Life in Bangalore

To be somebody ? or To do something? You’ll have to make a decision - John Boyd  Ego is the Enemy : pg.31 - Ryan Holiday John Boyd : Talk to Mentees: “Tiger, one day you will come to a fork in the road  And you have to decide which direction you want to go  If you go that way, you can be somebody; You will have to make compromises  And you will have to turn back on your friends But you will become a member of the club and You will get promoted and get good assignments! Or you can go other way You can do something for your country, yourself and your Airforce If you want to do something, You may not get promoted , not get good assignments Not be a favorite of your superiors! Your work might make a difference! To be somebody or To do something   You will have to make a decision!” Shakti Gawain presents an Eastern philosophical view of Being  and Doing  Shakti says that : Being , Doing and Having can co-exist  John says : they are mutually exclusive!

  Stoicism: Principle #2: Refuse to worry about things, beyond your control or outside your power! Epicteteus says: Discourses:  If you gape after externals (that which you have no control over),  you will invariably be forced up and down,  According to the will of your master.  And who is your master ? Whichever has the power over things you are trying to gain or avoid! And who is a slave ? Those who are worried or complain about externals! Be detached from things that are not up to you!

  Stoicism : First Principles: If any external thing causes you distress, it is not the thing itself that troubles you, but your own judgment about it. And this you have the power to eliminate now  Marcus Aurelius  Meditations Principle 1:  According to Stoicism , you are not riled up by events You are riled up by your judgment of event! Montaigne says this :  “We are not tormented by things But by the opinions that we have for them” The taste of good and evil things depends on the opinion We have on them” Cicero goes a step further on the first principles: Grief: Recent opinion of present evil - Which seems right to feel downcast Joy:   Recent opinion of present good - which seems right to feel elated Fear: Opinion of impending evil - which seems unbearable Lust: Opinion of good to come - that would be better if we already have it here; This has an interesting parallel to the Yoga Philosophy: In Yoga philosophy, the middle step in above figure, Judgment/ Opinion is called: Vrtti  V

  Creating a Product Pg.217 : Score will take care of itself Bill Walsh “Focus on the quality of the product first Quality, Quality and Quality! Promotion , Presentation is necessary  But the solidity of the product - value - quality is primary Spend all your energy , resources ,time On creating quality product And then later only on promotion , marketing  Great products sell itself- through Word-of-mouth”

  You are on a slippery slope , When you start believing that outcomes of your efforts represents or embodies who you are ! Bill Walsh The Score takes care of itself My Note: In Be Do Have 👍Be is supreme ; Dont let that be sullied by  What you do or  What you have !  What you do is - Intellect, Buddhi  What you have is - Outcome - Victory, Defeat BE is your identity Do not let your identity be defined by : Victory / Defeat / position / fame /profession/ intellect Bill Walsh says : “who you are as a person  or your value  Should be seperated from the outcomes!

Think on what you want to do Rather than who you want to be(come) Richard Feynman The Feynman letters on Physics Fall in love with some activity and do it! Nearly everything is readily interesting  If you go into it deeply enough! Work as hard as you can on one such activity Dont think what you want to be But what you want to do ! John Boyd ,the famous military strategist, is even more aggressive :  He asks us :  There is a fork in the road Do you want to be someone Or Do you want to do something?

There is no head office in this company,  and there never will be. So, I don't want to hear the words head office or headquarters anymore. We are a service centre and a training centre - that's it.” - Alain Bouchard , Couche-Tard

  @danmurrayserter (Twitter) People with checklists complete their work 40% faster But 99% of them are making their checklists wrong.  Here's how to do it right: (Using psychology) Do a brain dump. Write down all tasks in your head. All projects, goals, and to-dos. This releases cognitive load. .  2. Separate tasks. Distill it down to 3-5 big tasks for the day. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to separate tasks by importance. → Urgent and Important → Not Urgent, but Important → Urgent, but Not Important → Not Urgent and Not Important      3. Create a Morning Routine list. Every day, start with a simple 5-15 minute routine. Example: → Water → Breakfast → Stretching → Plank → Meditation               This helps your brain switch into a productive state 4. Time Block. Schedule time for each task. Work for 90 minutes and then take a break. Use the Pomodoro Technique: 25 minute work sprints with 5 minute breaks. 5. Connect tasks to goals. For each task, ask “Why?” Knowing the why beh

  On value addition : @dmuthuk By D Muthukrishnan (mutual fund distributor) Be genuinely interested in clients well being. Focus on shaping the behaviour and temperament. Never recommend a product based on commission. Never sell NFOs. Provide simple products. Recommend only what is good. Don't go by AMCs sales push. Teach what good investing is all about. Be a tough discipliner. AUM would follow. My Notes:  Above Modified for: leadership  Be genuinely interested in people well-being. Focus on shaping the behavior and temperament. Never recommend a product that you would not use Recommend only what is good. Teach what leadership is all about. Be a tough discipliner. Outcomes would follow.

  The person you are matters most than the place to which you go Pg.43 : Letter from a Stoic  Seneca Seneca says this :  You wonder hither and thither To rid yourself of the burden upon Though its more trouble by your restlessness Just as in a ship, the cargo when stationary makes no trouble When it shifts this side or that Causes the vessel to heel more quickly in which it slides You hurt yourself by your very unrest For you are shaky as a sickman!  My note: Become the person you are Not by seeking the place, position, possession and primacy! Seeking solace in the soul

  Unhappiness is brought upon by desires  Seneca Letters from a Stoic One who cannot see a neighbor Happier than himself A person living for his belly, sleep and lust Most shameful thing in this world He who lives for none Does not live for himself -Seneca

  Yoga Philosophy says that: We eat through our senses !  Take your Time Eknath Eswaran Sight, hearing, Taste, Touch, and Smell are the channels that connect the mind to the outside world and the study of the interaction of senses and mind is the most fascinating Eknath Eswaran Ideally, senses should act as the mind’s assistants Mind is the boss - at least in the name  But all too often  Boss doesn't boss Senses take over Cajole the mind to have a good time Through consumption! So the next time you want to consume Ask yourself -  Will I be happy about my consumption in  5 hours from now? 5 Days from now? 5 months from now? 5 years from now?  If so, say “Hell Yes; Otherwise Damn No”  As Plutarch said once: Like our minds, our minds are hurt more often by overeating than by Hunger

  It is not the natural hunger of our bellies that cost us dear, But our solicitous cravings Seneca Letters from a Stoic Seneca chides all of us - and asks us - How long? “How long shall we go on making demands upon Gods , As if we are still unable to support ourselves? “How long shall we continue to fill with grain the marketplaces  Of our great cities?” “How long must people gather in it for us?” “How long shall many ships convey the requisites for a single meal Bringing them from no single Sea? “ Did Nature give us bellies so insatiable that we should outdo the  Highest and most voracious animals in greed? How long? Remember, Many a Problem was created by overeating than due to F asting

 The pleasure of eating lies in having an appetite Not in being glutted Cicero Tusculan Disputations - 5.97 Appetite is the best sauce - Cicero Hunger will make even ordinary bread taste delicate and Seem to be from the finest flour For that reason, we should not eat until hunger binds us This can be compared to consumption through Senses:  Most of us consume before we are hungry  And therefore indulge in gluttony So practice voluntary poverty: which is simply To become hungry before we eat To become celibate, before we indulge To enjoy Silence, before hearing music To enjoy solitude, before we enjoy the scenery To enjoy natural fragrance, before the perfumery!

There is a pleasure of its own  The very fact of our not wanting pleasures  Taking the place of the pleasure themselves Seneca  Letters from a Stoic These are very beautiful words :  I read something similar written by Ryan Holiday - quoting  Nassim Taleb “You are Rich, if and only if, the taste of money you refuse,  Is much more than the taste of money you accept” There seems to be a beauty in refusal - of superfluities - There seems to be a beauty in -” Saying No” There seems to be beauty in feeling enough There seems to be beauty in feeling contented Say No to the superfluities  Ambition is Easy, Contentedness is Tough Greed is Easy, Feeling enough is tough Saying Yes is easy, Saying No is tough Learn to live with restraint! Tone your wants and tastes low enough, and make much of negatives and of mere daylight and the skies -Walt Whitman