I know a few people who read a lot of books but if you hear them talk, very little wisdom comes out. Isn’t that surprising? Why does that happen? My hypothesis is that reading is necessary but NOT sufficient. True understanding comes from assimilating the ideas,...

If self-improvement always feels easy, you are probably not doing it right. Here is why. When does your body get better? When it finds that it can’t handle what is thrown at it. When you do an intense run, your lungs can’t meet your body’s oxygen requirement. That is...

If you write 10 emails a day, every week, you send out 50 emails. In 2 years, you would have written 5000 emails. In the amount of time it takes to write 5000 emails, you can write a small book. And while the emails have a shelf life of one day, the book would be...

If you flip a regular coin 10 times, on average, you expect 5 heads and 5 tails. But what if the first 9 coin throws all show up 'heads'? Now you are down to the 10th throw. What would you predict? Our gut will very strongly suggest 'tails.' But the fact is, it is...

Productivity = Doing the maximum no. of to-dos in the shortest time. Wrong. This is a seductive but nonsensical idea. Every day, ideally, only one or two things should be your real priorities -- these have to be done at any cost. E.g., my priority today is to record a...

I have often seen people say, "I have no regrets." Sadly, I am not like them. I have a lot of regrets, big and small. In fact, I find regrets unavoidable. After all, as long as you live, you will make mistakes and do stupid things. That is what life is. And that...

Most of your life will be spent doing three kinds of things: Category 1: Things you do because they are easy and fun. Category 2: Things you do even though they are hard. Category 3: Things you do BECAUSE they are hard. And here is my prediction: 90% of your success...

To succeed in the workplace (and even in your personal life), here are some things you should never say: 1. No offence. Why is this a bad idea: Saying ‘no offence’ after saying something offending is like slapping a person and saying, ‘No slap.’ It doesn’t make it any...

One lesson I learned at McKinsey -- "Never go to a meeting without a polished presentation." Before the meeting, everybody might say, "It is just a brainstorming session -- the slides don't have to look good. Just bring whatever you have." But don't listen to them --...

The day I get a LOT done is also a day when most routine things remain pending. And those are the days I cherish. Just striking off the maximum number of items from a to-do list is another rat race. What's the point? One day, try this: 1. Pick one or two tasks that...

Here is the wicked story of the 20th-century technology revolution that may change your resolutions for 2023. William Shockley was working at AT&T Bell Labs with John Bardeen and Walter Brattain when they came up with the point-contact transistor. But when Bardeen...

Everybody knows how to be a good leader – until their tail is on fire. Everybody knows how to advise startups until they do their own startup. Then, they are staring at an empty bank balance and the family on the verge of disowning them 🙂 Some things in life can't be...

Perfectionism is not excellence -- it is a mental trap. When we are anxious and unsure of our work, we keep editing our emails and keep fine-tuning the presentation far beyond the point of adding value. The root cause of perfectionism is anxiety. And sadly,...

I have found that the biggest benefit of exercising is better mental health -- even more than physical fitness. Exercising reduces anxiety and depression, and improves well-being and brain health, though it is not 100% clear how that happens. However, here are a few...