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Angella Nazarian

Angella Nazarian

Angella Nazarian is the best-selling author of Life As A Visitor (Assouline 2009), and motivational speaker covering topics such as personal growth, identity, and fulfillment. She is also a regular contributor to Huffington Post, More Magazine, Intent.com, and has had her award-winning poetry published in New Millennium Writings, as well as several other works in MO+TH publications. Look for Pioneers of the Possible: Celebrating Visionary Women of the World (Assouline 2012) available February 21, 2012

Blog Posts

  • April 10, 2013

    Life is Poetry

    The first time I met Desi, she was in the back seat of a convertible Jeep, her head tilted back, laughing, her curly long hair whipping her face in the wind.

    She came over and talked up a storm. She was unguarded and candid, as if somewhere in her growing up years she refreshingly had not learned to hide herself.

    We stayed in touch from time to time but it was really the last seven years of her life that we really got to know each other.

    She had called me seven years ago, just two days before Passover was to begin. There was seriousness in her tone and also concern—“I have cancer, Angella, and you know I am such a private person. I just want to share this with a few people around me.”

  • January 4, 2013

    The Anti New Year’s Resolution – Trading in Perfectionism for Excellence

    Let’s face it: how many of you start the new year promising yourself that you will go easier on yourself...that you will finally learn to let go of a project when its done without getting obsessed over every minute detail?

    Perfectionism runs in families. It may be that growing up we had been held to impossibly high standards or because we have a natural tendency toward anxiety and perfectionistic behavior becomes one of the ways to exercise control on the environment.

    When I was writing my book I was facing this dilemma day in and day out. The process of writing is a messy one, and it’s not perfect in anyway.

    If I were waiting for the perfect idea to cross my mind to start writing, I would have never even finished a chapter. Through writing I realized there’s a process to refining things and letting go.

  • July 20, 2012

    Yahoo! for Marissa Mayer: The Debate Over Work-family Balance Continues

    Good for Marissa Mayer for stepping up to the plate and accepting the position as Yahoo’s CEO. And good for Yahoo for making this decision with the knowledge of her pregnancy.

    Marissa has a lot of things going for her: a top-notch resume as a highly respected former Google executive and a vibrant, yet polished public persona — she’s the perfect fit.

    In the technology sector, where only 20% of the workforce are women, people like Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg are paving the way.

    While she’s making headlines, so has the issue of whether women really can “have it all” when it comes to both having a successful career and family life.

    In recent weeks, Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article in The Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All,” has fueled a national debate with the conversation going viral.

  • June 12, 2012

    Visionary Leadership: A Conversation with Jill Iscol

    When I was a young teenager, transplanted from the Middle East to the U.S., I was searching. While raising my kids, teaching at the university and going about my life, I was searching. Even before I knew what I was looking for, I was searching.

    I sensed early on that I needed markers and role models in my life who could inspire and lead me to a life that I always wanted to lead for myself.

    As I come to think of it, if there has been one common thread weaving itself throughout my life, it has been my search for connecting with people who embody a passion for life and a genuine yearning to live a life of meaning.

    All of us need role models at every stage in our lives since we are constantly reevaluating our lives and redefining our roles. Sometimes we need to search outside of our immediate circles for that spark of inspiration.

  • May 18, 2012

    Pioneers of the Possible: Visionary Women Entrepreneurs Share Keys to Success

    Photo caption: Photo taken at Milken Institutes's Global Conference on May 3, 2012

    Recently at the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles, I had the privilege of interviewing three visionary women entrepreneurs who have made tremendous contributions in their fields.

    These, like the visionary women in my book Pioneers of the Possible: Celebrating Visionary Women of the World, have learned valuable lessons about success that we can all benefit from.

    Here I've compiled a short list of the lessons learned from these powerhouses…but first, let me introduce my three panelists.

    Georgette Moschbacher is the CEO president of Borghese, a worldwide cosmetic company, who has now partnered with the Costco brand Kirkland retailing nationwide. She is also the author of two books Feminine Force and It Takes Money Honey.

  • May 10, 2012

    How Vegas Changed the Way I Think About My Mom

    “Well, I am sure I won’t lose you in the airport with the color pants that you are wearing today!” That was my mom’s way of greeting me - and my fuchsia pants - the day I met her at the airport to catch our flight to celebrate her 80th birthday in Las Vegas.

    Don’t get me wrong. I took no offense. Us feisty women in the family have no qualms about teasing each other and poking fun of ourselves for a few moments of giddy lightness and laughter.

    I kissed my mom on both cheeks, and pursed my lips to stop that defiant smile that was about to come across my face. “Oh. Just you wait until later today when I will wear my electric blue pants I have packed for our trip,” I thought to myself.

    You would think most moms her age opt for some calm, relaxing get-away, maybe a trip to a nearby spa. But not my mom! “How about we go to Las Vegas again,” she suggested the week before. Yes, again…for the 7th year in a row that is.

  • March 21, 2012

    Lead Your Life Like an Everyday Mystic

    When we read about the lives of the most successful women, we feel inspired, but we may ultimately think that their level of growth and success is beyond our reach.

    But by demystifying the essence of leadership, we can begin to see that we too can be exceptional leaders. Having researched the lives of an international group of visionary women for my book, Pioneers of the Possible, I now see that these women were indeed extraordinary because of a set of traits they all had in common.

    Pioneering women, or women who are able to rise and lift themselves to greater heights, are what I call “everyday mystics”. Many of their unique qualities fall in the realm of spiritual and personal attunement, which allows them to be both great visualizers and actualizers.

  • February 9, 2012

    Pioneers of the Possible: How to Become a Visionary In Your Own Life

    “Every single one of us has something special to do in this world. Our greatest challenge is become who we are at our very core and honor it.” — Angella Nazarian

    All writers write because, through writing, they are coming up with their own answers to questions. What set me off writing Pioneers of the Possible was a train ride from Washington, DC to NY in the dead of winter at the end of my book tour 2 years ago.

    I had just read this research that cited “personal example” as being one of the most important mediums of social transformation. What this means is that other people’s lives are a vehicle for inspiration and change in others. If we look back at our growth, there have been people, family members, or mentors that lead and encouraged us in our growth; and truthfully, I think we need a wider spectrum of women that hold the mirror before us and urge us to find our own personal source of genius and dedicate ourselves to it.

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Maria Shriver © 2013. All rights reserved.

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