​
3 things a vacation with parents taught me

Last week, I went on a vacation with my parents.
This was the first time when just the 3 of us had gone for a holiday, and the idea of it was quite exciting.
It turned out to be an awesome experience - much better than I had thought.

Upon my return, the next day as I was meditating, I reflected on the 4 days, asking myself if there was anything new I figured about myself or them.

Here they are:
​
​1. No amount of material success, social validation, professional growth, or bank balance can match up to the feeling of pampering your parents and making them feel proud of who you have become. ​
Their pride when people asked me for selfies, the comfort in which we travelled and stayed - everything made them act like kids in a toy store. Nothing makes a child happier than to see their parents experience this joy.

2. The number of such occasions with your parents is drastically reducing. ​
We walked for 5-8kms every day and by the end of the day, both of them used to be super tired. They are both 70+, so it's a matter of a few years before such holidays will come to a stop.
I wish I had started long ago :(

3. Your parents have lived their lives and are set in their ways. What they need now is not change. What they need is acceptance. ​
I do not agree with everything that my parents say or do, and for the longest time, I thought it was my duty to change their ways.
I was wrong.
At this age, the best I can do is to accept them.

There isn't much time.
Call them, visit them, spend time with them, travel with them.
They do not need your money. They need your time.

Book I read this week

​

Started reading The Art of Statistics: Learning from Data by David Spiegelhalter.

​
I have always loved numbers and this book is making me fall in love with them all over again. It walks through the essential principles we need to derive knowledge from data - which, in my opinion, is the most fundamental way of thinking. Through numbers.
Whether it is the decision to buy or rent your house, to pick one job over the other, or to understand your risk profile when it comes to investing - if you have a numerical bent of mind you will always have an edge over someone who doesn't.
Pick this up - to gain an amazing perspective on statistics and the power of numbers.

​

​

​

​

Build An Epic Career

16,000+ people have already purchased my latest book on careers - and are sharing rave reviews about it. If you are still working, whether in your 20s, 30s, or 40s - this is a book that can help.

Build An Epic Career - in English, in Hindi​

Question of the week

Who are you closest to, from this set of people?

• Your mother
• Your father
• Your siblings
• Not close to any of them

(and see the results of others, too)

​

Results of last week's question

It seems the first month hasn't kicked off well for most of us. And you know - research suggests that Jan is always one of the hardest months of the year - because people have a feeling of emptiness after the New Year, the festivities of Dec, and the high of a year-end.
Interesting!
​
​My response?​
Met expectations - just as I would have imagined.

3-2-1
​

3 pics from last week

Picture from a vacation I took with Ma and Papa last week :))

Super cute picture I took of a restaurant table - seems like Teddy's date left him, haha :)

Had a lovely time signing books and chatting with folks at Title Waves, Bandra, Mumbai.

​
2 quotes I wish to share

You are not stuck.
You don't yet see the value of changing.

​

We become easily distracted only because we remain hopelessly bored.

​

1 new thing I learnt this week

Jellyfish are capable of moving only upwards. They move horizontally only because of waves and tides.
​

​
🎙️ My top content from last week
​

📹 YouTube:​ Mutual Fund Strategy for 2025​

📱 Instagram: 3 Questions​

🐥 Twitter: Test trust​

🎧 Podcast: Learn something new​
​

​

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.​
​(Desh ki priorities thodi hilli hui hone ki kasam - iykyk)

​