ABOUT AKSHAY
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Are you a busy leader who feels overwhelmed? Do you struggle with time management, feel out of balance, and want to get more done? Do you want to improve your wellbeing and be your best self?
I work with high-performing, ambitious leaders seeking balance, focus, and alignment in their personal and professional lives. I help my clients regain control and live a more fulfilling, meaningful and integrated life. Mindfulness is a very practical way to be focused and balanced. It's about pressing the pause button, defining what and when is “enough” so you don’t burnout, and learn to balance before you fall. It's about giving attention to yourself. Contact me today for a FREE phone session, where we will discuss concrete ways to get you back to feeling in control. We often know what to do, but don't do it. Why? That's the question I help you answer in my coaching. Thanks for visiting! |
SHORT BIO:
Akshay Kapur is an Executive Coach & Business Strategist who strengthens leadership in people and in organizations through workshops, coaching, and as a consultant to CEOs and their leadership teams. He has worked as a healthcare executive in medical centers such as Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo and UPMC. He is also the founder of medical software companies in the web and mobile space. Akshay has been practicing mindfulness & meditation for 20 years and teaches workshops on professional development and mindful leadership to senior teams. His work has been featured in Conscious Magazine and DailyOM Magazine. Akshay graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors of Science in Pscyhology and a MBA from Cornell University. He also holds a Masters in Economics from the University at Buffalo.
What People Are Saying about Akshay
"Akshay has been instrumental in helping me to see with a much broader and clearer vision of how things can be, helping me focus on my personal goals. I am confident that I am NOW a better person and well on my way towards where I want to be in my life. His coaching methods have been helpful professionally and personally in tandem."
-- Jay, Telecom Executive
Akshay forced me to think deeply about my role as an entrepreneur and manager of my team. With incisive questions, powerful mirroring of what I was saying, and a sense of humor, he helped me evolve my thinking and let go of beliefs that were holding me back. I became more comfortable letting go of responsibilities that were not the best use of my energies and instead communicating and inspiring my team to aid in the work.
--Akash, Mobile, Web, and IVR Executive
"Akshay is adept at explaining the meaning behind some esoteric terms and conveying how they relate to everyday life."
-- Maritsa, Non-Profit Fundraiser
"Akshay provides simple and clear methods I can easily incorporate into my life to relieve stress and increase productivity."
-- Sven, Software Consultant
“Hey Akshay, It was great to talk with you today! I feel like I got some great inspiration for my business planning task ahead of me!”
-- Smita, Nonprofit Technology Professional
"I have taken careful notes and learned about meditation tools, psychological hacks, and neural triggers. I already feel more mindful about my work and am planning to start experimenting with them today.
-- Alessandro, Director of Social Impact (link to full post)
“It's always great to talk with you. Our conversations seem to access the most creative parts of my brain!”
-- Peter, Marketing Strategist & Executive
"I remembered the square breathing in that moment and did a few rounds. I instantly calmed down and regained my confidence, what ever happened I could deal with it."
-- Laura, Design Director
I was able to add a lot of insights and energy to the conversation and the team said they'd love me to consult on their new creative materials when they're ready!"
-- Chantal, Digital Marketing Strategist
"I tried that approach to sleepless nights that you mentioned. It totally worked - twice! Both times, I fell asleep in less than five minutes.
-- Eulani, Innovation Design Consultant
LONG BIO:
EARLY INTEREST IN MINDFULNESS
My interest in mindfulness began when I was 14. I used to play ping-pong obsessively at the local YMCA and became pretty good through simple practice. One day, a 60-something Buddhist monk visited the Y and wanted to play a few matches. He beat me every time, and badly. It was embarrassing, even disheartening, and I asked him how he did it. His answer of course, was by paying attention to the present moment.
I devoted myself to understanding what he meant with the same zeal I had put into ping-pong. I visited the local monastery and sat through many zazen practices. I read countless books on Buddhism and Hinduism. I went directly to the scriptures, the Pali texts and then expanded my reading to versions of the Gita, the Koran, the Torah and the Bible.
I dug deeper and eventually found myself studying the idea of non-duality, which kept coming up in every religion, from Advaita in Hinduism, to Mysticism in Christianity, to Sufism in Islam to Mussar in Judaism. Seeing the world as if you created it is a powerful concept that builds an incredible amount of accountability. All of sudden, I became aware of the consequence of every action, of every single decision I made and how it impacted others and myself. But I was still caught in the "return on investment" mindset. I wanted something out of all this exploration. I wanted to be enlightened.
PROFESSIONAL TRANSITION
While I read about spirituality, my career evolved from being a manager to a consultant to a manager moonlighting as a consultant. I took on so many projects at once that I burnt out physically in 2008. I was 30 lbs overweight and had just been diagnosed with high blood pressure at the age of 27. It was the proverbial wake-up call. I changed my diet, started exercising and paying more attention to what stressed me out. I was literally more mindful of the way my professional and personal life were shaping my stress-saturated mentality. In order to change my thinking, I had to first change my environment.
I booked a one-way ticket to India to seek haven in my grandparents' home and deepened my practice of meditation and yoga. Barely a month later, I returned to the U.S., beckoned by the six-figure corporate job I always wanted and went right back to the same professional habits that led me to burning out in the first place. This is the first time I truly became aware of my "achieving" mindset, my desire to "be somebody", the desire "to matter." I left that job just over a year later to start my own company.
Going out on my own gave me a glimpse into the risk-tolerant mindset and the close relationship between stress and ambition. I learned the moodiness of self-employment and the desperate immediacy of decisions necessary for executives and entrepreneurs to succeed. Owning my own time meant managing it efficiently. I not only learned more about myself, but also how differently people lived and made their livelihood. I began connecting with more socially-conscious people, and businesses that gave back and put collaborative value first. I wasn't reaching for an end anymore, no ROI, just observing the process.
LEARNING TO BE PRESENT
All the reading, studying, and even meditation had only gotten me so far. I began to seriously practice just being present. Being where I am and who I am in the moment. Following my mind's attention and becoming aware of my underlying values and intentions. I still did yoga, still meditated and still journaled, but I let go of the end result. Of wanting it to get me somewhere. I kept staying focused on the moment as it revealed itself.
It wasn't as smooth as it sounds. It was hard and it still is. And will continue to be. "Just being" is probably the hardest thing I have ever done and will ever do. Through life-long conditioning and cultural feedback, I have been trained to get ahead, to be better than who I am today and improve upon who I will be tomorrow.
The idea of "doing" has evolved though. It's only hard when I'm trying. When I'm achieving. When I'm using the old state of mind to approach a new way of being. When I'm truly in the moment, there's no hard or easy, there is only the moment.
As I continue to explore this unknown, I have found others interested in exploring it with me. Learning it with me and from me, just as I learn from them. Because we're humans being. Regardless of how much we try to be something else, somebody who is better, we eventually come back to ourselves, to explore who we are now.
WHY I STARTED COACHING
I started coaching others on mindfulness to make it directly applicable to their daily life. It's as simple as that. Mindfulness is incredibly powerful, but so many people have misconceptions about it that they never even try. It must be practical for busy people to even begin considering it. The idea of wanting something from it, seeking a benefit, will be there. It's conditioned in us since birth, cultivated in us through culture, and reinforced in us through education and work.
And that's OK.
There is no there there. Most lean into this over time. Some get it immediately. But everyone is at whatever stage they are on now. Now is when to start.
If any of this resonates with you and if you're interested in exploring your self, finding more balance in your life, feeling more fulfilled in every moment, I welcome you to join me. I'm excited about your journey, where you are, and what you're starting.
Welcome! Simply contact me by clicking on the button below.
My interest in mindfulness began when I was 14. I used to play ping-pong obsessively at the local YMCA and became pretty good through simple practice. One day, a 60-something Buddhist monk visited the Y and wanted to play a few matches. He beat me every time, and badly. It was embarrassing, even disheartening, and I asked him how he did it. His answer of course, was by paying attention to the present moment.
I devoted myself to understanding what he meant with the same zeal I had put into ping-pong. I visited the local monastery and sat through many zazen practices. I read countless books on Buddhism and Hinduism. I went directly to the scriptures, the Pali texts and then expanded my reading to versions of the Gita, the Koran, the Torah and the Bible.
I dug deeper and eventually found myself studying the idea of non-duality, which kept coming up in every religion, from Advaita in Hinduism, to Mysticism in Christianity, to Sufism in Islam to Mussar in Judaism. Seeing the world as if you created it is a powerful concept that builds an incredible amount of accountability. All of sudden, I became aware of the consequence of every action, of every single decision I made and how it impacted others and myself. But I was still caught in the "return on investment" mindset. I wanted something out of all this exploration. I wanted to be enlightened.
PROFESSIONAL TRANSITION
While I read about spirituality, my career evolved from being a manager to a consultant to a manager moonlighting as a consultant. I took on so many projects at once that I burnt out physically in 2008. I was 30 lbs overweight and had just been diagnosed with high blood pressure at the age of 27. It was the proverbial wake-up call. I changed my diet, started exercising and paying more attention to what stressed me out. I was literally more mindful of the way my professional and personal life were shaping my stress-saturated mentality. In order to change my thinking, I had to first change my environment.
I booked a one-way ticket to India to seek haven in my grandparents' home and deepened my practice of meditation and yoga. Barely a month later, I returned to the U.S., beckoned by the six-figure corporate job I always wanted and went right back to the same professional habits that led me to burning out in the first place. This is the first time I truly became aware of my "achieving" mindset, my desire to "be somebody", the desire "to matter." I left that job just over a year later to start my own company.
Going out on my own gave me a glimpse into the risk-tolerant mindset and the close relationship between stress and ambition. I learned the moodiness of self-employment and the desperate immediacy of decisions necessary for executives and entrepreneurs to succeed. Owning my own time meant managing it efficiently. I not only learned more about myself, but also how differently people lived and made their livelihood. I began connecting with more socially-conscious people, and businesses that gave back and put collaborative value first. I wasn't reaching for an end anymore, no ROI, just observing the process.
LEARNING TO BE PRESENT
All the reading, studying, and even meditation had only gotten me so far. I began to seriously practice just being present. Being where I am and who I am in the moment. Following my mind's attention and becoming aware of my underlying values and intentions. I still did yoga, still meditated and still journaled, but I let go of the end result. Of wanting it to get me somewhere. I kept staying focused on the moment as it revealed itself.
It wasn't as smooth as it sounds. It was hard and it still is. And will continue to be. "Just being" is probably the hardest thing I have ever done and will ever do. Through life-long conditioning and cultural feedback, I have been trained to get ahead, to be better than who I am today and improve upon who I will be tomorrow.
The idea of "doing" has evolved though. It's only hard when I'm trying. When I'm achieving. When I'm using the old state of mind to approach a new way of being. When I'm truly in the moment, there's no hard or easy, there is only the moment.
As I continue to explore this unknown, I have found others interested in exploring it with me. Learning it with me and from me, just as I learn from them. Because we're humans being. Regardless of how much we try to be something else, somebody who is better, we eventually come back to ourselves, to explore who we are now.
WHY I STARTED COACHING
I started coaching others on mindfulness to make it directly applicable to their daily life. It's as simple as that. Mindfulness is incredibly powerful, but so many people have misconceptions about it that they never even try. It must be practical for busy people to even begin considering it. The idea of wanting something from it, seeking a benefit, will be there. It's conditioned in us since birth, cultivated in us through culture, and reinforced in us through education and work.
And that's OK.
There is no there there. Most lean into this over time. Some get it immediately. But everyone is at whatever stage they are on now. Now is when to start.
If any of this resonates with you and if you're interested in exploring your self, finding more balance in your life, feeling more fulfilled in every moment, I welcome you to join me. I'm excited about your journey, where you are, and what you're starting.
Welcome! Simply contact me by clicking on the button below.