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Parents are humans first

5 ways where parents go wrong:

1/ Comparison:​
We’re compared to others with the hope that it elevates our game.
But this constant comparison makes us believe nothing will be enough.
Because there will always be someone to compare ourselves with!

2/ Killing curiosity:​
As kids, all we did was ask questions.
Before we were told not to.
So we led ourselves to believe that asking questions means we don’t understand.
It means we’re dumb.
So we don’t ask.
We memorize answers instead of loving questions.

3/ The importance given to society:​
What we do in life.
Who we marry.
Where we work.
How we dress.
Society’s faceless approval is considered more important than our own.
We begin losing our identity.

4/ Looking at the world only through their experiences:​
Our parents had a very difficult life.
Which, for no fault of theirs, has biased them.
So while the world has changed, their biases haven’t.
Still investing in FDs, going to traditional careers or government jobs, and living a zero-sum game.

5/ Emotional blackmail:​
“You do what you want - we don't expect you to think about us.”
This sentence has stopped more kids from making a decision than any fear or laziness has.
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It baffles me how little people are taught about parenting, given its critical role in shaping an individual.

Kids: Start understanding why parents behave the way they do. Appreciate where they have come from.

Parents: Recognize that there are multiple paths to the same outcome.
Trust your kids to experiment, fail, and find their way.

Parents are humans first.
Parents second. ​
It would help solve many problems if we saw them the same way!
​(Share on X)​

My Masterclass on Career

On Jan 5, 2024 (Sunday), I am hosting a free online masterclass on careers.
The masterclass is designed specifically for students and young working professionals and will cover:

1. How do you decide which career to choose?
2. How to change your career?
3. How to make critical career decisions?
4. What frequent mistakes people make in their careers?
5. The most important career skill in this rapidly changing world

​Click here to register for the free masterclass​

Book I am reading this week

Finished reading Accelerating India's Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance by Karthik Muralidharan. Really awesome book - quite practical, while overwhelming to realize how much India needs to work on herself.

Started reading Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have To by David Sinclair. In this pathbreaking book, Dr. David asks a shocking question - What if ageing is a disease? And that disease is curable. Very promising :))

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My 3rd book, Make Epic Money, has sold 1,35,000+ copies in India with a 4.4+ rating. You can buy it in Hindi, English, Marathi, Audio, and Kindle here.
The book has also been converted into a video course (in Hindi and English) - that you can check out here.

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Here is an alphabetical list of all books I have shared in this newsletter so far.

Question of the week

On WhatsApp, what do you prefer the most when sending messages?

• Text messages
• Voice messages
• Images
• Memes
• Gifs
• Don't use WhatsApp

(and see the results of others, too)

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Results of last week's question

As expected - younger folks draw most from their parents and as we age, we draw most from the external world and our managers.

​My response?​
My friends and family have had the biggest impact on my career - in terms of guidance, support, and understanding.

3-2-1
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3 pics from last week

I asked my Instagram audience what was the first thing they noticed in the picture. What do you think they replied?

I love how an entire generation is being raised to click pictures of themselves as if someone else is clicking them, haha!

Shooting a video for a new YouTube channel - launching Dec 9 :))

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2 quotes I wish to share

Misery is not making the choices that others made, and yet desiring what they achieved.

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There were two reasons I was scared to let people in:
The damage they could do and the damage they could find.
- Chris Geonu

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1 new thing I learnt this week

We may think that India has too many government employees, but that's not true.
India has approximately 1,622 central government employees per 100,000 residents.
In comparison, the US has 7,681 per 100,000 residents.
China, which has a comparable population, has 52,500 government employees per 100,000 residents (yes, that is correct - 740Mn people in China work for the government)

India is actually understaffed when it comes to government employees.
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🎙️ My top content from last week
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📹 YouTube:​ 10 challenges for 2025​

📱 Instagram: 7 questions for your soulmate​

🐥 Twitter: 13 life hacks​

🎧 Podcast: I can't sleep​
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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.​
​(Sardiyon mein moongfali ki patti khaate rehne ki kasam)

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