Career. Life. Spirituality
MY STORY
This is the part that makes the introvert in me cringe 😅 And yet I understand that you will want to know about me, my journey and my competencies before you can trust me with the seat next to you as your co-pilot when we work together. So here goes!
About Me (TL;DR Capsule)
Classical INTJ archetype. Introverted. Dreamy. Great at planning, good at execution when sustenance is at stake. Love people and personalities. Good listener. Gentle and empathetic, sometimes excessively - had to learn how to draw boundaries and make this the asset it deserves to be. Articulate with complex concepts and good at breaking down dense information into digestible capsules.
Built a career in Software Product Management after 15 years of trying to find my why - finally gave up when I realized I didn't have to make a square peg fit in a round hole. People leader, mentor and decision catalyst. Decided I may as well earn my living doing what I love, considering the number of people I was informally mentoring already. If you're working in the Technology world and are involved with Software Development, Design, Analytics/AI/ML, Sales, Product Marketing, Product Management, Program/Project Management or People Management - I'm particularly potent in these spheres and can confidently say that you will benefit from the conversation we'll have about your career or life.
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Understanding and working with Emotions, Behaviors and Mindsets is at the heart of everything you will encounter here. If you'd like, I can also explain how Metaphysics and Spirituality are not just esoteric "concepts" but practical tools that can give you a lot of peace, perspective and sustainable Emotional & Physical health. If we are made in the image of the creator, we ought to be the the master of our universe too, right? Why does such a simple truth ring hollow and fake for most of us?
Got time? Read on for the full story...
PERSONAL JOURNEY
I'm clear that my life purpose revolves around being of help to those around me. Deeply introverted as a child, I hated social settings until it became an acquired skill through my late teens. If we meet now, chances are you'll feel I'm a natural extrovert. But given a choice, my idea of a good weekend is spending my entire time at home, reading and spending time with my family. I HATED school because of my introverted nature. Never understood things in the first pass, too shy to ask questions, and too conscious of myself to participate in anything physical, social or cultural being organized at school. Despite feeling pretty much like an outsider all through my schooling, I made my way around by pushing myself hard in my own time and managed slightly above average grade for the most part. That changed during my stints at Senior school and Engineering college. The lack of interest, effort and application caught up eventually and had me failing in multiple subjects before I finally pulled up my socks to complete my graduation (with the steely resolve that I would never give an exam again if I could help it!). A reticent social and academic life as a kid meant I had a lot of time on my hands, so books and spirituality became my safe haven. I kind of missed the boat on popular phenomenon like Asterix, Tintin, Calvin & Hobbes and Simpsons - I started with the Hardy Boys, Enid Blyton, Famous Five and The Secret Seven, and by my early teens was reading Alistair MacLean, Frederick Forsyth and Wilbur Smith for some weird, age-inappropriate reason. This love for reading and language naturally lead to good articulation and communication in my later years, and turned out to be a life-saver in my professional life.
PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY
Even while traversing the classical path of becoming a Computer Science Engineer and building a 15 year career in Technology and Products in India and the US, the deepest moments of contentment in my life didn't come from Product Management, Artificial Intelligence or Neural Networks. I look at the highlight of my journey as the experience and joy of hiring, mentoring and partnering with extraordinary young professionals. If there is one thing that I can authentically stake claim to, it is the ability to get you to operate at atleast 125% of your current output. With ease. At work, I LOVE to spend hours talking with colleagues about their career, their priorities & mindset and what a personalized approach to success might look for them. Why not embrace both nature and nurture to make life work for you?
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My career in Technology can be summarized as a seemingly never-ending need to find my career "sweet spot". My professional arc started with Sales, and took me through stints in Product Marketing, Partnerships & Alliances Development and Program Management, before settling down with Product Management. I really enjoyed the process of partnering with Engineering, Data Science and Design teams while managing the heartburn that typically ensues between the Technical and Non-Technical worlds.
BREAKING THE MOLD
This will be funny, so let me plot the trajectory for you -
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Didn't want to get into Programming after Engineering school- started my career with Technology Sales.
Didn't like the cold-calling and constant solicitation - took up Product Marketing.
Wanted something more strategic -took up Biz Dev for Partnerships and Alliances
Had enough of "Outbound" roles and wanted an "Internal" Org role - took up Program Management
Felt like getting more deeply embedded in Technology - took up Product Management.
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All this while, I struggled through an existential void and a grind for inner alignment in my career that felt like "this corporate job thing isn't for me". It was like living two lives in parallel, where the inner world drastically disagreed with my outer world. So, while the external markers of growth or "success" steadily kept moving up, the resulting divergence with my need for expressing myself in the mentoring and coaching space got to a breaking point. It got to a stage where I just HAD to uproot myself from a "flourishing" environment to pursue what spoke most deeply to me. Sample this - My last job in the US was that of a Principal Product Manager. Working at the heart of the tech capital in the world - beautiful, sunny San Francisco Bay area. In an AI product company building Supply Chain Products. With an annual comp of $200K with stock options. Oh, and a Green-card in place. Trust me, life throws enough curveballs your way to keep you amused!
COMING OUT OF THE "SPIRITUAL CLOSET"
In hindsight, I was spiritual from a very young age without any strong reason to explain it. I was never religious (still true) and yet remember completely immersing myself in reading the Satcharita (life and teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, widely acknowledged as an ascended master) at the age of 13, because the family belief was that reading it sincerely in 7 days meant that your deepest desire would be granted! Sadly, I can't remember which way it went! Anyway, at 17, I clearly remember the perplexed looks of my new college hostel mates when they saw a stack of printouts containing spiritual discourses on my table - something didn't fit :-). The life and teachings of other ascended masters like the Buddha, Jesus, Mahavatar Babaji, Yogananda Paramahansa and Sri M (still amongst us) has continued through my life, and has been a deeply insightful and rewarding journey for me. This flame grew brighter over the next few years when I had my first tryst with the concept of Energy and Healing while learning Reiki.
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Something about this metaphysical world of Energy or alternate medicine has remained a predominant theme in my psyche. I immersed myself further in this world by learning to be a practitioner with other modalities such as Hypnotherapy, Angelic Healing and Akashic Records. Becoming a full-time practitioner and working as an Energy healer continues to be a part of my scheme of things. Understanding Spirituality and Metaphysical concepts like Karma, Soul evolution, Life Plans, Non-physical entities like Guides and Angels, Ascension and Mind sciences has brought me deep inner peace and finally allowed me to let go of my struggles with religion and existentialism. Today I'm really comfortable embracing a more wide spectrum understanding of the trials and experiences we encounter in the "Earth School" through the spiritual inner work I have done. I plan for much of the future content in my current avatar to be focused on becoming a spiritual educator so that more of us can join hands and collectively raise our consciousness, thus taking small but concrete steps towards emotional mastery and enlightenment. The potential pay-off excites me immensely 😇
SHOULD YOU WORK WITH ME?
I truly believe there are two ways of learning life skills - through inspiration (proactive, ambitious personal agency) or desperation (Via negativa, or learning through the hard knocks of experience). Neither method is necessarily better than the other, but it's an important call-out for you to understand that my journey has revolved around the latter. If you are the quintessential Type-A personality (Ambition, Competitiveness, Multi-tasking, Workaholism) looking to go from 8/10 to 10/10 in life, I'm NOT your guy and I won't hold it against you if you decide to move on from here. The skills I have acquired and now bring to the table as a mentor are driven by what I have learnt in the process of adapting to my (perceived) short comings. I hated the lack of clarity that came with an unsettled career but the diversity of job hats I wore serves me well today when I engage with clients from varied disciplines ("connecting of dots" indeed, Steve!).
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My methods are NOT based in upskilling you on your technical competencies based on my experience in Product, Program & Project Management, or Software, Product and AI/ML frameworks. That will be incidental. I focus on the clarity with which you look at your career and life at large. I focus on the tremendous potential that healthy relationships, deliberate action and articulative communication can have in your workplace and in your personal life.
Over time, I've learned a neat set of skills to develop clarity & success criteria in roles, while establishing expectations and accountability with leadership and young teams. All of this while finding ways to navigate tough work relationships through authenticity and rapport. I feel these are invaluable skills that can be learnt, and form the basis of my approach with the Career mentorship I offer now.
With the inner work I offer as part of Life mentorship, I focus on self-worth, setting boundaries and the ability to gain significant resources for growth by confronting and releasing your inner blocks through Shadow work. More than anything, I BELIEVE that mastery over your thoughts and emotions can have a remarkably profound impact on the reality you create for yourself.
THE CRUX
In reality, the guide/coach/mentor/guru is always incidental. What you get out of an engagement is directly proportional to the quantum of intent, will power and openness you bring to the table. What you can do though, is choose a mentor or partner who challenges your Belief System and world-view in a safe and empowering environment with the sole intent of aligning you to your ultimate goal. It will involve being vulnerable and taking responsibility for where you find yourself in life today. And it definitely requires the will and persistence to repeatedly look into your own being before you can take the reigns of your life firmly in your own two hands. Sounds daunting? I can see why you feel that way, but it's a hero's journey and it's high time you become the central character in your life and create the future you want for yourself.
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Good luck, I'm rooting for all of you and hoping to play part-partner and part-catalyst for at least a few of you!
Happy journeying,
-Arvind
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Questions, observations, thoughts? I'd love to hear from you - reachout@arvindmenon.in