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Showing posts from May, 2019

I don’t think anyone is really afraid of failure

There are people who are anxious of being embarrassed by failure, and there are people who aren’t. In the larger scheme of things, we’re all winging it everyday, really 🙂

From an obese pre-diabetic stress-factory to being a happier person

How I got from being an obese, pre-diabetic stress-factory four years ago to being an aware, calmer and happier person this year. Do more things that make you happy and productive Do less things that make you sad, depressed and put your life in a drag  Prioritise your health, food and family over work, social and other trivialities. A daily physical activity should be a non negotiable in your life.  Spend more time with people who elevate your motivation. Spend less time with people who add little forward looking value in your life. Find mentors in your personal and professional life and build a lasting relationship with them.  Save more money by cutting down on your wants and focusing on your needs.  Start letting go of toxic people, relationships, unnecessary anger and anxiety from your life. Go to # 1 above. How people perceive you is very important in personal and work life. Anyone who lives with a “I don’t give a fuck” attitude is living a lie.  Everything can be accom

Apes together strong

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Warren Buffett famously said that a monkey could have made more money by investing in stocks picked up by throwing darts at a stock page than Donald Trump had made through his Hotels and Casino Business. In an interesting experiment ( link, paywall ), the staff at WSJ picked up 10 random stocks by throwing darts on Barron's listings. They went on to invest in these stocks for a year to conveniently coincide with the prestigious SOHN Investment conference  in New York this week. Unsurprisingly, WSJ's "monkey stocks" outperformed the handpicked SOHN portfolio by a huge margin. The same stocks also outperformed the S&P. And all of this happened ironically during the presidency of Donald J Trump, whose critics have often compared him to (double irony) an Orangutan. Investing is no monkey business, of course. But it is a banana republic out there.

No, you *don't* miss 100% of the shots you don't take

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One of my life’s outstanding questions is about the need of motivational posters in offices. I wonder what purpose do they solve? What if it’s a wise call to not take those 100% of shots because each shot costs you time and money? What if you’re passionate about programming but it’s easy money selling because you’re intrinsically a good salesman? What if Harvey Specter from Suits is just a fictional character who has never actually stepped foot in a real office like the one where his poster hangs? Wait, that’s true actually. How about we just write this down on a sticky note and slap it on our desk instead?