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Understanding through reflection
I know a few people who read a lot of books but if you hear them talk, very little wisdom comes out. Isn’t that surprising? Why does that happen? My hypothesis is that reading is necessary but NOT sufficient. True understanding comes from...
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Random chance
Once, during my stint with McKinsey, an HR recruiter from the New York office once asked me if I could help shortlist a few resumes for interviews....
The path to greatness
Learning new skills is hard. Learning daily is hard. But you don't climb Mt. Everest by watching National Geographic. You get there by pushing...
Focus on the Process
As a kid, during our train travels, when we got close to the destination, I would be constantly pestering my parents, "When will the station...
Be a good human being
There is no such thing as 'karma' - good deeds don't always generate tangible rewards. What goes around, need not come around. One might then ask:...
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Experience is overrated
When I first met my Inspector General of Police (IGP) after taking charge as Trivandrum Police Commissioner, he went on a rant. He said, "I don't know how the government posted you here and how you will handle such a tough assignment. This is...
Changing perspectives
A few years ago, I was on a flight from Jaipur to Bangalore. As soon as the flight took off, the plane ran into the kind of turbulence I had never encountered before -- it was getting violently tossed up and down. Sometimes, it felt like the plane...
Overcome FOMO
In the early 2000s, I got into the habit of regularly watching TV. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong per se with that, but at some point, I started feeling anxious that I would miss out on some new episode or some upcoming movie. In those...
Is your time worth $1?
A few years ago, WhatsApp wanted to charge an annual subscription fee of $1 but later gave up on the plan. Why? Had they charged $1 a year, many would have stopped using the app. But let us do the following exercise: 1. Estimate the time we daily...