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The Work-Life Blueprint: Harnessing Purpose for Professional Growth with Suneel Gupta
Once seen as the “Face of Failure” in the New York Times, Suneel Gupta understands that the road to success is not always smooth. Suneel learned from his mistakes and went on to become a founding CEO of RISE, a breakthrough wellness company named App of the Year by Apple, that partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama to deliver low-cost health coaching to people in need.
Now a bestselling author, renowned speaker, Harvard Medical School visiting scholar, and host of an Amazon Prime documentary series, Suneel studies leaders around the world to discover and share simple, actionable habits that lift our performance and deepen our state of well-being.
Summary
01:26 What inspired Suneel Gupta to live the way he is living at the moment?
- Suneel hosts a TV show exploring the habits of successful people globally.
- His father’s emergency bypass surgery when Suneel was young deeply influenced him, highlighting the importance of wellness and lifestyle changes.
- Witnessing his father’s transformation inspired Suneel to start RISE, a company aimed at preventing serious health events through wellness coaching.
- RISE became successful and was eventually sold to Amazon, teaching Suneel about the interplay between work and well-being.
- Suneel emphasises breaking down walls between work and personal well-being, recognising how they influence one another.
05:36 Suneel’s exposure to the Bhagavad Gita and his journey to the dharma
- Suneel shares a pivotal childhood memory of visiting his grandfather in India and learning about the Ashoka chakra on the Indian flag, symbolising the wheel of dharma.
- Dharma is described as the alignment of who you are and what you do; without mindfulness, life can accelerate and pull you to the ‘outside of the wheel.’
- His grandfather emphasised staying true to oneself amidst productivity and busyness, teaching the importance of returning to one’s center.
09:22 How do we find our essence and the linkage between the karma and this essence?
- Suneel suggests reconnecting with our essence, which has always been within us, rather than searching for it externally.
- He recommends practical activities, like noting energetic sparks during daily moments, to reconnect with our essence.
- Spotting patterns in these sparks over time helps identify deep interests and passions.
- Suneel highlights the negativity bias, where people often overlook positive sensations by focusing on what goes wrong.
14:02 How do we be brave enough to follow that whisper as Suneel describes it? How do we know it’s the real thing?
- Suneel advises viewing most decisions as two-way doors, reversible if they don’t work out, encouraging risk-taking.
- He notes that successful individuals often experience multiple pivots, emphasising adaptability and exploration.
- He underscores the importance of small, incremental changes over life-altering decisions in pursuing purpose.
- Suneel shares an example from his book that emphasises tuning into the essence and avoiding disruptive changes to find passion and purpose.
18:46 How people could approach peeling away the layers blocking our dharma with four chisels
- Exercises like walking through a magazine aisle to identify what genuinely captures interest.
- These methods help reconnect with forgotten personal interests and passions.
- He emphasizes removing preconceived notions about what one *should* be interested in, to reveal authentic inclinations.
20:42 What human truth is illuminated by the Dartmouth experiment?
- Suneel describes an experiment showing how individuals see themselves through others’ eyes, creating a distorted self-image.
- The findings reveal people often alter their behavior based on perceived judgments, rather than their true self-perception.
- Recognising others’ biases can help avoid choices misaligned with personal desires and goals.
23:21 How people can use prana to boost limitless energy
- Suneel defines prana as personal energy and highlights modern society’s energy crisis despite ample time and resources.
- He advocates for managing energy through deliberate, short rest periods to regenerate.
- The “55-5” technique is introduced: 55 minutes of focused work followed by 5 minutes of deliberate rest to boost productivity and creativity.
- Suneel views rest as a resource, not a reward, enhancing personal energy and influencing the energy of others.
Links mentioned:
Connect with Suneel Gupta on LinkedIn
