Dr. Ranjini Manian’s fireside chat with Dr. Satya Sriram on the topic ‘Reinvent Yourself to #BreakTheBias’ can come down to one sentence: ’Take your empowerment into your own hands’. The two female icons converse about the trials and trepidations that come with self-reinvention, but more importantly, the liberation that it brings. From prioritisation to overcoming the fear of failure, this talk brings it all to the table. The duo elaborate on some ChampionWoman Truths, which are tidbits of empowering wisdom from many role models available on the ChampionWoman app, adding their own experiences and thoughts on the same. Being comfortable with who you are is the ultimate sign of success: Moving into an unfamiliar world, it is important to be comfortable with every aspect of yourself to form connections, whether it means taking pride in your culture or owning your position in the workplace. ‘Your net worth soars with your self-worth. Only if you ask, you receive: Here, Dr. Satya narrates the story of how she spoke up and asked her employer if she could develop ‘The Hindu’s’ digital platform and now, it is among the leading digital subscription platforms in the country. Simply put, ‘ask politely, but ask’. Placing your wallet in someone else’s hand has to be a conscious decision: Financial awareness is paramount as the future is a constant unknown. The duo converses about how women must take earning in their own hands, but also enjoy it with freedom. As Dr. Satya says, ‘financial independence is a lot of work, but we owe it to ourselves’. We get more of what we tolerate: As a majority of unpaid work is done by women at home, Dr. Satya talks about the importance of taking the time to replenish your energy. Wherever you are, ‘ask for what you need and change what you tolerate’. You are the best judge of what you can and should be: Emphasising that you are the one who knows yourself best, Dr. Satya talks about going to Singapore at the age of 16 which opened up a world of opportunities for her, simply because she knew what she was capable of. The conversation moves to the roadblocks that often accompany life and how to circumvent them, with Dr. Satya emphasising that ‘with no roadblocks, life isn’t really fun; it’s just a monotonous drive’. Here, Dr. Satya emphasises the importance of 3 main ways in which women can create success for themselves: Find yourself a mentor. These are people who will create opportunities for you that lead you down unfamiliar paths, helping you reinvent yourself. Don’t be afraid of risk-taking. Approach everything with a mindset of doing the best you can while not fearing failure and, as Dr. Satya says, this often ‘gets us a lot farther than we think’. Talk to people. Ensure that you are surrounded by multiple perspectives as everyone sees the same world in a different way. Finally, this week’s ChampionWoman Truths Special ends with the question ‘how does one set smart goals?’ Dr. Satya explains how your pace and mindset change as life progreses. She describes how she evolved from an accelerated, growth-oriented mindset to a more stable, impact-oriented one, moving from setting 2 year to 3-5 year goals. Dr. Ranjini adds that the key to actually achieving goals is ‘giving yourself a chance to succeed’.