We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joanna Rajendran. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joanna below.
Hi Joanna, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
“There’s no way that girl is going.”
Once, years ago, I was with my brother on line to go down a water slide that scared the life out of me. It was the kind of slide with such a severe drop-off that you couldn’t see it beyond the initial point of entry. Although we had been on line for a while at this point, I remained unconvinced that this slide was worth working through my fear of heights to ride… until two things happened.
1. I saw the person a few before me go and I began to count. I only counted to 3 before the man working the ride signaled that it was time for the next person to approach. I turned to my brother and said, “I can do this. I can do anything for 3 seconds.”
2. The man behind me who heard this exchange flippantly said to his friend, “there’s no way that girl is going.”
Recognizing that the discomfort would be short but the exhileration would last began to motivate me to take this literal and metaphorical leap of faith. But the expression of doubt by a misogynistic stranger, obnoxiously referring to a grown woman as a girl and intimating that I wouldn’t have the courage, sealed the deal.
There have been countless instances in the years to follow, in both my professional and personal life, where I have been given an opportunity to jump and, remembering the feeling I had at the bottom of the slide, have spread my wings.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
After spending 26 years studying with and learning from a modern-day sage, I was inspired to share the story of my time with Master Teacher Tao Porchon-Lynch and the lessons learned in a raw and relatable way. My book MY GURU WEARS HEELS begins when I am 17 and going through a difficult season in my life and follows this special friendship and my journey to peace over the next two decades. The intention was that instead of the reader walking away thinking “Wow- Tao was certainly magical”, they can be left feeling that we are all magical and reminded specifically how to access that magic.
In addition to working on my next two books, what really fills me up is connecting with people. Whether delivering a keynote speech, leading corporate or private retreats or facilitating my BEST.LIFE.EVER. course on habits of happiness and success, I get absolute joy seeing people shine. Offering actionable tools, breathwork and meditation, I am on a mission to help individuals, corporations and communities to stop REACTING to life and to begin CREATING it resulting in their BEST.LIFE.EVER.
Some new things in the works for 2024 are: Manifest Station: a podcast with my friend and fellow spiritual badass/wellness concierge Jen Rubinetti, and a retreat for women that she and I are hosting in Tuscany.
I’ve had the honor of being hired to work with Tony Robbins leading breathwork, meditation and vision to his private coaching group; The Platinum Lions. Other notable speaking clients include: Boston Magazine, Brown & Brown Insurance, Kim Crawford, Athleta, Mercy College, IAPD, Boss Lady, The Bedford Playhouse, The Women’s Alliance Committee, GPS Gifter X Talks & LifeTime Fitness.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. MENTORSHIP- having the ability to use someone’s hindsight as your foresight is a huge gift. Honing the skill of vicarious learning will enable you to gain the wisdom without having to personally experience some of the pitfalls. So when life presents you with the chance to learn from a mentor- JUMP ON IT!
2. BE WILLING TO EVOLVE- and evolve unapologetically! When I turned 30, we celebrated with a birthday roast. One of the recurring jokes was how often I had already shifted gears in my professional life; ranging from being pre-law to a corporate career to makeup artist to cocktail waitress to yoga teacher to writer, etc. Along with each experience came new skills that ultimately resulted in the confidence to pursue my dreams and to take the requisite risks.
3. DON’T QUIT YOUR DAYDREAM! There’s no such thing as dreaming too big. Although my father gave me some incredible advice such as how to work through indecision with his quote, “the only thing you get from sitting on the fence is splinters in your ass”, my unusual path has made some of those closest to me a bit uncomfortable. But while they may not have always understood it, they have always supported me. Use the power of visualization, vision boards or scripting to see the result you wish to create. And only share that vision with the believers!
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Rather than spending time shoring up perceived weaknesses, I find that playing in your strengths results in more energized, engaged performance. We each have unique gifts and when we are expressing them is when we feel most alive.
I have made a practice of partnering with people who possess the skills and strengths that are complimentary to mine.
For years, I have been asked to lead retreats and although I love to facilitate transformative experiences, I have put this on the back burner. The reason is that even though I enjoy everything during the retreat, I am not as excited about the planning of it or what I call “holding the clipboard”. Instead of trying to change this aspect of my personality, I’d rather join forces with someone who is uniquely skilled at it and focus my energy on the impact.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joannarajendran.com/
- Instagram: @joannaraj
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- Twitter: @JoannaRajendran
- Youtube: Joanna Rajendran