Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Pamposh Dhar as the guest influencer. Pamposh is a mindfulness coach, Reiki Master and counsellor in Singapore and is having expertise in working with children, offering corporate coaching programs, including mindfulness workshops and guided meditation sessions. Her valuable sharing about how to make meditation enjoyable is a must read-

I started teaching meditation 12 years ago because I had a few Reiki and counselling clients who told me they were unable to meditate. I was astonished because I knew everyone could do this simple activity – it was just a matter of finding a method that worked well for each person.

So I have made it my business to teach easy and effective ways to meditate – easy to do and effective in bringing calmness and inner peace.

One of the simplest and most enjoyable ways is breath-focused meditation.

5 Steps to An Easy and Effective Breath-Focused Meditation-

Step 1: Remove the pressure. You do not perfect any skill in one day – you learn the new skill, you practise it, and you make progress.

Remember: you did not learn to walk in a day, you did not learn English (or any other language) in a day, you did not learn law or literature or accountancy in a day.

Through meditation, we learn to still our usually restless mind for anywhere between 10 minutes to an hour or more. And, yes, even 10 minutes can bring a sense of calmness.

Most people do not get to the absolute stillness of mind in their first session of meditation – but they do find themselves getting calmer and more peaceful. This is because they move from a restless and scattered mind to one which is more focused, quieter – and much calmer. The more they practice, the more peace they find within themselves. Regular practice is the key. A  daily or weekly practice, even a short one, will help you to perfect your ability to meditate, even on days when you are distracted or agitated.

Step 2: Find the posture that works for you. Sit in a posture that you can hold still for the duration of the meditation. One easy posture is sukhasana, sitting cross-legged on a cushion on the floor. Those who find it difficult to sit on the floor can sit in a chair – just make sure that your feet are flat on the floor. In either case, keep your back straight, not hunched forward.

Step 3: Slow down your breathing. This is the most important step and it is really easy. Your body already knows how to breathe. You just have to breathe deeper and more slowly than you usually do. Breathe in slowly, taking the breath down to your stomach or your abdomen, whichever is more comfortable for you. And then slowly release the breath.

This deep, slow breathing itself brings quite a lot of relaxation and calmness.

Step 4: Use your choice, awareness and attention. Choose to breathe deeply and slowly. Breathe with awareness, knowing that you are breathing. Breathing is an autonomous function, so most of the time we breathe without being aware of the fact. But in meditation, we breathe consciously. Breathe with attention – shift more and more of your attention to your breathing – feel the air you breathe and, with your attention, follow the movement of the breath through your body.

Step 5: Focus and quieten the mind. We breathe every moment of life. In a breath-focused meditation, we breathe with awareness, attention and focus. Focus in on your breathing to the exclusion of everything else – as much as you can. If your attention wanders, gently bring it back to your breath. Help your mind to be more positive by focusing on the moments of stillness that you achieve rather than the times your attention wanders. Whatever you choose to focus on in your life will become bigger in your awareness. So use your attention with care.

Once your attention is largely on your breathing, your mind is no longer scattered, running after every passing thought. It is now a focused mind.

Congratulations! You are meditating.

For some additional support, please follow my guided meditation video, Mindful Breathing: http://bit.ly/terataii_meditation1

For even more support, join my regular group meditation classes, on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. Email terataii@gmail.com to register for a class or course.

Pamposh Dhar is a mindfulness coach, Reiki Master and counsellor. She works with children and adults individually or in small groups. She also offers corporate coaching programs, including mindfulness workshops and guided meditation sessions. Read more: https://terataii.com.sg

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Abha Maryada Banerjee, leadership author and motivational speaker as a guest influencer at Womenlines. Abha Maryada Banerjee is India’s first woman motivational speaker of international acclaim, rated as one of the Top Ten Life, Business and Success Coaches in the Asia Pacific. An expert at Leadership, Human Peak Performance and Emotional Intelligence, Abha has been the Peak Performance/Mental Strength Coach for Indian Olympic Athletes. Her sharing below is a dose of motivation for womenfolk to change themselves for a positive approach in life-

Talk of change and we have no clue where to begin..

Here is an exhaustive A-Z list of all that we can do and feel the difference-

A. Smile, Laugh, Joke and Have fun: If we smile for 15 minutes, our body’s chemical composition changes. Try it. It’s funny. Humour is a very important part of life. It allows us to look at life’s many different perspectives in a harmless way. Humour is not dependent on outer circumstance. As much as we can watch a movie and laugh, we can also learn to develop humour. Try cracking jokes, try laughing out loud, try laughing at your self. Nothing lasts forever, no problems, not sadness and not laughter. You will be back to work soon.

B. At all times, speak fair and kindness unless there is serious need to be unkind. Even if others do not reciprocate in the same way, keep yourself kind. By staying in this mode, you will avoid disturbance in your own body or mind. Focus on your action alone, so as not to get carried away by other people’s negativity.

C. Stay optimistic- Optimism is first created and built in the mind and always tested in action. It is the happiness and positive resource of our mind and we have complete control over it. If you practice by doing good and not accepting wrong, you create immense positivity in your environment.

D. Do not allow people to wrong you – React calmly but immediately by saying you feel wronged. Practice it with the people close to you, your family and friends. Let them know what has hurt you or hurts you. Talk it out.

E. Become responsive, not reactive in action – There is a difference between response and reaction. The response is a thought out reaction commensurate to the situation at any given point of time. While the reaction is an instant response to a present situation but coming out of past experience. Use this way of being to guide your thoughts and action. This way, not only can you change your outer circumstances, your inner self is undisturbed.

F. A Thinking heart is tolerant: As you understand yourself better, there is every reason that you will be able to understand and automatically become more accepting of others. As much you are on your own, learning to live your way, others are doing the same. They think their way.

G. Conscious expression can remove negativity – All life’s experience can be categorized into positive and negative experiences. We carry negative experiences closing ourselves to future experience that can prevent the true expression of love and building of positive potential. Each time you express, keep it positive.

H. Make the ungrateful sheer visitors to life: People can be unjust and unreasonable. Unless absolutely necessary, maintain a calm state as that is owned by us. We must choose a response that does not send our self into a disturbance. Right action is not dependent on others. Right action is right because of and complete in itself. Keep yourself in the right action mode. People who trouble you must remain, visitors and guests, nothing beyond that.

I. Right Action comes from our values – Every action has its corresponding result. Values guide the way you live. EFFECTS of action evolve in ways we cannot predict. There are many variables, forces and influences that affect actions. The right thing to do is to keep them right. Whatever you choose to do, choose it for itself as correct. Right action has its own energy. Why do we do things at all? How do we measure action? By the rightness of it, there is no other way. An action does not have a choice but to manifest into something. Let it be right for you.

J. Bring the child detective back: A kindergarten student learns by discovering abstract principles through practical activities. The concept of numbers is taught by sorting similar objects and placing them into groups to count them. The concept of shape is taught in the same way by changing and manipulating shapes of objects. A child first learns the relationships between specific objects in the real World, the principle remaining the same. In Life too, we follow such principles that resonate with our level of understanding. We then apply it new areas and the same process continues.

K. Always move from concept to application and principal to practice: Any principle or understanding must be applied at the next best opportunity so it gets embedded in the mind and body. Always test it, try it and establish your own version of principles.

L. True Moment is always the moment of Action: ACTION stimulates the mind and induces self-contemplation, teaching us the art of sensibility. True wisdom lies in action and the impact it can create. When we begin to focus on it, we can see real creation caused by us.

M. Beautiful is everywhere: Start identifying beauty and aesthetics in everything. You are already thinking differently. Indulge in the not so normal. Art and Words have the power to free the soul, spiritual as well as physical and have a very strong effect on the mind – it takes your mind on a new journey- almost that of a mind of a creator. That affects emotions as well.

To Be Continued…Next time

Abha Maryada Banerjee

www.AbhaMB.com

wwwBreakOutwithAbha.tv

Vitamin D primarily stimulates intestinal calcium and phosphorus absorption stimulates bone calcium mobilization and increases renal re-absorption of calcium. Vitamin D must be metabolized to 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 by the liver and subsequently by the kidney to 1,25-
dihydroxyvitamin D3 before function.

Vitamin D deficiency has now become an epidemic worldwide, in both pediatric as well as in adult populations, as Obesity. Evidence suggests that there is a potential link between obesity and vitamin D deficiency among global populations, particularly among children. The
effects of vitamin D deficiency in childhood obesity appear to have negative influences on overall health in later life like- Diabetes Mellitus, Cystic fibrosis, Chronic kidney diseases, Cancer etc.

The primary source of vitamin D is sunlight exposure, which has been limited or blocked extensively for many children over the past 20 years due to the association of skin cancer and ultraviolet rays. As obese children are usually sedentary, therefore less likely to play outdoors,
their exposure to sunlight may be limited. In addition, unhealthy high caloric food might be low in mineral and vitamin content; both represent risk factors for developing vitamin D deficiency. Bioavailability of this vitamin in obese children might be low because of increased fat deposition.
Interventions like vitamin D fortified milk, regular physical activity & maintaining healthy weight, limitations in the use of TV/ computer, oral vitamin D supplementation, exposure to sunlight in early hours of the day, consumption of vitamin D rich foods; have also been suggested to improve vitamin D status. Adequate vitamin D supplementation and sensible sunlight exposure to achieve optimal vitamin D status are in the front line among the factors for prophylaxis programme to combat this present global situation.

Meenu Agarwal

Founder of Food ‘n’ Wellness, a food, and nutrition advisory company based out of Singapore. Meenu is a trained clinical dietitian & holds a Masters degree in Nutrition & Dietetics. She is registered with the Singapore Nutrition and Dietetic Association( SNDA).  She specializes in providing nutrition advice with an emphasis on managing medical conditions like diabetes, cholesterol, acidity, thyroid, blood pressure and weight-related issues. 
Visit  http://www.foodnwellness.com

As the ‘Entrepreneur of the month’ Womenlines takes pleasure to introduce Michelle Sun, founder of education company The First Code Academy. An entrepreneur with incredible achievements, who is in love with coding and is now teaching kids to code across Asia. Prior to starting First Code, Michelle graduated from the inaugural class of Hackbright Academy, and held various technical roles in high growth startups in Silicon Valley, including as the first growth hacker at Buffer and Bump Technologies (acquired by Google in 2013). Born and raised in Hong Kong, she graduated from the University of Chicago and began her career at Goldman Sachs as an equity analyst. She also founded Women Who Code (Hong Kong chapter), a community for women in technology. She has been awarded many recognitions like Forbes 30 Under 30 in Asia (2016) and BBC 30 Under 30 Women Entrepreneurs (2015). Read about her entrepreneurial journey in her own words-

1. Please share with our reader’s little bit about yourself.

My name is Michelle and I am the founder of First Code Academy, an education company that teaches kids how to code across Asia. I was born and raised in Hong Kong, studied at the University of Chicago and worked in Silicon Valley before starting this company.

2. So when did you started this venture and what inspired or motivated you to take a plunge into this venture?

I started this venture in 2013.

What inspired me was when I was working as a software engineer in Silicon Valley, I volunteered to teach kids how to code in my free time. Observing how the kids learn opened my eyes to the possibility – the students were having so much fun building things on their computer! I decided to bring this idea back to Hong Kong where I grew up.

3. Can you share with us some of the challenges you faced during your initial days? 

During the initial days, there were a few challenges –

Convincing the first customers: When the market is early, it takes a long time to get customers onboard. It includes educating the market, providing top-notch services from day one, and ongoing product development to stay top of mind to the customers.

Convincing early employees to join: When you’re a small, nameless startup, it is very challenging to get people to join the ship. Even today, hiring is one of my top priorities. It takes a lot of tenacity and flexibility to build a solid team. (PS: we are hiring in all front! Contact me if you are/know a friend who’s interested)

4. So how do you balance your personal and professional life?

I believe balance is about prioritizing the must-haves. To me, the must-have in my life are good night’s rest, exercise and inspired work. I make it a priority to have these needs met.

5. What would you suggest to other aspiring women who want to venture out on their own?

To start small, and think big! Many ambitious women may think they need to build something world-changing from the get-go, yet most big ideas start small. Allowing time to experiment and iterate has been an important guiding post of my entrepreneurial journey.

6. Is there any person who has mentored/supported/inspired you?

I’m inspired by Jessica Alba who’s built a company from solving her own pain points to a hugely successful social impact business today.

7. What do you have in the pipeline for your venture’s future development?

We are launching our operations in China this year, starting with Summer Camps in Shanghai and Shenzhen. We see a lot of positive responses from parents there already and are excited to serve the students in those cities.

Links:

https://sg.firstcodeacademy.com/en/careers
https://hk.firstcodeacademy.com/en/careers

Womenlines welcomes ANJI HALLEWELL as an Influencer of Positive Mindset on the Womenlines panel. Anji is a Natural Strengths Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hidden Lava.  In her sharing for this month, Anji is talking about how transitions in life can be taken positively-

It’s been almost a year to the day that life as we knew it was turned upside down. It was about 3 pm on a weekday in May, just days before I turned 40. I had just found a viable route to set up business in Singapore and I was excited about what birthday celebrations were in store for me. I returned home from an appointment, to find my husband at home. He was unusually early, so I blurted out the first thing that came into my head which was, “What are you doing here?”. I knew from his face that whatever his response was, it wasn’t going to be good news.

By the time you get into your thirties and forties you have already established your blueprint in life – your job, your family, where you live and holiday etc. For the most part, life is stable and predictable, which creates a sense of knowing and safety. Sure, there are day-to-day stresses that come with it, but the mind doesn’t need to tackle basic needs, like food and shelter. And you can go to bed very night congratulating your inbuilt safety system for doing a good job of keeping you safe!

Yet, there is an adventurous side to you. One that longs for some excitement or for a different way of life. Sure, you may take a break by stepping out of the normal structure whilst you do something which breaks the norm, but you always return and slip back into things. Showing that once again, the safety side of you will always be the dominant driver in life. Isn’t that curious? On one hand, you want to know exactly what is happening and on the other, you long for excitement. However, there are occasions where this choice is making for you, as I found out that afternoon.

Redundancy is such a kick in the teeth for your safety side. It throws it into a frenzy, whilst the adventurous side of you shouts, “game on!”. Suddenly, both sides of you are fully awake and it causes the heightened level of emotional and mental stimulation. It’s like enjoying the thrill of driving a car at full throttle, whilst screaming for your life. By the very nature of opposing forces, this state is not sustainable and equilibrium must eventually restore. For us, we landed in the lease of new energy and excitement towards the possibilities of newly fledged freedom. Whilst everyone else seemed to represent the voice of safety for us, by quizzing us on how we were going to restore things. This infers that there was something to be fixed, but was there anything to fix?

Opposites are found throughout life, day and night, rich and poor, high and low temperature. Does one always have to be good and one bad, or can they just be different? Isn’t it the very existence of labels that we place on things that cause us to focus on the disparity? If we just saw opposites as different states would it make life events easier to deal with?

There are so many transitions that we go through, both big and small. From moving to a new country to children flocking the nest. But no matter what happens in life, the sun will always rise and the fall. Each day bringing something new and the freedom to do with it what you will. They say that the only constant in life is change, so we should strengthen our ability to be comfortable with it. But it is not the change itself that causes the fear to rise, it’s the thought of having to deal with the unknown. For those that have been through big events in life, you will know that the thought of it happening is never as bad as being in it. For when you engage the human spirit it’s unbreakable.

There is so much more to us which goes unutilised. We have infinite strength, courage and wisdom to navigate ourselves through life. So, we shouldn’t fear change or the unknown. We should feel confident that we will follow our integrity, intuition and heart to see us through. With every sunset, there is dusk, the transition from day to night. Its smooth subtle exchange between light and dark is a natural as the air we breathe. The transition is not something to dread, as just like a twilight sky it’s simply magical.

Anji Hallewell

Coach, Trainer & Founder

+65 8408 5042

Womenlines welcomes its first Shutterbugs Guest Influencer Gunjan Swarup, founder of  The Wishbone Affair for photography in Singapore, at Womenlines. Enjoy the lovely moments of motherhood captured by Gunjan and read the essence of motherhood beautifully described in her words-

The word Motherhood itself encompasses a universe in itself. And even though we all love our mothers deeply, we truly come to appreciate her and the endless sacrifices only when we embrace motherhood. The sleepless nights, painful labour, the stretch marks, nausea, feeding, changing, tantrums, entertainment and the million other small things which keep a mother on her toes from the day she gives birth. And she does this unflinchingly, selflessly, day after day, year after year, till she is alive.

There is no role which is bigger or more difficult and the rewards come in small moments – the tiniest hugs, the joy on the face of a child when he spots his mother in a crowd or how she cuddles up and calms down in the embrace of her mother. Working full time or stay at home, the energy, patience, devotion, love, selflessness that every mother naturally exhibits is something to marvel!

A mother is your sunshine on a gloomy day,

A guiding star on a dark night,

The pillar you can always lean on,

She listens to your words and hears your silence,

She joins your laughter and shares your sorrow,

She is the warmest hug, the safest haven, the staunchest supporter, the truest critic, the biggest strength, the greatest friend and the purest, most selfless love.

Working full time or stay at home, the energy, patience, devotion, love, selflessness that every mother naturally exhibits is something to marvel!

As a freelance photographer, I have had the privilege of shooting some amazing women. These are some of my favourite images of some incredible mothers.

Gunjan Swarup

On a sabbatical from the corporate world, mother to two boys, freelance photographer, blogger.

https://www.facebook.com/thewishboneaffair/

https://www.instagram.com/thewishboneaffair/

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Underneath the Pink Umbrella as a guest contributor on Womenlines panel. Underneath the Pink Umbrella is a student in Singapore and feels strongly about women issues. This month she is sharing her views regarding ‘Youthquake’, defined as “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people”, which has been selected by Oxford Dictionaries as the 2017 word of the year-

Underneath the Pink Umbrella: A new word a day keeps Alzheimer’s at bay. Youthquake is the newest addition to the Oxford English Dictionary, read on to see why this word is the most powerful word. Youthquake is a word, which can be used by the women empowerment movements across the world, and that is the reason, you will find this article here, in Womenlines!

Word: Youthquake

Definition: A significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people. (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/youthquake)

Example: The powerful youthquake in form of the social media retaliation to the rape and murder of the innocent Asifa was a poignant moment for Indians around the world.

This word has recently been welcomed into the Oxford English Dictionary: Youthquake. Very evidently, its origins are from the earthquake, which is a tremor of the Earth’s tectonic plates and cause the Earth, to well, quake. Similarly, when the socio-political-cultural milieu undergoes a fundamental change, driven by the youth’s power and collective influence, it is a youthquake.

I read about the admission of the word in an online article, which promised to emphasize on how the inclusion of new words as such is telling of the world we live in. But, the article simply reiterated the power of youth.

Thus, I thought to use my own power as a youth to talk about the importance of such a word being recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary.

Using the power of social media, be it positively or negatively, does have the power to get people to listen to you. Be it the #MeToo movement that I referenced in my previous article, or the resounding reaction and collective solidarity portrayed in the shootings at Ariana Grande’s concert. These are all examples of how easily the youth throughout the world have the ability to connect with one another to come together and force the world to pay attention to what they believe is important for the world. It is representative of how the new generation has grown up, including me, as we use the technological advancement to rally and support one another.

Why is this word important?

It is important because it shows that in a world where the same social media is used to carry out terrorist attacks, scam people and for crime, it is important to appreciate and see its positive impact as well. Facebook for example, whenever there is a natural calamity or an incident which causes human harm, the platform can be used to ensure the safety of individuals and call for help. As a teenager, we all heard our nagging parents get off our phones and study. Today, my main source of world news is social media. I know what is happening before my parents, as they wait to see the sensationalized and exaggerated versions of the same incident on our local news channel.

There is misinformation and fake news out there, and these things are indeed looked down upon, but the same tool used to propagate that is also a silent saviour. Therefore, this word is also important, because, it is representative of the official recognition of this power that the youth can yield.

In my own life, I can see Youthquake has such a powerful meaning. The world mourned Asifa’s death and everyone I knew posted a message or composed powerful messages to propel the conversation about rape. #PrayforAsifa was trending, my social media feeds were populated with messages of pain and utter sadness as to how a human can possibly cause such harm to a harmless child. The lack of political condemnation was widely discussed and questioned, how many more rapes need to occur before the laws are made more stringent and the culpable face capital punishment. Every argument in the book, saying her clothes are too revealing, or her actions compel the men to rape her, all fail when the men violated her. What bigger wave of youthquake is needed for it to be a wake-up call for the world, and especially my home country, India?

Words are a way we communicate, when a new one comes about and you use it broadly enough, sometimes, our creative minds can come up with that one powerful word, which crystallizes the essence of an entire movement in a new thought, and when it does happen, the change should be welcomed, and celebrated! In eventual time, this word may even enter our textbooks and our children would learn it as a part of the official English Language. We can now think that it is something we ourselves create.

In school, we might forget, that what we learn, was also discovered or invented by another human in the past. Therefore, this word can be used as an example, to bear witness to a word may increase in usage and may be appreciated by the future generations, for the existence of a word as powerful as, Youthquake.

Underneath the Pink Umbrella:

Hey! I am currently a freshman studying business, quite boring you might think, right? But I’m passionate about it! Besides that, I’m passionate about women’s rights, which is a topic that has been debated for centuries. A historian and artist, I try to research the story behind everything and imbue creativity in whatever I do. My contributions will show you my stance on women’s issues and offer a historical background and a fresher and more relatable perspective on the world and women around you.

An event to help women to re-start their career!

Womenfolk who are looking forward to re-start their career will find this hands-on event interesting!

Women are often surrounded by self-doubt for various reasons, they feel they are constantly being judged and are under pressure to perform. Sounds familiar?

Your career re-start does not have to be that way. Career re-start event can help women across the bridge of transition with a curated panel discussion and hands-on workshop that gives access to real talk on dealing with change, re-inventing careers, finding alignment between heart and brain and a much needed honest look at the LinkedIn profile and CV skills.

The Career Re-Start Workshop is an intimate, full day, hands-on platform for women seeking to start or change careers, be it in startups or corporates.

Ask anything!! Transitioning, marketing, HR, brand building, networking, tech, data, digital, changing careers, balancing with family, how to find your key strengths to position for the future.

This workshop is designed to give you an opportunity to broaden your network with career enablers and other like-minded people, hear personal stories from those who have carved a niche for themselves and are now in a position to help you take charge of your career journey.

Trainers at the workshop will also show you how to walk your talk through a series of workshops to get familiar with insights, strategies & hands-on tools to help you spring back!!

Register now!

Charu Mehrotra

Promoting Excellence in Women!

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Michel Neray,  a professional speaker, consultant and founder of momondays as a guest Influencer on Womenlines panel, sharing his expert knowledge related to public speaking with Womenlines readers. Michel has helped thousands of individuals craft and perform ‘purposeful’ stories to become more effective leaders, salespeople, coaches, teachers, trainers, speakers, and influencers of all types. He also uses Purposeful Storytelling to more effectively differentiate, position and brand organizations in the market. In this article, Michel is sharing about the importance of ‘Story’ in Speaking.

Most speaker training is all about performance, but in the mospeaker academy, we’re all about the story first. Of course, performance is important too, but it comes later. It has to… otherwise what, exactly, are you performing, right? Right. Turns out, according to neuroscience, we are on to something. (Duh!)Lisa Cron, author of ‘Wired for Story’, writes that neuroscientists believe stories are what make us uniquely human, and the way we process stories has been key to placing us at the top of the food chain. We are hardwired to use stories as the primary vehicle for making sense of our world. Evolution has made us crave stories — they fire our dopamine neutrons, and you know how much we crave that! In an article published in Harvard Business Review, Paul Zak reports on evidence that character-based stories cause the brains of the listener to make oxytocin, which in turn increases levels of empathy, trust and safety.  That’s why he advises business people to begin every presentation with a compelling, human-scale story. But is there a specific structure to a good story? Are there any guidelines to engage the listener (or reader) from the very first sentence? If it were as easy as popping your content into a rigid formula, then every novel would be a bestseller; every talk would move millions of people to action; and, computers could write one for you. But alas, storytelling is as much art as it is science, and there are a myriad of tips and guidelines to keep in mind as you develop yours. Here are four:

1. Start as close to the end of the story as possible. Many people start much too early because they feel that a lot of contexts is important. Trust me, it’s not.
2. Build the action so that the listener is always wondering what comes next. Building in action gives the story a sense of movement; building each step of the action in such a way that you pique the listener’s need to know what happens next is what makes it totally engaging.
3. Be clear about the ‘human’ element of your story. Your story is unique because it’s your story. Cool. But, it should also be ‘everyone’s’ story — that’s the human element. Chances are, you won’t know what that is when you start working on your story – trust me on that too – but at some point, as you tell and re-tell it, you’ll figure it out… and that will make all the difference.
4. Consciously balance specific details with general descriptions. Specifics give the mind the meat it needs to chew on, but even the mind needs to swallow once in a while and digest it all. (How’s that for a mixed metaphor?) In other words, not enough detail is boring and generic… while too much detail is, well, too much.

Are these the only four things you need to know in order to tell a great story? Absolutely not. That’s why it takes practice, and perhaps a masterclass or two. (grin)

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Geetanjali Tandon as a guest writer on Womenlines panel. She has more than 15 years of experience in corporate finance specifically in Financial Planning and Analysis in various companies/ industries. In this article, Geetanjali shares about the importance of taking charge of their financial planning by Womenfolk-

You are responsible for your own well-being and health. You take care of your health by watching what you eat, going for regular check-ups and exercising so your body remains healthy and better prepared to bear the weathering of ageing. Do you do the same for your financial well-being?

This is especially applicable to women. How many married women actively participate in managing their own finances and review their financial well-being on a regular basis? If you are a married woman and are asked if you know about all your bank accounts, credits cards, loans and investments, would you know all the answers? Or will you have to pause, think, ask your husband and get yourself “financially literate” about your own finances. Unfortunately, a large percentage of married women would be the in this category. In 2014, a study conducted by the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center found an even greater gap: only 22% of US Women [1]surveyed, compared to 38 percent of men, could answer three simple finance-related questions correctly.

U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy in 2008 defined financially literate as “the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being.”

Women cannot afford not to know about their own finances. It is essential to take ownership of your finances, and also gain knowledge through brands like SoFi who offer products such as loans, credit cards, and a ROTH IRA calculator to calculate savings, all of which can help people manage their money better.
In a marriage, it is not one person’s responsibility or their right to do this all alone. It is your responsibility to become financially literate and fully participate in your family’s financial decisions. Too many women are told not to talk about money or question the decisions made by husbands regarding financial health as it’s considered crass and unfeminine. Per the 2013 Allianz Women, Money, and Power Study, 90% of women surveyed believed that they should be more involved in financial planning. However, 42% said that financially independent women were intimidating to both men and women and end up alone.

On the other hand, empowering women financially has shown more families coming out of poverty as women make decisions for the well-being of the whole family and take long-term impacts into consideration. Here are 7 steps you can take now to start taking charge of your finances:

• Know all your accounts: Understand all the types of accounts you have—savings, checking, fixed, etc. Understand how each of the accounts works and the interest earned or fees you may be charged for some of those accounts. If you have had to move from one country to another, you must maintain accounts in multiple countries and learn the banking rules of the new location. Take your time to understand the different types of accounts and interest and fees for those accounts.
• Know your investments and loans: Understand what investments you have. Investments help grow your money—make your money work for you. It is very important to invest your savings prudently. Money sitting at home losses value rather than gains value. Invest in a variety of investment types—real estate, stocks, mutual funds and even commodities such as gold and silver. Review your entire investment portfolio and evaluate its diversity and understand how much risk you can and should take based on your age and other circumstances. Just like your investments, you should have a complete understanding of any loans you might have—home, car, credit cards, etc. Understand the interest rates and terms for each of them. Taking stock of your investments, savings, and loans help you understand what your financial value is at a certain point in time and based on its components whether you expect it to grow or decrease in the future.
• Know your budgets and what you spend on a yearly basis: Budgeting is a very important exercise. Budgeting does not mean that you should check your balance and expenses every time you spend your money. Budgeting means should you have a good idea how much of your money you want or must spend in various areas such as rent or EMI (mortgage) for the house, electricity, car, food, entertainment, travel, clothes, etc., on an annual basis and review that regularly.
• Plan for big spending items that you anticipate in the future: We all must plan for some of the big expenditures that may come up in the future. One of the biggest ones that you should plan for is your kid’s education. You should have the discussion regarding what kind of school and university education you will be able to afford. This should be a realistic discussion between husband and wife, and when they reach an appropriate age, the kids should be informed what to expect. We all want to provide the best education for our kids but we should also know the limitations of what we will be able to afford without ruining us financially. It is unrealistic for us to expect the kids to look after us because we used all our savings for their education. This planning should be done for each child—do not expect the elder child to pay for the younger one. We should also plan for any expenses we foresee for our parents’ needs and save for them accordingly.
• Save for Retirement: The average life expectancy for both men and women is increasing but women’s’ life expectancy is longer than that for men. As a woman, you should plan to live with financial freedom in your old age. Retirement savings should start as soon as you start working. Each country has different tools to save for retirement—know the rules and take advantage of these tools. Even if you are not an earning member of the household you are an equal member of that household. You should have an open conversation regarding the lifestyle you want in your old age and save accordingly. Do not depend on your children to provide for you. Make sure you have enough savings to live comfortably and pay for medical needs as you grow older.
• Learn basics about finance and taxes: There are a lot of resources available today on the internet that provides information about personal financial planning and provide definitions of the basic financial terms. Take the time to read and learn. Taxation is another area that affects the decisions you make in both the short and long term as it impacts your investments, savings and retirement accounts. Each country has different tax laws. Make sure you are involved in the annual tax filings and take the time to understand them.
• Ask Questions: No question is a wrong question especially when it concerns your own money.

It is your money – Own it!

[1] http://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/WP-2016-1-How-Financially-Literate-Are-Women.pdf

Geetanjali Tandon

Global IT Finance Lead

Monsanto

Greater St.Louis Area

https://dataandfpa.blogspot.sg/