Learning on the Jobs: Interview Naz Beheshti, Former Executive Assistant to Steve Jobs
I recently went one on one with Naz Beheshti. Naz began her career as the executive assistant to Steve Jobs; is the founder and CEO of Prananaz; and is the author of the new book Pause, Breathe, Choose: Become the CEO of Your Well-Being.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Naz: It all started when the seed was planted in my first job out of college, working for one of the most iconic visionaries of our time. As Steve Jobs's executive assistant at Apple, high expectations and demands in a fast-paced, high-stress environment was par for the course. The day I started at Apple was the day Steve dropped his i for interim CEO title and officially became Apple's CEO again. At the same time, I dropped my own i—myself. Caught up in Steve's world, I dismissed my own.
Day after day, I made sure he had the strict vegetarian meals essential to his daily routine. While attending faithfully to Steve's well-being, I ignored my own. I snacked on Hershey's kisses and remained wired and stressed long after the workday was over. One day I surprised Steve by including an oatmeal raisin cookie with his meal, thinking it was a healthy dessert choice. While cleaning up later, I found the whole cookie in his trash can.
At that moment, I realized: my version of healthy was Steve's garbage—quite literally.
Although I began to question my habits, I did not fundamentally transform my lifestyle right away. Yet a seed had been planted. I could see how my own habits held me back from being the best version of myself. At the same time, I could see how Steve's mindfulness and self-care made his intense level of focus and energy sustainable.
After Apple, I worked at a tech startup where I simultaneously wore many hats, followed by sales roles at Yahoo (the Google of its time) and AstraZeneca. They were all fun and exciting at the beginning until a staleness crept in, and I started to wear out my snooze button dragging myself out of bed every morning. Something was missing—a sense of passion and purpose. Thus, with a few friends who were also void of fulfillment, we decided to start a nonprofit school in Haiti on the side. While I was trying to figure out my life, I wanted to make meaningful impact in the lives of the poorest of the poor children through food, education, and healthcare.
In parallel, while working at AstraZeneca visiting doctors day in and day out, I discovered a wellness gap. Not only were people stressed at work lacking the tools and strategies to manage stress and build resilience, but when they would visit their doctor, their doctor did not have the time to get to the root of their problem. There was a wellness gap in the workplace and society at large. Since most of our time is spent at work, I saw an opportunity to help bridge the wellness gap by providing workplace wellness programs, benefiting both the employees and the organization. When employees feel better, businesses do better. It is a win-win situation.
This was when I decided to go back to school to get additional training so that I could start a corporate wellness company coaching leaders to fulfill their highest business, personal, and social potential, as well as creating and implementing custom employee well-being programs to address the needs and goals of employees and employers.
Adam: What are the key lessons you hope readers take away from your new book?
Naz: The key to thriving in today's high-pressure culture is to cultivate deep self-awareness and strong emotional intelligence, which facilitates making mindful choices that transform your life: One conscious choice begets another.
Pause. Breathe. Choose. is a roadmap to becoming the CEO of your well-being and teaches readers how to:
· Master mindfulness to access your authentic self and make better choices
· Strengthen self-awareness and emotional intelligence to cultivate stronger connections
· Upgrade your mindset and behavior to take charge of your life
· Manage stress and build resilience to bounce forward and thrive
· Connect your head and your heart to lead with passion and purpose
· Be at the top of your game in all areas of your life
· Gain greater energy, clarity, and creativity to navigate change and growth with confidence
· Improve leadership effectiveness, employee well-being, employee engagement, and company culture in your organization
You have the power and the choice to be the CEO of your well-being and take charge of all areas of your life so that you can truly live your best life.
Adam: What are the best lessons you learned directly from Steve Jobs?
Naz: The most profound and influential lesson I learned working with Steve that has inspired me and ultimately led me to my passion, purpose, and profession is that well-being drives success. In other words, our greatest wealth is our well-being. Practicing a holistic approach to well-being is fundamental for sustained success in all areas of your life. This means having a fulfilling career you are passionate about, healthy relationships, proper sleep and nutrition, regular physical activity, a mindfulness practice, and a purposeful life, which I can say with much gratitude is what I practice and teach.
Adam: More broadly, what are the best lessons you learned from your time working for Steve Jobs?
Naz: "Never settle for less, no matter what obstacles you face. These very words have defined my character. They are the driving force that has enabled me to turn my passion into my profession. Now, every day, I have the good fortune and opportunity to pay it forward by working with inspiring leaders and organizations with the mission of changing lives and helping companies excel." Excerpt from my book Pause. Breathe. Choose.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Naz: An effective leader is a mindful leader who is inspired and inspiring with head heart alignment. They are fueled by passion and purpose and have high emotional intelligence. Influential leaders energize, engage, and motivate people to fulfill their highest potential while attending to their own personal and professional development.
Effective leaders must have high emotional intelligence, be excellent communicators, innovative, agile, and resilient. In order to embody these qualities, they must prioritize their well-being so that they can be at the top of their game and show up as their best self and make meaningful and aligned impact.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Naz: Meditate daily. Listen more. Step outside of your comfort zone.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Naz:
Invest in yourself – prioritize and optimize your well-being and lead by example.
Invest in your people – cultivating a culture of engaged, happy employees is a win-win. When employees feel better, businesses do better.
Use the Pause. Breathe. Choose. Method throughout your day, which translates mindfulness into action. It is a practice that enables you to take a pause (from mind wandering, stressors, or any situation), to pay attention and become present, to hit the reset button, and to gain a fresh perspective. A simple pause followed by conscious breathing better equips you to make a mindful choice and take aligned action.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Naz: Develop high emotional intelligence. It is key to both personal and professional success. It enables you to see things from different perspectives and be more creative and empathetic. Right now, when remote work is the new norm and will indefinitely continue this way for many companies, it is imperative to be able to connect, motivate, and engage with your team. Creativity, adaptability, collaboration, and effective communication are all essential skills.
The inner work of practicing mindful emotional intelligence lets us step outside of ourselves. Thus, allowing ourselves to do the more meaningful work of leading and empowering others.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Naz: My mother gave me the best advice, and I initially dismissed it because I was in the productivity trap and was not ready to receive it. Finally, when I was ready (ten years later), I took her wise advice to meditate – to get initiated in TM – transcendental meditation. My TM practice changed my life. Within a few short weeks of being trained, people around me noticed a difference. I was calmer, less reactive, more patient, and had a sense of peace. She also took me to my first yoga class at the age of 18 at the Yoga Source in Palo Alto, which also changed my life. Yoga and meditation are my medicine. They have made me stronger and more flexible in both mind and body and bring me a sense of peace, clarity, creativity, and joy.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.