SG's Meditations #57 - On Hard75, iPhones and Bangalored.
Hello hello!
Welcome to yet another edition of SG's meditations. I think this weekly newsletter is evolving into a public journal of sorts where I bare everything that's on my mind.
While this is a good thing, it's also a not-so-good thing. Indulge me.
As I grow up old, I am seeing the importance of connecting with more people and connecting deeply with the ones I already know. New connections are important as they open more doors that otherwise aren't accessible to you. Taking existing connections to a deeper level is important to enable compounding to happen (and thus bring more joy).
So, this newsletter serves me well by helping deepen existing connections. Cos am putting forth my honest, authentic and vulnerable side. While this is good, the challenge is that the ones that don't know me would not find any value in this newsletter. I mean why would they care that a 40-year me wants to click better photos? Or that my work is suffering and I need to work hard to acquire three clients in the next three months, at a time when we are staring at a global recession? Or that I love this piece of Uke magic?
I need to thus find a balance between personal posts and things that the world at large may want to read. And that is where my largest challenge is. And no, like a lot of mysteries in the world, I dont have an answer. And I invite suggestions. Anyone?
Oh, and let's get started with this week's edition!
📸 Photo of the week
Took this set of photos from the flight to Delhi.
On the new iPhone that my friends and family got me.
Lemme digress for a bit. This is the second time someone has gifted me a phone (the first one was Rajesh Sir a few years ago). I am still unable to come to terms with when I am the recipient of the kindness of people. Plus, I don't like that people put in their time and money on me. In fact, this is the opposite of what I want to be. Rather than boosting myself, I want to be the one that boosts people.
But then I am unable to control what people choose to do what they want to. All I can do is feel grateful about the fact that I have people that care for me and are willing to help me do things that I want to in life. More on this in some subsequent edition.
Meanwhile, here's the photo...
If you like this, you may want to show me some love on my intsa. And now that I have a fancy phone with a fancy camera, I will ensure that I take nice pics. And unrelated, do a LOT more as a person to enable my people to reach where they want to be!
😊 Good thing from the week
The week was actually nice! And there were quite a few good things actually.
1/ People
Within people, for starters, I connected with some people from the past. Some of these were...
Met Raj. One of my earliest influencers. He runs CLA and I am trying to create C4E on almost exact same lines. But of course with different values than him. And each time I am stuck for inspiration or ideas, I would ask myself, "How would a Raj Kurup do this?" and I would often find an answer!
Met AG. He has been behind me like a rock. And he's had my back when no one else had. I am and shall remain indebted to him for the rest of my life!
Met Saurabh Kanwar. He and I have always had a very amicable relationship but we're not friends per se. However, each time I meet him, I go back with more hope about the world. This time was no different. He told me in clear terms that I need to take care of my health. And that's something that I need to work on anyway. So it was nice.
Second, I made a few new connections.
Some of these were...
Someone that claims to manage a couple of billion dollars. Really. And for the record, this year, this is the third person (2 F2F and 1 on Zoom) that has "touched" a billion dollars. One of my life goals is to know at least 10 billionaires (and have them know me on a first-name basis). And I've met a few in the past. I used to work on Apollo Tyres and Neeraj Kanwar is a legit dollar billionaire but back then, I was flunky to someone else. These three conversations have happened as me, Saurabh Garg. And as they say, apna time aaega!
A junior from MDI who quit his cushy job to start a D2C brand. When I met him, I realised that he's far more brilliant than what he made others believe! I need to learn more from him and surround myself with people like that!
So that. People.
2/ Airports
I was at an airport yesterday after 2-3 weeks. And the time I spent there reminded me that I love airports like mad. To a point that I want to go back to being at the airports all the time! Come on, universe.
3/ C4E Ethos
This week, one of the companies I met to pitch C4E's services turned out to be better than us in terms of their ethos! I mean all this while my flex has been the culture and ethos with which I am building C4E.
But when I met these people, I realised the very next step that I need to take. And that too at a scale (they are a 50 people company. C4E is less than 10). So, I will ensure that whatever it may take, I will be with them and will want to see them from the inside.
And thus this was not just good, but BRILLIANT! Oh, I also realised this week (and it's a good thing) that I use way too many exclamation marks when I write (or text).
🔀 Random thing of the week
So my Bangalore trip adventure has come to an end. It was an abrupt one, to be honest, and I did not expect it to end like that. But then it has ended and I need to move on. Lemme delve a little more into that.
There were three things that gave me hope about Bangalore.
Work
Potential Work
REDACTED.
On the work front, I believe I put in all the effort I could and yet I was unable to deliver to the satisfaction of the client. While I could have faked and continued to work on things, I did not feel it was the right thing to do. If I can't deliver, I dont want to get paid. I am naive like that. So, that was a heartbreak.
On the potential work front, I was VERY VERY hopeful that I would make a dent while I am there. It's a very liveable city with great weather and interesting people chasing interesting things. It is not the startup capital of the country for no frivolous reason. There is action there. There are people willing to help each other there. There are tons of opportunities that make it worth living there.
And yet, I was unable to do anything about it! I couldn't open doors, I didn't have the time to engage with the ecosystem there. I did spend a lot of time with people I knew beforehand, people I was friends with and I did make deeper connections there. But I did not grow anything for myself or for C4E.
On the other hand, while it may not be an apples-to-apples comparison, I find navigating Mumbai easier like that. I dont know why. Look at the Good Things of the week part. I met people - old and new - and I was engaged and happy and all that. In Bangalore, the going has been slow, I wasn't able to meet a lot of people and for want of better words, I was unable to make it click.
On the REDACTED part, it's on my echochamber.
So, my experience of getting Bangalored did not bear any fruit. Maybe I need to give Bangalore another chance. But then, for what joy? I could rather explore Mumbai better. No?
And anyway, winter is coming and I need to double down and protect what I have, rather than letting the plant wither away.
💭 Thought of the week
AC told me about this 75Hard thing. The entire idea is that you do things for 75 days on the trot. In the most hardcore manner. You miss one day and you go back to day 1. I think I need something like that to be able to become consistent at things. And as luck would have it, we have 75 days to the end of the year!
So, maybe, this could be my cue to get started on the 40 in 40s and get a running start? And get some consistency going? This is the number 1 thing that I lack in life right now and I need a lot of help when it comes to being consistent and this could be a good way to get there.
The other thing I want to talk about (and club in this) is the outcome of this tweet from Viny (who's also better known as CCO at C4E).
Anshika Kushwaha on Twitter: "mini-story i was the kid who hated math. would cry the night before every math test. always knew i couldn't do it." / Twitter “mini-story i was the kid who hated math. would cry the night before every math test. always knew i couldn't do it.”
So, if a 14-year version of her can take on a thing like Math, how can a 40-year-old me get intimidated by things like health and all? And thus, here is my attempt at 75Hard. I will try to be consistent at things like health, writing, photography, being social and in general, being a good person.
Knowing myself, this would be incredibly hard. And thus I need all the wishes that you people may have in store for me. So that!
📽️ Video of the week
This one, where Steve is saying that it's ok to ask for help. And just by asking, you can reach beyond where you were!
Lemme know what you think of this video by Steve. And in case you are a fanboy as well, do share your favorite Steve video :)
And in the end...
This is it for the week. A lot to be honest. Good to have got this on paper! See you next time around.
And this, ladies and gents brings me to the end of this newsletter. I hope it was a fun read! If you enjoyed reading this, please share this with your friends and family and help me expand the reach of my weekly newsletter. It will mean a lot to me :)
Over and out! 👋
- SG / 16 Oct 2022 / Bom - AI 660 - Del