warikoo Wanderings

Welcome to another edition of Wanderings. This week I speak about my favorite topic, 10 common mistakes people make with money, the book I am currently reading, some quotes, the AWESOME responses to the question last week and ask you all a question.

So let's get started :)

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TRUST IS A WONDERFUL THING

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Let me start right away with an unpopular opinion.
India is a trust-deficient country.

We do not trust people easily.
We have been trained and taught since we were kids, that "daal mein kuch kaala hai" (there is something wrong).
​And we grew up believing that the person opposite to us, is out there to get something from us.

Plus things around us didn't help either.
Remember the time we used to order food or grocery over the phone? (WHAT!! Over the phone? Like talk? TELL someone? Wow. How 1980's!)
Yeah! So we ordered stuff over the phone. And then, irrespective of how much time had passed, if we called back to check the status of our order, we ALWAYS heard just one response:
"Ladka nikal chuka hai" (translated: trust me, I am a nice guy. And yes, the boy has left with your order. I love you too!)

It is not surprising, then, that as a society we have trust issues.
It is also not surprising that if someone is able to gain trust, they become AWESOME.

Look at TATA.
We are ready to buy ANYTHING from them.
Salt, Insurance, Cars, Houses, Education.
I am sure, if tomorrow Tata came up with their own airlines, we would not blink a eyelid using that too.
Oh wait!

Trust is magical, especially in trust-deficient societies.
If you are not used to being trusted, and people trust you, it does wonders.
And the opposite is also true.
If you show people that you trusted them, and they let you down, they rise to the situation a lot better.

I deploy this as a leader.

Whenever any of my team members does anything that defies our agreements, I do not reprimand them. Because there is no point in doing so.
I instead tell them, what I truly believe:
​"I trusted you. And you let me down"

Nothing works more effectively, than hearing this.
Nothing makes them harder to never repeat it, than hearing this.

If you are a leader, try it out.
If you are not one yet, make sure you never put yourself in a spot where you are told this.

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10 COMMON MONEY MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE

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Last Friday, I posted a thread on 10 common money mistakes.
You can check it out on Twitter, or view it as a PDF.

PS: That reminds me. The stock market is on a high. Have you started invested as yet? Regularly? Please do! Do not try to time the market (one of the mistakes above).
To buy and sell stocks, I use Zerodha - and I love it.

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BOOK I AM READING THIS WEEK

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I am still on How to find fulfilling work - and having so much fun. It is like the book I would have liked to write. About how to find fulfillment in your work, because nothing else is frankly more important.

On that note, do you know that the word fulfillment did not even exist before ~1770. Which means, people before 1770 did not find any need to express the emotion behind their word. And it is a widely held belief that this was because they were mostly fulfilled. So they never needed to use a word to describe it.

On the thread of money mistakes (above), I shared 3 books that I highly recommend to all those who want to understand personal finance and money

​Rich Dad Poor Dad​
​Psychology of Money​
​Intelligent Investor​

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QUOTES FOR SHARING

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If we do not know what we truly want from life the most, at that point of time, the next best thing that we want is EVERYTHING!
​(Share on Twitter)​

Fighting the stereotype is a great way to get attention!
​(Share on Twitter)​

If alcohol and smoking come with warning signs, how come news doesn't come with one? Watching news IS injurious to health!
​(Share on Twitter)​

Don’t let money come in your way of getting something you want.
If you love it, the money won’t matter.
If you hate it, the money won’t make it better.
​(Share on Twitter)​

No step is small, as long as it is headed in the direction of where we want to go.
​(Share on Twitter)​

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RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S POLLS - BROKE MY HEART

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Last week I asked all of you:
If you knew that no one in the world would ever judge you, or could never see you doing it, what is the one thing you would do?

The responses broke my heart.
So many of you, shared such wonderful, private, thoughtful things that you would want to do, but don't - because of the world.
So many women wrote in to say they want to dress the way they want to, meet who they want to, go out as many times and for however long as they want to.
So many of you wrote that you would drop out of whatever it is that you are doing (be it college or even a job).
So many said they would marry the one they want to, or not marry at all.

A surprisingly large number wanted to freely dance and sing.
To those, my question was, what stops you? Please do not think of the world. They are not thinking of you. They are busy thinking what you are thinking of them!

Thank you to the thousands who wrote in and shared their feelings so candidly. I am humbled.

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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

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Again an open ended question:

What is the one GOOD thing you learnt from your parents, that you hope you'll never forget?

To answer, simply reply to this email.
I read all my emails. ALL!
​(garmi ke mausam ke pehle aam ki kasam! Slurp!)

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