SG's Meditations - Issue #53
Hello!
So just like that, September is upon us. Just about 4 months before the year ends. The good part is that the world seems to be going back to normal, with a few changes and I am grateful for both - going back to normal and acceptance for people like me. You know, the ones who want to dance to their own tunes, want to chase shiny objects, want to push self. Etc etc.
Ok, lemme not start the letter in the preamble itself. Let's go...
📸 Photo of the week
This has to be the photo of the week, if not for the month. Clicked this at a Third Wave store at HSR and I really love the colours.
I love it so much that I will put this on my insta.
Unlike most photos I take, there is no backstory here. Just that I reached a place earlier than I had hoped. The place was empty and I did not know what to do while I waited. And while fiddling with the phone, I saw these brilliant colours and things. I mean there is neon lights, there's some plants, there's this gorgeous lights on top, there's those tiny holes in the roof that are sending light down to the courtyard and of course, an empty place!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of large, expansive spaces that are done tastefully and yet are empty. Gives me a feeling of abundance and peace. Need to seek more such places!
Ok, without any further ado, here...
Update. Put this on insta. See here.
😊 Good thing from the week
I got myself an expensive gift. I will not mention what it is. If all goes well, I will talk about it on the letter I send in the second week of October. The point is, this is the second time in the last few months that I have splurged on myself.
To be honest, for some reason, I feel guilty about spending money on self. I dont know why. I mean this is my own money and I anyway have limited kharcha and I can make some expenses once in a while. No?
If you are curious, the first one was this. Continuing with this one, today Pritam told me about the chappals Steve wore famously and I was like WTF! See this thread.
And here is a pic...
🗣️ Quote of the week
I dont know where I read this or come across this but it goes something like this...
"If you hear about the work I do, then I have failed at my job."
Think about it.
Imagine you are an assassin and you've been paid a bomb to kill a head of a state and you are supposed to make it look like an accident. So, if you do your job well, the headline would read, "ABC died of a heart attack" and if you fail at your job (where you may have killed the person) and the headline reads, "ABC killed in an accident", I think you would have failed at your job!
Now, imagine you are a business leader. And you are supposed to deliver a few creatives to clients. If you do those creatives well, things go well and no one has to know. But if you screw those up and someone has to ask who was responsible and your name is thrown around, dont you think you've failed in your goal?
That!
PS: You may argue that if you do your work well, you would be celebrated and you can showcase it and you can do more and all that. I agree. I dont have a retort.
🔀 Random thing of the week
At the Third Wave Cafe where I took the photo above, I bumped into someone I used to know when I did events as the only occupation. Since then, he's moved on to doing things in the web3 and I have moved on to do things that are more than just events. I remembered how he looked (he didn't remember me) and I knew what he was up to these days (he didn't know what I was up to) and I wanted to meet him randomly (he did not have an inclination to) but we could never find an opportunity. We could exchange tweets once in a while and make plans to meet and all but it would never materialise.
Until I bumped into him. And I asked him for coffee. And he agreed. And that would happen next week!
So yay!
And the point is, twofold.
A. I am all the more convinced that the real world offers these benefits that the virtual world doesn't. You can bump into people randomly and rekindle old relationships and create opportunities and spark change.
B. This also reinforces my belief that if you are at someplace that is bang in the middle of the action, you would inevitably get lucky!
So, if you are young and you want to do a certain kind of work, please leave the safe havens and go explore. And be in the middle of the madness where you can find others like you and create magic.
That.
Oh, I may be suffering from confirmation bias here, but I think it's worth suffering from this one ;P
💭 Thought of the week
See this first.
If this is the first time you are seeing this you probably live under a rock. The internet literally broke and there were debates on national TV about this.
I dont know where you stand on this, but I agree with Shantanu. Lemme try and explain.
The world we live in today was created by young people that threw themselves into their work and when the time came, made an irreversible impact. Each thing we use today - a product, a service, a tool, a thing - was created by former young people after they had spent years and years obsessing over what they worked on. It is the labour of their hard work and obsessions of years that is allowing us to enjoy modern comforts.
Think of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Coco Chanel, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, even Narendra Modi! Each of these people worked hard in their formative years. To be able to create things that impact things to a point that we have it easy!
And this is how things move.
This is, as they say, prakruti ka vidhaan. You move forth. Create things for the next. The next moves creates for the ones after them. You know, paying it forward.
So, we as the next generation have the responsibility to take the baton and create things that allow the next generations to thrive. And the ones that are in their 20s right now have all the more responsibility. To not rest on the laurels and comfort and privilege gifted to them by their parents and society. And do more. I mean imagine if the young ones today decided to not put in the hours and not work hard and not create things for the subsequent generations, well, God saves us!
I can talk more and peddle more opinions and all that but I think in one line, Shantanu is not wrong. You need to work hard. Work-life balance is important. But you can NOT hide behind that and not act!
Phew!
PS: I am not sure if this makes any sense but more I think about it, more I lean on the side of putting in the 18-hours a day side.
📽️ Video of the week
I somehow stumbled onto this band called Khudgharz. They primarily do covers of popular Hindi / Pakistani music and they do a fabulous job at it!
Bollywood Club Mix I Khudgharz — www.youtube.com Dance to the beat of these popular club songs!SONG#:1 Pyaar AayaARTIST: Alisha Chinoy, Anand Raj AnandALBUM: PlanLICENCES: Tseries Music (on behalf of T-Seri...
The music from this band has become my goto music as I work. I love the rustic, acoustic sounds that come from their guitars, cajons and vocals. Plus they mix tracks and it's literally magical to listen to them!
Do check them out.
🆕 The new new thing
Two things here.
A. I am turning 40 this year. And I have made a list of things I would do in the next 10 years. I am making a list. See if you want to contribute. Here. #sg40
B. Inspired by Khudgharz, I had an idea (#parkedIdeas) that what if I find some really brilliant amateur musicians, get them to sing covers and invest in them to make them famous on YouTube and then start booking for corporate shows?
Do you think this would work?
Do lemme know.
And this, ladies and gents brings me to the end of this newsletter. I hope it was a fun read! And 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 :)
Over and out! 👋
- SG / 03 Sep 2022 / Bangalore