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Don’t laugh too hard.
Stop doing that.
Don’t behave like that.
Talk like that. Be this way.

We’re always telling our kids what they should and shouldn’t do. Their life becomes a rulebook instead of a blank slate with infinite possibilities.

What if we taught our kids how to think?
What if we allowed them to create another path, instead of wishing them to walk on a replica of where we went?

The best thing to teach our kids is teaching them how to think.
And then trust them to figure things out.

You want a college senior’s help.
Or you want to reach out to a founder to seek their input on your business idea.
Maybe you want to reach out to someone experienced for just guidance. 

And quite often, we think we do not have anything to offer in return.
But that’s not the truth.
You do have something to offer.

The only difference is, it isn’t in return.
It is in advance.

What you can offer them is clarity on how they can help you.
You may have to research them online.
See what piques their interest.
Think about what you could do to have their attention.

And then, pitch them with your offering and the ask.

If you want to be helped, the best way is to start by helping them understand how.

You want your point to be heard.
After all, you are right. 

The other person also believes the same. 

The reality is that both of you are right.
With a different lens to view the world.

The best way to win the conversation, then, is to listen to them. 

It is in listening to them that we will also feel heard.
Don’t try to win conversations, try to have them instead.

We are starting something new.

A new job.
A new relationship.
Moving to a new city.
And we’re scared. 

We fear that we might fail.
However, what is it that we are really afraid of? 

Failing, or what will people think of us once we fail? 

All of us fail. All of us are scared of it.
But when we introspect and get comfortable with what will make us uncomfortable in the first place, the failure suddenly doesn’t look scary! 

Failure is a probability of an outcome that will occur. We can’t avoid it.
What we can change is how we deal with it by asking ourselves the question: 

What is it that I am afraid of?

We are starting something new.

A new job.
A new relationship.
Moving to a new city.
And we’re scared. 

We fear that we might fail.
However, what is it that we are really afraid of? 

Failing, or what will people think of us once we fail? 

All of us fail. All of us are scared of it.
But when we introspect and get comfortable with what will make us uncomfortable in the first place, the failure suddenly doesn’t look scary! 

Failure is a probability of an outcome that will occur. We can’t avoid it.
What we can change is how we deal with it by asking ourselves the question: 

What is it that I am afraid of?

In a job, we often ask ourselves such questions: 

What do I want?
Why am I not being given what I was promised?
What is it that I like doing? 

Essentially, we want our needs to be attended to while in a job. 

However, no company does anything for us; whatever they do is largely for their own good.
If it helps you in the process, great! 

How can one find success working in such a setup?
By asking ourselves a question: “What can I do to be successful?” 

Success at work isn’t about our expectations being met.
Success at work is about asking what is needed to be successful.

What should I do in my life?
How to know what is right for me?
What if I make the wrong decision? 

When we are thinking about decisions in our 20’s, no decision is a bad decision. 

You are so early in the game that your first steps won’t determine your final destination.

However, the way you take your decisions will set up habits for the entire journey ahead. 

The decision that will hurt you the most is not making one while waiting to take the right one!

When something doesn’t go the way we wanted it to, our brain goes into default mode of imagining the worst-case scenario. 

They’re not acting the way they should.
They don’t like me.
They must think I am useless. 

But what if this imagined world is just that. Imagined?
How would we ever see it differently from reality? 

Before you assume, try this crazy thing: Ask!

You hate your job.
But you have a wonderful family life.
And you tell yourself that your life is balanced. 

But is that even possible? 

Can we be a totally different person in our work, from our personal life?
Is it possible to feel fulfilled with family if our work hours are stressed out? 

Humans do not live in different boxes.
Our life, our happiness (and lack of it) is one indivisible whole.

We want to build that product.
Create a community of like-minded people.
Change the way things work. 

But there is a lack of time.
Or we are not sure if the idea will succeed. 

What will people say if we fail?
How will we ever know the result until we do the work? 

Intentions hold power only when they’re backed by actions.
Otherwise, they’re the lies we are hypnotizing ourselves with. 

A year from now you will wish you had started today.