koolhead17
Our society is setting up the wrong precedence by creating cult leaders in entrepreneurship. It’s ruining the future generation and taking them in the wrong direction.
Instead of solving pain, it has become a race. The success has become fundraising announcements and Twitter followers.
Instead of creating long-term value, it has become camaraderie and groups.
Sirji bas English me baat karna zaruri hai kya, wo thulla thulla bolte hai hame aur batamezze karte hai. (They speak in English and treat us disrespectfully).
Early morning I was at Ber Sarai sipping tea and eating bun-omelet after a night out; sleep and hunger were killing me.
Mukesh Yadav was sipping tea next to me, In his early 30’s, a tall man with a movie star-like physique. Mukesh had finished his night shift at beat near the Priya complex.
He mentioned heading back to Palwal, his hometown and, a few Haryanvi greetings prompted him to open up.
Mukesh told me about the night brawl. It was a fight between two drunk youngsters and when he went to calm them, they misbehaved and told him to stay out of it. (Thulla, nikal yahan se). Mukesh called others from beat and tried to take them to a nearby station and, they hit him and disappeared into the darkness.
I could see a mix of tears and blabber from Mukesh. He was saying how rich he is and about lands he owns and farming. I realized he must have had a bad last night. I don’t know why he opened up to me. Are we all alone and need someone to listen to us? For a change, I was the listener.
It was Mukesh’s dream to do something for the country, could not qualify for the army so joined the police and the job is so thankless
Kuch bhi na rakha is naukari me. Ek thulla mare, koi farak na pade desh ne, Ek politician mare, desh ki chutti.
It’s a thankless job no one gives a dam about policeman’s death, life goes on, unlike a politician, the entire country gets a holiday.
I silently watched and listened to him and asked if he would care for a bidi which he accepted. We exchanged greetings and, I headed back home to Munirka.
Sir aur kuch padhaun ya nai, bacho ne angerji zarur sikhana hai. (I will ensure my kids learn English)
I heard him shouting and giving a broad smile and, I smiled back.
We should dream and strive towards making it a reality. Having a dream alone is not enough.
There was a dreamer behind most innovations and, it was their itch: an airplane, cars, electricity, or computer.
We, humans, are gifted and, our will to go against the odds has taken civilization beyond: Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King are a few examples.
Our humanity will thrive and go beyond the unimaginable by the dreamers: keep dreaming and working hard towards making it a reality.
It is not easy to be a misfit and, most will reject you.
I don’t understand why we have made entrepreneurship something glorious. Some of us do it for the kick of it. One part of my brain says, ooh we are going to uncharted territory and taking all the risk and creating something unique. The other side of my brain says we are just trying to make our life worth living, solving a pain point and making money from it. What is so sexy or glorious about it?
But again, who am I to judge others.
We are part of the attention economy. Actors and performers are spending hours on Instagram posing beach vacation photos.
Mare mortals like us feel that we are wasting our time. They are living a great life. In reality, they are working harder than us to stay relevant. The glamour industry has thrived on attention.
It is 2020 when social media has hung upon us where anyone can get attention with looks and creativity.
As much as I dislike social media for consumerism, I like it for the level playing field it has created. Anyone or everyone can get attention, fans.
Founders are the soul of any startup, said repeatedly. There is no denying this. But what happens when a founder has limited vision?
We have seen this with McDonald’s or Starbucks; the original owners moved away. It ended up becoming a super successful enterprise with a visionary.
In the end, it is about a leader, be it a founder or not, having a clear vision to lead and take an organization to a new high.
We have so much time to question what celebrities are up to or anyone else around us? Who are we to judge?
Are we suffering from some disease where all we have to do is question others?
How good a life we will have if we question our vices.
Have you tried sitting 10 minutes quietly without a cellphone or internet? Like being with yourself and your thoughts?
What happens when you try doing it?
Does your mind explode?
People spend money or lock themselves for ten days at vipassana. How much of this helps?
We are what we think. Observing why and what we are thinking can help with calming us. The environment around, media, and news we consume can also be the reason for this chatter.
The last year has seen all money poured into the private market and startups becoming unicorns faster than reaching PMF.
Once the market cools down is going to be customer support. In the end, customers deserve support for the service they are paying. Most startups are burning cash for newer markets instead of satisfying existing customers.
I feel customer delight is the easiest moat any startup can achieve. These customers will be bigger evangelists than some Bollywood star dancing for your brand.
It’s not easy to meet like-minded people. We live around humans but still, we relate with very few. Some become our friends for life and others our well-wishers.
It’s like they understand us our actions and observation so well. It is like they are our mirror. If we end up finding such people, living becomes easy.
A few claim that having too many like-minded people results in limited thinking and mindset.