Foreign. Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world? Remember, everyone not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo and share storeys that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too.

Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show. So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites. And today is episode 191 with the title Joyful Energy, Breakable Spirit. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Nassim Rochette. Naseem is an award winning author, a keynote speaker and joy seeker who seeks to help people reframe their storeys and help discover growth in life's toughest moments. When I asked Nassim to describe her superpower, she said that it is radiating joyful energy that inspires optimism in the face of adversity. Wow.

Hello, Nassim, welcome to the show.

Hi, Jo. Thank you for having me. And I hope that's my superpower. That's what I try.

Sounds amazing. And wow. I'm judging by the accent, you're not over here in the uk, where I'm based. Whereabouts in the world are you?

I wish that I were, but no, I am in New Jersey. Not that I don't love, you know, my life here in New Jersey, but I do love the uk. Yeah, it's a hot, sunny May Day. No, June day here in New Jersey.

Wow. Is it disproportionately warm? You know, it's like talking about the weather. Is it?

Is it, you know, like, it's a perfect day, but my office is my third floor attic, so it's a little bit hot up here. But, you know, I shouldn't complain about the sun.

No, no, there's plenty of going on in the world right now that we can complain about. The sun. The sun, yes.

There's plenty of craziness in the world right now. I need to appreciate. We always, although we always need to appreciate the little things especially, yeah, we're.

Less than a week on from the audacious Ukrainian drone strike, aren't we where it, that's just to put a date and time on this, you know, that was a bit audacious. Zelensky Web.

Yeah, there's a lot of, a lot of very concerning stuff going on in the world here in the U.S. you know, in the Mideast, in Europe. It's really hard to believe, which is why I think it's even more important. I love the work that you do, Jo, in making people feel included, because there is so much in the world that's happening that is, could, could divide us further.

Yeah, no, I agree. And it's, we get around the table and start having conversations around a table rather than throwing rocks at each other across the, across the garden wall, if you like. We're doing often.

Yeah.

So your, your superpower is about radiating joyful energy. As I said just now. Where did that come from? What got you into doing what you do?

You know, so it's, it's interesting. So I've always, on some level, been a joy seeker. You know, I was, I was, When I was a kid, I was, I was kind of a happy kid, but I was also a really, really insecure kid, you know, just paralysed with fear, shy. I grew up in New Jersey. You know, when I grew up, I'm 54 now, there were really no Indians in my town. I'm, you know, I'm of Indian origin. And I always felt different and like I didn't belong. But I also, also had this happy, you know, this natural inclination to be happy.