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How do you know what it is to work hard?

Ruchi (my wife) and I have worked really hard to make life work for us.
Both of us come from humble backgrounds — our parents struggled a lot to send us to good schools, we studied hard, got good jobs, and earned a living.
We felt truly blessed and grateful that we were able to escape the orbit of survival, that our parents stayed in all their lives.

Our kids, Vidur and Uzma, are aged 12 and 6.
Vidur was born when both of us were 31.
By the time he started developing conscious memory, we had reached 36 years of age.
The next 4 years were actually the toughest for us.

They were years of massive lows — where we were nearly bankrupt with no visibility of the future.
We worked really hard to get out of this and a part of it was witnessed by Vidur.
Perhaps even registered.

Uzma was born when we were 37.
By the time she developed conscious memory, we were both 42.
More importantly, by the time she was 5, we were settled in life.

So if I were to ask Uzma — what she thinks is needed to be successful in life — her response most likely would be:
"Work from home. Travel a lot. Go once in a while to shoot something in front of a camera. Make lots of money. And yay!"

WHICH IS SO FAR AWAY FROM THE TRUTH.

Vidur may still say - "Yeah, you have to go to work and slog, there may be hard days, but you persist and life works out hopefully and eventually."

So, the biggest concern that Ruchi and I have is — how do we teach our kids about the hardships that we went through for 40 years before we landed upon this life that they were born into?

And that is our biggest responsibility as a parent.

Not to snatch away the privilege they were born in.
Instead, make them aware of the privilege they were born in.

So that is the question for you today.
Many of you would have seen your parents work really hard to create the life you were given.
You saw the struggle.
You perhaps still do.

But how do you teach that struggle to someone else?
How do you remember that struggle when life has changed, for the better and permanently?

What do you think?

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Book I am reading this week

Started reading another book by the same author, Philippa Perry -
​The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)​
​I will reserve my comments on the book once I finish it — it will be premature to share what I feel right now.

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Finished reading The Book You Want Everyone You Love To Read by Philippa Perry.
It is a really smart, easy, and practical book revolving around the 4 aspects of life — How we love, how we argue, how we change, and how we find contentment.
It is genuinely a book you wish everyone you have a relationship with should read alongside you.

Pick this up — a great start to 2024!

My new book MAKE EPIC MONEY is releasing Jan 29th and is available on Amazon and Crossword.

Here is a list of all the books I have shared in this newsletter so far (alphabetical order)
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Results of last week's survey

Last week, I asked:

Who are/were you closest to in the world?

• Your parents
• Your grandparents
• Your siblings
• Your friends
• Yourself
• No one

Here are the results:

SUPER INTERESTING Observations:

• When young, most people are closest to themselves (which I think is a lie. It's just a proxy for - I don't feel close to anyone.)
• As you age, you feel closer to your parents - which is understandable. You realize the role they have played.
• Notice the increasing share of closeness to siblings, which I imagine will only grow as one grows old and peaks when the parents pass away.
• I am surprised by the increasing share of friends. I would have expected the opposite.

My answer?
While the option was not there - I feel closest to my wife Ruchi.
If I can't include a spouse, then the answer will be myself.

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Quotes to share

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The reason you procrastinate is because you think you still have time.

Share on X

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Advice is what we seek when we know the answer, but are scared to accept it.

Share on X

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I have never met a strong person with an easy past.

Share on X

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📸 My week, in pictures

In this section, I share my week in pictures, for those who do not like to read as much as I write :))
I do so not to show how cool a life I live, but instead to show you what are the highlights of every day. As you will see over time, my days are mostly in repeat mode - the same things, but different experiences from them.

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Met Anil Kumble and hosted him for a fireside chat. Wonderful meeting him! Such a humble soul!

MAKE EPIC MONEY releasing Jan 29th nationwide - both in English and Hindi
Yayyyy :))

Here with the Penguin India Team — missing Radhika, who is my editor.

Hosted Sahil Lavingia, founder of Gumroad, for breakfast with some friends. Wonderful time.

Followed by an open house with 200+ folks in the evening.

Here is me with my fitness progress :))

Today in Mumbai — just finished recording a podcast with ICICI Prudential Life, with their head of Fixed Income, Arun. Lovely chat around markets, insurance, and kids :))

That's it for the week in pictures. Have a lovely weekend and week ahead, all of you lovelies :)))

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Question of the week​
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Who are you closer to?
​I know, I know — it's hard to choose. But you have to choose. Won't share it with them, promise haha :))

• I am a man; closer to father
• I am a man; closer to mother
• I am a woman; closer to mother
• I am a woman; closer to father
• Close to neither

Answer here

(and see the results of others, too)

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🎙️ Podcast I shared last week

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🚀 Content I shared this week

📹 YouTube:​

​24 money-saving hacks for 2024​

📱 Instagram:​

​Be free by doing this​

🐥 X:

​Curiosity as a kid​

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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.​
​(2024 ka pehla maheena khatam ki kasam)

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