How Ignoring My Superpower Nearly Cost Me Everything
—And How Embracing It Built the Business of My Dreams
Today at a glance:
A friend who challenged me on my superpowerFinally ——-Leaning into my superpower
The agenda to my Mastermind retreat this Saturday
Many years ago, I had a good friend named Elli.
He lived on 83rd Street.
I lived on 85th Street.
We shared many a margarita and plaintain chip at the neighborhood watering hole on 84 street.
I first met him when I was on ABC. He ran ‘behind the camera’ operations at the American Stock Exchange.
I was on camera.
For years, we threw fantastic themed wine tastings on his back deck. 40 friends would show up at a clip.
They were epic.
Afterwards, as we cleaned up the plastic cups and caps, he would say to me, “Joya, I don’t know about this TV stuff. You should do events for a living.”
Of course, at the time I pooh-poohed it.
I was on the #1 station in the country.
I was on the #1 station in NYC.
I was on TV during the block that commanded the highest ad dollars at the time ( 15 minutes before “Good Morning America”)
This is what I had wanted since I was 4 years old.
I had sacrificed so much for it.
This Saturday, I host a day-long retreat at this beautiful loft in Williamsburg to kick off my Mastermind.
Throughout the day, I ask questions like this:
Are there parts of you that went dormant because you thought business and or career could do without it?
What is your superpower?
How can you embrace all of who you are in 2025?
I ask these questions because I let that side of me, organizing events, go dormant.
Meanwhile, it IS my superpower. It’s how I built a massive community. It’s how I built the business I have today.
These photos are from the early days of my business (2013).
Three hundred.
Three hundred women were showing up to my events.
This looks like I’m giving a “I have a dream” speech.
But I kinda was.
A whole generation of Indian woman had grown up watching me on TV at a time when no Indian women were on mainstream TV. I had unapologetically been telling my story all the while: It’s what I wanted since I was 4 years old. I did it, regardless of what they or anyone else thought. I paid it for myself. No parents in the picture.
I had NO idea people had been listening.
The events were the first time I was on the OTHER side of the camera.
Today, my sales team and I did a strategy session on “What’s next?” now that the Mastermind is kicking off.
I shared my “VIP Days,” where I help women inside a corporate build a powerful personal brand, but I also build a cultural immersive around them.
36 hours in Corfu (June)
36 hours in Paris (October)
36 hours in Vienna (December)
yes, I could host Webinars. Workshops.
But —-events are my superpower.
I should be leaning into it —-hard.
What I did last week
Went upstate for the long weekend and device free. What I learned about myself was powerful: I’m content leaving the TV anchor avatar behind and settling into ‘business owner’ with a powerful brand, that I can build with all the tools at my fingertips: camera, editing tools, microphone.
I spent the week working on tying a bow around the retreat. My Mastermind members get to be the grand beneficiary of a wonderful day Saturday to kick off their year with me. See the agenda here.
What I’m looking forward to
Hot yoga on Sunday at my favorite Lower East Side studio ID Hot Yoga.
My first TimeLeft Dinner. Their tagline is “Have dinner with strangers.” I dig it.
"Barbie: A Cultural Icon" at the Museum of Arts and Design. The Exhibit chronicles Barbie's birth in 1959 and spans 65 years, marking milestones like the arrival of Ken. The exhibition runs through March 16.
The Winter Show, an annual art, antiques & design fair at the Park Avenue Armory. It’s quintessential New York City.
The Manhattan Vintage Show! at the Metropolitan Pavilion. ExciTED!
The Insider’s Edit
Links I love this week
Morning habits of high earners. Your mind speaks loudest in the morning. Listen up.
The best hotels in Paris: The Brach in the 16th. Philippe Starck restored a former postal sorting facility to create this concept hotel. Like, why am I not on a plane there now?
When did people start eating dessert? I never skip!
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
1.Join the Samita Lab Mastermind. Join 7 other women leaders in giving a TEDx style talk on a NYC stage in front of 200 people at the end.
2. The Anatomy of a 'No' If you’re struggling to say ‘no’ gracefully at work, I created a digital community where all my scripts are organized (15,000 downloaded)
I’ll add to it each week.
3. Enroll in my workshop: “3 tips to supercharge your TEDx Application”
1600 already took it.