We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashwin krishna Nedunoori and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashwin krishna, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Being a Senior Engineer working at Ticketmaster and having a Masters in computer sciences from Arizona State University, I face lot of challenges and one of the main things that motivates me to succeed in my career as well as in my lifestyle is by following the mantra “Action Oriented”. Some of the habits that helped me succeed is by having a healthy and positive conversations with people around me, going for strenuous hikes during weekends and developing a new skill every quarter. With my wife’s support I got interest into gardening and spending time with plants, nurturing them gives a different positive attitude towards a healthy life style. Recently I have started to play Tennis which helps me to stay focused and concentrate more in any activity. I calm myself with meditation and breathing techniques that I learnt from “Art of Living” foundation which is a volunteer based, humanitarian, and educational organization. Being an avid meditator and mediation instructor, I feel success is not just about living rich lifestyle but prioritizing mental well being and living happily.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have a Master degree in Computer Science from Arizona State University and currently working as Senior Engineer at Ticketmaster. It wasn’t an easy journey for me to be at where I am today. Prior to Masters degree I used to work on different technology which used to be boring with mundane tasks. It was a point at my career where switching to different stream was difficult unless I pursue a higher education. Having a motivation to pursue Masters degree helped me to switch careers with help of my faculty members and part time job at Arizona state university. Upon ending up at Ticketmaster have faced some interesting challenges to explore and build new tools that would benefit the company. It was challenging to go through the process of building new tool and presenting it to the whole company which ended up with lot of appreciations. That is when I realized what fun in life when we don’t have challenges. This is the biggest lesson I learnt along the way which helped me to grow up the ladder in my career. Also, to have a good work life balance, Ticketmaster is one of the best companies to work with where we get unlimited vacation and year end shutdown to spend time with family. During the covid era, It was a difficult situation to spend time with friends, unable to travel and meet my family members back in India. I was fortunate to teach mediation and breathing techniques online which had impacted lot of people to overcome stress and anxiety issues. Also it had a different perspective of what life is all about and how to handle situations in difficult times.
I am able to have a good balance between work and life now where I pursue my job duties during the day time and teach Breath work and Meditation during the evenings along with other volunteer activities for the Art of living foundation.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Chandler and there are lot of fun places in the city and some amazing places within few hours from the city as well. Arizona is known for some beautiful hikes, amazing sunset views and intra-city road trips.

Day 1: Explore local city to checkout the OdySea Acquarium, go to Papago park, hole in the rock for beautiful sunset and explore old town scottsdale in the night with some amazing lights on the streets and have dinner at Zinqué in Scottsdale.

Day 2: Drive to Saguaro Lake which has spectacular views of rugged mountains spend some time with water activities and drive to Fountain hills which has one of the worlds largest fountains. would be very nice for spending lovely time with family. In the evening drive to Tempe town lake for some splendid sunset views followed by a stroll on the Mill avenue where there are more than 100 restaurants to explore. I would specially like to take them to Cornish Pasty for sumptuous dinner.

Day 3 & 4: Have a road trip to Grand Canyon South side (4 hours drive) to visit one of the magnificent wonders in the world and post sunset which is not to be missed in Grand Canyon. Drive to Flagstaff  (2 hours) where they have some good restaurants and stay overnight. Next day drive to Sedona (30 min) which is my favorite place surrounded by red rocks, steep canyon walls and some water creeks. Some of the places to visit in Sedona are Cathedral rock, Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, The Chai Spot, Chocolatree for food, Airport Mesa for sunset and drive back.

Day 5: There is a local joint called “The Bagel Man” for some yummy breakfast and can explore Arizona state university campus in Tempe or hike the amazing camelback mountain for beautiful city view. Later in the evening drive to the South mountain (Dobbins look out) for a scenic sunset. Best part of this is there is no need to hike, you can drive all the way to the top to Dobbins lookout for sunset.

The City is spread so much there are so many places and amazing food joints to explore.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am grateful to be at a place where I am with great support from my wife (Ramana Vandana) who has always been there encouraging me to do whatever I love. Also, to my family and friends who have been there during good times and difficult situations for my job switch during the middle of pandemic. A big shoutout to Art of living family members for making me more strong and overcoming barriers in any challenging situations. I am very thankful to my guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for always being there to guide me & to be happy in any situation.

Instagram: @nekrishn

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