September 20, 2022 • 50 mins
Rachna Nath tells us why we " Should believe that destiny will lead us", why we "Shouldn't be afraid of failure" and that " If you believe in something, make it happen " hosted by Diana White.
About Rachna Nath
Rachna Nath is a TIME recognized Innovative teacher and is also an internationally recognized innovator, entrepreneur, NASA solar system Ambassador, National Geographic Educator, grant writer and a STEM enthusiast. She is also the coauthor of the SDG4 Corporate handbook set forward by the United Nations. She has two master’s degrees, first one in Entomology (Insect Science) and the second one in Biology (Developmental Genetics) from Arizona State University working with Honey Bee Exocrine gland ontology.
She has won the Teacher of the Year by JSHS (sponsored by the US armed forces), Governors Celebration of Innovation Award, Global Innovation Award from TURNITIN, Honorable Mention for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environment Educators in the United States, two Excite Awards from Lemelson-MIT foundation to mention a few. She has also been invited to join the “Imaginary College” as an honorary member (Center for Science and Imagination) at ASU along with world renowned elite Philosophers like Margaret Atwood, Paolo Bacigalupi and many more.
She has been featured as one of the fifty 2021 Women in MILLION STEM, Entrepreneur Magazine, “Chandler Lifestyle 2020 Women of Chandler” recognized at the “Women in Leadership Conference” by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce, Phoenix Arizona. Some other features are in Thrive Global, Authority Magazine as Inspirational Women in STEM. She has also received grants from Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Healthy Urban Environments, FLINN foundation, NSF, Department of Defense, Arizona Recycling Coalition, Society for Science and the Public, Chandler Education Foundation and the list goes on.
Her entrepreneurship ventures, through her program DRIPBL (Dream Research Innovate Problem/Project Based Learning) has led her to open up many companies with her students. One of the most prominent one is www.oxiblast.in which is a three-generation women entrepreneurship. Her 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son are both #1international bestseller and well recognized musicians as well.
She works with young entrepreneurs to make their dreams come true by working with the community partners and helping patent their ideas. Rachna has a network of trusted IT professionals, lawyers, community helpers who help bring dreams to reality for 9th to 12th grade students who are invested in critical thinking, problem solving and giving back to the community by solving real world problems. She has 3 patents pending from such students in various prototypes from Anti-VOC scent bags to Heat stress monitoring devices. Rachna also does a lot of volunteering work talking about honeybees at various festivals, has contributed her time in mask making during the COVID19 pandemic and also runs a dance school “Sangeeta Nritya Academy” in US which she has dedicated to her Guru Sangita Hazarika in Assam, India. She is a force to be reckoned with and she is not stopping anytime soon.
Episode Notes
Lesson 1: Believe that destiny will lead you to where your impact is most needed. 02:44 Lesson 2: Empowering students with curiosity is empowering the future. 04:50 Lesson 3: Be your own advocate, value yours
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I think that is what comes frombeing respectful and looking at
others from different lenses.
You know, if I'm here sittinghere and judging people like, oh,
why are they behaving like this?
That doesn't help me in any way.
You know, you have to be open, youhave to be nonjudgmental and you have
to find a way to find your passion.
(00:25):
Hello, and welcome to 10 lessons learnedwhere we talk to leaders and luminaries
from all over the world to dispense wisdomfor career, business, and life in order
to make the world wiser lesson by lesson.
My name is Diana White and I'myour host for this episode.
Our guest today is Rachna Nath.
Rachna Nath is a Time recognizedinnovative teacher and is also
(00:50):
an internationally recognizedinnovator entrepreneur, a NASA
solar system ambassador as wellas a National Geographic educator.
She is the co-author of the SDG four corporate handbook set
forward by the United Nations.
She has master's degrees inentomology, which is insect
(01:12):
science and developmental genetics.
Some of her award achievements include.
Governor's celebration of innovationaward teacher of the year global
innovation award from Turnitin honorablemention for the presidential innovation
award for environment educators inthe United States, Rachna continues
(01:34):
to help her students start companiesbased on their scientific research and
has numerous mentions, accolades andrecognition within the stem community.
Welcome Rachn.
Thank you Diana.
Thank you so much for inviting me toattend lessons learned and I'm really,
really grateful to be here today.
Oh, I am grateful to have you.
And I just, you know, wish our viewersand listeners, if I had listed her,
(01:58):
all of her accolades, viewers andlisteners, we would be here for two hours.
So you'll see her full bio inthe comment, section so that
you can, uh, check that out.
Rachna I've got a question foryou before we get to your lessons.
Sure.
What would you tell your 30 year old self.
I would tell myself that to be alittle bit more open minded and be more
(02:21):
accepting of others' mistakes, becauseI realized that everybody is the way
they are because they have their ownbackgrounds and their own baggage.
So instead of judging people for whothey are just look deeper into who and
what they are doing and why they aredoing it so that you appreciate life and
yourself a lot better than anybody else.
(02:42):
And that's what I was not when I was.
When I look back, I felt thatI used to judge people a lot.
And then I realized, no, uh,that's not the right approach.
So yes, I just, I would say thatgo back and become nonjudgmental
because I don't know what backgroundwho's, where they're coming from.
So.
I agreed.
We are off to a great start.
(03:03):
I love that one.
So your first lesson, believethat destiny will lead you to
where your impact is most needed.
Um, tell me how you cameto know that to be true.
So life had its own ups and downs,but for me, it was extremely
difficult when, uh, in 2016, I cameto know that I could not finish a
(03:24):
PhD degree, that I wanted to finishafter 13 years of my first master's.
I was extremely displeased atthe fact that I was starting to
join as a high school teacher,which I never wanted to be.
And I realized after being literallythrown into this spot, that okay.
(03:47):
And I have to find myself to dosomething because I was a failure
to not be able to finish my PhD.
Five six months into the program or eventeaching, uh, ninth graders honors bio.
I get an email, uh, in my spam mailboxand it was from Lemelson-MIT, and it
was for a $10,000 grant opportunityfor my high school students projects.
(04:09):
That was an innovative ideaand an innovative idea had to
solve a real world problem.
So I started that and six years after.
I realized that that iswhat I am meant to do.
That is what I, my passion is.
And I did not realize that I could achievethat by being a high school teacher.
(04:32):
My idea was to be more,okay, I need to get a PhD.
I need to be a medicaldoctor to have impact.
But never thought that destinywould push me in a direction
where my impact will be maximum.
And I'm so grateful thatI did not finish my PhD.
And now I'm working with these high schoolstudents, connecting them with careers and
(04:53):
opportunities that they have never thoughtthey would be able to ever achieve.
So that's why I say that it'sdestiny has a way to push you
where your impact's going to be.
The maximum.
Now that that leads us right into asegue for your, your second lesson,
which is empowering students withcuriosity is empowering the future.
(05:15):
That's a pretty powerful statement.
So tell me about that Rachna.
Um, I'm gonna start by givingyou some examples, right?
So some of my high schoolstudents have done Ted talks.
Some of my high school studentshave won at international
science projects and fairs.
We have around six traditionalpatents and two patent pendings.
(05:39):
As of now, my students havecompanies of their own that they,
and these are not non-profits.
These are actual LLCs thatthey have established.
And all of that comes from a place wherethey need to know what they are doing.
And when you develop that curiosity in thestudents to make them understand what they
truly want to do other than just academicsand getting a good grade and getting into
(06:04):
a good school, they do so much better.
And that's how I feel that I understandif they get into something that they
truly wants to do in the future, theythey've, they bloom like a flower.
So that's why I think that with thataspect, you know, they have to have
that curiosity and we as instructors,educators, mentors have to show them
(06:28):
where their curiosity is because mostof the students, they don't have any
idea what they're doing other thantaking classes, doing homework and going
and getting a earning on the grade.
So that's why I say that it's, if I,if we give them that curiosity and we
understand, and we make them understandwhat they're trying to do, they are our
future and they will do wonderful things.
So that's why I say empowering the future.
(06:51):
Because that's what we need tostart doing other than what we
usually do on a regular basis.
Like, let's go to school,let's do homework.
Let's do some volunteering.
No, we need to make them understandwhat they truly want to do and
not what we want them to do.
Yeah, I know some of your students andI gotta tell you, I don't know how you
(07:11):
feel now, but I am so glad that youdidn't go the doctor route because you
were, you were touching a lot of lives.
So I'm Ugh.
Anyway, lesson number three.
Thank you.
Be your own advocate, valueyourself and pamper yourself.
Talk to me about that one.
(07:33):
Okay.
I mean, there are lots of things,uh, to talk about it, but I'm gonna
give you a really short example.
Coming from India, uh, we have grownin a culture where, uh, we are taught
not to be disrespectful to elders.
And we oftentimes confuse betweenwhat is disrespectful and what
(07:54):
is standing up for yourself.
And this happened again with, theinstructor, with the professor where
I was actually doing my PhD in at ASU.
And I remember, uh, in a meeting withmy PI and one of my other, other
professors who was also in my committee,uh, I had already bought in two
(08:15):
publications and whole lot of, you know,collaborations with other universities.
So this professor, uh, tells me,tells the other professor that,
oh, Rachna doesn't deserve this.
I think she has not done this to deserveanother first authorship in the paper.
And I sit there.
(08:37):
You know, and I'm trying to say something,but then I realized, oh, these are elders.
These are my professors.
I shouldn't say something to them.
I kept quiet.
And there's one thing that haunts metill date as to why didn't I stand up
for myself because that is not true.
And I realized after a few monthsthat we he's leaving ASU and he's
(09:01):
going to a different country.
So potentially he was trying to seeif some of the students would get
out of his lab so that he would haveminimal things to do when he moves
over mm-hmm and he doesn't haveto carry the burden of, you know,
having students with him or whatever.
So I need to make sure that my studentsunderstand that if you do not advocate
(09:23):
for yourself, nobody else will.
That's a very strong statement forstudents to understand because most
of these people are people pleasers.
They look at pleasing others morethan thinking about themselves.
And now I'm trying to tell everybodythat if you do not advocate
for yourself, no one else will.
(09:45):
If you don't valueyourself, no one else will.
And if you don't pamperyourself, no one else will.
So you have to take good care ofyourself and grow so that people will
see and appreciate you for who you are.
And.
Who you want them to see as who you are.
So now what do you consider pampering?
(10:09):
I'm curious.
What is your, what is your outlet?
What is your pampering?
My pampering for myself is sleeping.
I am actually a huge power, napper.
So, uh, even though I work 36 hours ina day, my power naps, help me immensely.
You know, I can take a quick 10minutes power nap, and I'll be up and
(10:31):
ready for whatever comes to me next.
So, uh, for me, it's that forsomebody, it might be just
talking nicely to somebody else.
You know, and being there for peopleand it's different for different people.
For some, it might be just, let's go andget some ice cream from Coldstone and
like spend 10 $30, 30, $30 at one time.
(10:52):
But it doesn't matter.
Pampering is differentfor different people.
And again, they have to identifywhat makes them happy so that
they'll value their own life.
Otherwise, it's a lost cause.
You know, and I have learned thatthrough a lot of experiences.
And like I said, everybody has theirups and downs, but one of the thing I
(11:15):
truly like to talk to my students aboutis that these are life lessons that I
have developed after 40 something years.
And I don't want you guys tosuffer to the same thing, but.
Learn and understand that there isalways you who to take care of yourself.
And that is why we do thisshow, everybody learning those
(11:37):
lessons, we make the mistakes.
So you don't have to, I don't know ifthat's a slogan or not, but I love it.
I love it.
Now let's go to lesson numberfour, never confuse standing up for
yourself with being disrespectful.
And this, I think goes back to that otherlesson with your, with the professors.
But talk to me about that.
(11:58):
No.
And again, that was, that was just oneof the examples I can give you another
example where, you know, um, I was ina job where I was being assessed and,
it was COVID and, I was told that Iwas not doing a great job and I said,
and that was something that was a realimplementation of a new, uh, idea.
And.
(12:19):
And I tried to mention this to,uh, my manager saying that, you
know, this is COVID, I'm trying todo the best I can, but I did not.
Right.
I did not.
Again, going up to, I didnot stand up for myself.
I did not explain the situationswhere, you know, it has to
have, you have to communicate.
(12:40):
That's the basic line.
You cannot just, the, anythingcannot be a one-sided convers.
You know, you have to make the otherpeople understand what your lense is.
When we talk about lenses,we have to understand each
other, each other's lenses.
I might be biased in a lot of things,but when I see things from your eyes
Diana, I understand where you are comingfrom, where somebody else is coming
(13:02):
from, or just to talk about, you know,why do kids behave the way they do?
It's because people that they're notseeing others through their lenses.
Right.
Or others lenses.
So.
Like I said, I, you can never, neverbe wrong for standing up for yourself
because that is not what disrespectful is.
(13:24):
I'm not asking you to fight with peopleor you talk back to your elders in a way
that's disrespectful with a bad tone.
But when you stick to what is true,that is not being disrespectful.
That is standing up for yourself.
Yeah, that's one of a similar lessonthat I had to teach myself, growing up
in management is that you, you shouldn'tmistake my confidence for arrogance.
(13:51):
Right.
And I, and I often have to, even, evennow years, year years later, I have
to constantly remind myself when Ifeel that the person that I'm talking
to, or the group that I'm talking tois looking at me in a certain way.
I have to say silently tomyself, you're confident.
(14:12):
However they interpret thatis their interpretation.
You have to stay confident.
And I lo I love, what you saidin lesson four, because that
that's the same kind of analogy.
Absolutely.
I get it.
And, I as an individual, and Iknow you have told me this before.
When I say that I have a huge, uh,you know, inferiority complex or, you
(14:34):
know, I have a huge imposter syndrome.
Um, I have realized now thatthat is because I'm not confident
about myself, you know, I'mnot aware of what I am doing.
And so, it's very hard for me to takea compliment because I feel that I
am being selfish for whatever reason.
Again, it goes back to and ties backto the culture that we come from.
(14:54):
Right.
Uh, we were, we have, we are always, wealways shun away from praise because if
not, then people would think arrogant.
So , uh, it everything is.
tied.
And then I realized, you know, ifpeople are truly seeing something that
I'm not seeing, maybe they're right,you know, it's me versus everybody.
(15:15):
And it comes down to self confidence,comes down to self realization.
And again, admitting that you are goodat something does not make you arrogant.
It just makes you realize whoyou are and the impact that
you're having on the community.
So you're absolutely right.
I love it.
And, and so this is one of thethings that I know about you.
(15:36):
You are a very patient person . Sowhen I read lesson number five, I
said, oh my gosh, this is awesome.
Lesson number five, patience isa virtue, but can also become a
vice if you practice it too much.
So I know you're talking fromexperience, so share with us.
Correct.
So, like I said, I mean, patienceis something that I have immense of,
(16:00):
but you know, I'll give you smallexamples of patients in my classroom.
, so I usually end up giving mystudents very strong, directions
as to what really pisses me off.
What does not piss me off.
What makes me laugh?
What makes me cry?
But then when you have a newbatch of students coming in at
the beginning of the year, right?
(16:20):
You don't want to be too scary.
You don't want to be too lax.
So I make, I've learned togive this balance where they
understand what's gonna trigger Ms.
Nath, what she really likesand what she doesn't like.
Now, uh, there has been many acase where, you know, I, I teach
a course called biotechnology, sobiotechnology one and biotechnology two.
(16:40):
My biotechnology, one kids.
I have most of them already hadthem meet for my honors bio.
So now I'm meeting them for a second time.
Okay.
Some of these biotechnology, one kidsnow, I, this year, I am getting them for
a third time biotech two, which is threeyears consecutively in their four years.
(17:01):
So this one guy.
Love him to death.
Absolutely adorable.
Right.
But then when you have a teacher forthree years, and then you are working
with the teacher for science projects, andyou have seen her non strict side, when
you, when you're seeing her as a person.
That buys you, you know, chips anddrinks, because they've been working
(17:24):
with the teacher for a long time.
Sometimes these students have workedwith me since, till nine, till eight
o'clock, nine o'clock at night.
So I always go back and buy somethingbecause either maybe they're hungry,
but they have seen that side of me too.
Right.
So when I come back to class, They tendto take a little bit of advantage on you.
Like, Hey Mrs.
Nath what's up.
I'm like, Hey, I'm really good.
(17:46):
But remember it's class right.
So, and not everybody has the samekind of relationship with me as
they have had because they have hadit, but my three years, and they
have seen all my different sides.
So I had to actually talk to some of thesestudents and said, Hey, you know what?
I have immense patients.
(18:07):
I love you guys understand I'lldo anything for you guys, but the
moment you cross that line in classwith other kids, that's not gonna
be pretty, a very simple example.
Right.
So, and there has to be respect.
So if you, and I'm not even.
You know, connecting this to respect,but it's more the comfort zone that
(18:30):
they come into where they're like,one of my students went today and
like he was holding my shoulders.
and like, Ms Nath.
I think I'm gonna remember you forever.
I'm like, oh my God, dear me too.
But the moment you enter myclass, you're my student and
you're not my friend anymore.
there's no, there's no time forfriendship in the classroom.
(18:53):
There is.
I get what you're saying now.
Yeah, I get what you're saying.
You know, for me, I'mblessed to have a lot of.
My inner circle be,um, extremely educated.
I mean, you've got two master's degreesin subject matters that I don't,
I didn't even know they existed.
Right.
Uh, I've got a lot of, PhDs, around me.
(19:13):
I interviewed, Dr.
Cindy Banton, who, you know, as well.
And when, Dr.
Banton and I hang out,you know, it is Cindy.
You know, we're very comfortable assoon as someone comes on the scene.
If I know them great.
If she knows them great, ifthey're a stranger, great.
It doesn't matter who they are.
It is always.
(19:34):
Dr Banton, you know, thisis, oh, meet my friend, Dr.
Cindy Banton.
It's it's that level of respect, becauseit can be a slippery slope, I think,
especially for other people, especiallyfor children, students watching,
and they see this one student, Hey,he gets to call her, you know, Mrs.
(19:54):
N, you know, let's do that too.
No, that's not necessarily appropriate.
You have not spent the sameamount of time due diligence.
On these projects, you've got not gottento know each other that takes time.
And so I think in a sense, keepingthat level of respect, especially
in the classroom is giving them , aninterdiscipline that they won't understand
(20:17):
until much later in life, you know?
And then you have to model it though.
You have to tell them that that's.
So I have, I have quite a few instanceswhere I had to pull those kids, which
I love to get don't get me wrong.
I have to pull 'em andsay, Hey, you know what?
I understand where you're coming from.
(20:38):
I love you too, but you are notgoing to create a situation in my
class where others will think thatthey can get away with anything.
And definitely you are notgetting away with anything.
. There you go.
Yeah.
So I get it.
Well, let me take a quick ad break.
If you don't mind, I'd liketo take a short break to
(20:59):
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(21:21):
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Let's welcome back Rachna Nath andcontinue with lesson number six,
(21:44):
lesson number six, looking forcontentment and making your passion
your job is worth more than money.
That hit me really, really hard becauseyou know, growing up, all I heard
was get a good job that pays you.
Good money.
Get a good job that pays you.
Good money.
There was never a separation of the two.
There's always good money.
Good money.
(22:04):
Talk to me, tell me howyou got to this lesson.
Okay.
I understand that we need money tosurvive and you know, we have to have
our basic needs met, but I also feelthat along with that, to be happy to be
contented, to be passionate about whatyou do is also extremely important for
your mental peace, you know, for, forrealizing who you are, what is your.
(22:30):
Aim in this world.
And it ties down to my point, numberone, and number two, because when I
realized what my destiny is or what mygoal is in life and what my passion is in
life for me, what drives me is passion.
Basically.
It's not the amount of moneyI'm making and I'm happy.
I am extremely grateful.
(22:52):
I'm extremely humbled.
I'm extremely passionate about what I do.
Because I have learned who I am, you know,and, and this ties back to so many of the
lessons that I have learned in life, notto, uh, judge anybody, you know, not to be
able to, say that I'm tired or, you know,I want to just take a break that's okay.
(23:16):
But it comes down to what makesyou happy for who you are.
And again, a lot of people aredriven my money to a point I am too.
But for me, the most important partis I have to know that I am happy
where I am and where I'm working.
And that's where I would love to be.
I agree.
(23:36):
and I think that I hope, I hope that weare not the anomaly, that we were both
able to find a way to do what we loveand have it actually be lucrative for us.
I used to tell my daughter allthe time, find a way to do what
you love or find something tolove about what you have to do.
(23:59):
Right.
One or the other.
and I honestly believe that it, you know,I, I, I'm not a big proponent of that.
If you love what you do, you never work aday in your life, but you know, it's work
I love what I do, but it's work, you know?
Yeah, of course.
But I do believe thatif you love what you do.
I don't, I wouldn't necessarily say themoney will follow, but you internally find
(24:22):
a way to make your wages work for you.
You do?
Sure.
Um, I've discovered that personally.
No, and, and I, I agree.
but what truly makes you happy is, andI, like you said, it is still work.
You know, like I said,I work 36 hours a day.
If that is something that is trulypossible, but with my power naps and
(24:45):
with my passion and with the fact thatI can actually do what I truly love.
It becomes easier.
A lot of people ask me, how doyou do so many things Rachna?
I said, I don't know.
It's just because I'm passionate.
I just find time, you know, and mypower naps of course definitely help.
(25:06):
And I also definitely sleep morethan seven hours a day, but it,
it just happens when you truly areinvested in what you want to work for.
And I, and I feel like, you know,again, in both of our cases, but really
more for you, all of the things thatyou do and, viewers and listeners I'm
privy to her litany of activities.
(25:29):
Mrs.
Nath is a busy woman, but theyall fall under the same umbrella
of stem, science, and discovery.
And I believe that.
While it's still work.
I find that if it all falls under thesame umbrella, it's not like, and,
and there's nothing wrong with this.
It's very honorable to have differentjobs and different revenue streams from
(25:52):
different baskets, but it's not likeyou're going from teaching science during
the day to mopping floors at night.
To doing hair in theafternoon to working on cars.
You're not going from industryto industry, to industry.
I think that would be unmanageable, buteverything you do in your life always ties
(26:13):
back to the love of science and learning.
And that's one of the thingsI admire the most about you.
You are so steadfast in.
The way you absorb knowledge.
I didn't think that one had the capacityto have that much knowledge in their head.
thank you.
I don't think I have too much, but youknow, uh, I do learn, I do absorb, um,
(26:36):
and my way of learning is just observingpeople and I, I cannot tell you how
much I have learned from you, Diana.
You know, I, to be very honestand, uh, I think that is what comes
from being respectful and lookingat others from different lenses.
You know, if I'm here sittinghere and judging people like, oh,
why are they behaving like this?
(26:57):
That doesn't help me in any way.
You know, you have to be open, youhave to be nonjudgmental and you have
to find a way to find your passion.
That's what I struggled with.
Most of my students, I actually had.
Meeting with one of my, uh, paststudent's, parents for his brother who
(27:18):
is an, who is entering ninth grade nowand has no clue what he wants to do.
And I said, you have to find it.
Just make a list of five thingsthat makes your passionate come out.
And then we'll talk about it on Monday.
So that's what it, it, it'sall, it comes down to curiosity.
It comes down to passion forstudents, and it's very hard for
(27:40):
a 15, 16, 17 year old person toidentify what truly motivates them.
It's true.
Lesson number seven, make a list ofpriorities in your life and allot time
for each of them based on your priorities.
Yeah, so it ties down again tome working with 36 hours in a
(28:00):
day, but I schedule my time.
In such a way that I know whatI'm working for at that moment.
I'm gonna say something thatprobably I shouldn't for all the
students, but I'm a procrastinator.
No.
I am.
And, but, but see, the thing is,I also tell my students that I
(28:25):
can be an extreme procrastinatorbecause I am a very good planner.
I don't let it affect me becauseI plan everything to the utmost
detail, which of course, you're notgoing to see it when you come to my
classroom with papers everywhere.
. But, in order to be a procrastinator,you have to be a planner too.
And that's what I say.
(28:46):
When I say you have to know yourpriorities, you know, what is the
next most important thing you haveto do in order to get things done?
I have had, very importantpeople in my life.
Tell me, you have Rachna you haveso many balls in the air, right?
How do you do it?
And I said, I agree.
I had so many balls in the air,but you also have to admit that I
(29:08):
make sure those balls fall in theright exact positions where you're
supposed to, once that is done.
Well, that is one of the mostpowerful lessons I've heard
since I started this show.
because what you hear throughoutlife is don't procrastinate.
Don't procrastinate.
Don't procrastinate.
You never hear, Hey, if it'sin your DNA to procrastinate.
(29:32):
How do you work around itso that you still deliver?
Right.
What do you promise to yourselfthat you're going to do that so
that you still deliver, knowing thatyou have the tendency to do this?
And I don't think a lot ofpeople really talk about it.
It, it, they talk about it as a fix.
We need to fix thatprocrastination, right?
Not.
Not find tools so that, you know, weknow it's part of our, our nature.
(29:56):
How do we find tools around it?
That was enlightening.
Thank you.
I think I think I'm gonnawrite a whole book on that.
make me a co-author.
I can help you.
No, cause I actually do the same thingRachna I, I procrastinate as well.
And you know, You're absolutely right.
(30:17):
I've become subconsciously so good atplanning that I can do something at
the 11th hour and it still turns out.
Okay.
Everybody's okay.
I personally don't like those feelingsof anxiety that I get when I know
that I'm coming up to the deadline.
I haven't mastered, still stayingcalm in the eye of the storm,
(30:39):
but I'd like to get there.
Can, can I take you an exampleof my extreme procrastinate?
Please do.
So I actually have areally good news to share.
I'll tell you in a second.
So I got more when our friends textedme saying that, Hey, Rachna , uh,
you do apply for a Fulbrightscholarship, look at this opportunity.
(30:59):
And, uh, and it requires youto go to India for four weeks.
In the middle of Thanksgiving.
Uh, and I said, no, I'm not doing it.
I mean, I'm gonna miss so muchof school and all of that.
Right.
So on the day of the due date,like five hours to the deadline,
I'm like, should I do it?
Should I not do it?
(31:19):
Should I apply?
Should I not?
Like why not let's apply?
Right.
So I wrote out a whole bunch of,because it was essay required.
And I was able to finish thatessay and submit everything four
minutes before that deadline.
Diana, because I had plans, I hadalready written so many grants I had
(31:41):
already written so many other essays.
So all I had to do was make it stickand relevant to that particular idea.
And I got in.
So.
What?
Yes, I'm leaving for India, the 28th ofOctober for four weeks, traveling to four
(32:02):
rural villages and learning about theirsustainable ways of living coming back
to US, uh, helping in writing curriculumthat will be distributed in K-12 schools
for learning environmental impacts.
Congratulations.
And listeners and viewers.
This is, you know, we talked aboutthis quite briefly, uh, towards the
(32:25):
beginning of the episode where, Rachnamentioned, uh, I don't often like to
talk about myself and my achievements.
I feel like it's bragging.
And so, uh, listeners and viewers,I'm gonna give you a little.
Uh, story here when Rachna and Ihang out, and we meet new people.
I am usually the one telling everybodyall of her accomplishments, because
(32:49):
she'll just say I'm a science teacherand I'll go, uh, yeah, hold on a second.
Let me take a deep breath so Ican give you the rest of this
information and that I will have to.
Fulbright scholar
oh my goodness.
Congratulate.
That's amazing.
That's an amazing accomplishment.
And I mean, you just keep getting therecognition that you deserve for all of
(33:15):
the things that you do for these kidsand to propel science into the forefront
for males and females for boys and girls.
It is so important these days.
We talk about stem andsteam all the time and how.
there are some critics that say,we're, we're losing the battle
of education to, the criteria oftest scores, national test scores.
(33:39):
Right.
And I, and I hope that is not thecase, but I can tell you from what I
see of what you teach your kids, thatis not the case in your classroom.
No, no.
And it actually ties down immediatelyto, you know, My ninth lesson because it
just, and I'm not ready to go ahead ofyou, but I truly agree with what you said.
(34:00):
It is something that we all have to value
. Very true, but it is still a segue into lesson number eight, which is if you
believe in something, make it happen.
So you sat there and you said, ah,five hours before the deadline.
I don't know if I believe in this.
And all of a sudden you said,wait, should I believe in this?
And then you write it.
(34:21):
And then it happens.
I, so literally if you believein something, make it happen.
And I, I was extremely surprised toget the phone call the very next day.
And that's when I elaborated on whatI love to do and to hear the program
director was going, oh, we can do this.
We can do this.
I'm like, no, no, no, no let's just stickto one thing right now, let's finish this.
(34:44):
And then we can talk about something else,but it does give me immense pleasure.
To, you know, just the fact that Ihave come to a point where I'm not
beating myself up for people liking me.
So I am, I'm not feeling arrogant.
I feel blessed that I havepeople like you around me.
(35:06):
Um, and just humbled that, you know, Ihave been able to create an impact where
the students see beyond what they can do.
Coming out of a high school.
And they see you still furthering youreducation in a way by taking on these
other responsibilities and going to othercountries, which I, I don't think going
(35:30):
to India is gonna be such a hardship.
I think there'll be timefor fun as well as learning.
I think this is amazing and tremendous.
number nine, don't be scaredof negativity or failure in
life, make it a learning moment.
And this is the lesson thatyou wanted to refer to.
So let's talk about that.
(35:51):
So, I told you about the levels on MITgrant that my students started off 2018.
2019, we were so damn sure that wewould get the $10,000 grant from MIT.
It was for a prototype to, detect heatstress in, uh, students, which I think
(36:12):
you're very aware of the project.
Diana.
Because my students presented to you.
Yes.
And also, uh, we, we had presented tothe chamber of commerce in Chandler.
Uh, we had everything down and then weapplied in September and mid October.
I remember getting an email,around, probably around two o'clock
(36:34):
and this was my sixth period.
And they tell us that we didn'tget in the first final 15 projects
that would get the $10,000 grant.
I can't tell you how devastated I was.
So, because I had made this kid'swork so hard for five, six months
to get the application going.
(36:55):
So I'd go up to my principal's office.
And I said, Rob, can Iplease come in and sit down?
And I wanna talk to you.
So I said, I don't knowhow to tell the kids.
But we didn't get the grant.
And I was absolutely wailing.
I, and not because the students notbecause I was sad, but I was more worried
(37:16):
about what the kids would feel and howdown they would be when they realized it
worked so hard and didn't get the grant.
So that was absolutely wrong.
Bottom for.
You know, and they had failedmiserably when we talk about so
much work and still not getting theresults that they were expecting.
But then what happened was, aftera co, because, because of the
(37:38):
project that they were doing, theydid get a lot of media attention.
So, um, I come back from, fallbreak, which is end of October.
And I got a message from the ArizonaDepartment of Health services,
asking me to call them back becausethey saw apparently saw this on the
news and they wanted to talk to me.
So I talked and they invitedus, me and my students to one of
(38:02):
the conferences that they had.
And we go there in November.
and we figured out that we found outthat there was a grant opportunity
that they had gotten a huge federalgrant and they would like to work
on certain projects that are relatedto heat, stress, and heat stroke.
And we were there, right?
So, uh, the lady who was the managerencouraged us to write a grant
(38:22):
and instead of a $10,000 grant, weended up with a $50,000 grant for
the same project, the same idea.
So you have to, and, and goingback to the, you know, there
has, you have to face failure tounderstand what true success is.
(38:42):
And a taste of success and whereyou were previously, when you
failed, you don't have to be stuck.
There, there is alwaysroom for improvement.
Make your failures your stepping stonesfor success and continue to try the
direction that you really want to get in.
So I think that is one of the biggestlessons that my students have learned
(39:06):
from all these grant writings.
Because even though they don't getone grant and they fail in acquiring
the grant, it doesn't stop them.
They keep on going they'll they they'llbelieve in their innovative idea.
They'll establish companies,they'll write for other grants.
And still now I'm extremely proud totell you that these kids have require.
(39:27):
Over $150,000 grants.
And these are all 9, 10, 11, 12 graders.
So this project that originally was,you were vying for $10,000 from MIT.
MIT turns you down, but at the endof the day, it's over a hundred
thousand dollars worth of grantsfor this life saving project.
(39:48):
Correct.
Um, I would, I would definitely saythat that is a, a very powerful learning
moment for your students to show themthat if one door's closed, it just
means that there are other doors open.
Absolutely.
And again, they have to keep on thrivingand it ties back to my other lessons.
Right.
You have to believe in yourself.
(40:08):
You have to give yourself achance to fail and believe in
yourself and continue with that.
Because no one elsewould stand out for you.
You know, for me, I'm here for mystudents, but I don't think that
without me, these kids would've learnedthe lesson and they would've given.
I'm really true.
Coming back to mentorsin your life, right?
(40:30):
You are one of my biggest mentors.
You're one of my biggest mentors.
no, and it goes both ways.
Like, see, I mean, mutual respect,mutual, you know, accomplishments,
mutual, understanding thatwe learn from each other.
And that is what we have to be open about.
Because I have just have twomasters or whatever that doesn't
(40:52):
make me the master of everything.
There is always someone, so manydifferent ways to continue learning
and continue growing in that field.
Just because I have a hundred thousanddollars job doesn't mean that I have
achieved everything in the world.
Right.
It is a moment that truly makesyou who you are when you understand
(41:13):
what you're passionate about.
You continue to do what youhave to do to make an impact.
I love it.
And that, and now let's segue intonumber 10, cuz this is a perfect segue.
Keep growing in your field and neverbe afraid of change, but embrace it.
Yeah.
I mean, there are many momentsin my life where I continue to
(41:33):
feel like, should I continue?
Teaching is just what my ultimate goal is.
I'm not making a lot ofmoney out of it for sure.
but I realize that I have continuedto grow because of what I believe in.
I have not confined myself toacademics alone because I tell
(41:54):
all my students a few things.
When the students come in for the veryfirst time to meet the teacher, it's a
reality check for the parents as well.
I tell them, you know, what, if you'recoming to this school, you have to
understand that most of these studentshave a three point OTP and above.
Everybody is volunteering.
(42:15):
Everybody is playing a sport,doing something extracurricular
or the president of a club.
So what makes your kids stand out?
What makes your kid different?
And that is something that youhave to figure out how to grow.
(42:36):
So, like I said before, my students havedone exceptional things which are outside
of these four or five things that highschool students usually end up doing.
I am not saying, and I'm notundermining any of those things.
I'm not undermining them at all,but you have to be a person who
(42:57):
has to stand out from the crowd.
To be able to achieve what youtruly want to do in achieving.
If you are not putting yourself inthat position and you don't know how
to, you need to ask for help, you needto understand what your curiosity is.
You need to understand what triggersyour curiosity and do something
(43:20):
that's truly relevant and not juststick to what everybody else does.
And, uh, that's one of the things thatI push my, I have my, I have two kids,
my son's 14 and my daughter's 16.
Um, and that's what I said, like whattruly motivates you let's do that.
(43:41):
Let's not do the same thingsthat everybody elses does.
Let's stand up in the crowd.
And I have learned that my son playsan instrument that has hundred strings.
And I did not put him in a pianobecause not that piano is not something
that will open his mind, but I wantedhim to do something different that
he can stand out from the crowd.
(44:04):
You know, I might be wrong.
I don't know.
, you know, RA, I already know what your kids have accomplished.
You were not wrong.
and I, I know that he may have doneexceptionally piano too, but strategically
I planned a way the kids that they'renot going to have a lot of struggle.
(44:26):
Achieving what theyreally want to achieve.
And I think that's where thementorship comes in Diana A.
Little bit and understandingwhat's out there.
So all of these studentsthat we see were our futures.
Need this, these kind of mentorswill direct them to a path where path
(44:46):
of least resistance , you know, uh,where they will flourish in their own.
So the students that I'm extremelyproud of all of my students, they
have been working on various projects.
I cannot even start talkingabout some of the projects.
It's just incredible, but they havefound their passion and that drives them.
(45:09):
And I think that is what youhave to see that, um, you know,
you have to change your mindset.
You have to understand that thesekids nowadays are not the kids
that we were when we were growingup and we have to embrace them.
We have to give them the breathing space.
We have to give them the creative spacethat they need to grow and develop.
(45:31):
Well, I love that.
Okay.
So Rachna , you got one ofthe biggest brains I know.
Oh, , you, you have, your life hashad this amazing trajectory and you've
got a legacy that you'll be leaving,not just with your own two biological
kids, but , I feel like thousands ofkids, uh, across the, the globe really.
(45:56):
So you've learned a thing or two inyour life, but what have you had to
unlearn?
That's a very important question Diana.
I mean, one of the things that I reallyhad to unlearn was judging others.
I mean, I, when I was growingup was so easy for me to
(46:16):
say, oh, what are they doing?
You know?
I mean, the.
It was my attitude.
It was nobody else.
It was just me.
So I had to unlearn that people arein a certain way because of their
culture because of their upbringing.
And unless we understand where they'recoming from and why they are behaving
(46:38):
the way they are, I don't think wewill understand the person genuinely.
And for you to have a good relationshipwith your students, with your kids.
You need to understand that.
I mean, my son always keeps oncomplaining that you don't like me.
You are doing this.
You are love me, mom.
(46:58):
Like, well, maybe you'll realize.
A little bit later as to why I'mtelling you why I'm telling you and
that, that was, and, but again, Ido take a moment and step back and
listen and talk and sit down andunderstand where they are coming from.
So, yeah.
One of the biggest examples of myson yesterday, he was complaining
about, uh, the B that he got.
(47:20):
And I was really hard on him, like,wow, why did you get a B in this?
And then he said, you always point outmy B's, but you never point out my A's
and I'm like, oh my God, that's true.
You know, so I had to unlearnthe fact that you always need to
criticize your kids, but then withhim, I know what triggers him.
(47:41):
It's appreciation more and love more.
So, you know, it it's just,you know, you keep on changing.
You know, I had to unlearn so many things,truly so many things that it has made
me a completely different person Diana.
Right now I'm a lot more patientthan when I was, when I was,
(48:01):
I am a lot more observant.
I'm a lot less argumentative.
But you know, all ofthese are life lessons.
And I think age is age and time is,A perfect medicine for all of this,
you know, all the, you know, hurtsand the blemishes and the, you know,
bad, negative feelings that you have.
(48:23):
I think with self realization,understanding who you are, what your,
what triggers you, what makes you tick,all this comes and just blends into one.
And that brings you peace.
Amazing.
I don't know if I made sense at all.
You make so much sense.
You really do.
And I wanna thank you forbeing on the show today.
(48:44):
Rachna I truly enjoyed this.
Tell us what, what are you up to?
Where can we find you?
What are you?
What are you?
Well, we know you're gonna be in India.
We know that, but.
If people wanna know more about whatyou're doing and your initiatives and
how to help kids and maybe be a part ofthe stem movement, how can we find you?
(49:05):
Well, I mean, the, I'm not a hugesocial media person, but of course
you can find me on LinkedIn.
And I also have my one personal website.
It's https://rachnanath.com/.
It's my full name.com.
And anytime you want to reach meat, just send me a quick ding on
LinkedIn and I'm pretty, I'm prettysure I'll get back to you for sure.
(49:26):
I mean, there are other things I, Idon't know that's as relevant as just
my LinkedIn profile or my website, soyou can reach me into my website too.
So I think that's the two most,best ways to connect with me.
Love it.
Thank you for being our guest today.
You've been listening to 10 lessonslearned this episode is produced by
(49:49):
Robert Hossary supported as always bythe Professional Development Forum.
Please tell us what youthink of today's lessons.
You can email us atpodcast@10lessonslearned.com that's
podcast at 10, the number tenone zero lessons learned dot com.
Go ahead and hit that likebutton subscribe and turn
(50:10):
on the notification bell.
So you don't miss an episode ofthe only podcast that makes the
world wiser lesson by lesson.
Thank you to my guests.
Thank you everybody.
Be safe.
I think that is what comes frombeing respectful and looking at
others from different lenses.
You know, if I'm here sittinghere and judging people like, oh,
why are they behaving like this?
That doesn't help me in any way.
You know, you have to be open, youhave to be nonjudgmental and you have
to find a way to find your passion.
(00:25):
Hello, and welcome to 10 lessons learnedwhere we talk to leaders and luminaries
from all over the world to dispense wisdomfor career, business, and life in order
to make the world wiser lesson by lesson.
My name is Diana White and I'myour host for this episode.
Our guest today is Rachna Nath.
Rachna Nath is a Time recognizedinnovative teacher and is also
(00:50):
an internationally recognizedinnovator entrepreneur, a NASA
solar system ambassador as wellas a National Geographic educator.
She is the co-author of the SDG four corporate handbook set
forward by the United Nations.
She has master's degrees inentomology, which is insect
(01:12):
science and developmental genetics.
Some of her award achievements include.
Governor's celebration of innovationaward teacher of the year global
innovation award from Turnitin honorablemention for the presidential innovation
award for environment educators inthe United States, Rachna continues
(01:34):
to help her students start companiesbased on their scientific research and
has numerous mentions, accolades andrecognition within the stem community.
Welcome Rachn.
Thank you Diana.
Thank you so much for inviting me toattend lessons learned and I'm really,
really grateful to be here today.
Oh, I am grateful to have you.
And I just, you know, wish our viewersand listeners, if I had listed her,
(01:58):
all of her accolades, viewers andlisteners, we would be here for two hours.
So you'll see her full bio inthe comment, section so that
you can, uh, check that out.
Rachna I've got a question foryou before we get to your lessons.
Sure.
What would you tell your 30 year old self.
I would tell myself that to be alittle bit more open minded and be more
(02:21):
accepting of others' mistakes, becauseI realized that everybody is the way
they are because they have their ownbackgrounds and their own baggage.
So instead of judging people for whothey are just look deeper into who and
what they are doing and why they aredoing it so that you appreciate life and
yourself a lot better than anybody else.
(02:42):
And that's what I was not when I was.
When I look back, I felt thatI used to judge people a lot.
And then I realized, no, uh,that's not the right approach.
So yes, I just, I would say thatgo back and become nonjudgmental
because I don't know what backgroundwho's, where they're coming from.
So.
I agreed.
We are off to a great start.
(03:03):
I love that one.
So your first lesson, believethat destiny will lead you to
where your impact is most needed.
Um, tell me how you cameto know that to be true.
So life had its own ups and downs,but for me, it was extremely
difficult when, uh, in 2016, I cameto know that I could not finish a
(03:24):
PhD degree, that I wanted to finishafter 13 years of my first master's.
I was extremely displeased atthe fact that I was starting to
join as a high school teacher,which I never wanted to be.
And I realized after being literallythrown into this spot, that okay.
(03:47):
And I have to find myself to dosomething because I was a failure
to not be able to finish my PhD.
Five six months into the program or eventeaching, uh, ninth graders honors bio.
I get an email, uh, in my spam mailboxand it was from Lemelson-MIT, and it
was for a $10,000 grant opportunityfor my high school students projects.
(04:09):
That was an innovative ideaand an innovative idea had to
solve a real world problem.
So I started that and six years after.
I realized that that iswhat I am meant to do.
That is what I, my passion is.
And I did not realize that I could achievethat by being a high school teacher.
(04:32):
My idea was to be more,okay, I need to get a PhD.
I need to be a medicaldoctor to have impact.
But never thought that destinywould push me in a direction
where my impact will be maximum.
And I'm so grateful thatI did not finish my PhD.
And now I'm working with these high schoolstudents, connecting them with careers and
(04:53):
opportunities that they have never thoughtthey would be able to ever achieve.
So that's why I say that it'sdestiny has a way to push you
where your impact's going to be.
The maximum.
Now that that leads us right into asegue for your, your second lesson,
which is empowering students withcuriosity is empowering the future.
(05:15):
That's a pretty powerful statement.
So tell me about that Rachna.
Um, I'm gonna start by givingyou some examples, right?
So some of my high schoolstudents have done Ted talks.
Some of my high school studentshave won at international
science projects and fairs.
We have around six traditionalpatents and two patent pendings.
(05:39):
As of now, my students havecompanies of their own that they,
and these are not non-profits.
These are actual LLCs thatthey have established.
And all of that comes from a place wherethey need to know what they are doing.
And when you develop that curiosity in thestudents to make them understand what they
truly want to do other than just academicsand getting a good grade and getting into
(06:04):
a good school, they do so much better.
And that's how I feel that I understandif they get into something that they
truly wants to do in the future, theythey've, they bloom like a flower.
So that's why I think that with thataspect, you know, they have to have
that curiosity and we as instructors,educators, mentors have to show them
(06:28):
where their curiosity is because mostof the students, they don't have any
idea what they're doing other thantaking classes, doing homework and going
and getting a earning on the grade.
So that's why I say that it's, if I,if we give them that curiosity and we
understand, and we make them understandwhat they're trying to do, they are our
future and they will do wonderful things.
So that's why I say empowering the future.
(06:51):
Because that's what we need tostart doing other than what we
usually do on a regular basis.
Like, let's go to school,let's do homework.
Let's do some volunteering.
No, we need to make them understandwhat they truly want to do and
not what we want them to do.
Yeah, I know some of your students andI gotta tell you, I don't know how you
(07:11):
feel now, but I am so glad that youdidn't go the doctor route because you
were, you were touching a lot of lives.
So I'm Ugh.
Anyway, lesson number three.
Thank you.
Be your own advocate, valueyourself and pamper yourself.
Talk to me about that one.
(07:33):
Okay.
I mean, there are lots of things,uh, to talk about it, but I'm gonna
give you a really short example.
Coming from India, uh, we have grownin a culture where, uh, we are taught
not to be disrespectful to elders.
And we oftentimes confuse betweenwhat is disrespectful and what
(07:54):
is standing up for yourself.
And this happened again with, theinstructor, with the professor where
I was actually doing my PhD in at ASU.
And I remember, uh, in a meeting withmy PI and one of my other, other
professors who was also in my committee,uh, I had already bought in two
(08:15):
publications and whole lot of, you know,collaborations with other universities.
So this professor, uh, tells me,tells the other professor that,
oh, Rachna doesn't deserve this.
I think she has not done this to deserveanother first authorship in the paper.
And I sit there.
(08:37):
You know, and I'm trying to say something,but then I realized, oh, these are elders.
These are my professors.
I shouldn't say something to them.
I kept quiet.
And there's one thing that haunts metill date as to why didn't I stand up
for myself because that is not true.
And I realized after a few monthsthat we he's leaving ASU and he's
(09:01):
going to a different country.
So potentially he was trying to seeif some of the students would get
out of his lab so that he would haveminimal things to do when he moves
over mm-hmm and he doesn't haveto carry the burden of, you know,
having students with him or whatever.
So I need to make sure that my studentsunderstand that if you do not advocate
(09:23):
for yourself, nobody else will.
That's a very strong statement forstudents to understand because most
of these people are people pleasers.
They look at pleasing others morethan thinking about themselves.
And now I'm trying to tell everybodythat if you do not advocate
for yourself, no one else will.
(09:45):
If you don't valueyourself, no one else will.
And if you don't pamperyourself, no one else will.
So you have to take good care ofyourself and grow so that people will
see and appreciate you for who you are.
And.
Who you want them to see as who you are.
So now what do you consider pampering?
(10:09):
I'm curious.
What is your, what is your outlet?
What is your pampering?
My pampering for myself is sleeping.
I am actually a huge power, napper.
So, uh, even though I work 36 hours ina day, my power naps, help me immensely.
You know, I can take a quick 10minutes power nap, and I'll be up and
(10:31):
ready for whatever comes to me next.
So, uh, for me, it's that forsomebody, it might be just
talking nicely to somebody else.
You know, and being there for peopleand it's different for different people.
For some, it might be just, let's go andget some ice cream from Coldstone and
like spend 10 $30, 30, $30 at one time.
(10:52):
But it doesn't matter.
Pampering is differentfor different people.
And again, they have to identifywhat makes them happy so that
they'll value their own life.
Otherwise, it's a lost cause.
You know, and I have learned thatthrough a lot of experiences.
And like I said, everybody has theirups and downs, but one of the thing I
(11:15):
truly like to talk to my students aboutis that these are life lessons that I
have developed after 40 something years.
And I don't want you guys tosuffer to the same thing, but.
Learn and understand that there isalways you who to take care of yourself.
And that is why we do thisshow, everybody learning those
(11:37):
lessons, we make the mistakes.
So you don't have to, I don't know ifthat's a slogan or not, but I love it.
I love it.
Now let's go to lesson numberfour, never confuse standing up for
yourself with being disrespectful.
And this, I think goes back to that otherlesson with your, with the professors.
But talk to me about that.
(11:58):
No.
And again, that was, that was just oneof the examples I can give you another
example where, you know, um, I was ina job where I was being assessed and,
it was COVID and, I was told that Iwas not doing a great job and I said,
and that was something that was a realimplementation of a new, uh, idea.
And.
(12:19):
And I tried to mention this to,uh, my manager saying that, you
know, this is COVID, I'm trying todo the best I can, but I did not.
Right.
I did not.
Again, going up to, I didnot stand up for myself.
I did not explain the situationswhere, you know, it has to
have, you have to communicate.
(12:40):
That's the basic line.
You cannot just, the, anythingcannot be a one-sided convers.
You know, you have to make the otherpeople understand what your lense is.
When we talk about lenses,we have to understand each
other, each other's lenses.
I might be biased in a lot of things,but when I see things from your eyes
Diana, I understand where you are comingfrom, where somebody else is coming
(13:02):
from, or just to talk about, you know,why do kids behave the way they do?
It's because people that they're notseeing others through their lenses.
Right.
Or others lenses.
So.
Like I said, I, you can never, neverbe wrong for standing up for yourself
because that is not what disrespectful is.
(13:24):
I'm not asking you to fight with peopleor you talk back to your elders in a way
that's disrespectful with a bad tone.
But when you stick to what is true,that is not being disrespectful.
That is standing up for yourself.
Yeah, that's one of a similar lessonthat I had to teach myself, growing up
in management is that you, you shouldn'tmistake my confidence for arrogance.
(13:51):
Right.
And I, and I often have to, even, evennow years, year years later, I have
to constantly remind myself when Ifeel that the person that I'm talking
to, or the group that I'm talking tois looking at me in a certain way.
I have to say silently tomyself, you're confident.
(14:12):
However they interpret thatis their interpretation.
You have to stay confident.
And I lo I love, what you saidin lesson four, because that
that's the same kind of analogy.
Absolutely.
I get it.
And, I as an individual, and Iknow you have told me this before.
When I say that I have a huge, uh,you know, inferiority complex or, you
(14:34):
know, I have a huge imposter syndrome.
Um, I have realized now thatthat is because I'm not confident
about myself, you know, I'mnot aware of what I am doing.
And so, it's very hard for me to takea compliment because I feel that I
am being selfish for whatever reason.
Again, it goes back to and ties backto the culture that we come from.
(14:54):
Right.
Uh, we were, we have, we are always, wealways shun away from praise because if
not, then people would think arrogant.
So , uh, it everything is.
tied.
And then I realized, you know, ifpeople are truly seeing something that
I'm not seeing, maybe they're right,you know, it's me versus everybody.
(15:15):
And it comes down to self confidence,comes down to self realization.
And again, admitting that you are goodat something does not make you arrogant.
It just makes you realize whoyou are and the impact that
you're having on the community.
So you're absolutely right.
I love it.
And, and so this is one of thethings that I know about you.
(15:36):
You are a very patient person . Sowhen I read lesson number five, I
said, oh my gosh, this is awesome.
Lesson number five, patience isa virtue, but can also become a
vice if you practice it too much.
So I know you're talking fromexperience, so share with us.
Correct.
So, like I said, I mean, patienceis something that I have immense of,
(16:00):
but you know, I'll give you smallexamples of patients in my classroom.
, so I usually end up giving mystudents very strong, directions
as to what really pisses me off.
What does not piss me off.
What makes me laugh?
What makes me cry?
But then when you have a newbatch of students coming in at
the beginning of the year, right?
(16:20):
You don't want to be too scary.
You don't want to be too lax.
So I make, I've learned togive this balance where they
understand what's gonna trigger Ms.
Nath, what she really likesand what she doesn't like.
Now, uh, there has been many acase where, you know, I, I teach
a course called biotechnology, sobiotechnology one and biotechnology two.
(16:40):
My biotechnology, one kids.
I have most of them already hadthem meet for my honors bio.
So now I'm meeting them for a second time.
Okay.
Some of these biotechnology, one kidsnow, I, this year, I am getting them for
a third time biotech two, which is threeyears consecutively in their four years.
(17:01):
So this one guy.
Love him to death.
Absolutely adorable.
Right.
But then when you have a teacher forthree years, and then you are working
with the teacher for science projects, andyou have seen her non strict side, when
you, when you're seeing her as a person.
That buys you, you know, chips anddrinks, because they've been working
(17:24):
with the teacher for a long time.
Sometimes these students have workedwith me since, till nine, till eight
o'clock, nine o'clock at night.
So I always go back and buy somethingbecause either maybe they're hungry,
but they have seen that side of me too.
Right.
So when I come back to class, They tendto take a little bit of advantage on you.
Like, Hey Mrs.
Nath what's up.
I'm like, Hey, I'm really good.
(17:46):
But remember it's class right.
So, and not everybody has the samekind of relationship with me as
they have had because they have hadit, but my three years, and they
have seen all my different sides.
So I had to actually talk to some of thesestudents and said, Hey, you know what?
I have immense patients.
(18:07):
I love you guys understand I'lldo anything for you guys, but the
moment you cross that line in classwith other kids, that's not gonna
be pretty, a very simple example.
Right.
So, and there has to be respect.
So if you, and I'm not even.
You know, connecting this to respect,but it's more the comfort zone that
(18:30):
they come into where they're like,one of my students went today and
like he was holding my shoulders.
and like, Ms Nath.
I think I'm gonna remember you forever.
I'm like, oh my God, dear me too.
But the moment you enter myclass, you're my student and
you're not my friend anymore.
there's no, there's no time forfriendship in the classroom.
(18:53):
There is.
I get what you're saying now.
Yeah, I get what you're saying.
You know, for me, I'mblessed to have a lot of.
My inner circle be,um, extremely educated.
I mean, you've got two master's degreesin subject matters that I don't,
I didn't even know they existed.
Right.
Uh, I've got a lot of, PhDs, around me.
(19:13):
I interviewed, Dr.
Cindy Banton, who, you know, as well.
And when, Dr.
Banton and I hang out,you know, it is Cindy.
You know, we're very comfortable assoon as someone comes on the scene.
If I know them great.
If she knows them great, ifthey're a stranger, great.
It doesn't matter who they are.
It is always.
(19:34):
Dr Banton, you know, thisis, oh, meet my friend, Dr.
Cindy Banton.
It's it's that level of respect, becauseit can be a slippery slope, I think,
especially for other people, especiallyfor children, students watching,
and they see this one student, Hey,he gets to call her, you know, Mrs.
(19:54):
N, you know, let's do that too.
No, that's not necessarily appropriate.
You have not spent the sameamount of time due diligence.
On these projects, you've got not gottento know each other that takes time.
And so I think in a sense, keepingthat level of respect, especially
in the classroom is giving them , aninterdiscipline that they won't understand
(20:17):
until much later in life, you know?
And then you have to model it though.
You have to tell them that that's.
So I have, I have quite a few instanceswhere I had to pull those kids, which
I love to get don't get me wrong.
I have to pull 'em andsay, Hey, you know what?
I understand where you're coming from.
(20:38):
I love you too, but you are notgoing to create a situation in my
class where others will think thatthey can get away with anything.
And definitely you are notgetting away with anything.
. There you go.
Yeah.
So I get it.
Well, let me take a quick ad break.
If you don't mind, I'd liketo take a short break to
(20:59):
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(21:21):
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The link will also be in the show notes.
Let's welcome back Rachna Nath andcontinue with lesson number six,
(21:44):
lesson number six, looking forcontentment and making your passion
your job is worth more than money.
That hit me really, really hard becauseyou know, growing up, all I heard
was get a good job that pays you.
Good money.
Get a good job that pays you.
Good money.
There was never a separation of the two.
There's always good money.
Good money.
(22:04):
Talk to me, tell me howyou got to this lesson.
Okay.
I understand that we need money tosurvive and you know, we have to have
our basic needs met, but I also feelthat along with that, to be happy to be
contented, to be passionate about whatyou do is also extremely important for
your mental peace, you know, for, forrealizing who you are, what is your.
(22:30):
Aim in this world.
And it ties down to my point, numberone, and number two, because when I
realized what my destiny is or what mygoal is in life and what my passion is in
life for me, what drives me is passion.
Basically.
It's not the amount of moneyI'm making and I'm happy.
I am extremely grateful.
(22:52):
I'm extremely humbled.
I'm extremely passionate about what I do.
Because I have learned who I am, you know,and, and this ties back to so many of the
lessons that I have learned in life, notto, uh, judge anybody, you know, not to be
able to, say that I'm tired or, you know,I want to just take a break that's okay.
(23:16):
But it comes down to what makesyou happy for who you are.
And again, a lot of people aredriven my money to a point I am too.
But for me, the most important partis I have to know that I am happy
where I am and where I'm working.
And that's where I would love to be.
I agree.
(23:36):
and I think that I hope, I hope that weare not the anomaly, that we were both
able to find a way to do what we loveand have it actually be lucrative for us.
I used to tell my daughter allthe time, find a way to do what
you love or find something tolove about what you have to do.
(23:59):
Right.
One or the other.
and I honestly believe that it, you know,I, I, I'm not a big proponent of that.
If you love what you do, you never work aday in your life, but you know, it's work
I love what I do, but it's work, you know?
Yeah, of course.
But I do believe thatif you love what you do.
I don't, I wouldn't necessarily say themoney will follow, but you internally find
(24:22):
a way to make your wages work for you.
You do?
Sure.
Um, I've discovered that personally.
No, and, and I, I agree.
but what truly makes you happy is, andI, like you said, it is still work.
You know, like I said,I work 36 hours a day.
If that is something that is trulypossible, but with my power naps and
(24:45):
with my passion and with the fact thatI can actually do what I truly love.
It becomes easier.
A lot of people ask me, how doyou do so many things Rachna?
I said, I don't know.
It's just because I'm passionate.
I just find time, you know, and mypower naps of course definitely help.
(25:06):
And I also definitely sleep morethan seven hours a day, but it,
it just happens when you truly areinvested in what you want to work for.
And I, and I feel like, you know,again, in both of our cases, but really
more for you, all of the things thatyou do and, viewers and listeners I'm
privy to her litany of activities.
(25:29):
Mrs.
Nath is a busy woman, but theyall fall under the same umbrella
of stem, science, and discovery.
And I believe that.
While it's still work.
I find that if it all falls under thesame umbrella, it's not like, and,
and there's nothing wrong with this.
It's very honorable to have differentjobs and different revenue streams from
(25:52):
different baskets, but it's not likeyou're going from teaching science during
the day to mopping floors at night.
To doing hair in theafternoon to working on cars.
You're not going from industryto industry, to industry.
I think that would be unmanageable, buteverything you do in your life always ties
(26:13):
back to the love of science and learning.
And that's one of the thingsI admire the most about you.
You are so steadfast in.
The way you absorb knowledge.
I didn't think that one had the capacityto have that much knowledge in their head.
thank you.
I don't think I have too much, but youknow, uh, I do learn, I do absorb, um,
(26:36):
and my way of learning is just observingpeople and I, I cannot tell you how
much I have learned from you, Diana.
You know, I, to be very honestand, uh, I think that is what comes
from being respectful and lookingat others from different lenses.
You know, if I'm here sittinghere and judging people like, oh,
why are they behaving like this?
(26:57):
That doesn't help me in any way.
You know, you have to be open, youhave to be nonjudgmental and you have
to find a way to find your passion.
That's what I struggled with.
Most of my students, I actually had.
Meeting with one of my, uh, paststudent's, parents for his brother who
(27:18):
is an, who is entering ninth grade nowand has no clue what he wants to do.
And I said, you have to find it.
Just make a list of five thingsthat makes your passionate come out.
And then we'll talk about it on Monday.
So that's what it, it, it'sall, it comes down to curiosity.
It comes down to passion forstudents, and it's very hard for
(27:40):
a 15, 16, 17 year old person toidentify what truly motivates them.
It's true.
Lesson number seven, make a list ofpriorities in your life and allot time
for each of them based on your priorities.
Yeah, so it ties down again tome working with 36 hours in a
(28:00):
day, but I schedule my time.
In such a way that I know whatI'm working for at that moment.
I'm gonna say something thatprobably I shouldn't for all the
students, but I'm a procrastinator.
No.
I am.
And, but, but see, the thing is,I also tell my students that I
(28:25):
can be an extreme procrastinatorbecause I am a very good planner.
I don't let it affect me becauseI plan everything to the utmost
detail, which of course, you're notgoing to see it when you come to my
classroom with papers everywhere.
. But, in order to be a procrastinator,you have to be a planner too.
And that's what I say.
(28:46):
When I say you have to know yourpriorities, you know, what is the
next most important thing you haveto do in order to get things done?
I have had, very importantpeople in my life.
Tell me, you have Rachna you haveso many balls in the air, right?
How do you do it?
And I said, I agree.
I had so many balls in the air,but you also have to admit that I
(29:08):
make sure those balls fall in theright exact positions where you're
supposed to, once that is done.
Well, that is one of the mostpowerful lessons I've heard
since I started this show.
because what you hear throughoutlife is don't procrastinate.
Don't procrastinate.
Don't procrastinate.
You never hear, Hey, if it'sin your DNA to procrastinate.
(29:32):
How do you work around itso that you still deliver?
Right.
What do you promise to yourselfthat you're going to do that so
that you still deliver, knowing thatyou have the tendency to do this?
And I don't think a lot ofpeople really talk about it.
It, it, they talk about it as a fix.
We need to fix thatprocrastination, right?
Not.
Not find tools so that, you know, weknow it's part of our, our nature.
(29:56):
How do we find tools around it?
That was enlightening.
Thank you.
I think I think I'm gonnawrite a whole book on that.
make me a co-author.
I can help you.
No, cause I actually do the same thingRachna I, I procrastinate as well.
And you know, You're absolutely right.
(30:17):
I've become subconsciously so good atplanning that I can do something at
the 11th hour and it still turns out.
Okay.
Everybody's okay.
I personally don't like those feelingsof anxiety that I get when I know
that I'm coming up to the deadline.
I haven't mastered, still stayingcalm in the eye of the storm,
(30:39):
but I'd like to get there.
Can, can I take you an exampleof my extreme procrastinate?
Please do.
So I actually have areally good news to share.
I'll tell you in a second.
So I got more when our friends textedme saying that, Hey, Rachna , uh,
you do apply for a Fulbrightscholarship, look at this opportunity.
(30:59):
And, uh, and it requires youto go to India for four weeks.
In the middle of Thanksgiving.
Uh, and I said, no, I'm not doing it.
I mean, I'm gonna miss so muchof school and all of that.
Right.
So on the day of the due date,like five hours to the deadline,
I'm like, should I do it?
Should I not do it?
(31:19):
Should I apply?
Should I not?
Like why not let's apply?
Right.
So I wrote out a whole bunch of,because it was essay required.
And I was able to finish thatessay and submit everything four
minutes before that deadline.
Diana, because I had plans, I hadalready written so many grants I had
(31:41):
already written so many other essays.
So all I had to do was make it stickand relevant to that particular idea.
And I got in.
So.
What?
Yes, I'm leaving for India, the 28th ofOctober for four weeks, traveling to four
(32:02):
rural villages and learning about theirsustainable ways of living coming back
to US, uh, helping in writing curriculumthat will be distributed in K-12 schools
for learning environmental impacts.
Congratulations.
And listeners and viewers.
This is, you know, we talked aboutthis quite briefly, uh, towards the
(32:25):
beginning of the episode where, Rachnamentioned, uh, I don't often like to
talk about myself and my achievements.
I feel like it's bragging.
And so, uh, listeners and viewers,I'm gonna give you a little.
Uh, story here when Rachna and Ihang out, and we meet new people.
I am usually the one telling everybodyall of her accomplishments, because
(32:49):
she'll just say I'm a science teacherand I'll go, uh, yeah, hold on a second.
Let me take a deep breath so Ican give you the rest of this
information and that I will have to.
Fulbright scholar
oh my goodness.
Congratulate.
That's amazing.
That's an amazing accomplishment.
And I mean, you just keep getting therecognition that you deserve for all of
(33:15):
the things that you do for these kidsand to propel science into the forefront
for males and females for boys and girls.
It is so important these days.
We talk about stem andsteam all the time and how.
there are some critics that say,we're, we're losing the battle
of education to, the criteria oftest scores, national test scores.
(33:39):
Right.
And I, and I hope that is not thecase, but I can tell you from what I
see of what you teach your kids, thatis not the case in your classroom.
No, no.
And it actually ties down immediatelyto, you know, My ninth lesson because it
just, and I'm not ready to go ahead ofyou, but I truly agree with what you said.
(34:00):
It is something that we all have to value
. Very true, but it is still a segue into lesson number eight, which is if you
believe in something, make it happen.
So you sat there and you said, ah,five hours before the deadline.
I don't know if I believe in this.
And all of a sudden you said,wait, should I believe in this?
And then you write it.
(34:21):
And then it happens.
I, so literally if you believein something, make it happen.
And I, I was extremely surprised toget the phone call the very next day.
And that's when I elaborated on whatI love to do and to hear the program
director was going, oh, we can do this.
We can do this.
I'm like, no, no, no, no let's just stickto one thing right now, let's finish this.
(34:44):
And then we can talk about something else,but it does give me immense pleasure.
To, you know, just the fact that Ihave come to a point where I'm not
beating myself up for people liking me.
So I am, I'm not feeling arrogant.
I feel blessed that I havepeople like you around me.
(35:06):
Um, and just humbled that, you know, Ihave been able to create an impact where
the students see beyond what they can do.
Coming out of a high school.
And they see you still furthering youreducation in a way by taking on these
other responsibilities and going to othercountries, which I, I don't think going
(35:30):
to India is gonna be such a hardship.
I think there'll be timefor fun as well as learning.
I think this is amazing and tremendous.
number nine, don't be scaredof negativity or failure in
life, make it a learning moment.
And this is the lesson thatyou wanted to refer to.
So let's talk about that.
(35:51):
So, I told you about the levels on MITgrant that my students started off 2018.
2019, we were so damn sure that wewould get the $10,000 grant from MIT.
It was for a prototype to, detect heatstress in, uh, students, which I think
(36:12):
you're very aware of the project.
Diana.
Because my students presented to you.
Yes.
And also, uh, we, we had presented tothe chamber of commerce in Chandler.
Uh, we had everything down and then weapplied in September and mid October.
I remember getting an email,around, probably around two o'clock
(36:34):
and this was my sixth period.
And they tell us that we didn'tget in the first final 15 projects
that would get the $10,000 grant.
I can't tell you how devastated I was.
So, because I had made this kid'swork so hard for five, six months
to get the application going.
(36:55):
So I'd go up to my principal's office.
And I said, Rob, can Iplease come in and sit down?
And I wanna talk to you.
So I said, I don't knowhow to tell the kids.
But we didn't get the grant.
And I was absolutely wailing.
I, and not because the students notbecause I was sad, but I was more worried
(37:16):
about what the kids would feel and howdown they would be when they realized it
worked so hard and didn't get the grant.
So that was absolutely wrong.
Bottom for.
You know, and they had failedmiserably when we talk about so
much work and still not getting theresults that they were expecting.
But then what happened was, aftera co, because, because of the
(37:38):
project that they were doing, theydid get a lot of media attention.
So, um, I come back from, fallbreak, which is end of October.
And I got a message from the ArizonaDepartment of Health services,
asking me to call them back becausethey saw apparently saw this on the
news and they wanted to talk to me.
So I talked and they invitedus, me and my students to one of
(38:02):
the conferences that they had.
And we go there in November.
and we figured out that we found outthat there was a grant opportunity
that they had gotten a huge federalgrant and they would like to work
on certain projects that are relatedto heat, stress, and heat stroke.
And we were there, right?
So, uh, the lady who was the managerencouraged us to write a grant
(38:22):
and instead of a $10,000 grant, weended up with a $50,000 grant for
the same project, the same idea.
So you have to, and, and goingback to the, you know, there
has, you have to face failure tounderstand what true success is.
(38:42):
And a taste of success and whereyou were previously, when you
failed, you don't have to be stuck.
There, there is alwaysroom for improvement.
Make your failures your stepping stonesfor success and continue to try the
direction that you really want to get in.
So I think that is one of the biggestlessons that my students have learned
(39:06):
from all these grant writings.
Because even though they don't getone grant and they fail in acquiring
the grant, it doesn't stop them.
They keep on going they'll they they'llbelieve in their innovative idea.
They'll establish companies,they'll write for other grants.
And still now I'm extremely proud totell you that these kids have require.
(39:27):
Over $150,000 grants.
And these are all 9, 10, 11, 12 graders.
So this project that originally was,you were vying for $10,000 from MIT.
MIT turns you down, but at the endof the day, it's over a hundred
thousand dollars worth of grantsfor this life saving project.
(39:48):
Correct.
Um, I would, I would definitely saythat that is a, a very powerful learning
moment for your students to show themthat if one door's closed, it just
means that there are other doors open.
Absolutely.
And again, they have to keep on thrivingand it ties back to my other lessons.
Right.
You have to believe in yourself.
(40:08):
You have to give yourself achance to fail and believe in
yourself and continue with that.
Because no one elsewould stand out for you.
You know, for me, I'm here for mystudents, but I don't think that
without me, these kids would've learnedthe lesson and they would've given.
I'm really true.
Coming back to mentorsin your life, right?
(40:30):
You are one of my biggest mentors.
You're one of my biggest mentors.
no, and it goes both ways.
Like, see, I mean, mutual respect,mutual, you know, accomplishments,
mutual, understanding thatwe learn from each other.
And that is what we have to be open about.
Because I have just have twomasters or whatever that doesn't
(40:52):
make me the master of everything.
There is always someone, so manydifferent ways to continue learning
and continue growing in that field.
Just because I have a hundred thousanddollars job doesn't mean that I have
achieved everything in the world.
Right.
It is a moment that truly makesyou who you are when you understand
(41:13):
what you're passionate about.
You continue to do what youhave to do to make an impact.
I love it.
And that, and now let's segue intonumber 10, cuz this is a perfect segue.
Keep growing in your field and neverbe afraid of change, but embrace it.
Yeah.
I mean, there are many momentsin my life where I continue to
(41:33):
feel like, should I continue?
Teaching is just what my ultimate goal is.
I'm not making a lot ofmoney out of it for sure.
but I realize that I have continuedto grow because of what I believe in.
I have not confined myself toacademics alone because I tell
(41:54):
all my students a few things.
When the students come in for the veryfirst time to meet the teacher, it's a
reality check for the parents as well.
I tell them, you know, what, if you'recoming to this school, you have to
understand that most of these studentshave a three point OTP and above.
Everybody is volunteering.
(42:15):
Everybody is playing a sport,doing something extracurricular
or the president of a club.
So what makes your kids stand out?
What makes your kid different?
And that is something that youhave to figure out how to grow.
(42:36):
So, like I said before, my students havedone exceptional things which are outside
of these four or five things that highschool students usually end up doing.
I am not saying, and I'm notundermining any of those things.
I'm not undermining them at all,but you have to be a person who
(42:57):
has to stand out from the crowd.
To be able to achieve what youtruly want to do in achieving.
If you are not putting yourself inthat position and you don't know how
to, you need to ask for help, you needto understand what your curiosity is.
You need to understand what triggersyour curiosity and do something
(43:20):
that's truly relevant and not juststick to what everybody else does.
And, uh, that's one of the things thatI push my, I have my, I have two kids,
my son's 14 and my daughter's 16.
Um, and that's what I said, like whattruly motivates you let's do that.
(43:41):
Let's not do the same thingsthat everybody elses does.
Let's stand up in the crowd.
And I have learned that my son playsan instrument that has hundred strings.
And I did not put him in a pianobecause not that piano is not something
that will open his mind, but I wantedhim to do something different that
he can stand out from the crowd.
(44:04):
You know, I might be wrong.
I don't know.
, you know, RA, I already know what your kids have accomplished.
You were not wrong.
and I, I know that he may have doneexceptionally piano too, but strategically
I planned a way the kids that they'renot going to have a lot of struggle.
(44:26):
Achieving what theyreally want to achieve.
And I think that's where thementorship comes in Diana A.
Little bit and understandingwhat's out there.
So all of these studentsthat we see were our futures.
Need this, these kind of mentorswill direct them to a path where path
(44:46):
of least resistance , you know, uh,where they will flourish in their own.
So the students that I'm extremelyproud of all of my students, they
have been working on various projects.
I cannot even start talkingabout some of the projects.
It's just incredible, but they havefound their passion and that drives them.
(45:09):
And I think that is what youhave to see that, um, you know,
you have to change your mindset.
You have to understand that thesekids nowadays are not the kids
that we were when we were growingup and we have to embrace them.
We have to give them the breathing space.
We have to give them the creative spacethat they need to grow and develop.
(45:31):
Well, I love that.
Okay.
So Rachna , you got one ofthe biggest brains I know.
Oh, , you, you have, your life hashad this amazing trajectory and you've
got a legacy that you'll be leaving,not just with your own two biological
kids, but , I feel like thousands ofkids, uh, across the, the globe really.
(45:56):
So you've learned a thing or two inyour life, but what have you had to
unlearn?
That's a very important question Diana.
I mean, one of the things that I reallyhad to unlearn was judging others.
I mean, I, when I was growingup was so easy for me to
(46:16):
say, oh, what are they doing?
You know?
I mean, the.
It was my attitude.
It was nobody else.
It was just me.
So I had to unlearn that people arein a certain way because of their
culture because of their upbringing.
And unless we understand where they'recoming from and why they are behaving
(46:38):
the way they are, I don't think wewill understand the person genuinely.
And for you to have a good relationshipwith your students, with your kids.
You need to understand that.
I mean, my son always keeps oncomplaining that you don't like me.
You are doing this.
You are love me, mom.
(46:58):
Like, well, maybe you'll realize.
A little bit later as to why I'mtelling you why I'm telling you and
that, that was, and, but again, Ido take a moment and step back and
listen and talk and sit down andunderstand where they are coming from.
So, yeah.
One of the biggest examples of myson yesterday, he was complaining
about, uh, the B that he got.
(47:20):
And I was really hard on him, like,wow, why did you get a B in this?
And then he said, you always point outmy B's, but you never point out my A's
and I'm like, oh my God, that's true.
You know, so I had to unlearnthe fact that you always need to
criticize your kids, but then withhim, I know what triggers him.
(47:41):
It's appreciation more and love more.
So, you know, it it's just,you know, you keep on changing.
You know, I had to unlearn so many things,truly so many things that it has made
me a completely different person Diana.
Right now I'm a lot more patientthan when I was, when I was,
(48:01):
I am a lot more observant.
I'm a lot less argumentative.
But you know, all ofthese are life lessons.
And I think age is age and time is,A perfect medicine for all of this,
you know, all the, you know, hurtsand the blemishes and the, you know,
bad, negative feelings that you have.
(48:23):
I think with self realization,understanding who you are, what your,
what triggers you, what makes you tick,all this comes and just blends into one.
And that brings you peace.
Amazing.
I don't know if I made sense at all.
You make so much sense.
You really do.
And I wanna thank you forbeing on the show today.
(48:44):
Rachna I truly enjoyed this.
Tell us what, what are you up to?
Where can we find you?
What are you?
What are you?
Well, we know you're gonna be in India.
We know that, but.
If people wanna know more about whatyou're doing and your initiatives and
how to help kids and maybe be a part ofthe stem movement, how can we find you?
(49:05):
Well, I mean, the, I'm not a hugesocial media person, but of course
you can find me on LinkedIn.
And I also have my one personal website.
It's https://rachnanath.com/.
It's my full name.com.
And anytime you want to reach meat, just send me a quick ding on
LinkedIn and I'm pretty, I'm prettysure I'll get back to you for sure.
(49:26):
I mean, there are other things I, Idon't know that's as relevant as just
my LinkedIn profile or my website, soyou can reach me into my website too.
So I think that's the two most,best ways to connect with me.
Love it.
Thank you for being our guest today.
You've been listening to 10 lessonslearned this episode is produced by
(49:49):
Robert Hossary supported as always bythe Professional Development Forum.
Please tell us what youthink of today's lessons.
You can email us atpodcast@10lessonslearned.com that's
podcast at 10, the number tenone zero lessons learned dot com.
Go ahead and hit that likebutton subscribe and turn
(50:10):
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Thank you everybody.
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