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In the early days of smartphone, I became an early victim of digital distraction. I was no longer able to build deep focus as I used to earlier. And I hated it. This is the story of how I got my focus back.
In 2002, I was facing a crisis that I thought would sink my career. And it taught me the futility of worrying. At that time, I was serving as the Trivandrum City Police Commissioner. The problem started quite innocuously – about 200 tribals came down to Trivandrum and...
It has repaid me more than my super-expensive MBA, my electrical engineering degree, or pretty much anything useful I have done – I am talking about the craft of writing. For more than three years, writing on LinkedIn and Quora gave me the privilege of serving...
On the 24th of March 2020, ConceptOwl, my last startup, died. I don’t remember having worked harder for anything in my life – for 5 long years, I slogged day and night to make ConceptOwl successful. And all I had to show for it was crores of losses. Yet, I was still...
I remember the Annual Sports Meet in my school when I was in my 3rd grade, as if it was yesterday. My classmates were having fun, participating in races and games. But I had no event to participate in – I did not qualify for anything. I was so skinny and devoid of any...
Until 2012, I had gotten every job I wanted, and cracked every exam I had written. And then, finally, I failed. Miserably. My luck had finally run out. What followed was years of misery and frustration. And yet, from all that pain, emerged this beautiful truth: You...
In June 2001, when I was appointed the Trivandrum City Police Commissioner, I was a disaster waiting to happen – at least according to my then boss, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Southern Kerala. The lessons I learned from what happened next, saved me later...
What happened to me In 2012, when I quit my plush job with a billion-dollar private equity fund to do a startup, I was in a mad rush. And ironically, that rush to succeed is what cost me crores of rupees and a painful failure. To save a ton of grief and help launch...
What happened to me I love running. But I also hate running. Let me explain. Once I am done with a long run, it is pure bliss. Running is my drug (in a really good, positive way). And yet, incredibly, my mind sometimes resists getting started with the run. This...
What happened to me It was 31st October, 1998 at 1:30 pm. The passing out parade of our IPS batch at the National Police Academy had just gotten over. In the IPS Mess, we were celebrating the completion of our training. Yay! I was now a real IPS officer — not a...
Rajan shares insights from his own life journey to help you build better habits in yours.