Suffering

Are our sufferings more to do with how we see our lives? The way we respond to challenges coming our way? We build a castle of thoughts from inside, we make our own judgment without seeing situations as they are. Or could it be that our expectations are so that we end up feeling unfulfilled?

Life gives us lemons to make lemonade. Don’t cry, why only lemon, not oranges?

Those who suffer and the ones who succeed have one difference: their outward view, how they respond to the challenges.

Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional. — Murakami

If we decide to make up our minds, seeing things in a positive way, the world around us will become magnificent.

Hallen Keller, Steven Hawking, and many others contributed to the world; they did not suffer.

ship

As a founder, you have the authority to run the ship as its captain. All other sailors and crew members are at your disposal. The ship has to sail, land, and operate. The crew may change for various reasons, but you must ensure that the engine is always running, the crew is performing at its peak, and every part of the system is working as intended.

The only constant is the ship’s voyage and the well-defined instructions set by the captain. Everything else is ephemeral.

Listen

There is no harm in being passionate and opinionated during interactions. But you do need to apply the virtue of listening. It cannot be an extempore. Our life is small. A few are surrounding us who care for us.

To grow in life or profession, we require understanding all sides of the world. It requires being genuine and interested in finding a solution.

Change

People talk about change without realizing that it has to come from within. This is the problem of our generation “constantly seeking change”. The FOMO era has driven everyone into YOLO. People leave loved ones, cities, and jobs simply because they crave change.

We see others only through limited frames aka their social media feeds. The joy of watching loved ones grow old, seeing cities evolve, or staying connected with the same circle of friends has become “uncool.”

We are sold dreams. We chase change without an ounce of self-reflection, forgetting that real change comes from within, not from money, social status, or new places.

With age, the pain and longing hit us. We begin to realize how many changes we embraced because of others, not because of ourselves.

karma

As we age, we become wiser. It is because of our experiences and the bullshit detector that develops along the way. Our likes and dislikes become an extension of our mind. In short, we seek more peace.

One thing most people forget in their early years is their karma. In Hinduism, it is deeply rooted. Our forefathers were strong believers in it. Even with limited resources, they lived well and with less guilt.

The modern world and consumerism have brought many advancements to our lives. But what we have forgotten—or left behind—are our old roots. We have given up on karma. As a result, even with all the wealth, many die of incurable diseases, while many others die alone, eating off gold plates.

smart

As a founder of a startup, you have ventured into an uncharted territory with a 99% chance of failure. With a co-founder, team, luck, a cash reserve, and finding an early PMF, you can circumvent it. The journey is unknown, and you have to be positive, sailing against all odds.

As the company grows, your pizza team increases to many dozen. As a result, many new mind joins the firm with their own unique incentives. As a founder, it is crucial to be prepared in advance and establish a clear process. You cannot operate a 6-member and a 20-member team in the same style of operation.

There will always be a few team members in your organisation who will have a delusion of being the smartest in the company. The delusion will shape into an ego and start appearing in their everyday communication. You need to show them the reality, get the best out of them, or, if nothing works, make them leave.

In short, your responsibility is to ensure the organization runs without any altercation.

complicate

It is easy to complicate life with all the negativity from oneself. Our life is our thoughts. Our necessities are limited, but we create a mammoth out of comparing ourselves to the world.

On one side, we want a life like others without putting in all our hard work. On the other hand, we have complaints with everything in life.

The analogy of the glass half empty and half full is something most people don’t get.

Potatoes

The best part about potatoes is that they can be mixed with any vegetable. That’s what makes them unique.

If we look around ourselves, we’ll notice that successful people share a similar trait: they are open-minded. They don’t shy away from mingling with anyone. They welcome criticism, embrace feedback, and remain adaptable. In many ways, they are the “potatoes” among us humans—building long-lasting relationships and leading healthy, successful lives.

The Ship of Theseus

The Ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus’s Paradox, is a paradox and common thought experiment about whether an object is the same object after having all of its original components replaced over time, typically one after the other.

After building taghash for 8.5 years, this is the constant feeling. As a founder of the company, leading from the front, I am here running the ship. It is bringing new faces, and old faces are leaving; many others are rejoining. As a cycle of life. With time, it made me realise that we all have our own journey in life. We are all here to serve some purpose. 

busy

The problem with our lives is that we are busy. We are constantly on the go and connected to the world. We are not living in our thoughts but chasing the trends of social media.

We no longer hold our own faith or beliefs—they are seeded into us from the outside. What is hot, what is trending, is what we end up running after. Common sense has all but disappeared.

We are entering a digital zombie era, where real relationships have taken a back seat. Life is measured by the money we earn, the houses we own, and the followers on our social media accounts.

There was a time when we would take long walks, swim in the ocean, or pick mangoes. Those simple acts helped us reflect and connect with ourselves. That “me time” is dying. Today, we are like headless chickens—hyper-connected, throwing opinions at everything, or fighting with cats and dogs behind keyboards.