I studied in Gujarat I was sitting next to a young, sharply dressed guy on an early flight to Mumbai. Calmly opened his laptop as the seat belt sign went off, working on what looked like a complicated Excel sheet. Worked through the flight. After 1.5 hours, as the hostess walked the aisle requesting to place your seats upright, he shut down the laptop and gave me a “I think I am ready” look. Good thing the middle seat was empty. We got talking. I presumed he was preparing for an important...
8 days ago • 3 min read
Difficult relationships I was speaking to a friend caught in a difficult relationship. - Witnessing a different side of his partner.- Incessant fights.- Frustrated that she doesn’t see what’s wrong with her.- Shocked and surprised that she feels he is wrong. Here is exactly what I told him: There are three reactions to a difficult relationship 1/ I don’t want this drama in my life. I shouldn’t have to deal with this. I can no longer take this. I am out! 2/ I love you. I realize that your...
15 days ago • 4 min read
I meant action! Just spoke to my mentee. Early 20s.Bright student. Worked 4 years in a challenging but intellectually stimulating environment. Quit to take a break. 4 months into it. Now, not doing so well. Finds it hard to take action. Binge watches. “I think I romanticized the idea of a break.” These were my exact words to him: “I am not an expert, so most of what I share comes from secondary research, and not primary experience or agency. Your mind is currently your enemy. It ruminates and...
22 days ago • 3 min read
10 job mistakes I made 1: I assumed fast = smart.I thought being super-fast at work made me a genius. Nah. We’re not paid to get things done fast. We’re paid to get things done right. 2: I thought identifying errors in my work was my manager’s job.No! If your manager has to spot your errors, they are doing your work. Not theirs. If your manager can’t trust you, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. 3: I waited for feedback.I assumed if my manager had something to say, they’d let me...
29 days ago • 4 min read
Achieving mental freedom A lot of people struggle with mental peace. Their mind is always active, overthinking, anxious, and overworking. It rarely settles. We want peace. But our mind craves activity. How does one handle this? An effective way, in my experience of achieving mental freedom and peace, is to truly know who you are. We often do not know who we are. We see ourselves through the eyes of others. Our image of who we are is determined by what people say about us. Or how people have...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Your emotions are not good or bad If fear can motivate you without paralysing you, be fearful. If doubt can refine your ideas without stopping you, be doubtful. If anxiety can sharpen your focus without overwhelming you, be anxious. If sadness can deepen your empathy without consuming you, be sad. Emotions are not negative or positive. Our actions stemming from those emotions are.(Share on X) Book I am reading this week Finished reading Four Thousand Weeks (Time Management for Mortals) by...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
How you age is how your parents age I turned 44 last week. I am not into celebrating birthdays, so most years, it is a simple and quiet affair with family. As was this year. We went for a nice high-tea affair: Ruchi, the kids, Ma, Papa, my sister, and brother-in-law. As I was dropping Ma and Papa back home, my mom wished me happy birthday again and then asked a cute question."Kitne saal ka ho gaya hai tu?" (How old are you now?)"44," I replied. I think that hit her. That morning, Ma sent a...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
The answers to these 7 questions can change your life 1. The two-week test The way you have lived your life in the last 2 weeks; if you live the rest of your life the same way, will your life become better or worse? Our daily habits are the building blocks of our future selves. (Share on X) 2. Fear vs. desireIs there something you are afraid of doing because of the world, but you really want to do it? Our deepest desires often hide behind our biggest fears. (Share on X) 3. Unspoken words If...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Compounding needs this very basic thing Whenever I talk about compounding money, I feel sorry for all the 20-year-olds listening to it. Because you have NO IDEA what I am talking about. Actually, that is not true. You have an idea. You have a theoretical idea of what compounding is. You know what the graph looks like. But you have NO IDEA what it actually feels like. I just created a video on how I made my first crore. Today, my investments in the stock market are around 10Cr. My expenses in...
2 months ago • 3 min read