Top 10 Most Inspiring Women 2018

Sital Soni

Elm Strategies | HR Consultant/Career Coach

Jane Clark | Creative Director & Owner Teakettica LLC

Jane Clark, Co-Founder of BrandSwan

Why We Chose Sital Soni

“Sital was sitting on a panel at… yes… a Mascara & Mimosas event. (Yes, I’m noticing a pattern…) I cannot recall what the topic was, as this was at least 3 or 4 years ago. She impressed me with her eloquent yet authentic way of speaking to the room. You could tell that she knew her stuff. She not only could answer all of the audience’s questions, but she provided a level of insight that really just connected all the dots. When I saw her again at the Delaware Small Business Chamber, I recalled her striking presence and how she could command a room. Yet, she still retains a softness that makes her incredibly approachable.  As breast cancer survivor and someone who heavily volunteers for the Middletown Area Chamber of Commerce, Sital offers herself up as a resource to those who can benefit from her experiences. I am so looking forward to getting to know her better and seeing where she continues to go.”

Jane Clark Signature

Sital Soni

ELM Strategies | HR Consultant/Career CoacH

Sital Soni |Day 6 Top 10 Inspiring Women 2018 | Teakettica LLC

Tell us a little bit about your career. (What does your job entail? How did you get into the field? Etc.)

I’m happy to be in the people business, certified in the human resources profession and owner of a small HR consultancy practice – ELM Strategies. The business emphasis is two-fold, offering HR services to businesses and to individuals seeking career coaching. Through a unique approach to HR consulting, my focus is on the concept of Employee Lifecycle Management. By looking at business or personal development as a continuous process of change, clients benefit from a holistic and integrated solution to HR and career challenges. Overall, my inspiration is to develop and strengthen people for success!

How do you achieve work/life balance?

Work/life balance – I often discuss this topic with clients as gaining that peaceful mind-body-soul connection to help achieve their goals. While there are several ways to promote that balance, for me, I include praying, meditating, exercising, smiling, and laughing. It is about cultivating loving, collaborative relationships at home, with family, friends, and clients. I eat, primarily, a healthy vegetarian diet, rich in the Indian cuisine I was fortunate to be raised in. While this is a bit more challenging, I strive to get restful sleep, journaling, and reading regularly too.

What change do you want to see in the world, and how are you aiding that cause?

Tolerance, Kindness, Collaboration. We live this one beautiful life, each of us striving to set our own wonderful intentions and meaningful purpose. My intentions are to always honor each individual and support and respect their definition of success. I work to demonstrate, through my actions and words with my husband, children, and family, my intent to think globally and act locally. I work and volunteer diligently within our community to try to reciprocate the love and support we have been so blessed to receive over the years.

Give a shout out to a woman or women who you consider to be your mentor(s)

This is an easy one – my Mom, Naresha, the most unselfish, generous, loving and kind person I know. My three sisters who know me best – each loving and brutally honest, holding me accountable, always supporting my efforts and providing the artistic guidance I don’t have. I’m blessed with a number of other beautiful women who have serendipitously come into my life and offered so many positive mentoring moments both personally and professionally. My amazing mentors – all encouraging, aligned, generous of their time, and setting a positive example in life.

We understand that you are a breast cancer survivor. What advice can you offer other women going through the same experience, as well as what people can do to support them?

I’m officially one-year cancer-free! Yay! I feel tremendously blessed to have paid attention to the signs and learned from the history of breast cancer in my family. My regular 6-month screenings over the years turned to biopsies in October 2016 after detecting some changes. While still benign, those results ultimately led me to understand that I needed to be more proactive. After researching my options, consulting doctors, gaining insights from family, friends, and other survivors, I decided to go through a preventative bilateral mastectomy. This was a very difficult choice, but a choice that I felt was right for me. Remarkably, even after that deliberate process, two days after my surgery doctors shared they found breast cancer on my right side! I was shocked and felt a deeper appreciation having made this surgery decision.

My advice, with or without a history of breast cancer, put yourself first and be diligent about getting screened. Do your homework, advocate for yourself, find a trusted team of doctors, listen to options, talk to experts, communicate and discuss with family, friends and other survivors, but know your story is unique to you! The ultimate decision on your path forward is your own – you are in control of your own choices! Make them wisely, but make them.

Now that you have the highlights of my story I request two things. First, I’m ready to pay it forward, just as the amazing women who shared their stories and were by my side throughout my journey. Please feel free to email me if you or someone you know find themselves on the breast cancer path: ssoni03@verizon.net. Second, in our Indian tradition, monetary donations to a cause or for a gift comes in the form of $11, $21, $51, $101, etc. That extra $1 is wishing the recipient more prosperity (similar to putting that extra candle on a birthday cake,) so should you donate to a cancer organization, I ask you please add an extra $1 on my behalf.

What advice can you give other women who are struggling, either professionally or personally, to bounce back into the swing of things?

Brainstorm and inventory what’s important to you. Align yourself, your activities, and your work, with your ‘important list.’ Surround yourself only with positive energy including the people that will be most supportive of your journey. Be patient with yourself, follow your freshly aligned priorities day by day, celebrate even the smallest successes, and enjoy the journey to better happiness.

If you had to start over from scratch knowing what you know now, would you do anything different? If so, what would you do?

Good question. I would have loved to be blessed with a more artistic mind, like my sisters, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me. I’ve come to terms with the fact that my artistry comes through working with people. I love what I do and love the life I live with Ray, my husband, and our boys. Perhaps learning to meditate sooner, or teaching my children more about the dialect of my parents would have been fruitful.

See you for day 7!

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