Motivation is never the problem -- ever. The problem is something else. And here is how I know. When I was determined to clear the Civil Services, I had zero motivation deficit. There was no distraction, no procrastination. In the police service, I have worked 36 hrs...

Last month, I had a traumatic experience -- I tried to book a cab. I was in this unfamiliar city of Rajkot, and who wants to talk to a taxi company in a new place? So naturally, I thought of the app-based taxi service unicorns, opened my phone, and booked a cab. And...

The best book has not been written. The best ad campaign has not been created. The best painting has not been painted. But who will write the next big book? Or create the next big whatever? The book that beats Harry Potter will probably not be a book about a magic...

One of the most humiliating moments of my life came in 2008, on a day when nobody humiliated me -- I did it to myself. At that time, I was working with McKinsey in New York and desperately wanted to move back to India (my family had relocated recently). To find a job...

In 2004, I walked into Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel for my Wharton MBA admissions interview. I was nervous but once the interview started I got into flow. The interview was smooth, and I had no idea how time flew by until the interviewer thanked me, indicating that the...

In 2004, I realized that my life-story was going wrong. I had joined the Indian Police Service expecting massive challenge and excitement. And the first five years delivered exactly that -- it was like a dream, despite the ups and downs. Yet, after that, something...

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...