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​You're just busy, not better

I received an email this morning:
​I am a banker.
I have been a compliance professional for almost 8 years (my whole career).
Right now, I am in XXX, in their London office.

I am in a good place, career-wise.
I make more than enough money, and I am respected by my team and seniors alike.
But I always had a deep desire to contribute meaningfully to society. ​
I wish to leave London for the Rural Exploration of my home state - XXX. ​
I wish to understand what's going on in Rural India.

This entire enterprise looks like a 10-year project (5 years to secure my financial wellbeing, and the next 5 years for the research work). ​
Do you think this is an idea worth exploring? ​
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More importantly, can you help me with a matrix that helps me with how much funding, how much planning, how much info and influence is enough; and when it's time to take action?

Firstly, I loved the email.
Rare display of clarity at this age.
While I shared my POV on the idea itself, the last question hooked me.

How does one know how much info/knowledge is enough, and when it's time to take action?

Here is my exact reply:​
Fake action is more dangerous than no action.
Which is why your fear - whether you should be spending time thinking versus getting things done - is completely valid.

Here’s the matrix I use to solve for it:
x-axis: Did I learn something new? (Yes/No)
y-axis: Did it challenge my current point of view? (Yes/No)

At first glance, we think N/N (no learning; no challenge) is the worst quadrant.
But in my view, it's not.

Far worse is:
- N/Y: You didn't learn anything new, but it felt like your point of view was challenged (illusion of growth).
- Y/N: You learned something new, but it didn't challenge your point of view (comfort of safe knowledge).
In both cases, you trick yourself into thinking you're progressing when in fact, you're standing still.

Real magic happens when you learn something new and it challenges how you think.

As long as you spend most of your time in that quadrant, you are truly growing.
Everywhere else?
You're just busy, not better.

Book I read this week

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Started Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies for Giant Leaps in Work and Life by Ozan Varol.
The book comprises 9 simple strategies from rocket science that you can use to make giant leaps in work and life - whether it's landing your dream job, accelerating your business, learning a new skill, or creating the next breakthrough product.
It is an interesting take on how different fields intersect - in this case, Rocket Science and life :)
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I have shared several books in this newsletter over the years.
​A list of all of them can be found here.
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Build An Epic Career - another epic review!

Saw this wonderful review, and it reminds me why I keep writing every single day.

The book has a 45% discount right now - in English, in Hindi​

Question of the week

Which season do you like the most?

• Summer
• Winter
• Monsoon
• Spring
• Autumn

(and see the results of others, too)

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Results of last week's question

Not surprising.
Most folks are happy to consider staying out of India temporarily.
Younger folks are more inclined to stay permanently than older ones.
Decisively no increases with age.
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​My response?​
No - I love the country and wouldn't want to stay outside permanently.

3-2-1
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3 pics from last week

Usual daily breakfast - 200g of tofu with salt, pepper and oregano.

Vidur made a traffic light system for the visually impaired in his design class. Quite fun helping him with it.

Kathal season! Yay!
I love kathal :))

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2 quotes I wish to share

Experience is overrated.
Attitude is the new experience.

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Fake action is more dangerous than no action.

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1 new thing I learnt this week

The standard "QWERTY" keyboard layout wasn't designed for speed, but rather to slow down typists.
On early mechanical typewriters, typing too fast with common letter combinations would cause the typewriters to jam.
QWERTY separated frequently used letter pairs to prevent this.

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🎙️ My top content from last week
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📹 YouTube:​ Buy a house or rent​

📱 Instagram: Your boy in an Adobe commercial :))​

🐥 Twitter: 5 things people in their 20s do not realise, until too late​

🎧 Podcast: Not tomorrow​
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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.​
​(Bhayankar garmi ki kasam)

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