There’s a quiet tax we pay when we choose to do something different, meaningful, or ahead of its time. It's not money or effort or even risk, though those are part of it. The real cost, the one no one prepares you for, is being misunderstood. Not briefly, not occasionally, but often for long, … [Read more...]
You Can’t Cook Rice Without Rice
There’s something refreshingly obvious about the idea: you can’t cook rice without rice. It’s a phrase that might sound silly at first, even laughable, but it carries a truth so foundational that we often forget it in our daily hustle to do more, be more, achieve more. Because in all of our … [Read more...]
Better Than Yesterday: The Quiet Science of Becoming Exceptional
No one is born a top performer. It’s tempting to think otherwise - to assume the most impressive people we encounter are just wired differently, gifted in ways we aren’t. But when you look closer, you see a more ordinary, more hopeful truth: they’ve simply built themselves differently. Not … [Read more...]
When Everything Feels Urgent: A Better Way to Prioritize What Matters
The older I get, the more I realize that most of our overwhelm doesn’t come from the amount of work we have - it comes from not knowing what to do first. In any busy, purpose-driven organization - whether you're building systems for equity, managing national funding cycles, or supporting … [Read more...]
From Curry to Commerce: Not Guests. Not Burdens. Nation Builders.
It’s 11:25 p.m. and I’m seated in a bustling Indian restaurant in Toronto. The scent of cardamom and cumin hangs in the air. The servers speak in Hindi and Punjabi as they glide between tables. The families eating here laugh over biryani and butter chicken, and I don’t need to peek behind the … [Read more...]
The Quiet Power of Playing the Long Game
There’s something oddly comforting about short-term wins. They give us something to point to - proof of progress, signs of momentum, applause. But in the obsession with now, we often forget that most of what truly matters happens slowly, invisibly, and without ceremony. The long game doesn’t … [Read more...]
One Intentional Hour
There are days when nothing works. The to-do list stares back blankly. The coffee goes cold. The conversation didn’t go how you hoped. A setback stings more than it should. Maybe there were tears, maybe just the familiar ache of disappointment. Whatever the cause, the spiral feels real. We’ve … [Read more...]
Mentorship is Not a Meetup: On Readiness, Reciprocity, and Respect
Lately, I’ve found myself hesitating when asked to mentor someone - not out of unwillingness, but because of a recurring issue: a lack of shared understanding around what mentorship really entails. It seems many people seek out a mentor as if it’s the next logical step, without pausing to reflect … [Read more...]
The Apprenticeship Was Never Meant to Be This Fast
Co‑ops and internships have been misunderstood. In my humble opinion, the co‑op - and by extension, the internship - was born from the spirit of the apprenticeship. A concept built not on transactions, but on transformation. For generations, people who were curious and serious about learning a … [Read more...]
If the Next Twelve Months Look Like This One
Every once in a while, life hands you a question so clear it almost stings: If the next twelve months looked like the last one, would you be proud of where you end up? It’s an uncomfortable question, mostly because it leaves no place to hide. It doesn’t ask whether you're busy or trying hard or … [Read more...]