Tag: Aditya Save

Wk 50-25 – Weekly Notes

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….

  1. Health and Book2. Reiterating, lest I forget.
  2. Network. More in the subsequent lines.
  3. Learning. Something. Deep. You know, like an absolute expert. Top 1% in the world kinds. Vibe Coding. Poker. Nutrition. Music. I dont know.
  4. Writing (apart from book2). This must become my primary way of communicating with the world. I will also use YT Lives.
  5. Move to another country. Each year I try to make the move. Each year I fail. I will try again in 2026.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.

I will place more tangibles around it.

2/ Unseen (the Deepinder Goyal biography)

I am reading Unseen these days.

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!)

6/ This tweet. I am copy pasting text.

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 previous editions: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 46, 47

I’ve missed the following weeks: 9, 15, 17, 22, 24, 41, 43, 45, 48, 49

Review of NeoSapien’s Neo 1

So, I met Dhananjay (DJ) for the first time at the insistence of Aditya Sir. Aditya had told me that DJ was working on an AI-wearable. Mind you, this was some 6 months ago, before AI became ubiquitous. 

So I was curious!

The first thing that struck me was his fitness. 

He is extremely fit and ripped, and he has long flariy hair, and I was like yaar I wish I could be like that! 

Any how, the second thing, and more pertinent to this post that hit me was the blinking pendant he was wearing around his neck. The curious cat in me asked him, what was it. 

And turns out, it was an early version of Neo. An AI-enabled notetaker that you hang around your neck! Wow! 

At the time, he mentioned that Neo can also track the emotions of the people in the conversations. For example, while talking, if somebody’s sad while talking to you, the notetaker will tell you that the other person was sad. 

Now somebody like me who likes the idea of living in public, and taking notes, and wanting to be a super connector, this seemed like a godsend thing. I could focus on conversations and be fully present in the meetings. I won’t have to carry a notepad, I won’t have to break eye contact, and I will absorb more! I am anyway, a big fan of augmenting human capability with such tools and all. 

So when I finally got access, I had high expectations. And here’s my unbiased, honest review and how I use it. 

USE CASE 1 – THINKING 

1.1/ I use this while I want to talk to myself. 

I go for walks and I don’t carry a notepad etc. 

I merely talk out loud the things that I want to save. Since the device does NOT record the conversation, I also use the voice memo feature on my iPhone to record those. 

USE CASE 2 – IRL MEETINGS 

2.1/ I use this in physical meetings where people are ok with a physical device. 

TBH, till these browser-based based AI-notetakers were not commonplace, it was tough to get consent. Now, all I say is, think of this as my AI notetaker from the browser window, in a physical meeting room.

In those meetings, I can focus on conversations and outcomes and all that. Rather than scribbling furiously in my notes. 

No, I dont use this for online meetings. For that, I use Granola. Ofc, if Neo comes up with a browser extension, I will try it. 

2.2/ Saves me the pain from decoding my handwriting 😀 

2.3/ Once I have those notes, I port those into my Roam. While I do that, I add context. This is where all the magic happens. 

USE CASE 3 – EARLY DRAFTS FOR WHAT I WRITE

3.1/ I also use this to “write” early drafts. 

My best writing happens when I have talked out loud about a concept. And then I let that simmer in my head. And then I vomit out the word salad. And then I don’t edit (lol). 

And with Neo, I talk about loud about what I want to write. And then I use that as my first draft. 

PS: A large part of this very post was “written” by Neo! See raw notes in screenshot. 

WHAT WORKS FOR ME? 

1/ Battery life is GREAT! 
I charge it once every 2 days 

2/ It can gather voice streams even in noisy environments. 
This is great. Because I am at a Starbucks all the time. 
Or I am walking on the noisy roads (Mumbai, you know) 

3/ The notes and summaries are pretty amazing. 
I dont know what engine they use at the backend but it captures pretty much everything! 

WHAT DOESN’T WORK FOR ME

1/ I don’t like the form factor. 
Nothing to do with Neo. Just that I dont like pendants. Even when I do podcasts. I hate to use a clipon mic. 

2/ Haptic Feedback
I want the “click” button to start the device to give me some haptic feedback. 

Right now, it doesnt do anything. I mean it works, but I like some feedback for sure. This is the very reason why I was bearish on touch phones when they first came (really!). 

3/ Audio recordings
I wish the device were like a dictaphone where I could record everything. Often, there is merit in relistening to conversations. Right now I cant access raw recordingts. 

FINAL VERDICT?

I like it. I would love to make this a part of the joining kit of every team member.

If you want a gadget that can become your note-taking copilot, you MUST try it. I want DJ and Neo to succeed. So, I could be biased in my opinions. 

I would encourage you to try it. However, as always, please do your due diligence. I could be biased. 

So, that’s it. In case you do end up buying / using, lemme know and we must chat on use cases.

PS: DISCLAIMERS

1/ I paid for Neo. I paid 9999, cos I was one of the early backers. 
I did not get any freebies or money from DJ for this. 
PS: Price seems to have gone up. 

2/ Here are raw notes from the app after I “talked” to it.

Mild Success vs Wild Success

What do you want to be? A mildly successful person? Or a wildly successful one that has made a dent?

This is a rehash of an old SoG Letter that I wrote way back in Jan 2019. Original here.

This post is inspired by two things. 

A. This tweet. Link.

The tweet is a quote by NN Taleb and it says, “Mild success can be explainable by skills and labor. Wild success is attributable to variance.”

Side Note. NN Taleb is one of the most influential thinkers of contemporary times. His concepts on Black Swan, Antifragile and Skin in the Game have shaped my thinking and my approach to work. Oh, and I have the rare distinction of being blocked by him! 

B. A conversation with AS that made me think hard about the kind of things I want to do in life. He asked me what was my grand plan for life. And while I have thought often and thought hard about this, I was for the first time that I could put it in words. Thank You, AS for asking that question.

So, while thinking of the answer, I knew that I wanted to be a Wildly Successful person (and not just a mildly successful one).

And what is this Wildly Successful person?

Lemme start by defining the two. 

Mild success is a few millions, some cars, luxurious life, respect from your peers, considerable impact within your community and so on and so forth.

Example?
CEOs like Indira Nooyi. These people rest on the laurels of an organisation where they “work” and paddle carbonated water. 

Wild success is billions, irreverence for cars or luxury, actions that impact the whole of humanity and like Steve said, the ability to push the human race forward!

Example?
CEOs like Steve Jobs. These people actually created products that have enabled almost all creative people to do more. 

Thing is, Indira Nooyi could do so well because she was and is smarter than your average business executive and she worked really hard and stayed on the course. Most of my classmates from MDI would chart the same path to being mildly successful. They are smart, work hard and are on their way to the top of their corporate ladders. By itself, it’s not a wrong thing, to be honest. Who doesn’t like 2 cars, 2 houses, 2 kids, 2 house helps, 2 club memberships et al?

But then, this life is not for me.

I’d rather be Steve. Steve Jobs could get wildly successful because of what he worked on, how he worked, the kind of things he did, the decisions he made and all that gave him that shot at sending the ball out of orbit (and not just the park). And while he did all that, he had his quirks, he lived life on her terms, and he chase things that he believed were right. And along the way, inspired others.

Of course, he got lucky. Numerous times. Luck had to play a part in his wild success but the path he was on was not going to ever make him just mildly successful. It was either going to be wild. Or it was going to take him to ruin. Something Elon stands for. Even Warren for that matter.

So that!

Wait. Is there a lesson? Is there a point to this post?

So, the lesson thus ladies and gents is twofold. 

A. Understand what kind of success you chase. Wild. Mild.
I know I do. You? 

B. Once you know what you are chasing (mild or wild), if you are chasing, look at what others in the same league (mild or wild) did and then tread the same path.

It is that simple! Rest is a function of effort, consistency, time, luck and variance. Over and out!

Lemme know what you think. 

PS: When I thought about I'd like to become wildly successful and when I thought about the kind of people I think I want to become (I will not get into details but some people that I want to be like are Chris Sacca, Tim Ferriss, Naval Ravikant, Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya and others), I realised that there is a clear pattern. These people have a LOT in common. Here's a small list... 

- Great deal-making ability
- Envious network. Especially, a large set of loose connections that are willing to look past the biases that close friends may have
- Ability to communicate well
- The knack of spotting trends
- A very big bias towards action
- High-agency

I am sure there are more things that I can't spot right now. Just that to be able to create this variance that takes from your mild to wild, you ought to at least have what these guys have. Get the drift?

220721 – Morning Pages

A short post on what I did yesterday. Not much to be honest. But a post none the less.

8:27. Woke a few minutes ago. I slept at around 11:30 last night and my body was probably so tired from all the workout I did. Lol. Workout. Walking 10000 steps. Mr. Garg is funny.

Anyhow, I just woke up and I think I will rest it out today. I will probably just walk around.

So here’s a recap of the day that went by. It was a chutti for most people but I worked more than I do on other days. It was an ok day, to be honest. But on the road to EBC front, I climbed up 19 stories. 8 in the afternoon, 3 to a friend’s place, and another 8 once in the evening. Walked 17000+ steps. I could do it as I decided to take a work call while I walked. I must do it more often. Any calls post 6 are to be taken while walking unless you need to be on camera. Today, at 6, am supposed to be on camera :D. But right after that, I will go for a longish walk. Even if it’s raining. I have found my groove with walks in the rain!

So, yesterday, I wrote a difficult apology mail to a friend that I started a business with but I couldn’t do my part. It’s one of those red spots on my CV. I start projects and I stop those but most of those reach a point where they stop making sense. This one, I did not even put my head or heart to after a point. I even ghosted the friend. And this is very very unlike me. In the sense, I like to face issues and take em head-on. I don’t run away from work-related problems. Rather, I try to find a solution and then I try to ensure that those mistakes are not repeated. With this one, I did none of these. I did what I hate the most – run away and hide. I am sorry for how I conducted myself with it. The sad part is that I can’t do anything to fix it. Apologies don’t make sense when a lot of water has passed under the bridge.

No, the load is not off my head.
No, I did not fix what was broken.

But I did face my fear and acknowledge that I was wrong.

So that.

Apart from this, met Aditya Save for a walk. He gave me a lot of inputs on where I lack as a professional. The highlight was that if I choose one of the things I am working on, I probably will scale it to a point where I will be financially free. I don’t agree but I will think about it and let’s see how this goes and what I conclude. Even if I were to focus on one thing, I don’t think I have the luxury to focus on just one. I make my money by juggling multiple balls in the air, while I am perched on a unicycle on a tight rope a million feet above the ground.

Towards the end of the day, I saw some more of Toofan. As I see it, I can spot some obvious errors. Will write a post about those. And maybe a letter to Anjum Sir. Not from the perspective of correcting those. But from the perspective of knowing why Anjum Sir thought those things would work. He must have thought those things would work. Let’s see when I get around to it.

So yeah. This is about it from yesterday. I am hoping to not work out today, except for some walking. Or stairs may be. If I change my mood towards the evening and go some Surya Namaskar, it would be a bomb!

Here’s streaks…

  • OMAD – 0. Had chocolate at afternoon and some soup at around 10:30 in the night.
  • #book2 – 0
  • #noCoke – 133
  • #noCoffee – 3
  • #aPicADay – 0
  • Killer Boogie – 0
  • 10K steps a day – 3. Did 17K. Yay!
  • Surya Namaskar – 3
  • 10 mins of meditation – 0
  • Minimaslism Counter – -1
  • Morning Pages / Meditations – 223