The skill that has served me the most in life is also the one I was never taught – ‘writing.’ In fact, most of us will probably never learn the craft of writing formally. Yet, we know no weapon that is more powerful. Words can rouse anger, spark love, or uplift your...

If you check out any video of Bill Clinton in a crowd, you will notice something remarkable. Whenever he shakes hands with a person, he gives that person his 100% attention, ignoring everybody else. For those few moments, that person would feel like the most important...

During my investing days, one of my portfolio companies was owned by a well-known politician. He was a very articulate guy, often seen on national TV debates. And his wife was the CEO of the company. This guy had a very progressive image but during our meetings, we...

"There is no peace that lives within us constantly and never leaves us. There is only the peace that must be won again and again, each new day of our lives.” -- Herman Hesse Sometimes, we get frustrated that we are not always calm and joyful. We even get angry about...

In school, I hated biology with a passion. And once I decided to pursue engineering, I thought of the subject as a waste of time. But I was wrong. Today, for my startup HabitStrong, as I research neuroscience, psychology, and human behavior, I am learning the same...

Vietnamese meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh said, “When you have a toothache you think that you will be happy when the toothache is gone. But when you don't have the toothache you are still not happy.” Because when the toothache goes, something else comes up. There...

If you want to break any addiction, here is an action roadmap. Let us first understand what addiction is. It is a compulsive habit – an action you can’t stop yourself from taking even though it harms you. But should our brains not find a harmful action undesirable?...

When building a habit we sometimes get bored in a few weeks. But a pianist may practice 20,000 hours for over a decade to qualify for an orchestra. To be a meditation master, you need 10,000 to 20,000 hours of practice. In fact, Mingyur Rinpoche had completed 62,000...

I have worked in two diametrically opposite work environments. In firms like McKinsey, there was no social hierarchy. Even a senior partner could not overrule a junior analyst using the force of authority. Dissent was not a right, but an obligation – at least, that...

During my four years in college, I was late for classes almost every single day. And after a while, it became a hardwired habit. So much so that if some day I got ready for class on time, I would feel like something was off – I would worry that maybe, I forgot...

Here is how to break the habit of stress eating. Every time you unthinkingly shove some snack into your mouth, ask yourself: Am I hungry? Or just bored and anxious? Stress eating is a classic mindless action that we do on autopilot. Here is a simple way to override...

Today, it is not enough to eat healthy and exercise -- you have to hack your metabolism. You have to hack your brain, hack your sleep, hack your energy levels... Thankfully, I haven't seen anyone 'hack meditation to attain bliss in 5 minutes,' though I am pretty sure...

Chronic worrying is a habit. And like any habit, it can be broken. But let us first understand how this habit is formed. When our brain feels some threat or uncertainty, it creates this dreadful feeling in our head that we call ‘anxiety.’ And we desperately want to...

I have been part of two very different recruitments: Drivers in the police force and consultants at McKinsey 🙂 And yet, from both the recruitments, I learned the same lesson – we totally underestimate the role of luck in our life. During my stint with McKinsey, the...

When I was working as a consultant with McKinsey, I wanted to become an investor. And I was convinced that investing would be a cakewalk. After all, we were trained in problem-solving and logical thinking. What else would you need? I then joined a private equity...