The 'Inspire your Life' Podcast with Arthi Rabikrisson

S4 E2 In conversation with Susi Astengo: Need is the mother of invention

Arthi Rabikrisson Season 4 Episode 2

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In this episode, Arthi is joined by Susi Astengo, Founder of CoachMatching. Susi gives us insight into her personal life and how key life changes necessitated her pivoting her career towards starting her own business. Sixteen years later, through navigating being a single mum (to a son she loves dearly and is so proud of), undergoing a major health situation, to new country dynamics to operate a business in,  Susi has built a highly-respected (and been accoladed for) Coaching and Leadership development practice and coaching platform.

Susi shares that throughout all the challenges her superpower has been to be able to reinvent the business through continuous improvement and keeping abreast of emerging trends, while maintaining high standards in coaching practice.

Susi shares key lessons about how she manages the balance of being in the business and working on the business.

Her 3 tips for all entrepreneurs: to know your target market, stay connected, & don't be afraid to fail. 

Some wise words from Susi:

  • just put one foot in front of the other, just do the next step
  • if you start to worry about all the things that can go wrong, you probably wouldn't ever do anything
  • we learn most from when we fail, not from when we're successful. So to know and to also to be prepared to see it as a cycle, and a bit like a roller coaster ride, there are going to be lots of highs, and then there'll be some lows, and actually, this too shall pass.”

Listen to the full episode for so much more insights and ideas offered by my wonderful guest!

About Susi Astengo:

Over 30 years’ experience with UK, South African & Multinational Companies from many sectors including Banking & Finance, FMCG, Telco’s, Production & Manufacturing, Retail, Education, Pharmaceutical, Oil & Gas and Fintech. Susi is a seasoned professional, with a proven ability to create simplicity from complexity & quickly understand key issues & work with her clients to identify the most appropriate & effective solutions. Susi is an effective communicator in both small or large groups and is able to modify the message to best suit the audience's needs. She is an energetic speaker, is adaptable, can react well in the moment and is able to blend humour & serious messages for maximum impact. Susi has chosen to focus on Coaching and Mentoring as a means for transformation at both an individual, team and organisational level and her vision is to democratize coaching.  In 2024 she was “highly commended woman in Tech” at the Africa Tech Awards. In 2016 she won the Business woman of the Year award in the established entrepreneur category. 

She is also a cancer survivor and the proud single mother of a 20 year old son, currently studying at Stellenbosch University.

Connect with Susi here:

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Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

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Arthi Rabikrisson:

Hello everyone, and welcome to the inspire your life podcast with me, your host, Arthi Rabikrisin, I believe we find inspiration all around us, especially from the stories that we all have in us. My aim with the inspire your life podcast is to bring some of those real stories to light, stories of my guests that resonate with you and me. It's by listening to these stories that we can be inspired and motivate ourselves to overcome, find a new path and rise even higher than we thought possible. Joining me on the show today is Susi Astengo, founder of coach matching with over 30 years experience with UK, South African and multinational companies from many sectors, including banking and finance, FMCG, telcos, production and manufacturing, retail, education, pharmaceutical, oil and gas and fintech. Oh my goodness, it's quite a list, isn't it? Everybody you can tell Susi is a seasoned and inspirational professional. I can attest to that. Certainly, Susi has chosen to focus on coaching and mentoring as a means for transformation at both the individual, team and organizational level, and her vision is to democratize coaching. This she's bringing to life with her business coach matching where over the past 16 years, with a team of now 51 coaches in place and full disclaimers, I am honored to be among those esteemed colleagues of coach matching too. Susi has built a highly respected coaching and leadership development practice, as well as developing a coaching software platform. So everyone, don't just take my word for it, because Susi has won awards as an entrepreneur, including most recently being highlighted as highly commended women in tech at the Africa tech awards. I can really go on and on about the depth and breadth of Susi's accomplishments, but safe to say, this is a woman of stature and I am delighted that in today's episode, Susi will be sharing some of those pieces of her story of how became the mother of invention, as we are calling the episode today, and you will soon realize why everyone. Susi, a warm welcome to the inspire your life podcast.

Susi Astengo:

Thank you so much, Arthi, and I'm absolutely delighted to be here with you today, and a little bit humbled by that introduction. So much appreciated.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Oh no, it's absolutely my pleasure. And I mean, it was all you Susi so this is all the things that you've accomplished, but I understand sometimes when you hear it out loud, it's like it takes you back a little bit well. Yeah, you know, I've, I'm just hearing a little bit more on the bio side of things. To you. I mean, tell us a little bit more about yourself. Susi, a little bit on the personal inside maybe,

Susi Astengo:

Sure thing. So, I am divorced. I am originally British. I arrived in South Africa in 2003 because my then husband wanted to set up a business here. I for my sins. I married a South African Italian. It's the same story from the reason that most people move to different countries. And my son was born in 2004 and I'm still here. We the intention was we're going to be here for a year. Yeah, but Africa got into my blood and under my skin, and it has actually been very good to me. And in fact, somebody said to me yesterday, so how many people did you know when you first landed in Cape Town, and I said actually three, and one of them was my husband. So it's quite it's quite something to look back and think I've done all of this without any family, with little support internally. So it just goes to show that it can be done. My son is also the center of my world. If I'm you know, anybody that knows me will know that, and I'm delighted to have have raised a conscious and emotionally intelligent and wholesome young man, and not without its trials and tribulations. For sure, those teenage years are not fun, or the screemages, as we call them. And. Definitely not fun, but he is in his second year at Stellenbosch, and I'm very, very proud of him. He's just completed, like his mum, he's a bit of an overachiever. I think he he just completed the marathon and raised R25,000 for the Cape Peninsula feeding society. And it means, basically, yeah, really, really, really, incredible. It means that 30 children will eat for a year as a result of his his efforts. So that's just a little bit about about me. And then I guess, you know, transitioning into starting coach matching and and the title of the podcast, need being the mother of invention, you have alluded to two things, one being that my I'm divorced, and the second being that I have a child and and at the time, in 2007 when I could kind of see the writing on the wall around my my personal relationship, I thought to myself, you know, what am I going to do? You know, if we go through divorce? At the time, I was working as a consultant with Deloitte and my old consultancy. I'd been an international HR consultant for 10 years, based out of the UK and operating in 37 different countries around the world. And they said to me, why don't you come back and and head up the consulting team, which, to be honest, was a really attractive offer at the time, and then I kind of reflected on what was my life like when I was consulting and in that role, and I remember the term primacy of work, and I was thinking that I was a bit of a workaholic, but I've never known anything like it. And for any consultants listening in, they'll be very, very aware that it is grueling. It's 24/7 on a Sunday night, on a plane, getting back on a Friday night, and really only sort of Saturday to turn your wardrobe around and go back out again and and I was absolutely adamant that I wasn't going to be doing that, and I wanted to be present as a mother, so I looked around and thought, Well, what, you know, I've got this, this experience, I've got skills, I've got talent. How do I pivot, really? I mean, that wasn't a term then, but it is now. And how do I pivot into a new role and a new life? Because I didn't want to to move. And South Africa offers some, you know, amazing opportunities. It's there's a there's a great frontier mentality here. It's much easier to start a business in my experience here, than it would be in in Europe or in the States, for example. And so I then conducted research into the coaching industry and set up coach matching on the back of that in 2008 and primarily to be able to afford to pay for my self and my son's lifestyle, but also to be able to be flexible, to be present as a mother. And I don't mean, you know, like 24/7 every single day, because he, you know, he grew up knowing that that mum was working. And in fact, when I was awarded the Business Woman of the Year award in 2016 I actually took him with me to the ceremony, because he was at the I can't remember how old he was at the time. I think he was probably, well, I could figure it out it was eight years ago, so he would have been 12, and I wanted him to grow up realizing that what I did and when I wasn't there for a cricket match sometimes, or, you know, where he had to come and walk to my office after school to do his homework. It wasn't because I didn't care or love him, it was because I was doing something important. And I wanted to inspire him to recognize the the importance of what it was that we did. And he was obviously beaming. He was the only child there, I think, out of about 250 attendees

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Ah what a proud moment. Yeah,

Susi Astengo:

very, yeah, very, very, very, very, and he'll often say, you know, you're my hero. And I remember when I was, you know, when I was up for this award for the women in tech, you know, he said to me, we were chatting at home, and I said to him, so, you know, how should I introduce myself? And he said, Well, you know, how about entrepreneur and cancer survivor and tech enabler? He said, and people be queuing up. So, yeah, so that's been a that's a been a little bit about the history of why I started coach matching.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yes, I mean, Susi, thank you for sharing this. I mean this incredible journey. And I mean two things are so apparent to me. Firstly, this, this deep love and pride for your your family, your son, especially, yes. And you know, the that being a key impetus to this, this next love of yours, which is the work that you're doing in coach matching as well. And you know, so many different changes happen, you know, in your personal life, and plus moving to a completely different context, coming into South Africa as well. And yes, I mean, I know a lot of on entrepreneurs, you know, they undertake that research. They think of a business idea, but often times there's a little bit of failure to start as well. And Im curious about, you know, what gave you the courage to kind of say, You know what? I've done the research? Yes, there's a financial need. Yes, I want to be present for my son, but actually, I'm feeling brave enough to actually do this ago. What what went on in your mind to help you make that decision?

Susi Astengo:

Gosh, that's a really interesting question. Um, yeah. I mean, people will say, call it courage. I think it's just from my perspective. I'm quite stubborn, okay, quite stubborn and dogmatic and and I do, you know, for those listeners, you know, my Enneagram profile is 782, so once I see a vision, it excites me and energizes me. So I think that there was less fear and more excitement. So I think that you know what was going on at the time was, yes, of course. You know, I don't know if it's going to work, and I don't know how I'm going to make it work, but it felt to me like it was a really good idea at the time, and and, and that generated energy and enthusiasm and excitement. And, you know, there's a there's a strong parallel between the marathon run that my son's just completed, and my journey throughout life, and a lot of people's journeys throughout life, I think, which is just put one foot in front of the other, just do the next step. Because, you know, if you start to worry about all the things that can go wrong, you probably wouldn't ever do anything. You know, there's lots and lots and lots of things. But, yeah, I think, I think it's a case of, I knew that I had the capability. I hoped that I would have a little bit of luck, and I made sure that I surrounded myself with people who I trusted and who would kind of just, I think, believe in me at the time. So there was a great deal of self belief. I knew that I had skill, I knew I had something to offer, and knew that it was a good option, a good vision. And, you know, the vision at the time was to professionalize the coaching industry, and so I was in a field that I felt comfortable and confident with. I don't know if that's a helpful answer, but it was very often. It was just one step at a time. And you know, the whole thing about fail forward. And, you know, fail fast fail forward. It sounds very, very cliched. And tries, my God, have I had many, many failures over the years? And hindsight is always 2020, and I think, yeah, absolutely. It's about not beating yourself up, but learning, yeah, and that's the that, for me, I think, is the the silver bullet around that fail fast and fail forward. Yeah, I'm naturally quite risk averse. So when it comes financially to, you know, sort of, I wouldn't bet the family silver on things, you know, there'll be a very measured and considered approach and, you know, and what I've tended to do, and I think it's different to other entrepreneurs as well. There's, I haven't gone, I haven't actually sort of gone full out and made sure I've got fancy offices and stationary and, you know, all of this, you know, sort of all the external things are very much focused on the product and the service. And, you know, if I've built a good service, and if I've got a good offering, then I can just grow all of those sorts of things. So sort of put my ego to one side. See lots of entrepreneurs fail because they in, you know, they spend a huge amount of money up front before they've even got secure contracts. And my mentor at the time, I was very lucky that the first client that we landed was Santam, and actually there's still a client today. And I went to him and I said to him, okay, fine, so I've got this and any words of wisdom or tips or advice, and he said to me, Susi, just do a really good job, and don't be greedy. And I've never forgotten that, do a really good job.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

No, I mean, so you're talking about, you know, the knowing, having this people you were comfortable with, the core, kind of foundation of what you are doing, a little bit of luck, a little bit of that support from others. And then, of course, you're talking about some of these obstacles. That brings me to my next thought and my next question around this. Because absolutely you know, as as a founder, an entrepreneur, you're going to face a number of these challenges, both from just being a business owner, but then also, more specifically, being a woman in business,

Susi Astengo:

yeah, for sure. I mean,

Arthi Rabikrisson:

you've already mentioned a few of the obstacles and, of course, you know, being a cancer survivor, and, I mean, and that's brilliant. I completely, completely, you know, get that, how that must have been such a big part of you know, how you've actually business. So maybe share would ask, what are some of these challenges? What are some of these that you had to face as a business owner, and then also as a women?

Susi Astengo:

You know, it's, I think the obstacles are generic. When you set up a new business, it's, you know, they're the general things around cash flow and acquiring talented people and retaining talent talented people. So I think that many of the obstacles that I would experience as an entrepreneur are very similar to those that anybody would experience in business. But I think that things that are very unique are. It's really around the ability to navigate the space between being a visionary and seeing where the future opportunities lie and having the confidence to lean into those opportunities versus business as usual. And I think that my superpower has been to be able to keep reinventing coach matching, and keep adding something new each time, so that we have a competitive advantage. And I think that has been one of the most significant challenges is that, you know, specifically within the coaching industry, it is an industry, not a profession. Basically, any man and his dog can, can call themselves a coach and and do and you. So it's around. A lot of the challenges have been, well, why should we trust you? Yes, you know why you any different and and overcoming some of the poor, I think, you know, the poor coaching that's happened prior to, yeah, yeah, prior to engaging with Coach matching and to ensure that our standards are really high. So it makes for, you know, it makes for a great story. And in fact, somebody said to me the other day, you know, looks really good on paper. What it is that coach matching offers, but does it work? You know? And that's also been one of the challenges is, you know, people actually are very, very busy, and they want to constantly move on, rather than step back and reflect. And from you know, anybody in the service industry will know how important it is to have that ROI data. So the constantly proving and constantly proving myself and having those doubts and imposter syndrome, because, you know, there's, you know, that's, that's real, that's very, very real. In fact, I was chatting to your chap recently, and he, he he said he struggles. He's also very, very successful entrepreneur, and he struggles from imposter syndrome all the time, because I suppose that there, you know, we don't have the luxury of people telling us things like your introduction to, you know, to stop and reflect on. Actually, 16 years later and 51 coaches on and an enviable client list and a great turnover and good profit margins. You know, actually, you did this because we're constantly focusing on the future. So I think that's a it's a very real challenge for a lot of a lot of entrepreneurs, and just the loneliness of the decision making you know it all, and knowing that you're probably likely to make a decision that's going to be wrong and may may not have enough data or information to make it with and to make it anyway.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Okay, okay, so I mean, Susi, a couple of things coming up for me here, as you're speaking, for example, that loneliness at the top, that that balance between being visionary or strategic versus being stuck in the business and being operational. What would be some of your key lessons or ideas about how you would overcome and and maintain some of these balances. So for example, how would you overcome that loneliness? What, what have you done? Or what, what could you share that would be useful for entrepreneurs in that space, and similarly, managing that balance between being in the business and working on the business type of a situation?

Susi Astengo:

Yeah, Yeah. So the first one's easy. I actually created my own, like little mini board of other other women, women who I respected and who I trusted, and they weren't necessarily, they weren't all entrepreneurs to two were and one was in corporate and what I found really helpful was maintaining that link into corporate life, because I think sometimes entrepreneurs forget that things move in corporates at a snail's pace and and there are a lot of politics, and there are a lot of things to navigate, which, as entrepreneurs, you know you have the benefit of agility. So I set up that board. I've always had a mentor throughout my whole career as an entrepreneur, and at various points in time, I've also been coached at various points in time I've been to therapy where, you know, I felt that emotionally, I was not in the greatest of spaces, for example, after cancer and just yeah. So I think that's for me, it's it's been very much around creating that support network around me. Look at the end of the day, it still rests on my shoulders, and it's still my decision, and there's nowhere to run and there's nowhere to hide. So when it goes wrong, you have to be honest with yourself and look at you know, well, why did it go wrong? Yeah, I had a period of a couple of years where I really questioned my own decision making and, and I took that into my coaching sessions, and we unpacked it together, and a lot of it was just, you know, unfortunate, you know, sometimes luck leads you, you know, it's, it's just the life, you know, life in the world will throw curveballs at you, and with it doesn't matter who you are, and with the best decision making processes, sometimes, as they say, shit happens. So it was, yeah, it was just a case of digging deep, being resilient, I think, at that time, and I think, you know, some of the other things we I consider myself to be incredibly, incredibly fortunate. And I'm very grateful for the fact that this job affords me access to an inordinate amount of information around personal mastery, right? So, you know, being exposed to Dr Etienne van der Walt, for example, and eurozone 10 years ago, when he was looking at optimal brain body performance, and being involved, being exposed to Anna Marie, Dr annamie Lombard, when she was looking at sensory intelligence and all the different intelligences and and actually just practicing what I preach. And so, you know, covering the foundations, making sure that I stay healthy, that I exercise regularly, that you know, that my diet is good, that I have an effective sleep wake cycle, that I meditate so that I can silence my mind when I need to, when it, you know, it's really, really, really busy and screaming, and because, you know, there'll be something critical happening in the business or in the industry, and to maintain that, that calm, I guess the calm in the eye of the storm.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Lovely I mean, as you say, I can hear that personal mastery, that sense of self, that reflective nature. Oftentimes, as you said, we do forget as entrepreneurs to do that, because we're running along at a particular pace, trying to get these milestones, deadlines and everything else into into line, but actually taking that bit of a pause and just kind of understanding, you know, well, where's that line? Where's that fine line that I need to ensure I'm okay, especially if it's a solopreneur type of venture. But of course, if you're leading a team, imagine if we're not showing up the best versions of ourselves in order to lead that team effectively, exactly, yeah, exactly, I'm getting all of that

Susi Astengo:

And also a little bit around self awareness, you

Arthi Rabikrisson:

External. Okay, okay. I mean, Susi, you, know, the Enneagram, the two things I think that have really influenced the way that I engage. The Enneagram really helped me to understand myself, and I alluded to it earlier. I'm an inspirational visionary, which is fantastic for my role, the active controller, which is great for getting things done, and the drive and the considerate helper, which gives me the heart for people, and knowing that that's my profile, and knowing how to lean into it, but also understanding when is it not helping me, and when I'm when am I falling back into the less integrated versions of that? So that's been really helpful. So I think that's also about balance, you know, having the the internal locus of control. And I don't mean arrogance or ego, but just the sense of, you know, this is not my first rodeo. Reflect on what you know. How can you do this, as well as the external ballast and support? And for me, that's, you know, very, very important, is that balance between the internal and the external. you're already giving me and our listeners some really, really beautiful tips and ideas here about their journey, and I think let's crystallize it a little bit. So with everything that you've shared, maybe share with us, what do you feel are your maybe three, three key tips for our listeners, especially for those who are maybe on that cusp of starting their entrepreneurial journey, or even those who have started but are having a little bit of doubts and are not sure if they should stay the course. What would you offer?

Susi Astengo:

So narrowing it down to three is quite difficult, but I think if I reflect back on on my journey, what has helped me is to understand my target market and to stay true to that. So the vision, having the vision to democratize coaching, and also having the previous vision of professionalizing coaching, that kept me on course, because I think it's very, very easy to get distracted. So know your true north, identify what that is, be very clear about your market and stay connected. So I think that would be the second point is to stay connected. Seek feedback from your critical stakeholders in your world and in your market. So make sure that you are up to date with trends and research, and don't be afraid when one of the things I did in my first few years, don't be afraid to actually sit down with your clients and ask them, What could I do differently? What can I do better? What would make a difference for you? So to remember that it's about it's always, as an entrepreneur, it's always going to be about them and not you. And if you can focus on them and not on yourself, I think that will, and will certainly help you to stay the course. And then I think the third one, if I can only restrict it to three, is be prepared to fail. And it's I have had my greatest successes. And I'm sure that's, you know, it's not something that, that I've invented, is that, but we learn most from when we fail, not from when we're successful. So to know and to also to be prepared to see it as a cycle, and a bit like a roller coaster ride, there are going to be lots of highs, and then there'll be some lows, and actually, this too shall pass. So at home, that's our motto, this too shall pass. So whenever having a high really, really enjoy it, because this too shall pass. And when you're in those low lows, you know that this too shall pass. So I think those would be my those would be my top three.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

I love that. So everyone know your know your target market, know your audience, stay connected to your market as well. I mean, and and know what the customer is looking for. So so keep them in mind, as Susi saying, and I love this last one that you've reiterated that that life is a roller coaster. So too is your business. Know that the highs are going to come and enjoy them, and when the lows come, grab the opportunities from there to learn, and then, you know, Move Move along. Move ahead, from there too. So really, really love that Susi, you know, and you and coach matching has been, you know, has been growing. As you said, it's over 16 years. There's so much that's been going on. I've, I've been a part of that for a short while now, but I can see how amazing things are going. Do you want to share? Perhaps, where you envision the business growing into and and some of the things that you might be working on that you feel would be you'd be open to share in terms of the next step?

Susi Astengo:

Yeah, sure thing. So, yeah, the coaching industry has evolved quite significantly. And I think also with AI and chatgpt and navigate and Claude and all those sorts of things coming. Yeah. So what I see happening in the world is that we're moving from the knowledge economy, because knowledge is very easily accessible, into the relational economy, and as such, the importance of how to connect is becoming more and more and more crucial. Is this ever disconnected world? Wow. You know, the irony of the whole thing is that, you know, with with social media, we're supposed to be so connected, and we are very plugged into stuff, but we're not necessarily plugged into each other. And if we think about creating psychologically safe, not soft, work environments, then organizations need to to help their people, whether those are individual contributors or those people in a leadership role. How do how do we connect and and so the the a lot of what we're going to be doing is going to be around that I also see that the there is a significant shift away from traditional leadership development and leadership development programs and culture and transformation, and looking for those bite sized connections and those sort of coaching circles, and I always refer to them as your tribe. You know, who are my people? Who's my tribe and work, who can I trust and who can who can I ask advice for? And it's not necessarily the whole sort of the linear approach of I don't know how to do something, so therefore I'm going to ask my leader or my manager. It's I don't know how to do something, I'm going to ask my peer group. And so I think that there is a huge shift towards creating those social connection points. And coaching is very, very well placed to assist in doing that. So you know, as you will, you'll know, but the listeners won't know. We've created a top to bottom, end to end. Fully integrated, tech enabled coaching solutions. So that means that right at the very the very bottom, where there's huge volume of people who still want advice and guidance and coaching, but there isn't a budget there, we've created the coach bots through to training up leaders in a coaching style of leadership and and then looking at the whole relationship dynamic around you know, how do I how do I communicate for connectivity, as opposed to communicating to command, control and clarify, but communicating to connect, and that's where I see there's a significant shift in the coaching industry, in the coaching world, and where we can actually really make a difference. So as you all know, we're running lots of master classes on things like communicating to connect and then putting in place those, those human touch points. So there's the tech savviness, but there's also the human touch points around, you know, setting up a coaching circle, having access to a coach on call, maybe using a coach bot, and so really getting creative around blending solutions that enable people to access just in time learning. And I think that also talks to how we see the generation shifting in in the work, workforce, where, you know, we've got the first truly digital nomads and instant gratification generations, so people who want it and they want it now, as opposed to having the, you know, the traditional sort of leadership development. And then there's, you know, there's a long delay, there's no social engagement, there's no reinforcement. And then there's the critical point in their career where they need to do something, and you need to be able to apply some of that learning, and it's been so far since, you know, so long ago, since they actually, they've forgotten, and they or they remember, but they're not confident because they haven't been practicing. So it's thinking about, how can we build those, those skills and immerse people and create a different way of engaging. And we often, just to summarize, call it the four C's. So it's courage, which you alluded to earlier, curiosity to for self and others, and compassion and that leads to connectedness. So where, I think that, you know, that's the direction that we're all headed in, and that comes from comes from Prof and David clutterbucks work on what makes for a great coach and what makes for a great leader.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yes, oh, that's beautiful, and a beautiful way to sum it up as part of the values, because you're right, that creativity to build solutions for a multi generational workforce. I mean, that's the only real way we're going to be able to capture that connectivity and the other C's as well that you're talking about. So that's beautiful to hear, absolutely beautiful to hear. Susi. I can't believe we're coming to the end of our show, because you've you've given us so many beautiful nuggets. You've shared bits and pieces of your story, which are so beautiful and so touching as well. I think as we wrap up the show, Susie, I really love it. If you could share something that continues to keep inspiring you, so it could be a poem, a quote, a song lyric, or something spiritual that just keeps you on your own journey of personal growth and professional growth. What would that be?

Susi Astengo:

Sure so it's an easy one for me, because it's kept me focused for the last few decades. And it's a beautiful quote by Maya Angelou, and it says people will forget what you did, and they'll forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. And that has that has really helped me to stay in that space of the 4c be compassionate with people when they are struggling, and be curious, as opposed to judgmental and and be courageous when when articulating and building relationships and and growing.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

That's beautiful and a beautiful way for us to end off our episode today and our conversation so Susi, thank you so much for everything that you've shared with us today and wishing you all of that this into the future as well with the business.

Susi Astengo:

Thanks, Arthi, it's been such a pleasure chatting to you today. Thank you the opportunity.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Thank you, Susi. Take care.

Susi Astengo:

Thanks. You too. Bye.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Thank you so much for joining me on this episode today. If you like what you heard, rate the episode and podcast and feel free to write a review, plus, of course, share with others too. I love talking around topics like these, so if you like my perspective or insight on the subject close to your heart or something that you're grappling with, reach out to me in your comments or send me an email via my website or connect with me via LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook, all my social media on the podcast. Information, if it's important to you, then it's important to you. So happy listening to the inspire your life podcast and catch you soon on the next episode. Bye.