Opportunity for gaining experience

From the many 180 degree turns I have made in my career, the one big lesson I have learned is this: Life is to be experienced, not optimized. Life has no objective function to be maximized – it is not a calculus problem. It doesn’t have a destination that we need to...

Comparisons

You can’t lose a game you never played. Then why do we compare ourselves with others, whose lives we never lived? When we get caught up in the comparison game, we forget – everybody has different starting points, different life constraints, and different objectives. A...

High-happiness startup

I am NOT building a high-growth startup. Instead, I am building a “high-happiness” startup – more happiness for our team, as well as for our customers. Not having to chase ‘growth at any cost’ sets you free. We get away without doing any push marketing. We never had...

Living in the present moment

Some days I feel optimistic and charged up. Other days, not so much. Does it matter? Not really. You do what has to be done. Some days, you do it with enthusiasm and flourish. Other days, it feels like drudgery, but you still do it. We can’t wait for the right mood...

Introverts

Once, when I was working at McKinsey, someone said to me, “You are an introvert, right?” It was an innocuous comment but I almost felt like he was making an accusation – I could feel my defensive barriers going up. I said, “You are also an introvert, aren’t you?” He...