Today let us demystify motivation. I am not talking about the transient spike of excitement but the obsessive commitment to a goal, day in, and day out, regardless of the ‘mood of the day.’
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2022
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How I found the easiest shortcut to achieve even the hardest goals
In my IIT days, I was a total slacker, perpetually lagging in assignments, quizzes, and projects. I would neither go to classes on time nor take notes. The only time I would be focused was the night before the exams. That is when I would photocopy borrowed notes from...
How I nearly lost my focus and got it back – and you can too
In the early days of smartphone, I became an early victim of digital distraction. I was no longer able to build deep focus as I used to earlier. And I hated it. This is the story of how I got my focus back.
From a nail-biting crisis, I learned the futility of worrying
In 2002, I was facing a crisis that I thought would sink my career. And it taught me the futility of worrying. At that time, I was serving as the Trivandrum City Police Commissioner. The problem started quite innocuously – about 200 tribals came down to Trivandrum and...
How to write well – my personal writing guide
It has repaid me more than my super-expensive MBA, my electrical engineering degree, or pretty much anything useful I have done – I am talking about the craft of writing. For more than three years, writing on LinkedIn and Quora gave me the privilege of serving...
How I found hope in the most depressing times – and so can you
On the 24th of March 2020, ConceptOwl, my last startup, died. I don’t remember having worked harder for anything in my life – for 5 long years, I slogged day and night to make ConceptOwl successful. And all I had to show for it was crores of losses. Yet, I was still...
How I escaped the trap of negative self-image – and how anyone can do it
I remember the Annual Sports Meet in my school when I was in my 3rd grade, as if it was yesterday. My classmates were having fun, participating in races and games. But I had no event to participate in – I did not qualify for anything. I was so skinny and devoid of any...
From a horrendous failure, I ironically learned how to never fail
Until 2012, I had gotten every job I wanted, and cracked every exam I had written. And then, finally, I failed. Miserably. My luck had finally run out. What followed was years of misery and frustration. And yet, from all that pain, emerged this beautiful truth: You...
My boss predicted that I would fail spectacularly – here is what I learned
In June 2001, when I was appointed the Trivandrum City Police Commissioner, I was a disaster waiting to happen – at least according to my then boss, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Southern Kerala. The lessons I learned from what happened next, saved me later...
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Rajan shares insights from his own life journey to help you build better habits in yours.