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I take a course at a business school. And there is no final exam for that course. Just one question instead 

“List at least 3 things you learnt during the course”

All those who list 3 things fail the exam. 

“List at least 3 things you learnt during the course”

We are all fucked up in our heads to believe that success is determined by the world. 

The 3 things define my success

The task my manager has given to me defines my success

The call my spouse has asked me to make everyday defines my success

The career my parents have asked me to pursue defines my success

This much money defines my success

And yet, one simple glance at all those who we define as successful, will prove conclusively that none of them took the world’s definition of success as theirs. 

Successful people are scared to define what success is. 

They are scared they might reach it one day and wouldn’t know what to do thereafter. 

Do yourself a favor

Don’t let the world define success for you. Don’t even define it yourself.

No one says this about Facebook. Or Amazon. Or Craigslist.

People hated the new logo of Uber – but no one is complaining now.

Unfortunately – we have been hard wired to believe that looks matter. Because we have seen people get away with that, for a large part of our lives.

And we equate products with people.

Pretty products – need to be useful – to be loved. Else they are just that – pretty.

And being pretty doesnt suffice. Not for the user.

The next time you have the urge to “design” a pretty product – think of the verb that the customer would use to define the product, when they see it for the first time.

If they use the word pretty – you have done a shoddy job

Go back to work!

A stranger writes in to you

“Hey, i just read your blog. I don’t agree with it. You came across as full of yourself!”

For most people their first reaction in their head will be “fuck off. He doesn’t even know me to say what he said. Ignore” 

Some might respond – explaining. 

Some might confront. Some might abuse. 

Picture another scenario 

A stranger writes in to you 

“Hey – I just read your blog. It’s awesome. I am so inspired” 

Most of us will pat ourselves on our back. Feel great. Self worth will increase. 

Some will reply with a generous thank you. Some will go awwww

Now enact the same thing with a really close friend of yours 

Your friends honest critical view of yourself will hurt you more than a stranger’s would 

And his authentic praised for you will most likely be dismissed. Heard but not valued. 

Ironic, isn’t it? 

We dismiss genuine appreciation from a known quarter. And genuine feedback from a stranger. 

It fits into our worldview that this truth isn’t as valuable. 

When that’s precisely the truth that one should listen to and reflect upon. 

Criticism from strangers and appreciation from loved ones is the only mirror ever produced. 

You get up in the morning 

You have the check boxes ready – your schedule, your tasks, people, email, coffee. 

Or you don’t – it’s a day you will figure as you go along, but then that too is part of the plan. No plan is your plan. 

Almost makes it sound predictable. Not the outcome, but the way you wish to live the day. 

There is a certain desire to predict the day. 

How about you let go of that feeling? 

Do something you have never done before. Outside of your comfort zone. Outside of the predictability. 

Don’t let your need for predictability take away the surprise out of today. Surprise yourself. Today. 

Intelligent people find it hard to say no, when asked for a solution to a problem 

Intelligent people think that if something takes “just a little time” it should be done right away 

Intelligent people think handling urgency is helpful 

Intelligent people are addicted to instant gratification (and acknowledgement) 

Intelligent people are always flexible with their plans. I am accommodating, they say. 

Intelligent people are cursed. 

By their own intelligence. 

Those who are not, are called smart 

Smart people recognize that the work they are doing right now is for a reason. 

It may not have an output in 2 days, but if their postpone it to pick something else, they will delay the future. 

Smart people know the difference between urgent and important 

Smart people are not flexible with their plans. Only with their thoughts. 

And that’s why you find intelligence in abundance

And smartness rarely

My road to office is a pretty smooth one. Takes me around 35 mins to reach and it’s a fairly uninterrupted ride.

Occasionally, we get stuck. Maybe a truck broke down, or someone hit someone else.

At that point, when we are in a jam, it doesn’t matter whether you car can do 0-60 in 3 seconds, it doesn’t matter how much fuel you have, it doesn’t matter how expensive your car is and it doesn’t matter when you left and how far you have to go.

Instead, other strange things seem to take over

– the music you are listening to

– the company you have

– the patience you have

– what you tell yourself

When stuck in life, the things that brought you to that point might not be the things that get you out of the jam. 

I have red-green color blindness. Which means, when you see the image below you see a number. And I don’t see anything 

No pattern at all. Just dots 

  
But hey, that’s the world I was born in. It’s my world. 

And it’s perfect. 

Except

It’s not! 

My world is not perfect. It’s incomplete. It’s perhaps even inadequate. How would I even know. 

Yes, I can make do with what I have and still rule the world. But the fact doesn’t change of what my world really is. 

And the sooner I realize this fact and accept it, the better I will be at dealing with it. 

Imperfections are like humans. They need recognition. And acknowledgment. 

Mathematicians and physicists are trained to always identify the boundaries and operating constraints, while solving a problem. 

And yet, the best ones perhaps didn’t pay any heed to those boundaries. 

They started from first principles. 

The minute you start your problem with identifying the boundary, you have closed some doors. Closed some perspective. Perhaps closed your mind too. 

“We only have this much money” 

“We don’t have more than these people”

“This technology doesn’t exist”

“No one has done this before”

“We have never done this before”

The best solutions never defined the starting boundaries. 

They didn’t even acknowledge their existence. 

You toss a coin. There is a 50% chance it will land as tails. But it doesn’t. Heads it is. 

You toss again. Heads again

And heads again

And heads again

And heads again

With 5 heads in a row, when you toss the coin the 6th time, guess what’s the likelihood of tails landing up? 

Again 50% 

Doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result is insanity (Einstein) 

It’s also probability (Warikoo) 

And probability only changes when you change something material. 

The next time you are working really hard, hoping that the work itself will influence probability, ask yourself – what did you change from what you used to do? 

If nothing – go back and change the probability. 

One always wonders – what makes people successful. 

Ambition

Determination

Hard work

Intelligence

Passion

Several other powerful words

To me, it’s a lot simpler. 

Those who are successful BELIEVE that they are worthy of that success.