The 'Inspire your Life' Podcast with Arthi Rabikrisson

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Have you ever felt your spark dimming at work? That creeping realization that your workplace might be harming your mental health? Terence Nislow's powerful story might be exactly what you need to hear.

In this episode Terence shares with host Arthi that when he realized his prestigious job with amazing benefits was slowly changing who he was as a person, he faced a difficult truth many of us encounter but few discuss openly. Despite the 36 days of annual leave and impressive salary, he found himself unrecognizable – quieter, angrier, and losing his natural enthusiasm for life. The wake-up call came when a friend asked if someone had died because his personality had changed so dramatically.

What makes Terence's story particularly valuable is his methodical approach to escaping toxicity. Drawing on his Lean Six Sigma background, he created what he called the "Get Terry Back" project – complete with Gantt charts, milestones, and actionable steps that transformed an overwhelming situation into manageable progress. This strategic exit plan helped him overcome the golden handcuffs of excellent benefits and find his way to true workplace happiness.

Beyond sharing his personal journey, Terence offers practical wisdom for anyone feeling stuck in a similar situation. His advice spans from seeking trusted support and journaling to exploring options and creating structured exit strategies. Most importantly, he reminds us that "no job is worth your mental health" and "walking away from something toxic isn't a sign of failure – it's a sign of strength."

Terence and his wife now help others navigate similar challenges through their business, Your Project Mentor, offering practical tools and emotional support to those feeling trapped in toxic work environments. Their mission reflects a powerful truth: you deserve better, and with the right approach, positive change is absolutely possible.

Ready to reclaim your workplace happiness? Listen now, and discover how to create your own path forward when a job is draining your spirit.

About Terence Niselow:

Terence is a Henley MBA graduate, a seasoned operations and process improvement leader with deep expertise in Lean Six Sigma and has a passion for driving efficiency, quality, and business transformation. With a proven track record of leading high-performing teams and delivering measurable results across industries, Terence is currently applying his skills at Modulr as their Operations Director for Europe. 

Connect with him:

• Website: https://yourprojectmentor.com/ 
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/terence-niselow
• Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UCGW8Ei_eDzIiZmg7mbztSVQ

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Host Arthi is joined by guest Monika Malan, who discusses how different perspectives can lead to personal progress. Monika vulnerably shares a tragedy she experienced at a young age, in the loss of her sibling unexpectedly, and the impact this had on her. It was only when a colleague provided her feedback that she realized the full extent of that impact. This led Monika to take action and learn valuable lessons, including prioritizing family and mental health.

Monika is an advocate for women and is very passionate about supporting women throughout all stages, from young schoolgirls to fierce female leaders. Monika encourages women to identify their values and strengths and to lead confidently without sacrificing their authenticity. Monika shares her exciting new adventure of creating a community for female leaders to support each other and grow together.

Some wise words from Monika : 

• “Women don't need to lead like men and to be successful.”
• "It's important to remember that you can't care for anyone else until you yourself are taken care of."
• "Work is work, but your family might not always be there."

Listen to the full episode for so many more insights and ideas offered by my excellent guest. 

About Monika Malan:

Monika is a passionate leadership coach dedicated to helping emerging female leaders develop authentic confidence and thrive in their careers. With over 18 years of experience in the corporate and IT sectors, Monika has transformed her own journey through resilience, emotional intelligence, and a commitment to personal growth. She believes that women can be powerful leaders while embracing their unique strengths and authenticity without needing to conform to traditional, often male-dominated, leadership styles.

Connect with Monika here:

• Website
• Linkedin
• Instagram

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Share, too, your insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't worked for you. We can all learn from each other.

Connect with host Arthi here:

·       LinkedIn

·       Website

·       Twitter

·       YouTube

·       Facebook

·       IG

·       Forbes Coaches Council

·       Forbes Councils

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In this episode, Arthi is joined by Susi Astengo, Founder of CoachMatching. Susi gives us insight into her personal life and how key life changes necessitated her pivoting her career towards starting her own business. Sixteen years later, through navigating being a single mum (to a son she loves dearly and is so proud of), undergoing a major health situation, to new country dynamics to operate a business in,  Susi has built a highly-respected (and been accoladed for) Coaching and Leadership development practice and coaching platform.

Susi shares that throughout all the challenges her superpower has been to be able to reinvent the business through continuous improvement and keeping abreast of emerging trends, while maintaining high standards in coaching practice.

Susi shares key lessons about how she manages the balance of being in the business and working on the business.

Her 3 tips for all entrepreneurs: to know your target market, stay connected, & don't be afraid to fail. 

Some wise words from Susi:

• “just put one foot in front of the other, just do the next step”
• “if you start to worry about all the things that can go wrong, you probably wouldn't ever do anything”
• “we learn most from when we fail, not from when we're successful. So to know and to also to be prepared to see it as a cycle, and a bit like a roller coaster ride, there are going to be lots of highs, and then there'll be some lows, and actually, this too shall pass.”

Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by my wonderful guest!

About Susi Astengo:

Over 30 years’ experience with UK, South African & Multinational Companies from many sectors including Banking & Finance, FMCG, Telco’s, Production & Manufacturing, Retail, Education, Pharmaceutical, Oil & Gas and Fintech. Susi is a seasoned professional, with a proven ability to create simplicity from complexity & quickly understand key issues & work with her clients to identify the most appropriate & effective solutions. Susi is an effective communicator in both small or large groups and is able to modify the message to best suit the audience's needs. She is an energetic speaker, is adaptable, can react well in the moment and is able to blend humour & serious messages for maximum impact. Susi has chosen to focus on Coaching and Mentoring as a means for transformation at both an individual, team and organisational level and her vision is to democratize coaching.  In 2024 she was “highly commended woman in Tech” at the Africa Tech Awards. In 2016 she won the Business woman of the Year award in the established entrepreneur category. 

She is also a cancer survivor and the proud single mother of a 20 year old son, currently studying at Stellenbosch University.

Connect with Susi here:

• Website
• Linkedin

Do rate, write a review and share with others.

Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

Connect with host Arthi here:

- LinkedIn
- Website
- Forbes Councils
- Support the show

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Welcome to SEASON 4!! It's great to be back and yes, we have returned this season in style with a fabulous guest to kick off!
In this first episode, Arthi is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Crosse to discuss enhancing our ability to work with expertise. 

Elizabeth shares her passion about lifelong learning & explains how she navigated through several learning and personal  challenges, and that some of her greatest learnings came from her own personal storm as she likes to refer to it. Dr Crosse details that she found this personal storm to be a major wake up call and decided to look inwards at how she was being more than what she was doing. It was this realisation that got her thinking that working with professionals is not only about what we know but rather who we are

Elizabeth explains the differences between professional (Horizontal growth) and personal growth (Vertical growth) and shares how her wish is to be a provocateur to have listeners consider different perspectives of growth. Elizabeth refers to horizontal growth as ”adding apps to our phone” where as vertical growth is more like “upgrading our system.”

Elizabeth shares the ability to work with expertise is all about how we're managing relationships while being able to bring our humanity. Thereafter the skills and knowledge  is what enables us to have the type of connections and relationships  to work with expertise.

Some wise words from Elizabeth Crosse:

“if I've learned something, I can then do something differently”

”we don't have to agree with each other to be able to move forward”

Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by this wonderful guest.

About Elizabeth:
Elizabeth is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) who works as a coach, mentor & supervisor. Her practice focuses on continuous professional & personal development needed to enhance the quality of our work.  Her approach has evolved from over 30 years of involvement with the coaching profession & being a research practitioner deeply interested in how coaches develop expertise. 

Elizabeth has navigated dyslexia & dyspraxia to transition from an early career in education to becoming a senior HR professional specialising in people development before setting up her coaching-consultancy business. She became a fellow of the CIPD, a Master Credentialed Coach with the ICF (MCC) & completed a Diploma in Coaching Supervision. She achieved three Master’s degrees (Education, Counselling Psychology and Coaching & Mentoring) & a Doctorate in Coaching and Mentoring. Her journey brought an appreciation of the integrity, intellectual rigour & compassion needed to underpin any learning relationship to grow as a person and develop as a professional. Her research on continuous professional development brought a recognition of the need for a holistic approach.  This is reflected in her own approach to development, which, in addition to engaging with supervision, research writing & acquiring new knowledge, also focuses on well-being.

Connect with Elizabeth here:

• Website
• Linkedin

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Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

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In episode 13 of Season 3, Arthi is joined by fellow Tasha Ten member David McMurtry with a heart warming discussion about partnerships & marriage. David's greatest accomplishment in life is his marriage to his beautiful wife Allison.

He shares how he and his wife met, started dating shortly thereafter, married, and have been living happily  since then.  David believes his wife is the foundation for which all of their goals are possible & is a true partner in making a difference in their community. 

David has always had a passion & desire to work with children and highlights that since 80% to 90% of the hardwiring of the brain is completed by the age of 3, the earlier we can teach children about the world and how to interact skillfully therein, the better chance of success they have.

David shares how coming to South Africa and teaching underprivileged children was a life-altering experience that enabled him to find his purpose, fueled too by his partnership and shared mission with Allison.  

Some wise words from David:

• “education is one of the great levelers we have on earth across all countries, ethnicities, race. With education, you have power, you can make choices”
• “accept the person for who they are and don't expect them to change”
• “what makes happy kids is happy parents"

Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by this wonderful guest.

 About David McMurtry:

David McMurtry’s mission is to elevate the Early Childhood Education (ECE) industry & improve access to quality ECE for all children through advocacy and legislation, in service of stronger communities and societies. In 2017, he and his wife opened a Goddard preschool, serving over 200 children (ages six weeks to six years old). They grew the organisation into one of the top 5% most successful Goddard schools in the country based on enrollment and revenue. In 2023, David and his wife were awarded out of over 650 Goddard schools the Humanitarian of the Year Award for their dedication to serving their community.

While he is proud of the success of his family business, what is far more important to David is the opportunity it has given him to positively impact the lives of students and their families. David discovered that to change the world through education, you have to start with the youngest learners. 

David is also a public speaker, coach, motivator, having trained tens of thousands across the country with the intention of empowering the adults that inspire our youth.

Connect with David Mcmurtry  in the following ways:

• LinkedIn
•  Website
• Twitter

Do rate, write a review and share with others.

Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. 

Connect with host Arthi here:
★LinkedIn
★Website
★Twitter
★YouTube
★Facebook
★IG
★Forbes Coaches Council
★Forbes Councils
★Support the show 

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In episode 12 of Season 3, Arthi is joined by Gifford Pinchot III. Gifford was the obvious choice to discuss the topic " finding your mojo" because of the number of  times he has tried something, failed, pivoted, exited, yet still bounced back. Gifford  has had an extremely varied background through his different stages of life, from being a dairy farmer & blacksmith, to inventor, author, consultant, investor, academic & coach.

Gifford tells us how his  writing career started after a failed business venture where he was in debt to the bank and was struggling to put food on the table. He explains how he was lucky enough to have a mentor who believed in him and hired him to write correspondence courses in entrepreneurship all of which led to the writing of his first book, which became a bestseller. 

He also shares how desperation plays a role in  finding the courage and overcoming challenges in life. This led him to finding his mojo and passions. 

Some wise words from Gifford:

• “Find a purpose that is bigger than yourself”
• “Ask for the thing that which is easiest to give, which is advice.”

Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by this inspirational guest.

 About Gifford Pinchot:

Gifford consults with & coaches leaders who are implementing innovation or innovation systems with a focus on sustainability & climate. He is passionate about supporting profitable innovations that address climate, the environment, health, and social issues.
He is the author  3 books including the bestseller "Intrapreneuring: Why You Don't Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur".

Gifford is the President of Pinchot & Company, an online training company specializing in innovation, intrapreneurship, & environmental issues. He is the co-founder & President Emeritus of "The Bainbridge Graduate Institute,” which offered the world’s first MBA in Sustainable Business. 

Gifford has co-founded & been the CEO of five ventures, sold four, and continues to run the fifth. He pioneered organizational and financial systems for liberating the talent & energy of ordinary employees within large organizations. 

Gifford is currently coaching, consulting, and developing training for leaders who want to use innovation to address civilization’s major challenges.

Connect with Gifford Pinchot  in the following ways:

●      LinkedIn

●      Website

Do rate, write a review and share with others.

Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

Connect with host Arthi here:

★   LinkedIn

★  Website

★   Twitter

★   YouTube

★    Facebook

★   IG

★   Forbes Coaches Council

★   Forbes Councils

★   Support the show

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In episode 11 of Season 3, Arthi is joined by Al Dea, one of the newest Tasha10 members. Arthi and Al discuss finding your voice and learning how to use it to speak up for yourself.

Al shares how early in his career he received a surprisingly less-than-positive performance review, even though he thought he was excelling. It was only after sharing his thoughts with a manager that he learned that while working hard and doing your job was important, it's equally necessary to speak up and advocate for yourself. It was this experience that taught Al the building blocks of standing out and  advocating for yourself to be seen as a leader and to be even more effective inside your organisation. 

Al elaborates on why it is so challenging for people to find their voice, one of the reasons being leaders who are not creating the space for people to feel secure and confident in sharing their voice. Al details how he started connection meetings with like-minded people which allowed him to meet colleagues but more importantly created an opportunity to be noticed and heard. 

Al explains how when you first start using your voice it may seem that no one is listening but he encourages us all to not be fixate on this and push through this challenge, focus on the journey, and overcome the fear.

Some wise words from Al:

• “I really only think that authenticity is the way and doing it in a way that is unique to you”
• “if you're going to think and catastrophize about what the worst thing that happens is you're also going to have to play out the scenario. Well, what if, what if it ends up being the best thing?”

 Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by this wonderful guest.

About Al Dea:

Al Dea is a talent & leadership development consultant, keynote speaker, and facilitator. He is passionate about helping develop and cultivate organizations where people can thrive, and developing a new generation of leaders in the workplace.

Al researches, writes, and speaks on leadership development, workplace trends, and company culture,  and his thinking and insights have been published in outlets such as Fast Company, Business Insider, The World Economic Forum, Inc and Time Magazine. 

Al is also the Host of The Edge of Work podcast, a podcast that helps leaders think differently about leading and growing organization’s in today’s world of work.

Connect with Al Dea.  in the following ways:
●   LinkedIn
●   Website

Do rate, write a review and share with others.

Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

Connect with host Arthi here:

★   LinkedIn
★  Website
★   Twitter
★   YouTube
★ Facebook
★ IG
★ Forbes Coaches Council
★ Forbes Councils
★ Support the show

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In Season 3 episode 10, Arthi is joined by Susanne Mus, co-founder and CEO of Awareyess talking about developing support ecosystems. Susanne provides  brief insight into her childhood and tells us how the divorce of her parents and subsequently moving to a new neighbourhood was the start of who she became as an adult and the approach she has to life of not shying away from anything new or challenging even when it is out of her comfort zone.

Susanne beautifully shares with us one of the more pivotal moments or moments of urgency as she likes to call it. Susanne details the start of her self-awareness journey was when she received particular feedback from her work team at the time, who informed Susanne that she needed to behave differently and learn more about herself and the way others saw her.  This change allowed Susanne to create her own support ecosystem. It was through this experience that Susanne realised that she could depend on others and she was not alone. 

Susanne shares advice  she received about remaining in your discomfort and she encourages us all to learn to be comfortable when we are feeling uncomfortable. 

Lastly Susanne enlightens us on her dream that everyone gets the opportunity to have their own self-awareness journey. 

Some wise words from Susanne:

• “Taking action is necessary to achieve something.”
• “I don't need to be by myself anymore, and to do it on my own. It's more fun with others around me”
• “hang in your discomfort, and see what what happens”

 Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by my wonderful guest.

 About Susanne Mus:

Susanne Mus is the co-founder & CEO of awareyess, a groundbreaking startup focused on enhancing workplace happiness through self-awareness and the power of personal growth. Leveraging their innovative software platform, awareyess empowers knowledge workers on their individual journeys of self-discovery, providing the necessary tools & support to foster continuous personal growth for all.

Hailing from the Netherlands, Susanne holds a master's degree in econometrics & operations research & a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. Her professional journey includes valuable experiences in various roles, such as customer interaction manager, project lead, and head of product within prominent IT companies. Now, she is excited to leverage her accumulated expertise to drive her own business forward.

Connect with Susanne  in the following ways:

●       LinkedIn

●      Website

Do rate, write a review and share with others.

Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

Connect with host Arthi here:
★  LinkedIn
★  Website
★  Twitter
★  YouTube
★  Facebook
★  IG
★  Forbes Coaches Council
★  Forbes Councils
★  Support the show

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In Season 3 episode 9, Arthi is joined by fellow Forbes Coaches Council member Lara Augusta, founder of Embracing Potentiality, talking about undoing complicated narratives. 

Lara opens  up about her family & childhood where experiences led her to create a  narrative in her mind of being an inconvenience and not belonging. This mindset stemmed from having to keep a massive family secret for her whole life and Lara goes into detail about how her family dynamic impacted her journey.

Lara has always had a natural curiosity  in learning & connecting with people from different countries & cultures, so it is no surprise that her world travels began at the tender age of 15 when she had convinced her father to allow her to attend schooling in the UK for a year. This was the first time that Lara was able to simply be herself and make her own choices. However the narrative remained the same in her thoughts.

Lara tells us how important it is to change the unproductive narrative that we carry with us and to have grace & patience with ourselves in undoing the narrative and allowing new choices to be made

Some wise words from Lara:

• “..surviving mode was not allowing me to thrive..
• “Choose yourself”
• “Honour the choices you have made”

 Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by my wonderful guest.

 About Lara Augusta:

Lara is a coach, student and facilitator in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.), Core Energy Leadership Coaching, Energy Leadership Index (E.L.I.), Social-Emotional Learning and Positive Intelligence (PQ).  She does corporate work in a number of sectors, since pivoting away from International relations, industries that include biotechnology, insurance, sports, food, hospitality, and entertainment, the Olympics even. Having lived in many countries such as south Korea, China, Russia, Switzerland, UK, US and of course her native country Brazil, plus having travelled to more than 57 counties as well, Lara brings this varied experience into her work with individuals where she helps them deepen their understanding of self towards greater personal and professional levels of joy and satisfaction. She does this through using neuroscience and psychology practices, with some key techniques grounded in energy shifting too.

Connect with Lara  in the following ways:

●       LinkedIn

●      Instagram

●       Website

Do rate, write a review and share with others.

Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

Connect with host Arthi here:

★   LinkedIn
★Website
★Twitter
★YouTube
★Facebook
★IG
★Forbes Coaches Council
★Forbes Councils
★Support the show

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On episode 8 of Season 3  Arthi is joined by Stefaan van Hooydonk, one of the newer members of the Tasha Ten and founder of the Global Curiosity Institute, based in Belgium, talking about launching your curiosity mindset.

Stefaan gives us insight into his family and his world travels which include living in China, Finland, Saudi Arabia, UK and Holland, as well as the different episodes of his career, from investment consultant to now researching curiosity in companies and working with leaders. He defines curiosity for us, and thereafter explains the various dimensions of curiosity: world, others, and self.

Stefaan shares that although people start off curious they quickly become comfortable and stop probing or being inquisitive. For him, working on a new project ensures he is always out of his comfort zone.

You will have to listen in to find out more about Stefaan’s key advice, outlined as: Measure, Awareness and Intentionality (M-A-I).

Some wise words from Stefaan:

●        “curiosity isn't one single thing”

●        “curiosity needs a good environment”

●        “is my rate of learning greater than the rate of change around me?

 Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by my wonderful guest.

 About Stefaan van Hooydonk:

Stefaan van Hooydonk is founder of the Global Curiosity Institute and author of the bestselling book: The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto. Stefaan is deeply passionate about the  topic of curiosity, particularly in companies. He believes that curious individuals need curious environments to thrive and that especially in times of turmoil individuals and companies need to embrace intentional curiosity. With the help of a number of diagnostics he designed, he creates insights on what drives and what enables (or prevents) individuals and organisations to show up curiously. He consults global corporations and leadership teams towards building a stronger curiosity muscle. He is a regular speaker around the world on the power of curiosity to benefit professionals, leaders, teams, and organizations. Stefaan is the  author of the bestselling book: The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto.  Beyond all this Stefaan is a father of 4 and has started a permaculture foodforest!

Connect with Stefaan  in the following ways:

●        LinkedIn

●        Twitter

●        Website

Do rate, write a review and share with others.

Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

Connect with host Arthi here:
★   LinkedIn
★   Website
★   Twitter
★   YouTube
★    Facebook
★   IG
★   Forbes Coaches Council
★   Forbes Councils
★   Support the show

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