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How the Need to Fit In Shapes Our Choices and Behaviour
An ex-colleague used to show up at work with a Tumi bag. When I learned how atrociously expensive these things were, I asked him, "Why did you buy this? Was it worth it?" This guy had bought it while working with a top-tier private equity fund,...
Recent Posts
Everyone Feels Fear – Face It Anyway
Everybody feels scared: -- On the first day of a job. -- During a job interview. -- Before closing a big sales deal. -- Before the performance...
How to Know If Your Idea Is Real
Early in my startup days, I used to sometimes wonder -- am I doing something real or am I just fiddling around, fooling myself? How do I know this...
The Secret of Confidence: Focus on What You Know
As a rookie consultant at McKinsey, before the final client presentation, I used to feel very jittery. No matter how much work I had done, there...
In Investing and Life, Patience Beats Luck
My friend Vinod Thomas and I have together been investing in public equities for the last one year. So are you ready for some investing wisdom?...
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When Focus Feels Like a Battle, Step Back
Yesterday, when I was doing some focused work, after some time, I felt so agitated and restless that I desperately wanted an escape -- check the news, open LinkedIn, do anything. When the task is hard or tedious, this 'escape impulse' comes to me...
Life Comes Without a Map – And That’s Okay
I often hear 25-year-olds say, "I don't know what I want to do with my life." Heck, I am so much older, and even I don't know that! But one thing I do know -- I don't want to waste my life doing meaningless stuff. If something doesn't make sense, I...
Why Staying Up Late Doesn’t Mean You’re Working Hard
On day 1 of my last job with a private equity fund, I wanted to know whether they worked late nights routinely or followed reasonable work hours. But how could I ask? In prestigious post-MBA jobs like consulting, banking, and investing, talking...
How to Survive the Avalanche of Advice
I am afraid you will become a victim. Not a victim of some scam, but of all the well-intentioned advice, frameworks, and exhortations you will find on LinkedIn, blogs, podcasts, and videos (some of it coming from me 😊). The problem is not that the...