Blog

The easiest thing in the world is to expect something from someone else

I expect you to love me 

I expect you to show up

I expect you to understand 

I expect you to care

I expect you to appreciate 

I expect the world to…

The hardest thing is to expect something from your own self. 

Something that you expected from others. 

I expect myself to love

I expect myself to show up

I expect myself to understand 

To care

To appreciate

I expect myself not to expect from others 

Most people seek from others. Some give to others. Very few give to their own selves. 

They say entrepreneurs make better investors. Because they know the grind. They have been through the emotions. They recognize the fears and the irrational optimism. 

Entrepreneur turned investor

A combination that works 

Just that, it doesn’t. 

An investor’s default response is meant to be no. An investor’s job is to enter and exit businesses. Their mind is trained to meaure risk. Figure what will make it fail. And the probability of that. 

Entrepreneurs are stupid. They don’t need the 10,000 reasons why something would fail. They need that one reason why it would work. 

Two very different mindsets

Coke studio 9 (Pakistan version) released recently. Besides the awesomeness that it is, the thing that caught my attention the most was it’s entirely produced and directed by Strings. 

Strings – the music duo that created music, fantastic music, for 22 odd years. Charmed and mesmerized everyone. 

And are now producing music. Not creating it. Producing it. 

It struck me – that’s why entrepreneurs turned investors fail. They stop producing and directing. They only invest. 

Creator turned producer

Consider that as a combination. 

Consider that, as a mindset 

Under promise and over deliver does not work anymore 

Customers expect more 

Employees expect more 

You should expect more from your own self 

Momentum is precious. The only valuable act you and your organization can indulge in.  

Making sure you over deliver. 

And because you can over deliver, go ahead and commit more 

Over promise and over deliver

On 31st January, I went live on Facebook to share the nearbuy brand brief, as part of our search for a creative agency. 

It was honestly a natural thing for us to do. We were frustrated with the current pitching process in the industry. And realized there were so many awesome agencies that we had no idea about. How do we reach out to them? 

So we did what we do everyday. Speak to the world and ask for help. 

Just that, there is no brand in this country that has ever done this. 

Gone public with its brief. And that too on Facebook live video. 

What was normal and natural for us, wasn’t so much for the world. It ended up challenging set notions in the industry. 

Did we expect that? No

Did we hope for that? No

Has it helped us? Absolutely yes

Could we have planned for it? Don’t think so?

We think we know ourselves. And we might. 

What we don’t know is at what point will our natural self become special for the world. 

And special people don’t work towards that moment. They play their own game. 

Everyday

Every single moment 

Our brain has the power to think, to imagine

And what’s separates humans from other species is our ability to imagine the future. The possibilities. The multiple outcomes. 

And most of us misuse that power. 

We misuse the power when the ability to imagine is used to imagine the worst. 

And all possible ways something could go wrong. 

And all possible reasons why something will not work. 

And all possible outcomes that will make us fail. 

The habit of imagining the worst has killed more people than death ever will. 

And yet we do it to ourselves everyday

Not to be prepared. Not to be aware. Not to fight it back. 

Rather to retread. To not pursue. To have a reason not to go through. 

To tell ourselves it’s too risky. Not worth it. 

Ask yourself this question: if I didn’t have the power to imagine the future, how would the choices that I make today be any different?

Life is what passes by as you over think? everyday how to live it 

We all hate it, don’t we

This is how the rules are 

I am just following the system 

I can’t help you. The right person is sitting there in that corner

We are like this only 

Sorry ma’am. I understand but I can’t help 

No you don’t understand

And yes you can help

But it’s not your fault. You have been trained to follow a system. A rule book. An instruction manual. One that offers an annual promotion and a stable career.

Here is the deal about Bureaucracy

It’s most prevalent not in institutions, rather individuals

I am like this only 

This is who I am and don’t expect me to change

I have done this the same way all along 

Don’t try to change me. Accept me the way I am. 

If we hate the first form of it – how come we are all so comfortable dealing with it in our selves?

10 years back, I was the most stuck up guy I have even known.

An image of myself that I imposed on myself everyday

A misplaced sense of self righteousness

An unnecessary definition of right and wrong. Of dos and don’ts.

And the (now unbelievable) urge to resist changing my own self

Only once I let go, did I begin to discover who I was.

And who I could be.

And I began to like the idea of a better me. At least the path towards it.

Kill the bureaucracy within. The most dangerous people are those that sit and do not wish to change.

As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a space scientist. An astrophysicist to be precise. 

My immediate and extended world knew of my dreams. That of doing my PhD from the US and working at NASA. 

And in 2002 I left for the US. To pursue my PhD. From Michigan State University – whose program was a top one in the country. They had a cyclotron (a real one, yes!) and we’re to commission a radio telescope later that year. I was given a 100% tuition fee waiver and an extremely generous stipend to cover my expenses. 

A year into the program I was on top of my class. Was working with one of the smartest and driven professors in the team. My peers were fun, intelligent, accommodating. 

Life was good. 

Just that, it wasn’t. 

I was good at what I was doing. But I wasn’t happy. 

I figured that a PhD in astrophysics would mean staying in the US for the rest of my life. 

Coming back to India would not be an option. 

Because India would never have meaningful work for an ambitious, hardworking, diligent Ankur Warikoo. 

Back in 2003, I predicted that for the REST OF MY LIFE, India would not have anything meaningful for me. 

And I came back (undoubtedly the best decision of my life – but that’s another story) 

In the past few years, I have been (secretly) tracking the work that ISRO is doing. 

Last week they sent 104 mini satellites into orbit in a single launch – a world record. 

Two years back they accomplished the Mangalyaan.

And I love how each time they do awesome work, and I read about it in the press, all I can see is this 

This is what life teaches you 

Don’t ever say that the world is not ready for what you wish to do. 

That the world needs to change 

Because The one that needs to change is the man in the mirror.

Thank you ISRO for showing me how wrong I was, through the best manner possible – your success. 

Note to self: The world doesn’t need our stamp of approval. It needs our participation. 

Our parents grew up in a very different world. 

India back then was a different land

That of limited opportunities

That of rationing 

That of settling for stable than a shot at the moon 

And for no fault of theirs (and ours), they raised us accordingly. 

It doesn’t matter how good you are. You will win only if someone else loses. 

There are enough smart people out there. The way to get through JEE is to hope that most of them don’t perform on the day. The way to get through medical is to see someone else fumble. 

People are abundant. Options are limited. And your caliber only ensures eligibility. Not success. 

India today has changed. But the way we have been raised hasn’t. 

So what do we do? 

We still measure ourselves against others. 

We still track competition more than we should. 

We still play to defend, not to win. 

We are constantly fighting someone else. Not ourselves. 

It’s time we realized that times have changed. 

You can only do those things that are determined by your own rules

The minute you are fighting someone else, playing someone else’s game, you will fail. 

Because someone else is good at it already. 

I spent almost the entire past weekend trying to resolve a conflict at work. I knew I had to intervene to solve it. I had to take charge. Fix it. Make sure the problem was solved and not just the situation. 

It seems the conflict did get resolved. 

It seems I had some role to play in it. 

All that I did was listened. 

Listened for more than 9 hours – both sides – independently. 

Nodding my head, because I agreed with most of what was being said. 

Shaking my head within, shocked at how similar the views were, how similar the objectives were and yet the two sides felt they were at the opposite end of the diameter. 

I didn’t offer any advice 

I didn’t share my opinion

I simply listened

Finally got them into a room, share my inference of the situation in 5 mins and allowed them to talk. 

This time around they were clearer in their communication, focused on the end goal, empathetic towards the other side. Wiser from the experience, it seems. 

They felt heard, understood, I would like to believe. 

This weekend, I played the role of a founder. 

When I listened. And helped sides see each other. 

All other days, I am just another guy. Looking for someone similar. Someone who would listen. 

Being heard and understood is the most understated feeling in the world. 

Being the one who listens and understands is the hardest role in the world. 

And as a founder, you will experience both. No choice.