About balance

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Araz

Lately I find myself having an allergic reaction when I hear people speaking or read articles about wanting to have balance in their lives. Much of it, based on what I’ve read, is about aspiring for balance as a fixed state; with things having the proper amount of importance or attention.

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How to have an impact

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Araz

The International Film Festival Rotterdam wrapped up last week and luckily I managed to catch a great film about a married couple who have had a big impact on some of the most iconic Hollywood films (The Birds, The Ten Commandments, The Graduate, Fiddler on the Roof, Scarface, and the list goes on…). Unless you work in the industry, you’re likely to never have heard of Harold & Lilian Michelson, but when Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen started Dreamworks guess who they called?

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5 Awesome Women 2015

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Araz

Last year, in honour of International Women’s Day, I named 5 awesome women; women who I appreciate, admire, have learned from and who I personally know.  Here are my 5 for 2015.

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My week of (trying) to be #boredandbrilliant

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Araz

The last week I’ve been participating in New Tech City‘s bored and brilliant project. I decided to participate because I intuitively agreed with the premise; connectedness can be great, but having my mind overstimulated can hinder my creativity and leave me feeling drained.

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Mirror mirror

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Araz

How do you react when you hear/read something that you perceive as negative/critical about your country/culture? Sad? Angry? Uncomfortable? Would you react differently if you heard it from someone who comes from a different country/culture than your own?

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5 Awesome Women 2014

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Araz

In honour of International Women’s Day, Juan asked me to name 5 awesome women; women who I appreciate, admire, have learned from and who I personally know.  Well as it turns out I know a lot of them – definitely more than 5! Nevertheless, I have come up with my 5 awesome women (and hope to continue each year to come!).

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My Grandfather the Canadian

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Araz

Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2008 my maternal grandfather passed away. Even though I knew his time would come, I don’t think that made it any less painful. I luckily got to see him before his health started seriously declining.

When he passed, my brother wrote in his eulogy about my grandfather’s fierce pride of being Canadian; “My grandfather often displayed a sense of wonder and awe at the rate of social, cultural and technological advancement around him. Sometimes, in a profound moment, the immensity of it all would suddenly dawn on him, and tears would well up in his eyes. I recall my grandfather’s passion for this country, and his appreciation of all the things I took for granted in my youth. I doubt he could have ever imagined such a good life, or such opportunity, as Canada ultimately afforded him. This much is clear, just by taking stock of all the miniature flags he collected.”

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Action – Achievement = ??

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Araz

This picture was floating around on Facebook last week:

It triggered an interesting conversation with Juan. I interpreted this picture as making a statement for people who talk about their complaints or talk about things they wish they would do and never take action to make it happen. But is action the answer? Action of course matters, but can become quickly pointless and energy draining if you aren’t gathering data on the impact of your action (= results) and if there is no purpose behind your action (= achievement). I’ve experienced a lot of people and organisations taking lots of action, and sometimes taking the same action over and over again, and not having any idea about the impact their action is having because they don’t track and measure their impact. Furthermore, their action starts to become meaningless because they have no objective or purpose so they can achieve.

What are your thoughts: Action – Achievement = ???

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“Don’t burn your bra, get the matching panty”

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Araz

I was recently introduced to strategist Chin-Ning Chu via a discussion forum on Linkedin on the topic of the shortage of authentic women leaders. After watching a 40 minute speech she gave in San Francisco to a group of women, I am so disappointed to find out she recently passed away and I had not known of her amazing work earlier.

In this speech she is sharing from her book, The Art of War for Women. I’ve now watched it three times as I find what she is saying so insightful for women and men. The few observations which stuck with me are:

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Spending time in ‘La La Land’

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Araz

Yesterday I was watching Jill Bolte Taylor’s TED talk about her experience having a stroke. There is a moment when she described how she could feel herself losing connection to her left brain and being lost in the right side of her brain. When her left brain became silent, she suddenly felt euphoric, all of her ‘emotional baggage’ from the last 37 years disappeared, she felt bigger then herself, completed connected and part of everything around her. She called this ‘la la land’.

This morning in cycling class I was reminded again of that feeling of being completely present and part of the moment you are experiencing, when you do not feel a separation between you and the bike; you are just one being. Another way I can describe my personal experience is having a moment when I felt so powerful and so much bigger than the individual that I am in my own body; and when I’ve felt that way I’ve had a hugely positive impact on others lives (so they’ve told me…).

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