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This is one of the worst things that people can say if you have just failed or lost.

Don’t move on.

Pause.
Reflect.
Introspect.
Make changes.
Then take a step.

Failure by itself does not lead to success.
It is the introspection and action upon failure that leads to success.

I wrote my first blog post in May 2005.
I posted my first LinkedIn content in 2013.
I posted my first YouTube video in Aug 2017.
I sent my first newsletter in July 2020.
I posted my first IG reel in Jan 2021.
I recorded my first podcast in March 2021.

And guess what was common in all of them?
I think they were all TERRIBLE!

I was an amateur.
I was nervous.
I was rambling.
I was not precise.

And whenever I look at my earlier work, I am always left embarrassed.

So how is it that I have never cared to delete any of my previous work?

Because:
My first work reminds me that I started.
My first work reminds me that I took the plunge.
My first work reminds me of how far along I have come.
My first work reminds me of this beautiful quote:

Here is something you already know of:

Your first work will not be your best.
Your first work will leave you embarrassed.
Your first work will make people laugh, cringe, judge or mock you.

And yet, until there is no first work, there is going to be no other work!

Don’t ask yourself, “Am I ready to start?”
Ask yourself, “Am I ready to improve?”

1. Someone else’s definition of success for you.
2. People who do not support your dreams, instead question them..
3. The chase for money, that doesn’t let you even enjoy it.
4. Your own self, whenever you say “I’m like this only!”
5. The belief that it is too late. YOU have this moment, until you die.

1. Very few find their passion early in life. Most find it much later, if at all.

The world convinces us that we should “pick” a passion as early as possible and then settle.

I think all of your 20s should go towards discovering your passion.
Don’t settle.
Explore.

2. Passion isn’t about money. It is about how you feel.

We are led to believe that if you follow your passion, you will make a lot of money, which will give you a lot of happiness.

The most passionate people I know are simply content.
They are at peace with who they are.

3. “Quit your job to follow your passion” is poor advice.

Financial stability is important.
When we sacrifice that to follow our passion, we put the pressure of making money on our passion, from day 1.

Our passion then becomes our necessity!
And ultimately dies.

4. Passions don’t come in templates.

Stop looking for standard answers to what your passion could be.

Your context, your experiences, your habits, your idiosyncrasies – all of them lend to a passion that is uniquely you.

Don’t make someone else’s passion yours.

5. Our failures direct us towards our passions a lot more than our successes.

Whenever we fail, we seek solace and inspiration.
It is during such moments that our potential passions emerge.

What we gravitate towards.
Where we can truly be ourselves.
And not have to pretend.

There was a time when there were no ranks.
No grades.
No scores.
No positions.

You worked at something until you wanted to, or you got really good at it.
And then, the industrial revolution changed it all.

Tests were introduced.
The outcome of the tests was not to measure knowledge or understanding.
Rather to grade.
To score.
And then to rank.

Someone with a 93% was deemed higher than someone with 92%.
And we all got addicted.
Addicted to this race.

Fast forward to today – all of us live in constant comparison.

“Am I the best student?”
“Am I the best employee?”
“Am I the best leader?”

All of us live in constant fear, as a consequence.
Assessing who else is better?

If only we stopped to realise:

“I can never control if I am the best at anything.”
“I can only control if I am the best version of myself, at it.”

The race is not with the world.
The race is within.

Scared about how ChatGPT will replace your job?
Or how technology is eventually going to make you irrelevant?
Or how fast the world is moving and you feel overwhelmed? 

There are 2 choices you have:
1. Continue to feel scared.
2. Embrace the change.

If you chose #2 above, here are 3 small steps to take towards doing so:

1. Pick up online courses related to the technology you are interested in.
   The Internet allows everyone to be a student and learn from the best teachers available. Do that.
   
2. Join an online community around it.
   Facebook groups, Reddit forums, WhatsApp groups, Discord servers – get yourself immersed in the technology you want to master and hang around people who live it and love it.
   
3. Pick up projects/internships utilising the technology.
   Do it for free, if needed.
   Just learn. Get challenged. Seek feedback.
   There is no better way to learn.

When you make technology your friend, you prevent it from becoming your competitor.

I was 21.
Studying at Hindu College, Delhi University.

Back then, everyone’s favourite drink on campus was Banta (also called nimbu soda or kancha bottle.)

However, the seller’s setup at the time had a few shortcomings:

Dirty hands.
Glasses used again and again.

I thought there had to be a hygienic way of executing the business.

Enter “warikoo Banta!”

Plastic gloves.
Disposable glasses.
Charged at a premium (Rs. 7 instead of Rs. 3 at the time.)

I made a business plan for 300 stalls.
Projected revenue of Rs. 1.2 Cr/year.
Profit of Rs. 30 L/year.

However, it needed an investment of Rs. 15L upfront.

Since I didn’t have the money, I went to the only investor I knew.
My parents.
Turns out, not surprisingly, they didn’t have the money either.
This was more money than we had ever had in our lifetime, haha!

So I dropped the idea.

BECAUSE I couldn’t arrange 15L, back in the year 2001, to start 300 stalls of warikoo Banta.
Not even for a second did I think – should I start with just one and see where it goes?
No!

Because in my head – I had to start BIG.
That was the only way to start.
BIG!

Today, I am wise.
Life taught me a very important life lesson.

DO NOT confuse starting slow as starting small.

I was absolutely wrong about the world, while in school.

I was the diligent, studious, and obedient kid.
But there were kids around me who weren’t.
And I looked down upon them.

I thought those who smoke, drink, do not study and do not obey were evil people.

I felt righteous in my approach.
And felt right to judge them!

But I was wrong.

Most of those kids have gone on to do meaningful things in life.

One of them runs a big chemist shop.

He went out of his way to source medicines for my mom during the 2nd wave of COVID.
When we had lost all hope.

I am not proud of the judgemental person that I was back then.
And I am glad that life taught me to act better and be better, in the best manner possible.

In the end, how you treat people defines who you truly are!

When we point a finger at someone else, we are unable to join hands together.
When we think someone else is wrong, we hardly stop to think they could be right in their shoes.
When we confront, it is in accusation mode instead of access mode.

It’s easy to win conversations by gathering all the evidence against someone, it’s difficult to gather all the reasons why they could be perfectly right.

Instead of winning conversations, having one helps.

There is always a reason behind how we feel.
If the reason for that feeling is someone else, why blame ourselves?
It will pass.
If we are the reason, why blame someone else?
It’s time to fix it.
The key is to find the source.

Our feelings are self-imposed. If we can create them, we can end them too.