Blog

Your biggest enemy is not your competitor.
Or a newbie changing the world.
Or a viral trend you missed.

These are parts of life.

Your biggest enemy is someone who tells you that it is impossible for you to think beyond what lies in front of you. They make you think small because they want you to be one, even if unintentionally. It could even be your closest friends or family.

“You cannot move further.”

Anyone who tells this to you, is the one who is your responsibility to move further away from your life.

What is the role that we define ourselves by?

Am I a Product Manager?
A painter?
An engineer?
A leader?

Society has trained us to believe that we should be just one thing in our life.

However, none of the successful people in history - from Michelangelo or Albert Einstein to Bill Gates did just one thing.

They did multiple things, and that helped them excel in the one thing we know them for.

What if our role was not limited to just one title?
What if we could do everything that nudged our emotions?
What if we made this possible?

We have just one life.
Why live it with just one identity?

In the world of Shark Tank, massive funding and billion dollar outcomes, it is easy for people to think that the only definition of success for someone young is to start up.

Why would you want to work 9-5 at a desk job, for a salary, when you can be free building things, is what they ask.

And I say to them - a job early on in your career offers something immensely valuable.

1/ Financial stability
2/ An appreciation for planning, for process, for system
3/ Experience of working with teams, to make something happen

This is what a lot of people want, desire and deserve.

I know of FAR MORE PEOPLE who have been immensely successful professionally and financially, than I know those who started up.

You decide what you want.
And you go chase that.
Cherish that.
Grow that.

You do you.
And that is your success.

I stayed at a wonderful place for a week where I paid more than what I earned in a year at my first job.

Am I surprised everyday at how far I have come?
Yes!

Do I believe it’s all my doing?
Not at all. It’s insane luck at play.

Does that stop me from showing up everyday?
Thankfully not.

Grateful for everything.
Entitled to nothing.

Children should cry from only happiness and pain.

Not resentment and suffering.

Each time we say no to someone, we think we are saying no to our capability of helping.
We think we are saying no to our ability to solve problems.

The reality, however, is that we are saying no to someone else because we want to be respectful of what’s important for us.

This is one of the fondest memories of my childhood.

My Sanskrit exam was in a week.
And I was certain I would fail the exam.
Our teacher was so boring. Uninspiring.

Ma saw that I was scared.
She wrote a letter requesting the daughter of our temple priest to tutor me.
She had a Masters in Sanskrit.

I topped the exam!

It turns out that a good teacher can change your life.
And that good teacher needn’t be found in school or college.

One of the big mistakes people make while seeking out help, is being disrespectful of people's time.

"I want to be respectful of your time so I will keep it short. I am confused about my career and don't know what to do. Please help."

"I am looking for help to connect me to investors. Attached is my business plan. Let me know your feedback"

Both these examples lack empathy. They make it hard for people to help them.

Because in order to help them, they will have to spend time understanding the context, synthesizing it and then figuring how they can be of help.

Not something most people will do.

The best way to get help is to make it easy for people to help you by being specific.

Find the manager who saw your errors and still chose to trust.

Find the investor who saw you fail and still chose to support.

Find the friend who saw your ills and still chose to love.

Find the partner who saw the worst of you and still chose to stay.

Could happen in a professional relationship.
Could happen even in a personal relationship.

As difficult as it may seem, start with stopping to blame.
Neither you, nor them.

Till the time we keep pointing fingers, we won’t get centred.
It would simply compound our misery.

And when we stop pointing fingers, ask ourselves: “What is this trying to tell me?” What is this situation trying to tell me? What can I know about myself that I didn’t know before?

The best thing that comes out of a bad experience are great lessons.