Wednesday, 18 October 2023

Are you confused which technical skill to learn which is futuristic and also a right fit for you?


 

Today whatever we do in life, we must have a fair to good understanding about computers. It can be as simple as using Microsoft Office to create a spreadsheet or writing a letter or making presentations to as complex as developing complex code to develop a program or mobile application. We may have basic computer knowledge, but the question is – do we have the required skills to perform our duties?

Problem Statement: There is a gap between what we know and what we need to know. The problem is, many times when we come to know about the gap, it’s already been late. Because of that, if we are already working, then our performance gets impacted or if I am a job seeker, then getting the right job becomes very difficult. Think about a situation where, you are applying for a job, where you need to use MS Excel to do some advanced computing. If you do not have that skill, you will be losing that job opportunity.

For the Computer Science Engineering students, the problem is even bigger. The Computer Science Engineering students know that what they learn during Engineering, is not good enough to get their dream job. But most of the time, they do not know what should they learn. Because of that, they often go with the flow – what my friends in the batch are learning, I shall also learn the same technology. But what they miss here is – do I have the right aptitude to learn and master the same technology? For example, if my friend has enrolled for a Data Science Training course, shall I also blindly do so? Please do not do so.

Please remember that to become a Data Scientist, other than learning software technologies, you need to have a very good aptitude for Mathematics and Statistics. Without that, you will be wasting your time and money but that will not help you to get the Data Scientist job!

Solution: Before enrolling for any additional training, please identify your strengths and weaknesses and based on your strengths, choose what you should learn. Do not learn something which may have lots of jobs today, but tomorrow may not have (a dying technology). So, do not try teaching Lata Mangeshkar cricket – the result will be a disaster. Please book a slot where I can help you to identify your calling and strengths so that you can choose the right path in your life.

We at Conscious Living Center (CLC) can support you or your students/children to find alignment between their interest and capabilities and make the right decision about their way forward,  so that they can get on to a learning and growth path that will lead to success and happiness instead of mediocrity and frustration. Schedule a session with us using this link to know more - https://calendly.com/coacharchana/complementary-session


Conscious Entrepreneurship Course for Start-Ups - Why should you consider registering for it?



Introduction

Starting a business is often compared to embarking on a rollercoaster ride. It's thrilling, unpredictable, and can be filled with ups and downs. However, being a conscious entrepreneur can make this journey more meaningful, fulfilling, and ultimately, successful. Conscious entrepreneurship is a business approach that focuses not only on profit but also on purpose, social impact, and sustainability. To help aspiring entrepreneurs embrace this mindset, our conscious entrepreneurship course has gained popularity. In this blog, we'll explore the numerous benefits of enrolling in this course for your start-up.

  1. Purpose-Driven Business

One of the primary advantages of a conscious entrepreneurship course is that it encourages start-ups to define and align their purpose. Purpose-driven businesses are not only more likely to attract loyal customers and dedicated employees, but they also tend to outperform profit-driven companies in the long run. Our course in conscious entrepreneurship help entrepreneurs identify their core values, the change they want to bring to the world, and how their business can be a force for good.

  1. Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills

Conscious entrepreneurship course teaches critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills. These skills are invaluable for start-up founders, as they often encounter unexpected challenges and uncertainties. By learning to think outside the box and adapt to changing circumstances, entrepreneurs can effectively navigate the complex world of business.

  1. Sustainability and Responsibility

Conscious entrepreneurship emphasizes sustainability and social responsibility. As the world becomes increasingly conscious of environmental and social issues, entrepreneurs who prioritize sustainability and responsibility are better positioned for success. Our course in conscious entrepreneurship teach how to incorporate eco-friendly practices and ethical principles into business operations, which can also result in cost savings and improved brand reputation.

  1. Networking Opportunities

Entrepreneurship course with us will provide excellent networking opportunities. When you enroll in our conscious entrepreneurship program, you connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion for creating a positive impact. Building a network of supportive peers, mentors, and potential collaborators can be instrumental in the growth and success of your start-up.

  1. Stress Management and Well-being

The entrepreneurial journey can be mentally and emotionally demanding. Conscious entrepreneurship course includes elements of mindfulness, stress management, and well-being practices. Learning how to maintain a healthy work-life balance and stay mentally resilient is crucial for staying on course and achieving long-term success.

  1. Increased Market Relevance

Conscious entrepreneurship is not just a trendy concept but a growing consumer demand. Consumers are increasingly choosing to support businesses that align with their values. By completing the conscious entrepreneurship course, you position your start-up to be more relevant and appealing to a broader customer base.

  1. Greater Innovation

Our course in conscious entrepreneurship encourages innovative thinking and the development of unique solutions. Entrepreneurs who focus on solving societal or environmental problems often find themselves at the forefront of innovation. This creativity can lead to groundbreaking products, services, and business models.

  1. Competitive Advantage

Conscious entrepreneurship is still relatively uncommon, giving early adopters a competitive edge. By being a conscious entrepreneur, you differentiate your start-up from the competition and establish a unique selling proposition. This distinction can help attract investors and customers who are eager to support businesses with a purpose.

Conclusion

The benefits of enrolling in our conscious entrepreneurship course for start-ups are significant. This course will help entrepreneurs discover their purpose, develop problem-solving skills, promote sustainability, and foster well-being. In an increasingly conscious market, such courses provide a competitive advantage, enhanced market relevance, and a strong support network. By choosing the path of conscious entrepreneurship, not only can start-ups thrive financially, but they can also make a positive impact on society and the planet. So, if you're considering launching your own business, consider taking the conscious entrepreneurship course with us to set your journey on the path to success and significance.

Connect with us at Conscious Living Center (CLC) using this link to know more - https://calendly.com/coacharchana/complementary-session


Monday, 16 October 2023

Unlock your full potential with Conscious Living



Conscious Living is nothing but living with awareness! In a fast-paced world filled with distractions and endless responsibilities, it's easy to lose sight of the profound impact that awareness can have on our lives. The power of awareness is not just about being present in the moment; it's a transformative tool that can unlock your full potential, improve your mental well-being, and lead to personal growth and fulfillment. 
 
Understanding Awareness : Awareness is the state of being conscious of your thoughts, emotions, and surroundings. It involves observing without judgment and accepting what is, rather than resisting or reacting to it. When we cultivate awareness, we become more attuned to our inner selves and the world around us. 

The Benefits of Awareness:
  • Improved Mental Health: Developing awareness can help you better manage stress, anxiety, and depression. By acknowledging your thoughts and emotions without judgment, you can gain control over your mental state and find healthier ways to cope with challenges. 
  • Enhanced Emotional Intelligence: Being aware of your emotions and those of others is a cornerstone of emotional intelligence. This skill can improve your relationships, boost your empathy, and lead to more effective communication. 
  • Personal Growth: Awareness enables you to recognize your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. It fosters self-reflection, which is crucial for personal growth and self-development. 
  • Stress Reduction: The simple act of being present and mindful can reduce stress and promote relaxation. When you're aware of your body and breath, you can anchor yourself in the present moment, letting go of worries about the past and future. 
  • Improved Decision-Making: Greater awareness allows for better decision-making. When you understand your motivations and thought processes, you can make choices that align with your values and long-term goals. 
Practical Tips to Cultivate Awareness:
  • Meditation: Regular meditation practice is a powerful way to develop mindfulness and awareness. Meditation helps you become more attuned to your thoughts and emotions, fostering self-awareness. 
  • Mindful Breathing: Simple mindful breathing exercises can be incorporated into your daily routine. Paying attention to your breath for a few moments can ground you in the present. 
  • Journaling: Keeping a journal to record your thoughts and emotions can help you recognize patterns and gain deeper insights into your inner world. 
  • Observing Without Judgment: Practice observing your thoughts and feelings without attaching labels or judgments. This allows you to accept them as they are, leading to greater self-compassion. 
  • Mindful Living: Extend mindfulness to your everyday activities. Whether you're eating, walking, or working, be fully present in the moment. 
The Power of Awareness in Practice: Let's consider a real-life scenario. Imagine you're in a high-stress meeting at work. Without awareness, you might react impulsively, possibly saying something you'll regret later. However, if you've cultivated awareness, you can take a deep breath, acknowledge your stress and anxiety, and respond more calmly and thoughtfully. This not only diffuses tension but also showcases your emotional intelligence and self-control. 

Conclusion: The power of awareness is transformative. It can improve your mental health, enhance your emotional intelligence, foster personal growth, reduce stress, and lead to better decision-making. By practicing mindfulness and self-reflection, you can unlock your full potential and live a more fulfilling life. Remember, it's an ongoing journey, and the more you nurture your awareness, the more profound its impact on your life will be. 

Feel free to connect with me if you wish to know more on how to tap into your full potential through the practice of Conscious Living!

Thursday, 5 January 2023

Executive Coaching - The Why, What and How of it

Ms Archana Krishnamurthy
Certified ICF Master Coach

 

Introduction

Executive Coaching is a neuroscience/brain based scientific approach that is best suited to get a clear understanding of one’s true potential, identify deep-rooted behavioural blinders and obstacles; and come up with ways that are self-driven and unique to each individual to progress towards creating a truly fulfilling personal and professional life as per one’s innate gifts and potential.

What is Coaching?

Coaching is not consulting, mentoring or advising, in that, it is totally coachee focussed and driven. Coach supports the coachee’s to become aware of his/her goals and in a structured manner help his/her journey as an accountable partner, helping the coachee’s to acknowledge and celebrate every achievement and learn through deep insights from every step through the process.

 Who is Coaching for?

Coaching is best suited for individuals who have reasonable levels of exposure and experience in various aspects of life but either lack clarity on way forward or feel stuck and unable to grow beyond where they are. Some may feel they know what they want, they also know how to go about it, but even then, find themselves not doing what they know very well they should be doing!!

When and Why is Coaching required?

If help is not sought or provided at the right time, many may feel frustrated, lacking in motivation and self-esteem to initiate any positive action or try anymore to achieve their potential, somewhere deep down they know they are worthy of. If one is at this stage, coaching may be a good intervention to help get clarity, support and motivation needed to move forward.

How does Coaching work?

Coaching is a 12-week journey, where the coachee is supported by the coach to:

  • ·      Set 3 primary SMART goals to achieve by the end of 12 weeks;
  • ·      Devise strategy and milestones;
  • ·      Develop detailed weekly action plans;
  • ·      Review and make necessary iterations; and
  • ·      Most importantly learn healthy new habits and discard old harmful ones to achieve       success in life.

Every week on a set date and time, coach and coachee meet online for 45-60mins for 12 consecutive weeks.

Essentials for Coaching to be Effective

While the coach is committed to serve the coachee’s interests without any personal motive, as a professional engaged in a noble field and provides a safe space by maintaining professional confidentiality for coachee to work on himself/herself; coachee needs to commit to sincerely go through the process and put his/her best-foot forward to see the amazing results in such a short span of 12 weeks, which can be rewarding and truly life-changing.

A coach and coachee’s relationship is like that of a doctor and patient. While it is critical that the former is suitably qualified and skilled, should be more importantly someone that the coachee has faith in. Coachee’s belief and respect for the coach goes a long way in making the process fruitful.

There is no specific formula, as we know, for faith, belief, or regard in a professional, except that the vibe that one radiates and the word of praise from those who have experienced the coach, is what may do the trick. However, it is not just about the coach, it can be something to do with coachee’s past experiences which causes him/her to feel comfortable or not in the coach’s presence. In any case, point is, if the comfort level is not working, then coaching will not work and hence is essential that the coach and coachee both to feel comfortable in each other’s presence and feel positively motivated to work together.

 

Friday, 7 October 2022

Conscious Parenting

Parenting itself seems like a herculean task, what to talk about conscious parenting! So, what is parenting? Seems like a simple question, but honestly are you not finding it difficult to answer?

Okay, now let’s explore some other aspects of parenting? When did you first think of becoming a parent? Or did it just happen, as is the case with many of us :-)


Alright, even if you thought of it, what planning did you do? If this question itself is sounding odd, let me explain. We plan a vacation, we plan our career, we plan for every small thing in our life, why not for parenting?


Okay, let’s get to the next question - how did you know you are eligible to be a parent? How did you qualify? What education or training did you go through? Hmmm…..point to ponder, right?


Finally, those of you who are parents, how do you rate yourself as a parent? No, I am not asking how well you are trying to do your job right, I am asking how is it going? Confusing? Have you maintained a journal about your parenting related learning? Have you taken feedback, ideally 360% feedback? Do you know your user expectation? Have you done a gap analysis? Have you used design thinking or the 5 Whys Method in your parenting process? When does the parenting process begin? What is your job description? Where does your responsibility begin and where and when does it end? Can you retire from the parenting role? If so, when? 


What is the objective of parenting? How do you define it? What is your strategy? Who all are in your team? Are you all aligned? What are the milestones? Are the milestones set by you or your user/child? By the way, you don’t have to be paid to plan your job well and execute it efficiently, right? 


All of you who are in the corporate world or have been there, understand all the jargon I have used up there :-) For those who have not been exposed to that world, may be wondering if truly parenting is as complex as it sounds. Let me answer that for all of you, yes, it is one of the most complex roles you can even have and is also the most impactful. Impact of a parent is not just on their child but the entire society. 


Parents are the customers for the entire education system. Educational Institutions are providing what their customers are asking. Society is a reflection of the education system. So, if society seems like chaos, ask yourself, who is responsible? Most importantly, whether you realize it or not, as a parent you are the most powerful pillar of the society. If you wish to see change, the key lies with you. 


We all know and agree that we are all unique. So, parenting every child entails a very unique method. The method that worked for you, may not work with your child. What worked for your first child, may not work with the second one. Because each one of us is unique and has unique needs. Then again, we all are continuously changing and growing. We are not the same. So, we may need different methods to be engaged for tackling the same individual. That is what makes this role extremely complex. 


Unfortunately, in life, in today’s times, we do not go through any form of formal or informal education to deal with the most important aspects of our life. For example, we learn so much about things around us, but not about “What is LIFE? We have so much knowledge about so many subjects and external objects, but find it hard to answer, “WHO AM I?” We have goals, strategy and plan for scoring in our studies, finances, career, etc. but don’t have much clarity about our unique purpose, for which we are all uniquely gifted. Nor do we know about the real EDUCATION REQUIRED FOR US TO MAKE OUR BEST AND UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD, MARRIAGE, PARENTING, DEATH, etc. We are totally unprepared to understand and face these challenges in life. We get into it accidentally or by force, manage with trial and error and somehow scrape through it all. 


I am sure none of us want it to stay this way. There is some hope. We can make an effort to start with the process of living consciously NOW. We can learn not just about parenting but how we can be conscious parents and live our lives consciously. Connect with me for a complimentary 45-minute session here: Individuals – Conscious Living Center


Friday, 15 October 2021

Happy Vijaya Dashami!




Vijaya Dashami is an Indian traditional festival which is celebrated for the win of good over the evil. The story is related to Ramayana and this is the day Lord Rama wins the battle against Ravana.

So, I am sharing my views on how we need to look at and understand these stories that are from our ancient scriptures and are part of our tradition. They are our history and not just mythology. Secondly, let us learn to take things " as they are" in our scriptures and stop interpreting things as per our convenience. Lastly, let us understand "good" and "evil" and how it depends on who we are and what is our "prescribed duty" or "Dharma". Let us all pledge to make an effort to become conscious of life, ourselves, our purpose, our innate gifts and contribute through a meaningful life in making this world a better place in our own little way. Wishing one and all a very happy and conscious Vijaya Dashami. Anyone interested in these topics, may connect up with me through the comments section. Thank you!

Tuesday, 12 October 2021


 Our Hon'ble Minister of Health, Mr Sudhakar recently made some statements as part of his speech at focusing on mental health and since then he has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Strong reactions have come in the media against him and his statements. Now, since I have not heard his entire speech, my idea here is not to support him or be against him but just pick the 3 statements against which the entire media seems to be reacting against and give my take. My agenda is to request society to wake up and have the courage to look at things as they are and not take it personal and more importantly, do what can be done in areas where we can make a positive contribution for the sake of our community, for the sake of humanity. Let us not get into the habit of rejecting what is not convenient for us to hear. Let us all wake up, be conscious and build a conscious society. My intent is not to hurt anyone's sentiments. If some of you are interested in having a intellectual and objective conversation around this topic, with the objective of finding ways to contribute positively, then please write to me in the comments below and if we have an active group of individuals interested to think through and take action at their own level, we will create a separate group to discuss in private. Thank you.