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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...
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The value of deep work and focused effort
A few years ago, a friend volunteered to help me for a few days with my startup. He showed up at my office and after a long discussion, offered to...
The risks of learned helplessness: pessimism and depression
During my middle school in a small town in Assam, we had a very strict English teacher (Goswami Sir). Kids who couldn't answer his grammar questions...
Defending your time and attention
When my wife was the District Collector, Trivandrum, she was heading 200 odd committees. If the average committee met twice a year, you end up with...
Improving systems from the inside out
During my stint with the Indian Police Service, a top police official once said this to me with immense pride: 'I only travel to countries where I...
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The Power of Social Contagion
A few years ago, I was attending a dreadfully boring conference, where we were listlessly sitting around a table. During a break, out of sheer boredom, I picked up a bottle of water to drink. As soon as I did that, 2-3 other people on the table...
Fix your day
Two years ago, one evening, a team member called me and said, “Today, we are going to work the whole night.” He was leading a team of 5-6 people and intended to work overnight to fix a problem. Here was the problem: Our startup had created...
Aim before you shoot
Once a renowned fund manager told me that for two years, he made no investments at all. The US markets were overpriced and good deals were hard to come by. For those two years, every day, he would dress up in the morning and go to office. He would...
The Magic of the Present Moment
As a kid, every summer, we would visit my native village in UP. In the burning June month, without electricity or amenities, it was a veritable hell. But come evening, things would cool down. At night, lying on an elevated cot-like bamboo structure...