koolhead17
I have realized people dwell on everything they disliked about you or the organization. The hate, anger, or non-likeness will take over everything else. It seems like no parting has ever been mutually amicable.
Does it mean our dreams or journey has to be of our own all alone?
Aise he hai zindgi, jina seekh liziye.
Kitne aaye, kitne gaye, riste bane, sapne saze aur zindgi chalti gaye.
Sabne kaha aise ziyo, kuch ne kaha waise ziyo, baaki kuch saath rahe hamere. Chal rahe thee saath kuch pal tak aur phir kinare me ho liye juda, zindgi phir bhi chalti rahi.
Apne, paraye, zulm, sitam, ruswai, siskiyaa sabko mila liziye phir bhi kam par zaiyge ye zindgi. Aise taise, taas ke patto zaise simte hue hai ye zindgi.
Zaise bhi hai ye zindgi, jina seekh liziye.
Running a ship in uncharted territory is challenging. Most of it has surprises, good and bad. It’s the people who keep it sailing. It requires a lot of self-belief, focus, and grit. The complimentary skillset of an individual’s help in tough times.
The same goes with running a startup. In the end, it is about who you are building your company with aka, co-founders. How motivated and what all they are going to give up for this journey. Next comes the team where everyone plays their part like any football club, with time some move. The idea is the last part because it can change any day, anytime with the market.
If you intend to start, find that co-founder who will be there with you in the journey, who is going to be equally motivated as you and who has a complementary skillset. The journey is challenging, full of pain, uncertainty, and miseries. Don’t fall for the puff pieces or podcasts, interviews media, or startup influencers are selling you.
Dealing with people is must-have virtue for you both. Most startups die not because they run out of money; but because founders give up.
I understand this is against what everyone else in the industry preaches: market size.
Last few years, I have become more careful about myself, especially my body. I am getting old like everyone else. Once you cross 30’s, it is better to start giving more attention.
Food:
I figured out that wheat is making me bloated, and coffee post-lunch can screw up my sleep. It took me multiple hit and trial to find our peanut sensitivity. The sugar ailments run in the family’s DNA so, I have given up white powder.
Exercise:
I was running 35-40km at a good pace until 2019. I have slowed down, running much shorter distances now. My knee has started giving me pain once in a while, and I don’t want to get it operated on it in later days.
Mind:
Jiddu says our mind is like a monkey mind; other social scientists talk about type1 and type2 brain. You have to find out what calms you down. Is it listening to some instrumentals? Spending time on gardening? Doing pranayama?
In the end, it is our body and, we have to find out what works best for us. Others will only advise from their past experience or readings.
Are we all equal? Is it even possible to attain equality in we humans? Our civilization has existed for many years, and the progress has resulted in more division.
Then it was rich and poor, now we have added multifold divisions. With the advancement of modernization and a technology-driven world, we are seeking ultra humans. There is no room for mediocre.
When we compare nations, the richer ones are selling arms, medicine, and technology to the poor and developing ones. Where is equality? The underdeveloped are turning into colonies for developed nations, giving up natural resources and human labor.
Can a student from remote India compete with metro kids? Is he/she not lagging in the advancement? How is it equality when they both get thrown at the same treadmill for seeking a future opportunity?
The market has self-help books and inspirational videos. They must be making billions selling us dreams and preaching equality, belief, motivation, etc.
Can a daughter of your maid equal to your daughter?
The laborer working in the coal mine, his kids running around has an equal opportunity like your kids?
How many farmers’ sons are competing with city boys for entrepreneurship or top management jobs?
Our media, politicians sprinkle Koolaid showing how a poor boy qualified an exam against all odds, a boxer winning medal for the country came from rugs. They never mention to you about millions of other broken dreams.
The gospel of equality is spread by a few who have everything; The rest world is still full of pain and suffering. Poors are dying because they have no money to buy medicines. The underage girls are still married because they are considered a burden for their parents. A farmer’s kid has to come to the metro and work like a donkey to save the family from dying hungry. What equality and opportunity do they have?
You are reading this, consider lucky and privileged. Thank your parents and ancestors for getting you a headstart against billion others in the rat race.
These are the screens I captured from Lifespan by David A. Sinclair.
It makes me wonder what we have done with all the progress in an economic and cultural sense. Are we even going to leave this planet for our next generation at the rate we are creating destruction? The pace at which we are going will be anything left for the future?
I am halfway reading Mukesh Bansal: No Limits; picked it from Karthik.
The book is about Mukesh’s journey and his learning about the well being of us. I found its collection of content from dozen-odd books on various subjects from physical, mental well being.
So if you would like to know about us humans, how we act, why we behave in a certain way in a particular scenario, and what keeps us healthy. It is a 300 pages good summary.
I wonder if it was a collection of notes from Mukesh’s reading list because the topics cover healthy eating to exercise to becoming super productive.
I have bought a few copies of the book and gave away to some friends.
The last time I met Mukund, he recommended Andrew Grove: Only the paranoid survive. The kind of opinionated reader I am, I just thought, why do we have to be paranoid in running a business.
Last week I picked the book finally. It is a short read. I found 10X lingo in many instances.
The book is about disruptive technology and what a leader should do to survive. The author wrote it in 1996. It talks in detail about the early days of Intel challenges within the team and competitors. All around decision making capability, listening to the external world, and changing dynamics.
As a leader, it teaches you a few things like grit, perseverance, self-belief, and team.
We push ourselves to the unexpected. We are trying to solve the unsolvable mysteries of the universe, science, and technology. Is there any room for doubt?
Why do we doubt ourselves? Is it because we are less confident, is it because we are scared to fail?
Is doubt even an option for researchers, builders, scientists, or medical practitioners?
When all eyes of the civilization are on you, doubt will hinder innovation and progress. It will fail the entire team and delay in producing the desired result be it a medicine or technology.
We are living in a world where moderation is a thing of the past. A runner wants to compete in ironman, an e-commerce site offers one plus two discounts, and Friday brewery trail comes with happy hours. Netflix has binge-watching over ice cream, alcohol, caffeinated drink, and lots of carbs. Overdoing has become a matter of pride and a badge of honor?
Every single element of modern society guides you towards more is good. None talks about moderation. Is it because the bus of consumerism will come to a halt? Instead of providing service and charging, everyone has become an attention merchant?
We are earning more, spending more, eating more, and getting more sick. We have everything in abundance, including disease, stress, pain.
What happened to the teachings of minimalism and moderation taught by our forefathers? We dumped, burnt them, or erased it?
All men have the capacity of knowing themselves and acting with moderation.
— Heraclitus