Writer / Jane VanOsdol
It was at a leadership conference that Kunal Vyas, co-owner of K&H LLC, had his “aha” moment. In the middle of his speech, he knew he was born to be a public speaker, one who would uplift and encourage people.
Childhood
Helping others is important to Vyas, as he has overcome much hardship in his life. Born in India, he spent his first 14 years living in a hotel-sized apartment, sharing one bathroom with 10 other families. Life was difficult and although his family was poor, Vyas has no regrets.
“My million-dollar memories are there,” he said.
It was only after moving to the United States in 1997 that he understood his humble beginnings.
“I never felt poor until I got more and then more in my life, and I realized how poor I had been,” Vyas said.
His first several years in America were challenging. His family lived in a hotel for seven years, and during that time Vyas struggled to rise above the negativity and crime he saw around him. He credits great mentors with keeping him on the right path.
Living Out a Passion
Today Vyas is married and has three young boys. As opportunities arise, he pursues his newly found purpose and passion. In 2016, he auditioned for a Ted Talks-inspired speaker series at the Vogue in Indianapolis called Walk the Talk: Creating an Epic Shift. The first talk in the series was on gratitude, and after Vyas’ audition, he was one of six speakers chosen to present his 10-minute speech to a live, public audience. He has since delivered a second speech in the same series on the topic of compassion. He has set a goal along his life journey of speaking for Ted Talks.
While Vyas is at the beginning of living out his purpose, his desire is to help others find the “shift” in their lives that moves them from living a purposeless, passionless life to one of meaning.
He explains that a shift can be anything that someone is passionate about that they can use to make the world a better place, such as music, painting or writing. He believes that to find your purpose you must connect to your inner soul.
Vyas is serious about creating positive change in the lives of people, especially those who struggle. He strives to understand the factors at play in the circumstances of those who choose a life of crime. He contemplates whether he “can work to change this by motivating people to find their purpose.” He wants to be that difference in someone’s life.
Vyas is putting some verve behind his dream of helping others. He is currently developing a program called Free Food First Monday in which he will partner with Indianapolis restaurants who will agree to feed about 200 homeless people once a month. The goal is to provide favorite foods – something that many of us take for granted. So far, Papa John’s has participated in the program, and Vyas is recruiting other restaurants to help out as well. If you are interested in participating, please call him directly at 317-345-7889.
Overall, Vyas believes life is much more satisfying when we have others’ success in mind too.
“I want to climb Mount Everest,” he said. “But I don’t want to be partying by myself. I want to party with people I help get to the mountain.”
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