want

I don’t know what I want. But I know what I don’t want. This way of seeing the world has made things easier for me.

Thanks to Chalie Munger’s trick of inversion. When I know what I don’t want, I will stay away from it. As a result, end up getting what I deserve.

Hope it helps.

data

We are living in a connected world. A world where news spreads in a second. Thanks to the internet and our smartphone. Our confirmation bias and group thinking take over our consciousness.

Nobody cares about the authenticity of the source. All we care about attaching ourselves and our emotions. As a result like a headless chicken, we join the noise.

India has witnessed riot, killing because of the spread of these fake news and information.

Fuzzing data is a widely known practice in the research industry. A trial on dozen-odd samples results in writing a lengthy paper. Media likes sensations they love publishing such stories.

Look for the sample size and exclusions from these popular research https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/popular

Other bigger impact of fudging data is propaganda.

Another one: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/gigs-are-hot-jobs-are-not-4408083/

Aug 2019 reading

Read 2 books this month:

  • Made in America by sam walton (walmart founder)
  • Delivering Happiness by tony heish (zappos founder)

I found similarity in reading both.

  • Building something meaningful takes time.
  • Struggle is part of entrepreneurship.
  • A defined process differentiates between an average and great company.
  • Solving customers pain should be the core product, service, mantra. Everything else is just noise.
  • Trust, transparency and openness thrives great leadership.
  • Things will break, people will move on, failures will be everyday things. Self belief, a culture of trust will help in sailing the rocket-ship long way.
  • Avoid taking advice from those who have no skin in the game. Listen, talk, empathetic with the real users. They will give you the product ideas.
  • Best sales comes after delighting your customers and making them the brand evangelists.
  • Screw ups should be delivered immediately to the stakeholders.

I hope you will find this useful.

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.