Blog

Student A and Student B give an entrance exam

Student A scores 93%

Student B scores 96%

The cutoff of the exam is 98%

Who do you think will feel worse at not making it?

Most of us will say Student B

When “technically” both should feel worse equally

Both didn’t make it

But Student B will feel “if only I had worked just a little bit more – I might have cleared it. What if?”

Now what if the cutoff was not shared with either

Now who would feel more regret?

Perhaps this time – it will be equal

This fascinates me

One’s regret increases if they are made aware of how close they were to the finish line

The distance between where you are and where you wanted to be – is inversely correlated to your regret

Closer the distance by which you missed it – more is the regret

Regret seems to have levels to it. Should it be so?

9.58

Rings a bell?

Let me give you a hint

9.58 seconds

Now it does, doesn’t it?

The world record for the 100m sprint

Held by?

Usain Bolt

Know Usain Bolt?

Of course.

Who doesn’t?

Let’s extend the quiz, shall we?

10.3

No?

10.3 seconds?

Still no?

Anil Kumar Prakash

Maybe?

Anil holds the Indian record for the fastest 100m sprint

At 10.3 seconds

Take a second to let this settle in

The difference been Usain Bolt and Anil Kumar Prakash is 0.8 seconds

Less than a second

Less

Than

A

Second

!!

The difference between glory and a missed attempt at it, isn’t that huge after all.

And yet, it remains the toughest bridge to cross

As the world becomes more and more comfortable, it isn’t becoming any easier to succeed.

The standards of success remain brutal

It doesn’t matter what you say, people will understand it in their context, through their lens, colored by their biases, driven by their experiences

That could lead to the false conclusion – “why does it even matter what I say?”

Or

the better conclusion

“Instead of saying what I want to say, can I attempt to be understood?”

The words don’t matter

The intent does

We learn the most when we least expect the lesson

Somehow the jerk, the surprise leaves an impression that’s hard to erase, ignore or forget.

The beauty though – is that by the same measure one can’t plan for such lesson

They just happen

Maybe that’s what they call experience

One of my personal favorite questions during an interview is

What do you think matters more – the institute from where you story or the course that you study?

Over years, there is an emerging pattern. Individuals performing external facing roles (sales, marketing etc) invariably say the institute name matters more. While internal facing roles say the course

Might be easy to explain. A good institute name can take you far in life. Present a socially desirable image of yourself

A course might find it hard to achieve this

Here, is hands down the best response I received in all these years

The institute matters more to me. Because that determines the peer group I will be studying with. And while the best course will simply allow for the best content to pass through, the best institute will allow for the best learning to happen, irrespective of the course.

I felt this was a powerful way of looking at things.

The course you study doesn’t determine your education. Your surrounding does.

Congratulating an entrepreneur on raising funds is like congratulating a chef on buying vegetables

It’s a milestone well passed

But not a journey that’s yet over

You are smart enough to predict what will happen

But are you wise enough to know how to react, when it does happen?

You are amazing
because
you read my mind, you comfort me, you say exactly what I WANTED to hear at that moment

or

You are amazing because
you speak your mind, you direct me to the truth, you say exactly what I NEEDED to hear at that moment

Its easy to find people amazing if they agree with you
Instead
Find people that care enough to help you find a better you

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