celebrate

Our life is short, and we should celebrate that we have come this far. Each one of us is going through our own challenges in life. We should not stop smiling or surrender ourselves to misery.

This life we have is precious, and it has so much to offer once we throw away the societal mirror and fakery. There is perfection in imperfection if we observe closely enough. There is no dearth of wishes; they keep multiplying like a game.

When was the last time you laughed and celebrated for yourself without seeking validation from the world? Every breath we take is perishable; every action of ours moves us closer to life.

Ego

I have seen the power of ego. While many consider it a vice, I believe our ego can be channeled well, and it can do wonders for us. Our life depends on our beliefs, lots of inner drive, and some luck.

When we have an attitude where we are living to win, where we are running to seize every moment, we are doing justice to our existence. The opportunities life provides us are enormous. It is upon us to hold them with open hands or let them fly away.

For many, Edison, Van Gogh, or Tesla were egoists: they went against normal social boundaries. For each one of them, they wanted to make the best of their lives by offering their best.

I keep telling this to my peers and young friends around: it is your life, it is your decisions, don’t let others guide you. You lead your way in fulfilling your dreams.

vulnerability

How does it feel to visit your past? The one with vulnerability in it. The one with doubt and fear. I was thinking about the early days of my life as am headed for my Delhi trip. I have a special attachment to the city. It has taught me so much.

Most of us are not born gifted, and neither do we have any ceilings. We have an open sky and wild wild land to travel. Some just fit in a corner and live by what comes in their way. They accept it as life. With age, a lingering pain hurts them and keeps reminding them about a different life, the risks they missed, and opportunities that they did not take.

Our lives depend on our actions and seizing the opportunities that come our way. Luck plays a major role in our lives: starting from the family we are born with, and the friends we make to finding a life partner.

Dream

If you have a dream, you are the one who has to work on it. If you are lucky, you will find believers, mentors, and guides in achieving it. In short, the onus is on you. If you are looking for outside support, assurance, and inspiration you have lost it.

We live in a world where everyone has their own priorities. In most instances, you end up dragging your loved ones into your dream, which you should not. We are all individuals before a union. We are witnessing numerous disputes among siblings, husbands, and wives, all around the globe.

Be it Tesla, Edison, or Wright Brothers all had their life, their sufferings, and dreams. Each one had their journey and dream.

You cannot force your dream on others to make it true. Own it, be responsible, and execute. It is your everyday journey.

Identity

Many of us, in our day-to-day lives, forget about our identity. We get lost in positions or job titles. We make these titles a part of our lives and embed them within ourselves. It is like skin they imbibe without realizing that it’s temporary. It is the chair, not who they are, that gets them salutes, respect, and hugs.

We humans are a lazy breed. We are easily lost in the illusion of authority. Sometimes we forget that this aura or authority has come with the job, and once out of it, no one cares.

I know many army generals sitting alone in a corner of an army mess, drinking in loneliness.

To earn respect, to gain love and trust, and to win friends, we need to be authentic, welcoming, and humble. What matters is how you treated others when they were weaker than you. Your virtue speaks in that moment.

Hedge

If you are risk averse, it is not for you. Most startups succeed because, from the early days, the founders, team, and investors all took a plunge. They could have failed too. It’s a hedge and going against the odds that drives the crazy ones.

The same applies to relationships, people fall in love and live happily going against social dictates of caste, nationality, age, skin color, and ethnicity. It’s like riding against the tide with everyone unaccepting it.

Our life is limited and we have every moment to live. What matters is building and living those moments at own without caring about the world. It is a risk worth taking for oneself.

If Ford had listened to others, he would have built a better. Bullock cart, not a car.

Many things happen in life because we take a plunge, hedge our bets, or go all in, knowing the outcome might not be in our favor.

If you are risk averse, it is not for you. Most startups succeed because, from the early days, the founders, team, and investors all took a plunge. They could have failed too. It’s a hedge and going against the odds that drives the crazy ones.

The same applies to relationships, people fall in love and live happily going against social dictates of caste, nationality, age, skin color, and ethnicity. It’s like riding against the tide with everyone unaccepting it.

Our life is limited and we have every moment to live. What matters is building and living those moments at own without caring about the world. It is a risk worth taking for oneself.

If Ford had listened to others, he would have built a better. Bullock cart, not a car.

growth

In the last 7-8 years of our entrepreneurial journey, I have seen many of my friends’ startups peak and go bust. While the founders did make some personal wealth, the company suffered.

Building a company is like raising a baby; it has its journey and shape. One cannot overfeed it to walk faster. The momentum is short-lived. People who join you are for the wrong reasons and alignment hangs towards their incentives.

It is easy to ruin something with culture not getting preserved and in most instances with growth, it takes a back seat.

Fragile

We are living in a fragile world. What can happen to us in the next moment, we don’t know. The actions of others can leave a lasting impact on us. Keeping ourselves close to our loved ones is what will keep us sane.

Our time on this planet is limited and full of uncertainty. What matters is what we can do to the world around us and keep a lasting impact. Taking small steps every day and leaving a lasting, impactful footprint helps civilization move forward.

We are ruined by the externalities of the world, our desires, and our quest to find meaning out of the smallest things.

Story

We tell our brains stories, some of which are real, and many are imaginative. It is self-created and, on several occasions, self-destructive.

We create a world within our thoughts. What we think and how we lead life goes hand in hand. The story defines our interaction with the world. It can be as we would like to see.

Many successful people surrender themselves to positive stories, it keeps them calmer. They craft positives out of any miserable stories. They craft their world within and empower joy around the world.

Creative Destruction

Creative Destruction is all around us. Our old industries are being replaced with efficient, cheap alternatives. In the case of technology, this happens more often. There has been a cycle, and the entire industry has been adapting itself—those that did not, disappeared or shrank in size.

Who would have thought Amazon e-commerce sellers would also displace the paradigm of infrastructure with cloud computing?

Who would have imagined running an entire organization without hosting any infrastructure, tech tools, or software developers in-house? The launch of Salesforce displaced the old notion of hosting clunky software and fighting with multiple vendors.

How many Gen Z even care about Nokia phones anymore? They did not adapt to the Android ecosystem and lost the race.

How many of us know that you could courier and get DVDs delivered, like Blockbuster? With the emergence of the Internet, some players changed their business models, while market leaders disappeared. We have numerous examples, like Kodak not adapting to digital photography, while competitors innovated and swept away their leadership.

The Artificial Intelligence era we are currently in is going to have similar repercussions. Software developers and organizations that do not adapt will cease to exist or lose significant market share to newer incumbents in no time.

This is not my AI anxiety speaking, but rather the realization brought on by the advancement and rapid pace at which it’s moving.