These are my opinions and I can be wrong. I am not much of a social guy now. The more I am out, the more I am bombed with ideas, advice, feedback. While it is important to get advice, it is important to get it from the right people. The ones who have skin in the game.
Some lessons I have learned in my life
I was in the zone of self-evaluation and exploring myself on Friday. As a result, I shared dozen-odd tweets.
I am sharing the same here.
- Team, trust, and transparency. << what we need to build something incredible.
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We screw up more because of not being honest with ourselves. Competition, timing, luck comes later.
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The “ism” factor can make or break an organization. Having the right balance is key.
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People remember what bad you have done to them than the good. Be kind.
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Your existence on this planet has no meaning compared to the wider realms of this universe. So cheer up, we all screw up at times.
- Time is the most important asset we have, spend it wisely.
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Pick a bunch of friends who know u, who can give you a shoulder when you are down. This world is a crazy place and we all are alone. The solid company keeps this journey of life entertaining.
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Breath, eat and be thankful to what you have now. You are lucky to be alive and having the opportunity to read this tweet. A good part of our population still sleeps empty belly without shelter and on the fear of bombing.
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Seek for self-knowledge not externalities: Forbes or founder of the year. Question yourself, ask, be conscious and aware.
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Give due respect to those who trusted you and have you the opportunity to grow, build a life for yourself.
- Crave for freedom, clarity in thoughts and execution. The money will be the byproduct.
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Read, listen, exercise and relax.
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Spend some time alone with the self. It will scare the shit out if you, thousand odd thoughts will hit you. But with regular practice it will pass, it will make you stronger.
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Inculcate the virtue of Empathy and forgiveness. It will make you more calm and relaxed.
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Great things take great persistence and perseverance along with time. Keep trying, don’t give up easily.
- Nobody is perfect, nobody knows the end. We are all time traveling. Give appropriate importance to this moment of time rather future planning.
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Compare with your younger self, not others.
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How many of those million followers will give you their shoulder for your burial?
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Never forget your roots. Life is unpredictable.
END
Garbage
The amount of data thrown at is enormous. Thanks to cheap internet and publishing platform. We are all artists, creators, authors, and painters. The sad part of it is, many quality creators lose to garbage. I call poor contents, be it a book, blog or music as garbage.
Some people put the soul in creation while others just do it because it is cool and they can.
The biggest problem for me is the filtering. I have purchased a dozen books on internet recommendations and most are garbage. After reading 10-15 pages, I am done. Same is the case with podcasts and Netflix. The hype machines take over the web.
Our lifetime is limited so is our time and money. It hurts being cheated.
Entrepreneurs dilemma
Building a product and selling it are two different things. In a price-conscious country like ours, the buying decision comes down to the price.
In such a situation it becomes a dilemma to build something for the niche or mass market.
“Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them, and each mind perceives a different beauty.” ― David Hume
Everything from the rule book of creating moats to marketing fails in our country. It takes ages to change peoples perception. It requires huge marketing budget in educating about the newly created category.
Some entrepreneurs fail to achieve product-market fit for this reason. They get frustrated, depressed and sad. They end up closing the enterprise.
appreciate
How difficult it is for us to appreciate others. I have been continuously seeing this approach in us where we like complaining more than complimenting.
We go to the extent of creating new social media profiles to blame a company or product. I am also part of the same league. But over a time I have realized, complaining is not the solution.
It takes lots of patience and hard work to build anything: painting, composition or a product. And it takes less than a few seconds to complain about it.
Anyways we are living in a world of uncertainty where one country is trying to bomb another or military set to overthrow a democratic government. Media likes to glorify negatively.
Appreciating little help.
Technology
I have been the last man in my group who would join new technological advancements. Be it an installing a social app or trying a new communication tool. Things are getting better of late, friends install the apps for me and then tell me to use it.
It took me some time to understand their use case. After habit formation, I turn into a regular user.
During my parent’s last visit, we got him a smartphone. We are video conferencing every day. It is like I am sitting next to him in the same room.
It took me some time to get away from the prejudice about technology making us dumb. In the end, it is our consciousness which guides its usage.
productivity
2019 has much to do with productivity hacks. The successful preachers from the valley are spreading their gospel of secret. How can you be more productive?
- Cold bath
- Intermittence fasting
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Mindfulness
- < help me fill in if I missed a few …. >
Most of these have been part of Hindu culture for Centuries. We have stopped reading our text and started believing on these Twitter preaches.
I am not saying it is wrong, but we need to get closer to our roots.
reading
I have been asked about the books I have read of late. I have added some books comprising various categories: Philosophy, psychology, design, management, product, health.
Running own enterprise is like being captain of a running a rocket ship, it is lonely most of the time and the reading book helps.
you can?
Going by a self-help book, TED talk, and survivorship bias it seems one can do anything. Everyone is selling us a dream, finding true love, a perfect job or entrepreneurial success path.
Is it really possible for anyone to do anything? I agree we have gotten better over the years and becoming big is not related to a particular family. A small-time boy/girl can work hard and make name for themselves. But these are few success stories, thousand other unsuccessful ones are never shared with the world.
Every single movie, fiction, and romcom talks about true love. FMCG companies run million dollars worth advertisement selling true love. We see them and try to replicate it to our lives, how many have succeeded?
I am not being a cynic but trying to see the world from both sides. Going by Charlie Munger, he says follow and get best at your circle of competence. Know your blind spots. What Charlie says is correct? I don’t know, I have heard a few times how they regret not investing in Google.
We have to take control of our life, our thoughts and what we can and cannot do. We have to be honest with ourselves.
Seeing Instagram influencers or reading the autobiography of billionaires will do no good unless we start seeking from self, asking questions from ourselves.
Haywire Heart
As a runner sometimes recently I realized that I am overdoing. Thanks to my friends who warned me after seeing my heart rate. I have been getting injured on a regular basis. I have not gone for my regular long runs for some time now. I am on rest for a few more weeks.
The book Haywire Heart talks about our craving for adventure sports, running, cycling et all and how it affects our heart. Most of us are overdoing it. Can it be because of our goals or that shiny medal or personal milestones?
I liked the book and every chapter. It has its own unique story, injury, and diagnosis.
Added screenshot from the book where the author talks about the cardiac arrest and heart attack.
