warikoo Wanderings

Welcome to Wanderings. This weekly newsletter now goes out to 34,000+ people (yay!). This week contains a story on questions, my current book read, some quotes to share, responses to the previous week’s question and a new question for this week.

So let’s get started :)

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WE ALL LOST THAT KID

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I have a 3-yr old daughter and a 9-yr old son. And if you ask me, “how would you describe them?”, there is only one thing that comes to mind instantly.

They ask a LOT of questions.

Why this? Why not? Who is that? When? Why? Whether? Sure?

And the questions are not just random lip service. They are genuinely driven by curiosity.

They REALLY want to know what are we eating and why did we say “yummy” when we ate it?

They REALLY want to know why is the dog barking so loud and if the other dog is the papa of this dog?

They REALLY want to know where were they when mumma and papa got married. And why there are no photographs of theirs in the wedding album (which BTW weighs 10kgs and hence is pulled out only one every 3 years. Non-Indians - you won’t get it!)

All their questions are pure.

And then suddenly, they start vanishing. The questions become lesser in frequency. The questions are reserved for the most important one.

The questions are preceded with an “is this even a good question to ask?”.

And I have no one else to blame, but us as parents and school as an institution.

Because we are the ones who tell them, “don’t ask so many questions.”
We are the ones who tell them, “that's such a dumb question”
We are the ones who tell them, “don’t you get it?”

We kill the curiosity. We try and replace it with what we think is knowledge. Or decisiveness.

We hold more value to the right answer than the right question.

Our exams rewards memorizing answers, filling pages and getting the answers right.
There isn't one, not even a SINGLE exercise, that rewards us for asking the right questions.

And that then explains the cluelessness.

We do not know what to do in life and are constantly looking for the answers. When instead, we should be looking for the right questions to ask.

We are stuck at a problem and keep searching for the right approach. When is the right question that will lead us to the right approach.

We are scared, angry, jealous, anxious and we are tired of being that way. We want it to stop. But we don’t ever stop to ask, why do we feel what we feel?

Parents and school killed that kid in us.
The kid that asked questions.
And that kid is now lost.

Someone find that kid, please? Someone find that kid that we lost?

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BOOK THAT I AM READING THIS WEEK

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Finished What it Takes: Lessons in the pursuit of excellence - the autobiography of Stephen Schwarzman. Stephen is the founding CEO of Blackstone, one of the largest alternate investing firms in the world. Fascinating inspiring story of how he converted $400,000 of initial investment into a firm that manages over $550Bn of assets globally. WOW!

I started a stunning book later in the week called “How to find fulfilling work” - it is a book that EVERYONE should read, because it basically describes the process to create work you are happy with and that doesn’t stress you out, instead makes you want to do it.

Highly recommended.

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SOME QUOTES TO SHARE

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Once you succeed, people see only success.
If you fail, they see only failure.
They don’t see the journey. Only you do.
It is on this journey, that your life was lived!
​(Share on twitter)​

If you are currently working and financial stability is important, please do not quit to startup.
Start on the side.
Work nights and weekends.
Irrational optimism is a founder's death trap!
​(Share on twitter)​

When you are young, only take a job that provides you with a strong learning curve and strong training.
First jobs are foundational.
Don’t take a job just because it seems prestigious.
​(Share on twitter)​

Your true friends are those who are TRULY happy for your when you succeed.
Be that true friend for others.
​(Share on twitter)​

Most of life's problems are a result of our inability to have an honest and objective conversation with our own selves.
​(Share on twitter)​

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RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS

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Last week I asked all of you the following question

Which one would you choose and why?

1. Stay on the ground/first floor of a 10-floor building
2. Stay on the 8th/9th floor of a 10-floor building
3. Stay in either ground or first floor of a 2-floor bungalow (PS: there is no roof access for anyone)

Not surprisingly, the maximum votes went for Option 2 - around 60%.
Next was option 3 - around 30% and 10% was for option 1.

Here is why I asked this question.

I had asked the same question to a bunch of 400 odd people 2 weeks back, who were all aged 40+.
As you might be able to predict, the top choice there was option 3, followed by option 1 and then option 3.

For our parents' generation, living on the ground floor was a matter of prestige. Because landlords lived on the ground floor. And tenants were on the floors above.
There were ofcourse a few high-rise buildings. But even then, the ground and first floors were most sought after. Ever wondered why builders charge a premium for the ground and first floor of high-rise apartments? This is why!

Our generation (I am 40 but I am calling even the 20 yr olds our generation, because that is the only way I can call myself cool and young!) - is different. We see a lot more high-rises, value sunlight and air and living high up gives us that feeling.

Interesting how generations begin to change over time and how.

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THIS WEEK’S QUESTION

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This week, I do not have a poll. Instead an open ended question.

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?

To answer, simply reply to this email. I read all my emails.
ALL MY EMAILS (meri sundar twacha ki kasam)

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