Ioana Turcan

I need to give it some more thought. I need to think harder.  Where do I even start ? Do you ever tell yourself these things ? Are you oftentimes confronted with a task seemingly so complicated that you do not know where to begin – and can not see the end of it ?  Did it ever hit you that you might be looking at the problem the wrong way or approaching it the wrong way? What if your thought process is fundamentally erroneous, or at the least renders the task at hand harder than it actually is. Ideate …

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“The pen is mightier than the sword” and the voice trumps both.  Our voice is one of the most important attributes we possess. Whilst some may be born with the gift of eloquence, for the large majority, effective and convincing communication is a skill to be learnt and mastered.  One of our Aspire professors, Dr. Sam Potolicchio, who was named one of “America’s Best Professors” by the Princeton Review, is an expert in political communications. Politics being the realm of rhetoric par excellence, who better than Dr. Potolicchio to teach at Aspire about the real power of speech. During my …

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What to leave behind in 2021 and what to bring to 2022 2021 is finally coming to an end which is a relief for many. This overwhelming year of lockdowns and quarantining challenged us all. Professionally, many spent time working and studying from home. Personally, our lives have been durably impacted with some of our pre-pandemic habits lost and new ones made. Our daily routine has a direct impact on our stress levels, productivity and our overall happiness and health. This post will give you four compelling ideas concerning what to leave behind in 2021 and what to bring to …

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Perhaps just reading the word ‘failure’ made you flinch. Any vivid, haunting memories come to mind? We identify failure with a lack of success and tend to take it very personally but most importantly, negatively. Yet such a view is not warranted.  Failure deserves to be redefined.  Failure deserves to not seem so demoralising.  Failure deserves to be valued.  When Thomas Edison was asked about how he felt to have repeatedly failed in designing a working light bulb, he replied freely “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10, 000 ways that won’t work.” One should strive to always have …

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