Blog

A famous sculptor wanted to sculpt his final masterpiece on top of a hill
He had time left for only this one – and he wanted it to be his best work ever
He worked, day and night, creating patterns and bringing the mountain stones to life
And when it was all over, he asked a friend to come and see the end result

The friend saw a stunning piece of art, from the foot of the hill and knew instantly that this was indeed the sculptor’s best work ever
And so he climbed the hill, to congratulate his friend

Once he reached, the sculptor insisted that the friend take a closer look and admire the finer aspects of the sculpture
The friend noticed a crack, and reported the same to the sculptor

The sculptor paused for a minute. Stared at the crack. One could see his expressions changing.
Without any warning, he took his hammer and destroyed the entire sculpture

The friend was shocked. What just happened
“Why did you do that? No one would have noticed that crack from such a distance. People would have still liked it”

“But I noticed the crack”

This week, we were releasing a youtube film for nearbuy.com
And I wasnt happy with the final outcome

So I asked myself the question that I have previously asked
“Will people like it?”
And the answer was – probably yes. It wasnt that bad

But then I asked myself a different question
“Will I put my name behind this film? Will I be proud that this is a nearbuy production?”

Everything suddenly made sense

Don’t let the world define your standards

We humans have this rather unfortunate habit of checking the strength of our relationships, every how and then

Let’s see if he calls me today

Let’s see if he picks up my phone if I call him right now

Let’s see if they figure out this loophole without me pointing to it

Let’s see if I can trust this person

Here is the deal about trust

The minute you test it, you have broken it

Trust shouldn’t be tested

It is either earned, or established through conduct

To test trust, is to not have it

Yesterday Times of India flashed a news article on paytm’s acquisition of little and nearbuy as part of a distress sale.

The journalist had reached out to me on Sunday evening, asking for my comments.

I declined to comment, adding that his facts were wrong and if he waited for a few days I could share all the information formally and accurately.

I assume he had to file the story nonetheless, so he asked if I could go off the record and talk. I declined that too (PS: there is nothing in this world called off the record! Everything you say is on fucking record!)

When th article came out, I felt let down. I had clearly mentioned that the facts were wrong but all that was stated from my side was that I had refused to comment.

I wanted to understand what the protocol is

So I wrote in (recall: if you don’t ask, the answer is always no)

What could I have done to ensure my stand that the facts were wrong, were also represented in the article

Apparently, there is a simple way to do this

Go on record :)

I hereby go on record to state that I cannot comment on this matter right now, but do wish to share that the facts as stated in the article, are wrong.

in hindsight, this is obvious. Should have thought about it :)

#lessonlearnt

There are people who tell you that you are wrong

There are people that help you see where you are wrong

Guess which ones are more than the other?

Now do you see why choosing the right crowd isn’t easy?

And why that’s precisely the reason why you should spend a lot of time on it?

Ever has this situation where you were extremely happy and content with your situation UNTIL you came across someone else who was better off, with similar attributes as yours?

And this made you feel sad and shitty about your state?

While your grass was green all through

The existence of supposedly greener grass disturbed you

Make a subtle distinction there, that might help

Did the opposite side of the grass always exist and you were simply made aware of it?

Or

Did the opposite side of the grass come up after you?

If it’s an awareness problem – you are fighting your own self.

Not the grass

The fastest way to become wise is to receive it

The power of books, videos, podcasts – is phenomenal, especially if you consider the effort it would take to acquire it yourself

There is danger though

Information, today, is navigating at the speed of light

And it’s disguised as wisdom

Beautifully disguised

The worst form of wisdom is received wisdom that isn’t challenged

An ex-colleague wrote in, asking a very interesting question

“Now that your videos and content have picked up a lot, how does the attention feel? What’s it like to be on the other end of inspiration?”

It’s a lot of pressure

And the only perpetual overwhelming feeling is that of being humbled

Pressure, because I am suddenly conscious of whether I am making sense, whether I am making the content any easier to be absorbed, whether this is even relevant content, am I qualified enough to even speak on this?

Humbled because people are writing in and sharing such fascinating personal journeys, acknowledging how the content came just at the right time. One can’t help but feel blessed to be at the receiving end of such gratitude

But more than anything else, it’s the confirmation that inspiration perhaps has a start but surely no end.

I continue to “chase” inspiration – find it in the usual spots (books, videos, podcasts) but also in the most unexpected of places or people (kids particularly)

And thus I believe, I will never truly know how it feels to be at the other end of inspiration

And I am glad about that :)

Met a smart candidate yesterday for a senior role

Towards the end the usual question popped up – what is the larger goal of nearbuy.com

Not directly asked, but hidden in that question was the more basic one – what’s the potential of this deals and discounts industry?

I shared my views. Views that I can share even in my sleep now :)

At the end of it – he was clearly shocked. Surprised. Pleasantly.

I wasn’t talking about deals and discounts. I was talking about how a basic human trait is the foundation for the company’s vision. And how everything starts from there and revolves around that belief.

An outcome of this belief is a crazy imagination of the future.

And I believe that any definition of the future sounds ridiculous when one hears it.

Which is why, to quote Jeff Bezos, People will misunderstand what we mean to do, and we have got to be ok with that.

My view of my future sounds ridiculous and I am willing to be misunderstood until it unfolds.

Are you a different person on weekdays and weekends?

Are you a different person right before you step in to office and once you are inside?

Are you a different person when with your team and when with your boss?

Are you a different person through the year and towards the appraisal process?

Are you a different person when working with your colleagues and when drinking with them?

Are you a different person because you wish to be or you think you are meant to be?

The separation of work and life has caused concepts such as work life balance to flourish in today’s culture
The pressure to “balance” the two – as separate entities on two scales of a weighing machine

Does it have to be this way?
Can life be such where we stop living two lives?

The need to balance work and life, is only if you are living each separately