dream

Dreams are like fiction. They are imaginary. In every stage of our life we build new dreams. From settling down with our college sweetheart to buying a specific car, every dream has a role – of growing into someone someday.

We end up achieving some dreams while others are never met. This does not mean we should stop dreaming.

confidence

Are we living in a world where being confident is limited to a few? Why is somebody’s confidence taken distinctly in a group? Is being confident is a sign or proud or arrogance? Is the virtue confidence uncommon? Is it because since birth we are told what we cannot do? Is it our conditioning via parents, society, school, college, peers to be blamed for making us a lame duck?

Socrates died by attaining self-knowledge. Man has conquered the moon.

But what about our confidence? The confidence to speak up again the evils. The being ourselves is missing in most of us. We are just trying to fit in with life, situations, adjustments. We cry, weep, feel miserable.

Ikigai

My friend Vinay asked me to read Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. Ikigai is a way of living, practiced in Japan.

These are 10 core principles of Ikigai.

  1. Stay Active, don’t be idle
  2. Take it slow, things take time
  3. Less is more, eat less than your heart says
  4. Surround yourself with good friends
  5. Move your body, exercise, walk
  6. Smile, be cheerful
  7. Connect to nature
  8. Be thankful and blissful
  9. live in the moment
  10. Follow your path to your living, your purpose of living

change

We humans dislike changes. We like automaticity more. It keeps us sane and drains less of our cognitive energy. You will relate to this in case you are working hard on losing weight or quitting sugar. Gaining new skills is equally tiring.

Our sacred text reminds us change is permanent. I find it confusing.

True North

A few find meaning in their life early on. They are lucky. These people devote an entire life to the cause. It can be serving the destitute, nation or ensuring the family gets everything at all cost. A lot many of us die looking for that True North, one thing to cling on for entire life.

At the same time, a lot many of us live like an insect, slave to our desires and quest for recognition. Many others who die living in their virtual world. Some fall to propaganda or various “ism”.

Finding your ultimate calling will make you more humble and grounded towards self and the world.

Perfect

We are all sold on the idea of perfection. We want the perfect partner, job, vacation, and other worldly things.”

Our urge for this perfectionism has a side effect. We stop caring and celebrating. Our life journey is not a one-legged mammoth.

Instead of living life while aspiring to make it perfect while living, enjoying what we have now makes it more fruitful.

wall

Working with a big team scares me. I am working under many silos. The wall of hierarchy and interacting with many personas. It is like many worlds working inside and each being clueless.

I like Jeff Bezos philosophy of 6 member team, fitting on a big size Pizza. Does it still hold for Amazon?

The inefficiency of a big team is more about the communication gap and ego of the gatekeepers. Will automation solve this? Only time will tell, as technology is evolving.

Burnout

Burnout is real. It can happen to any team size. It is for a leader to keep an eye on the team. Apart from a great working environment, transparency, a leader has to be aware of setting up an honest expectation.

A leader has to nudge, encourage and empower every single team member. The radical belief in the organization bigger cause keeps a great team together.

Your engineer will not tell you about being in burn out, you have to be with them enough to realize it.