Apologies for the delay. The week was a bit more chill than intended
Your weekly-ish dose of awesomeness
Hey, <<First Name>>!
It's been a weird but crazy fortnight. For the first time in my life, I'm staying with my parents while my brother isn't around. He got accustomed to this kind of a lifestyle while I was away during college - but this is very new to me.
My grandmother's a wee bit unwell, so I've been visiting her every now and then - she's been telling me stories from her childhood as well as mine. She recites both types of stories as though they happened yesterday. Fascinating how we perceive time, especially as we grow older.
(She's feeling better now and is recovering)
I also got to attend a Hindustani Classical Music Concert. I understand very little of the art form compared to Carnatic Classical, but it was a lovely experience all the same.
On the personal mental health front - 4 months since my inner circle's lives changed for the worse. I got to attend Sanath's niece's naming ceremony a few days ago and it was one of the hardest experiences I've had so far. I can feel myself turn more stoic by the day - and yet I have my weak moments as do those around me. Does time heal? I don't know. I guess we learn to convince ourselves that it does.
Apologies for missing last weekend's email - I am trying to write blog posts again, so you may occasionally get a blog post instead of an email in this format. If you have specific topics that you'd like me to write on, do let me know.
Over to the good stuff!
Here's a quote I've been pondering all week:
" One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself " - Leonardo Da Vinci
Bonus:
"When one teaches, two learn." - Robert Heinlein
What I enjoyed reading this week:
1. The history of Google Photos - This a tweet storm, but a good one. So illuminating to read about the Bump team's journey. What a tale!
2. Atomic Habits by James Clear - You know how much I love studying and working on 'habits' - I had to get this book. Just got started with it, but so far it looks good. I love the strong start and have always been a fan of his blog posts. This has some very actionable advice. I may write more about it once I'm done with the book. The kindle version of the book is on sale now by the way.
3. The secret habits of top performers - I love the brutality of Ramit Sethi's words. If you'd like to get out of the ''secret hacks/shortcuts" mindset, please read this very post with a very obvious-yet-necessary lesson.
4. Remembering Paul Allen - Bill Gates's Eulogy for his friend is so apt and touching. Loved it. Very clean stuff.
5. Triggers and Cycles - You eat one piece of chocolate and then suddenly give yourself permission to eat junk for the rest of the day or you watch one Jimmy Fallon video and go down a Rabbit hole on YouTube that ends with huskies licking babies. Triggers and cycles - scary stuff. Seth Godin writes about the topic so that we mortals can learn.
What I enjoyed watching:
1. Fireside chat between Naval Ravikant and Nassim Taleb - I make time to listen when either one of them talks. The fact that they were talking to each other at this event was so exciting that I watched a grainier version of this video before I found this one. Amazing chat! So many great topics - Taleb talks about how occupations that are judged by reality are different from those that are judged by peers and the concept of skin in the game. The minority rule - about how an intolerant minority can and will rule over a majority. The Lindy Effect. Worth your time. Watch it. Make notes. Don't miss the bit about virtue-signalling if you're the type who has ever engaged in or encouraged pointless social media activism and other forms of it.
2. How to shave properly - This one's for men, but I think there are lessons even women can learn from it. So clean.
What I enjoyed listening to:
1. Robert Greene on the laws of mastery - I'm currently reading this book and it has been an illuminating experience. Learning to recognise the path of the apprentice, the path of the master, and everything in between has helped me bring structure to my learning process. This interview with the author may help you do the same.
2. Kamal Ravikant on Self love - Does that sound too cheesy? Understandable. However, I encourage you to give Kamal's story a shot. Yes he's Naval's brother, but their paths post childhood have been very different. Kamal's book about learning to love oneself is possibly number 1 on my list of books when ranked in terms of ' number of pages: life-changing potential' - with just 8000 words, he manages to change your world view and more importantly, how you view yourself. This interview has some great insights into his past and his thoughts on why loving oneself has to be taken seriously.
Help Nikhil section:
I'm writing a blog post on ' how to let go of the past'
I'd love your inputs on aspects of your past that you've found hard to let go of. I'll try and include ways to deal with those categories in the blog post - if it is too personal and you'd like a private response instead - let me know and we can brainstorm a few ideas. I'm no expert on the topic but have been reading and mulling over it a lot.
"Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat" - James Clear, Atomic Habits
That's it for this week. Thanks again for making the time to read this. I am, as always, open to suggestions.
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