EP.10 - From Lawyer to Writer with Nisha Harichandran
Nisha Harichandran was a commercial and corporate lawyer before she followed her dream to become a writer. She recognized her transferable skills, moved countries for love, and listened to the nagging of her inner voice to make big life changes in 2020.
Transcription
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Nisha Harichandran was a commercial and corporate lawyer before she followed her dream to become a writer. She recognized her transferable skills, moved countries for love, and listened to the nagging of her inner voice to make big life changes in 2020.
I’m your host, Karen Styles, Career + Life Coach and owner of Flow + Fire Coaching. Ready to create your Intentional Career? Schedule a call with me.
Karen: Today, my guest is Nisha Hari Chandran. Nisha is a business storyteller, caption and content writer. She has 15 years of experience as a lawyer and simplifying complex material in a clear and easy way to understand is her superpower. Writing is her passion and she loves to write a variety of pieces for diverse businesses.
She got a fresh start in 2020 when she moved to Cardiff, Wales and decided to pursue writing full-time. Her blog, Bohemian Crossing, is a book club for her readers and Bohem Notes has a vision to empower businesses, to share their stories. Welcome, Nisha. I'm so glad to have you here.
Nisha: Hi, Karen, thank you so much for having me.
Karen: Yeah, it's great to have you, we met on Instagram, right? That was fun. Yeah.
Nisha: I mean, it's a celebration of connections, isn't it. Like attracts, like, you know, you send out this message to the universe. Like I've got the story to tell at somebody, please hear me out. And there you are just opened your doors and welcomed me. So thank you so much.
Karen: I got a DM and I thought this is really interesting. So, your story really intrigued me because you mentioned you were a lawyer for 15 years. And then you moved your whole life, to Wales and started writing full time. So let's go back to your career as a lawyer. Maybe tell us what life was like there. And how was it that you started to get the sense that things needed to change?
Nisha: You know, Karen, it all started in Wales actually 15, 18 years ago. So inspired by all the enlightened books that I read as a child. I always craved this adventure and living in boarding school. I know it's just exploration. And I had applied for my university education to do my undergraduate studies and there was a position offered at Cardiff University. So I had come here and pursued my undergraduate degree. So it all started in Wales.
Karen: And where were you before that?
Nisha: In Malaysia. I'm born and brought up in Malaysia. So this tropical child, sunshine, loving angel, who doesn't really stay much in the sun in Malaysia because it's so humid. And I wanted this adventure. My parents said, Okay. And my dad, a little bit of tough love. He said, Okay on one condition you are going, but you're completing your studies. And then coming back, there's no running back and forth for every summer vacation or winter holidays. Like you don't make the most of it. And I was like, Yeah thank you. I'm just going to go all out, explore, learn.
And Cardiff was such a welcoming city, a bit more relaxed in terms of pace-wise, compared to some of the bigger cities. It's a university city in a way and it was so welcoming. So this is where I spent my three years as an undergraduate. I went on to London and completed my bar vocational course and got called to Lincoln's Inn, which is one of the oldest inns in the UK.
And I went back to Malaysia after that and completed my pupilage, which is your 12-month training, sort of like an articleship and got my stages, as a practicing lawyer. Law was fun. I would say you don't really get those interesting, exciting clients or the trauma that you see in the legal dramas, I would say don't be disillusioned by Ally McBeal, there's no Robert Downey Junior.
Karen: And what kind of law did
Nisha: you practice?
I did more commercial law. So during my internship, I tried a variety of things. And then I realized commercial was more my space because it was always a discussion between two companies and trying to resolve that.
I really enjoyed my legal career. It took me to many countries. I practiced in India and then thereafter, I also joined in-house and worked as a lawyer there. So from the opposite side from one sort of litigating matters to one advising on the business side of things.
And my last posting was in Bangkok for Telenor a Norwegian telecommunications company. I was overseeing their governance matters. So, yeah, a lawyer, but there was always this writer within me because anytime somebody asked, what is your dream job? What do you want to do? Like, where do you want to go? Like, where do you see yourself? If you didn't have this law degree? And I'm like, oh, I want to be a writer.
Karen: Wait. So were people asking you that? If you're a lawyer, a corporate lawyer in various countries, who was asking you that? Were people asking you what your dream is?
Nisha: It was in conversations, with friends, when you do these like, little icebreakers and, or you tend to do little tests online or just chats about it. And as a lawyer writing is part of your daily job. You're all writing. And I also furthered this area by authoring publications for organizations. So you do like little how-to guide trainings.
I was involved in a lot of training presentations and preparation, and all of that is writing. It's just positioning different pieces of communication. And when you work with a diverse platform or across borders and countries, you're always communicating in a way that people need to understand. And sometimes it's saying the same message in 10 or 12 different ways because you've got to translate it in a way that suits your audience, or even in a corporate job. When you speak to a director you're adopting a very different tone of voice, as opposed to an employee you're doing customer service matters. So writing communication was always just kind of interwoven, but. And the writer in me always woke up every now and then and said, yes writing is a dream job.
Karen: And what did you want to write?
Nisha: I didn't know at that time, what I wanted to write, I just knew I wanted to write. So it was always this little voice inside me, urging me about writing. And I can't remember who, but somebody suggested. Why don't you explore it in a safe space, like in a try blogging or something? Like put it out there then it's like, yeah, that's a pretty good idea.
And really sensible because it could be just something that I enjoyed, but whether I could do it full time. And then secondly, whether people enjoyed reading what I wrote, so that's how Bohemian Crossing the blog was born. And I took it as my journey from a caterpillar to a butterfly. As part of my own transformation and Bohemian was inspired by a personality of my, of me actually just sort of free-spirited and just kind of enjoying, going with the flow of meeting people.
So that's how I took the journey. And he like, let me write about my own growth and the people and experiences that I encounter and take that from there. So that's how blogging started as a safe space.
Karen: Amazing. At that point, you knew you wanted to be a writer kind of taking these little steps, to actually start to do the thing that you wanted to do. And then how did that come about as a full-on career change?
Nisha: Full-on career change was because of love. So I married a guy from Wales from Cardiff, and we've been doing long distance for a couple of years. And, literally just reporting for duty as husband and wife, because Malaysia or Bangkok was like six, seven hours ahead. So it'll be yes. Hello husband, hello wife. And then we will talk again later. So it just made sense for both of us to be in the same space and the adventure streak in me said, yeah. Why not? I'll move then. So, it was literally just after months of trying or years of trying saying that, okay, I will move and relocate it. And I think coming back, just starting and maybe turning 40 last year was just a lot of, awakening reflections.
You know, how long are you going to bury this voice inside of you? That keeps calling out to be a writer. So I started doing my blogging a little bit more seriously. So that's how it started. And I joined the Cardiff writer's circle, which is a little network in Cardiff and they were so supportive because everybody just listened when you read out a piece. They gave you feedback and it was another sanctuary, I would say, that I found, I worked with another friend on a freelance basis where we trialled out a project. She was doing a project about interviewing people in Cardiff. So we went around doing stories and I immersed myself into that role to seize it as something that I was going to grow.
And COVID happened. So the job market wasn't steady either. I'd just seen the headhunter before the lockdown was announced. So there was no chance of any jobs coming through.
Karen: So, okay, what point in time is this like you had moved back to Cardiff?
Nisha: I moved in February, February of 2020,
Karen: And with plans to get a lawyer job in Cardiff?
Nisha: Sort of exploring. I was looking into training more than doing full-time commercial laws. I was looking at your training as an option and then lockdown happened in March. So it was, okay, let's just trial a couple of things in between. And then I think my birthday's in October, so I had set a deadline. I was like, I got to make up my mind and a 15 September, just a month before my birthday, I said, okay, Bohem Notes is launched. That's how I just made my decision to go on as a sole trader and offer this content writing support business.
Karen: Okay. And so you kind of drew a line in the sand and said, like, this is my new career now.
Nisha: Yes.
Karen: So tell us about Bohem Notes.
Nisha: Bohem Notes is really a vision. I feel it's such a fulfilling mission or my soul's calling, I would say that's just come about. And, the whole vision behind it is to empower people to share their stories. Because stories are just all around us. It's in our day to day, but a lot of it gets buried in to-do lists or tasks and then forgotten.
And if you could have another pair of hands with you to help you author that story, it just lives forever in any medium. And it can reach so many people. So that was my inspiration behind setting up Bohem Notes.
Okay
Karen: And can you explain, for our listeners, what are the stories? Cause you've focused on, is it 12 stories?
Nisha: Yes. Yes. That's my latest project. It's called Growing in Lockdown Real Stories by Real Women. And lockdown has taken, what 18 months of our life, we woke up one day and it was just a whole new world and so much has happened. And as the world was also opening up. I started seeing photographs of people just racing everywhere, catching up for the lost time.
And on the one hand, I was excited that we were moving to a new normal or to life as we now know it to be. But on the other hand, it was like so much happened. During these 18 months, we looked at life so very differently. Are we just going to just lose all of that magic while we run through and my brother, Harry, he said, you've got to write something about it. If you feel so strongly about it, you could write something about it. I was like, okay, I'm just gonna do it. And that's how this whole project started about having a compendium of stories that people can relate to and refer to. And why I chose 12 is because you have 12 months in your calendar and also 12 faces on your clock dial.
So each time you turn in. If you lose yourself somewhere, you always have this place to refer to. And a Growing in Lockdown was born out of that. So reaching out to women across the world who had grown so soulfully and sensationally during this period, anchored me also in my own self growth, because they are just disconnected by borders.
Most of them didn't know each other, but they were bonded through their own self-belief and spirit and confidence and just how they nurtured themselves and reconnected with themselves during this period and kind of taking it to another turn. So just anchoring all those stories in a Bohemian Crossing blog was just a brilliant project.
Karen: Mm. And how did these women find you? Or how did you find them?
Nisha: I found them. So some of whom were already in my network and some I reached out like the way I reached out to you, Karen, knocked on doors.
Karen: Yes.
Nisha: And said, do you want to do this? I think this is going to be great. I sent them a form and I was so thrilled with the response that I received and how they just opened up to another person and just shared this personal story in the hope that it's going to reach many other people and inspire and engage them towards their own growth.
Karen: Amazing. That's really beautiful.
So tell me about what it's like for you now that you are into this new career a year, I guess 16, 17 months into a new career saying, I've left law behind, I'm now a writer. How is your life different now?
Nisha: Life is different in the sense that I'm authoring my own script. I feel I'm rewriting my story. You know earlier. Yes. I really enjoyed it. I mean, I've made an excellent set of friends. It was a wonderful experience. And that I've grown. But I feel all of it was like preparation leading me towards this journey. Because in terms of a lawyer, your skillset to distill, to analyze, to be so observant, they are so interwoven with the qualities of a writer, in fact, but just looking at it from different lenses, you know, approaching people and just knocking on doors or even taking rejections in some of your submissions you just build up that stamina. And it was just an amazing platform. And now as a writer, I just feel there's more independence, I would say because I am doing the projects that I want to do. I choose clients and I invest my time accordingly in that.
So it's that different ones, you know? And I would say the biggest change is juggling all the many hats. I'm CEO or CMO, CFO, everything all in one. There's no steady paycheck that comes month on month. That's more, you know, okay, have we got a client? Have we not? What are we going to do? And it's also balancing your own internal priorities, but say it's fun. It's engaging. And it's great being a student again because there are so many different skill sets that you need in setting up your own business and different people that you're also connected with as part of this journey. So for example, with this whole Growing in Lockdown project, we conceived it sitting in a car while I was about to go cut my COVID bracelet off. So I got COVID exposure just before returning to the UK.
Karen: Wow.
Nisha: And then we are debating this whole idea about you've got to connect with people. You've got to write the story. I come back and put it all down. And we're like, how are we going to take photographs? People are sitting in Mexico and the US and Denmark and how are we going to do this?
And my brother, he's a portrait and a lifestyle photographer. So he said, okay we'll do a remote photo shoot. Let's do this. Let's explore FaceTime. Let's explore Google Duo and let's make this work. So I returned and you know, it's your competing priorities, but you also just have the sense of fulfillment.
Yeah. I bet that's come across very strongly. Now, you wake up, you know, you're doing this with purpose. And at times, yes, when things beat you down, but you still wake up and you wake up stronger, you'll make the next word matter even more. So, when I was authoring these stories for these women and when my brother sent me these photographs, it was like, yes, visual storytelling.
Just the power of it and putting it across to people. Yeah. Fulfillment is the word.
Karen: It's so interesting. I wouldn't have made the obvious connection between, what we in career development called transferable skills, which kind of sounds like a boring term, to be honest. But when you talked about it, like you're like, oh yeah, I observe people like distill information and, , and it's so clear to you how the connection is made, between those two careers.
I'm curious. Did you have any, pushback? Was there anyone in your life that was like, you can't be a writer or did you have any of that resistance from people around you?
Nisha: It would just be the voice in my own head.
Karen: Right. Which is the biggest one to deal with.
Nisha: Which is the voice, you know, you don't really need another person outside of you because this radio is playing 24 7.
Karen: Oh, I know it.
Nisha: This self-talk, I mean, Karen, you'll know loads about it. This self-talk is so powerful what you want to and not listen.
And when I wasn't getting clients in the beginning or, no responses from any submissions, you're like, really are you really meant to, are you really cut out for this? And then there's one nod. There's one like there's one heart that comes in. You're like, yes, of course, they liked my work. I like my work, but irrespective of all of this, it's fine tuning the self-talk in your head because you got to believe yourself first before somebody else believes in you.
So if you start doubting yourself and if other people continue to add to that sentiment, it's kind of like a downward hill slope, but there will be days you just have to pick yourself up.
Karen: Yeah. It's something that, as a coach, I work on coaching myself it's definitely something I work with my clients. You have to do that thought work. Do you have any example of, you said that radio was playing, do you have an example of, one of those limiting beliefs may be that you struggled with and how you dealt with it?
Nisha: In terms of do people like my work?
Karen: Mm.
Nisha: Do they like what I'm putting out there? Do they like my stories? So, taking on this and Growing in Lockdown, series, for example, when you send out these questionnaires, it's like, are people gonna respond to it? Connect with it? Are people even going to read this? This is something that we just started and where does it take?
And especially when you're like, okay, I'm I need to clock my 12 stories and my 12 stories are not coming together. How am I going to do this? And then you're like, no, it is going to turn up. You just got to take these little breaks in between. And I think in one of my stories Nurul who is a decorated member in both the Malaysian civil service and abroad, she talks about positivity pauses or positivity breaks where this kind of disconnect with what you're doing so that you rebalance yourself with your ecosystem.
And then Marissa brings this beautiful theory about not following anybody's timeline, just go at your own pace. So when I read back these stories to myself, I'm like, yes, this is the kind of thing that you embed back into your body, your own thought programming and saying, yeah, there's really no timetable yourself, imposing a lot of things on yourself without realizing all the other achievements that you've made along the way. So it's just taking stock, maybe readjusting and seeing that you're on a different path and acknowledging all these other achievements.
So Angelina talks about the power of truly being present, like right here in the now we're so used to running. I'm a to-do list. I love going checking on this doctor the next so much. So you forget what you've done before or what you've done after, and you tend to wrestle with that process of maybe I didn't achieve enough. And she said with all of this happening in lockdown, she said, it just reminded you to always come back to the, now the power of the now was just so important and that's what loved down taught us as well.
Karen: So it sounds like as you were telling the stories of these women, their messages were very important to you as well.
Yeah.
Nisha: Because reconnecting with themselves was one of the biggest lessons that I took out as the biggest takeaway from the whole Growing in Lockdown. Because you've got to reconnect with yourself first before you start with another person. Same thing with the airlines, right? Strap yourself first before you strap the next person.
Everything, you first, me first. It may sound selfish, but it isn't. Because if you are in the best space only, then you can give out your best. So when I do fall short of myself, or if there's any self-talk playing that doesn't serve me, I tune back into these messages or I just disconnect with whatever it is that I'm doing at that moment.
Even if it's a sip of water or just a walk to the garden, just to break state so that I don't do well or engage or prolong that discussion for a longer time. So just a change of scene to reset myself in my patterns.
How do you go about it, Karen?
Karen: When I'm dealing with negativity?
Nisha: Yeah, all this radio that's in your head.
Karen: The biggest thing I do is writing. Writing it down, and getting it out of my head and onto a page. And there's something about... Because sometimes the thoughts swirl really fast. So it slows your brain down a little bit. And this is definitely writing by hand. And sometimes knowing what the thought is that's bugging me is really helpful. And then it's a self-coaching practice, oh, this is the thought that's making me feel bad. So this is the negative thoughts. That's giving me a negative emotion and then, sometimes I'll use different coaching tools, but looking for different options, looking for what's another thought that I could think.
Nisha: Exactly reframing. Isn't it?
Karen: Yeah. Yeah. Maybe there's another option that will be more helpful. And you're building those neural pathways so you're thinking in a different way. And even this week I've been doing it a lot. I think I go through phases. I don't know. Probably other people are like this too, where I'm writing more every day, this week. And it's really helping me get out of a funk.
Nisha: It's a great process to empty out. Because when you write and like you said, putting pen to paper, you're kind of just filtering it out of your system. So even physically, or just when you look at it, you're kind of just emptying, you're getting it out and you're not carrying that with you through the day. So even a couple of lines a day really helps.
Karen: Yeah, I have found it really helpful even when you start out by going, like, I don't know what I'm writing. It's still something helpful. And I find that I always go to a journal when I'm feeling stuck or whatever, and it always helps. There's always something.
Nisha: And likewise, just to top yourself back up with the good stuff is just making a note of all the little significant achievements that you do during the day. Even if it's like walking at like a quarter speed faster than what you did yesterday, or baking a cake, for example. All of these are little achievements. So at least when you have something to it, something for you to reflect on, it's like little juice. You fueling yourself up with all the good stuff because on the one side you're emptying, but then you're also refuelling up and it's really powerful this practice.
Karen: Yeah, I've been doing that too, because it's really easy to look at the to-do list of all the things I didn't do yet. So I've tried to pay more attention to. Okay, I did do that thing. I did schedule some social media. I made a phone call I needed to make or whatever, and you're right. I think it's really powerful too, to just say, oh yeah, I'm going to recognize myself for the things that I did.
Nisha: Yes.
Karen: Not just the things that I need to do.
Nisha: Exactly.
Karen: So I'm curious, is there anything in particular that helped you make that change or transition in your career? It sounds like you're a pretty positive thinker or you've built up those habits to mitigate when the negative radio is playing. What are the things that helped you on your journey with this transition? Whether that's, I don't know, books or mentors or coaches or advice.
Nisha: I think, I would say, start with yourself first to know whether you're really ready because I've been dipping my toes in the water for quite some time. Sort of starting, pulling back, starting, pulling back, maybe just going a little bit further. But this voice inside me was just nagging, really nagging, you know, like, are you really going to do with this? Why do you keep saying these things if you're not going to do it? So I think the move helped because it was like, okay, it's a fresh page. I have to start everything from scratch, from even opening a bank account. So why not a career?
Karen: Why not?
Nisha: Why not? You know? It's like going into the shop and trying on a new dress. You got to try. You got to see, explore, you're making new friends, new connections. So just take this opportunity. Relax a little bit. Things may not work as for the schedule that you wanted. But kind of just go with the flow. So that's how I developed a program, which essentially was for myself, but it was called Flow in Five.
Karen: Okay. Tell me more. Cause it sounds so much like my business name, Flow and Fire.
Nisha: Exactly.
Karen: So
Nisha: It was. So...
Karen: I know I'm so I'm perking up right now. Okay.
Nisha: It was cool. It was called Flow in Five because it's overwhelming with the amount of information that's available out there then you don't really know where to start. So the best place to start is here with yourself. So I call it the Soul Searching, where you really go in and dig deep and find out what is it that you want to do, why you want to do certain things.
So for example, with writing, what kind of material that I want to write? What's my vision? So the Five was essentially taking either five minutes, or breaking down a thought into five so that you don't just stop with one or three, but you have options basically. That was the whole idea that you create yourself options. And when you have something and you have broken it down to five maybe you see if you can break it down a little bit more. Because the whole idea is we work smart.
So we don't have to write the same content five times, but maybe just think of five different users for the same content. So that's how it started.
So it goes with searching a soul so that you know where you're starting. And then it goes to ideation, which is like a playground. Cause you've got so many ideas, kind of just throw it all out there. And when you get overwhelmed, move to stage three, which is prioritize. So I designed a sort of pyramid concept so that you can put from important to least important, you know what task to schedule. You know what you can delegate, what you can seek support and what you can do to work with other artists in your area or other creatives. So you can even collaborate and work with the community.
And then the last two steps were about self care. One was for your work because it's not that you just write something and you press publish. There's a lot of editing that needs to go on, and you've got to invest a little bit of time in that too, and care for yourself because you've got to sustain this thing day in, day out. How are you going to manage a balanced relationship? Both with yourself personally and also professionally. So that was the whole Flow in Five concept.
And that started my mom is my biggest cheerleader. So she's always encouraging. Both my parents are positive thinking, always is inspiring. They said, okay if you feel this is it and go with your gut too, you know? And we are here. We support you. My husband was very understanding, and he said, okay if this is something you really want to do, go all out and give it a go. So I had a lot of fun. Supporters around me cheering me on in this journey.
But what I want to come back to is as much support that you get outside, it is great because you have this wall around you, but if your internal support system is crumbling, it's not a good sign. So you've got to always make sure that you fill-up. You keep believing in this journey as much as they are as well. And connect with the community, just find supportive networks around you, where you can reach out and learn from others. You don't really have to reinvent the wheel. There's just so much out there already. So learn from people, read up, read books.
And I liked this book by Marie Forleo, where she says everything is figureoutable.
You're not going to come crash landing. It's not the end of the world. The earth is not going to open up and swallow you. There is going to be a solution. So don't freak out. Or if you need to freak out, freak out for that little moment, but just come back and figure it out.
So it's these kinds of things that kind of help. And finding a tribe in that you can lean on too. So there is the small business huddle in the UK, which is organized by Shannon of Mockingbird Makes, and she brings together women, small businesses in the UK on a weekly basis. Where they discuss, share ideas, check-in, and if they have something that they want to promote or talk about in their sales offer, they do that too. So it's kind of just finding these people along the way and building that anchor and that support so that you can journey on.
Karen: So the internal and the external, sources of support, inspiration, all of those things.
Nisha: It's so important. I think this nurture, nature, everything kind of coming together and just keep going. You fall, never mind. Pick yourself up. Dust it down. Take a break, even. Take a break. You don't have to rush to get everything done today or tomorrow. It can be next week or next month or next year.
And sometimes maybe you launch a product or a course, and it doesn't get the uptake that you think it deserves. But maybe it's not the right time, or maybe you have assumed too many things that, you know, people may want to hear. So just kind of reflect back and, take back and restart again.
It's tough, but it's fun.
Karen: I'm curious about your career crush or crushes, who is it that's
Nisha: Oh, yeah. So Marie Forleo is one. I think the moment she said, everything is figureoutable. I'm like, why didn't I think of that? Why do we keep stressing so much about all these things when you can figure stuff out. So she's been a huge inspiration in terms of how she talks on social media or just how empowering she is as a leader, as a writer in her words.
And of course the iconic Oprah. She can just talk about anything and just swinging it with so much confidence that you just want to go out and talk too. So even now, before joining your podcast, I was like, okay, I need some inspiration here so let's watch some Oprah.
Just putting that in the background, just kind of absolving her energy, her vibes, and just how confident she is and how relaxed she is as she talks to everyone and how socially aware she is. So it was just tuning into that. I just played it in the background and I said, okay, Oprah, bless me.
Karen: Sending up a prayer to Saint Oprah.
Nisha: Yeah, exactly. Because the next phase is I want to do more speaking engagements and I want to talk, I want to communicate more about my project. So you got to tune in to different people to see how they go about it. You've got to find these role models and see. So yeah, these do definitely come up to mind very quickly.
Karen: What would you tell your past self, the past self who wanted to be a writer, what would you say to that person who was maybe concerned or not quite ready?
Nisha: I'll tell her you did it girl and keep going. I mean, just look at the voices, look at the messages and the people that have inspired through these stories. Look at the connections that you have built and the stories that you've shared and the power in those stories. And a purpose. You found a purpose because Bohemian Crossing blog was a journey, was my own little journey, caterpillar to butterfly growing. People whom I met’s experiences.
But with producing this whole Growing in Lockdown series, 12 stories, real stories by real women has just given me another set of inspiration on taking the series longer. So I'm extending it to a new series in September called Entrepreneurial Life. Because from Growing in Lockdown, you're now an entrepreneur in your life into the set of new normal. So I'll be doing another set of 12 stories starting September one.
So I'll tell my younger self that it's an exciting journey. And thank you. Thank you all for having the faith in me. Thank you for continuously putting these voices in my head because you pushed me in a way to come out of my comfort zone.
You really pushed me into the ocean.
Karen: Hmm. Oh, I love that. So you don't need to give your former self advice. You're just saying thank you to her for making it.
Nisha: Thank you.
Karen: Taking the steps.
Nisha: Nagged me so much. You really nagged me.
Karen: Yeah.
Nisha: For not being able to take this leap of faith. And as a result, I see a new me, a newer version of me. And I love the old me too, but there's just so much of that and the new that has just evolved. So it's exciting.
Karen: So speaking is in your future, another writing series is in your future. What else is on the horizon for you?
Nisha: Oh, I would love to do a book at some point. There are so many little bits and bobs that have been written. But it's one little project at a time, so that's definitely something I would like. But for now more speaking engagements, opportunities that way kind of growing the readership.
Karen: Brilliant. Well, that's wonderful. I loved hearing about your career. How you made this big change and how you are loving your life. I wish people could see your face because you're just glowing as you talk about what you do. And, I think that's such a gift and hopefully, that encourages folks to follow the voice that's in their head.
Do you have advice for people who might be, they have an idea, and they're trying to put their toe in the water what words of wisdom would you share with them?
Nisha: Just make a start now. Find that safe space, make a start, however small, however little. Don't ridicule yourself, but just make a start. Because I took years before I decided to finally go in it and don't lose that time because it's so precious and it's not coming back. So make yourself happy. It's your concert. It's your show, just go on and rock it.
Karen: Awesome. I would also say, I just want to point out, it's okay if you take your time.
Nisha: Exactly.
Karen: Just to kind of disagree, like to say, even if you feel like you took your time, you're still experiencing what you want. So that's also fantastic.
Nisha: It's a journey, isn't it? all a journey at times. All these experiences just give you extra muscle power as you take on a new turn. So whatever that you're going through, it all just adds up. So never doubt that, or never discredit things that you have done because it all adds up and you lean onto all these things as you go through.
Karen: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. It was great to have you on the show.
Nisha: Thank you and everybody, please do read my series Growing in Lockdown, Real Stories by Real Women at Bohemian Crossing blog.
Karen: Yes, we will link it in the show notes.
Nisha: Thank you. And thank you for having me.
Karen: A quick word to listeners that we'll be taking a short break from our regular release schedule in order to enjoy the rest of the summer. I'll be back with more episodes of the intentional career podcast in the fall.
Thank you so much for listening. It means so much that you spend part of your day with me. If you enjoyed this episode go to Apple Podcasts and leave a 5 star review. It helps other people find the podcast, and my hope is that if more people find the Intentional Career Podcast, then more people can create their Intentional Careers.
If you’re ready to create your intentional career with the support of a coach, schedule a call with me. There’s a link in the show notes or you can go to intentionalcareer.co and click the blue “Schedule a Call” button in the top right corner.
Resources:
Growing in Lockdown Blog Series - Website
Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo - Amazon | Indigo
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