My blog last week touched a nerve for some. One irate gentleman felt I was dead wrong and practically challenged me to gladiatorial combat in the form of a debate. …

Here is a question I get asked all the time and especially after one of my talks, “Professor Rao, how do I find my purpose? How do I find meaning in my life?” What is the purpose of life? How would you respond if someone asked you this at a…

Great teachers frequently use stories to make their point powerfully. The Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are chockful of parables. The Buddha and Jesus used them to telling effect. The Jesuit priest, Anthony DeMello has had a profound influence on me, and he was a master raconteur. …

My latest book, Modern Wisdom, Ancient Roots, was a finalist selection for the The Next Big Idea Club. If you have not yet obtained it, could I persuade you to buy a copy from Amazon and leave a review as well? Pretty please with sugar and cream!! (Please note: this…

I am a member of the MG100. I got in early, so I guess I am a ‘senior’ member. By age, I am very senior. For those who are unaware, this refers to the Marshall Goldsmith 100. Marshall is one of the most eminent coaches in the world with a…

Gratitude is ‘in’. It is very firmly ‘in’. Articles in popular magazines tout this as a must have skill. Journals laud it as an antidote to stress. Resting in the eunoia after my talk at the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit, audience members asked me about the value of gratitude. Appreciation and…

I am going to contradict what I have frequently asserted in my public talks and writings. I advise my audiences to avoid asking the question “Am I happy?” If you ask that question, the answer is inevitably “No”, I tell them. …

In my last blog I shared with you an insight that can truly change your life. Perhaps you read it cursorily. Go back and read it again. Ponder it. There is a nimiety of possibility in that short piece. The point I made in that blog is that we do…

In his famous Stanford speech Steve Jobs said that you can only connect the dots looking back. You cannot connect them looking forward. There are many people who had a powerful influence on me. …