Blog

You get up every morning.
You show up.
You do the right things.
You work really really hard.
Don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t beg, don’t lie.

Here is the honest truth – People don’t care!

People don’t care if you are doing the right thing.
They only care if you are doing the right thing for them.

Nothing changes your life in 30 seconds.

The world would want you to believe in shortcuts.
5 easy ways to do X.
2 simple steps to do Y.
Change your life in 30 days.
Change your life in 30 seconds.

But the harsh truth is, there are no shortcuts.

What will it take to be successful?
It will take everything!

How many times in a day could you laugh at the same joke again?
Once?
Twice?

But after a point, you stop laughing.
You know the twist. You know the punch. You are aware of the story.
And there’s nothing new that could surprise you.

Here is another question for you.
How many times in a day could you get upset at the same situation again?

If you don’t laugh at the same joke again, how is it that you complain about the same situation again?
That you cry over the same issue again?
That you feel hurt about the same thing again?

Once you trick the mind into believing that your life is a “joke”, you will stop reacting to stories long after it’s over.

Most entrepreneurs end up building a company.
A company has rules.
It has a hierarchy.
It has restrictions.
It might also have good food.
And, a founder that sleeps peacefully at night.

But is it a place where people love to work?
Is it a place where they feel challenged?
Beyond a point, people stop working for money. They would want a larger cause to work towards.
The day that cause stops existing, they would leave.

When people stay back in your company despite mediocre conditions, your company isn’t a company anymore.
It has become an institution.

The biggest challenge while building a large company is communication.

How do you ensure everyone is on the same page?
How do you ensure everyone is working towards the right goals?
How do you communicate information rapidly and effectively?

The trick lies in realizing that every hop will lead to a 50% reduction.
In clarity. In direction. In all good things that matter.

The first hop is the most critical layer and finding your first hop will be your most critical decision.
It doesn’t matter what you tell them. What they tell others defines the story of your organization.

I placed two bricks on top of each other, wrapped a cotton cloth around them and created a sling knot.
Every day, I walked from home to the gym with this knot held between my jaws.
The idea is to put pressure on the cheekbones. And if you also move your head up and down, it works well for your neck.

People gave me looks.
Their responses were quite funny, ranging from “Is he mad?” to “Wow! Look at him.”

The attention I got was unusual and amusing at the same time.

Except, my cheekbones were still there.
It took 2-3 months for the effects to show up.
No effects at all was also a possibility.

Unusual things always get a lot of attention.
And we continue to measure the success of the outcome by the attention our work gets.

Attention makes us believe that we are on the right track.
But it’s never the attention that influences the outcome, it’s only our work

Ever shared your ideas in a meeting to which the reply was,
“Let me get back to you on this?”

This statement forms the basis of most conversations in a large company.
And the reason why this is acceptable is, these big companies are tolerant of excuses.
Excuses for not being able to deliver.
Excuses for inaction.
Excuses for not deciding then and there.

Whereas you will rarely hear this at a startup. Startups are fast. They take action. Their work is outcome-based. They make decisions quickly in order to move forward, wherever and whenever necessary.
And for the same reason, large companies are so slow to move forward.

A“let me get back to you” free world can only be created if you don’t accept excuses.

An excuse tricks us into thinking we don’t have any option, even when we have many!

One day you are happy with what you have got.
You are working hard every day. You are content. You are fulfilled.
The next day you meet someone doing way better than you.

Would that hinder your contentment and happiness?
While your grass was green all through, would you be affected by the existence of supposedly greener grass?

If the answer is yes, here is a question to ask.
Did the greener side always exist and you got to know about it just now?
Or did it come up after you?

We think if we say no, people will leave us.
We will hurt them.
They will think poorly of us.

We don’t want people to reject us, and so we find it difficult to reject them.
This is why saying no becomes insanely hard.

When we say no, we say no to a request. Not to the person.

“I need help”

It’s very hard for us to accept that we need help.
We attach it to our pride, which stops us from seeking help from others.
And from books. From videos. From content. From life.

Pride makes us afraid.
It forces us to not learn.
It forces us to not ask.
It forces us to pretend that everything is in control.

But here is the reality.
Every time we ask for help, we learn.
Every time we say “I need help”, someone helps.

Pride has left more people alone, than loneliness ever will.