14 Dec 2025. 15 Dec 2025. Sunday. Starbucks, Versova.
I’ve not written this more than 2 weeks now. Last post was this on Nov 24 or something.
Since then, a couple of things happened.
A, I had to travel on two consecutive weekends.
And b, I was not in the zone to write. I mean I could write but I was shrouded in darkness. I mean it. I am not sure if I am still out of it. But I know I will be. This is a recurring pattern where I go on a roller coaster and come out alive on the other side. And no, writing today doesnt mean that I am out of the woods. Just that I need to prevail.
Also, I think this is the time of the year when I get extra sad. For the simple reason that this is when I take a deeper stock of my life (you know, end of the year). And at the end of each year I realise that I am not worth a lot.
This “worth a lot” is subjective.
At least in my case, I attach a lot of value to my “accomplishments” (in terms of money, reach, impact etc). And on none of these pieces, I have done a lot. And thus the seasonal depression sadness. Plus, may be the Vitamin D levels are wrecking havoc. And that may be compounded by winters?
This reminds me, I need to start taking Vit D.
Funnily, with others, I am tad less harsh. When they tell me that they havent had a lot to show for their work, I am more kind and I offer encouragement. But when it comes to me, I am FAR more harsh. To a point that I overlook all the things that I worked on, shipped, enabled. Etc.
So that.
Anyhow. Moving on. The music of the moment is Mack Vocals, Rashmeet Kaur, Zombie. I have way too many links to individual tracks to drop. So I will do the next best thing – not drop any. You have to do yourself the service of listening to Mack Vocals. Please.
And with that, we come to the review!
PS: I will use a different format to write this.
💭 Highlights, reflections, updates and notes
As always, these are not in any order.
1/ #in2026
I have decided that in 2026, I will try to cut on my social media usage. I have outlined some reasons here. At some point, I will write a longer post. But for the time being, I am prepping to go fishing.
I will use my main phone as a dumb phone (AKA, assistive access mode on an iphone). Or I will get a basic Android phone that I can use for calls, notes, OTP, banking, navigation, payments, podcasts etc.
I am flipflopping between what to do and how to do. On one side, the challenge is HUGE and I would love to get thru the grind of not having social media on my phone. This will test me in all manners. But on the other side, I will have to disconnect from any opportunities that may come my way. So that.
Oh, in 2026, the themes would be fitness and book2.
These two were to be the themes for #in2025 as well. And for many more years prior to that. Lol.
Apart from these two major ones, there are many smaller things that I would like to chase. Here is a list (and I will try to elaborate on these). And for a change, this list is in order….
Health and Book2. Reiterating, lest I forget.
Network. More in the subsequent lines.
Learning. Something. Deep. You know, like an absolute expert. Top 1% in the world kinds. Vibe Coding. Poker. Nutrition. Music. I dont know.
Writing (apart from book2). This must become my primary way of communicating with the world. I will also use YT Lives.
Move to another country. Each year I try to make the move. Each year I fail. I will try again in 2026.
Teach. I want to restart SoG or something. A place where I can surround myself with younger, more curious people. I know it will be incredibly tough without me being on the internet. But I will try.
Wealth. I’ve made some milestones. A. I want to pay back all the loan I have on my head (about 40 lakhs). B. Once I’ve done A, I want to earn about 3.5 crores (to be able to pay my team well). And then, after A and B, I want to chase financial freedom.
Travel. One trip at least with Vivek. At least a couple with my parents. Maybe one with Poo. So that’s 4 already. Let’s see how many of these happen.
Oh, and no, this is not the goalsheet for the year. That’s a separate post and conversation. Watch out for that. Last year I missed it. This year, I dont want to.
On Network, while at C4E and then at Meru, I learnt that I know a lot of people. And some of those people know me back. And yet when I need help or inputs from those people, I am unable to move them. I get, what they call blank shots. I get a lot of gyaan and advice and all that but the real thing that matters – money, network, access – I dont get any of that.
So, I will be deliberate about finding people who are open with their wallet, phone book and other things.
In terms of tangibles, I want to know 100 people who can give me a crore each. And then start a VC fund in the next 5 years. #in2030.
And OMG, what writing! I am sure the story is a bit of exaggeration and some bit of corporate corrections but the writing is top notch. I am a fan of the author, Megha Vishwanath.
I’ve written a few biographies in life and I would love to write more. And I want to now “compete” with Megha for the quality of writing. May be I need to first put riyaaz in and write better.
3/ Free man…
One of the quotes that I use a LOT is this…
I find I’m so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain.
– Red, The Shawshank Redemption
While thinking about it in some context, I spotted this one from Kerouac…
Source: Unknown.
And then while chatting with Arti about life and all, she said something incredible. She said,”thats a good start..unlimited possibilities :)”
And I realised, what a great place I am in life! To have so much going for me!
4/ Ananta Quest
Over the weekend I attended Ananta Quest, an event by Sanjay Mehta, Aditya Save and their team.
It was one of those moments where I saw many mentors find their next step. And in my own tiny, insignificant way, I was responsible for getting them together. And no, I am not taking any undue credit for anything that happened there. But I love the fact that many people I love got together to do things that they find joy and salvation in.
I really want to do more of this.
Oh, I also learnt a lot of things about myself while I was there. The primary one, I would love to be a part of the events business in some way. And then the secondary one, I dont want to do events business ;p
5/ Docu on theatre
I have another itch that I want to scratch. Make a documentary on the lives and times of theatre professionals. You know, what excites them, what moves them. Why do they do what they do.
I’ve fired some shots. So far, no outcomes. I need to find a way to move this forward. But then I also need to find a way to focus. Let’s see when or how I do so. Ofc, there is a large chance that I dont do anything on this – you know, time, focus, priority etc.
N/ Misc things that am wondering on…
In no order.
1/ How can people work without a mouse? I know people know a lot of shortcuts on the keyboard but I am too old to do so. I’ve even seen those Excel competitions and World Cups where people type faster than I can thing and make castles on excel!
2/ Studying / Learning. I dont know how people learn after they are old. I enrolled in a nutrition course and I am unable to learn anything from there. To a point that I have stopped attending classes! And no, I’ve not given up. I will be back in action from the next month.
3/ Anti FOMO. I forgot what I wanted to write here.
4/ House of Cards. I’ve been itching to see House of Cards all over again. To me, it’s way too long (I estimate it to be about 70 hours of total runtime across episodes and seasons) and even if I were to give it one hour per day (which is a lot in the first place), the “project” would take me more than 2 months. I dont know if I want to commit to this long a project.
I can download and see on transits or flights. No, not flights. I want to write on flights. Lets see.
5/ Driving License. I need to renew my driving license and I am lost in the maze between the RTO websites and non-helpful call centres. I am thinking I will apply for a fresh license (assuming I can do so!)
Early startups don’t fail because people don’t work hard. They fail because momentum leaks through hesitation, politeness, and unspoken assumptions. People hesitate to interrupt. They soften asks. They work around blockers instead of confronting them. They wait, assuming someone else will respond, decide, or notice. Each instance feels reasonable. None feel like failure. But together they create drag. Speed is not hours worked or how fast code is written. Speed is how quickly a team surfaces friction and resolves it. Speed is whether blockers are confronted immediately or politely avoided. Speed is whether decisions are made explicitly or left implicit. That’s why speed is a cultural property, not a process. You cannot add it with meetings, tools, or policies. It emerges when a team shares the same internal bar for urgency, ownership, and “all-in.” Early teams that win are not nicer or more organized. They are less ambiguous.
Made me think.
I am guilty for being way too polite (I think) and I am often way too soft. I need to be able to help people differentiate between politeness, kindness and “reasonable action”. More on this over the next few days.
This is about it. No other large sections. Like I said, I’ve been weirded out for the last few weeks. Should be back in action soon.
PS: I am not happy how this has turned out. But I want to ship at this time. And then think about other things.
PPS: This series of posts is inspired by Thej and his weekly notes.
The play made me think about many things. Trying to articulate here.
1/ What makes theatre folks get out of bed everyday? There are hardly any people in the audience and there is hardly any money to be made. The ROI from just the time spent is disappointing. I know that each thing is not about ROI. Do they go thru this grind cos it’s a stepping stone towards Bollywood dreams? Is it the excitement of being under the spotlight? What is it? I must investigate. Meet some theatre people and investigate!
2/ The story yesterday is about a writer and his moral dilemma. I dont want to go into too many details and spoil it, but he said that he’s not creative and he can only write about what he feels at this core.
This sounds scaringly similar to how I feel and think and write. I dont write from imagination but from what I’ve felt. Otherwise the words wont flow. In fact, I need inspiration from IRL events and folks to write. Most things in TNKS was inspired by real events. May be the reason am struggling with Caravan Serai is that I dont have access to any large real events from the past that I can take inspiration from.
3/ Towards the end, the writer says that hes a blot on the world of art. Again, not going into details but as someone who takes inspiration from real things, I dont think he’s a blot.
His methods may be extreme and questionable but I can relate to what he did and why he did. If I was any strong, I would probably choose the same path. Does that make me a bad person? I dont know. Will that make me a better write? I dont know. Do I have the balls? No!
4/ I think I want to direct this play. I will try and reach out to the theatre company and see if I can produce and direct this play.
In fact, if you are a theater company that’s looking for a director (and maybe a patron willing to support) and give me this opportunity to direct, please do let me know. And may be connect me?
My recent experience as a Gold Member for Air India.
Took this photo a few years ago. From an iPhone.
Today a few day ago, in the morning, the entire Mumbai airport was empty, except two islands – E and F. These two had probably 500 people in serpentine queue that spilled till outside the airport terminal. And these were of the Air India check in counters. And I was flying with Air India.
This anyway sounds like a horror story for people who take flights often and since this was 5:30 in the morning, most people in the queues were in zombie state and in various stages of anger, resignation and restlessness.
I was mentally prepared to skip the flight and take the next one only to not stand in the queue. My bank balance is testimony to my stupidity to avoid queues. In fact, I’ve have designed my life to avoid traffic and queues as much as I can. I leave painfully early in the day to reach painfully early and often the coffee shops that I’ve made into safe havens (from traffic) are still not open. I come back late in the night when the only traffic on the road is from folks who are drunk on life and high on social dos. I dont go to meetups outside of walking distance of where I live. I choose to work from a Starbucks that is a stone’s throw away. And now that there is an airport about 15 mins from my home in Delhi, I try and take flights to that one (just that Air India doesn’t fly there).
Coming back to the sea of sleepy people on the platform for check-in.
Thankfully, I asked one of the ladies about a different counter for Gold members. And she pointed me to a hidden island. Just at the mention of that, I jumped like 100 feet in the air.
Now, at the counter for Gold and above, there were more airline staffers than the passengers. There were more counters open than the wait staff hoping to usher people into those empty counters.
And at the counter, there were more ushers than the travellers to tag the bags with such care as if they were fragile babies. And they placed your bags on to the belts as if they were handling a radio active substance. And no, there was no drama about extra weight on the bags. Not for my bag. Not for pther people’s bags. You could just take as much. I saw a family of 4 with enough bags to start a new life. May be they were on the way to do that!
And then as I walked from there to security, I could see the security area was so empty like it was plagued. I tried to pass through it but I was stopped by the security folks because I was in premium economy. Lol, oxymoron.
Luckily since the airport was empty, save for the Air India islands that was moving slower than a snail, the general area security queues were non-existent and I could breeze through that. So the long queue at check-in did work in my favor.
But the point is, if I didnt have this Gold Card that I bought (not earned; as part of Vistara Credit Card that I’ve since closed) I would have been mindfucked. And I would have spiralled into a dungeon of fuckery and drudgery.
I think the validity of my card extends till beginning of next year (about 2 months to go). I thus need to find a way to get the Gold status again. I dont take enough flights anymore to earn the status by itself but I am willing to pay a card fee to acquire this to avoid hassle. Lemme research on that.
In fact, I think I should encourage each of my people to get this gold thing. I think it’s worth the money, especially because air travel is such a high involvement service!
Oh, btw, I wrote this from a premium economy seat that was not very comfortable. I prefer the emergency exit seats. And the next milestone in life is to only fly business class. I think I am 5 years away from that. Let’s see if I can make it happen any sooner.
I had a busy week. Not busy but hectic. I was about town and had some work. Here’s notes and thoughts from the week gone by.
PS: I was half in the mind to not do this (because I am already on Monday night) but then I thought, jaisa bhi hai, karte hai.
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💭 Highlights, reflections, updates and notes from the past two weeks
And no, these are not in any order.
1/ Year Compass
It’s that time of the year where I will take print-outs of Year Compass and fill it in.
I’ve been using it for a while to figure how the year went by and what I plan to do in the next. If you are also the productivity kinds and like to reflect, this could be an interesting tool. At least I have benefitted from this. You may want to check this out.
I find the tool very very useful. It makes me go thru my calendar, photos, conversations, notes, thoughts etc and allows me to spot my mistakes. This also keeps me on track in terms of what I want to do and how far I am.
Most years, I make elaborate plans and from whatever I plan, I only get to do a fraction of things and that’s ok. I am hard on myself and unless I have goals that are larger than myself and my aukaat, no point putting those goals in place.
Even if this this is not for you, I urge you to see it once.
Pro Tip: Download the Digital-A4 version, take two sets of printouts and work with a pen and paper (not iPad / Comp). And on the first, write everything. And on the second refine. And use the second one as your report card for 2025 and then the roadmap for 2026. And if you do take this advice and work on it, please share your plan with me. May be we can help each other get to those goals?
I am glad to report that I didnt have coffee this week. And, as I write this, today’s monday evening and I am yet to have coffee!
And I went to Starbucks only twice. I did goto other coffee shops (but did not order coffee).
To be honest, I dont miss coffee as much as I miss the feeling of sitting at a table and working on things. I am trying to make my home the place where I sit and work but I like to see some chaos around me. I think co-working spaces are the best bet for me. I need to find a good one around me. And around wherever I go.
So, do I want to continue not having coffee? I am not sure.
I want to not be a leech and I want Starbucks to survive their India journey. The other day I read that even though they’ve been here 12 years, they are still in the investment mode! Wow! If they were backed by a VC, I am not sure they’d survive this long. They would already be on the death bed!
I said, When I am on my death bed, who would I want to be next to me? And who are the people who would drop everything and come see me on my death bed?
This means that while I will have friends and acquaintances and all that, going forward I would allow a very small number of people to get thru the defences.
Also, the point is moot. I dont think I would want to have anyone next to me when my time comes. I would rather be with strangers and all that and not have any of my loved ones see me.
So that.
4/ Warikoo’s Team’s Salary
Warikoo made his team’s salaries public. Many things came from there on. Here’s a list.
I pay more than Warikoo! And yet I am unable to find great talent.
I love the radical transparency with which he runs the business. I run mine with a lot of transparency as well but he takes the cake.
Great people (I know at least one person who works for Warikoo and I made an offer to pay her 2X of what she makes) choose to work with people who have great personal brands. I dont have it. I need to work on it.
As much as people are important, performance is important as well. This has been a problem for me. I need to index higher on performance. I will do that going forward. It will be tough – primarily because I dont know how to go about it – I’ve never known how to do this. Plus its not something that I can read from book. Its about people and thats messy and all.
There was more but I forgot. I may come back to this.
5/ Magic of IRL meetings and Power of Handshakes
I bumped into a former client the other day. And it was a fantastic meeting. From getting to see his scars to seeing the human side of him to getting a new opportunity, I saw all of those happen in one one-hour interaction!
This is one of those things that COVID-19 has taken away from us – the magic of in-person conversations. While its more efficient I wish we can bring back these IRL meetings, handshakes and texture of people!
In fact, I had started to say no to IRL meetups (cos why travel) but I will get back to these IRL meetings. I will still figure the time and travel and all that.
Another lesson I learnt from him is the idea of panna faadna. I wrote about it here (section B). I think it needs a page on this blog but for the time being, I will replicate here.
Imagine our life is a notebook. Each person in our life is a page. And you can add as many pages in that notebook (once you meet new people). And then the page can extend to any length (depending on your relationship with them). And like any well-used journal or notepad, it can extend in all directions.
However, once you sort of break your relationship with someone (say, someone moves away from your life, someone does something uncool etc etc) you tear their page from your notebook. And then that’s that. You stop bothering about them. They become a stranger. You operate from a place of indifference. You are kind to the world, you are kind to them. You wish them success but you shall not partake in that. If they need help, you are not proactive. You let them come to you. So on and so forth.
He of course has a far deeper reason and philosophy. What I wrote is mine.
And yesterday, I tore one more page off my book. I wish the individual all the luck. I continue to love but I am no longer invested.
So, that.
This week, I tore two more pages from my life’s book. Both pages are relatively fresh and yet I cared deeply for them. One I’ve known for 2-3 years. The about 18 months. Both seemed to have outgrown me and took my patronage for granted. I dont expect that people I support put me on a pedestal but I expect them to be polite and respectful towards me.
Not worth ruminating. Made a note in my Roam. There are now 4 people there. I should re-read Meditations.
7/ Inevitable future
The world is changing fast and I dont know how to navigate. I am thinking, do I create a group of people I trust and talk about things there?
Some themes I see emerging…
Network
Atoms vs Bits
Personal Brand
Personalized Health
Hard Skills and Soft Skills
Interdisciplinary intelligence
I am sure there are many that I am missing.
So, I am thinking I will add people who I trust and who I was to be on my death bed. The idea will be to spot where we are (as individuals, as a group and as society) and what we could do as a collective to be a part of this inevitable future. I am not sure what shape would it take and who would I include in it. But this has been simmering in my head.
Give me thoughts? Ask me questions?
8/ Urban Poverty of Time
I was talking to C about something and I happened to mention Urban Poor. In one line, its the people who don’t have the resources and yet take on debt to appear of a certain strata to appease people around them.
Lately I’ve started to spot people who are poor with their time. You know, young people who are perpetually short of time and yet are travelling for concerts, going to meetups, joining board game groups, attending festivals that they have no clue about.
I see so many young people waste so much of their time on doing things that would seemingly get them acceptance and approval from the world around them. And then after they come back from these social dos, they are left scrambling to get things done and all that.
PS: I want to develop this idea a little more. Lets see where I get.
I have lived a life of “always yes” till I was 40. And my excuse was lack of focus. And undiagnosed ADHD. This served me ok – I learnt a lot. But in societal measures, this didnt serve me well.
And despite that, I continue to believe that one must say yes to everything. And I know a lot of people who are sharply focussed even at the age of 20.
So, you do what serves you (yes or no) and what has served your people. But this is worth reading and thinking.
10/ Harada Method
See this tweet. I have been a fan of Ohtani and how he’s built a deliberate life. I did not know that he was following Harada all this while.
Since then multiple tools and apps have popped up that help you visualise this Harada method. I have used goalpillars.com to visualise quiet a few. Here’s one.
The point?
You must try the method to build a map for your success.
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Ok enough!
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📷 Some Photos from the week gone by
Some photos that I took and save over the last week are here.
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🈺 LARGE objective from the week gone by?
I had two large things when I started this year. Book 2 and a yearly plan (that I’ve been writing for a long time. This year I couldn’t). And I just added health a few weeks ago.
No update from the last week. Plus now that we are close to the end of this year and I am working on Year Compass, I will probably make updates to this as we go along.
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☑️ So, what did I get done last week?
This is a one-line report on progress I made on various things that are important to me. I will only talk about things that I got done. Shipped. Not WIP.
On this as well, I dont have an update for the last weeks.
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📊 The tracker from the last week
Here’s the tracker. Publishing this after a while. Took a lot of effort 😀
10:30 AM Nov 15, 2025 Starbucks, Versova Completing this on morning of the Nov 17th
Its been two weeks since I’ve written this.
Life happened; which I will come to shortly. But if I look at the trend, I have been pushing these posts to alternate weeks for the last three weeks. Maybe I need to change the cadence to that?
So, a large part of why I’ve not been able to publish is that I no longer have free weekends. I don’t get the time to reflect on things and thus I don’t get time to write.
I don’t like this, to be honest and I would like to change. Lets see when and how.
The other thing is, this update takes well over 4 hours for me to write (over 2-3 sittings). Which I am ok to be honest. I think of this as my weekly journal that keeps me sane. Plus this gives me an illusion of control.
The messy part is to update the trackers. And I know that tracking is as important as the commentary. And I want to do a decent (not perfect, not great) job at it. The days when I feel I am unable to even do the decent, I tend to procrastinate. And then things spiral.
Ok, enough. Lets get started.
Oh, the tracks of the post are Rolling in the deep and Believer. The second link is to a playlist. Enjoy while you read this post.
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💭 Highlights, reflections, updates and notes from the past two weeks
And no, these are not in any order.
1/ Mahabharata
For context, I had taken a challenge to write 100 posts in 100 days, each inspired by a story from Mahabharata. And a lesson from thereon.
So, I failed. I have a lot of thoughts about that. While you can read the long post, the summary is – I tried and I failed. And unlike the time when I would get sad and beat myself over it, this time, I am giving myself a break. I acknowledge that I tried. And failed. And I need to move on.
Also this has made me realize thats I need to work harder to find 1000 true fans. In fact, EACH of us must do whatever we can do find 1000 true fans. Krishna was here over the last few days and while talking to him, I realized that instead of you chasing money or learning, you MUST chase a 1000 true fans and once you get to that, life can be better.
As we speak, I have 3 true fans. In case you want to know more about it, here.
Apart from this, while I am on this, I must write about Paul’s Pathless Path. I’ve been reading the book and it’s very very interesting. And refreshing. Especially the stage of life I am at.
Inspired by this I am considering building a coaching practise. This is far cry from how I operate. In life I have not wanted to charge for my patronage – if anything, I give out a lot. Plus I believe that seekers need not be left behind because they cant pay. May be I will make it so expensive that only the ones with resources are able to buy? And ofc, I continue to offer my time for free to the ones that need it.
One of my largest values in life is that of kindness and politeness.
To a point that if you talk to me in a rude, condescending, undermining tone, you can expect me to walk out from even the grandest prizes on offer. I have done that in the past – one time I even put my entire company’s very survival at stake.
However, over the last few weeks, I have found myself being rude and unkind and impolite and short-fused and all that. Not just to strangers but also to folks I love.
Case in point, Riya.
I’ve known her for a while and she’s one of the smartest young people I know. Lately, she’s been working to help me build distribution for my work on the internet. She put together a podcast, a newsletter, an entire social media profile and more. A few days ago, on a tiny thing, I lost it and I spoke to her curtly. And I shouldn’t have.
I don’t have an excuse. If I was frustrated, I should’ve kept that to my self. If I were angry, I should’ve chosen better words. If I was not well, I should’ve pushed the call and not bring a bad self to that.
I will do better.
And Riya, if you are reading this, I am sorry.
3/ Health
Despite all the efforts by Dr H (via FOXO) and all the people around me, I cant seem to find a way to eat better. I cant seem to find a way to workout. And I cant seem to get any better.
I can see my energy levels go down. On Friday, I was with some friends and I was unable to even sit up. On Saturday, I had a splitting headache and I didn’t know what to do about it. I have this lingering pain in my back for so many days and I know I need to fix my posture but I havent moved my ass on it. So that.
I know that the answers are simple. I am also sure that things needed to be in the top decile of health for your age group are not tough at all. And yet, I am unable to do shit about it. And since I am a rationalizing human and a smart one at that, I blame the lack of focus on health to lack of money.
Lemme make my case here.
So, if you’ve been a reader of this blog, you’d know my fandom for Kuldeep. I read that he’s on GLP-1 and he lifts like 140 KGs and he’s got a weighing scale that costs 40000.
While his dedication is remarkable and the hard work he’s putting in great, I want to believe that a large part of his ability to be so focused is because of the resources he’s got – you know, afford a doctor to prescribe meds, buy things etc etc.
And yes, I do know that for every Kuldeep, there’s a, say, Fooldeep who doesnt have any money at all and YET does more than Kuldeep and is better than Kuldeep. For fucks sake, I could be this Fooldeep!
I mean, I do have some money. And instead of investing that in my personal brand, I can use that to build better health. I have been wanting to buy an air purifier. I want to join a fancy gym. I want to get a domestic help to cook. How tough is it for me to invest this?
NOT AT ALL!
I will have to cut EACH of my wants (you know, fancy devices, trips, dinners, gifts etc) and I should be ok. If I cut Starbucks from life, the money saved there would be enough to fund like three SG fitness projects.
Wait. May be that. What if I abstain from Sbux for a week? Will try and report.
Ok, moving on.
BRB, ordering a pizza for myself.
4/ Naval on Curating People
Naval dropped a new podcast. It’s titled, Curate People.
Like most things from Naval, this too is worth its weight in gold. I’ve heard is twice and I have made LOT of notes. He’s made the following chapters from the conversation…
On each, I found myself nodding vigorously.
I could relate to my experience. And I realised that I’ve been on the right path. Just that I’ve not been able to curate enough. In fact, the secret of my failure is hidden in plain sight. That I am not a genius and thus I am unable to find others to work with me. I could’ve attracted them with money but my ability to do so is limited as well.
Also, I relate this to what HT told me a few weeks ago (about not being apologetic and leading with confidence). May be this has been my anathema all this while? May be I continue to be a scatterbrain and yet offer confidence and clarity to folks I get to work with.
What say?
Oh and this brings me to the next point. Smartness and poverty.
5/ Smart and yet poor
I saw this quote and I felt a sucker punch to my gut.
“If you are so smart why are you still poor?”
I’ve of course believed all my life that I am among the smarter lot. And this gets reinforced most times I meet people (this also means I need to find better circles to hang around in). And yet I am poor. And I havent been able to spot the reason for poverty.
Lemme try to decode.
One thought is that my relationship with money is not the best one.
I often give it out more than I must. I also tend to not value my time and my energy enough to seek the commensurate monetary value. And I seem to run a leaky bucket – to a point that I piss off a lot of money in life – you know, Starbucks, Eating out etc. For context, last year, I spent about 5 lakhs on eating out, another 3 lakhs on Starbucks. And btw, just 21000 on clothes. Lol.
This year, these numbers are 3.5 lakhs on eating out, 1.7 lakhs on Starbucks and 19K on clothes.
Point? I can totally save these 5 lakhs if I get better habits.
Second thought is that I need to not leave so much on the table.
I suffer from the want of being likeable. By all. I want to be polite and nice and Mr Please Everybody Else. And because of this, I leave a lot of money on the table. And I dont ask others to do more. And I dont give candid feedback to people who dont.
Thing is, I need to find a way to stretch my money to do more. I want to demand value from the investment I’ve made. I have tried to pivot to being a demand person but I havent been able to change. This likeability is a core part of my identity and each time I have tried to change this, I have failed. So that.
Third thought is using money to please others.
Thankfully, I dont suffer from this affliction. I do things that please me and no one else. So that’s cool.
Fourth thought is Survival. And not growth.
This is a deep one. Some people are designed to take large risks and do more with their lives. I havent taken any large risks to be honest. I’ve only taken small ones. And with small risks come small results. So, I am mildly successful at best. And I am a “never was” (not a “has been”). And I can attribute this to my thing of finding a way to not die. Each time I am in a soup, I come out alive. I am not really on the edge. I am not that atomic explosion that blinds everyone for a ten second window and then the clouds of dust tell the story of that blinding genius. I am rather that candle that flickers and flickers and flickers till it runs out. There is no large announcements. There is no aftermath. Just a candle that was.
Fifth is my chase of freedom and relaxed life of today.
You have only two resources you balance – time and money. And you can do only two tradeoffs – live a tough life today (put in time, save money) and enjoy in the future or use money today to buy convenience (and time) so that your head is free to work on tasks that you need to apply your head to.
I’ve chosen the later.
And in fact, even on the later, I pay a lot of money to avoid mental fuckery. For example, a large part of my spends on Starbucks is to find an AC, comfortable seats, clean rest rooms et al. And not for coffee! I dont even like coffee that much! I am totally opposite of Marshmallow folks.
So may be I dont have enough that allows me to compound?
Sixth is my philosophizing.
Lemme start with a quote by SRK.
My father told me very early on in my life, he said, ‘If you are poor and you are crazy, you are called a lunatic. But if you are rich and you are crazy, you are called eccentric.‘
I cant find the source of this. But I hope you get the message. And I hope you can spot the lunatic in me.
Ok enough about money. I am bored. Need to move on.
6/ Punit Pania and Vishwas Sharma
One of the highlights of the last two weeks Punit’s live show.
I’ve been a fan of the guy and he really made me think so much. Of course he’s funny as well. You must check out his work. He narrated the story of Akbar and Tansen’s guru and left such an indelible impression on me. I wish I had it in me to be an artist and not a content creator.
The other highlight was Vishwas Sharma’s book – Berozgaar Engineer aur Gungi Gun ka Insaaf. Read it here. I’ve not read a good pulp fiction in a while and this one served everything you could ask for!
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📷 Some Photos from the week gone by
Some photos that I took and save over the last two weeks are here.
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🈺 LARGE objective from the week gone by?
I had two large things when I started this year. Book 2 and a yearly plan (that I’ve been writing for a long time. This year I couldn’t). And I just added health a few weeks ago.
I dont have an update for the last two weeks.
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☑️ So, what did I get done last week?
This is a one-line report on progress I made on various things that are important to me. I will only talk about things that I got done. Shipped. Not WIP.
On this as well, I dont have an update for the last two weeks.
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📊 The tracker from the last week
I am not publishing this. I hardly took note. I will get back next week.
I’ve been using it for a while to figure how the year went by and what I plan to do in the next. If you are also the productivity kinds and like to reflect, this could be an interesting tool. At least I have benefitted from this. You may want to check this out.
In case this is not for you, I urge you to see it once.
Pro Tip: Download the Digital-A4 version, take two sets of printouts and work with a pen and paper (not iPad / Comp). And on the first, write everything. And on the second refine. And use the second one as your report card for 2025 and then the roadmap for 2026.
I have lived a life of “always yes” till I was 40. And my excuse was lack of focus. And undiagnosed ADHD. This served me ok – I learnt a lot. But in societal measures, this didnt serve me well.
I continue to believe that one must say yes to everything. And I know a lot of people who are sharply focussed even at the age of 20.
So, you do what serves you (yes or no) and what has served your people. But this is worth reading and thinking.
I am here cos the Starbucks I hang out at, their AC is not working. And I literally melt when I am at a place without AC. And thus. And tbh, this is not a bad place. I dont see a lot of people who’d make the place creepy (like at Starbucks) and thus I like it. Lets see if I come here more often.
So, before I start the review, today’s SRK’s birthday. There was a time when I was a big fan (still am but I am wiser to not attach emotions to my fandom) and I would some day like to work with him. But for today, I am content with merely wishing him birthday from afar.
Thank you, SRK, for telling me what love could be. And what power of dreams could be. And what ambition could be.
💭 Highlights, reflections and notes from the past week
And no, these are not in any order.
a/ So this last two weeks, I wrote two posts. One about 25 questions. And the other about Piyush Pandey. He passed away a week or so ago and while the entire country was shocked, nothing seems to have stopped. Sobering lesson in Pale Blue Dot. And ego.
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b/ I need to fix my home situation. I have a 1 bedroom hall house. And I have AC in just one of the rooms. That means I work in that room and sleep in that room and host people in that room. And this means I have chairs, working table, my mattress and everything else in this room. And this means that it’s cluttered all the time and anything thats cluttered is dirty for me. And I dont like it.
I know only I can fix it. Either I need to find a solution or I need to stop crying. I was to do this over this weekend but I couldnt. May be next weekend.
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c/ Money mindedness Thanks to this post, I want to be a money minded man.
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d/ Saw a Tim Cook interview onboard AI1736 This one. I realised that he cant talk about Apple till date without talking about Steve. Even though it’s been like 15 years!
Also, I realised that each time I see a film, I want to be a film maker. I dont know in what shape!
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e/ A superquote on Spartans (from 300). “Spartans true strength is the warrior next to him. So give respect and honor to him and it will be returned.”
This is what I want to build as culture at each place where I am at. Strength thru others.
Yeah, just these. I do have a lot of notes and commentary. Do read.
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📷 Some Photos from the week gone by
Some photos that I took and save over the last two weeks are here.
The photo that I would like to highlight is this..
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🈺 LARGE objective from the week gone by?
I had two large things when I started this year. Book 2 and a yearly plan (that I’ve been writing for a long time. This year I couldn’t). And I just added health a few weeks ago.
Book 2 – There was no movement. Nothing to report. The trigger by NanoWrimo makes me want to start on it again. But I dont really have the time at this time : (
Yearly Plan – I dropped it long ago. Now its time to think about the plan for the next year. Lol.
Health – No large updates except the fact while I was in delhi, I actually lost a couple of KGs since I ate in discipline! Since I’ve come back, it’s been tough to manage eating well and I think am back to 93. Lets see how the next week is. PS: I track my health updates here, in case.
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☑️ So, what did I get done last week?
This is a one-line report on progress I made on various things that are important to me. I will only talk about things that I got done. Shipped. Not WIP.
Health
Meru
C4E
Brand SG
People (Family, Friends, Strangers, etc)
Book2
Shauk (Music, Films, Poker etc)
Health. Was ok. I am encouraged to give myself a 0.
Meru. Great progress. But nothing to report per se. And still no consumer launch. And thus a 0.
C4E. No action from my side. No comments. A 0.
Brand SG. Last two weeks was slow. So 0.
People. Some action on this. Met many friends, alums and others. Loved it. +1.
Book 2. Nothing. -1.
Shauk. Saw a play. Must watch more. A 0.
So the overall score for the week is 0!
Few weeks ago, I had decided that I want to get a positive score each week. I had to organise my life to be able to get to a 0. I think I’ve made the tracker. I need to run it now. Let’s see how it pans out in the next few weeks.
Brings me to the tracker of the week…
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📊 The tracker from the last week
I am not publishing this. I hardly took note. I will get back to this from next week on.
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🏃🏻♂️➡️ Health
Like the tracker, I am not publishing this. I hardly took note. I will get back to this from next week on.
“I found in my career that if you take pride in the little jobs, people will think you worthy of the bigger jobs.”
This is important cos I see so many people wanting to do large things but they are not willing to put in the reps required. And here’s the interesting thing – reps typically look like little jobs, done many times over!
Unfortunately, I didn’t appreciate this lesson enough early in my career. As an example, after graduating from business school, I thought I could come right in and impart my newly found wisdom, when I should have been a better listener and executed the mundane tasks with as much vigor as the more interesting ones.
This – if I could give this advice to young people, I would ask them to first listen and then act.
“Just focus on doing the best you can with those two reps. Make them as perfect as you possibly can. Then focus on the next two, and the next two, and the next two.”
And people are at it, I would want them to do one thing well. Little ironical since I am not the kinds to be able to focus on one thing!
2/ From the markers of Hey
I read this post from the makers of Hey. The biggest takeaway for me was this line,
But the most interesting designs to me are when design changes your behavior. Even the smallest details can change how someone interacts with something.
Thing is, as custodians and builders of taste, we must take each opportunity to change behaviour. Even if you are not a designer, the opportunity to impact change is always there!
3/ From the founder of Replit
From Amjad (founder of replit), on his recent post, he talks about how to win.
While I am not as competitive as him, I am in agreement with 4 of the 6 things that he mentioned – dont die, never quit, do hard things and put something back.
The one that I cant seem to wrap my head around is “locking in”. And I am not sure where I am on the “playing by the rules”. I am from India and to make things work, we often have to be flexible on rules and ethics.
This post talks about how to write a strategy presentation. As someone who worked on brand strategy for like 15 years, I can validate, this is spot on!
Instead of “I’m bad at this”. Say “This is new for me”. This gives your brain the space to learn instead of shut down. This is neuroplasticity in real time.
Interesting idea. Especially for me since at this age, I am finding very very hard to change how I have lived and operated.
Now, luck is one of the favorite topics and while I didnt learn anything new from the post, it was interesting to read from somoene else’s lens. Some lines that I’ve highlighted are…
A/ Unscheduled calls. I’ve started to make these lately. Not sure
Super-agent Ari Emmanuel makes dozens of unscheduled calls every day. His opening line: “Can I help you with anything right now?
B/ Luck Razor…
If stuck with 2 equal options, pick the one that feels like it will produce the most luck later down the line. I used this razor to go for drinks with a stranger rather than watch Netflix.
C/ Proactively make intros. On this, my only note is that I want to make intros once I realise that both the parties want to be introed. Ofc, I trust both parties, I know it would be of value and all that.
Networks are unique because they don’t divide when you share them — they multiply. There’s no higher ROI on any other 30-second activity. (Note — do not confuse this with making introductions where only one side gets value from it)
D/ Give!
Give aggressively, give early, give without permission.
E/ Permissionless entry into the rooms. I have been a GREAT beneficiary of this and I cant stop recommending this enough.
Find the most talented people you know and help them as much as you can, permissionlessly. Share their projects, give feedback, and make introductions. Successful people have a special place in their hearts for the people who helped them before anyone else did.
A young person discovering life. I wish each young person here gets to live such a life and pick lessons along the way. So many lessons packed into that one!
I found myself nodding and smiling at the words. Must read.
10/ Chat GPT on Longevity
This post on insta has some thoughts on longevity.
Not sure if this is correct (afterall, AI is known to hallucinate). Here are a commentary on the post…
Stress shortens your life more than sugar. I think I dont take stress but I am told that my Cortisol levels are not good. So need work on that.
Live now. I’ve lived my life with this principle. So am ok.
Don’t force yourself to stay in draining situations and do things that you are internally not opposed to. This means bad marriages, bad jobs, energy drains etc etc. Mostly I am ok to get out of those. But when I can’t I need to be faster to get out of those.
Deep connection matters more than any supplement. I need to double down my efforts on building more communities and being more immersed in those.
Find purpose larger than self. I need to work on this one. At this time, I dont have a large enough purpose apart from the chase of freedom.
While on longevity, do read this piece from Lenny San’s newsletter.
11/ Ever wondered why do people touch their ears when they are talking about their teachers?
I knew this intuitively but then I got reading.
In one line, it’s usually a gesture of respect, apology, or humility. A more nuanced and detailed answer is that when you talk about a teacher, touching of ear is a symbolic acknowledgement that you are saying sorry even before you start talking because you may misspeak.
A deeper nuance is that even if you not misspeak, whatever you may say will always be a fraction of what your teacher already know. So, by touching your ears and apologizing, you are admitting that you are nothing compared to your teachers.
While I am not for any such subservient behaviour, this one, I quite like. Make what you will of this.
12/ India against India
In this post, the writer makes some very compelling arguments about India. shared this with a few friends.
On one side, some folks said this is a very biased view against india. And they were quick to dismiss.
On the others, mostly folks who love india deeply and are settled abroad, said that this was an objective piece.
You could be on either side but there is no denying that this is a compelling piece of writing and the author has a way with words. If nothing else, think of this as a satirical piece and enjoy for the sheer joy of reading.
13/ Creative Slop
In this thread, the writer argues that large cultural revolutions often start as slop. And in the world that we live in, we are often tend to dismiss the new!
A lot of groups that I am a part of are dissing work done by folks on AI as slop are not even acknowledging the effort!
14/ Conceptual stories vs Perceptual Stories
In this piece, the large takeaway is that brain remembers conceptual stories more than perceptual stories. There are different ways you could fill in the details of that story. You could give perceptual descriptions of how your food looked and tasted. Or you could focus more on conceptual experiences, such as what that food made you think and feel.
15/ Notes on India
In this piece, Jason talks about what he saw while he was in India.
I thought it was a very accurate understanding of India (and unbiased one at that). Do read to understand us. Made many highlights. Listing a couple points…
It seems that most Indians operate in a fundamentally open-ended and uncertain environment
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In India, cooperating with the rules almost always lands you in the sucker’s quadrant of the prisoner’s dilemma, whereas creative defection is generally net positive (perhaps in a macro sense, society operates less efficiently because of it, but in a personal sense, defecting wisely pays off).
“Specialize or die” made sense in 1995. In 2025, it’s a death sentence. The future belongs to generalists, and the proof is in Systems Theory.”
Do read the thread.
17/ Naval on working for self. And work-life balance.
In this podcast, Naval talks about how when you work for yourself, the concept of work-life balance ceases to exist. He talks baout how the taste of freedom makes you “unemployable”.
Once you are “free” you are unable to find yourself fitting into any structures and you find ways to get back the call of the wild.
I can 100% resonate to this 🙂
18/ This post by Ankit Sawant on Cleartrip
I’ve always loved Cleartrip for their design and CX. This is a great post about the business in general and how design can play the central role in building business. Ofc, cleartrip is nowhere close to the top but still!
19/ On people
Saw this tweet and I was blown apart. Such a simple chart. Such a difficult lesson.
as a professional (and human), your ability to understand this lovely chart I made will determine your success in life and in making appeals to people
in 2025, may you stop wasting so much of your time and energy convincing (or outright trying to manipulate) people to enter the… pic.twitter.com/Dj8zAm5LaI
This piece on running is among the best you will ever read. Here are a couple of quotes that I am taking home…
I didn’t want my id to overcome my superego
One lesson I learned about running that also applies to writing: The best time to do something important is usually right now. And when you have to get something done in a short amount of time, it’s wise not to spend that time complaining about how little time you have.
21/ Andrej talks about how agency will be more important than intelligence
Andrej talks about how agency is going to be more important than intelligence. And I agree. I’ve long believed that once AI commodities intelligence, we will need people to get things done! The question to ask – are you the kinds to “I’ll figure it out”
Also, I love how he talks about internal locus of control. A great way to explain agency.
22/ Social Capital Balance Sheet
Saw this tweet and I was blown apart. Such a simple chart. Such a difficult lesson.
Two large takeaways for me
1/ “Your ability to affect the world, to bring things into being, to convince people to work with you, work for you, and for investors to invest with you is based deeply in your reputation. And if you don’t care what people think about you, you will necessarily accomplish less, work with fewer people, raise less money.”
2/ “Humility is the delta between performance and ego”
🧠 Reminders from last week
This section captures things that I want to not forget. I add those to SG’s Office. I will copy paste these week on week and track updates.
I’ve been skipping this for a while now. Lets see when I get back to this.
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🥡 So, one thing that defines the past week?
Getting back in action.
Slow and steady but after a two week break, I am now trying to get back to churning the wheels. I am hopeful that the coming week will see solid action.
Oh and in the previous weeks, the one-word reviews have been… Unsettling, Regular, Grind, Sad, Tough, Routine, Routine, Busy, Grind, Blur, Stress, Numb, Blur, Fast, Uncool, Disappeared, Experience, Grind, Busy for Nothing, Regular, Getting back to action, Slack, Busyness, Action, Survive, Looking Up, Survival, Taste, Community, Respect, Money, People.
— Phew! Lemme know what you think. See you around.
Oh, and this too shall pass!
PS: This series of posts is inspired by Thej and his weekly notes.
Saurabh Garg answers 25 questions about life. Read to know more about him.
Saw this post. And I was inspired enough to write.
Here are the questions…
And answers…
PS: I will keep editing these answers as I go along. In case I make an edit at a later date, I will indicate the same.
1/ What does your ideal day look like?
This has many versions to be honest. And it changes minute by minute. As on Oct 27, 6 AM, my ideal day would look like this…
330 AM – wake up
4 AM – write for an hour or so
5 AM – work
7 AM – goto nearest Starbucks (the one closest to where I live opens at 8) and work or get work done
11 AM – meet new people
12 noon – gym or something
2 PM – first (and hopefully only) meal of the day and a short nap
3 PM – meet people (new or old)
6 PM – watch the sunset
7 PM – catch some play or something live or may be help connect people
9 PM – reflection on the day and lights out
I’ve changed this three times over while thinking about this. But one thing has remained constant. That I want to be free and have a 100% control over my time and I do not want to commute within a city unless its a walk.
I know the vagaries of the modern life can’t allow for either to happen. So I want to be able to reach as close to 100. And this means, no timesheets, no mandatory calendars, alarms etc. And this means I need to live bang in the middle of action (say Versova or Koramangla). Or build something that can run 100% remote.
I am far from this to be honest.
Today, I wake up without an alarm on most days (I will start using an alarm cos I want to be up early; I was up at 445 a few days ago and I want to edge towards 330), and spend the day doing what I want to.
Also, I would love to travel as much as I can. Till last year, I would travel a lot – I would take flights on a whim. This year has been bad on that. I will change that in the coming year.
2/ What did you want to be when you were younger?
At different times in life I’ve wanted to have different professions.
At one time, I wanted to be a detective. I remember once my sis and a cousin (Sonam) where in some old house where we spotted some hand prints. I wanted to “investigate” the “murder”.
At one point, i wanted to be a video games designer. Lol!
I’ve wanted to make ads. I did get to take a shot at it but I wasnt good. Read more about it here.
I want to make films. Again, I did some short films but I havent found success. I would still want to do it. But then AI and all. Plus, the industry is weird and all that.
Ofc, like all boys growing up in 90s India, I wanted to play cricket at a professional level. Then I wanted to play pool or maybe snooker as a professional. No, I wasnt good enough to qualify for any of these. I do have this thing where I want to play some sport professionally. Maybe poker. But now that its banned in India, I dont know what to do about it.
Oh, I have this bucket list. It’s time I updated this!
And no, I dont think I knew of this concept of entrepreneurship where I could just create things. So far I havent created anything large but I love the thought of thinking new things.
Will update this as and when more things come to my head.
3/ Who are you most inspired by? Why?
This is a long list. But at this time point, I want to name only one person.
Steve Jobs.
In fact, in the flight last night a few days ago, I saw a Tim Cook interview where he says that Steve’s original office is still preserved. After I saw that interview, I realised, I love him because of his aura. And of course his ideas and thoughts about doing great things that serve others.
Also, I have flip flopped over the years about who I am inspired by. I remember writing one time that I’d rather be Paul Graham and not Steve. But I seem to keep coming back to Steve even though he’s long gone.
Other usual suspects in this list, apart from Steve and Paul would include Elon, Bill, Jeff, Warren, Charlie and the likes. I know, all white, men, American capitalists.
4/ Who would you love to meet? What would you ask?
I am not starstruck per se. So, I dont know this answer.
And even if I met my heroes, I dont know what would I ask them. Plus, in most cases, the folks I’d like to meet are public figures and all they think, do, build, hide is in public eye and I can find about them. So there is no specific question per se.
Plus, there are many LLM models now trained on public figures that you can query and talk to them as if you are talking to your hero. This is my chat with Steve Jobs!
So, no one singular person and no specific question.
However, if I could, I would love to spend time with all my heroes and all, as a fly on the wall and see their process in action. That to me is more valuable because that is often not captured in any of the interviews or QnA.
5/ What habit would you most like to break? What habit would you most like to start?
I would love to be able to not procrastinate. For all that I do and all the gyaan I give, I am a big procrastinator. It’s amazing how much I get done even with that as my Achilles’ Heel! And I cant wait to see how much I get done when I solve that! Oh, man, that would be fabulous!
I would love to start the habit of working out. I am 43 and I am seeing age not being on my side. I want to change that and ensure that when I am older, I am alive and active.
In fact, Taleb says that if you are above 40 and you are not working on your muscles, you are an idiot. I am one.
6/ Think of a person you truly admire. What qualities do you like about that person?
I admire many people. And the common thread in most of those people is that they create things.
None of my heroes (apart from maybe Warren and Charlie) are value traders or paper pushers. They are creators. Of businesses, things and all that.
To me, the act of creation is larger than anything else. All other things that I value – reliability, empathy, community, giving back, abundance and all that are secondary.
7/ How do you like to relax?
I love to go for walks. I love to watch theatre (not movies). I love staring at the sunset. I love the idea of talking to people – in most cases, it energizes me.
I love to go for drives. I dont have a car at this point in time in life but given an option, I would be on the road all the time.
Or else I love the idea of sleeping. But I want the room to be quiet and cold. In India, it’s tough but that’s where I live and thus. Lately I’ve started to enjoy the concept of spas.
Apart from this, I love to day dream to relax ;P
8/ When was the last time you did something you were afraid of?
I am typically not afraid of things. I look at each thing as a problem to be solved. And I know outcome of that problem may be something that I don’t like. As Bachchan said, mann ko bhaya to achacha, na bhaya to aur bhi achcha.
Oh, and I know that the solution of the problem may be messy.
So, no fear per se. Just preparedness. And the problem-solving mindset.
However, if I were to give an answer, I would say, I am afraid of putting my face on the internet. I dont know if fear is the right emotion but I have held myself back. But lately I have started to let that happen.
9/ What are you most proud of?
I cant think of any one thing that I am proud of.
10/ What are you most afraid of?
Like I said, I am typically not afraid.
Lemme rephrase this question.
What would I be the most disappointed about. What keeps me up at night. Etc. etc.
Here’s a list.
I dont want to die with mere “potential”. I dont want to be remembered (see Q 25) but I also dont want to not have seen how it is when you are a wildly successful person.
I am afraid of complacency. I have reached a point in life where am comfortable and often I dont push myself as much as I must.
I am afraid that I will die a lonely, old man who will not have anyone to call his own.
I am afraid that I will not be a “free” man.
11/ If life stopped today, what would you regret not doing?
Apart from that, I want little, seek little and I am mostly able to get a lot of things that I want. And I know that I cant have it all. So am mostly ok.
12/ Who would you like to connect (or reconnect) with? Why?
I would love to reconnect with a lot of people.
For starters, each person who helped me shape up into who I am right now. This includes colleagues from yesteryears, mentors, friends who I’ve forgotten, people who are angry with me, people who I am angry with and all that. Why? Well, why not?
I would also like to fix relationship with my extended family. Why? Well, why not?
In terms of new connections, I would love to meet folks who’re building things at the edge of human understanding. At this time, in 2025, these are manufacturing, space, AI, creative tools, longevity etc.
I am not a deeply scientific person and thus I may not do well with folks who do fundamental conversations. I’d rather imagine and build applications on top of enabling technology and rails. For example, I may not know how a LLM functions but I would like to use that AI tool to build new things.
I would also like to connect with people who are great with people. I believe I love working with people and I want to get better at it. And I want to not “study”. Rather, I would learn from others. Remember I said, I want to be a fly on the wall when my heroes work?
No, I dont admire creativity per se. For me, ability to build is larger than creativity.
14/ What practical skills do you wish you had?
For starters, I would love to be more disciplined.
Then, I want to learn how to sell.
I would love even more if I could be more persuasive. And I want to be able to predict people’s behaviours by looking at them.
Apart from this, I would love to have the ability to tolerate hot weather. I just cant do when the temperature is more than 24.
15/ Imagine you’re in your 90s. What memories would you like to have? What stories do you want to tell?
I dont want memories.
I dont look at the past. I like the future more than the past. And thus I often dont look back. I do take my lessons and try to not repeat mistakes. But that’s that.
And if at 90, all I do is look back at things, I would have failed.
But if this is a theoretical question, I would say, looking back I would want to see a man who lived a free life, in the way he wanted to, chose things that he wanted to and hung out with people he wanted to. I would want to look back at a man who was active, deliberate, free, passionate, present, resourceful and of service to others.
The stories I would tell will not be of personal conquests or whatever. Rather, of mistakes I made, lessons I learnt, people I met and other such things that may encourage the listeners to follow their heart. I would talk about how freedom is hidden in plain sight and is often the most undervalued asset for us humans.
I would talk about things that I would have seen work for the long-term. Today, I am 43 and I can already see how some time-tested principles have worked for me. I am sure over the next 50 years, there would be more things that would work for me. I would love to aggregate those and talk about those to the world.
16/ What is your favorite book/movie/song? Why?
Favorite songs change with time. But if I have to go back to the time when I was young, I grew up on indipop – Lucky Ali, KK, Dhoom, Silk Route and the likes. Then I moved to English music and I love all the 90s popular pieces – Bryan Adams, Backstreet Boys etc. Then there was a phase when I love Jagjit Singh and all that.
In books, I’ve read a lot. The top would be English, August, Count of Monte Cristo, The Godfather and Mahabharata. And I’ve loved reading Jack Reacher, Sue Grafton, Jeffery Archer. I’ve even read Hindi crime fiction like Surendra Mohan Pathak and Ved Prakash Sharma and others.
In movies, I love Shawshank Redemption, Notting Hill and others. I dont really have a taste in films but I like to see mindless action films like John Wick, Transporter etc. I love sports / coaching films as well. In the recent past, I saw and loved F1. I think I love stories of underdogs and stories that are told well.
Is there a common thread? I am not sure. You find out.
17/ If you could make one change in the world, what would it be?
I would eliminate the concept of religion.
I’ve thought a lot about this and I realise that all challenges that we face today as humanity stem from religion – caste system, hyper-nationalism, cruelty and all that.
18/ What do you love to do for, or give to others?
A lot!
My time and attention (two of the scarcest resources) to start with.
Then, I want to create opportunities for everyone. I live by the Sai Itna Dijiye Quote. I look at myself as a platform for opportunity exchange (heard this phrase first from Gokul).
I want each person I meet to get access to their truest potential. I would love to be a coach and push people. I love the idea of hard work, going all-in and being immersed in the work. I am not a balanced person and that means my philosophy stays in that space. As I grow old, I find that I get more joy and fulfillment when I see others do well.
19/ What excites you?
The idea of doing things excite me. Even though am old, I am like that kid in the candystore – who likes the idea of doing things.
The chase of the new excites me. I am excited by the 0 to 1 journey. I want to create new things. I want to give birth to ideas and all that.
People excite me. I want to be around good people doing things that they want to. Good is subjective. What I like and think of as good may not be good for you. And thats ok.
Things done well excite me. A well made coffee, a well formatted document, an aligned stack of clothes in an almirah, a shelf painted well. I love when people put in efforts with the intention of doing things well.
Great designs excite me. While I am not a designer, I love when things are designed well.
20/ What do you wish you did more of?
I wish I got to spend more time with my parents.
I wish I could teach more young people more things.
I wish I could make the world a better place. I would do this by making people realize the foley of chasing ego, the advantages of being kind and the benefits of long-term thinking. I would also want people to realise that life can be abundant AF and there is no reason to kill someone else to get to where you want to be.
I wish I had more shoulders of giants to stand on top of. And I wish my shoulders are broad enough to have all my loved ones to stand on top of.
And finally, wishes are not horses ;P
21/ Pretend money is no object. What would you do?
Mostly what I do today – spend time on things and people and experiences that I love. And this means I would do things that I want to, support projects that I think are interesting, chase experiences and all that.
No I will not retire.
Oh, I will get myself and my loved one a basic level of luxury (not comfort, but luxury). This means a place big enough to not worry about bumping into each other. This means at least a business class flight on each flight they take. This means the means to get from 0 to 1, and after that, they better find their own path.
22/ What area of your life, right now, makes you feel the best? Why?
I am writing this answer on Oct 28, 2025.
At this time I love that there are a few people who’s lives are better because of me. I wish I could do this at scale and makes many many lives better.
Apart from this, here is my wheel of life. Please make your interpretations.
This was last updated on 18th Oct, 2025
23/ Let’s jump forward a year. What would you like to have achieved in the past year?
One thing. Financial freedom. This means I would have paid back the loan on my head and I would have enough in the bank to not bother about picking things that I dont want to work on.
If I could have more than one thing, I would ask for better health. I want to quantify it as ability to run a half marathon in less than 2 hours, do 50 push ups in one set and climb up 25 floors.
24/ What piece of advice would you give to five year old you?
Easy. Stop being an introvert.
25/ How do you want to be remembered in life?
I dont want to be remembered.
I am a big believer in the idea of Pale Blue Dot. And if the question is about the reputation we carry while we are here, I would say I would want to be known as a person who was around when his friends and family needed him.
Do see this and internalize it…
Thank for reading this.
Do lemme know what you think and please point out gaps in thinking.
PS: I will keep editing these answers as I go along. In case I make an edit at a later date, I will indicate the same.
Phew! In case you’ve written these about you, please do share.
Truth be told, he was at best a stranger to me. I’ve never met him. I’ve never been in a room with him. And I’ve never been even close to his shadows.
So, the loss of the man is nothing but a piece of news for me. Something that I paused to read, thought for a fleeting second and then I moved onto whatever I was doing.
But I work in advertising. Or may be on the fringes of it, if you will. My first love for a career and life is the business of communications. I call myself a writer. I believe I want to create words that moves mountains, shift cultures and inspire. Piyush was all that. Piyush is all that.
During the day, tributes and stories started to pour in. Some from folks I know well. Some from people that I look up to. And then some from absolute strangers. And impact of Piyush on all those people started to emerge. Piyush may have been a famous person when he was alive. However when his time came, he was even more mushhooor. Each piece I read, each story, each op-ed, each narrative made me want to know the man more. From up close, if it was ever going to be possible.
Each person spoke about what he meant to them. Each story is full of his vigor for life, thunderous laugh, maverick partnerships, ability to forge lasting relationships and… his trademark shirts and his moustache!
Two pieces stood out to me – one by Ogilvy (reproduced below) and the other by Suresh Eriyat – this. These two and all the others expressed Piyush’s passing meant to them. And then I started to reflect on life and things.
I am 43. With almost no large monumental achievements that I can put my finger on and claim as mine. No family apart from my parents (who constantly worry about my wellbeing and life) and my sis (who has her own battles). No assets that I can leave behind for Myra. When its my time, I am sure no one would miss me. The handful of people who’s lives I’ve probably touched will have the same reaction that I had on Piyush’s passing – a fleeting note, an awe, an Om Shanti text on common whatsapp groups and then, moving on. And which is ok. Life doesn’t stop. Shouldn’t stop. Pale Blue Dot and all that. Wait. The point is not that. The point is, Piyush.
Back to Ogilvy’s ode.
When I read Ogilvy’s ode to Piyush, I found myself nodding to each thing they said about him. Read it first…
Waking up early and writing – Check Front foot pe khelo – Check Child-like heart – Check Stood in the front – Check Relationships – Check Ek kaam karo – Check
Like I said, I found myself nodding to each thing they wrote about him. I could see myself in each thing that Piyush stood for. Of course, I am not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of who he was. But that’s the greatness of the man and the words. In each line, I saw myself. And I am sure each person reading would’ve seen themselves. And the ones writing? Oh man, I can only imagine the anguish of the folks who worked on that tribute.
Reading about Piyush from all the people made me want to find a way to turn back time, find a way into his cigar room, or the living room or wherever he roared with his laughter or lead with wit. No, not to learn from him — I have my gurus and I am grateful — but to see the man in action. See the man perform. See the man put up a show. See the man marshal his troops. See the man turn ordinary writers into weapons of mass influence.
Life happened and I was thrown into the world of computers. And then I got fired from the first job I got (and I learnt my lesson and it seeded hatred for large companies), I had to get into a business school to find my way around. Life took me to GE Money and yet I sort of found my way back to advertising. First, right in the middle if the industry (with CLA) and then on the periphery (with Gravity) and eventually, as a Jack of all trades (with Rajesh Sir and C4E).
While I worked, little did I know that I was not good. Not even good enough. I am at best a reliable doer, someone who can be called upon when you needed something to be done for sure (and not to win an award or showcase mad genius). And just this skill of being the reliable one has allowed me to survive so far in this business that is competitive, tough, harsh, ever-evolving and seeks excellence.
Through the years, I loved each stint and I was always aware of the genius of Piyush and party. Year after year they would release gorgeous pieces of communication and I would pine for some sort of introduction to Ogilvy. The closest I came to his aura was when Rana Sir showed me around the office. He had walked into those offices at some point. I also know that Rr and Huz worked with his nephew who by himself is a great adman. I’ve shook hands with Rajesh Kejriwal numerous times and I know he would have shook hands with Piyush many a times.
Ok that’s my note about Piyush. I wish I could’ve been Eklavya to him. But I wasn’t. Neither I considered him a guru. Nor am I as good as Eklavya were. Piyush is at best, the guiding light that I looked upto and aspire to be like, if I can.
Shifting the tone of this note.
In the last few days, I have seen and heard about a few people at the end of their time. While I was writing this, I heard Satish “Indravadan Sarabhai” Shah passed away. Angrezo Ke Zamane Ka Jailor passed away a few days ago. A close friend’s co-founder almost died from a heart attack on the Diwali day. Thank God, he’s back home now. The elder-most member in my family (my aunt) is dying. And I am left questioning the very reason why we work so hard and to what end. I am thinking a LOT about how I want to spend my time here. I know that one side I want to make a ding in the universe and on the other, I want to be free. I can feel in my bones the revolt at the thought of being a slave to a routine.
Wait. Even as a free man, I have to work to make ends meet and I would still have to answer to a routine of eat, poop, sleep, walk, write, meet people et al. I will still have to push myself. But at least I would have the agency. I would be free to live where I want to, how I want to and free to choose who I work with, when I work with and what I work on. and most importantly, on my terms. I think absolute freedom is tough to get – we live in super hyperconnected world. But I believe that the world we live in, allows for smaller teams to make large enough dings. Like Piyush did.
I have to say, Piyush did made a ding.
After I saw the impact Piyush has made, I am all the more inspired to do more and push myself harder. And like I said, on my terms. And as a free man.
Wish me luck.
And…
Thank you, Piyush! As your colleagues and family said, hope the heavens are ready for the force you are.
PS: Also, thanks to Bryan Dont Die and Deepinder recent unveiling of the Continue manifesto, I have started to believe that human lifespans are painfully and wastefully established at about 70. Deepinder is talking about 180. Most futurists believe that any child below the age of 150 has large odds of getting to 150. I hope I get to see 150 and like Piyush, make a ding.
5:30 PM. Oct 18, 2025, Starbucks, Versova. 6:40 AM. Oct 19, 2025, Mumbai Airport. 6:30 PM. Oct 19, 2025, Home (DG).
So, I am back to writing these notes after a week.
The last two weeks have not been the best and I a lot of it was things that I couldnt control. The good part is that I was travelling and I was reading (I read Morgan Housel’s new book; more on that later). And thus I was ok.
I think there’s a lot to unpack today. So, lets get going.
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💭 Highlights, reflections and notes from the past week
PS: As always, these are not in any order.
A/ Most thanked person in Oscar Acceptance Speeches I was talking to AD and someone else and I happened to mention that one of the lifegoals is to impact lives of so many people at such large level that I get to compete with Steven.
For context, Steven Spielberg is THE most thanked person at the Oscars.
Spielberg is THE most thanked person in Oscar acceptance speeches.
I would love to be in this club some day! I mean can you imagine the effort and the hard work it would’ve taken for a Steven to have these many people in gratitude?
Oh, and apart from just this, I would like to be in the acknowledgements page of books and biographies. So far, I am in a few and I would want to have chapters dedicated in there. And no, the point is not a shot at legacy or immortality, but at enabling more people do more.
And this reminds me of another tweet that I saw…
Tweets from MJS’ handle delete and thus had to take a screenshot.
B/ Postcard Club. Another idea from Thej that I am stealing. Read his post here.
The premise is simple. I will send postcards, with stamps and all that to folks who opt-in to receive it. And at some point in time, I would invite other folks to send postcards to more people. And then we shall see where it goes.
Here are the first two postcards I sent.
From a restaurant in Goa.
In case you want to be a part of this club, DM me. And disclaimer – like most things that I think a lot about, there are no guarantees that I will do this.
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C/ Morgan Housel’s Art of Spending Money Read this book over the last few days.
Way too many notes. Underlined a large part of the book.
A lot of what I read, I knew that already but there was a lot of reaffirmation and at times that’s the value of what you read. And since a lot of words were clustered together in the book and I was in the thinking zone, the reading was even more impactful. I think thats the point of reading books. Dense content about one topic. And reinforcement of the same via multiple examples and stories and chapters.
I think I will write an entire post on this, assuming I get time. I even did a YT live today. Not so happy but I did it and here it is.
On the live, at the peak, I 6 people joining in. At some point, I want to have a lot more people listening in. Not because I crave for an audience but because I want a platform large enough for me to have a large impact in life.
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D/ 43 The other day, someone asked they wanted to create a meetup of young people. And I commented on it and said, if 43-year olds are allowed and young at heart are welcome I would love to be in.
Right after I posted this, I feel awkward and weird and sad. It sucked that I am having to justify that age is a number. I think it’s about time I accept that I am a never-was.
So that!
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E/ AI Film Festival Some kids are doing this AI Film Festival in Mumbai. And wow. Many emotions. Here’s a list.
We had the same idea at C4E but we couldn’t do it. This is nothing but a slap on the face. I need to build a stronger muscle for action. Plus I need to inspire my people to do more. And do so faster. And ensure that we followup on action. And I want to encourage them to think larger. Each thing we start, we start with a small vision. I encourage that. And I want to change it.
I love the fact that AI is democratizing otherwise gatekept industries. Of course incumbents will catch up and bring things back to the mud but some new folks will arrive, shine and make hay!
My bachpan ka want of making films resurfaced. I made attempts with Red Carbon. But I was unable to sustain the partnership. I was very very hopeful when we did the tnks trailer. But I was unable to inspire my people to actually do. Maybe I should start taking matters and things in my own hands and being a pesky boss?
Glad that someone is doing it. Even better that young people. More power to them and other young folks. I am so very often reminded that so many young people are so fearless and so action oriented and so resourceful that I am often left ashamed and gawking at their greatness. Must surround myself with more young people.
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F/ Updated the Vision Board Here. Not open for public access. Made update in the Wheel of Life and while I did that, I realised that this is the tiniest I’ve been in my life!
Here’s the template that you may want to use to fill yours.
Saw this first on a Tony Robbins video
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G/ Made a list of Regrets in life. Here. This is WIP at this time. Will evolve this as I go along.
The idea is that I want to live an open life and I want to not hide anything about myself from anyone at anytime. And this must include the goods and the bads, and the highs and the lows, the wins and the losses and everything in the middle.
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H/ Theatre One of the things I really enjoy in life, is, to indulge in theatre. You know, live performances.
While I love the feeling sitting face to face with the performers, I dont understand why the theatre artists invest their time and energy in theatre. Each ticket is like 200 bucks and even on great days, you hardly get some 100 people in the audience. So, a crew of 10 will make like 20K per show. And if they were to divide all the money between them (not even the expenses), they would get like 2K per day. And it’s pittance!
I dont get why people so this.
I asked some of my friends. And the answers weren’t very convincing. There are two plausible ones.
Someone mentioned that its the pitstop needed to get to Bollywood. But even in that, the possibility of a great outcome is like negligible. The returns are way too asymmetric to be logical about it!
Someone else mentioned that its the way of life and the purest artwork there is. Again, I am not convinced about that. I am sure there are other means to feel alive?
Neither is convincing enough to me. Any clues?
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I/ Focus One of these days, on my way back from Starbucks, I was walking with C and we were reflecting about life and all.
I popped a question.
If I were to look at 100 of the most successful people in the world and we listed top 5 traits that they had, at the most I will get a list of 500 traits and if there is a perfect overlap of traits, I would have 5 traits only.
I asked some LLMs about and this is what they had to say. So, lets say there are 20 traits that are shared by a lot of successful people.
Here is a list I made (a combination of what I learnt from AI and from my intuition).
I can say with a large certainty, that the list of traits would have things like hard work, ambition, focus, creativity, persuasion, discipline, growth mindset, perseverance, people skills, confidence, self-belief, humility and all that.
And then I said to myself, I seem to have almost ALL of these and yet I am not even a mild success. I even tweeted about it.
I could make a mental nod against each thing and I could demonstrate actions and all against each. Except one.
Focus.
I’ve been told since I was child that I am way too all over the place and I need to focus. And I have strongly objected to any sort of focus ever. I have laughed at people who’ve told me to focus. I have even blamed it on my undetected ADHD.
And maybe, just maybe, I will focus on focus!
Lol!
So, may be, I will focus and see what I would achieve if I did one thing for one year.
PS: The effort on Meru has been as focussed as they come – I have not thought about anything else since late last year. While it is not yet any close to success but thanks to HT, MK, KP, VS and others, I am certain that it would be LARGE!
J/ Self Cringe Riya has been working hard to help me build distribution. And its incredible how much effort that young girl is putting! I am beyond inspired! Yet another case of young people doing superhuman things that make you wide eyed!
The only trouble is, I get cringed out each time I see myself.
For starters, I don’t like to see my face. And then a deeper reason – I’ve not done anything large or substantial to be able to give gyaan to people. Plus I am making tall promises to “teach” people to do more. I am not sure if this is correct!
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K/ Mahabharata Series has crossed 25 posts A few days ago, I promised that I will write a post a day on linkedin. And I thought it would be a good idea to write about management lesson from Mahabharata. It would kill many birds.
Some are…
I would get to explore Mahabharata as a subject. I love it and this will force me to carve time to read more, discuss more and think more.
I will get the daily writing Riyaaz.
I will get to build my distribution on linkedin – something that I’ve thought a lot about.
I will meet more people via this.
And somehow, I’ve been very very consistent with it. Yesterday I posted the 26th update. This link has all posts.
But, the series is not performing well. I have not seen a bumper jump in my followers. There are hardly any comments or shares. I havent made new connections.
Maybe I need to accept that I dont write well?
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L/ SG’s Patrons. AKA LifeIPO I’ve been thinking about Patrons and 1000 True Fans. And I think I am ready to take the experiment to the next stage. See this tweet.
A few weeks ago, I asked for 1000 bucks a month, in exchange of gratitude. I got two subscribers (Prak and Shruti). Now I want to offer a 1% of my life for 10 lakhs. You pay me 10 lakhs to get one share of my life (there are a total of 100 shares outstanding) and you get 1% of my time here on (you must use it yearly) and 1% of my future earnings and assets. Imagine if I become a billionaire, your 1% could be worth 10 million.
Think of this as any startup raising money. You have an idea. You peg that idea to a value. Then you add execution risk on top of it. And then you invest in the idea. That!
I am yet to get into specifics (risks, reputation, relationships, liquidity, legality etc) but I am warming up to the idea.
What do you think?
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M/ Grok’s interpretation of my content I asked Gork to analyse my recent tweets. This is what it had to say.
I love how we can use these tools to spot patterns. Over the next few days I want to use more tools to discover more about me. At some point in time I want to explore the possibility of having my second brain uploaded on the internet and then analyse data from there on.
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N/ Goa I was in Goa almost after a year. This time around, I spent more time going out to the temples, local beaches, eating at vegetarian restaurants, and all that. I didnt do any of my regular things. And that made me realise a few things. Here’s a list.
I love modern conveniences and comforts. And this means I would want to be at places that have reliable connectivity, fast internet, public transport, high-trust economy and a density of great talent.
I am not a naturist. I do not get excited by beaches or greens or mountains or anything like that. If need be, I would like to be in not so extreme weathers.
I love vibrance around me. So, I can not be at a place that is secluded.
I am an early bird. I love places that are open early. Once Mumbai starts 24X7 operations, I will find cafes that are open at 430 AM and make them into my havens.
As I start to think about where I want to live, these things are at the top of my head!
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O/ Fear of Flying I would have taken at least 500 flights in life, if not 1000. And I’ve taken them in all sorts of planes (including helicopters) for all sorts of durations (from 30 minutes to 14 hours) and since 2005 (I think my first flight was from Del to Blr, though I am not sure). And I’ve experienced all kinds of turbulence and even air pockets. Though I’ve never had oxygen masks deployed and I have never been on slides.
And I have not been afraid ever. In fact, I would find excuses to get onto flights to give people hugs!
However, lately, I am afraid to fly. What if the plane goes down? I know the odds of that are a one in a million or whatever but when that one occurrence happens, the loss is 100%!
I am afraid that if that happens, it would be such a colossal waste of life and a stupid way to go! I anyway have mixed feelings towards the concept of death (I know its important but I dont get the reason why we spend so much time and effort and energy to learn things and then when the times comes to capitalise on it and be of service to the world, your time is almost up).
Ok, I digressed. The point is, I have this thing deep in the pit of my stomach or conscious or whatever each time I have to fly. And this is a new feeling! And no, I don’t enjoy this. I have wanted to live my life free of fear. And in chase of excitement and adventure. This fear bit is not core to my identity! And I need to work on it and change it.
PS: I am writing this from a comfortable, business class seat of a fairly new Air India plane and from my seat I saw that there are three pilots in the cockpit – all three fit and alert and had their spines straight, including the lady who’s the captain on this flight. So, I am hopefully safe on this one!
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I had imagined I would have a lot more to write. But clearly I dont.
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📷 Some Photos from the week gone by
Some photos that I took and saved in the last two weeks are here. And if I had to pick one, I would say, this would be it…
I was in Goa and sent this postcard to AK and C. Will start a postcard club soon!
Show me some of your photos?
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🈺 LARGE objective from the week gone by?
I had two large things when I started this year. Book 2 and a yearly plan (that I’ve been writing for a long time. This year I couldn’t). And I just added health a few weeks ago.
Book 2 – There was no movement. Nothing to report.
Yearly Plan – I dropped it long ago. Now its time to think about the plan for the next year. Lol.
Health – I have made small changes in how I eat and what I eat. I am also walking more. I did some 5 pushups a couple of days. I now take stairs. Small steps. Nothing large. But I remain committed. I will ensure that come November, I am a gym and I am running.
This is a one-line report on progress I made on various things that are important to me. I will only talk about things that I got done. Shipped. Not WIP.
Health
Meru
C4E
Brand SG
People (Family, Friends, Strangers, etc)
Book2
Shauk (Music, Films, Poker etc)
Health. Was a bad one. All over the place. Not just the physical health but also mental health. So, a -1.
Meru. Incredible progress. LOVE the hard work being put in by all the people. I wish I knew this team earlier. Most days I am left in awe of all that we do, despite everything. Oh, still no launch. And thus a 0.
C4E. No action from my side. No comments. A 0.
Brand SG. Riya has been shipping consistently. I am not sure I like how things are going out. I would let that continue till end of this month. And then take a call. I would give this a +1. Only because of Riya.
People. No action on this. 0.
Book 2. Nothing. -1.
Shauk. No action. No time. But not beating myself over it. So, 0.
So the overall score for the week is -1
Few weeks ago, I had decided that I want to get a positive score each week. I had to organise my life but I havent been able to. I will try in the coming week. Will report once I do.
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📊 The tracker from the last week
Here is the tracker for the last two weeks…
Tracker from weeks 41 and 42
The last two weeks have been tough. And I have fallen off the radar. I am not keeping up on what I am eating, neither am I being good when it comes to tracking. I am on the road next week as well. And I expect similar all-over-the-place-ness.
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🏃🏻♂️➡️ Health
I added Health as a key section some days ago. I am still discovering what to cover here. Let’s see how it goes.
I read somewhere that you need 4 things to live long – sleep, exercise, diet and community. I will track all four. And then some more variables that I feel are important to me. Let’s see what comes out. Also, I log a few things at these links – food log, my daily health log channel.
This week, I am skipping reporting on this as for the last two weeks, this has been all over the place.
Will get back to this after the Diwali week.
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📖 Interesting Reads / Views
Since this is for two weeks, I have a LOT of links to share. I am thinking how to fit all these here and make things useful. Lemme try.
And no, not in any order.
1/ This is an incredible read. Titled, “Taylor Swift, Sora, and Slop vs. Substance”, I dont want to give you a TLDR on this one (hint, it talks of Taste as well). Touches many interesting facets.
2/ This piece from Finshots talks about how and why Rakesh Gangwal chose to step away from Indigo. Must read how people still stand for principles in this day and age. While on this, also read this piece on the friendship of the two founders.
3/ Harnidh is soon evolving into my favorite Internet writer. She wrote about PR-FAQ. Incredible read. Here.
4/ This piece about Prashant Kishore tells me that he charges 11 crores for 2 hours. I refuse to believe that he added that much value!
5/ This document talks about maxims from Kunal Shah. Which is your favorite?
6/ One of the BEST investigative reads that I’ve read in a while. I think I would love to build something GFM once I get to a point when I have enough. Do read.
7/ This piece from New Yorker talks about how all of us have started to think the same. Prak would love this piece. This is also the reason why all apps seems to look similar (have you noticed those purple websites?) and there is this insane use of em-dashes?
8/ Kevin Kelly, in yet another incredible essay makes a very convincing argument on why he wants AI to read his books. Read here.
9/ Kuldeep (or KD, as he is known all over the internet) wrote about the history of Whatsapp. Incredible read. He writes so well that I want to get him to quit everything and and just write! Another bonus read from him is this.
10/ This ad by Apple caught my eye. To a point that I want to embed this here.
11/ This hierarchy of “traits” of a top-performer is incredible. Do see.
12/ This piece about impatience and sense of urgency. I’ve read so much about this that I dont know how to not work at speed. And yet…
13/ Each thing from Ashutosh Rana, I dig! In this video, he talks about what made him do things that he did. I wish I had more folks who would listen to me. And I need to find a way to meet more young people.
There was a time when I would get a lot of people write into me. Lately that flow has died. And I need to restart that. Somehow.
Do see this.
14/ This piece by the creator of Oatmeal about AI and Art. Very very interesting read. He says, “consuming AI art is like eating styrofoam”. He goes onto make a lot of more convincing arguments about how and why AI is good or bad.
15/ If you are young, in your 20s, this piece of advice by the CEO of Palantir is incredible. Read here.
He says,
I’ve never met someone successful who had a great social life at 20. If that’s what you want, that’s great. But you’re not going to be successful, and don’t blame anyone else.
I cant say I agree to this (who am I to agree – I am not successful)
17/ This post about what makes YC, YC. For all the hate it gets, I love that they’ve been able to institutionalize starting up. I would love to go thru it. I mean I may not be able to anymore, age is not on my side. But I love them and their impact.
18/ This piece by Karthik about the public outcry from the founder of LuluLemon (Chip Wilson) about how that company has lost direction is a must read.
19/ I’ve been thinking a lot about Punit Pania and his work. Saw this insta reel and had to share.
Phew!
I am left wondering, what is the point of all these links. I get like three people to read these. Unless I find a way to internalise these. No?
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🧠 Reminders from last week
This section captures things that I want to not forget. I add those to SG’s Office. I will copy paste these week on week and track updates.
I’ve been skipping this for a while now. Lets see when I get back to this.
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🥡 So, one thing that defines the past week?
Unsettling.
There is no other word that I would use for the two weeks gone by. Close people have quit on me, I have fallen off the grid, I am not taking notes, not reflecting on life and things, money seems to be a problem, fitness is a problem. I mean, each thing that I can think of seems to be not working for me!
I hope I am back in black soon.
Oh and in the previous weeks, the one-word reviews have been… Regular, Grind, Sad, Tough, Routine, Routine, Busy, Grind, Blur, Stress, Numb, Blur, Fast, Uncool, Disappeared, Experience, Grind, Busy for Nothing, Regular, Getting back to action, Slack, Busyness, Action, Survive, Looking Up, Survival, Taste, Community, Respect, Money, People.
— Phew! Lemme know what you think. See you around.
Oh, and this too shall pass!
PS: This series of posts is inspired by Thej and his weekly notes.
And here’s an important note. I will not publish this for the 41st week. I am on the road and I dont want to open my computer. Let’s see how that experiment goes.
Ok, coming to the 40th. It was a fast week. I dont have a lot of distinct memories or even notes. They are sparse.
Oh, since I was a lot in traffic and in mindless work, I discovered and rediscovered a lot of music. Here are some shares. This band and fabulous singer. Doobey. So Good to Me. Rani. In fact I will feature Rani here.
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💭 Highlights, reflections and notes from the past week
PS: As always, these are not in any order.
A/ Lessons from Rana Sir I met Rana Sir for a walk at Carter’s Road. While Carter’s is like Mumbai’s favorite hangout place and you see more fancy people than you see actual walker, Rana Sir, Chandni and I did walk.
And oh man, what a revelation. The guy’s a genius. I cant stop thanking my stars that I have him as a mentor. Here’s a page from my first and only book.
Page 282, The Nidhi Kapoor Story
And no, I am not making those lessons public, just as yet.
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B/ Bumping into people from Internet In the last week, I bumped into two people who know me from Internet. Both these people have NOTHING in common with me (no common friends, no alma mater, no Starbucks, nothing), except we met on Internet. Via a thing them and I caused (I made some WA groups, they left some comments).
Not that I care for fame or something but these serendipitous connections make life worth living! Must strive for more!
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C/ Theatre I’ve been DYING to see some life theatre performance for a while. And I havent been able to. I open bookmyshow everyday and I try to see what’s playing near me. And then I try and make plans around it. And then some work creeps up on me.
Come on, universe.
PS: If all goes well, on the 11th, I will attend something. Let’s see.
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D/ Cleaned and organised my life. Since I moved on from C4E, I’ve not had someone to work with me. This means I dont have anyone to tell me what to on, who to push, follow up for me, give me file locations, jam with me and all that. And I was seeing the impact of that on my work. I was strruggling to even find my bearings.
So one of those days, I slept early and woke up at like 530 or something. And then I organised my life. Wait, not life. But work things. This means, I made a bookmarks bar where I listed all things that I am working on, cleaned tags in Roam, made my TDL and then some more.
As a test, I challenged AK to ask me pull a file that she was working on. And I could!
So, thats’s a big win for the week.
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E/ Jaane wale ko kaun rok saka hai In the last week, two of the people I really care for told me that their number 2s are moving on. In one case, one even committed an act that is inexplicable.
I know people move on. I’ve had many folks move on. And even though I want to forget and forgive and understand, its a deep gash that I cant seem to find an answer to. Anyhow. The point is, people go. I am lucky that I’ve experienced this and thus when someone moves on, now it doesnt surprise me. Neither I am hurt. I have accepted the reality. Marcus would be proud of me.
However, it was tough to explain to both these folks. In both cases, my friends literally gave a part of their lives to the ones who’ve moved on. And the first emotion that they had was of surprise.
“How could he?”, “What did I do wrong that he had to do this?” and similar.
I had to explain to that often it’s not you or what you’re building. Just that the paths diverge. See the chart below.
Source: Unknown
This chart is an oversimplification of relationships but I think it works well.
You think and believe that what you’re building is the life of a parent or a dog but it’s actually a friend with benefit. And instead of being harsh on yourself about lack of judgement about identifying people, you ought to move on and try and find the next person who could stay with you.
I just hope more people learn this lesson, earlier in life. And yes, I am cruel to wish this upon you.
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F/ Hormozi on Mental Toughness Alex has done GREAT service to humankind by making this video. I’ve communicated this to many people in many ways but I never had one reference point to it.
If there’s one thing you see this week, make sure it’s this.
PS: Dont be thrown off by the words you see on thumbnails. I’ve seen some very scary thumbnails for this video. Am sure some A/B testing is happening there.
Also, I am a big big fan of his work. Alex is what I would have wanted to be. Runs his life the way he wants to, eats well, works out and supports others.
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G/ Monumentum is taking shape Some of my people are building this new thing. I am very excited for them. More about this in the next few days.
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H/ Financial Stress Financial stress has reached its peak. I found myself scrambling to find avenues to take loans. I thought about revolving credit cards, taking a personal loan, asking for it from a friend (who will take it as an OD from his bank and give me).
No, I dont need solutions from anyone here. This is my battle and I will fight it. I just want to capture it here.
Oh, and the lesson from this bit is to get more money wise and fix my relationship with money. I need to be lot more open and upfront about it and stop leaving it on the table. At this time, I pay for convenience and to avoid tough conversations. I must build the resilience to not hate money.
I also wrote last week that I will start charging for my counsel, even if it’s token. I’ve not been able to bring myself to do that.
Any how. Let’s see where I end up.
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I/ Mahabharata I have been writing one lesson a day from Mahabharata on Linkedin. It’s a brilliant exercise. I love it! It makes me read some part of Mahabharata, makes me read its interpretations, makes me connect to some thread from my life and then I write.
AK’s told me that what I write is not giving. I understand. I am trying to tweak it for the medium and the readers. And that’s ok. I ought to experiment. Maybe I will get a post written from AI and see how it performs. Actually good idea, lemme fire it!
I just prompted chatGPT.
Lets see what comes out of it.
The only trouble is, I don’t want to add to AI Slop and do things for the sake of doing those. Let’s experiment and see where it goes.
My chatGPT library 😀
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J/ Goa I am in Goa this weekend for 2-3 days. I’ve not been to Goa in a while. While I am not looking forward to Goa as a place but I am doing this with my parents and thus.
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K/ SOTY C4E is building a Student of The Year thingy. This has been one of my longest standing ideas. I was never able to execute this. I am glad that folks feel the importance of the same in my absence.
I am excited!
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L/ Notes from Apple in China I’ve been reading the book for a while note. Each chapter is a treasure trove of knowledge and information and lessons. Just from yesterday’s reading, I am inspired to go deeper into storytelling, negotiations, sales and more.
I will write a longish post on this sometime. Let’s see when.
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M/ Sit in the Mud I met a few people last week and one of them told me that she’s not been able to sleep for two days because of something that happened at her work place. Then I met another friend and he was also in that overthinking loop. And this is when I realised that even though folks have friends and families and all that, deep down, everyone is alone. And I really wish I could help fix those things.
At least to these people, I told them that they can reach out to me when they need inputs or counsel. They MUST not think that I am busy. I am never busy for my people. And even if they think they are bothering me, just say SOS and I will be there. I want to experience how it is to sit in the mud with you.
I think I know where my zone of genius would be. At the intersection of ideas, connections, people, meaning.
This dawned upon me yesterday when I spent the day talking to people. For Meru, I did a session for some folks on writing. Then gave gyaan to some kids. Then helped someone else build his personal board of directors. And then walked with someone else. To a point that I was exhausted and wanted nothing but sleep.
I was in the moment, in the flow. Didnt know where time went.
And that’s probably where I want to be in life.
I am not sure how the money bit works on this. But may be I will explore this.
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O/ Focus It’s no secret that I am the most unfocussed person there ever is. While I can club each thing I do into an umbrella (enabling people), it comes across as an excuse, even to myself, tbh.
So, I’ve been thinking about focus for a while. And what would it take to get that in my life. the very thought of this makes my entire being revolt. Why would I make my life into a unidimensional one when I can be free and explore?
I dont have answers. But I am thinking on this. May be I will pose this to my braintrust.
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📷 Some Photos from the week gone by
Here are some photos that I took and saved in the last week. Here.
The cover would be this…
Features all the things I love – Books, Starbucks (not coffee), stationary and mornings.
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Lemme know which one do you like the most. And do share some of your photos with me!
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🈺 LARGE objective from the week gone by?
I had two large things when I started this year. Book 2 and a yearly plan (that I’ve been writing for a long time. This year I couldn’t). And I just added health a few weeks ago.
Book 2 – There was no movement. Nothing to report.
Yearly Plan – I dropped it long ago. Now its time to think about the plan for the next year. Lol.
Health – I am thinking about this all the time but I havent been able to act upon it. From what I track, I am eating in moderation but neither my weight, nor my energy is getting fixed. Sigh! PS: I track my health updates here, in case.
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☑️ So, what did I get done last week?
This is a one-line report on progress I made on various things that are important to me. I will only talk about things that I got done. Shipped. Not WIP.
Health
Meru
C4E
Brand SG
People (Family, Friends, Strangers, etc)
Book2
Shauk (Music, Films, Poker etc)
Health. Not too many good things to report. I now try to”cook” one meal at home. This means I boil water, dump Saffola oats and each. Or I boil eggs. I am not walking. I am not even working out. I will put this on 0.
Meru. Making progress. Again, I can’t talk about it out loud. Will talk more when I ship. Oh, I did take a session on writing auto-biographies. A 0.
C4E. No action from my side. No comments. A 0.
Brand SG. No large things to report, apart from the fact that Riya has been consistent. I’ve realised that each thing I do or work on, once I have someone supporting me, things tend to move!
People. No action on this. I’d say 0.
Book 2. Nothing. So, -1
Shauk. No action. No time. a 0.
So the overall score for the week is -1
Last week I had decided that I want to get a positive score each week. And this means I need to organise my life better to ensure that I ship this positive score.
Will report once I do.
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📊 The tracker from the last week
Here is the tracker for the week gone by…
What trends do you see?
I see…
Fewer greens
Terrible recovery
Ok on food
What do you see?
🏃🏻♂️➡️ Health
I added Health as a key section some days ago. I am still discovering what to cover here. Let’s see how it goes.
I read somewhere that you need 4 things to live long – sleep, exercise, diet and community. I will track all four. And then some more variables that I feel are important to me. Let’s see what comes out. Also, I log a few things at these links – food log, my daily health log channel.
1/ Sleep Sleep was all over the place. I am aware. I will work on this.
2/ Exercise No action. I dont know what to do about this 🙁
3/ Diet I track each thing I eat on my food log. I’ve not been able to fix this but I have reduced what I eat. See this…
4/ Community No large movement on this.
5/ REDACTED This was being tracked till the last week. I have stopped this from this week onward.
6/ Movement No action.
7/ Meditation No action.
Overall, the last week on health front was not good. Again, despite all this tracking, no action 🙁
