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Words. Wisdom. Winners.

Best lesson of 2015

Unless you are relentlessly open and honest in your communication, every single day, things fall apart. 

100% of failures and problems can be traced back to poor communication at some level

Dec 31st

Humans, by design, crave for security and comfort. And we call it different things 

Structure 

Predictability 

Familiarity 

Logic

Dec 31st is the biggest structure created by mankind. 

Nothing changes that day or the day after. 

The sun doesn’t reset. Nor does the clock. 

Climate doesn’t change. Nor do the people around us. 

What changes though are emotions 

Every single individual out there resets their emotions on dec 31st. 

Reflect on the year gone by. Predict the year to come. Make promises. Correct the mistakes from the past. Plan ahead. 

The 365 day structure makes us operate psychologically in a powerful way. Nothing else drives humans across the world in such a concentrated fashion. 

And I think

If the 365 day structure was man made. So can be the 1 day structure that I make. 

Resetting my emotions at the end of everyday. 

Reflect on the day gone by. Predict the day to come. Make promises. Correct the mistakes from the past. Plan ahead. 

Everyday is a Dec 31st

It’s your choice to have 1 of them in a year

Or 365! 

Problem with smart people 

I work with super smart people everyday. Individuals more driven and way smarter than I can ever be. 

But there is a common thread when I see how they work

They love solving. 

Anything! And everything! 

That comes their way

Being in constant solution mode will make anyone look and seem powerful. 

There is a situation – let me solve it 

The product is broken here – let me solve it 

Sales are not happening this month – let me solve it 

This guy is not performing – let me solve it 

I haven’t slept for 48 hours – let me solve it

But solving situations isn’t ever helpful. That doesn’t ensure the problem will not come back. It is tactical. It is short term. 

And some problems aren’t even problems, the way they are described. They are mostly reactions. 

Hence, ask yourself what is it that you are truly solving for? 

Is it worth your time

And your smartness

Don’t become a victim of your own smartness

Don’t solve all the time 

From 1200sqft to 60000sqft

  
The journey has been nothing short of fascinating. I wouldn’t trade this for anything else in my life. 

Humbled. 

Excited. 

Scared. 

Thank you

If someone sends a thank you note, out of the blue, to you or your team or someone else

There are 2 options you have
1. This guy seems genuine. He believes in thanking people and in comforting them. And maybe that’s what I need to do to him, because this is his worldview
2. Nonsense. Sending this note to earn brownie points. Fraud!

It is not hard to realize which of the two paths above has a higher chance of success
Suddenly, it doesn’t matter which of the two options are true!

Respect

Views on my Quora responses crossed 2Mn this Saturday – that’s a lot of people! 

My followers on Quora are touching 20,000 – adding me to the list of the Top 100 followed people in the world 

My TEDx talks on YouTube have now garnered over 200,000 views

I get fanmail. People even call me an online celebrity! 

You know what’s the truth about celebrities? It’s easy to become one. 

It is easy to garner respect from a distance. 

To say the right things in a considered manner 

To be immaculate and trained in front of a crowd 

It is easy to be liked, when people don’t know who you really are. 

What is hard – is to be respected when people get to know you. When they know your faults. And how you react to situations. And how you treat others. And how you treat yourself. 

Known respect is always greater than unknown respect 

And way more valuable 

Long Term

Those who know me well know that I grew up as a boy fascinated with Space and Astronomy. I wanted to always be the first man on Mars. The planet fascinated me. It captured my imagination.
Thereafter I gave up on the possibility of making this dream possible an academic perspective (when I dropped out of my PhD in Astrophysics). But the dream still lingers on – and hey, who knows!
But today, when I saw this video, it reminded me of a far bigger thing that just my dream. The video connected on several levels
(for a quick view, see the first 10 seconds, then skip to 2:50)
Thinking Long term
Is the hardest thing for people to appreciate
Is the easiest thing to dismiss
Is the most difficult to say yes to
Is what the world will tell you is not important right now
Is what will eventually define one’s existence
We are living in a world today where instant gratification is imagined to be the winner’s logic.
We live under that temptation everyday
Why are we not doing a TV ad today
Why aren’t we bringing all the features today
Why are we not running more aggressive promo codes today
Why aren’t we raising more money today
When the right question to ask is
What is it that I can be imagining today, doing today
something that a lot of people call stupid, or foolish or not important
so that day after tomorrow,
or even beyond,
I would have created something far bigger
than who I am today
Or will ever be

Feeling secure 

Reminder about all our present lives 

  • We are not in the best relationship we could have been in. There are better 
  • We are not in the best paying job we could have been in. There are better 
  • We are not driving the best car in the world. There are better 
  • We do not work with the best manager. There are better
  • We do not live in the best country. There are better 
  • We do not have the best life. It could be better

Whatever is it that you do and whosoever is it that you are, there is something better

In that case, why are you afraid to change things around you? Why don’t you speak up? Why don’t you challenge the status quo. Why don’t you question the wrong? 

What is it that you fear? 

That feeling of security. That is a farce. You  have created it. The world hasn’t granted it to you. 

Shitty about me

When do you feel the shittiest about yourself?

Someone criticizes you? 

You fail? 

You eat too much? 

Someone says they hate you?

Your loved one doesn’t love you back? 

You aren’t inspired. Or can’t inspire? 

Feeling shitty is self imposed. You have created it. You can destroy it too. It doesn’t exist. 

What does exist is the reason behind it. And if the reason for your feeling is someone else, then don’t blame yourself. Don’t be harsh. It will pass. 

And if the reason is you yourself. And your actions. Then don’t blame anyone else. Fix it. 

The key to not feeling shitty is to find the source. And who not to blame. 

The first hop 

The biggest challenge when building a large company, is communication. 

How do you get everyone on the same page? 

How do you ensure everyone is working towards the right goals? 

How you dissapate information rapidly? And effectively? 

The trick lies in realizing that every hop will lead to 50% reduction. In clarity. In conciseness. In direction. In all the good things that matter 

So suddenly the first hop becomes the most critical layer. 

Chose the first hop wisely. 

It doesn’t matter what you say to them. What matters is what they tell the others. 

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