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The Hardest Test of Leadership
The best tonic for your mental health is having a kind boss. Even in the most high-profile assignments, when my bosses have been bad, I have hated the experience. And when I had good bosses, even mediocre work felt worthwhile. If you lead a team,...
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Bird by Bird
When you are overwhelmed, what do you do? Read this quote from Anne Lamott's book 'Bird by Bird.' "Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten...
Pick one habit and start
Sometimes, life feels like an out-of-control mess. We want to fix it, but we don't know where to start. If it feels like all bad habits have...
Hack for alertness and clarity: good sleep
Many years ago, after late-night work and minimal sleep for a few days, I was struggling to stay alert. But there was a ton of work to be done. So a...
Why You Should Build Habits
Even after running for a decade, my 10km morning run today felt just as hard. But then, should habitual actions not become effortless? Why bother...
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VVIP Visits: Hindering Disaster Relief
Unpopular opinion: VVIPs visiting sites of accidents and natural disasters is counterproductive. It looks good on cameras but it actually hurts relief and rescue. VVIP visits distract officials, who, instead of doing relief and rescue, have to:...
Action Converts Potential Into Reality
You have potential. So do I. But even a rock sitting on a hilltop has potential energy. Yet, there is nothing it can do until it starts rolling down the hill. Movement unleashes the rock's potential energy. Our potential is very much like that....
The Truth About Jobs and Entrepreneurship
"9-to-5 jobs are slavery. You work on someone else's dream -- and have no freedom, no flexibility. It is a shitty life. "I was also like that once. But look at me now! I quit my job and work a few hours a day. And I earn a 7-figure income, live on...
The Power of Simple Stories
In the summer of 2006, I was doing my summer internship with McKinsey in New York. My manager was an MD from a top medical school. One day, he and I were waiting for a cab to visit our client's office. Soon, a cab arrived. But before us, a woman...