26Dec 2017 by aryask@gmail.com

know your purpose

purpose
Know your purpose and appreciate where you're at. That's the fastest way to achieve your goals. It's a lesson we're all learning in different ways. It's the great awakening of our time. If you think you got it all figured out and your system is perfect then your growth is limited. Make 2018 a year of awakening through continuous learning. That's the truest way to live that I know.
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16Nov 2017 by aryask@gmail.com

Inside out: 4 ways to lead positive change with self-awareness

mindfulness, purpose, self-awareness, storytelling
Getting past speech impediment and low self-esteem didn’t happen overnight. As a teenager, I remember listening to the radio feeling puzzled by how people could enunciate words so well and be so easy and confident. How was their voice so clear and mine so muffled? The root of the struggle was that I held too many distractions and so I would easily get overwhelmed, and lengthy episodes of depression followed. By quieting the mind through meditation, I learned to give up buggy beliefs and things began to clear up. A friend told me, "when we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change." It was a good look in the mirror and poetry was an outlet for me. It's where I found my voice. I no…
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05Jul 2017 by aryask@gmail.com

A good look in the mirror

purpose, self-awareness, storytelling
“Knowing others is intelligence; Knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; Mastering yourself is true power.” - Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher For many years I struggled with self-doubt and social anxiety because I held too many distractions. It's a classic self-shame story: I used to suck and now I suck less. Eventually, I realized that we live in a noisy world and many people talk, yet few communicate. What I grew to accept and love was the gift of conversation. It became clear that deep connections are not based on take or blame, they are full of joy and empathy. A friend once told me, "Time flies when the senses are full." Leading an inspired path means doing what makes you come alive. And it is the way…
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21Jun 2017 by aryask@gmail.com
Moving with a purpose

Moving with a purpose

discipline, leadership, purpose, self-awareness
Here's a review I wrote for Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win. Extreme Ownership is a good look in the mirror to live and lead at the highest level. It contains war stories with leadership lessons and I have newfound respect for U.S. Navy SEALs. It checks off on what I count as a good book: vivid imagery, some humor, raises goosebumps, brings tears, and practical for livelihood. On the final analysis, it’s not written by a Hemingway but it does come from the heat of experience. It works because it’s real. The book harps the tune "it's all about the mission”. You got to know why you're in it to begin with, believe in it fully, and continually execute on it. That’s what a leader does.…
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15Apr 2015 by aryask@gmail.com

A meditation on mission and memory

purpose, storytelling
The highest form of reason is love without reason. My deepest insecurity is flawed memory. So, memory for what? There is a voice that doesn't use words. There is a place of no ambition, just a sure mission to submission without ego. To throw your imagination forward and let it speak its own language, like living in a lighthouse to summon the ships. Who knows who steers them and what stories they hold. Just keep the light on for whoever can see. Only the bold can arrive and there is no thirst for understanding. It's not in your interest nor theirs. We're not in the business of fixing the world, our place is beneath the surface of things where passion dwells without bounds. There's a voice that doesn't use words,…
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