Blog

As humans, leaders and wise humans, we love to solve problems for others. It makes us feel better, and we believe that it would make them feel better as well.

Except, that it doesn’t.

Smart people suffer from a problem called The Curse of Intelligence. They want to solve things fast. Make everything aligned. Remove the chaos. 

It hardly helps anyone. The one whose problem needs to be solved – the company, the family or friend have a certain way of operating that is different from who we are as an individual.

A really smart way is to ask questions. Questions help them understand the problem better. So do they help us. 

The best part? The one seeking for help gets it in the manner best for them.

When we talk about secrets to productivity, mostly we think they would be Pomodoro technique, having a schedule, working out, etc.

While all of that is true, there is something way bigger than it: Our rest schedule.

Rest and rejuvenation is not sitting idle, wasting time, and something to be done when we will have more time. It is rather a way of getting more productive. Because even when we are not doing “work” on the outside, amidst the games that we play, the music that we work on or maybe while folding clothes, the mind is working on its own patterns to bring us our solutions.

And that, in turn, accelerates our productivity.

When you’ll do things their way, they will be happy.
And so you kill your own happiness to make them happy.

However, they still don’t get happy.
Guess what happens? You aren’t happy either.

Why not do what makes you happy?

If you’re getting it right for others, you are certainly not getting it right at all.

Recently, I stayed at a wonderful place for a week where I paid more than what I earned in a year at my first job. 

Am I surprised everyday at how far I have come?
Yes! 

Do I believe it’s all my doing?
Not at all. It’s insane luck at play. 

Does that stop me from showing up everyday?
Thankfully not. 

Grateful for everything.
Entitled to nothing.

This is one of the fondest memories of my childhood. 

My Sanskrit exam was in a week.
And I was certain I would fail the exam.
Our teacher was so boring. Uninspiring.

Ma saw that I was scared.
She wrote a letter requesting the daughter of our temple priest to tutor me.
She had a Masters in Sanskrit.

I topped the exam!

It turns out that a good teacher can change your life.
And that good teacher needn’t be found in school or college.

One of the big mistakes people make while seeking out help, is being disrespectful of people’s time.

“I want to be respectful of your time so I will keep it short. I am confused about my career and don’t know what to do. Please help.”

“I am looking for help to connect me to investors. Attached is my business plan. Let me know of your feedback”

Both these examples lack empathy. They make it hard for people to help them.

Because in order to help them, they will have to spend time understanding the context, synthesizing it and then figuring how they can be of help.

Not something most people will do.

The best way to get help is to make it easy for people to help you by being specific.

Find the manager who saw your errors and still chose to trust.

Find the investor who saw you fail and still chose to support.

Find the friend who saw your ills and still chose to love.

Find the partner who saw the worst of you and still chose to stay.

This is one of the biggest lies being sold to us nowadays!

In the world of Shark Tank, massive funding and billion dollar outcomes, it is easy for people to think that the only definition of success for someone young is to start up.

Why would you want to work 9-5 at a desk job, for a salary, when you can be free building things, is what they ask. 

And I say to them – a job early on in your career offers something immensely valuable. 

1/ Financial stability
2/ An appreciation for planning, for process, for system
3/ Experience of working with teams, to make something happen

This is what a lot of people want, desire and deserve. 

I know of FAR MORE PEOPLE who have been immensely successful professionally and financially, than I know those who started up. 

You decide what you want.
And you go chase that.
Cherish that.
Grow that. 

You do you.
And that is your success. 

Period.

Each time we say no to someone, we think we are saying no to our capability of helping.
We think we are saying no to our ability to solve problems.

The reality, however, is that we are saying no to someone else because we want to be respectful of what’s important for us.

Children should cry from only happiness and pain.
Not resentment and suffering.