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Everybody’s path is different
A few years ago, I was at IIT Kanpur to give a talk. As I was waiting for my event, speaking on the stage was a renowned entrepreneur who has built a multi-billion dollar company from scratch. While he was talking, quite unexpectedly, the students...
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It’s okay to be unhappy
Sometimes, we are unhappy about being unhappy. Some of us might be thinking: "Everybody else looks so cheerful -- why do I go through these ups and...
Constraints drives innovation
When writing my MBA application essays, what annoyed me the most was ‘word-limit’. I would write a beautiful piece and then find it 300 words over...
The price of power
Leadership carries a price-tag: When the first bullet is fired, you have to be willing to face it before putting others in the line. Also, you never...
Meditation is a long road
Meditation is not an ATM, where you swipe your card (i.e., spend 20 min) and expect 'blissful calm' to come out gushing. This is one reason so many...
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Whatsapp & Slack addiction
In a 2014 study, Timothy Wilson of the University of Virginia left students in a room for 15 odd minutes with nothing to do (phones were taken away). But they could give themselves a painful electric shock. Almost 67% of the men gave themselves...
Would you swap your life?
"Would you swap your life with that of an 80-year-old billionaire?" Almost any sensible youngster will respond to this question with an emphatic 'no'. Yet, almost every few weeks, someone asks me this question: "How do I stop comparing myself with...
Tolerance for sloppiness
After graduation, one of my IIT buddies, a mechanical engineer, took up a job at a large auto manufacturer in India. Once he joined the manufacturing plant, he saw that they did not have too much respect for precision. If some part of the car...
The trail of envy
I live in a private residential complex owned by a group of IAS/IPS officers in Kerala. And when these IAS officers retire, often as the Chief Secretary (the highest rank in the state government), almost all of them take some post-retirement gig...