NRajeshNamase

Subject

Life

The long view. Mindset, mortality, family, and what any of it was for.

16 entries

Newest first

A fountain pen resting on an open blank notebook, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

Write your own story and success will follow

Three steps to a story worth sharing: cut the negative people, keep smiling, and start before the plan is ready. The idea is 10%. The rest is getting it done.

Six plain wooden chess pawns standing in a row on a light table, five together and one stepped clearly ahead of the others, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

Six kinds of people, and which one you are

Six kinds of people, sorted by how they chase their targets, and why only a few end up with the joyful life. Which one are you?

A pair of worn leather hiking boots with a rolled paper trail map tucked beside them, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

My biggest motivation is to keep challenging myself

After the Himalayan trip I admitted I had missed two years of targets by underestimating myself. Being a serial entrepreneur is harder than a bio makes it sound.

An old brass pocket compass with its lid open, seen from above, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

Always listen to your inner voice

Three times a quiet voice told me to leave what was safe: quitting TCS, starting a business with a friend, and renting an office for 50. It was right each time.

A classic glass hourglass with pale sand, half run through, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

"I do not have time" is an excuse, not a reason

The excuse I hear most from friends is that there is no time. The transformation people noticed after two years, and the honest accounting of hours behind it.

A single dandelion seed head on its stem, a few seeds drifting off, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

A day will come when each of us will die

Death is certain and its date is not. The thought experiment I put to friends a year ago, and the question it leaves: what would you do with 360 days?

A small straw archery target with a single wooden arrow in the bull's-eye, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

Is there a main goal in a person life

A boy, a bow, and arrows that always hit the bull's-eye. The short story that convinced me there is no predestined goal, only the one you create.

Two small glasses of milky chai on a steel tray, seen from above, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

The friend who never looks unhappy

My childhood friend Navanath has never once looked unhappy. What he told me when I finally asked how, and why friends like him are the reason anything worked.

A small brass padlock, locked, with its key lying beside it, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

The friend I told everything to

What happened after I shared every secret with one close friend, and the rule I live by now: a secret you have told is no longer a secret.

A plain white cotton shirt on a wooden hanger, shot straight on, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

The white shirt I wore to every viva

The lucky shirt that got me through engineering vivas, the roommate who borrowed it and topped the exam, and what both taught me about luck and numerologists.

A small brass balance scale, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

Why I stopped debating

I used to enjoy debating politics, religion and success. Why I stopped, and what people usually want from an argument instead of an answer.

A classic beige desk telephone with a coiled cord, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

The friend who called about starting a business

A Skype call with a college friend turned into a lecture on entrepreneurship he never asked for. Three rules about when to talk and when not to.

A single scoop of vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

Ten lessons people learn too late

Ten lessons most people learn too late, from owning your own success to treating today as the special occasion, plus one extra: too late is an excuse.

A sealed cream envelope with a red wax seal, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

The email you send to your future self

A friend's idea of emailing your future self, and why I would rather plan like a climber: adjust as the mountain changes, and never set targets in money.

A bright yellow enamel mug of tea, steam visible, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

How do you stay positive all the time

Someone asked how anyone stays positive whatever happens. My answer: motivation from within, the right company, and praising what you admire in others.

A steel lunch tiffin box, open, with almonds and a banana beside it, cut out on a grained paper-collage groundLife

My diet, since people keep asking

The exact meals, timings and quantities I eat in a day, as set by my gym trainer, for everyone who keeps asking. Check with yours before copying it.