Notes from reading: Hooked by Nir Eyal

I got to know about Hooked from One of my friend Chetan, as i was trying to understand why i am addicted to social media sites.

Reading the book gave me the insight how our attention is getting hacked by these apps and how these product developers are playing with our mind.

I could relate myself being Pavlov’s dog  wanting notification to satisfy my urge. To some of those who are not aware, mobile apps addiction provides us more satisfaction that Sex or consuming heroine or other drugs.

You might be surprised to know but the social media applications like Twitter, Facebook, Tinder, Instagram is designed more keeping psychology in mind than looks and feel of the app. 

These product developers have added all the psychology research inside the product as ingredients, some can be read here :

  1. Pavlov’ classical conditioning
  2. B F Skinner operant conditioning
  3. BJ Fogg variable rewards

I need to learn more to understand and relate to this, social media addiction is no less than slot machine and poker player addiction, read this interesting article from Verge  to know more.

Coming back to Nir Eyal book. According to him any Habit forming product has 4 components.

  • Trigger
    1. External
    2. Internal
  • Action

  • Reward
    • Tribe
    • Hunt
    • Self
  • Investment
    • Want the users to keep coming, add information and share details.

 

I added a twitter stream on the same

I would strongly recommend everyone to read this book.

Also read Jade Shyu medium post for more on the book content

Also read this post from The Verge on how social media apps are adding the slot machine equivalent addiction

Videos:

Looking back at 2017

Pheww. 2017 is almost gone, what a fantastic year this has been so far.  

The year went by like a joyride with it’s own share of happiness, pain, losses and learnings. The best part of it all is that am still breathing and all of my body parts are working alright. In short, everything has been fantastic.

I am going to write some of my learnings for 2017 :

  1. Reading helps, it gives better picture and dimensions about every realm of life.
  2. Helping others without expecting anything in return is a wonderful act.
  3. Exercise, meditation are some great virtues and should be added in our daily routine like breathing or taking a leak.
  4. What we eat plays a good role in our overall well being, mental and physical.
  5. Social media is new drug and selling platforms are making billions out of it.
  6. Being aware about our actions can do wonders.
  7. Never do business negotiations especially related to payments over phone, most of the time it will have bad outcome for both side.
  8. When angry, switch off cellphone or disconnect from internet. It will help in getting back to situation in more rational way.
  9. You will be fooled by people around, they will take money, they will disappear. All you could do is to forgive or improve decision making technique.
  10. Things will always fuck up and never happen the way we assume. It is good to have a backup plan.
  11. Depression is a disease caused more because of the society construct.
  12. Life is too short & death is reality. We can do best to live in present learning from the failures of past and hoping for better future.
  13. Lucky are those who get mentors in every realm of life, being honest, trustworthy and empathetic with mentor helps.
  14. Spending time with family and parents should get equal importance to daily work.
  15. Working with people you like and respect increases chances of overall success.
  16. Being honest with team, organization and members adds more organizational positivity and overall team performance.
  17. Everyone should fall in Love at least once[for unlucky ones, keep trying].
  18. People will walk in our life and will disappear with or without a reason, we should accept the reality and move on.
  19. Our thoughts and mind plays biggest role in making us belive what we want to belive.
  20. With patience, perseverance and persistence attaining a goal becomes much easier.
  21. Believing in what they say on TV or what your parents have made you belive is not always true.
  22. Little act of kindness has great reward in itself.
  23. Nobody has rights to tell us what we are not capable of or cannot do. We as individual are masters of our own destiny.
  24. Giving importance to those who regard our time and are honest to us helps and keeps insanity in check.

Would love to know what all you readers have learnt from 2017.

In the end wishing you all a prosperous new year ahead, be good. Cheers!!

Notes from reading: Tribes by Seth Godin

I am a regular reader of Seth Godin blog, he is one of the best gurus on of brand building marketing. Being developer evangelist in my past job, I felt like reading this book.

Seth writes in details about building a community of like minded people who are self motivated and can go to any length in making vision of organization, group or  Tribe a success. He also mentions about leadership quality and how in fast pace innovating world an individual or an organization has to keep moving. He cites various examples from successful organizations to CEO’s on how they let innovation going and fueled the sense of leadership among the members of team.

I have this simple 4 take away from this book:

  1. Tribe: A small group of people who believes in vision of an organization or team and under a leader can go at any length to make task success.
  2. Heretics: An individual who is always up for taking challenge and not following an existing check list. Managers don’t like these kinds of employees or members. These are the kinds of people who do not belive in a system but going step further and getting better results.
  3. Sheepwalking: An organization where there exists a template of tasks and employees needs to strictly stick to it. An employee just has to work on the timings and do as asked, no need to use brain for anything else. Managers love these kinds of employee because they are mere robots taking decisions and working on it.
  4. Faith: As a stakeholder, leader of an organization it is extremely important to have faith. This faith will drive innovation and taking challenges. Most of us are scared of failing and hence die without trying, having a faith on self that things will go well help.

If you are a leader, CEO, founder it will be great to have vision and hiring motivations in place, like what kind of employees you want Heretics or Sheepwalkers.

In case you are building an army of sleepwalkers, disruption will bite you soon. If you are hiring heretics they will be pain for managers because of  the unconventional ways to doing tasks but at same time they will go out of the way and get SHIT done in more efficient and better manner. 

10 of my favourite books for 2017

I can happily admit that 2017 has been a year on my life when I spent good amount of time in reading, Madhav gets good credit for same.  His Kindle gift got me hooked.

These are some of my favorites, I have my notes added as well along with some of the books in list:

1. Total Freedom by J Krishnamurti

One of the tweet’s from Naval was the reason i picked this book.  Krishnamurti talks about various aspect of life, it is a heavy book and one has to read it few times to understand it. book notes

2. Wit and Wisdom from Poor Richard’s Almanack: Benjamin Franklin   

Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of USA. This small 50 page book can easily be kept in your mobile/kindle app. In this book Benjamin Franklin provides his opinion on various subject from eating, marriage, friendship, law, religion. book notes

3. Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio is self made Billionaire, philanthropist  and founder of Bridgewater Associates. In this book he spells his success secrets which he calls Principles. He in his life and at  Bridgewater Associates in business follow it as check list. It has a 350 page book and will take sometime to read and understand, i will be reading it once more. book notes 

4. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was Roman emperor and also a stoic aka believer of stoicism, a school of Philosophy that flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world until the 3rd century AD. The book is collection of his thoughts on various aspects of life.  book notes 

5. 10% Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness by Alanna Collen

The book gives a great insight on guts and how our modern lifestyle, eating habits are adversely effecting it.  The book covers the other aspects like excessive use of antibiotics and its side affect on humans. book notes

6.  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Pirsig

Just the spoiler, the book is not entirely about motorcycle maintenance instead an account of author’s motorcycle trip from Minnesota to California with his young son Chris, a philosophical meditation on the concept of Quality, and the story of a man pursued by the ghost of his former self. The book is written by Robert Pirsig , who passed away recently at age of 88. book notes

7. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir by Haruki Murakami

 This book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” is collection of his daily entry of Haruki Murakami . He tries to connect his regular running habit and its learning to his way of life. It is a great read, so much of energy and motivation, I have ordered a hard copy for myself after reading on my kindle. book notes 

8. Damn Right!: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger by Janet Lowe

One of the books which gives you personal insight of Charlie Munger, his life, family, beginning, sayings, success and failures. The book has everything you wanted to know about Charlie. The author has done great job in covering all part in the book. book notes  

9. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Harari

If you wanted to know about us aka homo sapiens, 1000+  long years journey of evolution, this is the book you should read. I think author must have spent 3-5 years in doing complete research before thinking about writing this bookbook notes

10. The Complete Adventures of Feluda (Volume 1) by Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray is a well respected name in Bangla Cinema and Literature.  The book is a detective fiction with Feluda being the detective. The book totally got me hooked, it was like visiting British India and the joy of seeing parts of India though eyes of the Indian James Bond.  Will be reading Volume 2 next year.

This post was result of my below mentioned tweet, feedback welcome. Happy 2018 🙂

Notes from reading: Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio is a seasoned philanthropist, business magnet and a billionaire. He is also founder of Bridgewater Associates one of the most successful hedge fund, wealth management firm.

Ray attributes his successful mantra for life, relationship and business to Principle: a  decision making  algorithm. According to him all aspects of our life should be governed more logically rather than being emotional or on our prejudice.

Reading the book gives me a feeling that Ray spent good time reading Philosophy, psychology and Neuroscience.  The success and DNA of Bridgewater Associates are these Principles. So an employee has to meet or give feedback or present he/she is advised to go read/see the related defined Principles for same.

I loved reading the book, so much to learn from it. The book is recommended to everyone who wants to understand and learn from Dalio’s successful mantra on life, business and relationship.  Please check the website https://www.principles.com  for more details.

These are 10 quotes from the book I really loved:

  1. Look at the patters of those things that affect you in order to understand the cause and its affect.
  2. Observe your thoughts, what changes you and your thoughts. What can you do to keep yourself going.
  3.  Be hyper realist  [Dream + Reality + Determination = A Successful Life].
  4. Be radically open minded and radically transparent.
  5. Work effectively, do  not work hard. You will be more productive working effectively.
  6. Do not let fear of what others think of you stand in your way.
  7. Evolution is the constant and only reality. Evolve or die.
  8. Success is struggling and evolving out of it.
  9. Take the pain and don’t walk away from it.
  10. We all have some blind spots, find yours and work on fixing it.
  11. You are responsible : take a stand and fix it. Stop crying over things which are not in your control.
  12. Realize that our conscious mind is in constant struggle with our subconscious mind.
  13. The biggest barriers to good decision making is our ego and our blind spots.
  14. Don’t hide your observation about people in your organization. Give regular feedback, tell them when they are making mistake.
  15. Understanding the great brain battle between conscious & subconscious and how to control/train them to get what you want.
  16. Organizing people to complement their strengths & compensate their weakness is like conducting as orchestra.
  17. Radical truth & transparency are fundamentals to having real idea meritocracy.
  18. Making sure people are doing good job doesn’t require watching everything that everybody is doing at all times.
  19. Don’t hold opinions about things you don’t know anything about.
  20. What you know paints a true and rich picture of the realities that will affect your decision.

On Goal

  1. Have clear Goal
  2. Prioritize
  3. Don’t confuse goal with desires
  4. Decide what you really want in life by reconciling your goals and desires
  5. Never rule out a goal because it is in-attainable
  6. Great expectation create great capability. Don’t lose hope.
  7. You can do anything if you are flexible and self accountable

 

On hiring talents

  1. Transparency
  2. Values
  3. Skillset
  4. Abilities
  5. Go getter
  6. Thiker

 

The 3 C’s in team members:

  1. Character
  2. Common Sense
  3. Creativity

 

Other  interesting web links:

Random Thoughts: Other’s mind

What is going on the other side? The mind of people around you? Are we able to get the other side of story?

We have our own predefined construct about some person or situation and if the result is favorable we are happy else we are in pain.

It is not easy to read others mind, but if we are aware and observe closely it might throw some surprises.

Imagine you are dating someone or in middle of signing a business deal. After rounds of meeting, email exchange or chat exchanges other side disappears or things get cold.

Let us say things  get back on track and every dispute resolved. Now the frequent replies, responses just turns into bare formality. The meeting, dinner which was full of conversation turns into awkward silence and constant glue to your cell phones. Everything becomes boring.

But, what can be done?

In my opinion having a honest conversation helps rather than dragging on . The game of guessing does no good to either side.

How many of us have courage to speak up the truth and settle is for rest? Unfortunately it is not for most of us because:

  1. We are scared of losing out on the benefits of the relationship.
  2. We are scared of hurting the other side.
  3. We are optimist & the hope of things might work out in future keeps it going.

I am still not sure what world we are living and level of gratification we are aiming for.

What do you think?

Random Thoughts: On Death

Death is the reality of life and most of us are scared about it. We try accumulating so much of wealth & enormous materialistic possessions. I have no clue if the kings/queens/riches of mummified world are using them after death. I’ve been told that most of the wealth left behind by the wealthy nobility and royals was plundered by thugs.

We tend to postpone most of what we like because we are so busy preparing for our future.

Asking some questions might help:

  1. When was the last time you took vacation for yourself?

       2. Said everything to everyone you wanted to without worrying what will be the reaction or after effect?

Life is short, living it moment by moment with peace is what it needs not materialistic possessions or chasing timelines.

I know most of these things sounds absurd, but ask yourself are you living life to fullest at each moment & if you die now will it be without a single regret?

Random Thoughts: Few Such Friends

Everything in life is temporary and as we grow older we tend to realize this even more. The school friend of mine whose lunch box used to be opened by all of us soon after he entered our class has disappeared,  I don’t even know if he is alive.

I am 32 now and as I moved out of my hometown for higher studies & later for work {stayed in 4-5 cities so far & don’t ask me about number of jobs I switched}.  I kept meeting new people and made new friends too. I don’t know how many friends I have, it is hard to count honestly. But one thing I am totally aware of is that I have few close friends..  They’re as close to me as I am close to them. They are the ones who never judge me for what I am. I don’t have to dress up or down  because neither will be a turnoff for them. These friends know all my secrets {not all of them good}. They will be the ones who will attend my funeral {If I happen to die before them 😀 }

I feel lucky & blessed to have such friends. I can count them on my fingers.

How many such friends do you have?

Notes from reading: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was Roman emperor and also a stoic aka believer of stoicism, a school of Philosophy that flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world until the 3rd century AD.

The Meditations is his thoughts on various aspect of life as collection of books which are all combined as chapter here.

These are some notes:

  1. All existing things soon change, and they will either be reduced to vapour, if indeed all substance is one, or they will be dispersed.
  2. The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrong doer.
  3. Motions and changes are continually renewing the world, just as the uninterrupted course of time is always renewing the infinite duration of ages.
  4. How strangely men act. They will not praise those who are living at the same time and living with themselves; but to be themselves praised by posterity, by those whom they have never seen or ever will see, this they set much value on.
  5. If any man is able to convince me and show me that I do not think or act right, I will gladly change; for I seek the truth by which no man was ever injured. But he is injured who abides in his error and ignorance.
  6. I do my duty: other things trouble me not; for they are either things without life, or things without reason, or things that have rambled and know not the way.
  7. As to the animals which have no reason and generally all things and objects, do thou, since thou hast reason and they have none, make use of them with a generous and liberal spirit. But towards human beings, as they have reason, behave in a social spirit.
  8. He who has seen present things has seen all, both everything which has taken place from all eternity and everything which will be for time without end; for all things are of one kin and of one form.
  9. Frequently consider the connexion of all things in the universe and their relation to one another.
  10. if we judge only those things which are in our power to be good or bad, there remains no reason either for finding fault with God or standing in a hostile attitude to man.
  11. whatever is profitable to any man is profitable also to other men. But let the word profitable be taken here in the common sense as said of things of the middle kind, neither good nor bad.
  12. One thing here is worth a great deal, to pass thy life in truth and justice, with a benevolent disposition even to liars and unjust men.
  13. He who loves fame considers another man’s activity to be his own good; and he who loves pleasure, his own sensations; but he who has understanding, considers his own acts to be his own good.
  14. It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in our soul; for things themselves have no natural power to form our judgements.
  15. What kind of people are those whom men wish to please, and for what objects, and by what kind of acts?
  16. Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with thee the same reason which now thou usest for present things.
  17. All things are implicated with one another, and the bond is holy; and there is hardly anything unconnected with any other thing.
  18. Everything material soon disappears in the substance of the whole; and everything formal (causal) is very soon taken back into the universal reason; and the memory of everything is very soon overwhelmed in time.
  19. A virtue which is opposed to love of pleasure, and that is temperance.
  20. If thou takest away thy opinion about that which appears to give thee pain, thou thyself standest in perfect security.
  21. Hindrance to the perceptions of sense is an evil to the animal nature. Hindrance to the movements (desires) is equally an evil to the animal nature.
  22. It is not fit that I should give myself pain, for I have never intentionally given pain even to another.
  23. Different things delight different people. But it is my delight to keep the ruling faculty sound without turning away either from any man or from any of the things which happen to men, but looking at and receiving all with welcome eyes and using everything according to its value.
  24. See that thou secure this present time to thyself: for those who rather pursue posthumous fame do consider that the men of after time will be exactly such as these whom they cannot bear now; and both are mortal.
  25. He who does not know what the world is, does not know where he is. And he who does not know for what purpose the world exists, does not know who he is, nor what the world is.
  26. Dost thou wish to be praised by a man who curses himself thrice every hour? Wouldst thou wish to please a man who does not please himself? Does a man please himself who repents of nearly everything that he does?
  27. He who fears death either fears the loss of sensation or a different kind of sensation. But if thou shalt have no sensation, neither wilt thou feel any harm; and if thou shalt acquire another kind of sensation, thou wilt be a different kind of living being and thou wilt not cease to live.
  28. Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them.
  29. In one way an arrow moves, in another way the mind.
  30. It would be a man’s happiest lot to depart from mankind without having had any taste of lying and hypocrisy and luxury and pride.
  31. the contrary way and attach us to life, to be permitted to live with those who have the same principles as ourse

This is another must buy, read recommendation to everyone reading this post. 

Notes from Reading: Wit and Wisdom from Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is considered as father of modern America. His versatile expertise and contribution in Literature, politics, science, philosophy, law and many other areas helped in re-shaping America. He was a prolific reader as well as writer, a true believer of virtues.

In early days he wrote Poor Richard’s Almanack,  it holds true even in 21st Century. It covers Benjamin’s take on various aspect of life, making friends,earning, eating, health and many more.

 

These are some noted from the Poor Richard’s Almanack:

  1. A Man in a Passion rides a mad Horse.
  2. Anger warms the Invention, but overheats the Oven.
  3. Neglect kills Injuries, Revenge increases them. If you would be reveng’d of your enemy, govern yourself.
  4. You may be too cunning for One, but not for All.
  5. Content makes poor men rich; Discontent makes rich Men poor.
  6. Discontented Minds, and Fevers of the Body are not to be cured by changing Beds or Businesses.
  7. He that sells upon trust, loses many friends, and always wants money.
  8. Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.
  9. Laziness travels so slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him.
  10. Dine with little, sup with less: Do better still: sleep supperless.
  11. A full Belly is the Mother of all Evil.
  12. Eat to live; live not to eat.
  13. When the Wine enters, out goes the Truth.
  14. Nothing more like a Fool, than a drunken Man.
  15. He that would travel much, should eat little. Drink Water, Put the Money in your Pocket, and leave the Dry-bellyach in the Punchbowl.
  16. A full Belly makes a dull Brain.
  17. Fools need Advice most, but wise Men only are the better for it.
  18. To whom thy secret thou dost tell, to him thy freedom thou dost sell.
  19. There are three faithful friends—an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.
  20. A true Friend is the best Possession.
  21. Be slow in choosing a Friend, slower in changing.
  22. The learned Fool writes his Nonsense in better Language than the unlearned; but still ’tis Nonsense.

I would strongly recommend everyone to buy a copy of this book and keep it as bed side story and read it again and again for a better life. 🙂