Leadership development and coaching. We specialize in understanding the ego. The story of Upbuild begins in a monastery.
On our quest to understand ourselves more deeply, we recognized it is our attachment to our egos — our identities — that gets in the way of being our true selves. Upbuild specializes in understanding the ego. We help you better understand your inner world – the motivations, insecurities, and emotions that affect your every action and relationship.
06/18/2026
Upbuild Enneagram Library Live is a bi-weekly community gathering where we dive deep into the wisdom of the Enneagram. Each session focuses on a theme or question, inviting thoughtful discussion that sharpens your ability to type accurately, deepens your grasp of the framework, and reveals new layers of insight about yourself and others.
SUBSCRIBE HERE: https://www.upbuild.com/enneagram-library-live
06/10/2026
Insight shows up like an alarm. A hard truth, a discomfort, a flash of awareness. Our reflex is to turn away. The call may get quieter. Until we forget it was ever there. But the call doesn’t ever go away. As Hari Prasasda has shared, “Your soul will hunt you down.”
In what way is it time for you to wake up?
06/02/2026
"Do you consider yourself someone who has difficult conversations with ease, or someone who fears them? What does it really mean to have a difficult conversation? What is the role of the heart and our emotions in having difficult conversations?
Michael, Hari Prasada and Rasanath take inspiration from a CEO’s experience of needing to fire someone to look at how the ego prevents us from bringing our hearts to conversations, the difference between intentional and unconscious compartmentalization, and the risks (to ourselves and to others) of not bringing our hearts to conversations.
The full podcast episode can be found here:
https://www.upbuild.com/podcast/conversations
05/29/2026
Sharing emotion can deepen connection, but only when it is offered with care. Raw vulnerability unloads. Processed vulnerability reveals what is true in a grounded way. That alignment is what builds trust.
05/21/2026
Do you donate money to charity so that you feel less guilty about your life, to receive praise, or to get a tax benefit? Should you try to get really rich and then give your money away in order to do the most good?
Rasanath and Michael discuss the motivations behind our charitable giving and how to differentiate between egoic and pure motivations. They address what they do when they receive requests to donate to causes that they don’t feel strongly about, the power of thinking about charity as a state of mind rather than a specific act, and a definition of charity which is much broader than giving financial aid to those in need.
The full podcast episode can be found here:
https://www.upbuild.com/podcast/charity
05/13/2026
REMEMBERING WHO WE ARE
A weekly community gathering (online)
Every Wednesday, 12-12:45 pm (U.S. Eastern Time)
REGISTER HERE: www.upbuild.com/remembering-who-we-are
05/05/2026
The ego convinces us that peace comes from getting what we want and avoiding what we dislike. The Bhagavad Gita teaches the opposite. Peace comes from not being ruled by these impulses.
https://www.upbuild.com/remembering-who-we-are
05/01/2026
Have you ever wondered what really happens on bonus day at an investment bank?
Hari Prasada interviews Michael about his article, Goldman Sachs Bonus Day and the Entitled Ego, and his intense experiences around receiving a bonus during his time at Goldman. They discuss the posturing that went into bonus day, the flimsiness of using compensation as a measure of self-worth, the suffering that comes from not feeling enough, and the key question, “Who would I be if I lost my money, job title, and status?” They conclude by offering concrete ways to go beyond the insecurities of the ego to become less reliant on extrinsic measures of self-worth and more in touch with our real selves.
The full podcast episode can be found here:
https://www.upbuild.com/podcast/bonus-day
04/29/2026
The ego offers quick hits of comfort. Control, validation, self pity. Each one reinforces the very patterns that keep us anxious and insecure. Seeing the addiction is the first step. It opens space for humility and presence.
04/21/2026
Hari Prasada, Michael, and Rasanath discuss the three sources of introversion and share the different gifts and challenges faced by introverts depending on where the introversion comes from. When we discover the reasons for our introversion, we have greater access to self-understanding and self-empathy. It allows us to live with greater intentionality and to stretch our borders without disrespecting them. The team also debunks the often unconsciously held view that extroverts are better than introverts.
The full podcast episode can be found here:
https://www.upbuild.com/podcast/introversion