Latest Post
Why a Packed Calendar Is Killing Your Productivity
A packed calendar seems like the ultimate productivity hack. Yet, it is a terrible idea. Here is why. When your calendar is packed, your mind feels a time scarcity, as if someone is constantly whispering -- "Hurry up! There is not enough time."...
Recent Posts
Learned Helplessness: Why Good People Help Us Break Free
During my policing career, when interacting with very poor people, I would often notice an attitude of helplessness and resignation. Life had...
How Elimination Reveals What Truly Matters
A partner at McKinsey once told me about a massive cost-cutting project at a company that used to operate very lavishly. For example, on every...
Why Deep Change Feels Invisible – Until It Transforms You
8 months after trying out another gym, I went back to my old gym recently. And I saw a familiar-looking guy, who used to be overweight and flabby....
Why True Confidence Comes from Hands-On Experience
When you first hold a rifle, shooting seems so easy -- just align the gun's foresight, backsight, and the target, and pull the trigger. But there is...
More Articles
There Is No Single Mold for Success
A few years ago, I was at IIT Kanpur to give a talk. And the speaker before me was a brilliant entrepreneur, who had built a billion-dollar company from scratch, AFTER his retirement. And while this gentleman was talking, the students started...
How to Overcome Nervousness Through Exposure
Anyone can walk on a one-foot-wide path. But if it was a beam jutting out from a building's 100th floor, you would collapse before taking even one step. Why? In some sense, the task is exactly the same. But our peripheral vision can see the steep...
The Power of Problem-Solving Under Pressure
During my consulting days, whenever we felt unclear about what to do next, my panic would start rising. And my instinct would always be to push harder and churn out a few more slides. But thankfully, we would pause, go to the whiteboard, and do a...
How Morning Routines Shape Your Day
Many of us live by default -- not by choice. After waking up, we all default to some behaviors, e.g., hanging out with a cup of coffee, going to the gym, scrolling the phone, and so on. Some of these are helpful, some are toxic -- but they are very...