Oh, Boredom!
I was talking to an investor recently, who confessed to boredom because he was not able to find stocks worth buying in this rising market. Another investor asked – “What you say about long-term investing in the stock market is all good. But doesn’t it get boring after a time? Reaching home, my children and […]
An Unexamined Life, Is Not Worth Living
Some stories shake you up. They are unsettling because you wonder — what if this story is about me? This is one such story. The local goons were causing a nuisance for a shopkeeper. They would spray-paint abusive and derogatory graffiti all over his store window. So the shopkeeper hatched a plan. The next day, […]
Burn your boat
The concept of a burning boat traces back to one of history’s most inspiring leadership stories from 1519. Hernán Cortés led a large expedition consisting of 600 Spaniards, 16 or so horses, and 11 boats to Mexico. His goal was to capture a magnificent treasure said to be held there. Upon arrival, Cortés asked his […]
Develop The Right Strategy
I have no idea whether this is really part of a program at Stanford. But I liked the story. Most Stanford students failed this challenge. Here’s what we can learn from their mistakes. A class on entrepreneurship was going on, the professor walks into the room, breaks the class into different teams, and gives each team […]
Miracles happen
A man was walking on a shaking bridge. He prayed for help! He saw God on the other side of the bridge & asked God to come near. But God did not come. The man got angry. He was about to give up, but with great difficulty, he crossed to the other side, and then […]
The label of Failure
I have learned a lot of life lessons just seeing my children grow up. Like when my son was just a year old and was trying to take his first steps and repeatedly fell down, he tried again…and again…and again. Sometimes he laughed. Sometimes he cried. Sometimes he laughed and cried at the same time. […]
Lessons I Learned from My Dad
In my childhood days whenever I confessed to my dad, of my latest blunder, invariably there was a long silence. Was he angry? His silence was more menacing than a scolding or a lecture. Even without him reprimanding, most of the time, his silence worked. Perhaps most dads are like that — tough on the […]
5 More Minutes
A woman sat down next to a man on a bench at a playground park one fine Sunday Morning. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red T-shirt who was gliding down the slide. “He’s a fine-looking boy,” the man said. “That’s my son on the swing in […]
Face your fears
I remember a story I watched in a Mickey Mouse show when I was a kid. Mickey had this dream every single night that he was being chased by three evil creatures. Over time, he became completely exhausted in real life. After a talk with Goofy, he tried a different approach. Once the figures started […]
Follow the maxim
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did […]