Category Archives: Human Capital

System Addict

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System. 

Make. 

Now. 

Life in the markets requires a plan.

No plan…no life…in the markets. 

Many don’t know this. 

Some are finding out…the hard way. 

Others are looking for free lunches…and not finding any. 

Few…have found out. 

They’re perfecting their plan…chiseling away. 

When they have something substantial…it’s called a system. 

Have system…will move. 

It’s as simple as that. 

That’s another master-word. 

What?

Simple. 

The most powerful systems in the world…are simple. 

They consist of a few basic elements, woven into a mother element. 

They have an on-off switch which even a donkey can operate. 

But that’s about it. The donkey can operate the on-off switch. Only the maker can operate his or her system properly.

Why?

Because the maker knows the nitty-gritty. 

Nitty-grittiness shows itself while making. 

No one else knows it. 

Only you do, as a system-maker. 

Also, no one else needs to be bothered about your system, because your system only applies to you, and to no one else. Unfortunately, it ain’t so in real life. Many don’t want the hard work involved in developing a system. They just want the system. That’s dangerous. 

Why?

You see, those who have a system falling into their lap, well, they don’t know its pitfalls. They can’t know. They haven’t had that alone time, when the system showed its limitations. That’s why, they’re in for a big surprise if things get ugly. They risk losing everything. 

Don’t bother about anyone else’s system. 

Develop your own. Know how to work it. Know when to work it. Know when to stop. Know when to find remedies. Know when to pull the plug and develop a new system. 

This game is about you. Not about the markets. Not about the money. Not about anyone else. Not about anything else. 

It’s about you. 

Realise that. Now. Please.

Moment Enhancement

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How do you enhance your situation at any given moment?

What are we talking about?

You.

Time.

Activity.

Betterment of your situation.

As compared to previous moment. 

What kind of betterment?

Any.

What kind of situation?

Any.

How?

You tell me. 

Yeah, it’s a bit of a personal sphere. 

Everybody’s idea of betterment is different. 

I write, for example. 

Clears my mind. 

I organize. 

My stuff. 

Gears me up to approach the next moment, more organized. 

I clear useless stuff. As in give it away. Frees up more space. 

Are you getting my drift?

What do you do?

To make your next moment more enhanced?

I plan my next three activities – what are they going to be?

I ask my one main question. 

What is the next step?

Yeah people, brick by brick. 

What for?

Yeah, exactly?

Why would one do this?

To lead a fuller and more meaningful life. 

To give of oneself fully. 

To make more of one’s existence. 

Again, reasons are personal, and will differ. 

What would your reasons be, to enhance your next moment?

This is a baby-step strategy. You’re living in the moment with it. You’re not looking far ahead, only actually till your next defined moment. 

Big targets are approachable one baby step at a time. 

One enhances moment upon moment, and suddenly, one hits a big target. 

Not too bad. Was well worth it. 

Try it out. 🙂

‘Sup Mr. Laptop

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Yeah, where are you, Mr. Laptop?

Is this goodbye?

Singing your swan-song?

What’s happening?

You were heavy. 

Competition got lighter. 

You reduced. 

Did you reduce enough? Dunno. 

Along came apps. 

Most didn’t have a version for you. 

They did for your competition. 

People loved apps. 

One button-touch, and one was in the midst of everything. No hassles. You lacked that extra comfort. 

Along came the Cloud. 

Took away your storage-advantage. 

Along came tablets, smartphones, connectivity, and internet speed. 

Have these taken whatever remained?

Are you going to survive?

Where do you fit in?

The mouse, you say?

Technical work?

Complexities?

Proprietary software?

You’ve got a long list which you’ve prepared, I can see that. 

Okay. 

Stop. 

Put that list in your pocket. 

Close your eyes. 

Smell the coffee. 

What kind of a world do we live in?

Who succeeds?

What lives on?

Inclusion?

Or exclusion?

Inclusion. Decisively. Inclusive ventures scale mountains. Ventures that exclude, well, masses don’t care for them eventually. 

So, firsly, swallow all that proprietary talk. It’s not going to work. 

Then up, are you increasing convenience? Or, is your competition increasing it more? Vital question. It’s answer will decide who shall survive and become undisputed king.

Now comes the last question. 

It’s also a little heavy.

You might not like it. 

Nevertheless, here goes. 

Is there use for you anymore?

There. I said it. 

Hmmmm. 

In some areas, I guess, but we’ll again be going down the proprietary lane, which actually doesn’t cut it anymore. Not going down that lane. I think that might also answer your question. 

What remains?

Reinvention. 

Merge with your competition. 

Become a staunch part of the tablet, to save yourself from extinction. 

I think you’ve already started gong down that road. Yeah, only way out. And it’s a good one. It is highly successful. The lightness, portability and convenience of a tablet, coupled with storage and keyboard-ability with only 10-15% size and weight increase. Sounds amazing. 

Go for it!

What’s the Next Step?

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Movement is from step to step. 

That’s stable movement. 

During stable movement, one is aware of former step, gap, and latter step. 

Transition is smooth. 

Former step is digested well and moved on from. 

Latter step is taken on with enthusiasm. 

The cycle repeats, so on and so forth. 

Yeah, given above is one question that I ask myself many times a day – What’s the next step?

The next step dawns upon one. 

Mostly, that’s when it’s the correct one. 

It’s coming from depth. 

It’s the Universe speaking.

The Universe tells you the next step, from within you. The Universe is in you. 

Sometimes, you’re not sure. 

Ok, happens. It’s normal. 

Ask, simply. 

Ask the Universe. 

It’ll tell. 

You need to listen to the answer. 

The Universe speaks in many ways. These are subtle ways. You have to be receptive to subtle answers. 

Once you realise what’s the next step, you also feel that – oh, so simple, the answer was staring at me in the face, why didn’t I realise this earlier – or something to that effect. 

The most logical next steps in the world are also the simplest ones. 

We’ve become complicated. We refuse to think simply, till Nature forces us to do so, sometimes causing pain during the cleansing process. 

Think SIMPLE, people. Empty your minds. Let the next step dawn upon you. Let your mind experience that – aha! of course! that’s it! – feeling. 

The most beautiful ideas in the world – are simple ones. 

Evolution Anyone?

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What kind of a game do you prefer?

Do you like to play without challenge? Where you won’t be pushed, to your limit perhaps? Where you know the solutions? Where you’re king?

Or, do you like the game to challenge you? The game pushes you around. You don’t know the solutions. You’re not king. Do you like that kind of game?

Why am I asking?

Well, simply because I concern myself with growth. 

As in evolution. 

I measure life in evolution per unit time. 

The latter kind of game evolves you. You score heavily, though this might not show on the outside, yet. It will eventually. Big time. Promise. 

The former kind of game deceives you. You kinda start believing you’re actually king, and start behaving like one too. The fall from a height can be so heavy, that it can decapacitate you, forever. Who would want that? Not even you. But you’re too busy playing king to remember. This is the reminder, right here, right now. 

Wake up pal, to the coffee. 

Play some latter games. Try converting loser odds to winning ones. That’s the big league. 

If you’re king, fine, be a good one. Do good to many. Make it count. In your spare time, though, do some other stuff which takes you into uncharted territory. That’ll round you off as a king. 

What is it about uncharted territory?

Eventually you’ll find yourself in one. It just happens, suddenly. 

What do you count upon?

Assets. 

Ability to not panic. 

Clear thinking. 

Savings. 

Relationships. 

Gut-feel. 

Courage. 

Mental strength. 

Fill in the blanks. 

All of the above have to be developed / nurtured. In some way or the other, all of the above come by charting new territories. A new relationship is nurtured into a solid life-long asset. A new job becomes a steady earner. Savings accrue. Mental / intuitive assets strengthen themselves by being exposed to tricky situations. These will always be there for you, in your next situation. 

Don’t be a bore. Take that calculated jump. No one’s asking you to jump off the cliff. However, times are such that you’ll need to think out of the box, again and again, and again. 

Pioneers

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Pioneers pioneer.

However, it’s a rough ride.

They don’t mind the ride.

There’s a fire which won’t be stilled till they’ve carved out their path.

Pioneers refuse to conform to their surroundings. What’s around them puts them off.

You see, many are not happy with what Nature offers them upfront, without any ado. A very small fraction of these unhappy people choose to do something about it. Majority of the latter fails. Those who succeed are called pioneers.

In a weak moment, pioneers look for comfort. The path is devoid of any. Is there someone, on the way, who offers them a cup of coffee? Seldom. Nobody really bothers with people who’re carving out their own path in the first place.

It’s ok.

Sometimes, though, things get lonely. Pioneers feel grossly misunderstood. They feel like misfits, till they make it fit by sheer and gargantuan effort.

After it fits, and the path’s been carved out, it’s all hunky-dory, mostly. The world wants to ride along any kind of recognition coming someone’s way.

There are those who carve their paths which the world isn’t able to understand immediately. Yeah, some pioneers die unrecognized, perhaps in misery. There’s been nobody to offer them that cup of coffee, their whole lives.

Such are the lives and times of pioneers.

Their achievements ultimately benefit the world monumentally.

Don’t be afraid of becoming one.

Yeah, do the world a favour.

Walking on the Moon?

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giant steps are what you take
walking on the moon
i hope my legs don’t break
walking on the moon

Don’t know how old this song is.

There was the version from Sting, or perhaps The Police.

Heard another jazz version of the song on internet radio the other day.

Got me thinking.

We all do. Walk on the Moon, that is.

The Moon stands for something undiscovered.

Each human is unique.

Our next moments are undiscovered, yet.

We live them in our own way.

Yeah, we walk on the Moon, each day, every new moment.

Even in uncharted territory, one wants a smooth walk, doesn’t one?

There are three steps that ensure this.

1). Proper due diligence.

2). Smelling liability from a distance.

3). Walking the other way, away from liability.

Even a donkey understands what’s written above.

Enjoy your walk, on your Moon, on your own personal journey.

The lyricist has penned it aptly. He or she knows about giant steps, so due diligence has been done. He or she hopes that his or her “legs don’t break”,  so he or she is alert that liability could be lurking.

Yeah, above three steps, people.

Let It Come To You

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Don’t run after the investment.

Let it come to you.

Let it breathe down your neck.

You’re not hungry for it…

…but, if it’s that good…

… you might take it.

Let it reveal its hidden goodness.

Let it ignite your curiosity to look for even more than basic goodness in the investment.

Play a passive-then-active role.

Some call this the sweet spot.

I call it the sweetest spot…

… which you really want to be in, in the world of investing.

Yeah, don’t be in a hurry.

Hurry spoils the curry.

Take your time, to the extent that…

… take time out of the equation.

Give your money the best possible chance…

… to make loads more.

Did You Hear About the Last Mile?

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Yawn.

So you did, huh?

In investing?

No?

Yeah, I just thought about it.

Sharing it with you.

Churning, churning, churning…

… inside.

As you do your due diligence, information churns inside of you.

What is it that says yes, I’m investing?

Where does that go-ahead moment happen?

In the last mile.

Inside of you.

This is not to take away anything from your due diligence.

DD is central.

Very important.

However, last mile is important too.

One needs to respect it.

First, one needs to know about it.

Knowing about it will stop you from pushing an investment.

Don’t push… …in the markets.

Just be.

Take the shape of the container. Your container is your system.

Wait for your last mile to respond. Learn to understand its style of expression.

It’s a feeling…

… of well-being, …

… or something suffocating, nausea-like.

Embrace the former. Dump what’s causing the latter.

It’s as simple as that.

The most meaningful things in life are…

… exactly…

… SIMPLE.

There’s no God, is there?

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Or is it just us?

We’re both good and bad, us humans.

Sometimes we strive for the highest. At other times, we stoop to the lowest.

Yeah, it’s just us.

Our best deeds appear Godly to someone in need. Someone or the other plays God to someone or the other in a spot, every now and then.

And that’s amazing. Of course an act like that sure helps that someone in need, but what does an act like that do for the someone who’s doing it?

Vacuum.

Are you familiar with the principle of vacuum?

Vacuum governs flow.

High-pressure flows towards low-pressure. Vacuum is as low-pressure as it gets.

What kind of flow does an act of charity attract?

Goodness.

By doing good, you attract more goodness towards you.

Goodness can even take the form of wealth.

Boost your wealth.

Be good.

Commit copious acts of goodness.

Play God to millions.

Let there be no need for an actual God.

I don’t like saying it, but that’s the best cushioning / protection you can give to your portfolio.

Truth is truth.

Benevolent principles need to be propagated.

I don’t care about how awkward it looks.

I write because I care.

Shooting Straight, Shooting Right – Finding One’s Structures.

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What are the right shots?

Who calls them?

Who doesn’t call them?

How many wrong shots? Before a right shot?

Why this discussion?

Yeah, I ask a lot of questions. I’ve become oblivious to the pain connected to the world finding out my exact level of silliness.

Yeah, I don’t keep my silliness under wraps. I’M NOT EMBARRASSED ABOUT MY SILLINESS. If you are, about yours, you are doing something grossly… WRONG. You are going to have huge problems finding what works for you. Reason – you’re not getting it out of your system – oh it’s so embarrassing, oh it looks so silly, oh it’s awkward…well stay where you are then, NOBODY is sorry for you. 

I’m silly, them a little more, then maximum, till I’m not silly anymore, for a while. That’s when right shots happen.

What are we talking about?

Life is about taking pot-shots at something or the other. Yeah, ultimately, it boils down to that. You take a shot – at something. If you don’t, you are just left twiddling your thumbs, and life passes you by. 

Once, me and my brother were fighting. We were kids. My grandfather heard the commotion, and stopped us. He just had one thing to say – and he said so much with that one sentence. He said that 100 years – they just pass you by in a flash. So stop fighting. Try and enjoy your togetherness. Whoaahhhh!!!

We’re not going to let life pass us by just like that. We’re going to first call the right shots, and then take them. 

Right shots don’t just happen. 

Before something fits, many things don’t. 

You just have to keep on taking shots. 

Forget about disappointment, embarrassment, awkwardness, silliness, what have you. 

Keep on taking…shots. 

On and on. 

Something will fit. 

Wait for it. 

It feels right. 

Build up on it. Copiously. 

You’ve been groping in the dark, and have found something that works for you. Don’t let it go. Build on it. Till you can’t anymore. Let the structure stand. Let the structure be there for you, forever. 

Then, look for your next structure.

Happy Fifth Birthday, Magic Bull!

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Turning 5, tick-tock, how time flies!

Has the game changed? 

No. 

What are we in it for? Why do we play?

Bread and butter. Security. Children, their future. Ourselves. Goals. Luxury. Whatever makes us tick. 

Each time we tick, let’s tick better. 

Mistakes mean learning. We’re seeing them as tuition fees, because mistakes cost money. They are the only real learning. You learn when you’re hit. You learn from the pain. 

All other learning is – paper learning. It doesn’t translate into our DNA easily (or at all). For DNA-translation, there needs to be a biochemical change in the body. Metamorphosis. If paper-learning does that for you, well, you’re lucky. Count your blessings. To be envied. 

Rewards bring hubris. 

Hubris makes us vulnerable. 

How?

We get lazy and are caught napping. Off-guard. Hubris-condition coupled with big market-mistake can mean downfall. Don’t want to take names, but exactly this has happened to many. 

What is it about success? What does it do to the human being? Why do we stop being ourselves once we succeed? Why do we stop learning once we succeed?

Yet, each one of us strives for success. 

Can we remember to behave ourselves once we succeed? 

What kind of behaviour are we talking about?

The same behaviour that paved the way for success. Can we maintain that same standard of behaviour? Why is that difficult? It becomes difficult because the after-party causes hangovers. Let’s just scrap the after-party. Let’s continue to be ourselves even after we succeed. 

Instead of the after-party, let’s do something for society, for example. We can even pursue a constructive side-game, which has nothing to do with the main-game. It keeps us ticking on a different level. 

It’s important to tick. The opposite of that is stagnation. Ticking means evolution. 

Evolution means that the next time you take a shot, you’ve better at your game. You’ve evolved because of past learning. You are human capital, remember?

Happy Ticking!

🙂

1-2-3 … Screenshot!

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Move over selfie.

The screenshot is here. 

It’s changing your style of work. It’s adding to your seamlessness. You can’t ignore it anymore. It’s there to stay… and evolve. 

In the late ‘00s, I used to struggle with it. 

My banker alerted me to the fact that screenshots existed. I was having some issue while net-banking. Banker asks me to email screenshot. I’m going like what’s that? Banker’s telling me to press F12. Then open Paint. Paste it there. Save as jpeg. Email jpeg.

Till the ‘10s started, I really couldn’t get the hang of the screenshot on my IBM-compatible laptop. Yeah, above procedure looks scary. It’s possibly the most complicated way of doing a screenshot.

Today, it’s as easy to do a screenshot as it is to snap your fingers. 

Apple asks you to press Shift-Command-3 for shooting the whole screen, and Shift-Command-4 for cropping before shooting. IBM-compatibles still require F12, I think, but saving as jpeg and cropping got easier, I think it’s a mouse-right-click away. 

Screenshots are bread and butter to how one can amplify one’s seamlessness. 

You shoot a screenshot, and it is automatically stored in your Dropbox. Big thing is, you know where it is. You are not frozen by the upcoming task of looking for it. It’s in your Dropbox. Period. 

Evernote even allows you to auto-send a screenshot as a note to itself. That’s as seamless as it gets. 

On the mobile, the shooting feature still has a snag or two. 

It’s normally a two-button combination, pressed in tandem. Half the time, you end up pressing one button before the other, leading to some other undesired outcome and no screenshot. That’s a little irritating. This has given birth to screenshot apps. However, switching such an app on, clicking, and switching off is cumbersome. I stick to the two-button combination, and take the mishits in my stride. 

Once a screenshot is clicked on the mobile, or clicked and cropped, it is automatically stored for example in Photos, or Dropbox, and you have the option of sharing it at will, with any app. That is so powerful. You can Whatsapp it, email it, add to Evernote, Instagram it, whatever you like. On the mobile, your screenshot gets a ticket to travel to the rest of the world, In a flash. Yeah, the mobile is using the screenshot maximally. 

This one powerful entity called the screenshot has greatly reduced turnover time. 

You can express yourself optimally with the screenshot, and get someone to react instantaneously with a counter-screenshot. 

You can use it for fun. Shopping. Approval. Proof. Entry. Whatever. 

Don’t forget to crop. 

You don’t want useless stuff being shared. Crop your screenshot. Only share what is required and is the subject of discussion / approval / fun. 

No cropping can mean sometimes that material goes through (is shared) which is private, and its sharing affects you adversely. So be careful. Crop. 

Everyone adapts the screenshot in their own way, to enhance their own style. 

If you use the screenshot differently, in a way that is not listed here, please do share your input in the comments section, so that everyone can benefit by your input. 

Thanks. 

🙂

Making it Count

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You’re playing a big one.

What’s foremost?

Make it count. For heaven’s sake.

Why?

Big plays don’t come too often. When they do, you have to catch them. You need to have energy left, to play. Then you just go all the way. Till the play plays itself out.

Life is an accumulation of knicks and knacks.

At first, you don’t know what you’re good for.

When you do know it, you start out as a net-net loser in whatever you’re good for, because every rookie needs to pay tuition fees. These are the costs of your mistakes.

Then you start getting the hang of something you’re naturally good at. Tricks of the trade – you learn them. You succeed in making your activity applicable, perhaps even financially viable.

Next step is to scale up.

You need to make your successful model count. Period.

Tired? Want to do other things? Need to borrow? Too big a pain? Time-issues? Overdose? Bureaucracy?

Whatever.

Don’t lessen the flow. Hold on. Ask the Universe for reserves. See the play through.

One life can mean just a few big plays.

When you’ve latched onto one, and have set it up so beautifully, now’s the time make it count.

Best of luck!

🙂

Core-System Discovery

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You look.

Perhaps without success.

You look again.

And again.

So on and forth.

Till you find.

What?

An addition to your core-system.

What’s a core-system?

The better question here would be – what’s your core-system?

Now, fortunately or unfortunately, that’s for you to find.

In a nutshell, your core-system is that something which makes you tick. It has as many facets as you wish it to have. Each facet needs to be discovered, attached, fine-tuned, tried, tested and finally welcomed to or rejected from your core-system.

Facets are not limited to your professional life. Your core-system makes you tick on an all-round basis.

For example, brewing and savouring that perfect cup of tea could be an important facet. Finding, fine-tuning and enjoying your favorite media-source could be another. Blogging could be one. Sport. Hobbies. Family time. People skills. Yeah, now we’re getting professional. You can fill in your professional blanks.

Discovery costs. Time, effort, funds, nerve, sweat. It’s worth it many times over when you find a fit. Please believe me.

Some things don’t fit. You think you want them badly, but the harder you try, the more they refuse to fit. After trying your hardest, you need to conserve your life-force to look for another fit. What didn’t fit didn’t fit for a reason. It’s not mandatory for Nature to reveal that reason to you. Move on.

Keep looking for fits. Eventually, you’ll have a robust core-system, which will make you tick exceptionally.

Happy Findings!

🙂

Small Things are Big Things

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You’ve covered lot of ground, and are now cleaning up the field. 

You’re tying up the loose ends. 

Your small acts here count big. 

Please see them through to their logical conclusion. 

Don’t get up without completing full action. 

An act at or towards the end leans on the main piece of action which you’ve already fulfilled. 

It’s loaded on a spring. It’s effectivity is enormous. However, you are tired. You’re looking to close up. Hashtags, man, what are these hashtags!? Why do I have to put them, you’re saying to yourself. What purpose do they serve? Let me just forget about them.

No.

Hashtags are just one thing. A small thing, but then, a big thing. 

Tying your act into your own seamless sphere is another such thing. 

I know, it’s a pain…but seamlessness is a beautiful feeling. 

I like to imagine that seamlessness is the equivalent of free-falling in a mad, mad world. Maybe that’s a nonsensical analogy, but that’s what I like to imagine. Seamlessness gives you a huge advantage in today’s world. Take it. Make the effort to keep yourself seamless. 

Backing up, yeah yeah. Who likes backups? You’ve got to do them, however. No pain, no gain. I’ll talk to you after some data-loss. Only bother hooking up with me if you’re well backed-up. I don’t have the energy to lend a shoulder that withstands your tears in the event you weren’t back-up. 

Where hashtags stop, that’s where your organisational skills should take over. Meaning, that one hashtag-search could give a thousand results. How do you still find what you’re looking for? Logic. You’ve used your logic while organising your work. Logically, your file should be somewhere, and that’s the somewhere you look. 90%+ you’ll find it there. Follow seamless logic. The first logical avenue that comes to mind…take it. Yeah, your seamlessness also stands on your own seamless logic. 

Staying with what counts is a small thing, but again, it’s a big thing. 

On the path, one strays. One is distracted. What do you do?

The mind is like a baby. 

Don’t deny it outright. 

Trick it. 

Let it stray for a bit. 

Then, when its defences are down, bring it back to the main path. 

Keep bringing it back, until it starts getting a rooting righ by returning to home-base every half an hour. That’s the sweet-spot.

Don’t lose yourself into lost causes. 

Achieve. Fine. Set goals. Sure. Get them done. Great. Move on. 

Moving on is one small step. However, it’s a big step. Not many have the strength or the mental capacity to move on. Make sure you do. 

How?

Open your eyes and see the world. 

If you feel that your one achievement is going to make it spin, fine, stay on there, good for you. If not, please move on to your next achievement. Keep doing this till you find that one big, big thing for yourself. By that time, you’ll have many small things going on auto-pilot anyways. 

Get a grip. Nip something small when it’s small. Get to the big. Go for it. 🙂

It’s Boiling Down to Getting Your Basics Right Smartie

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Yeah, everything else is following.

We’re in flow. 

World moves. 

Decisions are taken as a matter of course. 

It’s the build-up where stuff happens. 

You’re nailing the build-up dear. 

Million dollar question – how?

It’s all about systems. 

Systems, systems, systems. 

Get your systems in place. 

Be cumulative.

Also, seamless. 

Minimum overheads. Low-maintenance. 

And, don’t stop flowing. 

No, this is not very vague. It’s all happening. I describe it as it happens. Words used are for lack of better ones. These words describe the situation more than adequately. Don’t want more from them. 

You’re in circulation. You can last. Very soon, something will stick. Your systems will start flashing. They’ll alert you to the next action zone. Engage where they’re telling you. It’s as simple as that. 

Don’t ignore the flash of your systems once it happens. Ignoring would be the opposite of flowing. Don’t stop flowing. 

You’re seamless, so you can expound upon something, anytime, anyplace. Good show. You can decide anytime, anyplace, whether you’re going with something. Need of the hour. 

You’re cumulative. Next time you tackle the same situation, you have that much more hit-power, because the learning from the past encounter is at your fingertips (because you’re seamless, remember). 

What’s gone into your systems?

Hit and trial. 

Chopping off loser ideas. Letting winning ideas grow. Models. Winning models. You’re full of them. Something will start flashing, sometime, someplace. Follow it. 

That’s how you flow, man. 

The rest, as they say, will be History. 

Plusses & Minuses of a Cloud-Society

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Where do we stand today?

What’s changed compared to yesterday?

Are we better off?

What’s not better off?

Where is all this heading to?

Lastly, what’s your takeaway. 

People, questions, questions and more questions. It’s good to ask questions. Those who don’t, well, they don’t evolve. Stagnation in today’s day and age is owing to being late for a bus because nobody was there to put your shoes on for you, so that you could catch the bus. You didn’t attempt to put on these yourself, and you didn’t attempt to run-off bare-feet either. You kept waiting for someone who would put your shoes on for you. People, forget it and wake up. This party’s hot, and it’s moving very fast. Keep moving with it. It’s a hell of a ride. 

The word “Cloud” is very big today. 

“One needs to be in the Cloud, blah blah blah” etc. is heard at parties. 

Humans have realised the vulnerability of hardware. Data in the cloud is probably safer. Yes, Cloud it is . Cloud is the future. HOWEVER…

a). Keep multiple backups on your own hardware also. Accidental deletion on the cloud could sync across all your devices. Where do you stand then? Most cloud backup softwares throw in backing up to additional hardware for free. Use this. It’s a legitimate freebie. You’d be a fool not to use this. Btw, of course you’ve got your time-machine or similar backups going on the side too. BE WELL BACKED-UP.

b). Don’t necessarily keep sensitive data on the cloud. You can very easily manually back up your password-bank (for example) across multiple devices. Sensitive data needs to be password protected. Period. Music and photos can fall into different categories here. Depends on you. 

c). The norm with contacts is that they start backing up to your main email ID. Great. Losing one’s contacts becomes that much harder. Don’t store sensitive stuff in your contacts. 

d). Your main email ID becomes hugely important. Make sure it’s not hacked. Keep changing it’s password. Remember it’s password. Update it in your password bank. Use your email ID to search. Old emails, files, attachments, photos, anything. Today, the whole repository goes along with your email. 

e). Have a balanced approach towards social media. Don’t upload stuff you’ll regret. Try and circulate your family photos within controlled circles. Be wary of social media, and teach your kids of its dangers. 

f). THEN, Cloud is one thing, and accessibility to it and being well-organised on it is another. You could be fully in the cloud, but what use is your stuff to you in the cloud, if it’s not accessible across all your devices seamlessly, at a button-click. There are many software-services doing this for you. Your software-service needs to have a lightning search-functionality, which goes through your search-words and hashtags at a super speed [((btw you are not functioning without hashtags today, so that you can easily sift through your stuff, and call up something in a flash))]. Of course the whole thing costs. Just pay and BECOME SEAMLESS. What’ll you be set back by? 50 USD pear annum? Don’t be penny-wise pound-foolish. DO THIS. 

g). Please don’t forget your Internet-Security along the path. Use a pay-service, on you mobiles and your computers. People, why do we forget the basics?

h). Guard your eyes. Wash them. Use a moistener. Use Ayurvedic eye-drops on the side. Do eye-exercises. 

i). Guard agains neck pain (back-pain). Swim. Walk. Posture. Don’t overdo media. 

j). Guard agains index-finger pain. Mobile and desktop typing and touch has made the index finger of supreme importance. However, it is susceptible to pain and disease if you are not careful. 

k). Guard against heart-attack. We are a sedantry lot now. Almost all day, we vegetate. Most of us, that is. Get a band. Programme it to buzz every hour that you are in your seat. When it buzzes, move. Follow your daily steps. 10-15,000 steps per day is the need of the hour. Couple the band to your diet. Follow its calorie-burning module. Teach your band, till it comes out with intelligent suggestions. A band is like a pet. 

l). Guard your karma-balance. Be a contributor. Don’t only be a free user. Contribute freely on the web. Add to the world. Take the world forward. You are using so much stuff off and on the web, for free, that if you are not on your guard, you might end up exhausting a lot of karma. Thus, generate fresh positive karma too, to keep levels up. 

m). Lastly, it all depends on the internet connection you have, and how much you remain connected as you move. Spend well here, have access to more than sufficient data allocation and speed, both on your computer and on your mobile. An adequate internet connection with ample data-allocation is the lifeline of being in the Cloud. 

YEAH, use your Cloud well and optimally. Fine-tune your Cloud-effectivity. Keep in good shape. Be Cloud-proud! 🙂

You Might Think I’m Crazy

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you might think i’m crazy

to hang around with you

maybe you think i’m lucky

to have something to do

…

you might think it’s foolish

or maybe it’s untrue

you might think i’m crazy

but all i want is you

The Cars

Some years ago, we went to see “Cars 2” with my daughter and her cousins. Yawn, I thought. Animation movie, blah blah blah, but anything for the kids, when suddenly, above song started playing and took me back to school. How appropriate, a song by the Cars in a movie called Cars. Actually ended up enjoying the movie.

Anyways, something about the lyrics caught my attention.

What do you read in this space?

Words, words, words.

No graphs. No images. No math. No numbers, really. 

And this blog is supposed to be what? A commentary on applied finance?

So am I crazy?

Maybe, …

… but, this is exactly how I want to do it. 

No hocus-pocus. 

Here, we break it down to the bare minimum. 

Words. 

We talk. 

It’s all very light. 

You read through in a jiff. 

There’s a powerful flow which you might not even be aware of. 

And, as the lyrics say, all I want is you.

Yes, I want your attention, and I want to keep it riveted. 

How am I to achieve that in an age of very short attention spans?

We keep it simple. Bare minimum stuff, wrapped in enjoyable words. Stories. Analogies. Parallels. Bridges. As seemingly non-finance as possible, but still not missing the point.

Sure, I still could be crazy.

What do I hope to achieve?

So much time involved.

All this for free.

Yeah, I really must be delirious.

Stop. 

It’s deep. 

I enjoy writing. 

It relaxes me. 

My thoughts get organized. Concepts get strengthened. I focus. Many mistakes in my approach get nullified. I don’t want more from this. 

Also, it’s my giveback. I use a lot of free stuff from the net. I give this for free. It’s all a give and take. 

So, just bear with me. 

Read if you want to, it’ll make me happy. 

It is definitely a different way to learn about finance, with all the jugglery left out. 

Well, why not?



 

 

Take that –>@&%# Mr. Peer Pressure

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Dear Mr. PP,

I don’t give in to you, never have, never will.

You’re not that important.

I don’t spend my time thinking about you.

I don’t respect any entity without a backbone, and you certainly don’t have one.

I’ve met you many times.

At first, I felt you, and was taken aback. You wanted me to do something I didn’t wish to do. You were strong.

I was stronger.

When you don’t know anything about the reputation of your opponent, frankly, you don’t give a d*m*. You fight. Till you fall or till the other fellow backs down.

I won my first head to head with you. Thank my stars.

After that I found out who you were. Yeah, who was it exactly that I didn’t succumb to?

After I’d grown up and all, and fully realized your devastation potential, I always leaned back on my first head to head. I mean, you were beatable. Period.

Yeah, I was lucky to have beaten you first up. It’s been a huge psychological advantage.

I’ve carried over this advantage into my market life.

Take a hike, Mr. PP.

[As far as market related activities go, I follow and advocate an unbiased, singular and customized path which doesn’t follow any crowd or any myths as such.

This path certainly does not let me invest under any kind of pressure.

Where there’s pressure, there are vested interests.

Please beware of investments which don’t suit your risk profile and are touted to quench vested interests].