By Neeti Keswani – Business Storytelling Coach | Ho’oponopono Practitioner | Host of Luxury Unplugged Podcast
In a world obsessed with scaling, networking, and pitching, we often forget the one person who shapes every relationship we build: ourselves.
As a business storytelling coach and host of the Luxury Unplugged Podcast, I’ve worked with conscious entrepreneurs and high-achieving professionals around the world. But my biggest breakthroughs in partnerships didn’t come from better pitches or perfect branding-they came from self-awareness.
In this blog, I’m sharing the exact mindset shifts and emotional intelligence tools I used to 10X the quality, alignment, and results of my business partnerships. And I’m doing it in the format I use in all my deep coaching conversations-Q&A style.
Let’s go inward, so you can expand outward.
❓1. What is self-awareness, really—and why does it matter in business partnerships?
Self-awareness is the ability to notice your own thoughts, emotions, patterns, and beliefs in real time. It’s knowing how you show up, how you react, and why you do what you do.
In business partnerships, self-awareness is everything. It helps you:
- Set better expectations
- Communicate with clarity
- Avoid self-sabotage
- Attract aligned collaborators
Without self-awareness, partnerships are built on unconscious triggers. With it, they become intentional, expansive, and deeply profitable.
❓2. When did you realize self-awareness was the missing link?
It was during a collaboration that looked “perfect” on paper—but felt off energetically.
I had the strategy, the platform, the aligned goals. But something wasn’t flowing. I felt myself holding back, doubting, overcompensating. That’s when I paused and asked: What is this partnership reflecting back to me about me?
Through journaling, emotional inquiry, and Ho’oponopono, I discovered that I had a pattern of people-pleasing. I was afraid of disappointing others, which led to over-delivering and emotional depletion.
That insight shifted everything.
❓3. How does self-awareness change the way you choose partners?
When you know yourself, you stop chasing shiny collaborations. You start choosing people who align with your core values, not just your business goals.
For me, this looked like:
- Seeking collaborators who value emotional depth over just data
- Saying no to energy-draining deals, even if they were lucrative
- Prioritizing shared vision, mutual respect, and soul-alignment
The result? Less drama, more flow. Less friction, more growth. My partnerships began to feel like soul contracts—not just contracts.
❓4. What practical tools helped you build self-awareness in your business life?
Here are the 3 tools I use every week—and teach in my coaching programs:
- Emotional Journaling
Every evening, I ask:- What triggered me today?
- What did I learn about myself?
- Ho’oponopono Practice
This healing method clears emotional residue. I repeat:
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.”
Especially after tense meetings or communication breakdowns. - Mirror Check-In
I ask: “Am I leading this partnership from fear or authenticity?”
It brings me back to my truth—and my power.
These tools aren’t complicated. But when used with consistency, they are transformative.
❓5. How did self-awareness help you set better boundaries?
Before, I used to overcommit. I’d say yes out of guilt or FOMO. But then I’d resent the other person—or myself.
With self-awareness, I now:
- Pause before replying
- Check if a request aligns with my emotional bandwidth
- Communicate clearly when something feels off
- Normalize saying “Not now” or “This doesn’t feel right for me”
Boundaries are not walls. They’re filters. They allow the right people in and keep your energy sacred. And when you respect your boundaries, others do too.
❓6. Can self-awareness also improve how you show up in a partnership?
Absolutely. Many times, we focus on how others behave in business—but ignore how we contribute to misalignment.
Self-awareness helped me:
- Catch myself when I was projecting past wounds onto new partners
- Notice when I was shrinking to “keep the peace”
- Speak up with love and assertiveness instead of silent resentment
This emotional clarity built deeper trust. People began to feel safe around me—not just inspired. And that’s the kind of energy that scales partnership results.
❓7. What’s one self-awareness breakthrough that dramatically shifted your partnerships?
Here it is: I realized I didn’t have to earn my seat at the table. I just had to own it.
So many of us enter partnerships trying to prove our worth. We overdeliver. We undercharge. We tolerate misalignment. Why? Because we’re scared of being abandoned or “too much.”
Once I saw this pattern clearly, I reclaimed my space. I started initiating partnerships that felt mutual. I stopped auditioning—and started co-creating.
That inner shift led to outer miracles.
❓8. How does self-awareness help in conflict resolution?
Conflict isn’t bad. Unconscious conflict is.
Self-awareness gives you emotional range. You can express without exploding. You can receive feedback without collapsing. You can navigate differences with curiosity, not ego.
Here’s my 3-step conflict navigation I teach clients:
- Pause – Don’t react. Breathe.
- Process – Ask: What part of me is hurt?
- Respond – Speak from awareness, not accusation.
This changed how I communicate in every partnership. We stopped avoiding hard conversations. We started having healing ones.
❓9. How did all of this lead to 10X growth in your partnerships?
Once I became emotionally clear, I attracted partnerships that were:
- Spiritually aligned
- Energetically sustainable
- Financially expansive
- Based on mutual emotional intelligence
Some of these partners became podcast guests. Others became collaborators in healing circles or storytelling projects. We built together with less friction and more frequency.
In just one year, I 10Xed my active collaborations—and they weren’t just more, they were better.
Why? Because I did the inner work first.
❓10. What advice do you have for anyone struggling with draining partnerships?
Start with you—not them.
Ask:
- What is this partnership reflecting about my needs or wounds?
- Where am I abandoning myself?
- What boundary or truth have I been avoiding?
Then, take a self-aware action. Maybe it’s a conversation. Maybe it’s an exit. Maybe it’s an energetic reset.
Don’t wait for others to change. Shift your frequency. The right people will rise to meet you there.
💬 Final Thoughts
In a noisy, fast-paced business world, self-awareness is your anchor. It’s your compass. It’s your clarity.
It helps you stop chasing validation and start creating alignment. It reveals your blind spots, heals your wounds, and makes room for partnerships that feel like home.
When I stopped outsourcing power and started embodying presence, my business—and my life—changed. You can 10X your partnerships too. But it won’t start with a strategy. It’ll start with a question: What part of me needs to be seen, heard, or healed?
That’s where the expansion begins.
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🌟 About Neeti Keswani
I’m Neeti Keswani—Business Storytelling Coach, Ho’oponopono Practitioner, and host of the Luxury Unplugged Podcast.
I help conscious entrepreneurs and creatives build emotionally intelligent brands and partnerships that align with who they really are. Through storytelling, spiritual tools, and deep coaching, I guide you to build success that feels whole, not hollow.
Let’s stop performing. Let’s start aligning.
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📞 Connect With Me
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