Category Archives: Meta-Game

Behaviour at the Sweet Spot

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When you’re active,…

…happy,…

…at your financial goal,…

… and looking to go beyond,…

…what is this condition called?

It’s called…

…being at the sweet spot.

Stop here.

Enjoy it. 

It’s come after toil.

Don’t let is go.

Whatever you do from this point onwards, maintain the existence of the sweet spot.

If you’re careless, the sweet spot will be gone…

…and you’ll be back in the rut. 

If you don’t know how to behave at a sweet spot…

…you’ll most certainly see it go.

So…

…how does one behave at a sweet spot?

First up, don’t make too many moves here, because balance is brittle and has come at a cost. 

You’ve moved your mountains to reach here. Movement is done. 

Savings will emanate at the sweet spot. 

Tap these. 

Do whatever it is you wish to do from a part of these savings. 

As your savings grow further, detach yourself more and more from the rat-race. 

The sweet spot was the one where you told yourself you’d be happy. 

Beyond, you should be happier. 

Make sure that comes true for you.

Happy Living!

Hidden Benefit of a non-conducive Work Environment

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Sometimes, we land up in a space that enhances the quality of our work.

What kind of a space do we think that is?

Conducive?

Or non-conducive?

Sure, a conducive environment should lead to high quality work.

Hold that thought.

When the human being stops struggling, he or she has been known to get lazy.

In that frame of body and mind, quality walks out the door. 

The highest quality work seems to be happening in environments that make the person concerned struggle.

When one struggles, all pistons fire.

At any cost, one needs to stay afloat, and kick. 

And kick one does. 

One kicks one’s demons out.

Once they’re gone, achieved momentum boosts performance, and quality shines.

Cut to thought on hold.

What’s our take now?

Are we ok if the people around us are nags, and make it very difficult for us to work…

…or if there’s some other unbearable thing about our place of work?

Yes we are.

Because…

…we love quality.

Where do you want to be?

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Where do I want to be?

Do I want to look at a stock price and know where things stand with the stock in question?

Yes.

That’s where I want to be.

It’s not going to come for free.

What will it take?

Looking at the stock…

…for an year or two.

That’s what it will take.

How boring, you say?

Sure.

When stock market investing seems boring…

…that’s when you’re doing it right.

Excitement and roller-coaster rides are for video-game pleasure, and for making losses.

Money is made when it’s outright boring out there.

Where do you want to be?

In the money?

I thought so.

Then, please get used to boring and don’t ever complain again that things are boring.

How does one position oneself in such a manner that one studies a stock for an year or two.

Hmmm.

Let’s put some skin in the game.

I know, this phrase is becoming more and more popular, what with Nicholas Taleb and all.

Yeah, we are picking up stock.

What stock?

The one we wish to observe for an year or two.

Why pick it up? Why not just observe it?

You won’t. You’ll let it go.

Why?

Because it’s not yours.

So we pick up the stock? What’s the point of observing if we’re picking it up now?

Well, we’re picking up a minute quantity – one quantum – now. That gets our skin into the game. Then we observe, and observe. Anytime there’s shareholder-friendly action by the management, we pick up more, another quantum. We keep picking up, quantum by quantum. Soon, while we’ve kept picking up, we’ve observed the stock for so long, that now, one look at the stock price tells us what kind of margin of safety we are getting in the stock at this point.

Wow.

Now, future entries become seamless. One look and we have a yes or no decision. Isn’t that wonderful?

Absolutely.

That’s where we want to be.

It has to be a Dunk

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When I shoot…

… it has to be a dunk.

If I’m not getting a dunk in…

… I’m not shooting.

What are the implications?

Imagine only taking market dunks for multiple decades in a row.

Where do you think that’s going to leave you?

Most of the time, though, one’s not shooting.

That’s because, most of the time, dunk trajectoires are not available.

When one is not shooting, does it become boring?

Only if you let it.

Yeah, just don’t let it.

No action is a good thing.

It saves resources.

Then, when opportunity is available, one might get twenty dunk days in a row.

Things can get so active, that one wants activity to normalize again, if not stop for a while.

Actually, not a challenge.

I’ll tell you what is a challenge…

… for me.

Dunk opportunity…

… and travel.

I don’t like this combination.

How do I deal with it?

First up, what don’t I like about it?

Distraction.

Not doing full justice to the trip.

Not doing full justice to the investing opportunity either, as in distracted due diligence.

Hmmm.

What do we do here?

Sure, you’ll argue, today one carries one’s terminal where one goes.

Does one also carry one’s zone, you know, the magical frame of mind, from within which one takes magic decisions?

Very probably not.

When one takes an investment decision, is it not better to be in this magical zone?

Therefore, unless the opportunity is just too pressing, such that it makes me open my terminal even during travel, …

…, yeah, my terminal mostly stays shut when I’m on the move, …

…, because then it’s time to do other things. Yayyyyy!

😀

Nature of the Beast

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Stocks…

…crash.

It’s the nature of the beast.

Stocks also multiply.

For stocks to multiply, one needs to do something.

What is that something?

One needs to buy stocks when they crash.

Let me give you an example. 

Let’s assume markets are on a high, and there’s euphoria.

Excel Propionics is cruising at a 1000.

The prevailing euphoria seeps into your brain, and you buy Propionics at a 1000.

For Propionics to multiply 10 times in your lifetime, it will now need to reach 10,000.

Likely? Wait.

Cut to now.

Stocks are crashing. 

The same stock, Excel Propionics, now crawls at 450.

You have studied it. 

It’s debt-free.

Positive cash-flow.

Ratios are good.

Numbers are double-digit.

Leverage is low.

Management is shareholder-friendly. 

You start buying at 450. 

By the time the crash is through, you have bought many times, and your buying average is 333.

For Propionics to multiply 10 times in your lifetime, it will now need to rise to 3330.

Which event is more likely to happen?

Just answer intuitively.

Of course, the second scenario is more likely to play out than the first one. In the second scenario, Propionics will need to peak 3 times lower.

Simple?

No!

Try buying in a crash.

You are shaken up. 

There’s so much pessimism going around.

Rumours, stories, whatsapps, opinions. The whole world has become an authority on where this market is going to go, and you are dying from inside.

What’s killing you?

The hiding that your existing portfolio is taking, that’s what’s killing you.

Are you liquid?

No?

Very bad. 

Why aren’t you liquid?

Create this circumstance for yourself.

Be liquid.

Optimally, be liquid for life. 

Then, you will look forward to a crash, because that’s when you will use your liquidity copiously, to buy quality stocks, or to improve the buying averages of the already existing quality stocks in your folio. 

How do you get liquid for life?

You employ the small entry quantum strategy.

Yes, that’s about right. 

We’ve been speaking about this strategy in this space for the last two years.

Read up!

🙂

Happy Eighth Birthday, Magic Bull!

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Hey,

Today, we turn eight.

This is an extreme time.

Extraordinary moves have become normal.

How do we react to a world full of upheavals?

Does anyone have a satisfactory response?

We don’t know, and time will tell if our responses are correct.

However, we do know, that we possess common sense…

…, and we are going to hold on to it for all our life’s worth.

It has not come for free.

It has been earned after making costly mistakes.

It is very valuable.

It is going to see us through.

The topsiness and the turvyness is good for us.

It will set up opportunities.

We are only going to grab opportunities.

When there’s no opportunity, we do nothing.

We have learnt to do nothing.

Doing nothing actually means no entry.

We use this time to do due diligence for the future, when entry is allowed as per our entry criteria.

Doing nothing is a steady part of our repertoire.

However, when opportunity comes, we are going to let go of all fear, and we are going to pull the trigger.

We know how to pull the trigger.

We are not afraid.

Why?

We are debt-free.

Our basic incomes are in place.

Our families are taken care of.

Without that, we don’t move.

We invest with surplus.

We implement a small entry quantum strategy.

We enter again and again and again, upon opportunity.

Because of our small entry quantum, we are liquid for life.

Crash?

Bring it on.

We’ll keep going in, small entry quantum upon small entry quantum.

Don’t forget, we have rendered ourselves liquid for life.

And, we’ve got stamina!

Happy eighth birthday, Magic Bull!

Nath on Trading – V – Make that a Hundred

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81). Paper trading has limited value.

82). That’s because money on the line activates your emotions.

83). Is there a holy grail? No. Stop looking for it.

84). Small edges taken to the nth – that’s what cuts it.

85). Most advisories make more money advising and less money trading.

86). Many advisories ignore sheer basics such as risk : reward.

87). Advisories are after commission and management fees rather than your long-term benefit.

88). If you’re lookig for an advisory, look hard, and don’t be afraid to keep rejecting till you find someone who knows the game and is not greedy.

89). Everything is out there, for you, for the taking, on the internet.

90). Most of this everything is free, if you just make that extra effort to get it.

91). Disclosure laws are so strict, that you can get into the un*erp*nts of a management today, literally at the speed of thought.

92). Thus, to play the market, any market, all you need is funds, due diligence and a device.

93). Due diligence gives you confidence to hold the line.

94). Funds need to be saved first. What goes into trading is that portion of your savings which you are not going to need – at all, at best.

95). Your device needs to become a seamless extension of you. Work on your device till it becomes that.

96). The best ideas are born in silence.

97). The best ideas are also the simplest in nature.

98). Sophistication is a net-net loser’s game.

99). If you’re doing it right, and if you’re not a day-trader by profession, trading takes up only a small portion of your day.

100). Life has myriads of avenues, trading being one small such aspect. Being a trader doesn’t mean losing out on life’s countless drawing boards. Trade. Fine. Live too, and live well. Do all-round justice to your opportunity.

Uff, sometimes it’s so boring, that…

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…you find yourselves asking,…

…was that it?

Aha. 

Need I remind you, that this is very good indeed?

You want your strategy to become to streamlined, that it’s outright sheer damn boring. 

That’s exactly when the strategy will perform.

Thrill-seekers have a video-game experience of the markets and then burn out. 

You will go on and on with your boring strategy. 

What does this mean for your time?

You’ve got something streamlined, so you’ve got time on your hands. 

Twiddle your thumbs, or do something new. 

I’ll take new. 

I’d go for another strategy. 

Approach another market. 

Anything that attracts you. 

Develop something in that market. 

Make sure there’s no overlap between your markets. 

Why?

When you wind up the day’s input for a market, you want to be exactly there, i.e. wound up with that market. 

Entering the other market is something fresh for you. 

You look forward to it. 

Why exactly?

Because of no overlap with something you’re done with for the day. 

Slowly, get a few strategies going, such that your working day is taken care of. 

This is how you proceed with a market.

Enter-do-exit. Done.

Next market.

Enter-do-exit. Done.

And next market. 

Once you’re done with a market for the day, only look at it the next day. 

This way you’ll stay fresh, and your time and energy won’t be exhausted by hourly nitty-gritties. 

Once done with all your markets for the day, do other stuff in life. 

Non-market stuff.

Like cultivation of hobbies, spending family-time, sport, meditation, chanting, reading, what have you. 

Do full justice to life. 

Stocks and the Art of Synthesis

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A lot comes together.

This coming-together is called synthesis.

The word synthesis has now become universal.

It is applied in various fields, including Chemistry, manufacturing and the like.

It is also applied in areas where deep thought boils down facts to unity, to arrive at a conclusion.

What all are we looking at, with stocks?

No action.

Action.

Time-frames.

Market-level.

Selection.

Entry.

Management.

Exit.

One can list other stuff, but this list should do too.

One needs to synthesize the ingredients in such a manner, that the resultant matches one’s risk-profile. [[Why? Matching means successful market-play. Try it out.]]

That, my dear friends, is the art of synthesis, in a nutshell.

 

What are your Millions Worth?

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Sure, today they’re worth…

…millions.

Nobody’s taking that away from you.

However, tomorrow is a different story.

What will be the shape of your wealth in the far future?

In what form will it be stored?

Identify that now.

Why?

Because you can start pickling away in that form, little by little, right away.

Moving a chunk in one shot is tricky.

You don’t do it unless you’re absolutely sure.

You don’t bet the farm – on anything – period.

You need to move things quantum by quantum, over decades perhaps.

Final destination needs to tally with your risk-profile.

If it doesn’t, you’ll end up being jumpy and uncomfortable, and you’ll make a mistake.

When it’s about your life-savings, there’s no margin for error.

Why has one taken such a large chunk of time into the equation?

You see, when time is expanded long enough, difficult problems becomes easy to solve, because one ends up actually taking time (read pressure) out of the equation. Time is quasi infinite, so one doesn’t worry about it anymore. One has TIME to think things over and decide at leisure.

Also, over the course of a large chunk of time, you might realize that your risk-profile has changed, and that you are not comfortable with the final destination anymore.

That’s fine.

Change the final destination.

You define the rules, remember.

The bottom-line is that in whatever shape and form your wealth is stored in the end, that shape and form needs to address everything you wish that wealth to do and be.

There’s a lot of thinking that needs to go into this.

Do that thinking now.

It pays to be financially literate.

Nobody really teaches you financial literacy in school or college. Bookish knowledge is not financial literacy. Field knowledge is.

You’ve got two options.

Get financially literate on your own by playing the field, making mistakes, and learning, or…

…find someone who is already financially literate, and learn from him or her, from his or her mistakes.

Whatever you do…

…do it now…

…to ensure that your wealth not only remains intact…

…but also continues to grow.

What do you Want?

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Is this one easy?

What do you think?

If this one were easy, we’d probably have no wars.

We’d sail from one fulfillment to another, without squabbling.

Life would be a breeze.

However, things are different on the ground.

We don’t talk to ourselves.

That’s why, for the longest time, we don’t know what we want.

Open the intrinsic dialogue.

Why is it not opening?

We’re so busy addressing the outside world.

We don’t even know perhaps, that a much more meaningful world exists – inside.

That’s the one more worth discovering, actually.

It contains the information about what we want.

We need to extract this information.

How does one do that?

Everything starts with a first step.

So, open the dialogue, yeah, the intrinsic one.

See where it goes.

You like exploring conversation on the dinner table, right?

Why don’t you try exploring conversation here, inside of you?

Next step is hit and try.

You’re in a new world.

Paths have not been defined. Define them. See what works. Discard what doesn’t. From the inside, go outside. If internally you feel that something might work, try it externally.

Keep trying and discarding.

Eventually, something sticks.

That what sticks is what you want.

Once you’ve discovered the groove, you can keep using it to discover more and more of what you want, till the groove stops working.

Then you go about creating a new groove.

Happy Searching!

🙂

When it Rains Learning

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Yeah, when does it…

…rain learning?

You probably might not like what you hear.

Are you used to solitude? Working on your own? Own decision-making?

Or…

…do you look for approval?

…all the time?

We spoonfeed our loved ones when they ask us for help. I’m guilty of this too.

However, in my solitude I did realize, that spoonfeeding is the sworn enemy of learning.

What is learning?

Inculcation to the extent of translation into DNA – that’s learning.

It’s an intrinsic process. Yes, everything about learning happens inside.

When does it rain learning?

When you’re dependent upon yourself for your decisions, that’s when.

One wrong step could break you, so you’re cautious.

Your system is working at full-stretch.

It’s an intense time.

That’s the melting-pot required for DNA translation.

A wrong decision causing loss is rich in learning.

It can also cause depression. However, you know better. You get up, learn, and move on.

A right decision causing profit boosts confidence.

It can also cause euphoria, which offers an entry door towards destruction.

However, you know better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trigger Vigour

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Can you pull a trigger?

Or do you hesitate?

Are you afraid?

This is vital stuff, and you need to recognize this about yourself.

Why?

We’ll go into the why some other time, but let if suffice for now to say that trigger dynamics are part of basic risk-profiling, and if one’s market movement is not as per one’s risk-profile, things generally go wrong.

Back to triggers.

Cast aside pulling, are you able to recognize a trigger?

What comes before recognition?

Definition.

Have you defined market triggers?

Everyone has a different definition of when to act.

You need to know when you are going to act.

No ifs, no buts, just clear-cut action.

Your system will tell you that it’s time for action.

You do a double-check.

Are you recognizing what your system is telling you?

Is what it’s telling you recognized by your mind as a time to act?

Yes?

Then act.

What is the action, you ask?

Hmmm.

Why are you asking that?

You have to define the action too.

Just like you defined the conditions for action, you also define what exactly the action is going to be.

When you act, you pull a trigger. The quantum and style of your action is your follow-through after the trigger is pulled.

Make it mechanical.

As much as possible.

Boiling Down to Unity

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What is unity?

Oneness.

The thing everything has boiled down to.

That, which emerges after all the dust of everything has settled.

Yes, that.

Not the one as in being united, not that unity.

The one-resultant-vector unity.

The equation-being-solved-unanimously unity.

The one big solution for everything that’s bothering you – that unity.

Why are we talking about unity?

Because it is the answer.

What is the question?

Or, what are the questions?

“It’s the question that drives you, doesn’t it, Neo?”

There are many questions.

Each has different questions.

Each strives for a unique unity.

Each must find his or her unique point of peace.

Till then, mind will be restless, something will always be missing, and peace will be elusive.

Are we even talking about money?

You bet.

We strive in a million ways to garner money and make it grow.

We try different methods. Lots of strategies. People. Planning.

What is it boiling down to?

Have we recognised it?

In what form do we wish to see our money ultimately?

Do we have that kind of vision?

Are we standing on the mountain with that bird-eye view?

If yes, our strategies start culminating towards the final goal.

Why?

Because we know where we are going.

How did we know where we were going?

We asked the question.

Then we followed our mind. It led us to the answer.

Took some time, didn’t it?

At least we got there.

That’s huge.

Breathing Space

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I like to breathe…

…between trades. 

There’s something fresh about being market neutral. 

One is decoupled from market forces. 

One feels light. 

If one has just closed a losing trade, there’s hung-over disappointment. 

Forget. 

Breathe. 

Move on. 

On the other hand, if one has just closed a winning trade…

…there’s remnant euphoria. 

Forget.

Breathe. 

Move on. 

Why forget?

The next trade is the next trade. 

It has nothing to do with the previous trade. 

Also, one is recuperating, remember?

Market forces take a toll. 

Market neutral air allows the system to regenerate. 

Don’t mistake this market neutral with the other market neutral. 

Insiders speak of being market neutral when they are hedged, and trades on both sides result in an overall market neutral stance for them. 

Hedged market neutral candidates experience a double whammy of market forces. 

You’ve understood by now, that we are talking about the “not in the of the market” neutral stance. 

Should one then even call it market neutral?

I mean, one can call it sitting out, or something. 

I like to call it market neutral breathing space.

When does the neutral strictly apply?

When I don’t know if the next trade is going to be long or short.

What will the trade direction depend upon?

Data. 

Chart. 

Technicals. 

Fundamentals. 

Whatever cooks your goose. 

However, sometimes, one is on a short-short strategy, or for that matter a long-long strategy. Meaning, that one might be out of a trade, but one is waiting to go short (long) on the next one, and so on and so forth. Meaning that one knows one’s trade direction for a defined time frame. 

Well, I still like to call the breathing space between trades market neutral, even here, because the word “neutral” reminds me to keep an unbiased mind about the next entry point. 

I try to then look at the chart free from the remains of previous experience, in my search for an entry point, even though I know the direction that I will be trading.

How much time can one spend between trades?

Depends on when the next setup arrives. 

Why the hurry?

Enjoy the calm of the space.

Dance the Bawwdy Music!

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..dance the body music

makes you feel so happy

dance the body music

music makes you happy

hear the music play

feel your body sway

hear the dj say

oh what a big smash big smash

dance the body music…

 

Osibisa, was it, late ‘70s?

Yup. 

What an cool swingy number, sung by an unforgettable band!

Disco beat. Rhythm. Easy peasy lyrics. Synth. Floor’s going crazy. Song’s all over the people. People are all over the song. 

Euphoria. 

Why are we talking about it?

Music or euphoria?

Euphoria. 

I used the music element to paint a picture of euphoria in your mind.

What is it about euphoria?

Why does it push me on alert?

Is it that I don’t wish to enjoy my life?

What could I have against euphoria?

I’ll tell you. 

Before I tell you, I’d like to mention that I love the feeling. 

It fantastic being in the feeling. I’ve got one eye on my alerts though. 

WHY?

We make our biggest mistakes when hit by Euphoria. 

Yes. 

Surprised?

Don’t be. 

Under the influence of Euphoria, our biochemistry is so, so different. 

We’re far from peak. 

Our defences are down. 

We are highly capable of plunging into…an abyss…oblivion…call it what you feel is befitting. 

We let go of safety. 

We bet big. 

We bet dangerous. 

We bet the farm.

That’s what euphoria can do to us. 

I do feel euphoric, at times. 

A trade’s gone well. 

A deal’s come through. 

Stability at home. 

Euphoria. 

However…

…as I told you…

…one eye is on my alerts. 

If even a single thought emerges of betting big, bigger than my normal size, well, my predefined red-alert also goes up with such a thought. 

I see my alert’s red flare, and the unwanted thought subsides. 

I am able to sick to within the confines of my position-size rule.

If even one thought emerges of trying a new untested line, just because all current lines are doing ok, well, my predefined strategy saturation alert also goes up with such a thought. 

I remind myself that I’ve decided upon financial strategy saturation, and don’t plan to add a new line, at least not in a hurry or upon an impulse. 

I’m able to stick to my strategy saturation decision. 

Are you understanding what I’m trying to tell you?

If yes, I’m so happy for you. 

You’re not leaving it for later. You’re understanding it without being hit by the aftermath of a decision taken under the influence of euphoria. 

Cheers mate!

🙂

Auto is our Motto

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What are you doing…

…that’s not on auto?

Next question is, why is it not on auto?

On purpose?

Sure, there’s some stuff that you’d like to reserve for manual. That’s absolutely fine. 

Not on purpose?

Meaning you want it to be on auto, but haven’t done so?

Right. 

Why not?

Meaning, why are you not using that one big benefit of the twenty-first century – to your benefit?

Lazy?

Couldn’t care less?

Too complicated?

In a rut?

Whatever. 

Bottomline is, you’re losing out. 

How?

You’re losing out on…

…time…

…growth…

…evolution…

…prosperity…

…sense of fulfilment…

…sense of purpose…

…and what have you.

You can also start figuring out for yourself how you are losing out on these things amongst other stuff. No spoon-feeding here. 

Automation is the minimal requirement of our times. 

Automation requires transcending an activation barrier. 

This is a one-time input, before the concerned process goes on auto. 

This is also the step which makes many lose interest in going auto. 

Well, from nothing comes nothing. 

You will have to put in that time and energy for the one-time input that pushes the process into auto-mode. 

There is no way around it. 

However, each time you’ve gone auto, you’ll get a huge sense of accomplishment. 

You’ll want to recreate that feeling again and again and again. 

You’ll want to put more and more stuff on auto. 

With so much of auto stuff adding to you from the background, your life will become fuller. More enjoyable. More time to pursue whatever you wish to pursue. More time to be…

…you.

Cheers. 

Saturation

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I don’t wish to add to my repertoire.

It has reached some kind of saturation. 

There’s no limit to how far I can go within my repertoire.

However, it is not comfortable with strategy addition. 

Fine. 

Did you just have this dialogue?

With yourself?

It’s good you did. 

While you start out in a field, you’re developing it. 

There needs to come a stage, in a while, where you have exactly identified, that you’re developing this, this and this further. Nothing else. 

Once you know what the exact game is, all your focus is required to take it to the nth level. What that n is going to be is up to you, again. 

Bottomline is, after a point, know your game. 

This is the game. 

This is what you are scaling up. 

That, that, that and that you are discarding, or have discarded. 

You need to reach this point within a reasonable time-frame. 

Then comes the next step. 

Pray, what might that be?

Automation. 

Before embarking upon scaling up, that what remains in your saturated repertoire – automate it. 

Staff. 

Technology. 

What have you.

Use any means for automation. 

Anything that’s legit, and which works. 

Use it. 

Standing instruction. 

Alarm. 

Alert.

Whatever. 

Automation is a huge blessing if used properly and after having tied up all the loose ends. 

If implemented in a hurry with sieve-like loopholes, it can even take you to the cleaner’s.

Implement automation in a justified and sure-shot fashion. 

Do you know what’s going to happen now?

You have created a situation, where scaling up means just punching in an additional 0 in the right corner, before the decimal point. 

Wow.

After a while, the complete field will be on auto. 

Why?

If you’re wise, you won’t scale up beyond your sweet-spot. 

Why?

Because obnoxious scales come with obnoxious problems.

What’s obnoxious?

Anything beyond your sweet-spot…

…is obnoxious. 

What is your sweet-spot?

That only you can discover. 

So what now is the exact status of the field?

Your repertoire in the field has reached complete saturation regarding strategy and scale. It is on full auto. It is adding to your well-being without you batting an eye-lid. 

Congratulations. 

However, where does that leave you?

Is that even a question?

There’s so much to do in the world. 

Discover a new field. 

Develop your new repertoire in this field. 

Take it to strategy saturation. Automate it. Scale it up. Take it to the sweet-spot. Wean off the scaling up. Move on. 

What a life it’s going to be for you!

What remains …

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… is the tough stuff. 

You’ve taken care of the easy stuff. 

It’s been taken to its logical conclusion. 

It’s either flowing with you in the background, enhancing you, or it’s been put permanently to rest by you, in a form that will also always add to you. 

You don’t notice it anymore. 

It was easy, right!?

Easy stuff doesn’t push you to the wall. 

It gives pleasure. 

One gets used to pleasure. 

After a while, one doesn’t notice the source anymore. At least, one doesn’t notice it too consciously. 

Situation is different with the hard stuff. 

It’s hard, as in difficult. 

It pains you. 

It pushes you to the wall. 

You are challenged.

You don’t forget something that challenges you. 

This something remains with you, before your eyes, all the time. 

You are trying to find a solution. 

Your system is working overtime to convert this hard stuff into easy stuff. 

For some hard stuff, you find the conversion. 

Taken care of…

…and gone. 

Other stuff refuses to convert. 

Yes. 

You have it here in a nutshell. 

What is this folder made of?

Folder?

Yeah, folder. 

What folder?

The folder containing the hard stuff that refuses to convert into easy stuff. 

Oh, that folder, right. 

Yeah, what does that folder contain?

Hard stuff that refuses to convert into easy stuff?

Yeah but in other and more understandable words now…?

The biggest tests in your life?

YES. 

Leading to the biggest lessons learnt if by chance you are able to push out even one hard-folder-component into the easy-stuff-folder?

Exactement.

Le Kicque

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There’s probably no such word in the French language. 

Well, then, I just made it up. 

Why?

Meaning, why in the world would I concoct a French word, and that too something like le kicque?

The fact that I’m learning French plays a role. 

So does the constant questioning. 

I constantly question myself at every stage. 

Things come to a point, where I find myself asking the question : “Does this still give you le kicque?”

Or, “is this new activity giving you le kicque?”

Fine, then do it. 

If it’s not giving you a kick, don’t do it. 

Every formal thing is perhaps wrong about le kicque. 

It probably should have been la kicque. 

However, informally speaking, la kicque doesn’t feel or sound right to my mind. 

La kicque doesn’t suit my mind’s style and the way it wants to use le kicque. 

The full effect of the French accent is felt by my mind with le kicque.

When it’s putting the question forward, mind goes all French with intonation and accent. 

The question has full impact. 

I have to answer. 

Yes?

Do it. 

No?

Don’t. 

I’ve come to a stage where I find myself only pursuing activities which give me le kicque.

If I’m doing anything else, which does’t give me “the kick”, it’s because I have to do it and have no choice in the matter. 

If I find some optional activity which isn’t loaded with le kicque, I drop it immediately. 

Am I embarrassed that I’ve concocted an idiotic-sounding-grammatically-all wrong-word that would probably insult the French purists?

No. 

Why?

Because its not about the French. 

It’s about me. 

It’s about how I handle myself. 

It’s about guiding oneself through a yet undefined path. It’s about defining one’s path. 

Along the way, one builds bridges. 

Le kicque is one such bridge I’ve built for myself. 

I’m not ashamed of my bridge.

Nor am I embarrassed about it. 

I love my bridge. 

I share my bridge here so that it might help another person. 

If this bridge even helps one more person, the purpose of writing this piece will fulfil itself.