Motivation

For some reason, I don’t feel super motivated today. So what? Our goals are still alive, and so are we. Then what is there to wait for? Time won’t stop flowing, nor will the clock stop ticking for us to find the right mood. The world waits for no one. I have never...

Cherish everyone

During my stint in the IPS, once my IGP (Inspector General of Police) flared at me in anger because he did not get a good seat at a cultural event. It was a celebration to mark South India’s film star Mohanlal’s 25 years in films. With almost 40,000 people jampacked...

Prioritize substance over hype

When I launched my current startup, HabitStrong, I decided to not go the conventional route of painting a growth story and trying to impress the VCs. Instead, here is the startup guide I followed: 1. Don’t worry about scale – instead focus on impact. 99% of the time,...

Focus

If you keep hearing that startup life is about non-stop hustle and working 16 hours a day, rarely sleeping before 2 am, let me assure you – that is total nonsense. Of course, if you choose to go that crazy, nobody can stop you. But there is absolutely no need. I have...

Lessons from Policing

One fine morning in 2001, when I was heading the Trivandrum City Police, students from a particular political union in Trivandrum’s University College went on a rampage. But since we were anticipating the violence, we were ready. With a good number of police teams...