koolhead17
Time and again, founders end up treating some team member special or something like 10X capable. As a result, we give them our golden care. It is one of the gravest mistakes a founder can make.
It affects company culture and processes. It results in a toxic culture in the future.
A founder has to run the show, pay employees, and serve customers. This division can be a mindfuck.
A result-oriented, process and focussed team results in a long-lasting business. Nobody likes unpredictability.
Our life allows us as a gateway to look for the next big thing to a lucky few. Most are locked to continue living the same life with all pain, miseries, and limitations. We are all different, and so is our battle.
When we have the opportunity, we should cease it and try to land in the next frontier. We have one life, and we should make the best of it.
Many of us want to make a dent in this universe. Some build things shaping life around them. In the process, incredible things end up happening.
The world is desperate for a few who can offer them respite from their pain and who can change their lives. They need a gateway. You can be the one.
We are living our life in auto mode. Our life is dictated by others. We have a government to tell us how we should live, what we should eat, and how much taxes we pay.
Similarly, our parents have a major influence on us starting from what we should study to whom we should marry.
The web of others defining our lives is so deep that some just end up living like a robot.
A few take life into their hands, and society or government starts calling them misfits.
I saw all over Twitter about the Earth Day post. It’s sad as a civilization where we have come to.
Deforestation, pollution, and mass production have changed us all. Fast fashion to quick commerce to e-commerce. We are paying the price for it all. We became advanced and got sedated with the consumerism bug.
We are witnessing cloud bursts, floods, forest fires, and glacier melting. The list can go on.
Our actions of today will affect the generations in the decades to come. We should be wise with our consumption.
Running a startup is like water flowing from glaciers and changing its course at every stage. When water is at a high altitude, it has high currents. It moves fast in that small path but moves fast to the plain. There is no defined path for it. It takes many curves and makes too much noise. It is most dangerous.
Once the river reaches the plain, it becomes more silent. It stabilizes. Its banks are well-defined. It has a wider width.
The current has also slowed. It becomes more predictable.
Imagine running a startup running for years, achieving PMF.
From here, the course changes from building fast break things to being more dependable for customers.
In most instances, what has gone you here will not take you to the next course because the style of operation changes.
Your team has to change its attitude. The founder needs to adapt to the new persona. The organization requires a more predictable workflow. Therefore, once a company comes from 0-1 to 1-10, its management changes, and founders move out.
Like the course of a river, a startup operates differently at every juncture.
Surround yourself with progressive people: doers, optimists, and believers. Our life is too short to be surrounded by toxic people.
We live and think as per our surroundings and company of ours. Waking up, walking, and working with people whose belief drains you will only affect your progress.
Not everyone is lucky enough to choose a course of their life because they have to work under a toxic boss or work environment. But if you have the option to quit, call it a day.
What will you do with all the money with hypertension, heart attacks, or diabetes?
Certain people suffer from within. They are neurotic, and whatever good you do for them, they will come and bite you. They are unhappy about their life and don’t like others’ happiness. As a result, they will create all the hurdles and try to hurt others.
These people enjoy seeing others hurt. They are all void and emotionless within. As parasites, they will stay in your circle and pounce on you at the right time.
Stay away from such people and cut off your ties. You are better off having no one than these creatures.
I could have said so many things to her for that action.
It must have been the summer of 2009.
I was on my way back home for vacation.
It was an evening train starting from Sarai Rohilla.
The lady must be in her late 30’s.
I could make out a little bit of what she was saying.
It must have been a Hindi dialect of Hindi.
She was constantly slapping the child, who had his tongue out and motionless.
It kept going for over 5 minutes, and the kid started crying.
I had a bad day, and I was in pain too.
I got lost in my sleep.
I fought with my boss and was heading home to my parents with no clue.
I was thinking about what I could have done better to avoid this.
North Indian summer could make life hell, with temperatures hitting anywhere above 36 degrees Celsius.
It cools down at night, but for non-ac sleepers, it’s like an oven. The fan throws hot air.
Traveling in Indian Railways was no fun: constant delays, people fighting for seats, TTE making a fortune.
It must have been early morning: a man with a big mustache and button-shaped eye trying to wake me up.
He looked in pain, and it came like a request.
But the loud thud had woken me up.
He asked me to wake them up: the lady and child, sitting in the next berth.
After somtimes, he scremed “Ladki aur pota ko utha do.” [wake up the lady and my grandson] pointing at them again.
After multiple attempts the old man said: “wo behri hai aur beta uska mirgi ka sikaar” [she is deaf, and her son has epilepsy ]. I was processing what happened by then, the lady had woken up and was out at the platform.
I thanked the almighty for not meddling in their business at the start of the journey.
There are things we take for granted. It can be our relationship or the unaccumulated wealth of our forefathers. We end up splurging, showing the least respect. As a result, it vanishes.
The sooner we realize about respect and temperance. The better we progress. Everything is limited in life. We have to be aware of it.
I have a fascination with the hill. The Himalayan region on the Indian side is equally beautiful as Nepal. I am currently in Dehradoon., I was on a trek and temple run for the last few days. We had a limited internet connection on the way.
Hills make you more humble, grounded, and calm. The everyday hardship is a battle in itself. Clear thinking and living in nature add more to your longevity.
On the positive side, people are simple and happy. They eat healthily, deeply rooted in community, culture, and religion. The sense of pride and belongingness keeps many going.
I have been a small-town boy myself. I grew up in the plains of Bihar, and coming to the hills gives me a similar vibe. It’s the sense of slow life, community, and hospitality.
The hustle and mad rush of the big city has its own charm. I am over it. I have lived in all the metros minus Kolkata for a long time. The lingering itch of calm, peace, and living in nature was always away.
My four friends who I met in metros have moved back to Dehradoon. They felt the same about the metro. They took bold hedges and decisions about life. They are all happy.