Sep 12, 2026
Dubai
I am here since a couple of days. And this trip so far has been nothing to write home about. While I am writing this, I am reading what Claude wrote for me and it’s incredible how much it knows about this trip. For example, it wrote this line… “The bags are in the room. The Niyo cards are still not topped up and the travel adapter i was supposed to buy in Mumbai is sitting in a shop in Mumbai.” And somehow it knows that I was to add money in my Niyo cards and buy a travel adapter.
Anyhow. I am here.
And let’s see how this trip goes.
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Highlights, reflections, updates, notes and thoughts from the week gone by.
1/ The September Focus
The plan for September remains empty.
Think of this as the month where I took a break and did nothing. And thought about what to do next. Let’s park it at that. Think of it as break season for me. And of course, like most things, even when I take a break, I want to work on things. And I am indeed working on things. These things may not be structured per se in terms of client outcomes but in terms of exploration and all. Like right now, Claude is churning out websites for a few projects that I am excited about.
2/ Dubai
Claude tells me that this is my fourth trip here. I have no way to check. But I was to say that I’ve been here more times than this. And I dont have energy or inclination to check. So lets live with that.
So, while I am moving around and meeting people, I am in the Marina area and I quite like it here. Very modern. Very structured. Has easy access to a water body (a canal). Wish it was close to a beach as well (there’s JBR but thats very commercial for my taste; some part of this post is from a Starbucks outlet here). I can totally see myself living here. Just that like Akshay told me, this is an expensive place to be poor in. I mean I am not poor per se but I am not rich either. Definitely not from Dubai standards. And it’s way too hot for my taste. It’s September and 8:30 in the night and the air is still stuffy. Maybe I spend only the winter months here?
Anyhow. It’s just been a couple of days and a lot of thoughts. I will write them sometime. Maybe on this post itself when I get to that.
3/ Founder Storytelling Coaching
Spotted a tweet where a founder seems to be seeking services of a storytelling coach. I thought it would be an interesting problem to solve. The founder wants to get better at telling his own story, and he is right that it is the thing standing between him and the rooms he wants to walk into.
So I reached out to him and we got talking. And things are now at a place where we will do a pilot. And got me thinking. That it’s a large enough problem to work on and it fits into my thinking about being useful and being there when you are stuck (and not being there when you are happy or sad; must write this piece somewhere). Need to think more on this.
Oh, I wrote this piece while thinking about that project.
In case you know folks who need help with their founder stories and personal brand for founders, please do tell me.
4/ Focus. Focus. Focus.
In one of the chats in Dubai (with Pritam), I realised yet again that I need to be able to focus on one thing; in case I want large outcomes. If I continue to be a mild success, I can do that well. But in case I need to a wild one, I have to be able to focus on one thing.
I’ve tried hard to be focussed on one thing but I’ve failed miserably at it. I’ve tried hard to stop doing things but that makes unhappy. I’ve wanted to cut off things that dont give me immediate value and don’t allow me to play to win. Even those dont take me where I want to be.
So, I need to find a way to get focussed in life.
I know I am not a big fan of specialization but I think I am coming around to the fact that I need to pick a lane and stick to it. And then while I am on it, I need to figure what could be the way to find my hobbies.
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5/ Strong opinions. Loosely held.
Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about things. And a lot of my strong opinions are changing.
For example, the entire coaching thing – where you charge money to give gyaan? Well, I no longer think it’s a bad thing necessarily. There are more examples, but I am not ready to talk about those at this time. May be I will process some more and come around to that.
Also see the bit on founder storytelling coaching thing.
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6/ Work in spurts
I’ve realised that I can only work in spurts. Once I move on, I move on.
Lemme give an example. The other day, I whipped together an app to help folks write their manifestations. And then I moved on. And then while writing this weekly review, I stumbled onto that app again. And ISTG I had forgotten about it. Similarly, I made my own clone of Tally to manage my expenses. I burnt like a billion token on it in a week and then I forgot about it. Till it resurfaced a few days later.
So I need to find a way to track things so that I don’t lose, well, track of those. Any clues? I do have a command centre that I made with Claude, a task manager, a CRM but still.
Oh, another corollary of the same problem. When I work on a project, I have a limited context window for myself. This could mean features, people, tasks, things or whatever. And once I switch the session or move onto something else, I am unable to find a way to recall all things. I’ve started to maintain a tiny readme on each project now but it’s still not a replacement for my brain. Any folks here have been able to grow their brain?
May be I need to re-read this piece by Ryan?
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7/ I think when I talk.
No large thoughts on this one. Simple. That my best ideas and interactions and brainwaves come in when I am talking. And thus I need more listeners. And confidants that I can talk to. And more people who will give honest feedback and not mince words.
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8/ Other Notes and Links
Starting this week, I want to put some effort on this piece. I will try to write a line or two about things that caught my eye in the week gone by. Think of it as a news round up. And I will also share this with folks on my TIL group.
a. iPhone Duo
Apple released their new iPhone, and I love it. I am not the kind to have foldable phones, but this one, I want! In case you want to gift one to me, lemme know.
b. Bending Spoons acquired Miro
I used to love Miro when I would start with a mindmap on each thing. But with time, I have stopped using. I wonder why. It’s a powerful tool, I enjoy working on the maps and Miro is one of the best tools available for that.
Bending Spoons is one of those companies that acquires good businesses, builds ruthless efficiency in those and makes money. I’ve always imagined having a company like that – multiple businesses, optimised, well paying, well earning and good life.
Of course I’ve heard in private conversations about them being “sharks” and exploitative but I think there’s some lessons there for sure.
c. The AI threat
After Jensen said AGI has arrived, this thread by an Anthropic engineer (Jacob) made the world spin. As on last reading, it has 170 MILLION impressions!
While we are on this, also see Anthropic’s Econ Scenarios. Best seen on a computer. Some stark takeaways. Especially if you are reading this. Cos, odds are, you would be a knowledge worker. At least I identify myself as a knowledge worker.
While this was happening, over the weekend, both Sam and Dario seemed to agreed that they need to control the advancement. Wow. I miss that I am not at the frontier of this conversation!
d. Dubai
I saw many Indian companies here and I was super proud! A small list is Maharaja Bhog (lol), Bisleri, Porter, Urban Company. Well done fellas!
Staying on this, since I am not surrounded by regular folks, the chats of AI are missing here. In fact, am yet to find my community and network here and thus I dont know what the city talks about!
e. This tweet from Aakrit about AI is fab!
Love the simple distillation of what I think is true but could never articulate.
f. Pocket FMs’ $500M
The internet melted over Pocket FM’s news about the $500M ARR. And they seem to have pivoted 11 times. Wow. And that they use AI to create content. And they are in the entertainment business. If they can, why can’t others?
See this tweet about how they reached here.
g. Writing things down – link
From Ben of Stratechery. Took a lot of notes. Especially about his comments on why he doesn’t like watermarking text on AI. I never imagined that could even be a thing!
h. PG’s note on powerful startups – link
TBH, I am yet to read this. But he’s written an essay and you better read it.
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PS: Do let me know what you think of this roundup.
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📸 Photos from the week gone by
Quite a few photos.
As always, available on request.
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📈 The trackers of life
No action on trackers.
I know that I am unable to track things when I am on the road. So, let’s wait for me to come back. Or settle down.
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Action on LARGE objectives for the year
In 2026, I plan to do three things.
- Book2
- Human Flag Pole
- Save a million dollars
Book2 / Caravan Serai.
No movement again.
Human Flag Pole.
This is the best thing of the week. For three days, I did 15 push-ups on the trot. This is great improvement for me. I could only do like 2 and now I am upto 15. Even if I am dying after the 10th one. Let’s see when I reach 100. And then I will aim for pullups. And then we shall see where get.
Also, on a this, saw this from Dan Go and was left shocked.
Save a million dollars.
No action. I think I need a money coach ;P
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📌 So, what did I get done last few weeks? And what will I do next week?
A one-line report on what shipped. Not WIP.
- Health. Sleep, food, movement. Nothing to report. I am walking a tad more and I am controlling what I eat. Rest, nothing to report.
- C4E / Work. Same as last week. No large actions. Still shuttling between 66MGRoad and Atlas Fractional.
- Brand SG / Distribution. Nothing large.
- People. Talked to many people in Dubai. Yet to see how would it impact my life and brand.
- Book2. Lol.
- Shauk. Nothing tbh. Was busy with travel and all that.
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📅 One thing that defines the past week?
Uncertainty.
And I am surprising ok with that. I know a lot of people are unable to live with it. But I think I am ok with it.
The other words for this year have been: Busy, Skip, Routine, Routine, Getting Back, Freedom, People, Motion, Show, Flow, Excitement, Embarrassment, Blur, Whiling, Movement, Activity, Regular, Easy, Journey, Downtime, Same, Drift, Routine, Busy.
So that.
Over and out.
Until next Friday.
—SG
PS: This series of posts is inspired by Thej and his weekly notes. Previous editions from 2026 are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (missed these three), 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 (missed), 26, 27, 28, 29 (missed these three), 30, 31, 32, 33 (missed), 34, 35 (missed), 36
PPS: Please do point typos.
PPPS: In case you see me being inconsistent in anything – work, writing, reviews etc, PLEASE do point out.
