Welcome to the mindful fire podcast, where we explore living mindfully on the path to financial independence and beyond I'm your host, Adam Coelho and I'm so glad you're here.

On today's episode.  I'm joined by my friend Ruchika Sikri.

Ruchika is the founder of Mandala Ventures. After a successful corporate career of 25 plus years at Google, Microsoft and Cisco, she was following her life's purpose and mission to create a better world by supporting globally accessible mindfulness, compassion and wellness offerings.

Ruchika's inspiration to do this work comes from leading wellbeing and mindfulness learning programs and strategy at Google for eight plus years out of her 15 years at the. company.

Ruchika has successfully architected, facilitated and curated several wellbeing and mindfulness programs for over 120,000 employees at Google. She helped establish a self-sustaining culture where tens of thousands of Googlers regularly practice mindfulness for better wellbeing, healthy interpersonal relationships and sustainable high performance.

Outside of Google she's activating communities of wellness and mindfulness learning and practice in workplaces by accelerating growth of wellness, innovation, and good for humans technology and by cultivating physical and digital spaces for human flourishing and healing. 

Ruchika is a board member and advisor to several nonprofits that empower women living in shelters, support mental health of at-risk students and provide a safe home to orphan children around the world. She also advises the founders of wellness technology and conscious living startups.

 Ruchika is also a mother of two loving kids and lives with her wonderful husband and the Bay area of California.

In today's episode, Ruchika and I explore her journey through life, which started in India and led her to the United States and ultimately working for Google.  And she shares how she came to find out about mindfulness when she really needed it after finding out herself, working 15 to 16 hours, when Google was just a small, fast growing company of around 5,000 people.

 She shares how following her interest in this area ultimately led her to getting a job leading wellbeing and mindfulness programs at Google.

 In this conversation, Ruchika a

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PS: Introducing the… 🔥 FIRE Starter Group Coaching Program

You did the “money” part. You saved, invested, and built real options. But if you’re being honest… FU money alone isn’t enough—and you might still feel stuck in “one more year syndrome,” unclear on what you actually want next.

In 10 weeks or less, we’ll help you get clear on what you want—and start living it now—using envisioning, mindfulness, and practical mini-experiments (not endless overthinking).

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🔥 WHO I’m creating this for

This is for you if you’re at or near FI (Coast FI or full FIRE) and:

• You feel stuck after “doing everything right,” but you’re not sure what you’re optimizing for anymore.
• You’re caught between freedom and overwhelm (“I could do anything… so I do nothing”).
• You want clarity and momentum—but you don’t want someone to tell you what to do.

🔥 WHAT we’ll do together (over 10 weeks)

In a small group (mastermind-style), you’ll:

• Get clear on what you actually want (beyond expectations, comparison, and “shoulds”).
• Create a big, meaningful vision for your next chapter—one that fits who you are now.
• Learn the brain science behind envisioning (why it works, and how to use it).
• Turn yo...