POWER

An Australian career coach offers a set of principles for boosting self-worth and thwarting self-negating thoughts.

“I was born in England to middle-class Nigerian parents in the 1970s,” writes Nekvapil, who was a foster child in five different white families before she was 18. Many Nigerian families, she writes, fostered their children through white families, hoping to give them “the best opportunities in life.” From an early age, the author had to quash the self-defeating ideas about being a Black woman that society has thrust upon her. Initially trained as an actor, Nekvapil became a bakery entrepreneur before moving to Australia with her husband to start a family. She addresses honestly the kind of prejudice she has had to overcome as a Black woman, rejecting the instinct to apologize or make herself small and invisible. She emphasizes the necessity of shifting the paradigm from thinking that we must have external power over someone else to nurture an internal sense of power, and she sets out five “Power Principles,” which include presence, ownership, wisdom, equality, and responsibility. Considering each of these straightforward principles, Nekvapil offers letters from readers about their own stories. Most helpfully, after each section, the author poses questions that engage readers in active reflection—e.g., “What one action could you take today to practice presence?” “Who or what do you need to see to feel that you belong?” Finally, Nekvapil discusses the benefits of having real power, which could include the power of money, the power to lead, and the power of privilege. The final exercise is putting these many principles into action: “Practice owning your thoughts, your words, your voice, your power.” Influenced by the work of Elizabeth Gilbert, Martha Beck, and others, Nekvapil imparts how not to be afraid of power.

Uplifting advice for fellow seekers encouraged by self-help guidance.