Blog

I dropped out of my PhD in the US.
100% scholarship.
Handsome stipend.

Yet, because I was not happy, I decided to quit.

Someone asked me the other day (almost 18 years after that happened), “Would you still drop out if you had sponsored your education, instead of it being on a scholarship?”

It got me thinking.
No one had ever asked me this question before.

And the answer is no.

I would not have quit.

I come from very humble backgrounds.
Not born with a silver spoon.
Hand-to-mouth existence for the longest time

So affording an international education in itself would have been a dream come true, which I would not have abandoned.

That is why, I suggest everyone make their life decisions based on their own life.

You are not living my life.
I am not living your life.
And you are certainly not living any influencer’s life.

Your life. Your choices.
Use the content you see online to get inspired. Not to mimic.
And you will be more than fine :)

We all love awards. 

Even I did.

I won Fortune 40U40 for 2 years of the 4 years I was CEO of Groupon India.

It was a lovely role.
Great money,
Global role,
High visibility – but not that required a lot of effort. 

And then I started nearbuy.

The BEST years of my life.

Worked my best, built a great team, a whole new brand from scratch, managed massive lows while celebrating immense highs. 

And I never won the award again!

Goes to show that the award is rarely paid to the person.
It is paid for the role. 

True for every award.
True for every job. 

What to do if I have to give up on my dreams?
It is heartbreaking to give up on your dreams.
I understand.
However whenever someone asks me this question, here is what I tell them:

1. Realise that the thing you gave up in lieu of that dream is also your dream.
2. It may be a need, it may be a compulsion, however, that is also something you can turn into your own dream.
3. Even in the moments you are not making a choice, you are making a choice. And that makes you feel more comfortable.

The first dream may not always come true.
However, for the new dream that you pick up, may make you come more alive through that. If you choose to :)

You will free yourself the day you stop blaming your parents for what they did to you.

Maybe they did a lot of wrong.
However, if you give it back to them, aren’t you behaving exactly the manner you didn’t want to be treated?

Forgiveness does not mean condoning.
Most cases, it also does not mean living together.
However, if we don’t forgive them, we are eventually letting their flaws live free in our head.

And you wanted to be a free bird, isn’t it, my friend?
The best time to let go of what weighed you down was yesterday.
The second best time is today.

A routine is a system.
A system that designs your day.
A system that controls your day.
A system that tells you that you are the master of your day, and no distraction can take you over.

It does not need to be close to anyone else’s – you may design what gives you the best energy.
And live by it.

You will only be surprised by the results the routine gives you.

A routine isn’t imprisoning. Rather it is the only thing that is truly liberating.

The most dangerous people in the world are not the ones who fail.
Not the ones who make mistakes.
Not the ones who are struggling hard.

None of these.

The most dangerous people in the world are those who are not willing to change.
Whether they failed, or became successful.

If they failed, they won’t reflect enough to become successful.
If they succeeded, they would fall in love with their winning formula, instead of growing beyond it.

Change is the only constant.
And the more we run away from it, the more we truly need it.

Rejection isn’t a vice.
It is a door to learning more.

Be curious. Know what you don’t know. Let your mind be filled with wisdom instead of emptiness on failing.

And sooner than you know, you will look forward to failing than to running away from it.
Which, is true success :)

Failure is a win, if you choose it to.

I am useless.
I can’t focus.
I am distracted.
I lack discipline.
I cannot workout.

I matter.
I am supremely focused.
I can do what I want to do.
I am the most disciplined person I know.
I am someone who is always consistent with their workouts.

We are the stories we tell ourselves.
Every single moment.

I am a proponent of documenting your journey.
So that others could be inspired from.

However, you do not have to share every opinion you have.

Balanced.
Thoughtful.
Not disrepectful.

Share authentically, however, with wisdom. And certainly not unfiltered :)

The battle is not with your boss.

Or with your friends.

Or your colleagues.

Or your family.

Or your relatives who judge you.

The battle is in the mind.
Which is exactly the place you will win it.