In no necessary order, a small business owner, a yoga teacher, an online community builder, an author, and a professor. Why? One of the recent attributions to Warren Buffet, the wealth wizard, says, “you will become the person depending on the five people you spend time with on an everyday basis.” “You should be with people who you aspire to be.” That’s powerful. If I look back at my life, these words are indeed true. Good company pushed me up towards better grades and relationships. Bad company took me down the path of wasteful activities and eventually revealed shallow, broken relationships. Having said that, I have never been intentional about my company or relationships. I grew into them by chance and organically so. The first ranker in my 10th grade and the street fighter in my college were both chanced upon me. I guess providence should not be underestimated and those positive and negative experiences shaped me into who I’m. But I guess there is no harm in aspiring for future company. So, why do I want to meet the above five people?

First, a small business owner, somebody who runs a bed & breakfast, or a coffee shop, or a lunch house. Over the last 15 years, I’ve fallen in love with the idea of cooking and feeding hungry friends. I picked one epic recipe, the Biryani, and have done several cook-outs over the years. I remember spending an entire day cooking a large wat of Biryani for 30-40 people at a farewell dinner to my boss. It brought me so much joy seeing them enjoy my labor of love. Over the years, my wife and I have hosted several dinner experiences that have become a part of our wonderful memories. My woman wins my heart through my stomach everyday. We both want to start an eating house by the time I hit 50. We would love to host hungry hearts everyday in our Great Kitchen Hall.

Second, a yoga teacher from whom I can learn and practice pranayama every day. Over the last two and half years, I made some meaningful lifestyle changes. I moved from eating meat everyday to eating plant-based food. I moved from three meals a day to two meals a day. I’m trying to move from a life of excess to a life of thoughtful consumption, be thoughts, words, or actions. Two of my great friends in this journey have been my breath and body. I owe a huge thanks to YouTube where I rediscovered Pranayama and Surya Namaskar. So, I want to meet a Yoga teacher who just teaches me good yoga without the trappings of a cult.

Third, an online community builder who brings together thousands of people to exchange ideas. I have a fascination for facilitating great conversations, collaborations, and co-creation. I was lucky to be introduced to Design Thinking in my work life that changed the way I would approach problem solving. I spent a lot of my time working with small groups of people coming from different backgrounds and inspiring them to work together as a team to solve a said business challenge. But I also learned that if you truly want to create transformative impact, you need to do it at scale. My facilitation should not just impact fifteen but fifteen thousand people. Therefore, I want to meet a person who successfully runs a large online community where people discover, collaborate and co-create knowledge.

Fourth, an author from whom I can learn how to master the art of writing. I know I have the gift of conveying my thoughts fluidly through writing. I want to nurture this gift, hone the craft and become an author of meaningful stories. I’ve benefited so much from so many books and authors. It is time to give back a little to countless people like me.

Last but not the least, I want to meet a professor from whom I can learn how to teach and empower seekers of knowledge. In my work life, I naturally gravitate to white boards and draw to explain my concepts to my audience. Some people call me ‘professor’ jokingly. I would love to spend time with students imparting some of the things I’ve learned over the years in the field of digital transformation.

So, there you go. The five people who I want to meet while I’m alive. Now that I’ve expressed it, let’s see if destiny will allow to cross paths with these five friends. Nothing can stop a teacher from appearing when the student is ready.