The dictionary definition of awareness is the quality or state of being aware: knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists. As I got older (I’m not that old!), I’ve come to realize that awareness is the starting point to becoming better. If we are not aware of where we need to improve, how will be…
Author: Nirmal Thapa
Care
If you care enough, you will make a difference in the culture. I absolutely believe so. If you find something that needs to be done and disregard it because it’s not part of your job description or someone else will handle it, then you don’t care enough. Want to make a difference in your home,…
All talk, no action
Once upon a time, I used to follow rap and hiphop music almost religiously. I grew up in New York City and was influenced by the rap and hiphop culture. It didn’t take me long to let things get to my head and think that I knew everything about the culture. Then one day as…
Training at your convenience
Training at your convenience is a luxury. The market does not reward luxury; it rewards proactive and hungry go-getters. Training will prepare you for the future. It takes awareness, realization, and execution to get better. Waiting for the perfect time, scenario, environment and everything else to take training means your convenience is more important to…
Beyond startup leadership
The entrepreneur starts out with an idea. He/she takes that idea, executes it, and makes things happen. There’s so much action in an startup environment. As the startup begins to grow, new challenges arise. Some of the early growth challenges include finding other “startup type” people to join the company, retaining these people, and also…
3 success stories from Nepal’s IT industry
The IT industry is one of Nepal’s fast growing industry and carries a huge potential in terms of job opportunities, contribution to the nation’s economy, and possibility of putting the country on the global technology map. There are hundreds of tech companies building products/services for the domestic and international markets. Here are 3 tech entrepreneurs…
Story of the Buddha
The story I waited 14 years for
After finishing college, I wanted to work for one company: Nike. Nike always fascinated me. It was a company that was innovative, cool, and easily recognizable. Back then, I frequently checked Nike’s careers page to see if I qualified for any of the jobs out there. I had done research and found that Nike’s European…
Opportunity is knocking
There are opportunities almost everywhere. I’m an optimist and see opportunities all around me. It’s upon us to decide which opportunity to move forward with and which one to let it pass. We have to keep working hard, keep moving, and the opportunity will seem like it’s right there.
Mentorship
I strongly believe in mentorship. Mentors are people who can help you grow personally or professionally. I have been extremely lucky to have some amazing mentors. Mentorship is even more important in Nepal. A lot of young people join colleges or universities hoping to land jobs when they graduate or start their own enterprise. Many…
Travel education
Travelling is an education in itself. We learn so much by visiting a place that we could have never understood, seen, or felt until actually being there. Although technology has brought us closer than ever before and taken us to places that we never knew existed, the experience of travelling to a place can never…
Constructive feedback
Constructive feedback is focused on pointing out things that the person does well and areas where he or she can improve. This is an essential part of a healthy personal or professional relationship. Giving constructive feedback is as much an art as it is science. As Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly…
Words have power
Our words have value when we do as promised. They have value when we communicate if we cannot do as promised. They have less value when we do something other that what we promise. So simple yet we have miscommunication so often. Sometimes we get carried away and promise too much too soon. Other times…
A quote
Consistency matters
We see new ventures come and go. Some new businesses start out with a bang. They launch competitions, giveaways, raffles…you name it. Yet, only a few businesses make it. That’s the reality. Best to be consistent in delivering. Delivering on your promise. Delivering on your customers. Delivering to stay relevant to your audience.
ICT Startup & Innovation Mela 2019
ICT Startup & Innovation Mela 2019 will be totally based on technological inventions, students’ projects, and startups’ idea and innovation. The title sponsor for ICT Startup & Innovation Mela 2019 is Fusemachines Nepal. For more details, visit https://www.facebook.com/livingwithict/ or http://www.livingwithict.com/
The Nirmal Thapa Show
I’m very excited to share with you something that I have been working on for a while: a podcast. Here’s an episode from my podcast “The Nirmal Thapa Show.” For this episode, I had a conversation with Giovanni Patrick, founder of The Dare Tactic where we talked about entrepreneurs, art, and working with a mission.
Giving feedback
In our Nepali culture, we give utmost priority to relationships and always want to be in “good terms” with our colleagues, elders, relatives etc. In the professional setting, we often lean on the positive side when we provide feedback so we do not offend others, play it safe to avoid a possible confrontation, maintain the…
Keep going
You have to keep going. Keep moving forward.
the Craftsman Mindset
Cal Newport in his book “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” encourages us to approach our careers by adopting what he calls a ‘craftsman mindset’. The craftsman mindset is treating your job as a craft: that is, focus on gaining rare and valuable skills until you ‘become so good they can’t ignore you.’ The craftsman…