I am a committed, lifelong Existentialist, driven by curiosity. My career is replete with sharp pivots: Wharfie, Crane Operator, Chartered Accountant, Australian Diplomat (11 Posts in 29 years), Consultant on Coal Energy trade, Advisor to Australian Federal and South Australian Governments on Trade relations with India, Political & Cultural Risk Analyst for Corporates, and now Certified CQ (Cultural Intelligence) practitioner. My Resume is at: RakeshAhuja.DownloadingMyMind.com
Launched in July 2025, my website captures three facets of my life today.
Rakesh’s Desk
Dostoevsky asked, “But how could you live and have no story to tell?” Indeed, every human has a mind, and every mind has a story to tell. Why should My Life’s Story fade away when I am no more?
Rakesh’s Desk is my platform for blogging across ten universal themes – Happiness, Ageing and Relationships, and more – that shape 90% of day-to-day human existence. Gradually, my Blogs will evolve into an Anti-memoir.
Unlike a linear Autobiographical narrative, my Anti-memoir will be non-linear, presenting fragments of my life. It will be a mosaic of reflections on past events, enduring memories, memorable moments, flaws, learnings, and self-discoveries about things I did not know or only understand now. Experimental and scattered narratives, inviting readers to weave their own experiences and perspectives, will be my legacy.
Rakesh @ Social
In the Age of Information, social media is both constructive and divisive. The more informative posts and writings evoke reactions, both impulsive and thoughtful. Rakesh@Social is a curated collection of my responses to substantive issues that rise above the cacophony often found in this genre of media.
Drawing on my first-hand expertise, I focus on only 11 subject categories. Moreover, only 20% of my interactions on this and other platforms are archived here. This filtering serves two purposes. One, to ‘preserve’ my thoughts only on enduring topics, not fleeting fads and ‘instant’ issues. Two, complementing the objective of my Anti-memoir, this space offers glimpses into the ideas and debates during my lifetime.
Cultural Intelligence
Our interconnected planet, as never ever before, challenges the notion of nations defined solely by borders or ‘original’ inhabitants. This concept is now under siege by the cross-pollination of political, commercial, social, and ideological forces. This demands a deeper understanding of global cultures.
As an accredited Cultural Intelligence (CQ) practitioner with an extensive background across diverse countries and social climes, I specialise in the Cultures and Values of schematic China, lateral Russia, lateral India and linear Australia (as a Western Rationalist society).
CQ is still an emerging discipline, and my goal is to spread awareness of its value. I have been a CQ Consultant to corporations and Governmental instrumentalities. This section shares insights with those interested in the ways of Earth’s diverse tribes, when navigating for business, travel, or plain curiosity. Contact me if you wish to explore this subject further, whatever your quest.
About Founder
Rakesh Ahuja founded DownloadingMyMind (DMM) in 2023.
He is a committed, lifelong Existentialist. Hence, a professional career replete with right-angled turns: Wharfie, Crane Operator, Chartered Accountant, Australian Diplomat (11 Posts in 29 years), Consultant on Coal Energy trade, Advisor to Australian Federal and South Australian Governments on Trade relations with India, Political/Economic/Cultural Risk Analyst for Corporates entering Australian and Indian markets, CQ (Cultural Intelligence) Certified practitioner, and now the founder of DownloadingMyMind.
Rakesh’s professional background records an eventful life in diverse countries and cultures. He has insightful knowledge of cultural intelligence (CQ), particularly in the context of lateral, linear, and schematic civilisational values. Full Resume: RakeshAhuja.DownloadingMyMind.com
First, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) skills are essential for living and working effectively with other residents of our Earthian Global Village.
Our planet is now interconnected as never before in human history. The very concept of nations being defined only by geographical borders or their ‘original’ inhabitants is under siege by political, commercial, social, and ideological cross-pollination. In the Age of Information, we are becoming aware as never before of how many tribes make up this global village – multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-caste.
Diverse societies with different values and practices are being drawn together at personal and professional levels. No tribe anywhere can now hope to exist alone in its own cocoon. Cultural diversity inevitably gives rise to misunderstandings and even conflicts. Therefore, it is essential that we understand why and how an Earthian from another culture thinks or acts if we are to live in peace and harmony, both individually and as fragments of the human species spread across the globe.
CQ is an acquired skill; it is not inherited. A CQ-competent person can work effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds. S/he does not see heterogeneity as threatening but rather as a creative, exciting, inspiring, and enriching experience for acquiring social and professional CQ proficiency. That is the prime objective of this DMM platform.
Second, every human has a mind, and every mind has a story to tell.
Each of us, however humble our personal or professional background, has much to share with people close and afar. And not only today but also with our descendants to come.
We are born, we live, we die. Most of us lead ordinary lives. Not all of us become statesmen, writers, artists, Business or Sports personalities. However, each of us is unique; each has a life story and a library of unique experiences, ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Why should my Life’s Story be wiped out when I am no more?
DMM provides a platform for preserving my Life’s Journey, a legacy of my dreams, relationships, achievements, mistakes made, lessons learnt, and opinions on issues of our day. Gradually, my blogs will evolve into an Autobiography in the Library of My Mind.
TM & Copyrights © 2025 by Downloading My Mind
