future

We are getting better with time. We have won over many incurable diseases, we have replaced humans with machines where we have been risking our lives.

Our quality of life has also gotten better, we have replaced the horse cart to cars. Most of our country has electricity, the fight against malnutrition is still on.

There is no absolute way of seeing our world. We still have got numerous things waiting to be fixed. As a civilization, we have gone through grind, build, fall, learn and repeat. Being pessimistic about everything in this world is not the solution.

Lotus flowers in the swamp, gold goes through multiple molding before becoming a piece of jewelry. This world is a broken place, which also means we have got so many opportunities to work on and make this world a better place.

Imagine what dreamers would have contributed to the world without being an optimist and not giving up easily.

nuts

The power of Love is truly demonstrated by Rob Kelleher. Love wins overall pain, bias, negativity and keeps a high-pressure customer organization sailing against all odds. 

The author has tried covering every bit about South West airlines: founder, team, and culture. I have read books on Zappos, Walmart, Bigbasket. This falls on the same bucket, obsession with customers. 

The last chapter summarizes everything about the southwest, excerpt from the chapter. 

  • Find purpose you are crazy about
  • Make your life and work and adventure
  • Believe in people and they will believe in themselves
  • Don’t take yourself too seriously
  • Dare to dream
  • Be yourself
  • Dare to be different
  • Pursue love before techniques
  • Choose service over self-interest
  • Make spirit your competitive advantage
  • The choice is yours, choice is now

listen

Listening is underestimated in the era of social loudspeakers. Everyone is busy with speaking, sharing and least with the virtue of listening. I am guilty of the same, I am working hard on becoming a good listener.

When we listen we understand another side more rationally and counterparts do not compete for attention. They feel more loved and respected.

To excel in a relationship, investment, sales or in general in life one has to be a great lister before a social loudspeaker.

help

I have been part of this Indian startup industry for some time. I have connected folks from various backgrounds to people who will fit for their service or skills.

A founder I met yesterday asked me how much I charge for making an intro. I was dumbstruck, he mentioned in 5 years of his startup journey he has paid money to people who wrote intro mails for him.

I felt bad that our world has become so transactional that even a little help of introduction has come with a price tag.

more

More is what drives the world economy, be it production of newer iPhone or Tesla. The human mind craves more of everything, a small car over a big one, a big closet with cloths. Before advancement happened we had limitations: food, medicine, and arms.

The consumerism mafia came all guns blazing, disguised under emotion we ended up seeking for more. Anything and everything more became a standard from warheads to supersize soda glasses.

When it comes to happiness, empathy, and satisfaction the goal post of more points to infinity.

Love

Love is the connection, the willingness to go at any length to see others succeed without expectations.

See a mother or a father how against all odds they ensure a healthy upbringing for their family.

Love is the hugs, the happiness you witness in the eye of a newborn kid for their mother, the belief that someone is there for me when I fail.

lie

A lie is a vice that has come to us humans by default. We lie as an escape mechanism. We lie to own something. We lie to get over something.

The desire for self always takes over the rest or others.

Many lies have killed people and turned great empires into ruins.

Being in business or being in the company of a liar is a ticking time bomb.

Leap of faith

Many actions, opportunities, and the relationship we build without knowing about the end. What drives us towards them is self-belief, mutual liking, shared goal or a deep sense of immersion.

Why do at an early age elder brother joins a monastery to renounce his worldly please or becomes a monk?

What drives us falling in love with someone just over a cup of coffee or a glimpse of him or her an event?

One has to have a Leap of faith in life at one or the other instance. We cannot avoid it.

advice

I find it amusing how people with all confidence and authority give advice, which in real terms is their own opinions or playbook for life and business.

There is no one fit for all. We all have our journey, paintbrush for life. One likes to grind 100 hours a week while another talks about work-life balance.

How will you apply the learning of someone whom you have not met, who has not lived your life? How will you live your life on the advice of others when your pain, scenarios, and deliverables are your life scripts?

Do not fool yourself with the noise on social media, books, podcasts et all. This is your life, you are the in-charge, take control of it and script your destiny. Do not get fooled by others.

profitable

Running a startup is like sailing in a sea, your course depends on external factors like the tide and weather. One can strive to build an unsinkable ship. There is no perfect template for startup success. It requires much more than reading a book or taking advice from Twitter or a medium blog post.

While some people start the startup with a mission of changing the world or fixing a problem. Many have got their other incentives which can be getting rich and famous quickly, which is glamorized by the media.

Meeting a dozen friends over last week’s trip to Ahmedabad and Delhi showed me the importance of profitability. A lot of my friends are in traditional business and some have taken ancestral business. All they strive for is being profitable and floating comfortably in any weather or tide.

In the hi-tech era we are living, the pace at which we are growing how difficult it is to become profitable while cutting all the noise?