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Don't make these 5 mistakes while asking for help

Seeking help is the most fundamental way of learning.

I am privileged to be in a spot where many people reach out seeking help.

To make sure you get the help you need, here are 5 things to avoid:

1. Ignoring the difference between information and help
   ​Information is what we need when we are starting something.​Help is what we need when we have attempted something.​Don't seek help with something that can be solved through a Google search.​
   Seek help for something that can only be solved through someone's experience.
2. Asking lazy questions ​
   Not knowing what specific help will help you the most, is a classic reason why people ask for generic help.
   ​“What are your views on this idea?”
   ​“What do you think I should do?”
   ​If you ask for generic help, you will get generic help.
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   You will get the best help when you are specific.
   Best help follows the CAR approach: The Context, what Actions you’ve taken, and what their Results were.
   And then finally where you are stuck.
3. Being disrespectful of people’s time.​
   ​"I am looking for help to connect me to investors. Attached is my business plan. Let me know your feedback"
   "Attached is my resume. Let me know if you have any job openings."
   ​Both are examples of a lack of respect for the person's time.
   The one you seek help from will have to spend time understanding the context, synthesizing it, and then figuring out how they can help.
   Not something most people will do.
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   Help them see how they can help.
4. Assuming on their behalf / being apologetic ​
   No one wants to help those who start with, "I am sorry for saying this but..." or those who say, "This isn't worth your time, but I am giving it a shot."
   ​Do not assume on behalf of others.
   Do not undersell your need for help.
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   You need help and it is important for you.
   Go ahead and ask in the best manner possible.
5. Not share progress ​
   Most people help because it makes them feel good about themselves. I do it for that.
   Nothing makes me happier than to know that my help helped someone.
   Reach out to those who helped you and tell them how much they helped you.
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   It completes the help cycle and feeds the desire to help even more.

It is crazy how many opportunities lie ahead of you, only if you knew how to seek help the right way.
It ties in wonderfully with my biggest life lesson:
​"If you do not ask, the answer is always no."​
​(Share on X)​

Book I am reading this week

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Started reading Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal.

Fascinating book about super performers and what makes them perform at those levels; that too consistently. Some of it may not be acceptable to us, but I think most apply.
Pick this up if you care about performance.

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Thanks for your votes on my next book cover. Over 50K votes across platforms have voted for this one.
So will be building upon this. Excited :))

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My 3rd book, Make Epic Money, has sold 1,31,000+ copies in India with a 4.4+ rating. You can buy it in Hindi, English, Marathi, Audio, and Kindle here.
The book has also been converted into a video course (in Hindi and English) - that you can check out here.
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Here is an alphabetical list of all books I have shared in this newsletter so far.

Question of the week

Do you think that becoming an adult is hard? And childhood was so much easier?

• 100% hard
• Somewhat hard
• Neither hard nor easy
• Somewhat easy
• 100% easy

(and see the results of others, too)

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Results of last week's question

Yay. Most of you like the current title.
Here is the interesting bit. With age, more people also liked "Build epic careers" - suggesting that at that age, the need to evaluate more than 1 career is much higher. When young, you just think of 1 career for the rest of your life.

​My response?​
Build an epic career :))
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3-2-1
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3 pics from last week

Was in Mumbai last week for an event. You won't believe the theme of the panel I was part of - it was called Love and Dating in today's world. Haha!

Was in Bangalore for an awesome event with Forbes India and Hilton - spent time with 3 super-inspiring individuals. Shibani, who is an ultra-marathon runner, Ahana, who runs OpenSecret (you have to try their goodies - awesome and healthy!) and Shruti who runs ApnaKlub. Fab time!

This is me in 2012! The year when I changed everything about my health :)

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2 quotes I wish to share

In a relationship, the idea is to become dependable.
Not dependent.

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In between pain and gratitude lies our life.

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1 new thing I learnt this week

Everyone who starts a company and becomes a director needs a Director Identification Number (or DIN).
Guess whose DIN is 00000001!
The very first DIN issued in the country.
Ratan Naval Tata :)
So cool.
This information is public. Here are my details.
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🎙️ My top content from last week
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📹 YouTube:​ Why is India obsessed with the iPhone?​

📱 Instagram: 3 signs of genuine dosti​

🐥 Twitter: wariCrew :))​

🎧 Podcast: Quit your job​
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You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.

I love reading all your emails, even though I may not be able to reply to them all.
Yes! I READ ALL MY EMAILS. ALL OF THEM.​
​(Diwali se bachpan ki yaad aa jaane ki kasam)

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