5 years back, I got an email from a 12th grade student based out of Kolkata. His email ended with this: Guess what - life isn’t over. A few years down the line - you will be laughing at all of this :)
He was shattered that he didn’t get through SRCC - his dream college.
All i see is my dream college and then I realize i wont reach there.
I will have to settle for something less when I worked so hard.
While others were binge watching webseries, i was studying.
Is that how you get rewarded for your hard work?
I replied:
I feel you, <his name>.
I felt the same when I scored poorly in my 12th despite working really hard.
And it all seemed like such a waste.
I felt like my life was over.
I realized that the college I go to could not have defined my worth.
A 94% is excellent and you will still get through really good colleges - make the most of that!
He sent me an email today, which I paste here
So whatever you are sad about today, 5 years from now, you will be laughing about it!
Keep moving :)
Still reading Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley.
Matt is trying to argue, quite funnily I must add, that optimism drives the world and explains a lot about how and why humans came to be the most dominant species on the planet.
It covers human history in a beautiful fashion and makes the case for an economics of hope, arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and change - what the author calls cultural evolution - will inevitably increase human prosperity, as it has in the past.
Here is a list of all books I have shared in this newsletter.
Breakfast at our favorite breakfast place - Mjol Cafe, Gurgaon.
Celebrating 60,000 students playing at the India Genius Challenge!
Team pic of India Genius Challenge - we are now prepping for the National Finals happening in Nov in Delhi! So excited :)
India does not have a talent problem.
It has an envelope problem.
We only recognize talent when it arrives in the right envelope.
Persistence in India is underrated as a founder skill because it is not fundable and it does not make for a good pitch deck slide.
A man from Patna, Sake Dean Mahomed, opened a “shampooing” vapour bath in Brighton in 1814.
The English were hooked.
Hospitals referred patients to him.
King George IV appointed him his personal “Shampooing Surgeon.”
He was also the first Indian to write a book in English and open a restaurant in London.
His biggest claim to fame?
He introduced the word Shampoo in the English dictionary.
It comes from the Hindi “champo” - the champi Sake Dean Mahomed gave his clients!
Last week I asked: Which Indian city was the country's first to get electricity, back in 1905?
The correct answer is Bangalore / Bengaluru (electric streetlights powered by the Shivanasamudra hydro project).
Around 400 people got this answer right.
The lucky winner last week is Kushal Gandhi (kush****2@gmail.com)
Reply with your answer, and I will pick one random winner with the right answer.
They will get a signed copy of a book of mine :))
PS: This section is inspired by Capitalmind’s awesome weekly newsletter - you should subscribe to it - terrific personal finance content.
🏦 YouTube Finance: Clearing debt and supporting family
📹 YouTube Career: Feeling stuck in your 20s
📱 Instagram: 5 TED Talks that can change your life
🐥 Twitter: Cold email
You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.
I love reading all your emails, even though I may not be able to reply to them all.
Yes! I READ ALL MY EMAILS. ALL OF THEM.
(Wimbledon mein Djokovic ke jeetne ki kasam)
until next week
stay awesome | stay focused | do epic shit
warikoo
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