I’m someone who is very hard on myself. I hold myself to high standards. I expect myself to perform at my best at all times. When I don’t, I become frustrated. When I do, I barely even notice my good performance because I’m too focused on the future and overlooking the present. Unfortunately, while this … Continue reading If you’re hard on yourself you’re probably hard on others
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The Power of Positive Constraints
Knowing when to dial back and how to do it One of my worst habits is my ability to perpetually bite off more than I can chew. I have periods of dormancy, where I’m anxious that I don’t have enough work on my plate, and then, feeling this anxiety, I go out and create work … Continue reading The Power of Positive Constraints
Stop chasing new customers if you’re neglecting your current ones
One of my (many) problems with the glorified startup culture is the mindset of grow, grow, grow. Everyone seems to be focused growth. Traffic, signups, downloads, paying users,etc., If you’re not growing ____, then you’re failing as a business. While yes, this is a healthy mindset to have (the goal is always to grow your … Continue reading Stop chasing new customers if you’re neglecting your current ones
How to become less reactive and more emotionally stable
Whether you’re studying Stoicism, Buddhist Meditation, Mindfulness, or simply practicing How to Not Give a Fuck, the underlying principle remains the same – How to become less reactive and more emotionally stable. How to cultivate a healthy indifference. Note that this is different than avoidance or non-reactivity. The goal here is NOT to become an emotionless … Continue reading How to become less reactive and more emotionally stable
My nightmare of a fundraising story
Around two years ago, when trying to scale my recruitment company BrainGain, I tried to raise a round of funding...and failed miserably. It was a great story with a lot of learnings so I decided to document it all. I hope you enjoy the ride 🙂 …. After living in Bangalore, India for the better … Continue reading My nightmare of a fundraising story
Top performers rise to the surface
I don’t believe that job interviews work. They are outdated. Why do I say this? Good communicators can talk their way into a position and then perform poorly. Poor communicators (who could have been great at the job) don’t speak well in the interview and get passed on. Interviews don’t accurately demonstrate who will perform … Continue reading Top performers rise to the surface
Give people the opportunity to surprise you
Goal setting is an important part of your business, but not for the reasons that you think it is. There’s a famous study (that I can’t find right now but you probably can) in which they found that people who exercised for only 5 minutes per day were more likely to build a habit than … Continue reading Give people the opportunity to surprise you
That time I bribed airport security in India…
There’s a famous saying that India doesn’t just let you leave, it smacks the door on your ass on the way out. I was no exception to this rule. After 3 years in India it was my final day in the country. I was scheduled to leave on a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with … Continue reading That time I bribed airport security in India…
How I spoke at Harvard
Roughly 3 years ago I was invited to speak at Harvard Business School, Cornell, Upenn Wharton School of Business and Rutgers university despite having 0 experience, 0 credibility, and knowing 0 people there. How did I do it? It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. To back up and give … Continue reading How I spoke at Harvard
Friends and family are the worst people to pitch your business ideas
When starting a business the first people we (usually) jump to for feedback are friends and family. They are the quickest and most reliable people to get feedback from. Easiest way to get people to try your potential product. However, I think that this is dangerous. I believe that friends and family are not reliable … Continue reading Friends and family are the worst people to pitch your business ideas