believer

We are living in a world that trumps individualism above all. We are all on our own. But in this lost world of being all by itself, finding believers makes life less painful. We have all become self-centered, and “ME” gets importance over others.

How many friends and well-wishers do you have around whose shoulders you can cry? How many will accept you without societal lipstick or a bumper sticker? My guess is parents and siblings and a few others. Not even your partners in many instances.

Get out of your comfort zone, help, and make honest contributions. If you are lucky you will end up believers who will outlast or vice versa.

control

We have a few things in our control: consciousness, virtue, and how we react in a particular situation.

Our life is a mixed bag with happiness and pain combined. In our personal and professional life, we meet people. Some stay for life, and some leave. We don’t have control over it. But what we have control over is what we don’t want. And as a result, we avoid suffering. Times like these remind us about our virtues and remember it is okay to stick to your ideology even if it hurts temporarily but leads to a closer for the future.

We cannot let anyone run over us or treat us as their slave. I see stories in both corporate and professional life, situations like these happening. It is we who need to take control and sort it out. We don’t have to torment over the actions of others, be it their ego or narcissism.

Frugality

The virtue of frugality stayed with us most Indians since the early days. As the country progressed and we prospered. With prosperity came a splurge, and we ended up living in debt. What used to be luxury ended up becoming needs. Our desire and need started increasing.

The same applies to entrepreneurship. The luxury of the past is now part of our needs. We have become big risk taker. In the course, we have forgotten frugality.

Our short-term milestone is making us go mad. We are spending for growth like no tomorrow.

Solitude

Are you at peace with yourself? Can you sit idle for a few hours doing nothing? Can you live with your thoughts?

Man is a social animal. We live in a community surrounding other humans. We are part of the system, and we call it society. It has norms that everyone has to abide by.

We are not trained since inception to live with ourselves and our thoughts, and few who tried became hermits or monks. They are not sane in the societal system.

As a result, solitude is not part of us, but running like a machine to earn, the breed is.

doer

Society loves doers. Most of the doers are happy staying away from the glitters and media. The new age world we are living in has become more about posturing than doing. It is like we have to make others imagine the possibilities. Most of the time, it remains just on paper.

What and where would you like to fall: a doer or a posturer? You can sail through initially preaching the possibilities. In the end, you will also need to do things. You will. have to be a doer.

All talk and no work will make you disliked in the long run.

grunt

Building a startup is a grunt work. It requires determination, grit, perseverance, and willingness to fail everyday. Whatever we do, the outcome is not in our control.

So what should we do? What else other than working hard and giving our best every day? How difficult can this be?

It is difficult and frustrating, but that is what entrepreneurship is all about.

We have to keep ourselves away from the noise and work in isolation. A lot of self-belief, loving customers, and a determined co-founder makes the journey easy.

mentor

We need mentors to make us fearless and question the status quo. We are all living a fearful life focused on the future than living now.

A mentor should act like a mirror and act as a guiding star. A mentor should accept you as you are and help you get over your insecurity.

We live in a world where everyone writes about being a coach or mentor on a social media platform. But is that enough? Should a mentor not be someone who makes you look inside yourself and question yourself?

No book or human can alone lead in your self-exploration journey unless you want it and have surrendered yourself. So stop seeking out: look within to find the mentor: your true guiding star is hidden deep inside you. You will find it when you start accepting yourself, your insecurity, and your vulnerability.

now

A lot many of us work towards a better future. For them, life is about the future. It results in making the best of their present. What the pandemic has taught us is how fragile we humans are. Still, most of us look towards a better future.

What is wrong with now? Why can we not live in it? Why do we have to build castles of the future when life is so fragile? If we live now: we know we are living in the moment. We will have less regret.

Many of us in old age realize what we could/should have done in our youth. What all we missed out from life? It is the result of not living in the present. Do you want to end up becoming like that? Why can you not live life to its fullest from moment to moment?

differentiation

Modern-day sales run on steroids: discounts, growth marketing, and deceptive advertisement. It takes the company’s revenue burning a chunk of cash in the short run.

The era of abundance and choice is a double-edged sword. It has made customers pampered. All companies are running after this limited number of customers.

The key to selling your product cannot just be the steroids. You have to differentiate yourself with a unique DNA.

A great customer support : something most enterprises forget after sales.
Sticking by the promise: something most enterprises limit just to an advertisement.

meetings

Most meetings are a waste of time. So the best way to avoid it is to say NO. But in the society, we are living in, we get judged or termed as assholes for being a straight shooter. So my mantra is simple, chat over WhatsApp or other IMs to gauge if the meeting is needed.

Our life on this planet is limited. We are not experts in everything. It is alright to express your limitation of knowledge and turn down a meeting. It will save time for both parties.

We don’t realize how much harm we do taking meetings and throwing out our bias or half-baked knowledge to the young entrepreneurs. They are the ones living in the journey of building, and we end up confusing them. We should be extra careful with our meetings, conversations, and discussions.