Career Advice

You’re Not Reading Enough

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Whenever I go to colleges to have workshops with students and quizzed students with a question: “How many of you read less than one hour?”

95% people have put their hands up and this is not a good sign for us.

I request you, if you find any youth in neighbourhood, please tell him to read:

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none, zero” and
“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Day by day, and at the end of the day – if you live long enough like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve.”
~~~Charlie Munger

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The entrepreneurship model is changing

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In 2010 I bid goodbye 18 years of corporate career resigning from the top job amid lots of hopes and desperation. It took some efforts to free myself from fears of loosing out because of apprenticeship habits and then I started to see the world from a different perspective.

There is something extraordinary happening in our country and the world. To experience this phenomenon, I needed to be like a free bird, it became necessary to fly to explore the voyage. Bonded inside e corporate world with a brand tag , I won’t have quite realized it.

There are 200 million youths are coming to the employment market and our current system can provide employment opportunity to only 60 million people. We need the explosion of startups, thousands of entrepreneurs and facilitators who can turn the fortune of our countrymen by bringing up their billion dollar ideas to life.

We need to correct our entrepreneurial thinking. Our belief that the vortex of entrepreneurship is to find an investor and get funded needs tuning. Our notion that be funded is like winning the Cricket World Cup must change. And those who strike funding and start living like a species from a different world should realize the ground realities before their daydreaming becomes nightmare.

If you speak to those who got funded they will tell you that they get back to being an employee. Even though you have brought in the people who share your dreams and vision, they may not agree with your process and soon it becomes all about the money. Accomplishing the financial end becomes the main driver of business. We all saw what happened with housing.com.

Entrepreneurs are suffering with it. Excellent startups began to tumble because the money seeking model is endless. One of my own startup went berserk when I begun focusing on raising money more than running the business.

A new way to enter into this phenomena is needed for fulfilling India’s success through a collaborative entrepreneurial ecosystem. Think and let me know what you think?

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Create a canvas, not a painting

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I met a business associate few days ago. I was impressed realizing the way he begin the conversation. Rather than asking for “What you do?” “Where are you from?”.

He started telling me about few of the things that he learned about me and how that influenced him to ask for the meting.
I could observe an invigorating chemistry firming up and by the time we begin discussing the business, we both were feeling of like a friend.
In all you do, create opportunities and conditions for those around you to add value to an idea. Empower them to contribute. Encourage them to improvise!

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Hard thing about achievement

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In order to claim achievement, every individual needs to have goals whose attainment requires effort, and needs to attain success while pursuing the set goal. Our goals can be divided into three groups:


1) Easy goals that can be attained with minimal effort
2) The hard goals which require serious efforts to attain; and
3) Impossible goals that cannot be satisfied, no matter how much effort one makes.
If you look around the world today, most of the impossible things are already done and whatever is left to be done, even a child can do it. It requires incremental thinking, some serious efforts, and consistency in accomplishing it.


I think the biggest disappointment that mankind is facing today to bring the kind of challenges that can enthuse people to think and do hard goals that challenge their capacities and energies. I am into this thinking, if everything worth doing has already been done, why are we so desperately allergic to claim our spot riding on the terrain of achievement?

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The school of yourself

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Last Saturday when I asked students, “How long do you read everyday?”
99% of students raised their hands for less than one hour a day.

It’s kind of shocking to notice that in spite of them being in school and a full time learner, they have such a low level of commitment for learning.

I feel education should never stop whether we are in school or not. We should never deprive ourselves of learning.

Our curiosity about the world should never stop. Because unless we chase every reference, unless we go deeper than anybody else, unless we explore deeper to quench our curiosity, its difficult to farther ahead and claim our significance.

Always be reading. Always collect books whether you have time to read or not. Always google.

Google anything. Google your dream. Google your desire. Google your aspiration. Googling is a beautiful thing – When you find result of your search, your imagination soars, your thinking finds strength, you garner advocacy for your concept, you find others who has similarity to you.

Be the best curious adult. Be the school of yourself…

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Swantah Sukhay Tulsi Raghunath Gatha

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नानापुराण निगमागम सम्मतं यद रामायणे निगदितं क्वचिदन्यतोsपि ।
स्वान्तःसुखाय तुलसी रघुनाथ गाथा भाषानिबंध मतिमंजुलमातनोति ।

अनेक पुराण,वेद और शास्त्र से सम्मत, तथा जो रामायण में वर्णित है, और कुछ अन्यत्र से भी उपलब्ध, श्री रघुनाथ जी की कथा को, तुलसीदास अपने अंतःकरण के सुख के लिए, अत्यंत मनोहर भाषा रचना में विस्तृत करता है।

For the gratification of own self, Tulsidas brings forth this very elegant composition relating in common parlance the story of the Lord of Raghunath, which is in accord with the various Puranas, Vedas and the Agamas (Tantras), and incorporates what has been recorded in the Ramayana of Valmiki and culled from some other sources.

Tulsidas declares that he is writing the Ramcharit Manas for the gratification of his own self and even after 100s of years, it is still among the most prominent work. Most of our daily rituals, rules, social norms, and living principles as mentioned in the Ramcharit Manas.


Look at your life, look at the things you are doing, and look inside you. Are you doing things that gratify your own self? If not, meditate on it for a while, identify things which will make you feel gratified and start putting together your act.


You are born original don’t die a copy. Jai Shri Ram.

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How to Start Leading

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Lead Yourself by taking up the responsibility of your own work, your own deed and deliver what you commit you will.

Lead Your Team by communicating with clarity, align members with your goals, and understand their desires and goals well.

Lead Your Industry by spreading your message outside your wall in a way that it inspires people. For this to happen, you need to stop micromanaging, start learning and build profound connections with people who matter the most to you and your industry.

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I am always on vacation

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A journalist once asked, “Mr. Gandhi, you have been working fifteen hours a day for fifty years. Don’t you think you should take a vacation?”
Mahatma Gandhi smiled and replied, “I am always on vacation.”

“If your work feels like a sacrifice, you should question everything around you, but if it feels like indulgence then dive in and give it all you have. When you have indulgence, you will always feel like you are on vacation.”

Create a life that you live happily, fulfilling, balanced, and inherently enjoyable so that you don’t have to seek any escape from it.

When you wake up every morning for creating experiences, relationships, work and pleasure is all knit together so well that fosters commitment, joy and purpose.

This story is a reminder to seek fulfillment in the everyday moments and to create a lifestyle that doesn’t make you feel like you are burdened to do your duty and you don’t need any vacation to escape from it to find happiness.

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Whether prayers are answered

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You will find many instances of prayers being answered when done so with the full devotion and faith by the devotee. People who have experienced the power of prayer would state that “It happened because they asked for it with full faith in the Godhood.” For prayer to be answered, the prayer must be;

The prayer must be done with the realization that God has the indomitable power to fulfil your wish.

God is so kind that he’ll undoubtedly listen to my need and show me the path to accomplishing it.

My demand for help is legitimate, important and law-abiding because of this God will grant me his blessings fulfilling my demand.

Combining the full inner devotion unto God, I have faith that my prayers are truthful and hence God will shower his blessings.

When all of the above factors are adjoined together, and prayers are offered, the devotee imbibes the confidence that his prayers will be answered. Having this mindset makes the natural forces join with the caller to get his calling answered.

May God grant your truthful wishes!

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Work works, hard work definitely

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“You have the right to work only but never to its fruits.

Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction. ” Bhagavad Gita 2.47

Have you ever noticed the level of involvement of any child when they play with the doll? You’d feel amazed seeing their focus, commitment and joy.

Your life is a sum total of the focus you give to what you think, feel, and do, what you love. To thrive, you need a strict ritual to plan your day, your plan should include all tasks, projects and goals which you have decided to achieve. Your every day should be planned for the result:

1) You have planned the tasks you trust for its completion
2) You assure yourself that your tasks are in front of you and you keep it striking out as they get done
3) And, you have an evening ritual to review your work to reflect on the incomplete stuff.

Success is territory, exclusively preserved to be ruled by you when you do hard work with complete focus and devotion.

Write down:
1) How do you define hard work?
2) How are you going to start working hard in 2018?
3) How are you going to make yourself accountable for the hard work?
4) What will change when you really work hard?

Gift yourself a treat today. Now you’ve made a system for hard work.

God Krishna says, “Drop everything and come to me.” That’s the kind of devotion you need to achieve your goals with your hard work.

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SMART questioning leads to S.M.A.R.T. Goal

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Specific
A specific goal will usually answer the five “W” questions:
What: What do I want to accomplish?
Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of achieving goals.
Who: Who is involved?
Where: Identify a location.
Which: Identify requirements and constraints.

Measurable
A measurable goal will usually answer questions such as:
How much?
How many?
How will I know when I have achieved my goals?
Indicators should be quantifiable

Attainable
An attainable goal will usually answer the question:
How: How can the goal be accomplished?

Relevant
A relevant goal can answer yes to these questions:
Does this seem worthwhile?
Is this the right time?
Does this match our other efforts/needs?
Are you the right person?
Is it applicable in the current socio- economic- technical environment?

Time-bound
A time-bound goal will usually answer the question:
When?
What can I do six months from now?
What can I do six weeks from now?
What can I do today?

So, the secret of success lies in being SMART and to become SMART you need to first question and answer yourself to you first.
Begin it today and now, if not already…

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If you are a driver, you must have the right passengers too

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An entrepreneur sent a message to me, “I am like a train engine who will continue to carry the business. I believe my employees and partners are like passengers, they will board at the specific station (situation) and alight when they arrive at their destination (purpose fulfilled). I am dutiful to keep the train in good health so that it keeps running.”

I responded, “You must have utmost focus for the right passengers to board your train at the right station and alight at the right destination. Otherwise, you cannot run an empty train whatever good its health might be.”

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If you wish to build a billion-dollar company

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No one, absolutely no one throws away a billion dollars at someone because the person wants it, craves for it, deserves it, works hard for it, or passionately pushes his envelope for it.

People take out their wallets only if the product provides a value greater than that of customer desire through a strong value proposition and enduring experience. They pay for the craft. The connection. The emotion. The promise. The essence. The soul. The voice. They pay for what your product does to and for them.

When I interact with entrepreneurs, I find them with lots of preconceived notions about what customers want. I ask them to explain the permanence of their pain that aroused their desire for the product and why someone will pay for it. And most of them lack it. Simply lack it.

Lots of people can give you lots of advice on what to build that will get you ready for a billion-dollar run. My simplest advice would be that you set up the boot, talk to your customer, and ask him, “How do you feel about my idea?”

“It’s nice.” Look at his facial expression more than the words.

You ask again, “Would you use my product when it’s ready?”

“Sure.” “Mmmmm. I can give it a try.” Look at their facial expression.

Your last question, “What would make you take your wallet out and pay for it?”

Just look at the facial expression and you should get your answer.

And until you find the facial expression that supports your conviction, keep trying. Keep doing your bit. Keep searching for the business model on which you can build your billion-dollar dream.

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The Pyramid of Success

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Coach John Wooden has developed 15 factors that one needs to work on to become what you are capable of becoming.
For the next 15 days, I’ll post on one of these 15 factors to help you look at your life taking account of where you are, where you want to be and what you need to do to become the best version of yourself.
On this day today, think about SUCCESS:
In my view success isn’t about having a big car, a palatial apartment, lots of friends or innumerable money in your bank. It’s a journey of trying to be the best version of yourself at all times without thinking too much about failure, obstacles or missed opportunities.

Starting today, make it a part of your routine to ask below questions to understand where you are going and how to organise your energy towards your goals:
When you start writing your autobiography, do you think what you’re doing today is significant to add a page to it?
When you look at life what do you feel? Sad? Mad? Stressed? Confused? Happy?

Are you stepping further every day or you’re standing at the crossroads undecided about your immediate actions?

Take a notebook and write down your answers. Meditate and reflect on your responses and course correct yourself to align yourself with what’s important to you.Success pyramid by Coach John Wooden

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PLUS. MINUS. EQUAL

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I tell you a simple everyday mantra to keep learning and becoming more wiser every day

Every day find your PLUS: Someone to learn from.


Find your EQUAL: Someone to challenge you.


Find your MINUS: Someone to teach.
By teaching I don’t mean what you are taught in schools.

Because, school only teach you to become clerks, peon, worker, apprentice, etc.

Think of reading a book that an author has poured his entire life into it. You as a reader can steal his entire life in a week.


Do remember: PLUS. MINUS. EQUAL.

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