This video pepps me up. This helps me understand that how small struggle put up, small things done lead to big victories
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The Famous lines from Rocky Balboa
I watch this when I need to remember that life isn’t easy, and that “90% of life is just showing up” because the other guy will give up.
Do you really benefit reading?
Spend about 5 minutes on social media sites, blogs etc., and you'll see hundreds of articles shared and discussed. In our world of the power of infinite knowledge at a click of a button, are we really benefiting from Internet? Its not about Quantity, its about Quality. As you read any book or an article/post, did you benefit from it? Did you implement it in your life about the motivating post you read or the health tip you took? Or was that 5 to 10 minute spent on social media a waste of time you added to your life?
We're all Hypocrites. Too often we read so many important things, share it, gossip about it, talk about it but we fail to retain its meaning. For example a Leader/Team Lead tweeted a nice quote about treating employees well, caring for his team etc., but failed to do so when a employee actually needed it when he saw him upset. Someone read about safety using helmet, seat-belt, how important it is to use low beam at night in the city etc., failed to follow these rules himself. A health tip, a management lesson, a inspirational story etc., are some which teach us so much but we fail to implement. This happens with many of us. Then spending time on Social Media is such a waste of time, right?
If you're sharing that post "vote for the cutest baby", or "click on like or else 10 years of badluck will come for you" or "Sachin is great or Lara is great click on like / leave comment" stuff or some funny stupidass photos and videos which you find funny makes up most of your day then its time to change and adopt a different hobbie in life, because you're leading to a disaster unless you're a housewife.
I struggle every day to follow through on the things I passionately read and write about. As a habit, I re-read my own posts to remind myself what I care about so much. It’s easy to forget things like actually giving praise despite knowing how important praise is in motivating and appreciating your employees, colleagues, co workers, friends etc., , remembering to always use the best structure for my day or time spent, or to keep applying the best takeaways from a great book I read.
What do we do about it?
I ask myself to answer the following questions in everything I read:
1. Did I learn something valuable new? (If not, move on reading something else quickly)
2. How can I apply the new learning from this article from today? (if i wait, I'll forget quickly)
3. How is this not a big waste of time? - if it is a funny video, am I stressed do I need it? Else dump the garbage read/learn something thats meaningful
We're all Hypocrites. Too often we read so many important things, share it, gossip about it, talk about it but we fail to retain its meaning. For example a Leader/Team Lead tweeted a nice quote about treating employees well, caring for his team etc., but failed to do so when a employee actually needed it when he saw him upset. Someone read about safety using helmet, seat-belt, how important it is to use low beam at night in the city etc., failed to follow these rules himself. A health tip, a management lesson, a inspirational story etc., are some which teach us so much but we fail to implement. This happens with many of us. Then spending time on Social Media is such a waste of time, right?
If you're sharing that post "vote for the cutest baby", or "click on like or else 10 years of badluck will come for you" or "Sachin is great or Lara is great click on like / leave comment" stuff or some funny stupidass photos and videos which you find funny makes up most of your day then its time to change and adopt a different hobbie in life, because you're leading to a disaster unless you're a housewife.
I struggle every day to follow through on the things I passionately read and write about. As a habit, I re-read my own posts to remind myself what I care about so much. It’s easy to forget things like actually giving praise despite knowing how important praise is in motivating and appreciating your employees, colleagues, co workers, friends etc., , remembering to always use the best structure for my day or time spent, or to keep applying the best takeaways from a great book I read.
What do we do about it?
I ask myself to answer the following questions in everything I read:
1. Did I learn something valuable new? (If not, move on reading something else quickly)
2. How can I apply the new learning from this article from today? (if i wait, I'll forget quickly)
3. How is this not a big waste of time? - if it is a funny video, am I stressed do I need it? Else dump the garbage read/learn something thats meaningful
One of the hardest things to do in life is to get outside your ego. This awesome post by the CEO & founder of Redfin captures it well:
“Most people spend nearly all their energy trying not to change. This is what the philosopher William James meant when he wrote the mind’s main function was to be a fortress for protecting your ego from reality. When the mind has to accommodate a new fact, James argued, it doesn’t settle on the change to its model of reality that is most likely to reflect reality. It protects the fortress, calculating the smallest possible modification to its bulwarks that can account for the new fact.
As I read, as I observe my life, I try to look for opportunities to apply all the great things that people are sharing. Going by scientifically, our brains have "Mirror Neurons" what they do at a very subconscious level is to quickly learn and adopt a particular aspect/character of a person or something you really like. We are all influenced by the people we have admired and adored for their charisma, quality and finally we are a mix blend of who we really are. So it is important that we learn, and we advise. Most importantly, we only get better at our own life, dont we?
Hopefully, I can go to bed everyday with that satisfaction to have learnt something new, and to have added value to my time!
Connecting the Dots - Chasing Ideas
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement Speech, May 2005
Over past few days I managed to catchup with some of the friends associated with startups and fellow startup co founders whom I had met at a lot of startup events. Some well established, excited, energetic and making money, some are looking for a new idea, some looking for a startup to join as a co-founder etc.,
A couple of years ago, I was also wandering looking for the next big idea. As much as the passion to build a company to serve people, create value, or for a noble cause something that I deeply relate to I dont think one can find an idea by looking for it or searching in google or sticking to something someone else is doing.
From my perspective, Starting a startup is equal to falling in love. Love happens to you, you don't make it happen over night, startup happens to you when you catch the right guiding light thats in front of you. And as being in love is a risky thing to do, being associated with a startup is no less risky as well. And you can add as many as comparisons and joke around, but the truth is to look no where but in the mind within.
I strongly believe there are only two ways to look for a great startup idea
1. Experience - You have worked in that industry for years, you have the domain knowledge, expertise and most importantly you understand all the inefficiencies in the market and want to solve a particular problem which is common to a lot of people. Experience will also get you to build that Minimum viable product you would like to bag your first customer in
2. Passion - You may not know the industry well, you have very less knowledge about it. But you're so elated about that idea that you are up awake at night thinking about it over and over again without getting even an ounce of sleep. Like Bubba in the movie Forrest Gump who kept on talking about Shrimps all the time of day and night. That sort of a burning fire in your belly will power you to learn that understanding of the market, make value out of your idea and because you are passionate about it, you WILL get there!
If you are looking for a co-founder, you have to look atleast for the above two qualities. IIT, IIM, Harvard etc., qualifications exist in your co-founder but if he neither has the experience nor passion then no bookish knowledge can get your startup to the next level. This is a very subtle truth.
Be united with those co-founders who bring value to either experience or passion.And as the Entrepreneur mantra goes - "Never Give Up no matter What!
Good luck
regards
Maddy
Over past few days I managed to catchup with some of the friends associated with startups and fellow startup co founders whom I had met at a lot of startup events. Some well established, excited, energetic and making money, some are looking for a new idea, some looking for a startup to join as a co-founder etc.,
A couple of years ago, I was also wandering looking for the next big idea. As much as the passion to build a company to serve people, create value, or for a noble cause something that I deeply relate to I dont think one can find an idea by looking for it or searching in google or sticking to something someone else is doing.
From my perspective, Starting a startup is equal to falling in love. Love happens to you, you don't make it happen over night, startup happens to you when you catch the right guiding light thats in front of you. And as being in love is a risky thing to do, being associated with a startup is no less risky as well. And you can add as many as comparisons and joke around, but the truth is to look no where but in the mind within.
I strongly believe there are only two ways to look for a great startup idea
1. Experience - You have worked in that industry for years, you have the domain knowledge, expertise and most importantly you understand all the inefficiencies in the market and want to solve a particular problem which is common to a lot of people. Experience will also get you to build that Minimum viable product you would like to bag your first customer in
2. Passion - You may not know the industry well, you have very less knowledge about it. But you're so elated about that idea that you are up awake at night thinking about it over and over again without getting even an ounce of sleep. Like Bubba in the movie Forrest Gump who kept on talking about Shrimps all the time of day and night. That sort of a burning fire in your belly will power you to learn that understanding of the market, make value out of your idea and because you are passionate about it, you WILL get there!
If you are looking for a co-founder, you have to look atleast for the above two qualities. IIT, IIM, Harvard etc., qualifications exist in your co-founder but if he neither has the experience nor passion then no bookish knowledge can get your startup to the next level. This is a very subtle truth.
Be united with those co-founders who bring value to either experience or passion.And as the Entrepreneur mantra goes - "Never Give Up no matter What!
Good luck
regards
Maddy
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Keep learning so that the learning will keep us
A recent article that I read on Washington post about how Unemployment and Poverty are on the rise in Detroit.
In this article here, a man, Daniel Rice, who worked for Chrysler who used to make 20$ to 25$ an hour before Chrysler shut shop leaving its employees jobless. This man walks in to a Job Placement office everyday and spends hours trying his luck to find a job. To his luck he is offered a forklift operator job for a fraction of that salary, and yet, he is happy taking it. He goes on to say that “I put all my eggs in one basket,” said Rice, 39. “Just like Detroit put all its eggs on the auto industry.”
Detroits annual deficit is declining, but, at a one fifth rate to what our country's is. Detroit has 16% unemployment Vs 12% of India's rate. But the number in our country is huge. If its in Lakhs for Detroit, its in millions in here.
Auto industry is doing great, automakers have claimed record sales and politicians have boasted about the rescue of Detroit, the real Detroit has suffered. The Big Three — two of them bailed out by taxpayers — employ fewer people and pay them less, leading to a better business model but far less value to the city’s people.
Why I am comparing to Detroit to our country is for the one common thing - Our country has all eggs put in one industry - The IT Industry. India does not have any produce highly valuable and sold in the international market. Like the Jet planes made by the Japanese, Russians which is sold to the Gulf, or the research of information from NASA, or the Food produce by the Chinese, Industry manufacture from Koreans etc, Our major dependency is on IT Industry.
The IT companies have gotten bigger, smarter and more efficient over the years. At the same time the low pay high value has started to show when the salary hikes are cut, those layoffs are made and businesses are moved out to Phillipines other countries.
Few years ago, making a jump from a job was easy, employees moved companies every 2 years for a better salary, or for small reasons like a grumpy boss, high competition, tough working conditions etc., Such employees now are not only finding a job difficult but they are not able to keep up with their performance either. You cant look for comfort at the place where you work you see. You have to let shit happen to you and be fine with it. A larger crowd who pass out of their engineering colleges, graduates and aspiring young college goers are still looking for a job. Some even are waiting for a year even after scoring a first class degree, and giving more than 50 plus interviews.
Finding a job now is not easy.
What can we do now to find a job or for those who are employed, what can they do to stay in the job?
There is a saying "when everyone stops running, keep running" . This means when everyone stops learning, right after graduation or around the 30s, keep learning, keep preparing. Never ever stop doing that.
The Nobel prize winner Dr. Jay Kessler was asked one day when someone asked him about the source of knowledge, he said "I was never an outstanding student through university. But about the time I was 25, I committed to reading 400 pages per week, and have stuck to it since."
I quickly ran the math…400 pages per week…20,000 pages per year…40 years…800,000 pages. Eight-hundred thousand! With all due respect for Jay, one could literally begin as a toad and after that much reading end as a scholar.
(Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/amid-detroit-bankruptcy-residents-grapple-with-poverty-and-unemployment/2013/07/19/1560a33e-f0b5-11e2-bed3-b9b6fe264871_story.html)
In this article here, a man, Daniel Rice, who worked for Chrysler who used to make 20$ to 25$ an hour before Chrysler shut shop leaving its employees jobless. This man walks in to a Job Placement office everyday and spends hours trying his luck to find a job. To his luck he is offered a forklift operator job for a fraction of that salary, and yet, he is happy taking it. He goes on to say that “I put all my eggs in one basket,” said Rice, 39. “Just like Detroit put all its eggs on the auto industry.”
Detroits annual deficit is declining, but, at a one fifth rate to what our country's is. Detroit has 16% unemployment Vs 12% of India's rate. But the number in our country is huge. If its in Lakhs for Detroit, its in millions in here.
Auto industry is doing great, automakers have claimed record sales and politicians have boasted about the rescue of Detroit, the real Detroit has suffered. The Big Three — two of them bailed out by taxpayers — employ fewer people and pay them less, leading to a better business model but far less value to the city’s people.
Why I am comparing to Detroit to our country is for the one common thing - Our country has all eggs put in one industry - The IT Industry. India does not have any produce highly valuable and sold in the international market. Like the Jet planes made by the Japanese, Russians which is sold to the Gulf, or the research of information from NASA, or the Food produce by the Chinese, Industry manufacture from Koreans etc, Our major dependency is on IT Industry.
The IT companies have gotten bigger, smarter and more efficient over the years. At the same time the low pay high value has started to show when the salary hikes are cut, those layoffs are made and businesses are moved out to Phillipines other countries.
Few years ago, making a jump from a job was easy, employees moved companies every 2 years for a better salary, or for small reasons like a grumpy boss, high competition, tough working conditions etc., Such employees now are not only finding a job difficult but they are not able to keep up with their performance either. You cant look for comfort at the place where you work you see. You have to let shit happen to you and be fine with it. A larger crowd who pass out of their engineering colleges, graduates and aspiring young college goers are still looking for a job. Some even are waiting for a year even after scoring a first class degree, and giving more than 50 plus interviews.
Finding a job now is not easy.
What can we do now to find a job or for those who are employed, what can they do to stay in the job?
There is a saying "when everyone stops running, keep running" . This means when everyone stops learning, right after graduation or around the 30s, keep learning, keep preparing. Never ever stop doing that.
The Nobel prize winner Dr. Jay Kessler was asked one day when someone asked him about the source of knowledge, he said "I was never an outstanding student through university. But about the time I was 25, I committed to reading 400 pages per week, and have stuck to it since."
I quickly ran the math…400 pages per week…20,000 pages per year…40 years…800,000 pages. Eight-hundred thousand! With all due respect for Jay, one could literally begin as a toad and after that much reading end as a scholar.
Now before you stop breathing, I’m not advocating such a monumental task. What I am saying is that a commitment to learning fundamentally changes your life and your career.
When Everybody Else Stops Running…Keep Running
The unfortunate truth is that, some time after high school or college, people stop pursuing knowledge. In his recent book The One World Schoolhouse, Salman Khan of the Khan academy says that “some studies suggest that most people stop learning new things in their thirties.”
So here’s the thing I find amazing: even if you were a mediocre student who attended a mediocre school, if you keep learning, by age thirty, you’ll likely know more than a star student who attended Harvard and subsequently stopped his pursuit of knowledge.
Keep learning, lets all nourish the knowledge into building something new and save our country from being destroyed by countries like China and Philippines.
If you are interested in the article I was talking about then click on the link below. Please leave your comments in the comments section.(Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/amid-detroit-bankruptcy-residents-grapple-with-poverty-and-unemployment/2013/07/19/1560a33e-f0b5-11e2-bed3-b9b6fe264871_story.html)
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