SG's Meditations #49 - Jack Reacher, Overdelivering, SoG and Cold Showers.
Hello, dear 51 subscribers!
Wait. I can't believe we are at 51. Thank you so much for your patronage!
The ambition of course is to reach a billion. I dont know when I'd be able to reach but I know that I will continue to try.
Chalo, without further ado and emotional rants, let's dive in.
PS: This remains a personal note than a letter that can get you ahead in life. But still a letter nonetheless. Let's go!
📸 Photo of the week
Let's start with the photo of the week.
Here...
Took this on my 2-day trip to Mumbai. This has everything that I love. Yellow lights, Starbucks, Jack Reacher, Table and a Chair, AC at 22. And more. I was there to meet some students from SoBA and wanted to check how do I leverage their youth and enthusiasm to take me ahead. Of course, my interaction is going to be a two-way street where they get to learn from whatever little I have to offer.
I took this pic while I was waiting for them to come. The thing is, every time I read a Jack Reacher, I want to quit everything and write. Like Lee Child does. In fact, I think a lot of how I write is similar to Child.
But then, I want to do a million more things than just write. And that's the thing that I need to find a solution to. Any inputs? Ideas?
😊 Good thing from the week
So in one of the conversations with Parry, he told me a brilliant thing. That I bite into more things than I can chew. And it was eye-opening and was a high slap across my bum. He said I overpromise and underdeliver and I had thought that I always underpromise and overdeliver.
And I know that when there are two opinions, one from inside-out and the other from outside-in, always take the one that comes from a third party. So, if Parry says that I need to mend my ways, mend my ways is what I am gonna do.
So, this awareness about self is a good good thing! Need more truth bombs like this.
However, in this specific case, I may not agree at a deeper level. I mean all my life I have acted from the place of taking shots out of my comfort zone. I actively encourage that. Biting more than I can chew is my way of getting more work my way. And thereby learning more. And growing more. Sp my very DNA is designed in a way that I want to take more ad more. But if I am not delivering, now point!
So, lemme think over the next few days and see where it goes.
🔀 Random thing of the week
A few random things actually.
A. Dunno what it is about Bangalore's "brilliant" weather that my skin gets itchy and rashy. Plus I get bloated. I mean I am eating a lot of crap that I anyway eat while I am in Mumbai / Delhi but for some reason, Bangalore makes me bloated. I suspected it was water but I have switched to bottled water completely and am still not happy!
So I need to fix it (considering I am spending a lot of time here). One easy way is Keto. But then the challenge is that I am surrounded by so much amazing, tasty south Indian food that I love so much that I can never do keto! I may get an expensive dabba to enforce the habit but then all the travel doesn't help.
The other fix is to get someone to cook. But again, I am not sure if I can do it at the place I have rented here. And in case I am able to get a cook, I am not sure how much would I follow.
This next time I can do and probably the most effective is to work out. Or go for long walks. Bangalore is a great place for walks. There are so many parks and lakes and walking tracks that I can choose a new one every day. Just that I am too lazy to do so.
So that's one thing I need to fix.
B. My personal brand seems to be getting stronger by the day. I have enough body of work and enough well-wishers that I get access to interesting people and interesting opportunities.
I say this because I am getting more and more frequent requests from people to work with me, listen to me and learn from me. Even though I dont have a lot of things to talk about but I do like the idea of being able to help.
Coming back to the personal brand, I now need to amplify it! You know, take it to the next level. By delivering more work. By getting more stickler with work. Ensuring that I over-deliver on everything. And by not biting more than I can chew!
C. Next week I am in Goa. The week after that I am in Mumbai. And then I am back in Bangalore towards the second half of August. And then in Sep, I think I will be in Dubai if all goes well. So, I have a few trips coming up and I am elated about the prospect :)
If you are in these cities, let's meet!
D. I got this #epiphany, all over again. I can't begin to tell you how frequent this one comes to me! See this. I really think that what I do with young people at SoG is really really good. It adds immense value to their lives and I get to learn a lot. In fact that Starbucks photo on the top was just before a meeting with a SoG alumni. I would've spent some 2 hours with 5 kids but those 2 hours was the highlight of my week!
I think I will spend time on one of the flights to specifically think of a structure for SoG. In my opinion, flights give the best headspace for working. You are trapped in a metal tube hurling at breathtaking speed, in an uncomfortable chair, hoping to reach the other side and all you can do is pray that you reach in one piece. And while that happens, there is no phone, no WA messages and nothing else to distract you. You are in this zen-like state where all you can do is think. And I think I need to pause and think about SoG and need to make it big!
Talking of thinking and thoughts, let's move on to the thought of the week.
💭 Thought (aka Promise) of the week
So, I listened to a Twitter Guru on how to build a tough mindset and tame the monkey mind. He said that I need to start small. By taking a cold shower. Now, I have always loved cold showers but lately, I have started to get addicted to hot ones. To a point that even in the simmering heat of Delhi, I would take hot showers.
Today (on Sunday), I took a cold shower. It was a shock but not that bad. So, all is not lost. I can do more. I need to take baby steps. In fact, this struggle to get fit has been a perpetual one since I was like 14. Now that I am 40, I think I need to put in that one last effort. To prove to myself that I am not worthless!
The thought thus is, to get fit.
PS: As I write this, I am munching on Poha and Samosa! Carbs overload to the max! Need some divine intervention :|
📽️ Video of the week
So the video of the week has to be these two gentlemen playing the Uke and covering Hotel California. In one of the previous editions, I talked about how I seem to be suffering from a "Uke Acquisition Syndrome". Thankfully sense has prevailed and rather than wanting to be a rockstar by myself, I have accepted that my role in the world shall remain of a mere cheerleader. That celebrates these rockstars from a distance. And if I get lucky, I would probably help manage the lives and careers of some of these.
Here is the video...
PS: Also, thanks to the chat with Parry and the act of writing this newsletter, by saying no to getting a Uke all over again, I think I have prevented some heartburn :D
🆕 The new new thing
On some random whim, I started this yesterday. The idea is to intrigue people with things that I think no one else notices. And even if they do take a note, I want them to re-experience it!
Saurabh / SG on Twitter: "Starting a new thing. Will ask some (really simple) questions from popular culture, films, sports etc. Each will have some points attached. Correct answers give you those points. The first person to reach 100 points gets a 1000 bucks GV. INR." / Twitter “Starting a new thing. Will ask some (really simple) questions from popular culture, films, sports etc. Each will have some points attached. Correct answers give you those points. The first person to reach 100 points gets a 1000 bucks GV. INR.”
Let's see if I can sustain this :)
And this brings me to the end of this week's newsletter. If you enjoyed reading this, please share this with your friends and family and help me expand the reach of my weekly newsletter. Remember, I am gonna go big on distribution? It will mean a lot to me :). Here.
Over and out! 👋
- SG / 31 Jul 2022 / Bangalore
PS: As I was editing this short one, I realised that this is like a journal where I bare my soul and thoughts. And that I should actually be writing every day. There was a time during the lockdown when I journaled every day. I think that was helpful. Maybe I need to start the practice all over again? What do you think?