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warikoo Wanderings

Success

Published over 1 year ago • 3 min read

warikoo Wanderings

You can share this newsletter on WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, or view it on the web.
You can view all previous newsletters here.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?
Ruchi and I met on a bus.
True story!
I was this geeky kid, obsessed with physics , and very clear about what I wanted to do in life. The guy with the plan.
And she?
She was the cool kid. The one always smiling, laughing.
The one, I would argue, I would never want to hang out with.
Because here was someone without a plan, without any visible goal, without a sense of control over her life.
The exact opposite of me!

After college, she worked for 8 years.
And then quit to travel.
Then became a full-time mother for 3 years.
Then decided to represent creative outfits as their sales agent.
Then worked for an organic farm, helping people build a sustainable livelihood.
Then one day, I asked her if she could become my manager.
She said yes.
So today she is my manager.

She is someone without a plan, without any visible goal.
But I was wrong about one thing.
She never lost control over her life.
This is her life.
Fluid.
We have been together for 20+ years now, and the only thing she ever wanted in life was to be happy.
Growing up without money, or today when we have it in abundance.
Even when things were tough, or even when they were a joyride.
Whether it felt hopeless, or whether everything felt full of hope.
There was always a choice she exercised.
And still continues to.
To be happy.

She is the happiest person I know.
That is her goal.
THAT is her success.

How do you define success?

BOOK I AM READING THIS WEEK

I am still reading Solve For Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy
This book by Mo Gawdat, is a must read for everyone. It boils down the definition of happiness in such a simple yet powerful way, that one cannot help but do something about it, in their life!
Please pick it up.

I had the opportunity to speak to Adam Grant about his latest book 'Think Again' - I really like his work and have been a fan since his first book 'Give and Take' that I think I read in 2015.
Check out the Instagram video here.

My next book GET EPIC SHIT DONE has gone into printing this week! Yay!

My first book DO EPIC SHIT is now available in Hindi, Marathi and Tamil.
Of course, also in
English :)
190,000+ copies sold.
5 more languages coming up! (Including Portuguese)

QUOTES TO SHARE

We seek an apology but rarely forgive ourselves.
​(Share on Twitter)​

Courage hugs you in private.
​(Share on Twitter)​​​

Start taking your life seriously and you start losing your friends.
​(Share on Twitter)​​​

RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION

Last week I asked you:

If you could select ONLY ONE of these perks, as something your company gave you for free, which one would you select?

  1. 4 Therapy sessions per month
  2. High speed internet, every month
  3. Any online course of your choice (once a year)
  4. Health Insurance for you and your family
  5. Premium membership to YouTube and Spotify
  6. Any online/offline fitness membership per month

Here are the responses:

Observations:

  • Isn't it fascinating that therapy is the most requested perk across ages (except beyond 40) - that shows the need for mental health just as important as physical health.
  • Which is proven by health insurance as the next big ask. It increases as we age, because our parents also age and we realize the need for it.
  • All other perks - course, fitness, internet, etc. - are things that one can buy with their own money, as we begin to make more money. Therapy and Insurance still remain expensive at an individual level.

My response?
I would go for health insurance for me and my family. It has been a life saver so many times in the past 15 years - so much so that I think just like car insurance, health insurance should also become mandatory for everyone (whether paid by oneself or sponsored by our taxes).

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

We had our quarterly offsite this weekend, in Udaipur. The best one we have had so far. Some really awesome conversations, some really deep connections formed!
In pic (from L to R): Aditya (video editor), Piyush (video editor), Ruchika (distribution), Nishtha (content manager), Supriya (visual design), Gitanjali (courses manager), Ruchi (business manager), warikoo (in-house joker), Shivam (audio editor), Horia (visual design), Shaurya (data analyst).

Another really cool pic from the Udaipur City Palace

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

If you are working, what do you prefer? If you are not working, what would you prefer?

  1. In office 5/6 days a week
  2. In office 4 days a week; rest WFH
  3. In office 3 days/week, rest WFH
  4. In office 2 days/week, rest WFH
  5. In office only 1 day/week, rest WFH
  6. Fully WFH

​Click here to let me know your answer (anonymously)​​​​

CONTENT I SHARED THIS WEEK

Podcast:
Title of episode: Learning styles
Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, JioSaavn, Gaana or YouTube.

YouTube:
Productivity hacks I use
You can watch it here.

Instagram:
3 times I felt my life was over
You can watch it here.

Twitter:
7 books I wish weren't that expensive
You can read it here.

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.
​​(Liver bech ke agla iphone nahi khareedne ki kasam)

You can share this newsletter on WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, or view it on the web.

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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