Taitology

If there were a good reason to get an MBA, this man might be it. Srikumar Rao is an adjunct professor from Columbia Business School, Haas School of Business at Berkeley and the London Business School. He teaches and speaks on his vision of bringing more aliveness into people’s lives. He has a fantastic way of breaking down human mental processes so that we recognize the reality we live in.

Srikumar works to help people bring attention to their negative mental chatter and mental models of our world. He uses a scientific approach to understanding the mind, connecting psychology and spirituality. He challenges his students to recognize their thought patterns and how they are affecting both the reality they see and the moments they experience.

• Do you have a tendency to put off things that you would love to do because they just don’t fit into your life now?
• Do you feel disappointed when you look at a decision you made and consider how much better your life would be now if you had made a different decision?
• Do you look at the horrific misery in the world and feel overwhelmed by the tragedy and your inability to make a difference?
• Do you find that when you sit down to relax or spend time with a loved one that you can’t fully enjoy it because you’re thinking about something unrelated to the moment?
• Do you consider what other people will think of you before you do something? Why?
• Do you look to the future for relief, happiness, fulfillment, or something you’re not getting now?
• Do you compare your life to someone’s and dream of having what they have?
• Do you feel like many of your conversations are superficial; you talk about things you have no real interest in, things that frustrate you, or you speak without passion in your voice?
• Do you doubt your competence and worry that someone is going to find out that you’re not as smart as they think you are?
• Do you make purchases on a whim and fill your house with stuff you don’t use?
• Are you worried about events that may or may not happen, like getting a promotion or not making a sale?
• Do you plan to fix your life after a major event, such as a raise, a marriage, or retirement?

Is your reality full of problems that make your life difficult? Start by considering the plausible alternate reality that there are aspects to your problem that are teaching you or that are challenging you to become a better person. That’s really what Srikumar does; makes you recognize who you are and challenges you to learn from yourself.

I would highly recommend his talk. I haven’t read his book, Are You Ready to Succeed?, but I am sure that I would stand behind his written words, too.