Month: November 2010

How ironical and how true.

Disconnect to connect indeed.

Happy thursday all!

The term ‘VC‘ or ‘Venture Capitalist‘ is a person who invests millions/billions into small start-up businesses that require capital to scale up.

It sounds like a job for the rich and wealthy but my argument is that every one of us is a venture capitalist. Because to me, the core of what a venture does is promote an idea.

So, a VC’s situation works like this –

Approached by: Start ups/ Entrepreneurs that require capital
who require: Money

In our lives, we are –

Approached by: People with dreams and ideas
who require: Emotional support, lots of encouragement and often, push.

In 1998, the Google due of Brin and Page had asked the founders of Ask.com if they were interested in buying their idea for 800,000 dollars. And, a long story cut short, they said no. And what’s more, they were probably not the only ones.

It’s easy to laugh at them but the big question we should be asking ourselves is –

Are we doing well as VCs in our lives?
Are we identifying and promoting big ideas?
Are we encouraging talent junior that is on the look out for support?

We have a big responsibility because it is the talent and the ideas that we promote that WILL change the world in the years to come. So, go out and invest – we have more capital than we think.

Failures are the stepping stones after all..

Have a nice day! :)

Calm down…

Figure out whether you control the outcome in any way.

Do what you can.

Be patient and wait.

The only hope is that ‘All things work out in the end’

Of course, the ‘end‘ is subjective.

Calm down anyway – ranting and raving doesn’t help. It only means you are getting worked up and worried. And as we know,

‘Worry, like a rocking chair, will give you something to do but won’t take you anywhere’

Calm down. Get on with it.

Good morning and have a great day! :)

I decided to make this list thanks to an intense couple of weeks. It’s been fabulous learning simply because I’ve realized more and more that as we grow change around us is triggered thanks to circumstances beyond our control. That’s not to say nothing is within our circle of influence, but that there is a high probability that we experience repercussions to actions made above us in hierarchy.

Just because we don’t control it doesn’t take away the fact that the period is bound to be difficult. And here are 3 things that have helped me a great deal –

1. Routine. Routine has been a life saver and by this, I mean routine beyond work. Examples of daily routine activities are exercise, book reading, blogging etc that recharge us mentally. Just keep non-work routine going has been a boon as it greatly helps steady the mental ship and remind it that there IS life beyond work.

2. Keeping emotional connection with loved ones. Even if you are stuck in timbuctoo, there is a high probability that there will be an internet connection (albeit a slow one) and that’s a great start – email close ones, tell them you love them, give them an e-hug etc. Or simply speak to someone who generally brightens up your day! Again, helps remind us why we are going through difficulties – so we can have more quality time with loved ones.

3. A GREAT sense of humor and an even better attitude. Attitude is king – and that’s a fact. After a rough day yesterday, I’d written to a loved one yesterday night and today when I did speak to the person, we both were in splits recalling yesterday and in general about the situation. All of a sudden, the ‘tough’/‘rough’ situation had just become a BIG joke. The quote that inspired me here was – ‘Don’t forget to laugh at yourself, who knows, you may be missing out on the joke of the century.’ And I was.

As Timon says, ‘…the way I see it. You can run from it, or learn from it’.

Well, I say, you can also blog about it and share your experiences with others. And that’s what I chose to do.

This is so true! Here’s to singing lots today! :)

Have you had a collection of random tasks that are constantly piling up? (Think ‘Deposit the check‘, ‘Get my DVD player repaired‘, ‘Replace my microwave while it’s under warranty‘ etc).

We are all too busy (of course) to get these things done. Often, these tend to be important and urgent and yet, fail to get done purely because they are ‘admin‘ tasks and we simply hate doing admin tasks! The Get-It-Done-Guy’s suggestion is to do the following –

1) Batch the random tasks altogether. This is first and most basic step to cutting down time wasted traveling, switching between tasks etc
2) Get a boss. The biggest issue with personal admin tasks is that there is no boss to report to. So, the simple solution is to make a close friend ‘boss’ for the day, commit to them and explain that we would be calling them at 10AM, 2PM and 6PM (for example) to report progress on the day.
3) Nike. Just do it, of course.

This sounds rather simple in theory but I’ve found it very powerful in practice. Thanks to inspiration from a mentor, I’ve a system in place that I’ve been following for the past 9 months that has helped me keep my life beyond work in order that involves the principle of making a friend ‘boss’ on an every day of the work-week basis. If you’d like to know more, do let me know in the comments/write in and I’ll be happy to help explain it.

For this week, if we find ourselves struggling to get stuff done at work, or at home, let’s try making a friend our ‘boss’ for the day. To make it fun, we could also add penalties and/or bonuses for ourselves and friends as well.

I still remember the first few times I traveled via an aeroplane. Thanks to Grandpa having built a successful career at Indian Airlines, I had had the privilege to fly often even as a child. I loved everything about flying – the thrill of the flight gaining speed and taking off, the flight food (which always tasted extra special), the flight hovering over the city I was going to land to (typically Chennai) etc.

Having lived in Singapore for 4 years, I found the thrill wearing off gradually. That could also have been a result of flying budget but all in all, I was definitely less enthralled. The past few months have involved considerable amounts on flight – thanks to work. And at some point today, I felt myself feeling disenchanted with this whole flying thing. I’d spent too much time in an airport over the past week but it was just about then that I reminded myself of my wonderment of this whole gig as a child.

And you know what, I realized that there is still that little child’s wonderment within that is still amazed by how you can move within 3 hours to a whole new world – from Asia to the Middle East. Within a span of a few hours, you have moved from the comfort of home and are all set to get to work in a completely different timezone. Your eyes have to get accustomed to different kinds of people and a different culture and somehow the aeroplane makes this transition seamless, or atleast appears to.

Somewhere within me lies that little kid who gazed wondrously at all these things. It’s time I keep calling out to him to make sure I do not forget that all things in life are wondrous. Often, it just requires a change of lens.