Rajan’s Linkedin posts

Don’t Quit While on the Uphill

For the last 15 odd years, every day I go to the gym, I see the exact same cast of people working out -- feels like seeing the same play in the same theater 🙂 Given their clockwork-like consistency, you would imagine that sticking to a workout habit is really easy,...

Find a Singular Goal

The best periods of my life were the ones in which I had one overriding life goal -- be it cracking a big exam or building a new product for HabitStrong (my startup). A singular goal that you really, badly, desperately want to accomplish, gives you three superpowers:...

One Small Action at a Time

Nobody gets up one day and says, "Let me become a drug addict." Nobody decides one day, "Let me start eating junk food, and become obese and unhealthy." Nor does anyone decide to become a chronic procrastinator, Netflix binge-watcher, or a smartphone addict. And yet,...

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Rajan shares insights from his own life journey to help you build better habits in yours.

    Find a Singular Goal

    The best periods of my life were the ones in which I had one overriding life goal -- be it cracking a big exam or building a new product for HabitStrong (my startup). A singular goal that you really, badly, desperately want to accomplish, gives you three superpowers:...

    read more

    One Small Action at a Time

    Nobody gets up one day and says, "Let me become a drug addict." Nobody decides one day, "Let me start eating junk food, and become obese and unhealthy." Nor does anyone decide to become a chronic procrastinator, Netflix binge-watcher, or a smartphone addict. And yet,...

    read more

    The Myth of Perfection

    In my last startup, ConceptOwl, a friend once told me about another learning startup that was growing like crazy by selling through schools. He asked, "Why don't you also do that?" When I heard that, my heart sank. We had tried the same approach and failed miserably....

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    Beyond the Business Card

    If you throw away your business card, whatever you have left, is truly yours, because nobody can take it away. We all derive identity and pride from our jobs, and it is perfectly logical. But it is worth remembering that our worth as a professional is derived from two...

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    Rewiring Fear

    If you have had a toxic boss, their mere presence will make you anxious even after you have left that job. Why is that? It turns out that this anxiety is triggered by an unconscious process, which you can't control intellectually. When you go through trauma, your...

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    There Are No Shortcuts in Life

    Almost every startup (including unicorns) staring at 'death-by-cash-burn' did not start off this way. Most startups were based on solid ideas and were addressing real need gaps. Even the startups that went down in flames (e.g., GoMechanic) were addressing real pain...

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    Do One Thing, Do It Fully

    Multitasking doesn't work. But if you are hell-bent on it, there is ONLY one scenario in which it (sort of) works. You can multitask two actions simultaneously if one of them has become an ingrained habit. E.g., if you are a good driver, you can listen to a podcast...

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    Moderate Daily Effort

    During one particular year in school, I became very complacent and whiled away my time. Suddenly, one day, I woke up realizing that I had only a few months left for the exams. So I calculated the hours required to finish the syllabus and came up with a hefty target,...

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    Just Start the Journey

    To be fit, you don’t need to be David Goggins or run 100-mile ultramarathons. To build a reading habit, you don't have to read one book per day. To start meditating, you don't need to be a Buddha-like perfect meditator. It is perfectly fine to be inspired by these...

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    Why Mental Health Still Faces Stigma Today

    Recently, Maharashtra politicians were calling each other names by saying things like, "XYZ might need to consult a psychiatrist." Another quipped, "You need to be treated in a mental hospital." Having to consult a psychiatrist has now become an insult. Any wonder...

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    Why Less is More

    In my previous EdTech startup, ConceptOwl, I found one day that new videos were not showing up on our app even though we were recording dozens of them every week. Why? Manpower problem. We had too many people! I found that there were too many steps in the video...

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    Why We Need Clear Priorities

    Your mind CANNOT focus on a task if it subliminally fears that you are missing out on something more pressing. When you have that fear or anxiety, it does the following: You multitask or leave a task incomplete (e.g., a half-written email) and jump to some other task....

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    Life Takes Time

    In 2010, at an investor event at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai, I was dazzled by a company called Opto Circuits. Their polished presentation, storytelling, and impressive product display left no doubt that a medical device giant was emerging from India. The founder won...

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    The Perfectionism Trap

    "Everything I do has to be perfect -- I can't afford to make any mistakes." -- This belief creates probably half the anxiety in the world. This is why some of us check our email ten times or spend days on a task that should take just hours. We are driven not by...

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    The Recipe for Simplifying Life

    Over the years, I have discovered this recipe for simplifying life and getting rid of melodrama. Allow me to share it: Don't chase anything at the cost of 'peace of mind.' Your health comes first – mental and physical. Everything else comes fifth (or lower). Live...

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    Rajan shares insights from his own life journey to help you build better habits in yours.