The Real Influencer

The Perfect Story

The day Nandini Came and dropped Pari, almost 3 years back, I didn’t know what I was getting.

Emotionally I was living the lowest phase of my life 2022-2023 were my drowning years.

At that time I had barely any students. I was going through the phase of hopelessness too.

As Pari sits for first class, I understand that if someone is more hopeless than me, it would be Pari; she would not lift her face for eye contact, nor would she solve a single problem.

In the initial days, her good days would be solving 2 maths problems a day.

Her self-esteem was ruthlessly low.
Practically I should have given up on her, because internally I was also fighting a battle to survive.

I would lie down to sleep and think about Pari, is it a wise choice to continue with her? Will she be able to solve her school paper? She was in a different school then and I was an amateur.

Most days I had self-doubt. Am I applying the right strategies with her?

Then the year changed, she switched schools, and a new journey to understand the school and the pattern began.

The change of school showed a positive change in attitude towards herself.

Her self-esteem was climbing the ladder and for the first time, she knew that I would not give up on her. So she has to do the math.

I would write letters of hope to her when she did not perform well. I would not give up until she removed the fear of math and the feeling she was drowning in.

Last year, after much courage she got 37/40, I don’t remember how much she got of 80 may be above 70 but it doesn’t matter.

Because for me the growth was that she completed the paper rather than sitting blank and not attempting anything.

Personally, she is an annoying student as she won’t sit still even now, sometimes she doesn’t want to do anything and just comes and sits. I became a safe space for her.

I understood one thing here, children achieve differently at different pace and with different individual.

I couldn’t feel happier than this she is overcoming many things she feared once upon a time.

As a mother Pari’s mother was doing everything right, I just amplified her vision by being there for both of them.

Some mothers are raising children.
Some mothers are raising children while healing parts of themselves at the same time.

And that kind of motherhood deserves a different kind of respect.

The mother who pauses before shouting because she remembers what harsh words felt like.
The mother who listens because she grew up unheard.
The mother trying to raise emotionally secure children when nobody taught her how.

That is invisible work.
And it changes generations.

This Mother’s Day is for the mothers choosing awareness over anger, connection over ego, and softness in a world that often mistakes it for weakness. ❤️

Many parents think their child lacks discipline.

But sometimes the child is simply:
confused, emotionally overwhelmed, distracted, or afraid of failing.

Career counseling is not just about careers anymore.
It’s about helping students understand themselves before making life-changing decisions.

When children gain clarity about who they are, everything changes:
✨ Motivation improves
✨ Confidence grows
✨ Focus increases
✨ Decisions become easier

And most importantly — they stop feeling “lost.”

Every parent wants their child to succeed.

But success doesn’t come from choosing the popular path…
it comes from choosing the right one.

✨ One right decision today can save years of confusion tomorrow.

📩 DM “CAREER” and let’s find your child’s path.

We are experiencing the end of the world or in the middle of nowhere.

As a parent, I also feel anxious and doubtful about the value of academics.

But as a career counselor, I am wisely developing my child’s skills.

What are skills?

Skills are the odd qualities that take years to build. You become the best when you start early

Such as problem-solving skills,

Okay, wait don't assume it's maths.

It is actually the other way around.

Your child feels maths is a difficult subject; they curse it every day to get it over with.

What are you allowing your child to think here is that after 10th he can drop maths. (if you say this narrative)

So the child is waiting for 10th grade so finally can quit maths as a parent you assumed that after certain years your child might start liking maths.

The problem remained unsolved.

Now in 11th grade maths is important for all fast-growing careers but your child is emotionally not confident to keep doing maths.

You had the opportunity to teach problem-solving at home

Problem: I don't like maths
Solution: How can I like maths?

Make a list of the things they enjoy doing in maths and things that are tough could be learnt and mastered at their own pace one day at a time.

Listing, an approach towards day-to-day problems, helps the child develop thinking.

I know there are courses and soft skills programs to develop but trust me nothing helps better than aware and involved parents, because these are the years of experience you add to your child’s life.

These play a significant role in developing your child’s approach towards life.

We usually ignore the fact that even in the workplace we have to deal with people and real life problems.

How to Guide Him/Her (Important for you as a parent/mentor)

At 16, don’t just tell them to read—guide like this:
• 📌 After each book, ask: “What career did this make you curious about?”
• 📌 Encourage journaling (1 page per book)
• 📌 Connect books → real careers (CA, MBA, CFA, entrepreneur, banker)

🎯 Bonus Tip (Very Important)

If he is not a heavy reader, start with:
• Rich Dad Poor Dad (easy + engaging)
• Then move to deeper ones like The Intelligent Investor

💡 How These Help in Commerce Careers

Even though these are not “commerce textbooks”, they build:
• 📊 Discipline → needed for CA / finance
• 🧠 Decision-making → business & entrepreneurship
• 🎯 Focus → exams + long-term goals
• 💼 Work ethic → real career success

👉 Basically: These books build the person before the profession.

I created this unique report for one of my client recently.

DM “Books”

if you want this full analysis how I evaluated each book’s importance .

The Metamorphosis is one of those rare works that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it—not because of what happens, but because of what it makes you feel.

The story opens with the shocking transformation of Gregor Samsa into a giant insect, but Kafka quickly shifts the focus away from the absurdity of the event to something far more unsettling: the quiet, gradual breakdown of human relationships. What makes the story powerful is not Gregor’s physical change, but how his family begins to see him differently—as a burden rather than a loved one.

Kafka’s writing is simple yet deeply symbolic. The insect becomes a metaphor for alienation, identity loss, and the pressure of societal roles. Gregor, once the sole breadwinner, loses his worth in the eyes of his family the moment he can no longer “function.” This raises uncomfortable questions: Is our value tied only to what we provide? What happens when we can’t meet expectations?

The emotional tone is haunting. There is no dramatic rebellion or redemption—only a slow, painful acceptance of isolation. That’s what makes the novella so real and so disturbing.

👉 “Have you ever felt valued only because of what you achieve?”

It is not a beginner friendly book. It is for mature and deep readers.

Why I picked this book is because of the Author Background
About the Author:

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was a German-speaking writer born in Prague (now in the Czech Republic). Though he is now considered one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century, he lived a relatively quiet, troubled life and gained fame only after his death.

Kafka’s writing is known for being:
• Strange yet realistic
• Deeply psychological
• Filled with anxiety, isolation, and confusion

In fact, the word “Kafkaesque” comes from his work—describing situations that feel absurd, helpless, or nightmarishly complex.

His Life (which shaped his stories)
• Worked as an insurance officer (not a full-time writer)
• Had a strict, dominating father, which influenced many of his themes
• Struggled with self-doubt and anxiety
• Often felt alienated and misunderstood

👉 These emotions strongly appear in The Metamorphosis

Grateful to have conducted a wonderful career guidance webinar for parents in the Gulf this week.

The session focused on a question many parents are asking today:
“How can we help our children choose the right career in a rapidly changing world?”

During the discussion, we explored:
• Emerging careers that are likely to grow in the next 10–15 years
• How parents can identify their child’s natural strengths and interests
• Common mistakes families make while choosing careers
• Practical ways to support children in making confident and informed decisions

What stood out most was the thoughtful participation from parents—their concerns, questions, and genuine desire to guide their children in the right direction.

Career choices today are no longer about just a few traditional paths. They require awareness, guidance, and the courage to explore new possibilities.

Thank you to all the parents who joined and made the session interactive and meaningful.

If you would like to attend future sessions on career planning, study pathways, and future skills for students, feel free to connect with me here on LinkedIn.

StudentSuccess

A secret about me is that I made a wrong decision about my choosing my college course out of anger.

I wasn't practical, and I had no idea how my emotions were ruling my decisions.

I had little to no exposure to what self-awareness meant.

This is my sole reason to pursue a career as a counselor to become a better person to guide my kids.

After doing it for almost 5 years and hearing from the parents that it did help them to understand their children better.

The career assessment which also provides an Emotional Quotient analysis which helps teens to be aware of how their emotions might push them towards instant gratification and wrong turns.

Helping teens be aware of the long-term goals is what I have been doing for years.

Career Coach: Anuradha Shetty- Known for real, relevant insights on Emotional Intelligence.

📩 Book a parent–child
EQ-based career counseling session

Some books entertain you. Some unsettle you. The Housemaid does both—and then quietly lingers in your mind long after the final page.

Trigger Warning:
This book contains themes of psychological abuse, emotional manipulation, gaslighting, domestic control, power imbalance, and implied violence. Some scenes may be distressing for readers sensitive to these topics.

Is the book perfect? No. Some moments stretch believability, and seasoned thriller readers might predict parts of the reveal. But the emotional payoff, the tension, and the sheer readability make it hard to put down and even harder to forget.

Read the full review linked in my story and highlights.

I read it on Kindle, it is free if you have a subscription.