There is a version of my life that on paper, looks like a straight line.
About MeLeft India at 14. Made it to Stanford. Google. IP law. Moved back to Mumbai. Started a family. Reversed diabetes. Became a coach.
Clean story. Easy to summarize at a dinner party.
What the summary leaves out is everything that actually mattered.
The years of doing work that was professionally competent but personally hollow. The diagnosis I carried for sixteen years before I finally understood what was causing it. The gap between the father I wanted to be and the father I actually was in the early months of parenthood. The long, uncomfortable process of admitting that the life I had built looked more like someone else’s idea of success than my own. I am not telling you this to be candid for its own sake.
I am telling you this because it is the reason I do this work, and the reason I can actually help. I am not a coach who studied transitions from the outside. I am someone who has lived them — one after another, each one harder and more transformative than the last.
Everything I offer comes from something I have personally lived — not just studied, but walked through, one hard step at a time. What I’ve found is that the most important changes in life are always worth making.
My name is Rumit Kanakia… and this is my story.
The transitions that brought me here1996
First Flight
I left home, alone, to pursue my education abroad. Over the years, even as I got into some of the finest institutions in the world, and built a career across remarkable organizations, I often questioned:
who do I want to be?Along the way, I defined a unique identity for myself that embraced where I came from, while being open to exploring everything the world had to offer. I know what it takes to soar without losing yourself.
2017
Way Back Home
After over two decades abroad, my wife and I began asking the question we had been quietly avoiding:
where did we truly belong? The answer took years, a lot of courage, and a trip to Mexico to finally crystallize. We moved back to Mumbai in 2017 and it has proven to be one of the best decisions we’ve made. I know what it is to weigh the life you have built against the life you want.
2020
The Long Game
I had always wanted to be a father. Then, in the middle of the pandemic, we found out we were expecting. Somewhere in that joy, a quieter question started showing up:
will I be the father my kids deserve?When Diya arrived, I began the most humbling and rewarding work of my life. Samay arrived in 2022, and the stakes doubled. Fatherhood, it turns out, is the longest and most important game I will ever play.
2024
Living with Intention
For sixteen years, I lived inside the same cycle. Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at 26, I would try hard, make progress, slip back, and begin again. Each time, I caught a glimpse of a healthier version of myself. Each time, I lost him. Eventually, a deeper question began to surface:
who must I become to stay healthy?The switch flipped when Diya was born. I wanted to be alive and active for my children for decades to come. I went looking for the root cause, and slowly, I built the habits and the mindset that reversed my diabetes. I did not break the cycle by trying harder — I broke it by living intentionally, one decision, one habit, one day at a time.
2025
Finding Ikigai
I had built a life that checked all the boxes: the best schools, top firms, the coveted title. From the outside, it looked like success. But underneath, I knew I was living someone else’s idea of a good life. I ignored that feeling until I couldn’t anymore. When I finally got honest with myself, I began letting go of what no longer felt true. Beneath it all, the question I had been outrunning finally caught up:
what am I actually here to do?The answer became this practice, the hardest work of my life, and the most fulfilling. I know what it is to walk away from a life that looks right on paper, and build one that finally feels like yours.
How I workCoaching, for me, is not theory.
It is lived experience, earned across five transitions. What I offer my clients is a thinking partnership. A space to slow down, see your situation clearly, and work out what you actually want, separate from the expectations, the sunk costs, and the fear that usually crowd the room.
Every client begins in the same place: with a conversation about what is actually going on, and what you are hoping to be different on the other side of this work.
From there, I shape the engagement around you. The five programs are a starting point, not a script. We may draw on one of them deeply, weave together threads from two or three, or build something entirely your own. Your goals set the direction. My role is to help you get there, with clarity, accountability, and the lived experience of having navigated each of these transitions myself.
Certifications and trainings
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ICF (PCC) Certified Coach
Master My Life GCCP L2
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Certified Nutrition Coach
Sports Nutrition
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Bachelors in Science (BS)
Computer Engineering
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Masters in Science (MS)
Management Sci. & Eng.
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Juris Doctorate (JD)
Intellectual Property
Frequently asked questions
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A life coach is a thinking partner — someone who helps you get clarity on what you want, understand what's standing in the way, and build a path forward. It's not about processing the past; it's about designing the future.
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Therapy explores the roots of why you feel and behave the way you do. Consulting gives you expert answers. Coaching does neither — it helps you find your own answers, through the right questions, the right frameworks, and a trusted partner who holds you accountable to what you say you want.
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A good friend listens and tells you what they think you should do, usually based on what they would do. A coach does neither. I am not invested in any particular outcome for you. My only job is to help you get clear on what you actually want and then hold you to it.
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Those five transitions are where my personal experience is deepest. But the underlying work applies to most significant life transitions. If you are unsure whether your situation fits, the discovery call is the right place to find out.
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I work one-to-one, online or in-person, with clients across the world. I am based in Mumbai, which means I can hold sessions across most time zones with reasonable scheduling. Sessions are typically 60 to 75 minutes, held over secure video, and you receive a private space to capture reflections, commitments, and progress between them.
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Some clients come in for a focused 90 minute clarity session to work through a specific decision. Others commit to a longer engagement, anywhere from three sessions to ongoing monthly coaching. Sometimes engagements last even longer, particularly when the work involves rebuilding habits, identity, or a long-arc decision like a return move or a career shift. We will work out the right shape together in our first conversation.
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Coaching is a meaningful investment, and I want every client who works with me to feel it is worth what they paid. Rather than list prices here, I prefer to talk through what you are working on first, and then walk you through the program options and what each one costs. If the fit is not right for any reason — including cost — I will tell you so honestly.
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The most reliable signal is this: you have read something on this site and quietly recognised yourself in it. If one of the five transitions feels like the one you are sitting in right now, the best next step is a conversation. The first conversation is free, no pressure, and even if we decide not to work together, you will leave with more clarity than you arrived with.
The Rest of MeOutside the practice, I am happiest when I am learning something — by cooking it, eating it, listening to it, or trying it on my body to see what happens. I research everything well past the point of usefulness, and share what I find with whoever will listen. My wife will confirm this.
Pura Vida
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Trust the Turn
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In Gratitude
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Pura Vida ꕀ Trust the Turn ꕀ In Gratitude ꕀ
If any part of this resonates, I would love to talk.
The first step is a free discovery call, no commitment and no pressure, just an honest conversation about where you are and whether working together makes sense.
