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Determination

The MBA at Wharton turned my life into a one-pointed quest: Find a summer internship. At any cost. When you are an international student with zero bank balance, do you really have a choice? Further, two things made my desperation worse: 1. Nobody was dying to hire an...

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Loving-kindness

Two years ago, our landlord cheated us -- when we vacated our office building, he refused to hand back most of the security deposit on some flimsy grounds. Seething with rage, I wished him ill to no end. And every time I thought of him, my blood would start boiling...

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Disasters

What I learnt from a lifetime of anticipating disasters and nightmare scenarios: - More than 90% of the disasters I worried about, never materialized. - Less than 10% that did materialize, were rarely as bad as I imagined. The next time you feel panic, my favourite...

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Building habits

This is a true story -- at the ripe old age of five, I briefly became a thief. But before you judge me, hear me out -- I promise you, there is a lesson here. When I was in first grade, in Bangalore, some neighbors used to play badminton near my house. After their...

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Survive

In Apr 2020, my startup’s revenue went to zero. The Covid lockdown shut us down overnight. The day after the lockdown, I was at home, staring at the walls. Years of struggle and crores of investment were gone -- in a blink. In those moments of nail-biting anxiety, one...

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Multitasking

During my stint in the Indian Police Service I noticed something interesting -- I felt most energized during crises, riots, and public order disturbances. And I assure you, I am not a violent person. I used to assume that it was just an adrenaline rush. But I now...

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Unlocking the flow state

In the summer of 2006, in Colorado, I saw this lone rock-climber high up there, hanging from a massive rock formation. I had no idea how he got there or would climb down. Any mistake would have been his last. Why do people seek out such extreme danger? They seem...

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Clarity of thought

We know of Stephen Hawking probably not because of his science but more because he wrote ‘The Brief History of Time.’ To illustrate -- how many of us know Andre Geim Konstantin, a Nobel laureate who is no less brilliant? Hawking gained a fan-following primarily...

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Superstitions

During my days with a private equity fund, on a car ride, a senior colleague turned around to the Managing Partner and said, “You know, all our bad luck is because of Vaastu. I had told you long back that our office is not facing the right direction.” My jaw dropped....

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Passive income

‘Passive income’ seems to be a rage these days. Don’t fall for it -- it is mostly a click-bait. Here is why. Investing smartly is supposed to be one popular source of ‘passive income.’ If true, Warren Buffet should be the ultimate passive income guy. Yet, he works...

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Resolve

Today, after days of rain-enforced break, my hour-long run felt like meditation. And those 60 mins flipped a switch -- I felt calm, focused, and in control. We can start our day in two ways: Either start by checking WhatsApp, Instagram, and the like, unleashing...

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Beyond speed

"At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock" In 1958, David Ogilvy wrote the above ad headline. To date, nobody has written a better automobile ad. How much time did it take to write these 17 words? Three weeks. Yep,...

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