Hey Kings! We had the honor to interview one of our loyal and regular kings, Ash Kumra, for this blog post. We love having Ash visit The Kingdom – his energy is always positive and uplifting. For National Self-Improvement Month, Ash provided us with insight into his personal and professional life. Ash’s intentional daily habits has led him to achieve success in his career and peace in his life. Ash knows that prioritizing self-care and practicing healthy habits allows him to stay on top of his game, even during difficult times. 

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do and how did you get there?

I am a Bay Area native and I recently moved back after living in SoCal for a long time. I am a media entrepreneur, so I own a communications company dealing with mindfulness and productivity. I do a lot of content, such as hosting and event production. 

2. What are some habits in your personal and professional life that help you achieve success? 

I do some form of meditation and physical activity everyday. I also try to get eight to nine hours of sleep every night.  

3. How do you balance your work responsibilities with your personal goals? 

I do my best to plan ahead. I think that if you can plan out your day the day before, then that helps you a lot. I think when we wake up and ask ourselves in the morning: “What am I going to do today,” then we end up in a fluster. The other thing I do is create blocks of focused time on the things that matter. 

4. How do you handle setbacks or failures when they occur? 

I’ve recently been thinking about this a lot and I think the solution is to change the way you think about it. You asked me earlier about the things I do everyday to stay productive and because I do those things, it makes my brain stay adaptable and resilient. If I don’t have healthy habits, good self-care, then I could let the outside world affect the way I think and it would be easier to say “Oh, I’m a failure or I failed.” Instead, it’s “No, I learned.” I pick it up and move on. 

5. How do you stay motivated and focused on your goals, especially during times of stress? 

I remember the big picture; not everyday is rosy. Think about what this is all for. That’s why I’m a big advocate of meditating and visualizing because you can see in advance what your day is going to be like or your future, and go back to that place if you ever feel like you’re down. I think we sometimes let the day-to-day stuff impact what we want to do. The day-to-day stuff can always change. An example of this is: anytime you’re sad, you’ll eventually become happy. Anytime you become happy, you can become sad. It’s just something for you to be self-aware and be in control of. 

6. Do you have a mentor or someone you reach out to for support and advice? 

As I get older, I look to my parents for mentorship. They’re wise, all of our parents are wise, but I learn a lot from them now.