Morning!
The first update of 2026 is here!
This one comes from a Starbucks (where else) at Ahmedabad. Am here to meet Krishna and this is my 3rd trip / city in this year already (the other ones were Pune and Delhi (+Gurgaon + Noida)). The 4th trip is to Chennai next week. And I love it. I missed being on the road.
As I look back to 2025, I am wondering, how did I even agree to be bound to one place? Dont get me wrong. I am all for routines and discipline and all that but I know that us humans were not supposed to settle down. If my memory serves me right, it was agriculture that tamed us (I think I read this in one of Harari’s books) and while settling has had its advantages, its the voyagers and scouts and road warriors who’ve show us the way.
In fact, in our life time, there are people who’re showing us that adventurers push the “human race forward“. From the guy who jumped from Stratosphere (for Red Bull) to the ones who’ve taken rockets to space (Hi, Elon!) and lived at ISS to the ones who didn’t make it — each of these people paved the way for us as a race. The ones who are tethered to a place, eating popcorn and paddling convenience in 10 mins must be grateful to these folks.
Listen to this as you read this…
Ok, I can rant for hours on this. But let’s move on.
So, this year on, I plan to be lot more consistent. Lol. However if the 15 days of 2026 are to go by anything, I have an uphill task. And at least as of today, I am committed.
Ok, again. Ranting. Lemme get to the weekly notes.
💭 Highlights, reflections, updates, notes and thoughts from Week 3, 2026
So, this is the first one of the year and I want to try a different format.
I will talk about what I learnt and what I thought and all that. And I will use cues from all the things I’ve consumed and saved (you know, photos, quotes, links, notes). This of this as me talking to myself.
Lets go!
1/ Nirula’s
Here’s a pick from the OG Niruala’s outlet in Delhi. Saw it on this trip.
Growing up, the HCF was such a rage that I would save for it. I was reminded that they used to run an offer where any kid who got about 85 would get a free sunday or an ice-cream and I remember my sis getting those for free all the time (she was the studious kinds and did well at school).
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2/ Habit Stacking Cards
These cards come from Shardul and Good Habits Club. Such a simple idea. And such a powerful one.
PS: A lot of work on HelioCoach will happen from the foundations of these stacking cards.
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3/ The console from an event.
Nothing much to say here but I love these messy things like the console. And if you notice, the mess at the back of the screen – the wall that separates the dreamers from the doers.
If I had my way, I would only do events. Blame it on Suvi, Anna and Gravity!
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4/ Sacrifice vs Desire
I saw this on instagram probably and I was so moved that I couldnt sit still. All my life I’ve seen so many people want so many things and give so little towards that it hurt my head and heart. I didn’t have the words to tell them how to give more to get more. And then I saw this and I was, WOAH!
And in fact, I’ve lived all my life with the sacrifice first lens (not that I have a lot to show for that and it has served me well – after all, I live an almost “free” life (this year I plan to be more kind on myself)). I wish I could tell more people that they need to do more to get more.
Oh, and in case you are unable to sacrifice a lot, tame your desire!
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5/ Lesson in Persistence
This comes from Insta as well (I love insta for visual cues) and reinforces another thought that I believe in – stay at it. Keep digging. Find meaning in adventures and pursuits and even in suffering.
No, I am not justifying suffering.
All I am saying is that the journey and the highways and the speedbumps that come along the way make the journey exciting and worth it. When you see the scenery change as you go forth, you start to travel deeper inside. There is a reason that despite all the air travel, roadtrips are alluring.
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6/ Unreasonable People
One of my recurring tropes and inspiration has been this category of people that we call unreasonable people. These are the people who dont settle for an answer. They are the ones who are persistent, sacrifice all they have and like I paraphrased in the beginning, push the human race.
In fact, one of my goals is to find more unreasonable people and become friends with them.
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7/ “Jo beet gayi so baat gayi”
Harivansh Rai Bachchan wrote this poem – Jo beet gayi so baat gayi. Vipassana taught me the concept of Anicca. Both these loosely teach that what’s happened has happened and you need to move on.
Of course you are human and it’s tough to move on. And my biggest fear of life is that I will die alone. Each person who I care for, supported, took care of will desert me at some point in time. And this is not an unfounded notion. I have had friends, business partners, lovers and people from every other deep relationship walk out on me.
At first, I was angry, confused and sore. I went thru the stages of grief. Luckily, I came out ok on the other side.
But now as I start to age and start to hit the mid-life crisis and all that, I have lot more acceptance. In fact, more than mere acceptance, my first reaction when someone moves on is, “I am so happy for you”.
And thus when I saw this cartoon, I felt seen!
So that.
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8/ Dan Koe
I’ve been reading thing from Dan Koe and oh man, WHAT A GUY!
My primary medium of discovery is his X – @TheDanKoe. Some of the pieces I’ve read and been thinking on are articulation (something that I saw Dr Peterson talk about as well), fix life in one day and on multiple interests. Each of these are what I would love to stand for. Each of these are what I want to talk about. Each of these are what I want to find an answer to!
I invite you to read more about him.
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9/ Scott Adams
One of these days, I woke up with the news of Scott Adams passing away. And no, I was not really moved about it but I do remember waking up to a same news about Steve as well (in 2015). Here’s my post after I learnt of Steve’s passing.
Anyhow, the point is, Scott published a final letter on X and he ended it up with two words.
Be Useful.
These two words have been the mantra of life for a long time now. And I think I want to double down on this. I want to be of service to many more people, and at a large scale. And I want to do this while I put myself first, make money, take care of my village and yet build with an abundant mindset.
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10/ WA
I’ve officially lost control of my WA. There are way too many texts and way too many messages. I dont think I will ever be able to get back to people in time. And I apologize for that in advance. I will have to publish this multiple times on the internet.
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Other, misc updates.
These are not in any order.
1/ My eyes are getting weak.
I can feel nausea, headache and blurry vision when I see at the screen for long. I will get some checkup done.
2/ “There is no them”
I am not the spiritual kinds but I do know that all of us are “one”. I am not very articulate about it but I will work on this as we go along. Oh, next week, am visiting Ramana Maharshi’s ashram.
3/ YT Live is on!
I go live each day around 815 and talk about whatever is at the top of my head. I want to do this everyday but I am unable to. Also, I want to do this at 8 but logistics prevent me from that!
You may see it here.
4/ Insta stories are live!
See this where I want to upload a picture each day. So far I’ve missed a few and I will try to not miss many.
5/ Little flunky, small time thief
There was a distinct time when I felt like a small-time paddler. CB would be sad at me. I remember him saying, “I am not much of a petty thief, either I want the entire world or nothing”. So I need to up my ante here.
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🈺 Action on LARGE objectives for the year
In this section, I will capture my progress on large objectives for the year. In 2026, I plan to do the following three things…
- Book2
- Human Flag Pole
- Save a million dollars
I am most confident about book 2. Dr Hitakshi tells me that flag pole will take 2 years of sorts. The million dollars one, I am not sure yet. Lets see.
So, as a status update, I will give myself a zilch. In the last 15 days, I have taken absolutely zero action. The next week will also be a tough one. I am on the road. Maybe the last week is when I will show real traction. I also need to think that if this year is going to be full of travel and all that, how do I plan to stay consistent and focussed. #sgtoThink
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☑️ So, what did I get done last week? And what will I do next 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.
I will get back on this in the next update (for the next week) but this year, I want to track the following…
- Health
- C4E / Work
- Brand SG / Distribution
- People (Family, Friends, Strangers, etc)
- Book2
- Shauk (Music, Films, Poker etc)
In the coming week, I want to do the following…
- Start with book 2
- Start with serious fitness things (lol)
- Shortlist some idea that I want to invest time and money on.
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🏃🏻♂️➡️ Health
I added Health as a key section last year. 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.
Like the last one, I will get back on this in the next update (for the next week).
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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.
Like the last two, I will get back on this in the next update (for the next week).
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🥡 So, one thing that defines the past week?
Journey.
Triggered by the trips that I’ve taken this year. And more importantly, the inward one.
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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.
PPS: Please do point typos.
PPPS: In case you see me being inconsistent in anything – work, writing, reviews etc, PLEASE do point out.
PPPPS: This is the first “update” of the year and thus a lot of this is incomplete. Allow me one or two weeks to get settled. And, on this one, do lemme know what you think of the new format.