Women and their Successes...

July 18, 2012

Chatting with some very true successful women friends last night, I realized, what is it that made them successful…..

An average successful professional woman, chooses the safety of who she has always been, and prefers to stay there. But the super-successful professional woman takes the risk to go against the grain and fully step into her greatness by embracing her own story. 
In my perception, the most significant success factor of all these women was their willingness to be authentic. When I say ‘authentic’ what I mean is, the turning point for each of their successes was the ‘letting go’ of all roles, behavior, and expectations that did not enhance and support their true selves. Trying to be something they were never meant to be had been holding them back.

Being ‘true to self’ doesn’t mean being crude, impolite, or unpolished. You are you, most authentic, when your identity, image, and actions are all in alignment no matter what the circumstances or environment. Who you are, how you appear, and how you behave all complement one another. You are living a false persona if you would be embarrassed to let one part of your world see another part of it.

I realized too that it’s risky to be authentic. You will be judged, ridiculed, and mocked. Most importantly, you will experience loss. You will lose people you think you value but they keep you trapped in an exhausting charade – with their expectations from you. You feel like you’re spinning your wheels because you keep coming back to something that doesn’t fit – like trying to feel comfortable wearing someone else’s shoe.

But no matter how safe it may feel, you don’t want to fit in where you don’t belong. You will know when you are with others who value the same things
• when you feel like you can exhale.
• when you do not have to be on your guard.
• when your thoughts, opinions, humor, tears, ideas, and interests are recognized and not demeaned.

It’s exhilarating to be with people who value you for who you are.
Either gravitate toward those who already share your values or define the center of your own group and attract others to it.
Being yourself gives you freedom, energy, and opens up your potential but the most important reason to release your attachment to pleasing others is this: not being “true to you” holds you back. It keeps you stifled, makes you play small, and prevents you from fulfilling your destiny.

When you finally embrace who you are and what you are meant to be doing, all the fear of marketing yourself slips away. Don’t deny the world the gifts you were meant to bestow upon it …. It is precious !

The Placement Advisor Sanjukta ....

Another hat that I wear is for consulting, for careers and employment.
In that role, Sanjukta designs, develops, and delivers workshops. Provides input into workshop modifications to meet changing needs of the student demography and to meet established goals and targets. Markets programs, liaises with community agencies, and interviews clients to assess their suitability and readiness for program participation. Identifies both internal and external needs related to client employment resulting in the development and implementation of marketing plans for clients, Sensitivity used with front line advisement for multi-cultural/racial client group, assisting them to make employer connections.

My mission is to help my students recognize and reach their highest potential. I do this by providing quality training, facilitating meaningful and empowering experiences and connecting through sharing personal stories and experiences. This helps individuals to recognize the choices they have in their lives and the power they have to make those choices to create positive changes in themselves and the world around them.


It's a  pleasure to guide and support students gain insight into their values and passions that result in logical decision-making and increased self-confidence.

Some of  my skills, that have benefited my students in their career paths are:
Building powerful resumes
Networking tactfully
Learning how to face interviews effectively
Making powerful personal statements for personal advocacy

Inspiring others to be articulate, work on and achieve their own goals using creativity, enthusiasm, out-of-the-box thinking and dynamic leadership are some of my career attributes. I strive to encourage others to excel, define and reach their goals by working through their barriers in a systemic way, always respectful of an individual's right to receive personalized, timely service with a high degree of performance excellence.

Art of Living and I

Dear Readers,

Welcoming you to my Blog, where I wish to share my journey with you.

Art of Living has been an integral part of my journey of life. Doing the Part 1 Course, which was then called “Basic Course” was life transforming for me. My husband who was ill and down with Arthritic pain had to join the Course, but because of his resistance I went and sat down; with no clue what I was going to experience.

Today we are both Art of Living teachers !

The corner stone of Art Of Living is Sudarshan Kriya, a powerful breathing technique that cuts down stress and helps individuals focus on the present moment. Today this program is taught around the world as part of the Art of Living course. His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar founded the Art of Living Foundation, a UN affiliated non-governmental agency, and is the inspiration behind many charitable organizations devoted to the service of others.

Doing the course was an experience but coming in close proximity with Sri Sri who is lovingly addressed as Guruji across the globe is another experience. Coming face to face with him is experiencing the infinity of love. Tears kept rolling down when I first saw Him in Kolkata and had no answer as to why I was in that state. It was hardly important whether He was saying something or not. A most delicate feeling suffused every level of my being, as if a fountain were streaming from within.

In His presence, buds blossom, eyes light up and a wave of peace and comfort heals all wounds in the heart. A drop of love resonates in the stillness of Being, taking one beyond time and space into eternity.
Guruji was born in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu to Smt. Visalakshi Ratnam and Shri R. S. Venkat Ratnam. He was named “Ravi” (a common Indian name meaning “sun”) because his birth was on a Sunday and “Shankar” after the 8th century Hindu saint Adi Shankara.

He was a gifted child. By the age of four, He was able to recite parts of the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Sanskrit scripture and was often found in meditation. His first teacher was Sudhakar Chaturvedi, who had had a long cooperation with Mahatma Gandhi. He holds degrees in, both, Vedic literature and physics and also a graduate degree in Bachelor of Science from Bangalore University.

After graduation, Guruji travelled with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The 1980s saw him initiate a series of practical and experiential courses in spirituality around the globe.

Guruji says that His rhythmic breathing exercise Sudarśana-Kriyā came to Him in 1982 “like a poem, an inspiration”, after a ten-day period of silence on the banks of the Bhadra River in Shimoga, state of Karnataka, adding, “I learned it and started teaching it”.

Guruji’s ability to connect with people is perfectly effortless and His spiritual appeal, irresistible. To use the words of one of his ardent followers, Sri Sri is as compassionate as Jesus, as playful as Lord Krishna and as erudite as Adi Shankara. He has this uncanny ability of helping people unburden their stress-filled minds. His invaluable sayings act as balms for wounded souls.

Words by themselves are inadequate to express what a Master or a Guru brings to one’s life. His presence, His love, His grace and His smiling attention can uplift one from the miseries and the sorrows that life brings us.

I feel blessed and privileged to be an Art of Living teacher today.