Episode Details

IQ may get you into the room. EQ may help you relate to people. But what helps you lead yourself?

Today’s guest is Nami Prakesh, a former scientist and corporate healthcare communications leader who spent more than two decades in high-pressure executive leadership before embarking on a deeply personal journey of healing and transformation.

That journey led her to develop The Mind Quotient (MQ)—a framework centered on what she describes as inner mastery.

In this conversation, Nami explains why she believes self-awareness, self-management, and intentional action are essential skills that many of us were never formally taught.

We explore:

• What led Nami from science and healthcare communications into coaching
• The personal journey that led to the creation of Mind Quotient
• Why she describes the mind as our most powerful tool
• Why genuine self-awareness can be difficult to develop
• The difference between internal self-awareness and external self-awareness
• How introspection can help us understand our reactions and patterns
• Why feedback from other people is an important part of self-awareness
• Why external achievements can become a source of validation
• Learning to give ourselves the appreciation and support we often seek from outside
• What Nami means by Mind Quotient (MQ)
• Why she sees MQ as the “third quotient”
• The relationship between IQ, EQ, and MQ
• Why self-leadership matters even when we don’t have a formal leadership title
• How distractions, technology, and external expectations can make self-leadership harder
• Why Nami believes people should develop their inner skills before reaching a moment of crisis
• How MQ is assessed through self-reflection rather than comparison with other people
• Why she believes your “true measure” is yourself
• The questions behind the MQ assessment, including sleep, eating, self-awareness, self-management, and intentional action
• Why MQ can be understood as asking: “How’s your MQ today?”
• How MQ Circles provide tools, strategies, and guided conversations for integration
• Why Nami wants Mind Quotient to become part of everyday language

At the heart of Nami’s philosophy is a simple challenge:

Focus on yourself—with courage.

Not as an invitation to become self-absorbed, but as an invitation to develop the awareness and inner skills necessary to live with greater clarity, resilience, intention, and alignment.

🌍 Thought Atlas

https://joinpodmatch.com/thoughtatlas

🧠 Take the Free MQ Assessment

MQ Check-In

https://mqcheckin.com/

Nami explicitly says this is a free MQ test. She says it also provides tools at the end of the assessment.

🔵 Learn More About Mind Quotient

The Mind Quotient

https://themindquotient.co/

Nami says listeners can learn about and join an MQ Circle, where the tools and strategies are shared alongside open, guided conversations focused on integration and how the ideas apply to life and work.

📚 The MQ Press

The MQ Press

https://themqpress.com/

Nami says this is where listeners can find her book, as well as where future works and books will be published.

📱 Follow Nami

Nami says listeners can follow her across social media under:

Coach Nami

She spells it:

C-O-A-C-H-N-A-M-I