All Entries Tagged With: "Assertiveness"

As an immigrant to the United States, I am not what one would consider part of the fabric of mainstream culture.  Of Asian descent, I belong to a group that makes up just 4.4 percent of the population.  I have dark hair, big eyes, a Singapore smile and a unique accent influenced by my British [...]

A coach once gave me some great advice that I embraced. She said, “flaunt your quirks.” The quirkier the better. What this means is that all the qualities and characteristics that make you unique are part of your essential, true self.

It’s not my imagination.  And it’s not just anecdotal evidence from my own coaching business.  I’ve recently read several research articles that find women exhibit a lack of self-confidence in their own abilities as entrepreneurs compared to men; many women do not feel comfortable calling themselves entrepreneurs; and, fear of failure is higher for women [...]

A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write. Virginia Woolf For about six months, my sweet husband has been saying, “Look babe, if you want me out of the office, just say the word and I’ll make space for myself in the loft.” “It’s alright, I can [...]

Every pithy page brought from my new very favorite book Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod brought on a yes! MacLeod is a foul-mouthed, illuminated advertising pro, who writes about marketing, meaningful living, and in his own way … love. He is pulled forward by his thrill of “creative sovereignty.” And he’s one pragmatic, sweet curmudgeon. [...]

Think about this… how much have you wanted to achieve, or have achieved, and how much of the same language does the brand you speak? If the answer if not as much as what is reality, then, there is lot of work to do on your ME brand-speak! What’s the ME brand? Each of our [...]

Standing in front of a room full of people; some doodling, some texting, some on the verge of sleeping, not to mention the wretched few staring at me; but all expecting me to speak was never my idea of fun. I am painfully shy and a compulsive introvert. All through school and architecture college, I [...]

Embarrassment is the proudest virtue of a loser! – Sundararaman Viswanathan “At least to my knowledge.” “In my humble opinion.” “If I am not wrong.” “Hope you don’t mind.” Every day, we are faced with a typical situation where in we hide behind these phrases. Why is that so? Are we trying to be polite? [...]

Many of the women who work with me are shy. And so was I when I first left my “job job” and began networking. When I worked in the university setting, the only networking I did was at conferences where we’d share our curriculum and research findings with others and it didn’t feel like “selling.” [...]

Well, I am not referring to the one that is being commonly used to express surprise, shock, anger, awe or all of it at the same time. I am talking about the other 4-letter F-word, which is about the emotion that we all experience at some time or the other: Fear! Why do we fear, [...]

On the winding road to your True Nature, you’re going to come across some darkly self deprecating apologies that may disguise themselves as selfless and evolved flexibilities. My own cliffs to white hot truth are littered with them. Like…. “I’m sorry for being so strong>pointedly opinionated. Sorry about that I really need to take the [...]

My brother Raj had a huge crush on this girl ever since his adolescent years. Now in his late thirties, he still blushes at the mention of her name. Today, she has 2 kids, and is happily married…to someone else. Why? He did not ask her to marry him, he never told her he loved [...]

Imagine two kids fighting over a toy. “It’s mine!” “No, it’s mine!” They yank the toy back and forth, neither kid letting go, neither kid giving up. Now, imagine you’re the toy. Not only are you being pulled this way at that, but, more importantly, no one is playing with you. Your purpose, your great [...]