During my Civil Services training in Mussoorie, an IAS officer conducting a class once asked us, “What are officer-like qualities?” Soon we rattled off a barrage of heroic qualities: Integrity, courage, vision, persuasion, eloquence, teamwork... When the list on the...

The MBA at Wharton turned my life into a one-pointed quest: Find a summer internship. At any cost. When you are an international student with zero bank balance, do you really have a choice? Further, two things made my desperation worse: 1. Nobody was dying to hire an...

Two years ago, our landlord cheated us -- when we vacated our office building, he refused to hand back most of the security deposit on some flimsy grounds. Seething with rage, I wished him ill to no end. And every time I thought of him, my blood would start boiling...

What I learnt from a lifetime of anticipating disasters and nightmare scenarios: - More than 90% of the disasters I worried about, never materialized. - Less than 10% that did materialize, were rarely as bad as I imagined. The next time you feel panic, my favourite...

This is a true story -- at the ripe old age of five, I briefly became a thief. But before you judge me, hear me out -- I promise you, there is a lesson here. When I was in first grade, in Bangalore, some neighbors used to play badminton near my house. After their...

In Apr 2020, my startup’s revenue went to zero. The Covid lockdown shut us down overnight. The day after the lockdown, I was at home, staring at the walls. Years of struggle and crores of investment were gone -- in a blink. In those moments of nail-biting anxiety, one...

During my stint in the Indian Police Service I noticed something interesting -- I felt most energized during crises, riots, and public order disturbances. And I assure you, I am not a violent person. I used to assume that it was just an adrenaline rush. But I now...

In the summer of 2006, in Colorado, I saw this lone rock-climber high up there, hanging from a massive rock formation. I had no idea how he got there or would climb down. Any mistake would have been his last. Why do people seek out such extreme danger? They seem...

We know of Stephen Hawking probably not because of his science but more because he wrote ‘The Brief History of Time.’ To illustrate -- how many of us know Andre Geim Konstantin, a Nobel laureate who is no less brilliant? Hawking gained a fan-following primarily...

During my days with a private equity fund, on a car ride, a senior colleague turned around to the Managing Partner and said, “You know, all our bad luck is because of Vaastu. I had told you long back that our office is not facing the right direction.” My jaw dropped....

‘Passive income’ seems to be a rage these days. Don’t fall for it -- it is mostly a click-bait. Here is why. Investing smartly is supposed to be one popular source of ‘passive income.’ If true, Warren Buffet should be the ultimate passive income guy. Yet, he works...

Today, after days of rain-enforced break, my hour-long run felt like meditation. And those 60 mins flipped a switch -- I felt calm, focused, and in control. We can start our day in two ways: Either start by checking WhatsApp, Instagram, and the like, unleashing...

"At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock" In 1958, David Ogilvy wrote the above ad headline. To date, nobody has written a better automobile ad. How much time did it take to write these 17 words? Three weeks. Yep,...

Last week, I jokingly asked my colleague, Nisha, “Does it bother you that we are not chasing the unicorn tag at HabitStrong?” She said, “Even if my neighbor built a unicorn, I couldn’t care less. What matters to me is that I look forward to our work -- it should not...

When I was writing my MBA application essays for US B-Schools, I found myself in a fix. Throughout school and college, I hadn’t written even one page of half-decent prose. How would I write these highly demanding essays? Fortunately, Vinod Thomas, my friend and IPS...