A new direction
Dedicating my life to making a difference in the lives of working professionals by transforming their experience of work.
My purpose:
To empower people to find fulfillment and happiness in the JOURNEY of life, irrespective of the circumstances.
Goals are GREAT! I would not be who I am today without going after my goals. Big fan! But too often, we defer joy and happiness in anticipation of these goals, only to realize that even after we achieve them, the happiness is short-lived and often absent. And then, off we go in pursuit of the next goal! No wonder they call it the hamster’s wheel!
Looking back, some of the best times I had were when I was working with my team, brothers and sisters in arms, fighting the good fight.
The philosophy behind my purpose is not new. In 1884, Ralph Waldo Emerson said “To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.”
Something similar was said by Krishna in the Bhagwat Gita 5,000 years ago – “You have the right to work only but never to its fruits.
Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.”
The question remains – how do you implement this philosophy in your daily life?
2020: My pivot towards purpose
For the last 20+ years, my career was focused on creating marketing and training programs, mostly for Fortune 500 companies. My first taste of making a difference in peoples’ life came in 2012, when I led a transformative workshop to help participants overcome obstacles in living their life powerfully. After leading transformative workshops for individuals for a few years, in 2016, I created and facilitated a workshop on “Living life on Purpose”. During that process I discovered my purpose and embarked on a journey to transform peoples’ experience of work. Since then, I have pivoted my career to focus on activities in which I make a difference in people’s life.
Custom Software Solutions
Based in India
- Technical sales and prof. services
Head of Multimedia unit
Based in India
- Training and marketing solutions
Founder, Sales, Prof. services
Moved to US
- Training and marketing solutions
Founder, CEO , Chief Strategist
San Jose, CA
- Training and marketing solutions
Consultant, Coach, Workshop Facilitator
San Jose, CA
- Helping build great places to work!
2011-2022: My Transformation Journey
The decision to make my purpose the focus of my career did not happen overnight.
My first lesson in “I can be who I want to be” came in the early 80s in form of a short book called “Jonathon Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach. After that, the first personal development book I read was “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie.
Since then, 100s of books and tens of thousands of dollars spent on personal growth seminars and workshops brought me to the realization that no matter how many fancy watches I buy and fast cars I drive, true fulfillment is going to come only if I spend my life in following my purpose.
While not comprehensive, I have listed below some of the courses I participated in, and led, over the last 10 years. After pivoting my career, I decided to continue my growth by obtaining certifications that would provide me with tools and frameworks to complement my listening skills and transformative philosophy.
Listed below are my most recent certifications I completed in 2021-2022, followed by a chronological record of courses I participated in and led since 2011.
Certifications in 2022
Please click on the ⊕ sign to read more about the certification.
SHRM - Senior Certified Professional
Certification authority: SHRM
Known to most HR professionals, this comprehensive 4 hour exam tests the applicants knowledge in 8 key behavioral competencies and 15 HR functional areas grouped under 3 domains. The SHRM-SCP exam is designed to assess the competency level of those who engage in HR work at the strategic level. For more details refer to SHRM’s BoCK document.
HRCI - Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion in HR Management (Jun 2022)
Certification authority: HRCI
Developed in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization’s guidance on diversity and inclusion for organizations (ISO 30415:2021), the Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion in HR Management provides a foundation for creating a workplace where all employees are respected and appreciated as valuable members of the organization, are able to participate in work-related opportunities, can follow career paths that use their skills and knowledge to the fullest, and receive fair compensation. For more details refer to HRCI Certificate page.
ICF - Associate Certified Coach Credentials (Sep 2022)
Certification authority: ICF
ICF Credential-holders are part of a self-regulating group of elite coaches who provide accountability to clients and the coaching profession as a whole. They pursue and complete rigorous education and practice requirements that provide unquestioned legitimacy to their commitment to excellence in coaching.
Having completed all requirements for ACC, am in the process of getting approved for ICF Credentialing Exam.
For more details refer to ICF ACC paths page.
Certifications in 2021
Please click on the ⊕ sign to read more about the certification.
Certified Emotional Intelligence Expert
Certification authority: MHS
The Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 (EQ-i 2.0) measures an individual’s emotional intelligence across 5 composite scales and 15 sub-scales. Available as an individual assessment and a 360 assessment, the report provide details on the interplay between different sub-scales. As a certified expert, I have in-delth knowledge of this tool and can use it with leaders and individual contributors to create a growth plan. For more details refer to EQi 2.0 product page.
Master Certified Life Coach
Accreditation authority: ICF
This 2 level life coaching certification course educates students on 11 ICF core competencies and ICF code of ethics. With practical coaching lessons, this course clarifies the difference between coaching and mentoring. For more details, see ICF competencies and ICF code of ethics.
Certified NLP Coach Practitioner
Accreditation authority: ICF and 5th Element
NLP, or Neuro-Linguistic Programming, has established itself as one of the most powerful behavior change methodologies that practitioners and coaches use to help their clients achieve long lasting and empowering change as well as success. This 6 month long course educates students on understanding how people organize their thinking, feeling, language & behavior to produce the results they do. NLP provides people with a methodology to model outstanding performances achieved by geniuses & leaders in their field.
Certified Organizational Development Coach
Accreditation authority: ICF
This 6 month long course goes in to the details of creating and running Organizational Development interventions to bring about a structured change in order to adapt to changing business environments. It also provides the tools and skills needed to affect positive transformation within organizations, and coach teams and personnel at all levels – including initiators, decision makers, influencers, and intervention implementers.
Certified Executive Coach
Accreditation authority: ICF
This program is tailored for coaches who wish to work with CEOs, directors and other senior management professionals as well as with entrepreneurs and small business owners, to help them achieve their strategic, leadership, and business goals. This program provides tools and skills to coach Executives on many topics including enhancing strategic thinking, interpersonal communication skills, conflict resolution, career development/transition, effective team building, performance management, etc.
Certified Talent Optimization Consultant
Certification authority: Predictive Index
The Talent Optimization certification provides education on creating a talent strategy for organizations and nfluence positive organizational change. Consultants are able to harness the power of people data to intentionally, consistently, and strategically design great teams and a strong company culture. For more details, please see PI’s certification page.
A chronological record of courses I participated in and led since 2011.
Courses listed in blue are the ones I participated in and listed in orange are the ones I led.
2011
Landmark Forum
Grounded in a model of transformative learning, this course left me with the ability to think and act beyond existing views and limits.
2012
Landmark Advanced Course
Rather than being limited by who I have considered myself to be, this Course gave me the tools and technology for creating a future of my own design.
Landmark Communication Programs
Access to power course gave me a new way of listening. Power to create course helped me identify and replace old patterns with new practices of listening and speaking.
Landmark Leadership Program
After an intensive 6 month training program consisting of group and 1 on 1 training, I started leading transformative programs for Landmark.
Vipassana – 10-day silent retreat
Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body. This course provided me with the ability to be aware of my emotions at a deeper level.
2013
Wisdom Unlimited Course
This 9-month course showed me how to introduce “play” in even the most critical task at work or in life. This now has become part of the foundation of my philosophy of “play @ work”.
Landmark Leadership Program
Got continuously trained to enhance my effectiveness as the leader and facilitator of small and large group sessions for transformative training. Was privileged to see participants creating breakthroughs in their life!
Inner Engineering Workshop
Last in-person workshop led by the mystic and yogi called Sadhguru, this course further deepened my spiritual practice.
2014
Landmark Self-expression and Leadership Program
This 4-month course gave me the tools to create transformation in a larger community by enrolling the community in the transformation.
Landmark Leadership Program
Continued to led and facilitate small and large group transformative sessions, while getting trained to enhance my efectiveness.
Art of Living – SKY breath Meditation course
Breath meditation, or Sudarshan Kriya, helped me with a simple meditation technique that brought clarity and focus to my thinking.
2015
Wisdom Unlimited: Partnership Exploration course
This 9-month long course had me explore how I related with people in different aspects of my life and gave me tools and technologies to relate with them in a new and profound way.
Landmark Leadership Program
Continued to led and facilitate small and large group transformative sessions, while getting trained to enhance my efectiveness.
Play in the World as Possibility
A week long retreat in Costa Rica to explore how “play” can exist in the world, not as something to “do”, but as a way of being – a possibility.
2016
Tony Robbins: Unleash Power Within
Apart from walking on burning coal, I understood how small changes can lead to a big impact. Also saw how physical aspects / physicality impacts my mental and emotional state.
Conference for Global Transformation
Created and led a workshop on discovering individual purpose. The workshop led participants through a series of discovery based exercises to arrive at their purpose.
Discovery! Training
This three course series, held in-person at Dallas, TX over a 3-month period, connected current obstacles to performance with emotions stuck in some past events. Apart from creating and declaring a purpose, this course provided me witha glimpse of faith based transformation.
2017
Living Passionately: The Art & Mastery of Playing the Game of Life
This 3-month, 10 session course helped me explore ways of taking my passion for making a difference to entirely new level.
Wisdom Unlimited: Partnership Exploration course
The concepts in this course intrigued me so much that I decided to re-take the 9-month course. I explored existing ways we create partnerships and explored entirely new ways of relating and creating partnerships.
2018
Living On Purpose Now
Based on a workshop I gave in 2016 and further enhanced by adding elements on utilizing individual purpose in day-to-day life, I led multiple workshops online for participants login in from all over the country.
Marketing Strategy for SME
Focusing on audience analysis and looking at the sales cycle as an hour glass and not funnel, I created this 6-week course to be a hands-on workshop to enable owner operators to look at marketing as a revenue enabler.
2019
Landmark: Be Here Now Seminar
Over a period 3 months, I explored areas in my life where I am present and those in which I am not. Through a series of experiential excercises, I gained the ability to be present in the here and now.
Living On Purpose Now
Continued to led the 6-week course I created in 2018.
Marketing strategy for SME
Continued to led the 6-week course I created in 2018.
2020
Mastery in Transformational Training: Basic
In this 3-day, intensive, experiential workshop, I discovered some of my limiting beliefs and created mechanism to replace them with empowering beliefs.
Mastery in Transformational Training: Advanced
A month after completing the Basic training, this course built on some of the self-realizations I had and helped me created a clear path for myself. I decided to change the focus of my career in this course.
Certified Partner – Predictive Index
Participated in an intensive 5-day traning event to learn how to use PI tools to effectively help organizations optimize their talent’s potential.
2021
See above.