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Perspective is everything
Once I had to visit a cancer hospital in Trivandrum to seek a medical opinion for a friend's father. The hospital was packed with patients, many of whom were suffering immensely. When you see those gaunt faces and shaved heads, you realize what a...
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Simple Diet, Strong Health
A former McKinsey colleague of mine from Australia once said that his father would claim insulin from the Australian Health System and give it to...
First, Let People Work
A corporate executive I was recently talking to, said that on many days, he has meetings from morning to evening -- sometimes without even a break...
The Courage to Admit Mistakes
I hate cowardice. Yet, on a few occasions, I was a coward. When I launched my first startup, I built a product that found zero customers -- zero...
Small Steps, Big Results
To be fit, you don't need to run 100-mile ultramarathons or climb Mt. Everest. To build physical strength, you don't need to be a powerlifter. To...
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Living Beyond Fear
Yesterday, during my evening walk with a retired IAS officer, he said that many officers in his service are unhappy with their professional life. They feel stuck but somehow reconcile to it. And this is not just about IAS but it could happen in any...
Earn the Right to Advise
In 1994, when India's ex-PM Narasimha Rao addressed the US Congress, he told this story about Mahatma Gandhi: Once a lady came to Gandhiji and asked him to tell her son to stop eating sugar. Instead of doing what she asked, Gandhiji asked her to...
Mastering Skills: Focus and Deliberate Practice
There is nothing you can't get better at. But conditions apply. For any kind of learning, be it a physical or a mental skill, our neurons have to rewire -- it is called neuroplasticity. Our neuroplasticity is extremely high in pre-teens and remains...
Accept your life ‘as is’
The hardest thing in life is not clearing tough exams, getting big-brand jobs, making money, or earning fame. All these are hard but they aren't the hardest. The hardest is accepting your life 'as is' -- no preconditions, no changes -- just 'as...