Shero Cafe Podcast

027 Nassira Ahamed - Transforming Fear into Empowerment

• Deborah Edwards and Debbie Pearson

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Siscover the powerful journey of Nassira Ahamed, a celebrated author, visionary, and coach, who joins us to reveal how women can break free from societal constraints and embrace their true selves. Ever felt undervalued or stuck prioritizing others over your own dreams? Tune in as Nassira unravels the cultural conditioning that often holds women back, sharing her mission to guide them towards recognizing their intrinsic value and capabilities. Through the lens of balance, passion, and authenticity, she encourages women to redefine success and pursue joy in every aspect of life, far beyond financial achievements or job titles.

We'll explore the art of overcoming fear and self-doubt with Nasirra's insights on conscious awareness and mindfulness. Learn how decisive action and belief in one's unique path can transform hesitation into empowerment. Nasirra challenges listeners to make fear a familiar ally, taking small, meaningful steps toward personal growth. She shares heartfelt advice to her younger self about embracing self-worth and honoring one's unique gifts. Join us for this inspiring conversation as we invite you to connect, share, and embark on your own journey toward self-awareness and personal development.

If you have a question or need  info on this or any episode, please click the "Talk to us, Shero" link above.

---Connect with Nasirra R Ahamed, IIM Nagpur, NLP, Spiritual Scientist plus bonus media to get to know her better---

Connect:
https://linktr.ee/nasirra.r.ahamed
coachnasirra@gmail.com

Nasirra R. Ahamed, founder of The Energy Architect™, empowers individuals to overcome fears, limiting beliefs, and inner child traumas, helping them create lives of clarity, freedom, and fulfillment. With 21+ years of corporate leadership experience, she integrates coaching, NLP, somatic practices, and mindset work to guide clients in reconnecting with their authentic selves. An IIM-Nagpur alumna, Dale Carnegie Certified Facilitator, and #1 International Bestselling Author (Women with Healing Gifts and The Mind Body Connection), Nasirra is also a mentor, speaker, and podcaster.

Recognized as one of India Today’s Top 10 Successful Indian Personalities of 2024 and listed in Mid Day’s Top 10 Inspiring Indian Personalities and Today Magazine’s Top 50 Under 50, Nasirra’s transformative work resonates with those seeking confidence, purpose, and self-discovery.

 Bonus Media:

  • India Today: Top 10 Successful Indian Personalities Of The Year 2024
    •  https://www.outlookindia.com/hub4business/top-10-successful-indian-personalities-of-the-year
  • Mid Day

---CONNECT with Shero Cafe---
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---CONNECT with Deborah Edwards---
Let's Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.edwards.372
Self Care Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/624202641785785
Website: https://gratefulom.life/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahedwards-selfcarecoach/


---CONNECT with Debbie Pearson---
Facebook (personal): https://www.facebook.com/debbie.pearson.921
Facebook Group (Creative Self-Discovery Lab): https://www.facebook.com/groups/creativeselfdiscoverylab
Website: https://www.debbiepearson.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiepearsoncoach/

Deborah:

Hey Debbie,

Debbie:

hey De

Deborah:

Hey, I want to tell you I am really excited for today's podcast interview. We're going to be well, we're here today with Nasirra Ahmed and I am just so excited about what she does and what the ripple that she makes in the world is just truly amazing. So let me tell you a little bit about y'all, Buckle up. Let me tell you a little bit about Nasirra. She is a multiple renowned, number one international best selling selling author, visionary, founder of a pod and podcast, host of the energy architect, and I want to hear some more about that and you do not want to miss this.

Deborah:

She is a speaker and a coach for leaders. Her mission is to guide those feeling lost or stuck towards their authentic selves, and so what I mean? And then she has the credentials right. So she has a degree in psychology and MBA and entrepreneur management, post-grad work as a senior certified coach when is my mouth? Where are my words? Senior certified coach when is my mouth? Where are my words? And when? And she's a mom, when do you have time for all of this? But not to mention that she has 21 years of leadership experience, as well as a holistic healer, Y'all. Let me introduce Nasirra Ahamed and Debbie, take it away.

Debbie:

Nasirra welcome.

Nasirra:

Thank you so much, Debbie. Thank you so much, Deborah, for such a warm, lovely welcome. Thank you, it's an honor to be here today and I couldn't find another reason to be more excited. Thank you.

Debbie:

Good, we are excited to have you here as well. You know, there's, I think, of all the things that I've seen, what you do, it' it's like your desire to make the world a better place is huge. So many people are out for themselves and you know, I don't mean to disparage anybody for making money or going after their dreams. We should absolutely all do that. But I also saw that where you were like a coach to women that have like panic attacks and you empower women with resiliency and help them see their huge and boundless potential, and I was like how do you help somebody who is feeling like there is no hope but yet somehow move them out of that space into some other space where they begin to see maybe I can do this? Would you share a little bit about that?

Nasirra:

Yes, yes. So, debbie, something that I realized that I've been extremely passionate about is to help people get unstuck, especially women, who constantly put themselves second. What fills me with inspiration is this infinite potential within every person that I work with. So people are so much more deeper and they are much, much more resilient and a lot more capable than they really believe they are. So when I see women, the one thing I do know is they are so conditioned to self-sabotaging themselves and I thought that you know they need to understand their potential and I try and help them open their eyes and see their true value. What I've also seen is, you know, when people are applying for jobs for the same job, women don't think they're capable enough to apply for the same job if they don't tick off all of those aspects, all of those requirements, requirements. But if a man takes off even three or four, he believes that he can, definitely he's perfect for the job.

Debbie:

And women. Even if they leave off two, they think that they can't do it. No-transcript.

Nasirra:

I think to some extent it is cultural and it's also conditioning. Women are conditioned to take care and nurture and nurture everybody, and they always put themselves second. So they also feel guilty. Now if, at least in India, you would see women who cook in the morning, take care of their entire families, go off to work, come back and take care of their families again and clean the place, and the man just gets up, gets ready, has breakfast and leaves, comes back, dinner is ready, and so how will they feel that they can do complete justice, you know to, to whatever they are asked to do, because they feel their first job is to actually nurture them, to take care of their families.

Debbie:

Yeah, it's not dissimilar here. I mean not everywhere. There are some people that share duties equally, but there is a probably overwhelming percentage of exactly that scenario as in well, you could go to work if you do all this other stuff first, and two right If you do it also. So what do you? What do you? How do you help this, these women to see something different, something better, something else?

Nasirra:

I think it's about balance and really understanding yourself and your passion To be successful. Markers don't necessarily mean how much money you earn or the designation that you have, but it's more about really loving what you do, because when you love what you do, it does not feel like work and you look forward to it every day. So I feel the pressure does come down, and I would really urge women to explore as to what really makes them tick. What are they really passionate about?

Debbie:

right, and maybe not just go to a job to make money, but find a job that brings them joy, brings them happiness. And then there's more desire. Well, maybe not even desire. It seems like correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like when you're doing what you love, energy just shows up. When you're doing what you love, energy just shows up, the energy to get the job done, to be part of it, to create it, to whatever it is you're doing. It seems like you just have more energy.

Nasirra:

You know, what's beautiful about this is that when you are passionate about what you do, you're being extremely authentic, because you're not making up something that you don't feel. So what also happens in this is that when you show up authentically, you are also consistent.

Debbie:

I love authenticity.

Deborah:

Absolutely.

Debbie:

Yeah, it's like Deborah and I do a lot with self-care and self-love and that brings you to a more authentic you. Right, and um, there are so many people that are not authentic, and I don't mean that disparagingly, but more like how can you be something if you don't know how to be that, right? No?

Deborah:

go ahead, go ahead. I mean, one of the things that we've experienced um here recently is that people having a lack of awareness of what is in their best interest or what is authentically for them to do, and so they're operating against their best interest, against their balance, and I think that having that awareness allows you to provide the space to have access to that balance. Is that what you're communicating, teaching, advocating for your clients?

Nasirra:

Yes, I am doing. That's one of the things that I do advocate for to really understand who you are. There's also something called self-care, also understanding that the sky is the limit. We have to challenge ourselves, overcoming fear, ourselves overcoming fear. We need to look at fear in the eyes and say I'm going to do it in spite of, in spite of feeling what I feel right now. Uh, and the only way to really get through it is to get through it, get into it even with the understanding that possibilities, like you said, are endless, there are endless possibilities.

Deborah:

You can't even see all the possibilities, that possibilities, like you said, are endless, there are endless possibilities. You can't even see all the possibilities that you can open up just by stepping past that fear right.

Nasirra:

Absolutely, and that becomes your benchmark. Then you've started from A, you've gone to B and you never thought you could actually reach B. But now, suddenly you're at B and like what? That's all it was, that's all I had to do. Now let me go to C and then, once you get to C, it's like I can do more. So challenge yourself, believe. Believe that you are worth it, you are capable and you are enough and you deserve it.

Deborah:

I love that. Thank you.

Debbie:

You do too. I do hear a lot of people say the opposite I'm not worth it, I can't do it, and I know that one of your philosophies is to help women design a life with intention, and you do that through, like, setting goals and um. I think you already mentioned the values part um practicing mindfulness. When, when you say practicing mindfulness, um, give us a little idea of what that means to you sure.

Nasirra:

So for me, mindfulness is really to connect with who you really are. Again, it goes back to authenticity. It depends upon who you believe you are, um, and what are your benchmarks? What are your um, what it is that you believe success is okay, and that can only happen through self-exploration. You either wait for somebody to tell you externally or you understand this for yourself, because I believe that the answers are deep within you. So if you are looking at external validation, then your opinion can. You'll always be people pleasing. If you depend upon your looks, then time can defy that, and if you're thinking about money, there will always be that fear of running out.

Nasirra:

My approach to mindfulness and even to really respond to everything around me is to connecting with myself. It's like an inside out approach, which means that the external world does not shake me if my internal world is strong and when I am rooted deeply, like, like my logo, you know, you see the tree, the tree of life and Deborah also has that um it's. Those roots are so strong and that can only come in through mindfulness and connecting with yourself, because then when you go ahead, you go with that conviction and the external world cannot uproot you. So even if there is a storm around you, you're so deeply rooted that it does not affect you. So the work really has to be inside, and whatever evolves from there is what will really change the world around you as well. So you can't be blaming the world for things that are happening to you, but maybe you create this world, this strength within yourself to really influence everything around you, and that becomes your reality.

Debbie:

So when I talk about mindfulness, it's really connecting with that, that deep sense of self and understanding that Well, I know some of our listeners are decades old, maybe five or six, maybe even seven, but probably the five and six decades, 50s, 60s. What do you say to a woman who's still not feeling like she's got it together? She's still allowing other people to determine her life for her. She doesn't like it, but she wants to start making those decisions on her own, but she's afraid. So does she have a chance to grow? Is there hope for her? Can you address that for our listening audience?

Nasirra:

Oh, thank you for that question. So it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you start, and starting is now, it's just now. When we over intellectualize something, okay, we kind of find reasons to not believe that we can do it. So when you know that this is what I want to do, you do not overthink it. It's one, two, three, do.

Debbie:

Start.

Nasirra:

Yeah, exactly that is what stops us. It is our belief. It is our belief. It is us thinking of every reason why I cannot do it. So you need to not think about it, but you need to know that I want to do it.

Deborah:

Right, right, that's so funny. It reminds me of when I was a young child and I got on the high, high, high, high dive, right, you know. I was standing there forever until I went one, two, three. There I went, you know, and it just you suspend that fear at three and just go, and it's so effective. I forgot about that. I'm going to use that more.

Debbie:

Oh, that's great everybody well, I said it's a great visual. It's like who has not climbed on a dive board or at least seen someone else do it and had a reaction? I mean I, I know that I've climbed whatever 20, 30 feet and been like, oh my god, and I've jumped. I have jumped. I've jumped off of a bridge that I know was a higher than that and wish I hadn't. Only because I learned jumped. I've jumped off of a bridge that I know is a higher than that and wish I hadn't.

Debbie:

Only because I learned later I didn't know what was underneath the water like, oh my gosh, that could have been horrible, but I don't think that's the vision we're going for here, but to know that there's that moment. And then I've also looked at people that have that are going to dive off of cliffs and thought that's too high for me. But maybe I could incrementally work up that way.

Debbie:

But the feelings are there, the fear can be there, but I can also watch other people have fear and do it anyway, and that gives me hope that maybe I can have the fear but go ahead and do that thing anyway, because they got through it. Why can't I, right? Why couldn't any of us? It's a what did you say, nasira? Did you use the word?

Nasirra:

conviction, or commitment or something Like you've method to this, um, and I have this one motto that I just take one step every day. So, as long as I'm taking one step every day in the direction that I want to go, so that way it doesn't seem overwhelming, you don't beat yourself up, but it's just that one step and you know, today doesn't seem like much, tomorrow doesn't seem like much, day after it may not seem like much, but after three months you're like whoa, that's how far I got. It was just that one step.

Debbie:

Right, that is really interesting. Like you don't. Like you might say I want to go to this particular place in my life, but you don't go. Why am I not there? It's like I know that if I had I don't know pick a direction East, that if I had East, I'm going to get there because that's where what I want lives, right?

Debbie:

So you start knowing that keep going. Some days I'm sure you're going to have more success than other days, might even go back a little bit, but to continue to head in that direction. I love that. That's just such a fabulous visual for me to know that you can just take those little steps and don't beat yourself up. Go slow, take another step. It's going to happen. Keep going, keep going. Very encouraging it reminds me.

Deborah:

You know, when you're on a balance beam or whatever, you take that little step and then you take the little time to balance or whatever. You take that little step and then you take the little time to balance yeah right, and then you get your balance and you take the next step and just know that you're going to have to take some time to lean into that balance before you want to take the next step and that is why, deborah, that is why I would say again I'm going to connect this now to what I said you said balance, okay, and have fun, and the only time, the only way you can have fun is if you love what you're doing.

Nasirra:

So, and then that is where authenticity comes back again. So, when you're having fun, you're taking that one step every day and before you know it, you've covered a distance yes, yes, I love, and so beautifully, yes joyfully, with grace yeah but what stops? But stop what, what stands between you, and that is your fear. So don't think about it, don't intellectualize it, just do action.

Deborah:

Or even make fear your friend, you know, say okay, here you are, let's do this, you know, blah, blah, blah blah, because it informs you even and it gives you the direction that you need to go in to overcome that. I love that.

Nasirra:

This is that gap between the knowing and the doing.

Deborah:

Yes, I love that.

Debbie:

So if you could give advice to your younger self, because you're a fairly accomplished woman, you've got a lot of degrees and certificates and certifications and whatnot under your belt. But if you could, like, give advice to that younger self, whether you want to say what you would have told yourself or if you want to address the audience, completely up to you. Whatever comes to mind for you, what would that be?

Nasirra:

Sure, sure. I'd tell my younger self to trust that she's enough just as she is. I would remind her that there's no need to chase external validation or to feel like she needs to prove herself. The real journey is more about accepting and honoring my own uniqueness. You know my own quiet strengths, my infinite gifts, which are innate and unique to me, and I tell myself that, even in moments when I feel as though I'm not sure I'm lost, I'm exactly where I'm meant to be sure I'm lost. I'm exactly where I'm meant to be. I'm learning what I need for my journey ahead and even if I don't know the path in front of me, I know I need to start walking and the path will reveal itself cool, I mean by the same kind of along those same lines.

Deborah:

What would you? I mean, I suspect they might be the same, but if you had a single hope or desire for our audience, or for all women, all your clients, or whatever, what would that be? What would be the thing that if you could just go bing and it would happen, what would that be?

Nasirra:

Interesting Challenge yourself. When I was younger, the one thing I always thought was I wasn't enough.

Debbie:

Okay, I felt that.

Nasirra:

I'm going to give you an example. I felt my nose was too big for me. Okay, I always believed that. I always believed my nose was too big for me, that I always believed my nose was too big for me. Today, after at the age of 50, I can say that I'm finally big enough for my nose. I love it perfect. I lived my whole life believing that and see how. You just need to know that you have to challenge yourself and move.

Debbie:

Right Cause. It's like where did you get that notion and why did that become so prevalent for you and your became a belief which you turn, which we have a tendency to turn, into a truth. It must be true when in fact it's not true.

Nasirra:

And then you challenge that belief system, recognize it's not true, and then you turn it around and accept and love yeah, I agree with you completely and we have all of these beliefs, and all of these beliefs may not be ours entirely. Ok, these could be beliefs from our parents and auntie and uncle. Somebody you worked with, somebody said that you can't do this, and then there is this new belief that you can't do it, or that you're not good at doing something, or that you were not meant to do something. But if you really question, is that belief yours or was that somebody else's?

Deborah:

So then I'm going to we're coming to the end of our time now and I just wanted to spend some time. How do you do that for your clients? How do you, you know, do you do that for your clients? How do you, you know what is, what is your process with your clients? Or, instead of that question, is there something that we haven't asked you that you would like to share with our audience?

Nasirra:

Yeah. So I'm going to integrate something that you said with uh with that you just asked me uh, and it's connected to that one is that trauma is in the body. The body does not forget trauma. That also includes your beliefs. This could be childhood conditioning. This could be, um, a bad relationship, it could be a traumatic relationship, it could be this. This is what creates your limiting belief, and sometimes trauma needs to be cleared, you know, before you start rewiring yourself. So the way I go about, you know, with my clients is that I see as to where they get this limiting belief from if it's an inner child complexity or something like that, or if it is a trauma, an abusive relationship and really go to that and clear that. And so my coaching is not on a surface level, but it is really a lot more deeper. So I go to the root, eliminate that and then build.

Debbie:

I love that I remember one time we were talking and you said it, I just remember the words uh, childhood complexities, is that the phrase? Do you have a degree, a certification? Is there a process? What does? I just remembered childhood complexities. I get what that is, but what is it that I mean? What were we talking about where you brought up childhood complexities, that you have a certification?

Nasirra:

as a child? Sorry, uh, yeah, to answer that question. As a child you have no thoughts, you don't have a belief, you don't have anything, but something happens to you or somebody has told you something and that becomes the basis of everything that you start behaving upon every in the way you respond to everything. So it is a complexity. As a child it's like an empty book and somebody fills up something with that in that book and now that has become the way you conduct yourself. So somebody may have told you as a child that you know you look like Bugs Bunny, don't smile. And guess what? You're not going to smile because somebody said, somebody said that you look like Bugs Bunny and that person can grow up having a beautiful smile but never believing that because somebody told them that as a child somebody told me I sounded like Charlie Brown.

Debbie:

One time I did a little speech it was like seventh grade and I came back and sat down and she was laughing. I'm like what's so funny she goes. You sounded just like Charlie Brown and that traumatized me for a while, many years, a while, until something else happened where I was able to move beyond that. I don't know if I do or not, but it doesn't even matter anymore. You know what I mean. Like it's a non-issue, so okay.

Nasirra:

So the complexities of childhood follow us into adulthood and then that can give you a very small example, a very small, a very short example. I had extremely bad acne growing up as a teenager and when I met my dermatologist, they told me that I have hormonal issues. And they said because you have hormonal issues, I won't be surprised if you have difficulties having a child. And I had my child at the age of 36 and I was so fearful of having my, of getting pregnant, because they said that I'm gonna, that you know these hormonal problems are going to be a problem for me to have a child.

Debbie:

There was no basis to that, but that became my belief yeah, wow, yeah you want to trust somebody that's in a position of authority, but when they give you that kind of information and then you live your life according to that.

Nasirra:

But apparently I was a child.

Debbie:

No, yeah, yeah, yeah, amazing, that's amazing, wow, and it seems like the antidote is to make it super simple is conscious awareness. Yeah, it's like an onion. Yeah.

Nasirra:

Just peel it off, layer by layer, layer by layer, layer by layer, till you get to the core of it the core of it.

Debbie:

Yeah, I'm hearing people go oh my god, that sounds like so much work. It just sounds like exhausting. What would your response to that be?

Nasirra:

oh, if you believe in your dream and you believe in yourself and if you believe you're worth it, it's worth the shot. But you need to believe that, yeah, if you're gonna think it's difficult, you may never start that's true I like to say what's the alternative?

Debbie:

you can stay where you are or you can try something different. And yeah, I mean same concept, though same exact concept.

Nasirra:

So small steps and mindfulness awareness of where you're headed, where you want to go okay, that is just wonderful.

Debbie:

Um, it's such good information. I know I've heard a lot of things before, but it's so good to hear them again because we're just so bombarded with so much external I'll call it noise right? It's good to get that clear, clean reminder that we're worthy, that we are important, we're special, unique.

Debbie:

I'm trying to pick the words out that you told us this era and that we matter, and that feeling fear is something going on inside of us that we actually can rise above and can live our lives differently if we're willing to take a look at that.

Deborah:

So wow, so one thing, that one more thing that I might add, is that having that awareness that you want to be in a different place, that you are knowing that there are people out there like Nasira that can help you and can guide you and can lead you in those baby steps as you choose to take them. So I just want to remind our audience that her contact information will be in the description. So if you, you know, would love to work with Nasira you know she's awesome Then you know we've got the information below.

Debbie:

Exactly, not a problem at all. So we thank you for all your loves, likes and comments. We love to receive them and respond to you. Guys and Deborah wrap us up.

Deborah:

And, as always, we invite you to love and care for the shero and you thank you bye.

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Debbie Pearson

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