Why Ambitious Plans Often Fail

Whenever my planning has failed, it is because I did it in “Rambo mode.” During my student days, I would sometimes set ridiculous goals, e.g., “study for 18 hours a day, for the next 6 months!” But when I would start the execution, reality...

To start a forest fire, it just takes a spark

I received this email from a young lady suffering from depression and severe weight gain, which is preventing her from socializing and living a normal life. She stays awake at night, sleeps during the day, and is addicted to junk food. She wants to get out of this rut...

Why Consensus Doesn’t Lead to Greatness

Long ago, during an evening stroll with a retired VC in New York (from Bessemer), I asked him, “What differentiated your best investments from the others? Could you have seen them coming?” He said, “My best investments were the ones where some team...

How Discipline Breaks Down

How does discipline break down? Answer: One exception at a time. But then, how can we be 100% consistent or never make exceptions? That it true — we can’t. However, the real problem is not the imperfection itself, but when we tell ourselves, ‘This...

Life Is Finite – Don’t Wait to Live It

Last year, I lost three friends who passed away unexpectedly, including an ex-boss I was close to, whose passing made national news. When you lose friends, it is hard to accept that it is all over. With one of them (Amarnath Raja), I am still unable to accept that he...