30Jun 2018 by aryask@gmail.com

Connecting through play

play
Diversity is nature's playful obsession with beauty and connection. Racism is when we get stuck on labels and cling to a reduced version of people's reality. And there are all kinds of ism’s. Why do ism’s exist? Maybe to nurse our artificial nerves. I don't know but it arises with a bias that we all carry: confirmation bias. It's where we look for evidence that validates what we already think is true. Confirmation bias blocks learning because it promotes a fixed worldview. Ism is always on call and self-importance keeps it alive. Being Persian, I notice racism in myself and my own culture. Racism towards others and towards our own people. Yet even noticing this, the challenge is to constantly check my own assumptions. It's why I'm obsessed with going…
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08Jun 2018 by aryask@gmail.com

Getting to that point

leadership, purpose, self-awareness
some time ago I met an executive of a tech startup who was cooking up some wicked idea. He wanted to grow his company and was facing high turnover and low engagement in his team. He wanted more speed and steam in employees and his ultimate goal was to hit the billion-dollar exit within 2 years. That was the top of the mountain. His whole aim was to "get to that point." He admitted that he's unhappy but that's the life of a startup. I asked him, "who said?" He replied, "everyone!" I asked, "What if you could preserve your joy and vitality and get to the billion, within 5 years? Would you still aim for 2yrs and no joy?" Without a blink, he said, "2 years." I asked, "why?"…
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22May 2018 by aryask@gmail.com

4 ways to live with purpose

self-awareness
Self is a process of becoming, of expansion. The question is how are you appreciating yourself? The most gracious compliment I’ve ever received was “I can be myself around you.” This came from my sweetheart and business partner. She and I can be fully present with each other and it’s an amazing feeling. We make a good team because we decided on a few basic principles: we want the best for each other, we want to grow together, and we want our peace. Through the fires and tribulations that we’ve been through, we arrived at these principles and decided that we want to live well. This is our vision. The vision is the journey. The journey is home. Long ago, I worked at a creative digital agency and asked a designer…
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19May 2018 by aryask@gmail.com

Let it bee

prose, self-awareness
The world can be a noisy place. Let it be. Letting it bee means truly understanding who you are and what business you’re in. Get clear on that deep in your soul. Optimize around that and let things fall into place - letting it bee. It's a focusing game. The hard part is getting out of your own way. Let the game come to you by getting clear about you. In a word: solitude, aided by courage, empathy, and gratitude. At its heart, letting it bee is about trusting the process on a mission for honey, honey being what we cherish most, beyond circumstance.
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13May 2018 by aryask@gmail.com

The mirror talks too much

self-awareness
Mirror: what it do? Me: My mission is to optimize learning and engagement in organizations. Mirror: oh, how do you do that? Me: By building trust because the future is held by profound relationships. Mirror: Fancy, so how do you build trust? Me: By telling the truth and having empathy. Mirror: ok so how do you do that? Me: By listening! Mirror: How do you do that? Me: By shutting your mouth. that's how.
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