What’s the best advice you received and that you like to pass on? “Don’t go through it twice.” Our brains can really do a number on us, anticipating the worst that can happen, often discounting the best that can happen. What ends up happening is usually somewhere in the middle, but we tend to torture ourselves by going through a potential outcome ahead of time and then again when the thing actually happens. So, don’t go through it twice. The thing is going to happen either way but you don’t have to double-up on the bad feelings.
What’s the top song on your playlist right now? I know that I’m supposed to say something from Renaissance here! I know. But we’re in the truth circle so I’ll be honest: Esa Morena by DJ Laz. (You can take the girl out of Miami, but…)
What book moved you in recent years? The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I often get the best inspiration for business and life in the most unexpected places and that book really knocked me back and gave me new ways to look at my hopes, dreams, and what possibilities might be out there for me.
What’s the biggest takeaway from your career thus far? Aim high and then prepare yourself for even more. I read a quote recently to the effect of “ambition is a willingness to acknowledge what you’re actually capable of” and I’m kind of obsessed with that framing now. My career has taken me to some really wild and lovely and unexpected places (look at where we are now!) and if I was even trying to script that early on in my working life, I wouldn’t have come even close. I am a firm believer that opportunities and circumstances come to you in the right season and my career has been a great example of that.
What’s your favorite home office hack, habit or accessory that you use? I meal prep! That is, hands down, the best thing I’ve done for my mindset, productivity, and general wellness when working from home. By making sure that I’ve got great options on hand that will fuel me and that are enjoyable, I can focus on the work worth doing feeling nourished and happy.
How do you cultivate joy in your professional life? I am…so silly. I just bask in silliness and try to make sure that every touchpoint I have with a client, mentor, mentee, anyone in my network, really, is a place where we can be our authentic, silly selves while we are making moves. It’s so easy to couch ourselves in seriousness and I think it’s a blessing that I can’t really keep a straight face…ever. So laughing, joking, and finding the light is always on the cards as I move through my work life.
What’s your favorite way to unplug from work? I love a good run to come back to myself and sit with whatever I need to think through or process. You can’t scroll or text or lurk when you run, it’s just you and the road (and DJ Laz).
What’s one thing you do away from work that helps you at work? (Something you wouldn’t immediately connect) I have to agree with Jade, here! Having a dog was a big game-changer for me. Wookie (the dog) is hilarious and full of love and demands an endless supply of designer treats. She inspires me to work hard, stay connected to the bigger picture, and prioritize rest and home life. I’m in her life for her whole life and I want to make it the best life and that trickles through to everything I do (including work)!
What’s the best advice you received and that you like to pass on? “Be nice to my friend Jade.” A lot of ambitious types struggle with their inner critic, and it’s something I’ve had to monitor closely lest it gets the best of me. When I hear a friend or coworker beating themselves up about not doing something right or perfectly, I remind them to “Be nice to my friend ___.” My best friend Allison said it to me years ago and it stopped me in my tracks.
What’s the top song on your playlist right now? I’m back on the juice of Taylor Swift’s Folklore album. Recently I took a yoga class (with Peloton’s Mariana Fernandez!) featuring that album and I was brought to tears. I’ve never cried in a yoga class before, but it was pure catharsis. There I was on my mat crying through sun salutations, Mariana reflecting on how heart wrenching our human experience was during the pandemic when that album came out. That album was played on repeat when the second surge started, which is also when we started putting pen to paper on Circe. It’s a beautiful and forlorn time to look back on. So much growth has happened since then and music has always marked seasons of time for me.
What book moved you in recent years? Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar. I love writers who capture identity politics with bravery and productive conflict, and the author captured his experience of being brown and being Muslim in America around and after 9/11. He’s the same playwright that created Disgraced, which was received with controversy. This book created a new interpretation of 9/11 for me, and helped me understand what may have been happening to some of my friends and classmates who have likely been socially, culturally and politically targeted for years after 9/11 in the US.
What’s the biggest takeaway from your career thus far? This may be met with some resistance, or sound counterintuitive to work-life balance, but I don’t really separate church and state when it comes to career and personal life. Hear me out on this: When I moved to Hong Kong, the culture was quite open to overlap between friendships found at work or at the pub on Staunton Street. I would go for hikes with my manager and our dogs, and a good friend became a client over lunch. The overlap could be natural and comfortable, and I started to feel like I was no longer switching between personas. We spend so much time working, and that shift to allowing more gray area has had tremendous benefits. The two biggest benefits for me have been friendships, and the second an enriched work life. Making friends as an adult can be tough, and I have met some of my closest friends through work in the last 15 years. I also love feeling like I can show up as the same person in my work and personal life. The overlap reduces friction and cognitive strain for me, and I cultivated a professional life that didn’t feel so impersonal.
What’s your favorite home office hack, habit or accessory that you use? In 2017 I bought myself a luxurious sit-stand desk for my home office. It felt like a major splurge at the time, but after the switch to fully remote work I realized it was the best money I ever spent. Let me tell you about its amazing features: pre-set heights at the push of a button, USB ports for charging, and it has a glassy white surface so I can use it as a white board. BOOM.
How do you cultivate joy in your professional life? I like to spread fun, music or humor to others at work. We work so hard and stress comes easily. When I refocus on how to make more fun out of what we’re doing, my mindset changes: I more easily let go of things that don’t matter and I find myself listening better because I’m trying to pinpoint where others around me find humor.
What’s your favorite way to unplug from work? Yoga with Spotify’s “Tibetan Bowls” playlist in the background. It’s mega soothing, the movement feels great with the sound vibrating in your ears and around your body. I also have really cranky hips and back pain, so it physically feels amazing to open those areas up after a lot of desk time.
What’s one thing you do away from work that helps you at work? (Something you wouldn’t immediately connect) Does this count? I hope this counts: having a dog. Taking her for walks a few times a day forces me to pull myself away from my desk, stretch my legs and get fresh air. I’m able to return to my desk a calmer, happier person. Also, Gracie (the dog) makes a cameo on video calls and can be a great icebreaker for animal lovers on the other side of the call.
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