yeah. He later became a contributor, curated campaigns for them, and even launched the Failure Files podcast, which became a top 10 hit in India.
13:22So failure literally forged his career path.
13:24It seems like it. And there was Zoya Khan from a small town, dreamed of writing stories that heal. Her family thought it was just, you know, decorative.
13:34Dismissed her ambitions.
13:35Very much. She faced rejection from publishers. But she saw a Victory's Vibes post that became her digital refuge. Redesigned her blog, Victory's Vibes featured one of her stories.
13:46And connected.
13:46Thousands of followers overnight. She started writing for their blog regularly. SRK himself even approached her after she spoke at a fan event, telling her, you have the heart of a storyteller. Keep writing.
13:57That must have been unbelievable for her.
13:59Imagine. Now she hosts writing workshops, published a book called Failure Humbles. It just shows how finding that community, that validation for your struggles, can unlock potential.
14:08Definitely. We also saw stories about identity, about self-discovery.
14:12Yes, absolutely. Like Ian from Hyderabad, he was really struggling after failing his civil service exams three times. Felt totally stuck, like his worth was tied to these external labels.
14:24A very common feeling, I think.
14:25For sure. His escape was SRK's story. Then he saw an animated Victory's Vibes video with the quote, said it hit him like being struck by lightning.
14:34A real epiphany moment.
14:35It seems so. He started journaling, sharing reflections online. Victory's Vibes reposted his story, Ian's Awakening. It went viral.
14:44And he changed direction.
14:45Completely. Quit prepping for civil services. Took a freelance script writing gig. His first video hit a million views. He later said, Victory's Vibes didn't make me successful. It made me honest.
14:55Wow. It made me honest. That cuts deep.
14:59Doesn't it? Now he runs his own media channel called Humble Heights.
15:02And there was Arav Malhotra, too, the dreamer from Lucknow, who stammered.
15:06Yes. Faced mockery, family opposition to his film dream, got pushed into a commerce course he hated, fell into depression, even tore down his SRK posters in despair.
15:16That's hitting rock bottom.
15:17Truly.
15:18But then he stumbled upon a Victory's Vibes t-shirt, said it reignited his spirit, wore it like armor, like Meera Kapoor did.
15:26Another piece of armor.
15:27Yeah. He dropped out of commerce, faced more mockery, shooting small gigs, had a short film rejected. But he posted about it, wearing the VV shirt saying, rejection isn't the end. That post went viral.
15:40And opened doors.
15:41Led to an internship, his own short film premiering at a festival, and eventually a call from SRK's own production company, Red Chili's Entertainment.
15:50Incredible. Now he's an independent filmmaker.
15:51Yes. And he runs mentorship programs with Victory's Vibes for underprivileged youth. These stories, they all just point back to that core truth from so many different angles.
16:01They really do. So looking at all this, what is it about Victory's Vibes that makes it so different, so compelling? It's clearly not just standard motivational fluff.
16:11No, definitely not. I think a key thing is that it doesn't offer that toxic positivity we talked about. It doesn't gloss over the hard stuff.
16:17It leans into the struggle. Exactly. It provides honest, raw, deeply human stories. It acknowledges that pain isn't just something to get through. It's often where the most valuable lessons are learned. It's part of the path.
16:30And it became this community space, didn't it? You use words like mirror, mentor.
16:35Yeah. And a hug from the universe was another description we saw. It connected people who felt totally isolated in their failures. It showed them, look, you're not alone. Your experience is valid. It's shared.
16:46And actually, it might be the making of you.
16:49So what does this really mean for us, then, looking beyond these specific stories? What's the bigger takeaway?
16:55I think it reinforces how powerful a perspective shift can be. This movement transforms how people see failure. It's not a shameful dead end anymore.
17:04It becomes a teacher.
17:05A teacher, yes. Or a sculptor shaping you, a pathway to something else, even, as you said, a badge of honor.
17:10It strips away the ego, maybe. The need for external validation.
17:14I think that's a huge part of it. It forces you to confront your core values, what really matters when the external markers of success fall away.
17:23And that often leads to decisions based on genuine purpose, not just chasing what looks like success on the surface. It's about shedding the mask, you know.
17:32Right. And that's maybe how humility becomes that shortcut to authenticity you mentioned earlier.
17:37Precisely. When you're humbled, you're often closer to your true self.
17:41That's fascinating. And the ripple effect is so clear in these stories, too. It doesn't end with their personal breakthrough.
17:47Not at all. These individuals who were once struggling, feeling invisible, they are now out there as advocates, podcasters, authors, mentors.
17:56They're amplifying the very message that helped them, paying it forward.
17:59Exactly. They embody the message. You see, these aren't just like exceptional one-off stories.
18:04They reflect these universal truths about growth, about persistence.
18:08The whole victories vibes movement seems to encourage everyone to, as they say, wear your story, live your lesson.
18:15Wear your scars proudly.
18:17Yeah. Knowing they're part of your strength, not a sign of weakness. It's a powerful reframing.
18:22So doing it all back, hum, back to that core truth that started it all. Failure humbles, success misleads.
18:30That's the heart of it.
18:31Maybe here's something to think about. In a world that's constantly measuring our worth by, you know, visible triumphs, the wins we can post about, what if true strength, real lasting impact, is actually forged not in that bright spotlight of success, but in the quiet, sometimes painful, humbling moments of defeat?
18:51It's a challenging thought.
18:53What unseen victories might be waiting to be revealed in your own story, simply by learning to embrace the stumbles at, well, just steps forward.
18:59Yeah. It suggests it's not really about avoiding the fall at all costs.
19:02Right. Maybe it's about how bravely you choose to rise, again and again.
