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Every week, I answer 3 questions that you have asked me. I receive 100s of questions so I am sorry in advance if your question wasn't answered.
​To ask your question simply reply to this email and I will pick 3 questions every week.

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Question from Sudha
What can be good couple goals for any normal couple to have?

I would have 3 goals:

1. Struggle together:
   You build the deepest bond with those who you share your struggle with. So, I would want to have a partner where my struggles are shared with her, and hers are shared with me. NOT to fix them. To give company. To offer solace during hard times. To go through a struggle and see how both emerge stronger from that experience.
   Ruchi and I have struggled together through financial crises, through personal crises, and every such occasion has only got us closer.
2. Learn together:
   Learning together is fun. It is new, it is hard, but it is enjoyable if it resonates with both. So, I'd pick something that is liked by both and then enjoy the journey together.
   Ruchi and I trained for tennis together for 2 years and it was awesome.
   We work out every day at the gym, and while our times do not overlap, we do exchange notes that convert it into a learning process.
3. Fart and laugh:
   I am being serious here. If you are okay farting in front of your partner, not asking "Who did it, who did it?" and instead laughing about it - that's when you know you are with someone who you can totally be yourself with. Isn't that precious?
   Ruchi and I have that. We actually judge other couples who can't do this, lol.

Question from Hardik
How to find a mentor?

Before answering "HOW?", it is important to answer "WHO?"
Who should be your mentor?
There are 3 attributes of a good mentor:

1. The mentor should NOT be the only one you have.
   One person can't take care of everything. You need to have multiple mentors catering to fields they can help with.
   For example, I have mentors when it comes to money, career, spirituality, people management, etc. And these are not the same people.
2. The mentor should NOT be much older than you.
   When 20-yr olds write to me requesting for me to become their mentor, I have a facepalm moment.
   I will make a horrible mentor to a 20yr old. Because things that are obvious to me are things the other person would not have even experienced. So, when I share something obvious and they will not understand (for no fault of theirs), they will think "I must be dumb to not get it. Because clearly this person is an achiever and knows what he is talking about."
   What you want is a mentor that is 5yrs, max 10yrs older than you. So that they offer a perspective that is relatable.
3. The mentor should NOT think like you.
   If they do, you will get the same answers that you too would have come up with.
   The mentor needs to challenge your thinking - ask you questions to push you in a new direction that you could explore.

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Once you identify who that person can be - simply ask.
Send cold emails, request them for an hour a month, be clear about what you want from them in that hour, and update them on your progress.
As long as you are not looking for a celebrity as your mentor, you will be surprised at how most people will find the time and space to help you.

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Question from Anurag
Who is someone that inspires you?

People do not inspire me. Actions do.
So, there is no one in particular.
I like traits in individuals.
I like Elon Musk's intensity, Roger Federer's humility, Shah Rukh Khan's charisma, Brian Chesky's empathy, Modi's speech delivery, Naval's curiosity, Buddha's tranquility, etc.

This is why I do not have favourite books, favourite movies, favourite authors, or favourite singers.
I just like concepts and whosoever appeals to me in that is someone I would love to know more about.

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📕 Book I'm reading this week

Finished reading Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder.​
Terrific book - not just for those who have a family member or someone close suffering from a personality disorder - it is just a great book to understand how humans operate.
Highly recommended, for those beyond 30 - in order to decipher the word better.

​Here is a list of all the books I have shared in this email, so far (alphabetically sorted)

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Results of last week's survey

If eligible, do you plan to vote in the 2024 Indian Lok Sabha Elections?

1. Yes; for a party/candidate
2. Yes; but for no party/candidate
3. I do not intend to vote
4. I am not eligible

Here are the results:

The results are quite surprising (and frankly shocking):

1. Almost half the folks in every eligible age band do not intend to vote.
2. Most surprising is the 30+ age band which is a massive section and according to the poll, more than half do not intend to vote.

I looked through the responses and there were 3 main reasons:

• Do not understand politics (I think that's a lazy reason).
• My voter ID is for my home location and I am not there (plan your travel back in advance - the dates will be available months before).
• I do not believe in any party (still vote, but vote NOTA then).

I am quite disappointed with this crowd, to be honest :((

My response:​
I have voted in every election ever since I turned 18, except in 2004 when I was in the US. And intend to continue doing so.

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Quotes to share

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If fear hinders you to take risks, it is not fear. It is slow death.

🐥 Share on Twitter

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If you are learning and feel the urge to share you are learning, then you are not learning for the sake of learning.
- Naval

🐥 Share on Twitter

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Failure + Reflection = Success
This reflection is what allows failure to turn into growth.

🐥 Share on Twitter

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📸 My week, in pictures

In this section, I share my week in pictures, for those who do not like to read as much as I write :))
I do so not to show how cool a life I live, but instead to show you what are the highlights of every day. As you will see over time, my days are mostly in repeat mode - the same things, but different experiences from them.

Remember Facebook? The thing our parents use? I check it every day - only for my memories. Came across this post from 2015, when we had taken the entire nearbuy team to Goa to announce the start of nearbuy.
In this pic are Varun, me and Faizan :))
BEST offsite ever!

On Friday, I vlogged my morning routine (video coming up soon). This is the opening scene :))

On Saturday, we celebrated Ruchi's birthday with an awesome Bollywood dance party theme. Had a blast :))

Sunday was chill. We were all missing Kenya and the wild :))

Monday, I had to dig out my graduation degree for some application. Had completely forgotten about it. First division - yay haha!

On Tuesday, it rained like crazy. There were dark clouds almost the entire day. Gorgeous view to have for my work.

We bought these super cute doorstoppers from Kenya. Aren't they lovely? :))

That's it for the week in pictures. Have a lovely weekend and week ahead, all of you lovelies :)))

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Question of the week​
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Who makes the food you eat, on most days?

1. I make it myself
2. Someone from my family makes it
3. I have a cook
4. I usually order/eat outside

Answer here

(and see the results of others, too)

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🎙️ Podcast I shared last week

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🚀 Content I shared this week

📹 YouTube:​

​Zero interest home loan​

📱 Instagram:​

​Signs of a lifelong relationship​

🐥 Twitter:

​Mistakes I made in my 30s​

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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.​
​(Humidity mein AC ke inventor ko dil se shukriya adaa karne ki kasam)

You can view all previous newsletters here.

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