Awesome Friends: Neel

It was my greatest intent to write once a week about awesome things my friends are doing. I think it's important for a couple reasons - 1) Tell more people about the amazing things people are doing to make this world a better place 2) To remind myself of the incredible people I am blessed to share life with. 

I missed last week. Not because I didn't have awesome friends to write about. Quite the opposite actually, I have a line up of people I want to shout about from a mountain top. I've been traveling for work, and while I thought I'd have more time to write on the road, I end up being too focused on the people I'm with and task at hand to reflect, write, share personally. 

Without further ado - everyone should know about my friend Neel and the album he recently released which you can listen and download at: http://musicbyneel.bandcamp.com/ 

It's hard to find the words that encompass all that Neel does, so I'll use his words: 

"A few years ago I started writing as an escape from life, only to find life after writing & the many doors it opened. I stumbled into 11 countries, obtained an engineering degree, forged lasting friendships, launched a pre-market breathing device, & developed a new children’s toy...all while discovering the beauty in sleepless nights, cold showers, billboard seating, reminiscing, & the serenity that accompanies being a stranger amongst strangers. Most importantly, I found happiness."

In addition to writing incredibly authentic and genuine lyrics about his experiences in life, ambitions, and dreams for the future...Neel produced a book of art to accompany his music for a complete listener/viewer experience. Sneak peak from behind the scenes of the project here.

I'm not the only one who thinks Neel is awesome and worth writing/sharing about:
http://mxdwell.com/article.php?ID=270
http://www.studiiyo23.com/latest-news/neelsharma

I love surrounding myself with people who choose happiness, and are comfortable going against status quo or societal norms to get there. I'm finding it is a common thread among my fellow Shapers in the Minneapolis Hub of Global Shapers - Eric and Neel are just two, I'm thankful to be part of that community and look forward to sharing about the others in future posts!