Entrepreneur, Author, Content Creator with 9M+ followers across platforms. I share this newsletter every Friday around personal growth, books, quotes, pictures - it is the most personal version of me online.
Lessons I learnt in 2020
warikoo Wanderings
No - today is not Friday! I know!
I am sending my newsletter on a Thursday because tomorrow is a holiday. And my team told me it is a bad idea to trouble people on a holiday. I agree!
And hence, welcome to this Thursday edition of Wanderings.
PS: Over 300 people shared this newsletter on WhatsApp last week. So it seems the link worked.
If you liked the newsletter, you can now simply share it through WhatsApp, by clicking this link.
Things that I learnt in 2020
What a year! WHAT a year!
We all went through a change that we had least expected, forget planned for! And as we enter the last week of the year, I took a moment to reflect upon what this year taught me.
Lesson 1
The strength of our relationships best emerges during tough times. And so does the fragility of our relationships.
This year, I spent time with my family in a way that I haven't in the past decade.
24 hours with them.
My parents came to stay with us, for the first time in 5 years.
I realized how these relationships affect me, impact me, shape me!
And I realized how many people realized that the relationships they thought were important to them turned out not to be!
Lesson 2
It is not the most comprehensive smartest plan that wins. It is the plan that has the agility to change to what it needs to be, that wins.
All of us had a plan for 2020. And then bham! Everything changed.
I survived. Because I wasn't married to a plan. Rather to a way of doing things.
Reminder yet again, at how setting goals may be a useless exercise.
Lesson 3
I don't deserve to be where I am in life.
Most of us saw a dip in our income. But we somehow managed.
My family didn't face hunger, weren't without clothes, didn't have to walk hundreds of kms to reach home.
And it was a reminder again! I am just lucky!
I was born to a family that took care of me, gave me love, food, shelter, an education. Because of which I sit on privileges that people outside of my world won't experience even a second of their lives.
Lesson 4
We do not know how courageous we are until being courageous is the only choice we have.
I had to change my way of doing things, change my perspective, change my income stream, my audience, and to some extent my entire life.
I wasn't sure of what would come out of it. I wasn't sure if I could pull it off.
But I had no choice!
And that is where my courage came from!
Lesson 5
The best way to predict the future is to look at your schedule today.
The first few days of the lockdown and my schedule went haywire.
Sleep schedule went for a toss.
Screen time increased.
And I foolishly waited for this to end, to get back to my schedule. But today was already gone.
I then built a schedule and took charge of my time. Thank god!
The year is coming to an end and its changed all of us in so many fundamental ways.
Whether by choice, or by force. But it has!
You change for 2 reasons -
Either you know enough that you want to, or
you know nothing and you have to.
Top books I read in 2020
Every year, I share my top books of the year. Here is the list for this year.
Almanack of Naval Ravikant - Compilation of the writings of Naval! Brilliant book
Waking Up: Search for spirituality without religion - If you are into spirituality and meditation, this is a great read
Psychology of Money - BRILLIANT! Book of the year for me!
The Courage to be disliked - Unreal awesome book. Challenges a lot of our preconceived notions
One from many: VISA and the rise of chaordic organization - The story of how VISA came into being
What you do is who you are - A book on work culture. Must read for managers, leaders and founders
Siddhartha: An Indian Tale - Stunning book on the meaning of life
No Rules Rules - Book on Netflix's famous culture
Laws of human nature - Stunning book on why we behave the way we do
The moral animal: The new science of evolutionary psychology - Again explains why we are the way we are
Range: how generalists triumph in a specialized world - Beautiful book on how generalists are more important
Awareness: They key to living in balance - The first book of Osho that I read. Pretty good!
On the shortness of life - By Seneca. One of the best books on life's philosophy
Quotes to share
We own the screen we own. Not the other way around!
(Share on Twitter)
True respect is when you respect someone even after you've got to know them.
(Share on Twitter)
The best form of content is not you in action, rather you in reflection.
(Share on Twitter)
These two things make up for 99% of where we end up in life and how:
- Parents we were born to
- Partner we decided to live life with
(Share on Twitter)
There will be struggle in trying to live with the world, by its rules. And there will be struggle in trying to build your own world and your own rules.
You get to choose your struggle.
(Share on Twitter)
Response to last week's question
Last week was not a poll, instead a question.
When did you earn your first money?
I loved the responses I got.
It seems most people who responded earned their first money by winning a competition or a scholarship or playing in some match. Which is so cool! Almost makes you come across as the smarter one :)
Quite a few who earned their first money by actually "running" a business, earned it quite early in life. Late school or early college. Which is so commendable.
Frankly, I am surprised and pleasantly so, at the enterprising nature of young minds today. So many of you are so well aware. For instance, Raghav replied he earned his first 1,000 rupees by running google ads on his blog, when we was 14!!
WHAT!!
When I was 14 I didn't even know that something like the internet could make money. Of course times were different!
Thank you to all those 900+ people who responded.
This week's question
This will be a hard one. But I need an answer. Please!
What will you choose and why?
- Once I am dead, I would not want to leave anything behind for my kids. They have to build for themselves.
- All that I build in my life, is for my kids.
- I don't intend to have any kids.
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warikoo Wanderings
by Ankur Warikoo
Entrepreneur, Author, Content Creator with 9M+ followers across platforms. I share this newsletter every Friday around personal growth, books, quotes, pictures - it is the most personal version of me online.
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