Writer · Coach · Mentor
Exploring how we can live & work better.
I’m Sairam Dharmaraju — a former business leader, writer, coach and mentor. I learn and write about work, wellbeing, relationships, purpose and the choices that shape a good life.
A new chapter: from business leadership to wellbeing, writing and coaching.
Achievement matters. So does the life around it.
A broader definition of success sounds simple until work, money, relationships, family expectations, health and uncertainty all compete for the same time and energy.
I’m increasingly interested in the harder question: how do we build a good life within the constraints of the life we actually have?
Selected writing
A few places to start.
Three essays that capture the questions I keep returning to about work, ambition, wellbeing and the life around them.
A Good Life Is Harder in Real Life: What Do We Do When Everything Matters?
Money matters. So do work, children, parents, health and relationships. What does wellbeing look like when there are no easy trade-offs?
When My Body Told Me to Stop
A health scare forced me to stop after years of intense work, and made me see how completely overwork had come to feel normal.
How Much Is Enough? A Question Ambition Rarely Asks
Ambition can build security, freedom and opportunity. But what happens when the finish line keeps moving?
Start with what you’re dealing with
Work, Money & Ambition
Starting out, careers, money, financial security, success — and what ambition costs.
Wellbeing & Recovery
Stress, overload, energy, rest and living sustainably.
Relationships, Family & Belonging
Marriage, parenting, friendship, caregiving and staying connected.
Choices, Change & Meaning
Direction, transitions, identity, uncertainty, values and the choices that shape a life.
About me
Business leadership. Then the questions changed.
For more than two decades, my working life revolved around building businesses, leading teams and navigating the opportunities and pressures that come with leadership.
Today, I spend much of my time learning, reflecting, writing and mentoring, while developing a practice in non-clinical wellbeing coaching, life coaching and mentoring.
A quieter space for reflection, clarity and intentional change.
I work one-to-one with people at different stages — from college and early career, through the pressures of mid-career, to later transitions and questions about what comes next.