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5 things I believed to be true when I was a kid; only to realize they are not!

• Money is finite. If one becomes rich, someone else becomes poor.

I was convinced that there was only a limited amount of money in the world.
And that the rich make money by taking it from someone else.
Wealth is only distributed.

Today, I know wealth can be created.
By adding value.
I shared an example of Maggi in my book, Make Epic Money.
A pack of Maggi costs 10/20 rupees.
But open it, cook it, add some veggies and ketchup - the same thing can be sold for ₹50. For ₹100 in Ladakh :))
What just happened?
You added value and created wealth.
Which is why the GDP of the world keeps increasing.

• Parents are always right.

Growing up, we equate our parents to God.
We think they are beyond human.
They cannot be wrong.
They cannot be weak.
They cannot fall sick.
Until the day we see them as humans.
Making mistakes.
Acting weak.
Feeling scared.
Being sick.
And we realize that our parents are humans first. Parents later.

Hits hard!

• Success is being rich and famous.

Growing up, the only definition of success was rich AND famous.
Because that's what you saw, right?
In the movies.
In the lives of celebrities.
So you dreamt of that life.

Today, I realize that success has little to do with money and fame.
And a lot to do with contentment.
With happiness.
With a feeling that you have everything and that you have enough.

• Not being good at studies equals not being good at life.

This was a big one for me.
I thought those who are not good in studies will never make it in life.
I was judgmental af.
Actually looking down upon them.

Today, I'm wiser and I know that marks have very little to do with who you are.
I know of the nicest, happiest people from school and college who barely made it in their results, and I know of toppers who are caught in the grind and struggling.

• The more friends one has in life, the happier one is in life.

Growing up, life felt like a popularity contest.
The more friends, the better.
Today, I couldn't be happier with the limited set of friends I have.
In fact, I am happiest that I am my best friend.
I know myself completely - my strengths, weaknesses, ideas, secrets, thoughts, and actions.
I can spend time with myself and entertain my own thoughts.
I need very few people, if at all.

We grow up, don't we?

What are some truths from your childhood that you now know aren't truths?

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Announcement: Applications are open for the founding batch of "Launching A Courses Business"

At WebVeda (my startup), we launch a new course every quarter.
This quarter's course is on how to launch a course business.
We have managed to successfully run WebVeda to a 70Cr, 25% EBITDA business in the last 3.5 years and I think there are a lot of good quality teachers out there who wish to teach but do not understand the business of teaching.
In this course, we will attempt to teach you everything we have learnt.
- How to decide what to teach
- How to pick the right student profile
- How to decide on the curriculum
- How to price the course
- How to market the course
- How to deliver the course - what tools to use
- How to build a team to help you deliver
- How to build a community around your students
and more...

The founding batch of "Launching A Courses Business" will be a 100% scholarship batch (no fees at all). We will select max 30 students for this intense course. If interested, apply now. Or forward it to someone you know will benefit from it.

Book I am reading this week

Reading Mine Your Language: Influence, Engage, Predict. ​
In the book, Abhishek Borah (who happens to be my college batchmate from Hindu College) showcases the influence of language on business (so interesting).
I seem to implement a lot of this in my social media content as well - and can find myself relating to a lot of the research done.

My new book, MAKE EPIC MONEY, is now a national bestseller, having sold 100,000+ copies in a record 40 days! Yay!

Here is a list of all the books I have shared in this newsletter so far (alphabetical order).

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Results of last week's survey

Which of the siblings do you think are generally smarter?

• I am younger; Younger siblings are smarter
• I am younger; Elder siblings are smarter
• I am elder; Younger siblings are smarter
• I am elder; Elder siblings are smarter
• I don't know / don't have siblings

Here are the results:

Observations:

• This is so interesting. Early on, the elder sibling thinks they are smarter and the younger sibling thinks they are smarter.
• By the time they reach their 30s, both think that the other side is smarter, haha!
• I also realized that for some weird reason, I have more elder siblings as readers than younger siblings :))

My answer:​
I think elder ones are generally smarter because they have to deal with inexperienced parents. So they learn a lot in the process.
But then I am elder, so I am biased, haha :)
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Quotes to share

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When nothing was there, God was there.
Had nothing been, God would have been.
My being has defeated me.
Had I not been, what would have been.
- Ghalib

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Happiness is not a destination.
It’s a choice.

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Curiosity has created more opportunities than hard work ever will.

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📸 My week, in pictures

In this section, I share my week in pictures, for those who do not like to read as much as I write :))
I do so not to show how cool a life I live, but instead to show you what are the highlights of every day. As you will see over time, my days are mostly in repeat mode - the same things, but different experiences from them.
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A surprising research study showed the correlation between the age of retirement and the average age of death (the study was done in the US).
This shows that the later people retire, the sooner they are likelier to die.
Wow!

My standard breakfast when travelling.
Low-fat yoghurt with nuts and seeds, two boiled eggs, fruits, and cold tea.

Look what I found in a dusty library :))

Ghalib's grave in Nizamuddin, Delhi.

Had a lovely walk in Nizamuddin with the charming Mayank Austen Soofi, courtesy of Hindustan Times :))

My post-workout meal: one scoop of whey protein, 4 almonds, 4 cashews, 1 walnut and occasionally, 1 banana.

Our beautiful home. Sometimes, I just sit and pinch myself that I get to live my life.

That's it for the week in pictures. Have a lovely weekend and week ahead, all of you lovelies :)))

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Question of the week​
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Are you following the IPL this year?

• I watch almost all matches
• I watch highlights
• I read about it
• What is IPL?
• HATE the IPL!

(and see the results of others, too)

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🎙️ Podcast I shared last week

3 sabak | 3 lessons

🚀 Content I shared this week

📹 YouTube:​

​Get rid of debt​

📱 Instagram:​

​5 signs of a Fake Friend​

🐥 X:

​We bought our house at 40​

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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.​
​(Garmiyon ka pehle aam khaane ki kasam)

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