Welcome to RachReflects, a podcast that explores the intersections of learning & living through the voices & experiences of diverse guests. On this journey, we'll bring together diverse voices, perspectives & walks of life to engage in thoughtful conversations about the challenges, joys and lessons that come with growing through life. From personal growth, relationships to work and creativity, we delve into topics that shape our lives and ourselves as individuals.Join me on this journey of discovery, growth, & connection, as we explore the richness & complexity of learning & living together.
Season One Finale | RachReflects Episode 22
It's the FINAL episode of Season One :') I can't believe we are here!
Join me and some guest listeners for this reflective, fun and celebratory episode as we look back and reflect on what we've learnt from the weekly episodes the past 6months. We shared our favorite guests, most meaningful takeaways, the personal growth and challenges we experienced. This episode is a tribute to all the elements that have made Season One unforgettable.
PS Don't miss the exciting quiz and game, and find out who is the biggest RachReflects fan ;)
As we bid farewell to Season One, I also offer a sneak peek into what's in store for Season Two, with even more inspiring content, thought-provoking conversations, and exciting surprises.
Thank you for being part of the journey! Please share in the comments below and let me know what you'd love to see in the upcoming season! Your feedback will shape the future of RachReflects.
Chapters:
00:00 - Rach and guests introduction
03:05 - Quiz and game segment
11:01 - Who's your favorite guest/favorite episode?
14:18 - Was there a particular guest's perspective that left a lasting impression or impact on you?
20:13 - Have you found yourself applying the perspective or lesson that we learned?
26:40 - Any particular episode spark conversations with your partner or team members?
31:24 - Favorite quotes from the guests
34:31 - Ask Rach Anything
43:11 - Outro
Find RachReflects on :
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
9/28/2023 • 44 minutes, 17 seconds
7 Most Asked Questions on Work | RachReflects Episode 21
Dive into this enriching video where we unravel the intricacies of navigating work environments and relationships in the professional realm. From assessing your ideal work setting to managing expectations and conquering fears in meetings, we've got it all. Join us on this enlightening journey through the complexities of professional growth and self-discovery with our #WorkBestie Crystal in our final work bestie episode for this season!
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
01:02 -" Start-up vs SME vs Corporate, how do I assess which type of working environment suits me the most?"
08:27 - "When the work environment is ever-changing and ambiguous, how do I provide clarity and assurance to the team without continuously sacrificing my own personal headspace?"
10:28 - "As a chronic people-pleaser, how do I better manage expectations on what I’m able to realistically deliver at work without feeling like I’m disappointing my managers /team?"
13:29 - "How do I overcome fears when being called out in a big meeting and still show calmness, even if I don’t know the answer?
16:46 - "How do I think on the spot when I'm asked for my opinion during meetings?"
19:44 - "I’m good friends with all my team members, so how do I draw boundaries to not let them abuse this closeness by underperforming while still staying as good friends?"
25:25 - "How do I know when it’s time to quit?"
28:50 - Last words/Outro
Crystal is the CEO and Co-founder of Forest Wolf, a global leader in future-ready skills, leadership, and corporate learning and development. In this episode, she answers 7 of the most asked questions on work, and provides us with advice and insights on how we should tackle them. Let’s dive right in!
Find RachReflects on :
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
9/18/2023 • 30 minutes, 57 seconds
Crafting A Life You Love: Lessons from ‘Designing Your Life’ | RachReflects Episode 20
In a world filled with expectations and preconceived notions about success and fulfillment, this book stands out as a guiding light for those seeking to break free from the mold and design a life that's uniquely ours. Join me in this episode as we dive into the inspiring pages of 'Designing Your Life' by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Through the lens of design thinking, we explore powerful concepts like reframing challenges as opportunities, creating a personal life compass, and crafting an Odyssey Plan to map out our ideal future. But this episode isn't just about the book; it's a personal journey. I'll share my real-life stories, lessons learned, and the profound impact 'Designing Your Life' has had on my path. So, if you're ready to unlock your potential, embrace creativity, and chart a course toward a more fulfilling future, tune in to this episode. It's time to pick up your life's blueprint and start creating a masterpiece.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to designing your life
01:53 Designing your life - what the book is about
03:04 1st Key takeaway - Reframing challenges as opportunities
05:02 Dysfunctional beliefs we can reframe
06:56 2nd Key takeaway - Our Life Compass
08:30 3rd Key takeway - Charting an Odyssey Plan and how RachReflects was birthed
10:33 Bonus takeaway - Prototyping
12:57 Summary and final reflections
13:58 Designing your life workshop for the RachReflects community
14:54 Outro
More RachReflects:
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
Indicate your interest for the course here:
https://forms.gle/sPcHCFUsLTzvBsKU6
9/11/2023 • 15 minutes, 16 seconds
Zone of Genius vs Zone of Excellence: Awaken Your Aliveness | RachReflects Episode 19
Are you truly thriving in your personal and professional life, or are you merely surviving? In this thought-provoking episode, my personal coach, Joyce Chen and I delve deep into the transformative concepts of the "Zone of Genius" and the "Zone of Excellence." Join us as we explore how understanding and harnessing these zones can lead to a life of purpose, passion, and unparalleled fulfillment.
Discover what sets your heart on fire and where your innate talents truly shine as we dissect the Zone of Genius – the realm where passion and proficiency meet, creating a powerful synergy that can propel you to greatness. We'll share inspiring stories of individuals who've unlocked their Zone of Genius and reaped the extraordinary rewards.
But that's not all! We'll also journey into the Zone of Excellence, the comfort zone where many find themselves, excelling in tasks but often feeling a nagging sense of unfulfillment. Learn how to differentiate between these two zones and how to gracefully transition from one to the other.
This episode isn't just about theory; it's about action. We'll provide practical tips and exercises to help you identify your Zone of Genius and take those crucial steps toward living a life that's both professionally successful and personally fulfilling.
Join us for a transformative discussion that might just change the trajectory of your life. It's time to uncover your Zone of Genius and start living your most exceptional life. Don't miss this episode – your future self will thank you.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:25 - Joyce's introduction and background
02:53 - Zone of Genius explained
04:14 - Breaking down the four zones
14:36 - Somatic practice. Are you willing to live in your zone of genius?
16:20 - Fear guards the line between excellence and genius
19:33 - Four types of upper limiting beliefs
23:38 - What does living in our Zone of Genius feel like?
26:20 - Do we have to leave our career to move into our zone of genius?
28:16 - Taking little steps forward
29:56 - The Best Stuff exercise
32:40 - Final advice from Joyce
35:39 - Outro
Find Joyce here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyce-chen-coach/
http://instagram.com/joycechen_coaching
www.conscious.is
More RachReflects:
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
9/4/2023 • 36 minutes, 19 seconds
Making life's best decisions with our head, heart & gut intelligence | RachReflects Episode 18
"All of my best decisions in business and in life have been made with heart, intuition, guts... not analysis.” - Jeff Bezos
In this episode, we embark on a captivating exploration of human awareness and decision-making through the lenses of Head, Heart, and Gut intelligence.
The idea behind these three sources of awareness is that they complement each other and collectively contribute to how we make decisions.
Join me with our #workbestie Crystal as we delve into the intricate interplay of these three sources of awareness that guide our choices in life, and how we can hone and strengthen each of them.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to human awareness, decision making using our head, heart and gut intelligence
03:15 - Enhancing head intelligence for critical thinking and analysis
04:45 - Overcoming analysis paralysis
06:32 - Striking a balance across different intelligence
07:39 - Cultivating emotional intelligence and empathy
10:53 - Aligning core values to emotional intelligence
13:12 - Striking a balance between empathy and practicality
16:14- Gut intelligence. Should we trust it?
18:56 - Overcoming skepticism or resistance towards using our gut
20:50 - Honing our intuitive abilities
21:58 - A journey inward, looking for answers within us
26:57 - Support from community to make good decisions, challenge perspectives, giving us a balanced point of view
28:15- Crystal discusses the example of coaching an entrepreneur
29:48 - Outro
Find RachReflects on :
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
8/28/2023 • 30 minutes, 18 seconds
Why Turning Inward Is The Way Forward With Yung Pueblo | RachReflects Episode 17
“A change in one is a change in millions.”
My special guest on this episode is a living, breathing example of his favourite quote (above): Someone who has inspired change in millions when he decided to change himself one summer in 2011.
Diego Perez, perhaps better known by you and millions of others around the world as Yung Pueblo through his Instagram account and bestselling books — Inward, Clarity & Connection, and Lighter — uses his beautiful art of words and poetry to help himself and others recognise the power of self- healing, create healthy relationships, and tune in to the wisdom that comes when we truly work on knowing ourselves.
His self-healing journey began when, at 23, he thought he had reached the end of his life. A life of constant hard-partying as his way of escaping the sadness and anxiety he was experiencing, and never wanting to be alone with himself to feel difficult emotions, eventually pushed his body to the edge and gave him a mild heart attack. That was his wake-up call to come out of ill-fated patterns which kept leading him back to sorrow and misery. And the only way to come out of it, he realised, was to start telling himself the truth— that something was wrong, and he didn’t feel good. So he stopped fighting himself, and started meditating in 2012. That was how it all began.
The practice of meditation has, no doubt, changed the course of Diego’s life. In our chat, he talks about his personal journey with his practice: The immediate lightness and spaciousness he had felt even after the first time; how it has made a writer of him (“Honestly, meditation is the secret to my creativity.”); the ways it has improved his relationships with others and with himself; and how this scared time he spends with — and within — himself has helped him cultivate self-compassion, awareness, gratitude, and empowered him to choose the narratives of his life.
I’m truly grateful for Diego for sharing his wisdom, and with such peace and calm in his energy as always, on what he has learned on his personal growth about reframing our relationship with change (“We’re afraid of losing things because of change, but we don’t realise that we have gained things because of change.”), focusing on our own internal growth in the face of the many demands and expectations of a fast-changing, noisy external world, how to be more compassionate towards ourselves, unlearn old beliefs by letting go of “trash from the past”, the ideal state to approach life, and why one of the best skills we human beings can learn is the ability to enhance our self love.
I could go on and on, but it’s best I stop here and let you listen and soak in the beautiful, soulful, inspiring words of Yung Pueblo himself.
Keep an eye out for his upcoming book, The Way Forward, which will be released on October 10. I know I am.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:31 - Story behind pen name Yung Pueblo
01:45 - Diego's background on personal development and self awareness
03:19 - Do we all need to go through an extreme experience in order to be woken up?
04:13 - Hitting rock bottom, what Diego did to get out of the hole
05:49 - The process of sitting with our emotions
07:07 - Diego's meditation journey and experience & benefits from meditation
10:43 - What led Diego to writing
13:30 - Imposter syndrome and dealing with self-doubt
15:22 - Marriage tips and relationship advice
17:55 - Couple rituals
18:54 - A Common misunderstanding about meditation
19:51 - Encouragement tip for people starting out on Meditation
21:54 - Embracing change, navigating life's transitions.
24:02 - Balancing inner growth and the demands of the world.
25:41 - How to practise self-compassion
26:45 - What the ideal mental state is
27:36 - Learning and unlearning of old beliefs
29:31 - Enhancing your self-love
31:21 - "The way forward" sharing on upcoming book
32:27 - Diego's favorite quote
33:35 - Outro
Find RachReflects on :
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
8/21/2023 • 35 minutes, 7 seconds
Reflections & lessons on marriage as we celebrate our 7th anniversary | RachReflects Episode 16
This week, I have a very special guest, my husband Leo! As we celebrated our recent wedding anniversary, we thought it would be apt to share some of our reflections & lessons over the last 7 years as a couple.
In this episode, we share our personal anecdotes, stories and lessons that have helped us build a stronger marriage.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction and welcome
02:53 - Ice breaker
04:56 - A better and stronger relationship starts with a better and stronger me
08:35 - Remaining curious about each other
11:42 - Learning to articulate my needs instead of expecting him to be a mind reader
13:22 -Timing matters
17:50 - Don't sweat the small stuff
22:44 - It's the little things that matter
23:53 - Lightness and humor
25:20 - Bids of connection
29:05 - Marriage is not 50/50
33:15 - Surrounding ourselves with couples with strong values
34:00 - Outro
Find RachReflects on:
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
8/14/2023 • 34 minutes, 43 seconds
Designing Your Life with Bill Burnett | RachReflects Episode 15
Every person deserves to design a well-lived and joyful life with purpose and fulfilment. In this thought-provoking episode, I sit down with the renowned Bill Burnett - previously a Product Leader at Apple and designer of Star Wars toys to Executive Director of the Design Program at Stanford and bestselling author of Designing Your Life and Designing Your Work life.
What does it mean to live a successful life? What are the most dangerous advices out there? What are the essential skills and characteristics necessary to thrive in today's ever-changing landscape? This is one episode filled with practical wisdom and actionable advice to help you design the life you truly desire!
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:20 - Bill's intro on Designing Your Life
05:07 - The purpose driven generation and the Gen Z's approach to work life
07:30 - Key trends in the different generations today
10:51 - 2 dangerous advices in the world today
15:15 - How do we follow our passions?
19:05 - Bill's definition of a successful life
20:49 - Key skill and characteristic that is crucial today
23:03 - The importance of self-awareness and its impact
23:57 - Playing the infinite game
27:50 - Bill shares about fear setting and his own experience dealing with fears
30:18 - Building simple, atomic habits to reinvent our lives
33:15 - Outro
Find RachReflects on :http://rachreflects.comhttp://instagram.com/ms_rach
8/7/2023 • 34 minutes, 37 seconds
Ask Me Anything live event | RachReflects Episode 14
Join me this week for a special episode of RachReflects, where I held an in-person Ask Me Anything (AMA) session during our get-together.
Some of these questions include:
00:00 - Rachel's intro
01:03 - “What do you do to pick yourself up when bad things happen? How do you stay motivated?”
08:37 - “How do you keep your fire burning? When did you realize this is what you wanted to do for the rest of your life?”
13:16 - “How have you evolved in your 20's versus your 30's?”
17:20 - “What is one of the biggest life lessons that you have learnt?”
20:01 - “Do you experience imposter syndrome?”
26:23 - Outro
Find RachReflects on:
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
7/31/2023 • 26 minutes, 15 seconds
How to express yourself effectively & confidently as a manager | RachReflects Episode 13
We are back with another episode with our in-house guest expert, our #WorkBestie Crystal! This time, we will be learning how express ourselves effectively and confidently as a manager around some of the topics listed below:
00:00 Rach introduces Crystal
01:18 Addressing underperformance
04:32 Quantifying the impact, giving feedback
05:26 Work inefficiency or slow output
08:50 GROW coaching model
10:11 Personal grooming and hygiene matters
13:41 Getting team to adopt a growth mindset at work
15:23 Taking ownership, learning from mistakes
17:22 Hard conversations on letting go of staff
23:06 Key principles to communicating effectively
26:37 Outro
Crystal is the CEO and Co-founder of Forest Wolf, a global leader in future-ready skills, leadership, and corporate learning and development. In this episode, she answers some of the challenges and issues we face at work, and provides us with advice and frameworks on how we should overcome them. Let’s dive right in!
Find RachReflects on :
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
7/24/2023 • 27 minutes, 19 seconds
Raising Indistractable Children with Nir Eyal | RachReflects Episode 12
This week, I’m back with Part 2 of an illuminating conversation with Nir Eyal on how we can all free ourselves from distraction. In other words, how can we become indistractable so we may create the life we truly desire and become a version of ourselves that’s living at full potential every day?
In Part 1, Nir unearthed for us the root of our distraction and generously shared the essential tools to help us reclaim and master our attention. (If you haven’t yet listened to it, I highly recommend that you do.) If you, like me, are a parent — or plan to be one — then you definitely won’t want to miss this episode, where we delve into what it means to raise indistractable children in a distracting world.
The four fundamental steps apply:
1. Scheduling time to be “tractable”, whether that’s time for homework, free play, or screen time.
2. Teaching kids from a young age to master internal triggers or uncomfortable sensations that
lead to distraction.
3. Removing external triggers. Some of the negative consequences of social media doesn’t come
from the social media per se, but what it displaces — primarily, sleep, which is known to contribute to mental health issues.
4. Make an effort pact: Engage your children to use technology to block out distracting technology. The Forest app, for example, is one way of teaching kids how to be accountable for their own time.
“If we’re going to raise indistractable kids, we have to be indistractable parents,” says Nir, an advocate for leading by example. He also introduced me to what he calls “the three psychological nutrients”: Autonomy, Competency and Relatedness that all humans need. How can we then ensure that our children are sufficiently nourished in these areas offline so they won’t see the need to seek them out online?
Nir is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and the critically acclaimed Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. He is also an investor who backs habit-forming products he believes improve lives, such as Eventbrite and Canva. He has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, and his writings have been features in The New York Times, The Harvard Business Review, Time Magazine, and Psychology Today.
Chapters
00:00 - Episode introduction
00:50 - Helping children master their focus and attention
03:35 - Excessive use of screen time
05:15 - 3 Psychological nutrients for our child’s well-being
05:57 - Autonomy and why children need it
08:05 - Free play and it's nourishing effects
13:11 - The importance of sleep and eliminating distractions
15:33 - The antidote to impulsiveness is forethought
17:03 - Outro
Find RachReflects on :
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
7/17/2023 • 17 minutes, 33 seconds
Master Your Attention, Focus, & Create The Life You Want With Nir Eyal | RachReflects Episode 11
You’ve probably heard this one before: When you change your habits, you change your life. But before we can change our habits, we need to learn how to master our attention and focus, and do the things you say you’re going to do that’ll direct us towards living the life we desire, and being the person we want to become.
This week, I am beyond thrilled to be sharing with you my chat with Nir Eyal, who’s going to make you think — and re-think — how you’re spending your time and attention every day. Are you actively choosing your life with each action you take? Why do we do things that we did not intend against our better interest? Why do we go off track? Through his work, Nir wants to make sure we don’t look back on our lives with regret for all the things we said we were going to do, but didn’t because we got “distracted”.
Nir is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and the critically acclaimed Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. He has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, and his writings have been featured in The New York Times, The Harvard Business Review, Time Magazine, and Psychology Today.
We had so much to talk about that this conversation will be shared with you in two parts. In this first half, Nir redefines for us what “distraction” means: It is not what’s on the outside that is distracting us — not social media, not the children, not the laundry. What is distracting us 90% of the time is our desire to escape uncomfortable emotional states such as boredom and loneliness — also known as “internal triggers”. How do we manage them instead of letting them manage us? Do you know what you really want to do with your time? How can we turn our values into time and action with intention by the simple act of scheduling them in our calendar, whether that’s an hour for exercise and mediation, weekly date night with your spouse, or house chores? Let’s dive in.
(Stay tuned for Part Two of the conversation where we get into what it means to raise indistractable kids in today’s world.)
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:29 Nir's introduction
04:05 Inspiration for the book “Indistractable”
07:44 The impact of technology on attention span
09:29 What are internal triggers
10:15 Carrots and Sticks
14:30 How to manage Distraction
15:45 Traction vs Distraction
18:43 Busyness vs Productivity
23:54 Reactive Work Vs Reflective work
25:28 Being intentional yet spontaneous
29:21 Productivity tool: Timeboxing
32:04 Timeboxing for social media
34:33 Outro
Find RachReflects on :
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
7/10/2023 • 35 minutes, 27 seconds
The Art of Asking Powerful Questions with Rach | RachReflects Episode 10
I recently had the opportunity to delve into the transformative insights of Michael Bungay Stanier's book, "The Coaching Habit." As I applied the principles from the book to my interactions with various groups of people in my life, including my husband, my team, and my friends, I witnessed a profound shift in my communication dynamics.
Through the implementation of the book's essential questions, my ability to foster better communication improved significantly. These powerful questions became the catalysts for more meaningful conversations, as they encouraged active listening and a genuine interest in understanding others. I found that by embracing a coaching approach, I could elicit deeper insights, uncover hidden perspectives, and forge connections built on empathy and trust.
The impact of "The Coaching Habit" extended beyond communication alone. It proved instrumental in enhancing my problem-solving and decision-making skills. The book's emphasis on asking the right questions helped me explore problems from various angles, identify root causes, and consider alternative solutions. It also created an environment conducive to reflection, self-discovery, and continuous improvement. This newfound clarity enabled me to make more informed decisions and tackle challenges with greater confidence.
In this episode, I am excited to share my reflections on Michael's 7 essential questions. I will also share personal anecdotes and insights gained from practicing this new habit, illuminating the potential it holds for you to enhance your own communication, problem-solving, and relationship-building skills to foster a more connected and empowered way of living.
00:00 - Introduction
01:05 - Why this skill is transformational
03:45 - The 7 Essential Questions
07:43 - Rach’s 3 Key Questions & Takeaways
11:14 - Going through example together
14:32 - Rach's sharing on her own application
16:25 - Outro
Find RachReflects on :
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
7/3/2023 • 16 minutes, 49 seconds
Building A Thriving Career, Marriage & Family with Tan Su Shan | RachReflects Episode 09
Today's guest is Tan Su Shan, Group Head of Institutional Banking at DBS.
Su Shan is a trailblazer, and a prominent leader in the financial world. Prior to leading the institutional banking business, she was Group Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management for close to a decade. Before joining DBS, Su Shan was Morgan Stanley’s Head of Private Wealth Management for Southeast Asia. She has also worked at Citibank and prior to that at ING Barings in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
I've always admired Su Shan for not just her impressive accomplishments in her career, but also how she has a strong bond with her two grown children, and husband of 25years. I have learnt so much from her as a leader, mother, wife and daughter.
In this episode, Su Shan goes into detail about her career and leadership journey, the key habits and routines that have kept her going, how she balances her career with family commitments, what it takes to build a strong marriage, her definition of success and how that has evolved, what she thinks the most important skills and traits are today and for the future.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
01:20 Su Shan's background
5:28 Her leadership philosophy
7:20 Cultivating deep self-awareness
09:35 Su Shan's habits and routines
12:05 Balancing a career with family commitments
16:11 Parental lesson, advice & building a healthy marriage
22:26 The evolution of her definition of Success
26:19 Developing Resilience
28:09 Discussing workforce challenges in the future
31:00 Rachel answers Su Shan's question
36:19 Outro
Find RachReflects on:
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
6/26/2023 • 37 minutes, 2 seconds
Upgrade Your Brain & Unlock Your Limitless Life with Jim Kwik | RachReflects Episode 08
“Limitless is the art and science of learning how to learn. There’s no limit to our creativity, there’s no limit to our imagination, there’s no limit to our motivation, or our ability to solve problems. The sky’s not the limit. Our mind is the limit.”
On this week’s RachReflects, be prepared to have your mind blown by the inimitable Jim Kwik, who went from being called “the boy with the broken brain” to becoming “the world’s No 1 brain coach”.
Author of Limitless, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling guide to unlocking your inner genius, and host of podcast Kwik Brain, Jim counts such top leaders in their fields as Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk and Richard Branson as his “students”. And for the three decades, he has taught his learning techniques at Harvard, Google, Nike, 20th Century Fox and the United Nations, among other renowned organisations and institutions.
Wow, I know. I am still in awe that I have had this opportunity to speak with Jim, and offer you a glimpse into his brilliant brain, along with his insights, thoughts and teachings on how every one of us can access the limitless potential and power of our minds to create a more fulfilling life.
In our chat, Jim also shares his powerful story and inspiring journey — one of overcoming a severe childhood brain injury and the belief that he could never be as good as other kids, and the life- changing discovery that there’s no such thing as a good or bad brain, only a trained or untrained brain, that no matter our age and circumstances, we have the power and the choice to rebuild our brains, our confidence, our lives.
There is so much in this short half-hour conversation that will feel like a light switch is being flipped on for the first time. No matter who you are and where you are in your life, I am sure there’s something there you will find helpful to you on your journey.
Chapters:
0:00- Welcome and Introduction
1:20 - Jim's background
7:09 - Common misunderstanding about our brains
12:15 - Overcoming limiting beliefs
16:18 - A thermostat vs thermometer
18:26 - How to excel at learning
19:56 - Daily habits for a better life
26:03 - Outro
Find RachReflects on:
http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
6/19/2023 • 24 minutes, 32 seconds
Answering your questions about work issues & challenges with our resident #WorkBestie, Crystal Lim-Lange | RachReflects Episode 07
We are back with another episode with our in-house guest expert, our #WorkBestie Crystal! This time, we will be answering some of the burning questions you have around work such as:
How do I continue growing in my current role if my responsibilities remain the same?
Should I move on to a new job?
How should I manage an indecisive boss?
How do I manage someone who’s underperforming, supposedly has more experience, and also has a huge ego?
What happens if I’ve accepted a job, I'm really enjoying it, but the long term prospects are meh?
How to remain sane in a toxic environment?
How can I be seen and heard more as an introvert at work?
Crystal is the CEO and Co-founder of Forest Wolf, a global leader in future-ready skills, leadership, and corporate learning and development. In this episode, she answers some of the challenges and issues we face at work, and provides us with advice and frameworks on how we should overcome them. Let’s dive right in!
Find RachReflects on :http://rachreflects.com
http://instagram.com/ms_rach
6/12/2023 • 26 minutes, 1 second
What It Means to Be A Leader Today — In Business & In Life with Carla Harris | RachReflects Episode 06
In this episode of RachReflects, I had the pleasure of chatting with the dynamic and inspiring Carla Harris about all things leadership. What does it mean to be a great leader today? What are the misconceptions? Why is being authentic, decisive and resourceful more valued in a leader today than being the expert? How can we be more authentic then, and embrace our multi-faceted selves in every room we walk into so that we may connect more powerfully with others?
Carla also shares brilliant insights on the importance of recognising the unique strengths in each team member and where they shine best in order to inspire leadership in them and build a dream team you can trust. Not least of all, she also drops pearls of wisdom on overcoming the Imposter Syndrome.
Carla is a renowned international public speaker, a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley, and the author of best-selling books, such as her most recent title, “Lead to Win”. She was appointed in 2013 by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council, and has been named “Top 40 Female Speakers in the World” and Fortune Magazine’s list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America”.
This is a conversation not only for leaders of organisations, but there are also so many lessons, takeaways and quotable quotes here for all of us leaders of our own lives, as Carla asks some hard questions like “Who am I now?” and “What does success look like today?” that will motivate leaders of all kinds to tune deeper in and level up. I have personally benefitted so much from Carla’s content and books both in my professional and personal life. She is truly a gem for leaders and women of our generation.
I am so excited for you to find inspiration, ideas, aha moments and the courage to win, to fail and win again through this episode. Let’s dive right in.
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6/5/2023 • 38 minutes, 25 seconds
Marriage, parenthood and everything in between with Rach & Leo | RachReflects Episode 05
This week’s special guest, Leo, my husband joins me as we share our journey, struggles and challenges as a married couple, young parents and entrepreneurs.We also address some of your questions for us as a couple.
From the ups and downs of trying to conceive, we chat honestly about my near death experience enduring an ectopic pregnancy, the key lessons it taught us, and how we learnt to repair our relationship when we we drifted apart.
We hope that through this episode, you will takeaway something useful, or at least feel seen and heard to know that you are not alone whenever you face challenges in your relationship
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5/29/2023 • 37 minutes, 47 seconds
How To Express Yourself Effectively & Confidently At Work with our resident #workbestie, Crystal Lim-Lange | RachReflects Episode 04
Join us for an engaging conversation full of insights and tips on how to convey what you want to say professionally and effectively with our Season 1 in-house guest/#workbestie, Crystal Lim-Lange.
Crystal is the CEO and Co-founder of Forest Wolf, a global leader in future-ready skills, leadership, and corporate learning and development. In this episode, Crystal shares the importance, framework, and examples of effective workplace communication. It’s not just about what you say, but also how you say it. Communication is key in all areas and relationships in our lives. It’s no exception in the professional world. Finding the right words and conveying them in the right manner can be challenging.
Join us in this episode as Crystal guides us through communication strategies and techniques, navigating various workplace scenarios from delivering constructive feedback to handling difficult conversations with grace. Without further ado, let’s dive in and glean all the tools necessary to express ourselves professionally with confidence and impact.
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5/22/2023 • 19 minutes, 46 seconds
Becoming Better Selves, Parents & Partners By Healing Our Inner Child with Dr Nicole LePera | RachReflects Episode 03
We are back this week with Part Two of my conversation with Dr Nicole LePera, whom you may know as The Holistic Psychologist, or as The Wall Street Journal calls her, “Instagram’s Favourite Therapist”. Dr Nicole is a trained clinical psychologist and the author of bestselling self-help books, “How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self” and “How to Meet Your Self: The Workbook for Self-Discovery”.
Today, we are going to deep-dive into the impact that our upbringing and early conditioning by caregivers and society have on the way we see and treat ourselves now as adults and parents. Are we repeating and recycling the same old unexamined stories and habits that aren’t serving us? In what ways does our unhealed “inner child wounds” keep us from showing up intentionally, from making new and better choices for ourselves every day in order to become the person we wish to be? And how do these outdated beliefs affect our sense of self-worth and relationships?
“We are conditioned until we awaken,” says Dr Nicole.
Without further ado, let’s get right into it and find out how we can take the first step towards becoming aware, and begin to re-parent our inner child, heal and create a new reality for ourselves.
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5/16/2023 • 32 minutes, 56 seconds
How Our Nervous System Affects Our Emotions, Mental Health & Who We Are In The World with Dr Nicole LePera | RachReflects Episode 02
In my first conversation on RachReflects, I am honoured to be joined by Dr Nicole LePera, whom you may know as The Holistic Psychologist, or as The Wall Street Journal calls her, “Instagram’s Favourite Therapist”. Dr Nicole is a trained clinical psychologist and the author of bestselling self- help books, “How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self” and “How to Meet Your Self: The Workbook for Self-Discovery”. Ever since she decided to venture outside of traditional psychotherapy to pursue a more holistic approach to healing, Dr Nicole’s teachings have helped and empowered many to recognise and free themselves from trauma cycles to re-create the person they truly want to be and the life they wish to live. This episode is the first of two parts of a conversation that is packed with insights, wisdom and tools from Dr Nicole who sheds light on how everything from our mental and physical health to our relationship with our selves, our emotions, our children, parents and partner, and how we respond to stress especially in the “Urgency Culture” many of us live in, begins in our body, specifically, our nervous system.
The conversation on mental health then, says Dr Nicole, is one that must include the body. What does it mean to listen to our body and what it needs? How can we regulate our nervous system, teach the body to rest and feel safe in our stillness so that we can feel safe enough to be ourselves in the world? Why is it important to challenge our “mind stories” in order to make new choices with intention each day that serve us? I’m so excited for you to join us as we dive into this mind- and heart-opening episode. And I cannot wait to return in Part Two, where we delve even deeper as Dr Nicole talks about the impact that our upbringing and early conditioning by caregivers and society have on the way we see ourselves currently and how “worthy” we feel we are, how we show up in our lives as adults and parents, and how we can begin to heal and re-parent our inner child. “Every moment offers an opportunity to show up to make a new choice.” Let’s go.
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5/9/2023 • 27 minutes, 49 seconds
RachReflects (Season 01)
Welcome! It's our very first episode on RachReflects Podcast & Show. I'm so excited to finally be doing this on a wider podcasting platform.
RachReflects started as a way of sharing and documenting my learning journey as an entrepreneur, wife, friend, daughter and mom. What started as a way to hold myself accountable to personal growth and development has grown into a community of like-hearted individuals who journey together in our quest to live better, do better and be better.
The RachReflects Podcast & Show marks a new chapter as we invite you along to enjoy the journey of collective reflection and growth. To learn from our diverse group of guests and experts, but also to be encouraged by our shared struggles and victories. Let this space be a sheltered cove for vulnerability, healing, belonging, learning and ultimately, growth.
Stay tuned for a new episode every week, Tuesday, 9am. We've got amazing content and rich conversations coming your way.
Find RachReflects on :
rachreflects.com
instagram.com/ms_rach
instagram.com/rachreflects
youtube.com/@rachreflects