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.
20 years back, at the age of 24, I got my first ever job. In 2 years, at 26, I was earning 12L per annum. Here is how it happened... In Mar '04, at the age of 24, I dropped out of my PhD program at Michigan State University and came back to India. What made the decision easy was the 100% scholarship I was on. With no goals, no plans, and no visibility over my future, the first thing I needed was financial independence and stability. I had to get a job. I tapped into my (limited) network, spoke to my friends, applied through newspaper adverts, and went for walk-in interviews. After 45 days, I was sitting for the final round of NIS Sparta, a corporate training company. They asked me what my salary expectations were. They made me an offer. Hurdle 1 had cleared. The job was to design training programs for large corporates. Which would have been awesome, except for a 'minor' hiccup. The company had taken a bet on me, given my attitude and willingness to learn. Now I had to prove to them that was the case. So I worked hard. And slowly, began to understand how business functions work. I also saw my colleagues, all of whom had an MBA, with a much clearer and sharper understanding of the same concepts that took me time to gather. But I wasn't sure. 2 years of time, and the money seemed too big a commitment for something that I was recently introduced to. As luck would have it, I came across a rather young school. And the best part? The course was 14.5L for 1 year. So I asked myself a different question - what's the worst thing that can happen? Before ISB, my salary was 15K PM. ISB had tie-ups with banks for the loans (nearly 90% of the class takes a loan). Hurdle 2 cleared! I often say, "Getting into ISB is easier than getting out of it." It surprisingly made things easier for me. You got paid lots of money, worked with really smart people on business problems and the projects changed every few months or so. At ISB, the dean's list (top 10% of the batch) would typically get the consulting shortlists. I got shortlisted for 2 consulting firms - BCG and ATKearney. My heart sank! I didn't think I would make it. But they took a bet on me. I had the job. One of the best jobs on campus on day 1 itself, with 12 LPA! Consulting gave me so much. Within 1.5 yrs, I was promoted - the fastest ever in the firm. When I left Kearney in 2009, I was earning 33L which was wild considering I had started with 3L just 5 years back! As I reflect upon this, it is obvious to me that I rest on the shoulders of others. NIS Sparta took a bet on me when I knew nothing about business. Anupam Kher once asked SRK, "Shahrukh: How are you so successful?" That, for me, is the essence of life. Don't take these things for granted. Be grateful. If people take a bet on you, do yourself a favour and bet on the same thing. Book I am reading this week Finished reading "What I Learned About Investing from Darwin" by Pulak Prasad. Here is a list of all the books I have shared in this newsletter so far (alphabetical order) Do you believe in God?
Here are the results: Observations:
My answer: Quotes to share If people take a bet on you, do yourself a favour and bet on the same thing.
It makes no difference how many peaks you reach if there is no pleasure in the climb.
They who realize what's in their control, realize they are in control!
📸 My week, in picturesIn this section, I share my week in pictures, for those who do not like to read as much as I write :)) Was at the Entrepreneurship Summit of IIT Chennai. Fantastic energy and crowd. Some terrific conversations. Went for a heritage walk to Red Fort again. Ratnendu from Intach Heritage is hands down our fav heritage walker! Hosted Sahil Bloom for a founder's breakfast. In the picture are Tanmaya Jain (founder of Infeedo), Sahil, me, and Ayush Jaiswal (founder of Pesto Tech). Later in the evening, had an awesome 1,000+ people event at the gorgeous Bharat Mandapam. In the audience were Sahil's parents too. Gym bros :)) Watercolour painting from today's class. I have drawn the one on the right. Ruchi's is on the left. Which is better? That's it for the week in pictures. Have a lovely weekend and week ahead, all of you lovelies :))) Question of the week
(and see the results of others, too) 🎙️ Podcast I shared last week🚀 Content I shared this week📹 YouTube: Left with nothing at month end 📱 Instagram: 🐥 X: How I went from 3Lpa salary to 33Lpa in 5 years 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. |
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.
Do you have the right tools? Sometimes, I get these cute DMs: "Ankur, your pics are looking awesome. Which phone do you use?" "Ankur, your videos are so sharp. Which camera do you use?" "Your voice sounds so clear and deep. Which mic do you use?" "You have been meditating for so long without fail, which app do you use?" Makes me smile :)) It's the equivalent of me asking someone, "Your book was wonderful. Which pen did you use?" A lot of us are stuck in the wait for the right tools. The right...
I had to ask! When I met my current wife, Ruchi, at the age of 19 while in college, she was way out of my league! I was the super geeky and serious kid.I had strong notions about what is right and wrong.I was too uptight.I would even call myself sad at that point.Too serious. And took myself too seriously. She, on the other hand, was the Shahrukh Khan in everybody’s life.Happy and going with the flow :))Forever smiling.Everyone adored her.Her happiness made everyone else happy around her. We...
If it's just hard work, why wouldn't you do it? Our colony had the Tennis Singles Finals this morning. I lost. While I feel slightly bad about it, I am happy about 2 things: 1/ I didn't play it safe. I played aggressively and took my chances. It's another thing that most chances did not work out :)) But I tried! 2/ I know exactly where I went wrong and what I need to do to fix it. The distance between where I am and where I wish to be can be covered by hard work. You see, a lot of us are...