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Focus on the Problem, Not the Competition
In my startup journey, I learned more from one particular 5-minute video than from dozens of books and podcasts -- this video is that of Dropbox's founder Drew Houston. When Drew was fundraising for Dropbox, he met a VC, who asked, "There are...
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Treat People Fairly
In my B-school course on 'Negotiations', we were split into groups of two and given a $10 bill each. The person who got the $10, had to split it...
Progress Over Perfection
The writer who produces the perfect first draft, produces nothing. The entrepreneur who 'makes sure' that his first startup is a unicorn, never...
Optionality Hinders Action
I write nearly every day. And I have done it for years. Because in my mind, writing is not optional. It is something I do on good days and bad, on...
Hardship Fuels Change
Had it been left to me, I suspect I would probably still be sitting on my 1st-year electrical engineering courses without completing them. Ok, I am...
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Use things without giving them power over you
I went to IIT for the brand and the academics, but what I loved the most about the place was its simplicity. On campus, there was no show-off, no flashiness. Students attached zero (in fact, negative) value to how you dressed or how you looked....
Rational skepticism
No matter how intelligent you are, one thing can screw up your rationality -- ideology. Because ideology presupposes the right answers. And these right answers will pervade every aspect of your life, be it your political, economic, or social...
Life does not offer risk-free upside
When the UPSC Civil Services results came out last year, somebody apparently commented that if Sundar Pichai had cleared the exam, he would today be the collector of Greater Noida. So is Civil Services the right choice? Or is it Google, Microsoft,...
Focus is the most non-linear productivity tool
"I have too little time" -- almost always, this is a lie. I have found that when I work for 5-6 hrs with intense focus, I have no more cognitive capacity left. And this is not an isolated fact. A study of elite musicians (e.g., violinists) revealed...