Kaushik Kumar: From Fear to Clarity, Living Life in the Flow

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Hey, everybody. Welcome to an episode of How To Be A Real 1%er. Uh, this is a podcast where we're redefining what it means to be ultra-successful. Uh, no longer the relentless pursuit of one type of success at the expense of everything else, but rather a more rare form of success which involves knowing who we really are, living authentically, and achieving maximum success along the way of living our best life.

Today, I'm really pleased to, uh, uh, welcome in, uh, my guest, Kaushik Kumar. Uh, I'm actually really been looking to, to this episode with Kaushik because, uh, you, you may or may not know if you've, if you watch material, uh, from what I’ve done in the past, but Kaushik is the, the person who puts all of this together, all the filming, uh, all of the podcasts, uh, all the videos that we do. And Kaushik has known me for about five years, and we've known each other for, I guess, a bit more than five years now. Uh, so I’ve been really looking forward to this one because Kaushik just has such different angles on The One Percent Journey, uh, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes out of our conversation. So firstly, welcome, Kaushik. Thanks very much for being on the podcast.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Awesome, um, uh, as I said, I'm really looking forward to this one. So, uh, well, we'll dive in. Uh, we have been working together, did I get that right? It's about five years now.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah, I think we started in 2020.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: 2020, so just, just working on about five years. Yeah, Okay, great. Well, um, and in that time, I guess you've seen a different angle than a lot of people have of The One Percent Journey, at least the one that, that I'm referring to, um, The Real One Percent Journey, because you've seen, you know, um, what's behind the camera. You know, we do these, uh, I come and see you once a month, um, from where I live outside of Nelson to come here, and so you're hearing a bunch of different angles and, it'll be very interesting to see, you know, what, what comes out of all of that. But the first question, if we just go to it is, uh, you know, I guess when people come to me in a sense, they don't know what they're, they're up for, right? They don't know what they're kind of getting into. And, uh, what brought you to the, to The One Percent Journey? I mean, we weren't calling it that at the time, but what brought you to the work, uh, in the first place?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: I guess what brought me to the work initially was the aftermath of all the lockdowns and things back in 2020. So, we, um, my wife and I just came back into the country, uh, I think it was a week before lockdown, and, uh, when we got back, we had nowhere to go, so we stayed in an Airbnb, um, ended up having to be locked down in that Airbnb. Um, that brought on a lot of emotions and fears and things like that.

But what I discovered during that time was that I was actually running my entire life based on avoiding fear or, or living in this mindset of fear all the time. So, fear of losing, fear of failing, fear of, you know, whatever it was, was underpinning basically every decision I'd made up until that, um, until that point.

So, I knew that that's, that was something that was quite debilitating, um, without knowing it. It was subconsciously debilitating. It was stopping me from doing things that I wanted to do. Um, and so post all the lockdowns, post, um, all of that stuff, um, I knew that I had to kind of figure out what was going on and what was happening in my mind. Um, and I didn't know what the pathway was. I didn't know who to go see or who, who to, to, you know, talk to, uh, about all of this. And it just so happened that we, we ended up running into each other at a networking group, I think it was June or July 2020. Um, and then we grabbed a coffee afterwards, and then, you know, everything started to make sense, and I was like, "Oh, this is actually probably something that I, that would benefit me a lot." Um, but at that time, I didn't really know if it was a mindset thing or if it was, you know, something going on in here or if it was the external, um, factors. And so, yeah, we had, we... I remember having that coffee just down the road and, um, and then after that, I guess the rest is history.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Uh, here we are today. But, yeah, what brought me to the work was essentially always living in a, in a, uh, through the lens of fear, or always living in a place, coming from a place of fear, was what drew me to the work.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah, well, look, I mean, I think you're bringing up something important here because, uh, I love the way that you, you realised that that was about lockdown because for me that's, you were sort of forced to be with yourself, right? And one of the things, um, you know, in this podcast I talk about gold and, and essentially what we're doing here is just, uh, work with amazing people like you and there's just so much, there's so many gold nuggets that I think, "Well, what if we got, you know, put this on a podcast and, and shared these gold nuggets with people that, that could hear something that can make a difference to them?"

And one of, yeah, and one of those gold nuggets is just, you know, just that. It's like we go through our life, what I'm hearing from you is we go through our life and maybe we're not present, so present to the debilitating nature of those fears, but then when you're forced to be there on your own and you've got nowhere to go, you're with yourself and, and they're there, aren't they? And, and they really come into your face. Um, a lot of people have come since the, the lockdown period and that was a tough time for a lot of people, not only because of the obvious things of some being alone and being cooped up and not getting the air and the, you know, the space that we, um, normally would get.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah, yeah.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: But it's the being forced to be with ourself for 24/7 without distraction and...

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Absolutely, yeah, yeah. I think for me it was the fear of losing my business that really, um, made things difficult. So yeah, it was definitely having to sit with the fact that, you know, I could lose everything that I’ve worked for. But would it have happened? Not really.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah, well, we're going to, we're going to go there, aren't we? Right? Like what, what the mind believes and what's actually happening is, uh, it's definitely two different things. So, uh, well, look, I mean, it's a, as you say though, the rest is history and we're what, um, four and a half years down the road now. And, you know, I’ve seen what you've been able to achieve in that period of time and, and hopefully during the course of this conversation some of that will, will come about. You've had amazing things, uh, happen for you. Uh, but if we go back, what's, what's one thing that you would say from the real One Percent Journey, uh, because some of the things we do aren't, they're not every day, are they? They're not, they're not things that we sort of come across even in kind of, um, you know, every day, even if we go to the personal development section of the, uh, of the, um, the book shop or whatever, um, or online or whatever we do, still not going to find a lot of, you know, the, the depth of, of what we've done.

So, what's one thing that, that you would say to people if, if someone's watching this podcast and their desire is, "Hey, I want to live my best life. I don't know a lot about this," what's one thing that you've learned or applied or experienced in your Real 1% Journey that you would share with people could make a difference for them?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: So, this is something I’ve discovered quite recently actually, um, it's going with the flow. And I’ll explain that a little bit more. So, one of the big sort of discoveries for me with, with this work is, um, living a life that's authentic to me. Um, and authentic is a buzzword that you hear everywhere, um, and it's often got quite a lot of ego associated to it. But authenticity, when it truly comes to your life, is when things just happen. Things just go with the flow. Uh, there's no resistance. There's no, um, nothing that stops you in the tracks. There's no fear, which is a big one for me. There's no, um, untoward emotions that sort of enter the picture.

So, if I could introduce one concept of y- of the work that we've done to, to people that listen to this podcast, it would be to, to find out what that authenticity is for you. Um, and it's unfortunately not something that you can read in a book or be told by a coach. It's actually something that you have to discover for yourself. And it's a hard journey. Like, it's a really, um, it took me probably four years to find out what that was for me. So, but, I'm forever grateful that I hung in there and found it, cause life is so much more different now.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Oh, sorry.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Oh, yeah. I was going to say, it's, it's a lot more free flowing as opposed to before it was obstacle after obstacle. Um, and a lot of those times, I was creating those obstacles myself, or at least my ego mind is creating those obstacles to stop a perceived bad thing from happening.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Okay. So, like, if I'm watching this podcast, I want to know more. I want to know how did you get it. Uh, you know, how, how did you get to... Oh, several questions are coming up.

This is, this is amazing, um, thank you for bringing it in. So, um, okay, the questions coming up for me, uh, if I'm watching is, why is it challenging? Why is it so challenging? I think you used the word difficult. I prefer it sort of potentially challenging, but we use whatever words works. Um, why is it difficult and what did you do, what did you do or apply to get to that authenticity? And what's the, I’ll, I’ll repeat some of these, but, uh, I'm putting them out because you're getting it going already, you're getting the flow going. Um, what's the difference between this, um, ego authenticity and true authenticity? So, uh, A, what made it challenging and how did you, how did you get there?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: I think, um, there was a lot of preconceived notions. So, you know, as, as we grow up, as sort of children, we get told certain things. We get told that we need to be successful, good people, whatever. Um, or we get told that we need to go down specific career paths or follow specific, um, journeys. But all of that kind of... All of that feeds your ego authenticity, because if you start going down the route of someone else's definition of success, and if their definition of success is nice cars, big houses, and lots of money, but that's not you, then automatically you're not going to be happy with that version of success. You're always going to be on that hamster wheel trying to find your version of success, but through the lens of someone else's. And I think that's where that disparity comes in is, is when we try to live our lives based on someone else's guidebooks.

But we don't necessarily have the time or we, we don't think we have the time to find what's truly important for us. Um, and it does take time to find what's truly important to us because, again, we're living in this, in this, state of, you know, opinions, of feedback, of things that we've been told our whole lives, and changing all of those habits takes time. But there's a lot to lose if we don't find it, what, find what authenticity, real authenticity is for us. Um, because you could spend your whole life living an authentic life through someone else's lens. But then you get to the end of your life and then you have regrets. And life's too short for regrets.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Definitely. And, and we're feeling those regrets all along the way, aren't we? It's not just that we regret it at the end. It's like we're living a life of all, you know, ongoing regret.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah. "I wish I'd done this. I wish I traveled there. I wish I'd made more money." "I wish I'd spent more time with family," is a big one.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: And what I'm hearing from you and, and as true for me, is that, uh, uh, some of that stuff is real and some of it isn't even real. It's what I think other people wanted me to. Like, when you're, when you're, um, bringing this up, like, it's not only just the, there's not just one version of that success. Like, my one is, uh, you know, my parents were all about a stable job, you know? This is a, you get this, uh, nine-to-five and you get this type of thing, and this is the status that you need and, uh, whatever the case might be, even if it's not all the wealth. It's like different people have different... This is interesting, because different people have different, you know, ways of what success actually looks like and what we're expected to do. And look, I know my parents were really, really well-intentioned and, and they were trying to look after me, but I just, I wasn't built that way, right? Like, I'm an entrepreneur. I have been since, since, you know, early on. And, and that's, uh, it's a very different way of thinking. And, you know, I tried to fit in that mold, but didn't work. And, um, you know, so it's, uh, you know, um, whatever the version is, what I'm hearing from you is that we're set up to be... One of the things that makes it difficult is we're set up to be, um, we're set up to live a life that isn't actually true to us, and, and that's what we've been doing.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And it's on autopilot as well. We don't, we don't... I mean, I didn't know that that was what my subconscious was feeding me this whole time.

I thought it was, uh, like a... Yeah, for me, I thought I was, I wasn't good enough. But it was just I was facing resistance because it wasn't my authentic life. It wasn't the life that I was meant to be living.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: But you didn't know. You didn't recognise that.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: I had no idea.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: I mean, that's profound, right? That's profound, and I think that's where most of us are. That's why I'm doing this podcast, we're doing, you know, this podcast. That's why I do the work. Because that's where most people are and we don't know it. You know? I didn't know, I didn't know it until I got miserable. So, well, um, thanks for being open about all of this. Well, uh, if I can ask you next, so, what was the impact of that? So, you had these years of, of believing you had to achieve things a certain way. Um, you believed you weren't living up to that, which I think everybody can relate to.

I don't think any of us really feel like we're living up to what other people want and, uh, you know? It's, um, we're always chasing it rather than, you know, having it and it becomes this endless chase. So, what was the, what were the impacts? I mean, you talked about fear, but what were some of the impacts in your life of living that way?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Lots of roadblocks. Lots of roadblocks. So, um, I remember from very young, I wasn't always the most academic child. Um, and so, but there's always been an expectation that or, you know, I thought there was always an expectation that I had to perform academically. And so, every time I didn't, I just felt like I was failing or I was disappointing. Um, I think it was more I was disappointing the people in my life that mattered most. Um, so having to constantly live in that state of, "I'm going to try this. I'm going to fail. So, what's the point of trying?" Uh, living in that sort of mind state all the time, um, and it got to the point where sort of, I guess, later in my teenage years, towards the end of high school, you know, because I was constantly facing these, hitting these roadblocks constantly, going up against failure and disappointment, you kind of just feel like not trying.

So, then you start to question, "Well, what is life? Like, why am I here? What am I doing?" Um, you, you know, all of these thoughts enter your mind and you sort of... Then you just feel lost. You don't really know who you are, what you're doing, or why you're here. Um, and all of that, you know, that all, all of that weight builds up. And so, the more that weight builds up, the more, the more those emotions become stronger, and the more you start to feel, "Oh, maybe I am a disappointment. Maybe I am a failure.

So, yeah. For me, it kind of manifested in, in, in that way, which was thinking that I was never going to be good enough, um, or whatever I tried was always going to lead to failure. So, what was the point of trying? And that stopped me from doing a lot of things that I wanted to do. Um, but it also stopped me from telling people, communicating with people what I was doing. So, I found myself I would go away and do these things that I wanted to do, but not tell anyone.

Because I was fearful of... Or, you know, I was fearing judgment or fearing, um, that someone would say, "No, you can't do that." So, I spent a lot of my sort of teenage years exploring ideas and doing things, but never told anyone. And they weren't, like, they weren't bad things. They were just things that I was curious about. But that's how I felt like I needed to live life. It was just sort of, if I wanted to do something, I can't tell anyone about it. I can't communicate. I'll just go and do it.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Because they will judge you or because they won't be happy.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Or because, probably for me was, they'll just say "no, you can't do it."

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Right.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: So I was, I was fearing the no more than anything else. Um, which is, yeah, fascinating actually, now that I think about it. But, um, but that's, you know, that had an impact on later parts of my life now as well, so like, you know, in business. Um, for a good chunk of the, the formative parts of Dark Matter, I didn't communicate properly with people, with clients, with contractors, with, uh, people that worked for me, out of fear that I would be judged.

Or, you know, imposter syndrome would come around and, uh, I'd find out that I'm not good enough or, you know, yeah, things along those lines. So, yeah, it's, a lot of, um, a lot of those sorts of emotions kind of just bubbled up, built up over time. And then, yeah, I think during the, the 2020 lockdown is when it all sort of came to the surface.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. Well, look, I really appreciate your bravery here today because these are, you know, obviously personal things that you're sharing. But what I, what I would say is that, um, you know, I don't think you'll be surprised, but people might be surprised at just how many people come and have got to a similar, their version of a similar place in their own life. Like, it's so many more people than we think it is, right? Like, we, we have a show on the outside. Oh, everything's great, and that's what we've been another conditioning that we're supposed to look good or look successful, but on the inside, you know, this is the kind of stuff that I hear when people really get in those quiet moments, and... I'm not about anything being all bad, um, you know, there's always the good side of it and, and to me that was the, um... There's still a lot of people suffering from that period of time, from what I can see.

But the, the positive side is if we, if we take it and go, "Hey, look, I'm going to, I'm actually going to work with that. I'm going to, I'm going to see what my insides are telling me." You know, like, during lockdown and, um, it was a real tumultuous type of time, right, and a very, very difficult time in so many ways that, I mean, I couldn't imagine anything like it happening in my lifetime before it happened. And it's, but it, it also brings up, like, if, if it brings those up and, and you can deal with them, you did something with them like you did, then I think we will, we'll find out more about what you're saying, it can be life-changing, right?

So I'd like to take you back to, uh, something that you said, because if I were watching this podcast or listening to this podcast, I would find it very intriguing that you said it took four years to find your authentic self and who you are and, and what you wanted. Like, my question would be, I know, I know the what, but my question would be, why did it take that long and um, yeah, why, why did it take that long to find your authentic self? Like, what was, um, what was in the way? What was the process? What, why, why is it something that's challenging?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: I think it's because there's a lot of layers to work, work through. There's a lot of, um, belief systems in place that have, you know, always been reinforced over childhood, teenage, and adult years. There's a lot of, um, beliefs that have constantly been validated over time as well, so even though it's not the path for you, if you're following someone else's path, you get the praise, "Hey, good job. You're doing well." Um, and it's really hard to break away from those, um, from those beliefs because, in a way, you're doing what everyone is, is expecting you to do.

So, to get clarity from the mind, or I guess to get clarity from someone else's version of authenticity, um, you're never going to get clarity for yourself, because it's never going to come from what you want or what you want to do. So, it takes time to b- break through those layers. And sometimes you break through those layers, and then something happens and then all of a sudden, those walls are back up again and they're going to work - you got to work at them again to break them down. And then something else will happen and then it's all back up again. So, it's this journey of sort of, I guess, up and down along the way while you're breaking, breaking down each of those belief systems, those barriers.

But eventually, you sort of go from here all the way down to here, where there's a lot less beliefs that sort of stand in your way. So, yeah, clarity can take time to, to, um, uh, it is something that can take time to get clear about, because you're having to break, break down those belief systems that have existed for so long and so ingrained as well.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. Look, the way that I see it is, um, clarity really, when you think about it, authentic clarity for me is, is never something that's actually finished. It's a, I have certain things that I do with the work that are ongoing, right? They're not finished. It's, it's not finishable, but it's like, it's degree, it's a matter of degree. What's the degree of authenticity? What's the degree of clarity? Because sometimes people watch this podcast and go, "Oh, okay, I get to this place called authentic." And I'm like, "Well, you might get deep, more authenticity." So, it's not something that you, in my experience, get to, you know, like, it's, it's not a finished, uh, thing.

But I know for me, like, when I started, I had an out. Like, you, you said something really powerful before, which was you didn't know that you didn't know. Like, you didn't know that you had formed this story and it, it wasn't you. And so, when I think if I look back, I was living my entire life to try to please someone, right? Like, even if they weren't there, I was still trying to prove to my parents that I was, you know, good enough and they would love me and want me and then I projected that onto everybody else and, you know, everything that I did, every, you know, I talk about motives a lot. And I had this big motive for people to see me a certain way, you know, like me, see me as a good person, um, you know, want me, love me, don't reject me, and all those types of things. I was totally involved in that.

And, you know, I, I guess what, from my journey of this, because I, I’m, uh, you can see I'm trying to get more out of you because this is so important and it's one of those things that's in the, in the massive blind spot, and that's that we've actually, but you're saying something big here today, which is that we've created ourselves as something that we're actually not. And we're doing that because of the expectations that we believe other people have or they have or what not or the expectations that we believe we need to live up to. And yeah, I, I know from just kind of building on that, that from my, my side, it was like, you know, dealing with those, they would come up all the time. Like, I would, you know, I would see something, and I would go, "Oh, look at how well so-and-so is going." You know?

And so, I would feel confident and then two minutes later, I'm looking at how well so-and-so is doing. I'm not, and then, oh, I'm not doing well. And then I just go down that whole train of thought again, you know, left with no confidence. And I think there's a, is that kind of what you're saying? That it doesn't, it takes something and, and so you'll clear something. I mean, I'd love to hear, like, what you would say. I know it's a; it's a process or different processes that we use, but I'd love to hear something if you would say of, how did you start getting through this? How did you start identifying those beliefs and what did you do with them? And, you know, I guess I just wanted to add, yeah, it's like it's, it's cumulative, isn't it? Like, it's...

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: When I see you now and you say you know who you are, I know because I, I, talk with you. You really know who you are, right? There's no... You've, you've done some tremendous work and shown a lot of courage in doing that. Uh, but yeah, if you, um, so, yeah, if you're, uh, uh, for the viewers of this, what, what did you do? What, how did you, uh, how did you start realising that you had those beliefs and, and, uh, you don't have to go through the whole thing, but, like, what would you say if somebody was like, "Hey, I want to do, I want to address my own." What, what would, what would you say?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: It’s, um, you, you're definitely right. It's a cumulative process. I think there's a lot of different things along the way that has led to that outcome. But I think initially, let's start right from the beginning, it was just questioning everything.... Um, uh, we did a lot of work on, on questioning beliefs in the beginning as well. Um, you know, if, if, um, I saw something that triggered my ego, I guess would like... You might have to explain ego mind. Um, then go through the processes of the questioning process and question those beliefs. You know, is it true? Is it, is it, um, actually going to happen that way? Um, and I guess if you do that more and more, you start to really question the beliefs that keep coming up all the time. And there's a, there's a recurring pattern of beliefs that always come up. And for me it was, um, that someone else will come and steal my work or they'll come in and take over my business because I'm not good enough to serve my clients.

So, every time I would see a competitor post or I'd see something that would, uh, validate that part of my ego mind, I would go into a massive spiral. Um, even if it's things that I couldn't control, I'd just go into this, this, this spiral of, uh, what's the point of trying? It's all going to end. Um, it's not going to work out. And then it would just be a, a period of procrastination and just, uh, you know, not wanting to, to do anything because I was coming out of this place of believing that I was going to lose it all. So yeah, the questions process is one that, that's consistently been there the, the, for the last four, four and a half years that we've been working together. And then really understanding what it is that I want from life. And I think that's a question that we, we don't ask ourselves often enough or at all, is do we actually want to live the life that we're living right now?

And for me it was, it was, no, I don't want to live this life that I'm living right now. I don't want to be in this mind state of constantly comparing myself to others. I don't want to be in this mindset of having to compete with people that I admire and respect a lot. I don't want to be in this, this world where, um, I'm having to constantly prove myself and p- to prove to people that I'm not a failure. Um, and really getting clear on what it is, like how it is that I want to live my life. I think that, that, yeah, it's, it's really hard to explain because there's so many things that have happened.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: You're doing a great job. Yeah.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: But, yeah, it's, I think it's a mixture of those two things. It's, it's questioning all of the beliefs and I think that's the key thing. It's question every single belief that comes up because they'll all stem from somewhere.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: And they're all...

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Not true.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Not true. Uh, I mean, it's, so you think about, um, excuse me for jumping in, but you think about some of the things you've said, that you're not good enough. Like, when did that happen? Right? Like, I mean, it's interesting because I work with you and you're amazing. Like you're a, an amazing creative, an amazing person. You just have so many gifts and talents and abilities. So where did that happen where you decide, you know, that you're not good enough or, um, someone else is better? I mean, these are all the things that these are happening every day in our world, right? Oh, we look at a magazine or now social media and we look at, "Oh, look at them and they look better." And it's, you know, um, it's interesting because I’ve worked with so many different people including the people that are on the magazines or the, and they're feeling the same way, right? They're, uh, behind the scenes it's like, "Oh, I’m, I'm insecure," right? "I don't, I’m..." And I hear it because people get really real when, when we have our conversations.

But it's, it's interesting because we're all in the same boat doing the same thing. Like who, if you stop and ask yourself who's actually feeling really confident about who they are at the end of the day, like who's, who's truly feeling, "Hey, I'm really a great person and, you know, um, and confident most of the time no matter how much, how much you achieve"? So, excuse me for jumping in, but that's really important because when did it happen? Like when, when, you know, if you really investigate it, is it actually real that you weren't good enough somehow? What does that even mean to... But yet look at the impact when we believe it into existence, look at the impact that happens you know, from doing that.

So, uh, again, I'm really thankful that you're, you're, um, as honest as you are, are about this. Um, so through question of what would you say, you know, we don't... It's not a podcast where we go through all the steps of it, know everything, but what would you say in the sense of what's it like on the other side? Like when, as you're, you know, identifying those past patterns and, and, you know, really taking a look at them as you do and what, what's, um, what happens to you as a result of doing that and, and in terms of yourself, in terms of clarity? What happens?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Uh, I think the best way to describe it is, is it's consistent. Everything is consistent. Um, I remember back in the days when I used to get triggered by things. You would go into this place of, you know, into the place of massive elation when something is going really, really well. And then you would drop down to the state of depression when things are just not going your way or not working out. And you're constantly living in this, in this, you know, I call it the sine wave of depression and elation.

Um, whereas if you, what I found now is now that I'm living a life that, that I actually want to live and doing the things that I want to do, that the up and down doesn't exist. Or I mean, it does, but it's not as extreme as it was before. Now it's more like here, but that line is a lot more consistent across, across, you know, all aspects of, of life I guess now.

So, uh, and that also means that when I'm making decisions, I can come from a place of what I want to do as opposed to having to really think about what other people want me to do in this situation. Um, and it gets to the point where you sort of, like I'm finding now, you know, this is, we're recording this in December '24, things just flow. Like this, the best way I can describe it is once you get authentic, once you start doing the things that you want to do, you start to face very little or almost no resistance.

And things just happen. Like, you know, if this was me pre doing our work, I would get to December and I'd be stressing about what cashflow looks like next year. Where's the money going to come from next year? Now it's sort of like, yeah, you know, next year's next year.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. And it comes, does it?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: It comes.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. Comes more than you, more than you think.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Absolutely. And that's the other thing I’ve noticed is that once you get really, really, um, present about what it is that you want to do, everything just starts working together and, and then you start to, you know, people come into your life that help you live a more authentic life to you as well. So, everything just flows. I don't know. That's, that's the best way to describe it. I can't really, haven't found a better way to describe it.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Well, I am... You know, one, one of the things I really love about this podcast is, I listen back to them and I, you know, I hear, I hear that there's a theme for each person that comes. And I think I’ve already heard yours. I don't even have to look back. It's what's on the other side of fear, right? What's, yeah, well, and you're demonstrating that journey, you know, starting this conversation by, you know, talking about being in that state of fear and being present to all the how much fear you had in your life and just listening to you now. And I, I know you, you know. So, I’ve seen it, um, you know, unfold. And I’ve seen where you've got to, but just in a, in the, how this conversation is unfolding here is really amazing to see.

Like what's, what's on the other side of fear? And I think that's what you're describing now. And, you know, I just love what you're saying about the, you know, because this, If you think about the wasted energy and this, this whole sine curve, it's, you know, the more manic that it is, the more you know, at the end of the day, it's the more down that we get because for every up, the down seems harder, right? And it seems harder to get back up from that and if you just take in everything in stride, I mean, it is, um, it's something they talk about, like I call it the magic of life, right? There's a, It's, and some people kind of look at me funny as if, "What do you mean?" Because, but if we don't start looking, like if we're, if we're locked in these fears and we're locked in these stories, we will never see the magic of life because we're not even, we're not conscious, we're not conscious to it. We're, we're living out a story.

But when you do it and you start seeing how it happens, you know, it does come, doesn't it? We talk about it a lot in the work that, you know, your opportunity, because the thing that's happened, I mean, I’ve done this for long enough to know now, the thing that happens for people is they get more successful, not less successful, the more peaceful they get, the more they're not trying to strive and drive but just get clear.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah. Absolutely.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: And, yeah, and who you are, I guess that's the other thing is, you know, that, that I would highlight here that I'm hearing from you is not just what's on the other side of fear, but what's on the other side of fear when you're getting clarity, you know, as well, and so, well, maybe we can hear more about that. It feels the right thing to do.

So, what's life like? Like what's, so you talked about what it was like before and you've said that you started to say this, but what are, what are some of the ways that, um, that you've noticed like a change in terms of who you are, in terms of what's happening, uh, what would you say?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah, absolutely. Um, life on the other side of fear is, is, the best way to describe it is it's quiet. There's no noise. Or there's very little noise. So, just sort of, I guess, it's having the freedom to make a decision and be okay with making the decision regardless of the outcome. Um, you know, like yesterday for example, I woke up and it was a beautiful day and I was like, "You know what? I don't feel like working today. I'm going to go do some landscaping." So, I spent the day doing some landscaping. Whereas before, it would have just been like, "Oh, no. I can't do that because if I do that then I won't be able to do my work and then I won't have any revenue coming in and it's all going to go pear-shaped."

So, it's a, it's a very generic example but that sort of, it sort of, that's what life, yeah. It's what life is like. It's, it's kind of like make a decision and don't be attached to it. There's no attachment to the outcome. Yeah, it's just sort of... I don't know. I find it quite difficult describing, um, uh, the outcomes of our work because I guess we're not really, we don't really grow up knowing that this could be a way that we could live life. If that makes sense.

Um, but for me, life post-fear is just, it's, it's quiet, it's peaceful, and it's sort of just going with the flow.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Well, it's why we call it The Real 1% Journey. I mean, you're, you're doing such an amazing job here of, you know, the whole k- kind of idea behind this is how do you talk about this, right? Like, and I thought the best way to do it is those of us that are on the journey, you know, share from it because it's not every day, is it? This is not where we learn to go. But the thing is that I’ve worked with so many successful, like super successful, uber successful people. They're simply not happy, right? They're not... It didn't do anything. No. I'm, I’m... I want to be really clear that I'm not saying, because people then will take this and go, "Well, money's bad." No. I'm not going there. I think money's wonderful. It, it can provide all sorts of great opportunities and success is wonderful if we love, if we love it, right? If that's, but that's not where most people are because of what you said before. We're doing it for some sort of reason. And, you know, we keep needing that adoration. We keep needing that, you know. So, we have to do more and we become like a slave to this thing.

So, the stuff that we've learned, I mean, the reason I call it The Real 1% Journey is because of what you just said. We're not taught it. We don't even know.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: And you're also, you're also taught, you know, things like you need to make a sacrifice to be successful. You need to, uh, give up things that you love to, to then get the things that you want, and I don't think any of that is true. I don't think, you, you actually, like from, from my experience with this work and, and the turnaround, the massive impact that it's had on my life, I haven't had to sacrifice anything. I've still lived a life that I wanted to live, a life that I love to live with the people that I love, um, being surrounded by people that I want and doing the things that I want to do. I haven't had to sacrifice giving anything up-

To get the business that I wanted, to live the life that I want.

And I think we feed into this, into this narrative that there has to be sacrifice for us to get success. When in reality, I think the more we sacrifice, the more we live a life that is inauthentic to us because we're not doing the things that we want to do.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: This is so important, Kaushik, what you're saying right now. It's just so important. Because it's just about what everyone's doing, isn't it? It's like we, "Oh, look, I'm sacrificing more so I'm more successful," and I'm like, "Well, stop and think about that." Like I know it's, um, I get pretty direct at times and I don't, I'm not trying to be dark or anything but the, this reality is this thing's over one day, right? This is, and nothing's going anywhere with us. It's the experience of it, and if you're experiencing like, "Okay, we can" I think what, you know, what you're inspiring me to say, you can see you're getting my inspiration going here, is like, life is to be loved. That's what we're, that's the opportunity. That's what I’ve discovered in all these 30 years or so. It's like it's to be loved, not to be judging ourselves or to prove ourselves.

We'll find at the end of the day, there was never anything to prove. It was all a lie. It just happened in our own mind. But this is what we do. I sacrifice more than them so I'm more successful. So, wait a minute, you've had a more miserable life so you're more successful. Like if we peel that back. You said something interesting and it's, it is part of the one, The Real 1% Journey and it could be shocking for people to hear but something, because I’ve been into mind, you know, for a long time, what I’ve discovered is that at the end of the day people want that peace of mind. That's what they really want. They want to be at home with who they are. They want to just be able to sit in a room and feel really good about who they are without having to do anything, without having to prove anything. It's that peace of mind that, that we all want.

And, but it's elusive because what do we do instead? We chase this to be successful or that so mom and dad will love me or that so society will think I'm great and, but it's all misplaced. We never get there, do we? So, this is why, again, I keep saying, "This is why," but it is because it's a road to nowhere. It's a dead end, and most people don't wake up to it until way late in life. And so, this is what we're up to. I think what you're saying here is so important because what if it's just about what do I love? Why do we have to sacrifice anything if we get truly real about what we love?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: That's it. Like I remember, you know, pre-working with you, I made a lot of sacrifices but it didn't mean that I was any more successful. If anything, I was probably less successful because I wasn't doing things that I wanted to do. Um, and one of the misconceptions that often comes up is, "Well, if you're not sacrificing anything, then are you sacrificing success?" Or, you know, success in, in your definition. And like for me, I think, I’m... I feel like I'm more successful now not having sacrificed anything, living a life that I actually want to live, doing the things that I want to do, than before the work when I was constantly sacrificing things because I thought I had to do it to get the outcome. And being miserable most of the time.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: The overwhelming response I get, and people have come on the podcast and sharing, shared it and you've, you've shared it. The overwhelming response I get is the more peaceful people get and just content with who they are, the more success just rolls in and it's, whether it's money, whether it's athletic performance, whether it's, it just roll and roll, you know. Um, whether it's the, you know, physical health that we want to experience. Like once we get that, once we get off the struggle, once we're out of the struggle, we don't have to struggle and things become easier. And the success, that's what actually breeds success, whereas the hard you know, this whole concept, in other one is, you talk about sacrifice, in other word is hard work, right? Hard work. Uh, people say to me, uh, because I, I work a lot. But I don't work hard. Yeah. I work fun. I work, I, I work love if that makes sense. It kind of sounds strange. But yeah, I think you know what I'm saying.

So, work hard, like, why, It's, I think it's kind of similar to sacrifice. Gotta work hard. I'm like, well, if your work is hard, you might want to relook at that because you're not enjoying it. Why, why, you know, either help yourself enjoy it or, or find what you want, but these are the concepts that, but we're still in them and, and, you know, this is what we vilify. Like, we, you know, we look at people and go, "Look at wow, they're amazing. They're, you know, they have X, Y, Z." But then you look behind the story, this is what we don't like to see, the implosions in their life, the family implosions or the and again, I’m, I'm all about, like, because some people say... Somebody said to me the other day that, um... You know, they were talking about, like, traditional forms of success and saying, "Well, um, uh, really we should want this." And I went, "Well, be careful with that too because that might be somebody else telling you that that's what you should want." We want what we want and what, what, what I'm about is that we each want something different.

And it's important what I'm so thankful that you're highlighting is that it's important to get to what that is for us. And we have to get rid of all those other voices to be able to get there, and these constructs like sacrifice, like, well, why?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And, you know, when you really think about it, it makes no sense, why we have to sacrifice.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: It takes the creativity out, doesn't it? So instead of saying, "I want this, this, this, and this. How do I get it?"  

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Creates a lot more struggle. Because you're, you're hitting resistance all the time.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. And believing that if I have this, I can't have that. I have to sacrifice that to have this. So, then you're living with that sacrifice and then, oh, if I get that, then I'm sacrificing this. But yeah, where's the creativity in that? We're saying, "I want A, B, C, and D. I'm going to get creative and figure out how I can have all of that," you know? And it's that simple at the end of the day, isn't it? But, but because we've been taught, um, again, um, I can't thank you enough for what you're saying here, because we've been taught this, and this is the type of thing I'm trying to bring out to the surface that isn't being talked about or if it is, it's not hardly being talked about. We're just, It's, it's, it's like going to the fundamental and it's scary, isn't it? To look at, hey, the things that we have learned.

And one of my most amazing teachers, you know, said, in the past said, "Far more important than what we learn is what we unlearn." And I think this is, what if we have to unlearn that this wasn't the right way at the start, you know? The hard work, the sacrifice isn't necessarily true. That's not what you have to do to be successful.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And it's, it's not, it's not too late. You know, I mean, I think about some of the incredible people that I’ve, I’ve had the pleasure of working with through the, through the work with you. Um, you know, they're in different stages and phases of their life, uh, but they've got the courage and they've got the, the willingness to, to really discover who they are. And I think that's, you know, one of the things that I often, you know, run up against is, uh, "It's good for you to do it now because you're young, but actually, it's probably more important to do it the older you get."

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. I was just on a call with a guy in his 80s this week and it's, it's, and, and looking to the rest of life. And I mean, I, I'm so inspired by that and I'm like it doesn't matter. You could be 80s, 90s, it's, it's, it's all... I mean, this is what we talk about a lot, right? Is it's here and it's the way that we frame things, and, you know, I think what's something that you're bringing out here is we don't really realise the way that we're framing things because it was already done and then we just accepted that that's reality, you know? If I'm going to be successful, I have to sacrifice. If I'm going to do this and we just took it all as fact. But upon, you said questioning earlier, turns out to not be fact, does it?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: No. And yeah, it makes, once you really dive into it, it, it, it just makes no sense sometimes, some of the things that we do just out of habit. Um, and the questioning process is a really good way to, to draw out some of those old belief systems that are driving your life and really question them, because sometimes they can be confronting. Someone's told you that you're really good at this one thing, but it's one thing that you can't stand doing. You know? Um, are you really good at it?

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: I mean, there's, there's a courage earl- you said courage earlier and willingness, there's a lot of courage involved in it, isn't it? But I'm like, you know, people say, "Oh gosh, this is tough." And I'm like, "Well, is it any tougher than living every day just not feeling like you've really showed up to your life and you know that there's more that you want to be living and you know you're not really connected with it?" Is it any harder to do that? Uh, to me, that was the hardest, that was the most painful to, was to go that track.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: And it also has an impact on other people in your life as well. Like, if you've got kids and you're constantly, constantly living out of this place of fear, what are they going to pick up? They're going to pick up that, you know, fear is a natural part of life. And then they're going to grow up with having the fear of whatever it is that they, they fear. But, you know, it's a pattern that just constantly repeats itself. Um... And yeah, people close to you will pick it up and then they'll run with it as well.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: And I know that you're, you're quite a, um, quiet spoken person. Um, I know you don't, uh, because we've worked together for a while and, uh, you know, I think we can pick up from what you're saying there's, your life is so different and I know you're doing amazing things. The decision, you know, I know the decisions that you're talking about having made, some big ones, very courageous ones, but I just see that when you make them, you're just, your whole life is now, from my perspective, just, it's just, um, it's just going somewhere different. It's, it's, things are happening. You're in, you're in that, you talked about the flow and you're in it, right? You're really... You're in it.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Uh, yeah. It's uh, yeah, I was, I was talking with someone yesterday and I, and I described it as when it rains, it pours. But it's going to pour the rest of my life now. Cause things are going to always be happening and there's always going to be things that I, I'm going to be doing things that I want to be doing. Like, I think now that I’ve, I’ve realised that, um, coming out of this place of fear and this place of, um, avoiding things and this place of not communicating hasn't really done much for my life at all. Has actually brought me back more than it has saved me from things.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: It's probably how had you not show up for it in the first place, right? Like, not really and...

KAUSHIK KUMAR: And, and that's the thing, like, you know, just imagine if, you know, if everyone woke up to their realities and they woke up to their true authentic way of being, how cool would this world be if people just did what they wanted to do?

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. Well, that's my mind right there. That's the, that's what I'm working to, right? That's what this is all about, is and what would happen? Like, what would you see? I've, I’ve, I’ve spent some time thinking about this or visualising this. What if everyone just got really genuine about who they were, stopped worrying about what anybody else thought, really, really got clear with who they are, what they wanted to do, didn't let fear stop them, what would this world look like?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: I think it would just be a way more fun place to be.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Wow. It'd be awesome.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Everybody's just going to have a great time.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. Just having a great time and making the most of what this life can be, which is we can, we can love it. I mean, don't know if this is the place to go into it here, but you're just bringing up so many opportunities, Kaushik, I can't help it. But like, you know, I went through the phase of, "Oh, I got to find my purpose." I went through the hard work phase, "Gotta be successful." Almost drove myself to the early grave doing that. And then, um, got to, okay, which way, if you're going to, you know, no, you need something more purposeful. Okay, well, I’ve got to find my purpose, and then struggled with that for, you know, a long time, over 15 years. Then didn't feel like I found it, and then I was like, "Well, now what?" And I'm just, my life is wasting. It's going by and I'm wasting it.

And then I woke up and I realised, what if it's just here? Like, everything in that conversation was based on having to prove something or get somewhere, but, you know, if we go deep here for a minute, like, do we actually really know how we got here in the first place? Really when we peel it all back, do we know how we got here? Do we know who we are? You know, but somehow, we're here and somehow, we're fine, right? Like, somehow, we're okay. What if and I got this, um, you know, this question came to me and it was, uh, it kind of... It's deepened and I feel I have a lot of certainty around it now for me.

It's just, what if we're just here to, to have an opportunity to have an experience of living?

And what if an opportunity of that is we could love it?

But I hear what you're saying, and it kind of brings this full circle because possibly why it's so difficult to get to that clarity is how much is in here that's not that. You know, how much is in here that it's something else that I’ve got to prove. I'm not, I'm not good enough and have to be good enough. I have to make more, I have to do more, I have to win, I have to do all this sort of stuff. And instead, it's just going, "Hey, what do I actually love here?" What, this is the experience.

It's like, you know, I often say most of us, many of us like the theme parks, right? You go to Disneyland or, um, well, here in New Zealand, maybe we go to, um, Aussie and go to Water World or, um, uh, sorry, I can't think of the one in Auckland at the moment. But there's, there's different places. Even if you go to a little fair or something like that. Um, you know, we go. Why do we go? You know, do we go thinking, "Oh, I have to have some great purpose of being here." We go to have fun. You know, we go, we go to have an experience. And when the experience is over, we just, we create another experience. And what if that's life? What if life is like a theme park and we're just here to, to enjoy it to the fullest? But we have to get rid of all the meaning first, don't we? And the meaning that we put onto it or, or that we've been taught that it has, and then we're free.

But, um, I think we, um, this is awesome and, but I, I think the thing that you're bringing up is just how successful people get, but it's not just the outer success. It's The name of the podcast is How To Be A Real One Percenter. It's the, it's the peace of mind. It's the enjoyment of it. And yeah.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah, yeah. It's, um, I mean, yeah. We're not here to struggle. We're not here to go against the grain. We're here to live a life that we want to live, and I think we're doing a disservice to ourself if, if we don't do that.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: I think I just saw the podcast title. We're here to live a life that we want to live. Yeah, I think that's, that's what you've been saying to us today, is, is and, um, letting us know what gets in the way of, of getting to that. So, uh, I said at the beginning I was really looking forward to this, and I now know why. Because I use the word gold a lot here because there's just so much gold in these conversations of what you bring. You know, because once we enter that magic, you know, it might seem like it's a world that doesn't exist. But once you're in it, once you're in the flow, once you see that, that life works that way really, if we get out of our you know, you talked about ego mind, so I should probably say something about, uh, the ego mind, uh, to me. Because like a lot of people, um, you know, there's different like Freud talked about the ego, and there's different ways to talk about it.  

I simply mean the ego as an identity that we've created for ourselves that we're not actually that. So, for example, if someone is you know, you talked about drive and we talked about sacrifice and drive. Like, driven, because I work with a lot of highly successful people, driven is one of the words that's most associated with that. And when I say to people, "If you get in your car and you're driving, right? You're driving from somewhere to somewhere." So, I ask people two questions. "Where are you driving to?" "Oh, I'm driving to be ultra successful. I'm going to be number one this and that." And I'm like, "Great. Where are you driving from?" They're like, "What? What do you mean?" I say, "Well, you never get in your car and just drive." That's a similar thing, you know. What, what we find is that we're driving from inadequacy, feelings of inadequacy, feelings of insecurity. Feelings of not being good enough, feeling of not being wanted, feelings of not having worth. This is all the different things that people have come to.

And look, it's, it's a tricky one, Kaushik, because it does lead people to, to... You know, people say, "Well, Shree there, if I don't have that, why will I get up in the morning and, and create my business and go forward?" And I'm like, "Well, there is something far more impactful than that." You'll know it. It's just being inspired by what you do. You don't... We don't have to be driven from something. We can just find, as you've said so well today, we can just find what we want and, and, and do it. You know, let's commit. And, and we're going to be far more energetic in doing that, because we love being there. We don't have to keep struggling to show up, and, you know, I think that's, it's, it's quite an important thing that, that, that that's, you know, yeah. You're just given the opportunity to bring all of that out, which is, which is amazing. That drive is, it's not, it's not fulfilling. We don't ever get where we're trying to drive to. We only get a little snippet of it. "Oh, I'm successful. Uh-oh, now I have to prove it again."  "Oh, but now I’ve got it more." And then we just, I think you're really doing such a great job, and I appreciate illustrating how stressful of a life that is. And it's, um, it's not, not, we don't need to do that.

Like, we can just simply go, "I want that." "I, I love that." "I'm going to do my best to get that. Okay, there'll be upsers and downsers because that's the way life works." Doesn't always work out, but, um, something else. Like, you're bringing everything up here, Kaushik, um, out of me today, um, with, with what you're bringing up. And it's, you know, you said something earlier. You know, what you've done and, and what I see people do that are getting to the places that you're getting is just don't give up. And I don't think I can never have a conversation without including that. Just don't give up. Like, find what you want. If you want to find who you really are, don't give up until you've done it, right? And that's you. You had plenty of opportunity to... You know where I'm going, right? You had plenty of opportunity to just go, "Oh, I'm giving up on it," and... But you just didn't. I don't think you could. You just, you kept going and, uh, would you agree with me, don't give up?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: 100%. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, like you said, if I gave up on this two years ago, I'd be back where I was before our work. And, uh, I mean, I’ve lived both lives and I don't want to live that life again.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. I'm, I'm with you. Because I have too, and I’ve just not... Nothing could make me go back.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: No. Um, and, oh, the other, I think the other thing before we wrap up is, you being true to yourself also has a massive impact on the people around you as well. Because the happier you are, the more fulfilled you are, that's, that's contagious. That spreads. And then other people around you pick up on that energy, and then everyone has the same, um, you know, they're all just living life, having a good time. I think that's also a very important thing to mention is, like, this, this isn't a journey that you can have by yourself.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: It's infectious, right? And, uh, other people go, "Hey, why..." You know, people say to me, "So, well, how do I tell so-and-so about this?" And I go, "Just be you. Just keep being you." And all of the sudden they'll come and go, "Well, you seem a lot happier. You seem peaceful. You're not, you're not so upset by what you used to be." And then you go, "Yeah, I’m, I'm doing X, Y, Zed." And yeah, and it, but it does, it like, Um, you know, I talk about, a lot about entanglement, that when, you know, people come to me and they say, "Oh, my partner's, you know, really, um, driving me crazy, or my business partner, or my coworker or whatever the case, boss or whatever, um, staff member." And then, but you go, "Well, hey, there's two of you, and there's an entanglement there." If you look at your side and you break through that, then it frees the space so the other person's going to be different in your space too. And I think, yeah, it does have an impact really, uh, on.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Yeah, absolutely. And one thing I’ve noticed is like, you know, a lot of, a lot of the reasons why those conflicts happen is because you're enforcing your own ego points of view into that conversation. And if they've got opposing beliefs, then obviously you're going to clash. Um, and this is where, you know, authenticity really comes into its place is you can actually... You have the empathy to look at the other person's perspective.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: That, that changes everything, doesn't it?

KAUSHIK KUMAR: There's no outcome. You're not attached to anything. Um, yeah, that's, that, that in itself, you know, that's probably a little side benefit that comes from all of this. But that saves a lot of time going back and forth. Because you're not attached to the outcome. You're just attached to a win-win situation, a win-win outcome.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Which changes everything, doesn't it? Yeah. I think I started on ego and forgot to wrap it up. So just before we go, I think I got, I got, you know, you know I can do that, right? You know, go on, uh, tangents. But, uh, it's, um, the ego is just this identity, you know. What, what are we fighting for? Like, we get into those arguments and the ego is the thing that's, it's, it has to be right. I have to be right. Well, well, who has to be right? Well, the one that didn't feel he was good enough. So, if he's right, then he'll be good enough or, you know, it felt like he was, Kevin talked about it on a recent podcast, you know, feeling like the bad one. "Well, if I'm right, I'm not bad." You know, he, he had his own version, but I'm like, "All of us, what are we fighting for?" Like, if there's nothing to fight for, we just understand the other person. We understand they've got something that they want. We've got something that we want. And we just, I love the creative mindset idea, like we just get in a creative mind of going, "How can, how can we bring about a win-win here?"

Yeah. Well, Kaushik, um, wow, uh, is there anything, I usually given an opportunity, like you've said so much here today. I usually give one opportunity. If there's any last thing that you would say, uh, to just viewers that, you know, about The Real 1% Journey, um, what would you, Is there anything? Not that there has to be. You've said so much already.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: I think having the open mind of actually questioning things and going, "Is this what I want? Is this, the life that I want to live? Are these the shackles that I want to break away from?" Um, and, and being open and, I guess, kind of vulnerable as well. You have to be vulnerable to look quite deep. Um, that would be my advice is, you know, when you, when you come into this work, leave all of those things at the door and come in with an open mind, because the work is profound. It has a massive impact. And, you know, all the people that I’ve been introduced to through the work, you know, they're all living amazing lives that are really authentically true to themselves. And the, the reason that they've been able to do that is because they've left their beliefs at the door, and they've come in with an open mind.

I'm forever grateful for the, for the work that we've done over the last four and a half years and will continue to do so in the future. Um, and yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing where all of this goes.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Yeah. You said about my calls, my calls is... You know, you know where my life was and I knew what it, you know, you've talked about it today, I know what life looked like, I know what it's like today. So, my call is just if anybody can hear something, right? Like one thing that goes, that sparks something, that, that puts, you know, helps them to get down a different line of questioning to find out who they are to a different level and, you know, to say, "Have you helped that?" Um, well, I said to you, I was looking forward to this at the beginning and I, I had a feeling there was going to be a lot come out of it, but it was really, um, exceeded what I possibly, I try not to think about the way it's going to go but if I did, I would have exceeded it with what you've brought.

So, I just want to conclude this by saying, um, thank you very much for being on the podcast and really for what you brought to it, like you, your honesty. Uh, you know, uh, you could have not said all of that and not been as open and vulnerable as you said, but it's, uh, I think you know where it goes. And what people have been saying to me is how much of a difference it's making to them because we live in a world where people just don't do that and we have to look a certain way and be a certain way, but underneath the surface, we're all suffering because we can't just be honest about who we are.

And then we find out if we do, we get everything that we ever wanted in our life. So, Kaushik, thanks very much, um, not just for being here, but for who you are, uh, for what you've brought. You talked a lot about the work and how you got through challenging periods. I've seen that. I've seen you not give up. It's one of the most joyful things about my, my, what I do is that when people don't and what happens in their lives, you know, internally, externally, and where it goes. So, um, thanks for all of that and, and thank you today for being on the podcast.

KAUSHIK KUMAR: Um, and thanks, thanks for all the work that you've done, uh, as well. Like, yeah, it's been profound.

SRIDHAR KRISHNAMURTI: Awesome. Well, it's a pleasure. Um, well, I guess that's a wrap. Well, thank you for, uh, watching this episode and please stay tuned for a recap in another episode of How To Be A Real 1%er.