Author: animeshjmathur

Karmic cycle

charity, Karma, life

I am a strong believer in God. I also believe that things happen for us , to teach us , rather than to us. The bigger thing though is that whether you believe in an entity called God or not, you do understand that the universe has a way to equalise things. I don’t know about the animal kingdom, but I have always found even in the toughest situations, in unknown locations where people didn’t know my language, I could still get help.

I don’t like the idea of talking about the ordeals I have gone through life, because I believe everyone faces tough situations in their life at some point or another.

On the other hand I do believe that if you keep doing good, even during your tough times, your pain keeps getting reduced. It could be because your brain feels good by helping someone. It could also be that the person whom you helped sends out positive waves in the universe for you.

If you do so much good in the world, there’s so much positivity about you, that tough times don’t seem so painful. The more good you do, there’s a tendency to want to do more. Due to this you feel grateful, you have grace -as Tony Robbins says or you have a feeling of abundance – as Dan Sullivan says.

This makes your mind want to find solutions to the problems that you are facing and take help from others also to figure out ways to solve problems. Most people in this world are good and they like to help. That’s why humanity has been able to last more than 30000 years.

You wouldn’t get that feeling if you were to watch the news. As per the news, the situation has never been worse than what it is right now. Inspite of this there are people working to solve big problems, they are working to help others out. If you will look at videos of Dr. Peter Diamandis or read his books, you will realise that the world has never been a better place in all its history.

Keep doing good. The universe has a way of rewarding you. You can call it by whatever name. I prefer to call it the Karmic Cycle.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Price versus value, cost versus value- Part 2

Positioning, Value, value proposition

Apple is a perfect example of value in the mind of the user.

In my last post on this topic I had written about how value like beauty is in the eyes/mind of the user.

No one knows to exploit this better than Apple. You have seen photos of people queuing up in front of Apple stores hours before the opening to buy the newest iPhone to be launched.

I am not an iPhone user but we do use Apple computers at home. And when my last MacBook Air’s battery started giving me problems I decided to buy a new one. This was October last year. When we started looking, the first thing we noticed that Apple was intending to come out with a new processor based system soon. This processor would reduce battery usage by a fraction and performance was atleast 2 times more. So instead of immediately buying the readily available product we decided to wait because we saw value in that. Eventhough we also knew the price points would be much higher.

The M1 chip MacBook was launched sometime November last year in the US, but it was not available in India till April this year. And then the second wave of Covid hit India and everything was in lockdown. So again we waited. Finally we got our new Apple M1 MacBook Air in June end.

If you can create a position in the minds of the target audience, then cost becomes a secondary factor, it is the value that the customer perceives which makes all the difference.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Energy

Energy, peak Performance

This a big big motherhood statement. It can have completely different connotations for different people.

Einstein created such an elegant equation E=mc^2 which looks at the physical form of how mass can be converted into energy. I am not sure though if we have yet figured out a way to verify the other side of the equation to convert energy into mass. All those of my vintage would remember the English serial Star Trek and Captain Kirk & Mr Spock. They had used the same concept of mass and energy to transport people without physically landing their space craft.

In Indian mythology there’s a special place for the Goddess “SHAKTI” or her various forms in the formation of the universe.

My idea of writing this post however was a little different. Today I was listening to a discussion of Jay Abraham and Paul Adamson of Oyster Yachts.

When he was summarizing the discussion the top 3 skills he listed was Energy, Influence and Flexibility.

Its very rare that people rate energy as one of the top 3 and he put it at number one.

I rate energy as a key factor for success. Energy is what let’s you hit Peak Performance on a consistent basis.

I have written earlier about various experiments that I have done with breathing techniques and Yoga to help improve my energy levels. I have also written about how I am changing my food habits to eliminate white sugar from my diet to increase my energy levels.

Anyone’s performance comes down when they don’t have energy. But they still hurt their body by eating food high in sugar and carbohydrates that drains energy after the initial high.

Another activity – I used to drink about 6-7 cups of coffee in a day. I have brought it down to only two. I am working to eliminate at least one more cup. Its helped reduce my acidity and also the fluctuations in my energy.

I would love to hear from you on your efforts to improve sustained energy levels.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Prolific versus perfect

confidence, persistence

I generally write at the end of my workday. Everyday before I start writing I have a question mark on what I would be able to write today. Everyday I think about what topic would of interest to my readers and where could I add value.Everyday I have this very strong inclination to not write.

But then I don’t want to break the momentum. As Joe Polish says it’s better to be prolific rather than perfect. If you practice something so often you will make lots of mistakes, but the faster you make mistakes, the more you will learn. The more you learn the higher is the chance that you will win eventually.

So my writing is not perfect. I write short notes so that while you are waiting in the line to pick up your coffee, you can read it. Over the years I hope my writing is becoming better.

One thing though is that based on this principle of being prolific rather than perfect, I can get into a flow state faster. Now once I start hitting the keys on my tablet or computer, my brain goes into a flow state and I start typing whatever ideas come into my mind. Being prolific is all about being persistent. As you persist, you also get the confidence to do even more.

Does that mean that I have become a “writer”. Absolutely not. I just pen my thoughts in a free flowing style. As a matter of fact a lot of authors may find my style absolutely rubbish. Can I eventually become a writer. Well maybe, who knows.

Can anyone following this model become a writer – maybe. But if they don’t start practicing writing, they anyway won’t become a writer.

Can this be used in other areas as well.

I know of sales and marketing for sure. Sales is a job which requires you to be hard skinned to face rejection and to qualify prospects better. If you get scared in calling out a prospect, from fear of rejection, you anyway won’t get sales to happen. I have learnt it the hard way. However if you call enough of the “right” prospects, you will eventually figure out ways to sell better. Add a mentor into the recipe and you can actually shorten the learning curve dramatically.

So this brings me to the end of the post for today. I hope your coffee is ready.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!