Success of the Day

 Success of the DAY:

If day & night are such that

 you greet the them with Joy and

 life emits a fragrance Like flowers

and  Sweet-scented herbs

Is more elastic, more starry

more immortal

- That is your success!

Henry David Thoreau 

My note:

you've arrived, when you feel,

 No difference between Workday and  weekend!!!

Wealth and Habits

@Jacked Aecus

A man has  5 way out of depression.

1. Hitting Gym - Physical wealth 
2.  Chasing  purpose - Intellectual wealth
3.  Build a loving family - Emotional wealth
4.  Fix relationship with God /Nature - Spiritual wealth
5. Make Money- Fiscal wealth

Success

Success

To laugh often and much

To win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children

To earn appreciation of honest friends 

and endure the betrayal  of false friends,

appreciate beauty

To find the best in others

To leave the world a bit better

Whether by a healthy child

Or a garden patch

or a redeemed social condition 

To even know one life has breathed easier

because you lived

This is to have succeeded!

Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Pre-mortem

Pre-mortem is about assessing at the beginning, 

Why this project would fail ?

I know it doesn't sound auspicious 😀.

But if you will, 

If you ask you / your teams:

- Why it will take more time than plan ?

- Why it will cost more budget?

- Why it will take more People?

- Why the quality can be poor?

- Why the  proposal may be unclear?

- Why the presentation is not synching well?

Pre-mortem helps you assess the worst-case scenarios and enable be prepared. 

See how Napoleon Bonaparte planned his campaign:

Be paranoid in prep phase!

And while acting , be reckless, if I may say!

self-awareness

 The knowledge of sin is the beginning of salvation ...Epicurus

For he who does not know that
he has sinned
does not desire correction;
you must discover yourself in the wrong
before you can reform yourself!

Therefore,As far as possible,
prove yourself guilty
hunt up charges against yourself;
play the part,
first of the accuser,
then of judge,
last of intercessor!

At times, be harsh with yourself!
Farewell!

Charlie Munger, says this as well in forming opinions:

Munger's Law is the idea that you shouldn't form an opinion on a subject unless you can articulate the opposing argument better than the opposition can. This is about understanding the other side's argument, not adopting it

Authors

Seneca       

Love thyself!

Love! 

A Poem by David Whyte!

When we finally step out of the boat
toward them, we find
everything holds us, 

and everything confirms
our courage, and if you wanted
to drown you could,
but you don’t
because finally
after all this struggle
and all these years
you simply don’t want to any more

you’ve simply had enough
of drowning
and you want to live and you
want to love and you will
walk across any territory
and any darkness
however fluid and however
dangerous to take the
one hand you know
belongs in yours.

 

 Second order thinking

Almost everyone can anticipate the immediate results of their actions.
This is first-order thinking!

Second order thinkng is :
Thinking further about the subsequent effects of their actions

pg. 106: the great mental models :

Shane Parrish


First-order thinking is about :

stimulus => reaction only;
If I do this: I get that:
If you do this, I will do this for you!

Buckminster Fuller gives a great analogy on the superiority of second-order thinking using an analogy :

Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Elizabeth — the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there’s a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trim tab. It’s a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trim tab. Society thinks it’s going right by you, that it’s left you altogether. But if you’re doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to go. So I said, “Call me Trim Tab.”

The truth is that you get the low pressure to do things, rather than getting on the other side and trying to push the bow of the ship around. And you build that low pressure by getting rid of a little nonsense, getting rid of things that don’t work and aren’t true until you start to get that trim-tab motion. It works every time. That’s the grand strategy you’re going for. So I’m positive that what you do with yourself, just the little things you do yourself, these are the things that count. To be a real trim tab, you’ve got to start with yourself, and soon you’ll feel that low pressure, and suddenly things begin to work in a beautiful way. Of course, they happen only when you’re dealing with really great integrity.

In this metaphor, the ship's rudder is the first-order effect ;
you need a lot and a lot of energy to deal with first-order effects! 

Trim-tab is the second-order effect: Rudder is the first-order effect!
The second-order effect is much more powerful than the first-order :

As with lesser energy you can turn more weight around!

Authors

Farnam street 

Maria Popova

         Avoiding stupdity

Avoiding stupdity is easier than seeking brilliance

Dont pay Dumb Tax by choosing stupidity!
Avoid stupidity :

• by sticking to basics
• by learning from others
• By reading books

Authors

Shane Parrish       

 

         ABCDE

Think of Adversity as a Wall
Use ABCDE to vault the Wall!
Learned Optimism

A => Adversity
B=> Belief
C => Consequence
D => Disputation
E => Energize

Example:
A=> Adversity: You are informed of the lack of communication between team members by your counterpart

B=> Belief: your counterpart may have gotten this information from his team

C=> Consequence: This can be tough as counterpart may build on this as a lack of coordination for the team

D=> Dispute the Negative beliefs:
What is evidence? collect any data to verify the negative beliefs
What are alternatives? multiple channels of communication leading to the belief
What are the implications? Convey the message to the team to put a single face
What is usefulness? Can be used to emerge stronger, better as a team

E => Energize clearly after this incident!

Authors

Martin Seligman       

Be a Pro!

Be a Professional!

1.    Show up

2. Put in the Work

3. Master the Basics 

Being Prepared

@DanMurray-Serter

I have noticed a pattern among all the successful people :

They're always prepared

It doesn't matter what they are doing - 

A presentation, A negotiation, even a 

casual conversation

They've thought it through! 

Now, Don't get me wrong! 

They don't look like they've put in the work!

But that's the beauty of being prepared!

behind the scenes, they've done their research and practiced their lines

It is that extra effort, 

that attention to details 

that matters in attaining the success! 

Be Yourself!

 

 

         2 Handles

Evey situation has 2 handles - one by which it can be carried and one by which it can't
Epictetus

Say if your brother does wrong : dont grab him by his wronging
because this handle is incapable of lifting it

Instead use the other.
That he is your brother
that you were raised together and then 

you will hold of the handle that carries

Authors

Epictetus       

 

         Control

(Wo)men do not care how nobly they live , but only how long,
althought it is within reach of every man to live nobly,
but within no man's power to live long
Seneca
Letters from a Stoic ; Pg.35

There are things that within your control- Necessities
There are things that you can influence- Luxury 
There are many things that you cannot control or influence- Superfluity 

Live accordingly!

 

         Being watched!

Do everything as if Epicurus is watching you!
Seneca
Letters from a Stoic

In my own life, I look upto my Father for Values.
Somehow i have had this feeling always that : 

my Father is watching me😁
That has made me to surround myself with an invisible fence of values

That has helped me from getting to too much trouble

So Seneca say this:
"Set as a guard over yourself the authority of some man,
Be it the great Cato, Scipto or Laelius - or any (Wo)man in whose presence
wretches would check their bad impulses"

Authors

Seneca     

Mukund  

 

         Master thinker!

Limit yourself to Master Thinker!
Seneca

Cure does not occur with frequent change of medicine
Wound will not heal when one salve is tried after another
Plan which is moved often cannot grow strong 
And in reading of Books , many is a distraction;

To toy with many dishes is mere cloy and dont nourish

Nothing is useful that is being shifted about

So remain in one place and linger in your great company!

Authors

Seneca       

 

         Wealth!

the highest form of wealth is the ability to wake up every morning and say :
"I can do whatever I want today"
Psychology of Money

"More than your Salary, Size of house, Status , Prestige of your Job,
the control over what you want , when you want to, with people you want to
is broadest lifestyle variable that makes people happy"

Doing something you love on a schedule you can't control can be same as doing somethign you hate;
People like to fell they're in control - in driver's seat (John Berger)
But in the 21st Century of knowledge work, our control over time
has diminished due to email , IM and Social Media

So use the power of money to control of your time
that is what will lead to satisfaction!

Authors

Morgan House       

Rich vs wealthy

 Morgan Housel

Psychology of Money

There is a major difference between Rich and 

Being Wealthy!!!

Being rich	Being Wealthy
Rich is current income	Wealth is Income not spent
Not hard to spot rich people	The millionaire next door you may not know!
Being Rich is like Physical exercise	Being wealthy is like being on Diet
Instant gratification	Delayed gratification
Depends on the time you expend	Wealth is accumulated even during sleep
Income + Ego	Income – Ego
No control over your time	Flexibility over your time
Spend Dollars	Investing dollars
Live for entertainment sake	Life for Self-mastery
Live even in Debt	Live to create

 

         Plan and Execution

Seneca says this about Plan and Execution:

Plan:
We can formulate general rules and commit them to writing,
as to what is usually done, or ought to be done ;
not only to our absent friend,
but also to succeeding generations

Execution:
But no one will advise at long-range
when our plan needs to be carried out;
you must not only be present in the body
but watchful in the mind,
to avail the fleeting opportunity;

Authors

Seneca       

 

         Mindset @ Work

There are different levels of working:

Impact = (Execution * Strategy) * Market

Owner's Mindset : Impact Level
Execution Mindset : Execution Level
Optics Mindset : Showcase Work ; Political Level

When you genuinely care about something, you focus more on impact
than the optics;

What is your default mindset 😉?
Develop an owner's mindset as your default level to grow!

Authors

Shreyas Joshi

 

         Happiness in Loss

No good thing renders its possessor happy, unless his mind is reconciled to the possibility of loss

Seneca, Letters from a Stoic

Forune indulges me
and the same fortune can threaten me
Like a calm sea turning into Tsunami
so I need to reconcile my mind to the possibility of loss;

yes that is the sole way to happiness!
so toughen the spirit that is ready

to face the mishaps!

That which can be taken away , can be taken away!
That which can go wrong - will go wrong!

Authors

mukund       

 

         End game

It is bothersome, always beginning to live

Epicurus

Seneca, Letters from a Stoic

they live ill who are always beginning to live;
For example , people postponing their enjoyment to retirement life -
and they dont live long enough!

Epicurus says that - we are always planning to live
not living mostly
No execution of the plan!
When it comes to living - its always not Living!
mostly counting , counting and counting!

As Thoreau says:
In the end it becomes a Fool's life - to realize at the end that
I have not lived at all!

So Seneca gives a remedy for the malaise:
"We must make it our aim to have lived long enough"
Have then the end game as a strategy : Death itself:
Not in the dark sense !
Not in the sense of misfortune!
but more in the sense that
End is sure to happen : and its just a question of timing:

Living everyday as if its the last!
without postponement!

Authors

Seneca

Epicurus       

 

         What is a sound mind?

A sound mind knows where to find the Joy;

Seneca says that:
We try to find Joy in Shiny Objects !!!

But the True joy comes from real Goods:
1.Good conscience
2. Honoroble purpose
3. Right Actions
4. Contempt of gifts of chance
5. Even and calm way of living

Above real goods are what is fixed and lasting;

One you possess this : you move forward:

Rest do not progress at all :
They merely blob up and down
like a cork in the Ocean
or like a driftwood in the River
merely tossed from this side to the other!

Amateurs vs Professionals

 @ShaneParrish

Amateurs	Professionals
Solves Symptoms	Solves Root cause
Thinks in Absolutes	Thinks in probabilities
Sees disagreements as Threats	Sees Disagreements as Opportunities to Learn
Have a goal	Have a process
Think they are good @ everything	Understand that they have edges to competencies
Value Intensity	Value Consistency
Knowledge is power	Share knowledge with all others
Divide the Pie	Grow the Pie
Show up inconsistently	Show-up everyday
Go faster	Go farther
World works the way I think	Work with the World the way they find it
Tear others down	Make everyone better
Focus next Quarter	Focus next decade

Pre-performance Ritual

Develop a pre-performance ritual -
to get your "mindset" right!

pg.194 : Score Takes care of itself

As you prepare for the day , prepare your mind
before the actual work begins :

For me : following is the ritual :
1. Walking
2. Reading Seneca
3. Yoga
4. Writing Affirmations
5. To Do list from weekly tasks

Authors

Bill Walsh       

 

         Mindset@Work

Intent

1. First is Integrity and Humility
2. Second is Clear thinking
3. Third is Influential writing
4. Last is charismatic speaking

Intent = Integrity * Clear thinking / Selfishness

Authors

Shreyas Doshi twitter       

 

         How to create a great presentation

My notes:
Synapsiscreative.com

Creating PowerPoint presentation is like creating a movie.
You need to have a strong script before you jump to make slides;
Say you need to create a presentation :
what do you do?
Dive right into slides? No, you don't :
rather 

Start with a L.I.S.T

Length: In 10 minutes
Idea: you'll know how to make a great spaghetti dish
Structure: Where we will state the process and end
Then: you look awesome in front of your wife!

Then Finish with a B.O.W:
Backtrack a bit:
Objective: please suggest feedback
Why : we need to do this

 

         Intent

Intent trounces all other skills

Good Intent * Persuasion = Influence
Influence * Execution = Impact
Impact * Consistency = Success;

Bad Intent * Persuasion = Manipulation
Manipulation * Execution = Collective Harm
Collective Harm * Consistency = Misery;

Authors

Shreyas Doshi Twitter       

 

         Mindset @ Work

Things that provide great upside with little to no downside:

1. Quarterly Hackathons
2. Weekly memo emails
3. Pre-mortems

Authors

Shreyas Doshi twitter       

 

         Keep it simple

easy solution is rarely simple!
The simple solution is rarely easy!

you need to work hard , really hard to
Keep it simple and easy!

Say are preparing a presentation :
to do it easy , you start right away with PPT deck
but it becomes complex for the audience to understand

On other hand, you work hard on the topic
write a script
and create a slide deck
it will be hardwork
but it will be simple on the audience and they
would all like it!

Simple is Hard!
Complex is Easy!

Authors

Shreyas Doshi Twitter       

Nature -A cure for Selfishness!

 Nature -A cure for Selfishness!

Iris Murdoch

I am looking out my window
in an anxious and resentful
state of mind
oblivious of my surroundings
brooding perhaps on some damage done
to my prestige!

Then suddenly, I observe a hovering kestrel
In a moment everything is altered
The brooding self with its hurt vanity has
disappeared!

There is nothing now but kestrel
And when I return to thinking of other matter
it seems less important.

And of course this is something which we may do deliberately also
Give attention to Nature
in order to
Clear our minds of Selfish care!

My note:
I feel similar: when I see
the Eagle 
hovering over my terrace
Flying without flapping of wings
for more than 2 minutes at a time
using the wind as a friend to
pitch, and roll and yaw

Gliding through the air 
Unflappability of the Eagle

adds to its majestic nature!

As I observe the eagle, 

my mind , that is ruffled due to selfishness
becomes a lake of calmness
unflapping so to speak,
even momentarily
as the eagle's wings