How did you come about writing this book?

Music has been an important feature of my life. Having picked up the guitar at the age of 11, it did not stop even while working as a hotel Training Manager. It is interesting to note that music became a part of my role in some of the organizations I worked at. For example, while at Hilton Bangalore, an original composition went on to win an international music contest for Hilton Asia Pacific, and while at Hard Rock Hotel Goa, I was the lead guitarist for the in-house rock band for close to 3 years. Both of these were in addition to my day job as a hotel Trainer. 

Although this book was almost 3 years in development, it was only after I co-founded Yomorebi Hospitality Consulting LLP that I got it out to the public during the pandemic. 

Before one of the band performances at Hard Rock, it started to rain, just when the poolside stage was set with sound, lights, and instruments. As we ran helter-skelter to get everything off-stage and covered up, it got me thinking about how many times, our planned days at work go haywire and how we react to those situations. That eventually became a chapter in my book Life Lessons From When I Was In A Rock Band.

The book connects the challenges faced by a rock musician such as joining a band, fitting in, getting fans, instrument malfunctions, creative differences, and band fights, band splits, and others to everyday corporate scenarios. An interesting aspect of this book is that I was fortunate in connecting with and interviewing some of the biggest rock bands in India like the Indian Ocean, Parikrama, Best Kept Secret, Girish And The Chronicles, A26, Forefront, Alcatrazz, and Fish Tank, and getting their perspective on scenarios that are akin to corporate work life. 

Most of us will go on to spend a large portion of our lives working and the way we experience our work makes a huge impact on our quality of life. This book will send you on a  journey of retrospecting the challenges you’ve faced at work and will help professionals in making it better through simple self-reflection.  It seeks to incorporate a leadership mindset right from young professionals starting their careers to senior professionals who take an interesting turn to start a new chapter in their lives, all the while rocking it. It is quite interesting to see how similar a corporate life is to perform in a rock band. 

After getting my draft copy reviewed by academicians, CEOs, executive coaches, and musicians, I think one of the best moments in writing this book was getting a review from one of the leading executive coaches in the world, Dr Marshall Goldsmith. 

The e-book is available on Amazon and the print version is available directly from and personally signed by me. So far, my book has been written about it in well-known national publications such as Rolling Stone India and The Week as well as several local English dailies in Goa.  

I believe that each one of us seeks extraordinary experiences in life and we all strive to go beyond the mundane. Whether we are professionals in Finance, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Production, Human Resources, Information Technology, or whether we are entrepreneurs, parents, or children, I believe that all of us want to perform to our own exacting standards. 

This book includes an introspective tool called the R.O.C.K. instrument that works on the principle of consistent and detailed self-awareness. I believe that the more we are aware of ourselves, the better we are in a situation to transform ourselves and the experiences of people who choose to be around us.

About the Author: 

Jonathan Sequeira is a leadership development and hospitality consultant based in Goa, India. 

After working for almost a decade with brands like Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock International, and the Indian Hotels Company Limited, Jonathan Sequeira co-founded Yomorebi Hospitality Consulting LLP, a Hospitality Solutions and Leadership Development firm along with his wife, Paloma Quadros. 

Jonathan now coaches and develops people across a broad spectrum of fields from hospitality, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, education, entertainment, and the armed forces. He speaks at various organizations on topics of leadership, self-development, and positive thinking. 

Jonathan is also a visiting faculty of Learning and Development, Leadership, and Soft Skills at various colleges in Goa and beats the sun daily followed by a generous dose of prayer, exercise, meditation, and reading.

Life Lessons From When I Was In A Rock Band was launched on Amazon Kindle as an e-book in May 2020 and was launched in print in June 2020. This is his first self-help book in a series and is Jonathan’s second book (his first was a fictional novel titled Pseudo in 2017). 

He can be reached at jonathan@yomorebi.com

Book Title: Life Lesson From When I Was In A Rock Band

E-book link: https://www.amazon.in/Life-Lessons-When-Rock-Band-ebook/dp/B088B4KSM2

Print copies available directly from and personally signed by the author.

Write to jonathan@yomorebi.com for print copies.