Nirmal Thapa

The billion dollar idea (in your head)

Posted on February 20, 2020February 20, 2020 by Nirmal Thapa

Ideas are great. A lot of times that big startup idea might just be in your head. You feel that your idea will change everything. It could be the next big thing out there. The temptation is to hold on to the idea and not tell it to everyone because then they might go and execute it. It’s your idea and you hold on to it tightly.

I was in a similar situation many years ago and had one of those “ideas.” I debated within myself whether sharing that idea in a startup competition would be good or bad. After a while, I decided that the benefits of sharing the idea and “get it tested” was far more important than just holding on to it.

When I shared my idea at the startup competition, many people got excited about it. It gave me confidence that the idea itself was good. However, there were so many things to consider for the idea to be executed properly. I would not have been able to see the idea from different angles had I not shared it at the competition. Also we won 2nd place in that first ever Startup Weekend Competition 2013 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The Vision

Posted on December 29, 2019December 29, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Vision is a powerful thing.

A big and meaningful vision has a gravitational pull. It attracts people and can motivate them at a deeper level. In this blog, Why You Need to Create Visions (Not Just Goals) it states that Vision is your why. Vision gives something direction. It’s your desired future.

Although words like vision, goals, and purpose are commonly used these days, having a vision and following through it can work wonders. When you write down your vision in a notebook (I prefer notebooks over notepads), it becomes real, motivating and reinforcing.

What’s your vision?

Some good podcasts…

Posted on December 23, 2019December 23, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

I love podcasts.

There are thousands of podcasts out there covering every topic that one can imagine. Some of the good podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis are:

Akimbo – https://www.akimbo.link

The Tim Ferriss Show – https://tim.blog/podcast/

The Knowledge Project – https://fs.blog/the-knowledge-project/

If you’re looking for a wider selection of podcasts, here are more:

The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now

34 of the best podcasts in tech, culture, politics and more

The Best Podcasts Of The Year (So Far)

Holiday shopping

Posted on December 22, 2019December 22, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Shopping during the holidays can be exciting, challenging and even overwhelming. Most of the time we feel that there is not enough time or places to shop for the holidays. There’s definitely ways to shop smarter. Here are some blogs/articles that can guide you to shop smarter during the holidays.

7 SMART HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIPS

7 Smart Tips for Avoiding Holiday Shopping Madness!

How to keep your holiday spending on budget

Learning about money

Posted on December 21, 2019December 21, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

I was born in Nepal and grew up in the Nepalese culture. Growing up, most of our conversations about money focused on saving money and keeping some money aside for those “rainy” days. We didn’t talk much about investing, assets, credit, debt, credit cards etc. Schools and colleges didn’t teach us about money management either. In educational institutions, we learned about business, how to make money, how to get a good job among other things but learning about money itself was left to ourselves.

Looking back, I believe we should talk about money around the dinner table, in the classrooms and around the workplace. As an individual, learning about money should come before we get credit and debit cards. We should know how credit cards work, how to build an excellent credit score and why it’s important to build a credit history. Similarly, a credit course or even a non-credit course on personal financial management in schools and colleges will make students more smarter on managing their money. The sooner we learn about money, how to earn money, and manage money, the better for everyone.

Sean “Diddy” Combs w/ Mentor Ray Dalio

Posted on December 20, 2019March 26, 2020 by Nirmal Thapa

Sean Combs sits down with his mentor Ray Dalio to talk about Ray’s book Principles, how to find excellent people to join your team and much more.

Getting back to the human experience

Posted on December 19, 2019December 19, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

There’s a stat that I recently came across: Over 60 billion online messages are sent on digital platforms every day, With the volume and frequency we are communicating these days, whether this leading us to become closer or farther is a separate conversation.

The precious moments in today’s context are being present in the conversation (not being on the phone/laptop when someone is talking/around you), being empathetic (not just sharing emojis and icons on a smart device), being alive and actually living (not measuring our worth through likes/comments/other notifications). Times have changed- yet the most valuable and precious moments are shared and lived when we are just being humans.

Being thankful for…

Posted on November 28, 2019November 28, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

I’m thankful for my family, friends, and colleagues.

I’m thankful for the challenges, hardships, and struggles.

I’m thankful for the small and big victories, achievements, and feats.

I’m thankful for the people who push me to be better in any way.

I’m thankful for this beautiful life we all have.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Data privacy laws

Posted on November 19, 2019November 19, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

“Data is the new oil.” “Data is not the new oil.”

Whichever statement you agree with related to data, most of us can definitely agree that data is important. Data is the engine that AI runs on. As more data gets generated through smart devices like never before, companies are working aggressively to profit from this “Big Data”, and cities/governments need to proactively monitor, facilitate, and come up with policies and laws for proper data usage.

For example: The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a new data privacy law that applies to certain businesses which collect personal information from California residents. The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2020. This is an important step taken by the state of California and it won’t be surprising that other states follow suit.

First impressions

Posted on November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

First impressions are very powerful. We always remember those first times when we experience something. For a new employee joining an organization, their first experiences with the people they meet, tasks that are given, the tone they are communicated with, everything matters.

Focus on the employees’ first impressions when they do get hired for the job.

Not an underdog story

Posted on October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

What’s it feel like to win your first championship?

Listen to Kyle Lowry talk about his team, Toronto Raptors winning its first championship. It’s insightful, introspective and inspiring.

re:Work

Posted on September 29, 2019September 29, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

re:Work is a collection of practices, research, and ideas from Google and others to help you put people first. re:Work is organized around ways you can make an impact in your workplace.

I love this part “Learning & Development – Empower your employees to grow and develop by making learning part of everyone’s job.” I’ll be sharing what I learned from re:Work in the coming days.

Some life advice…

Posted on September 23, 2019September 23, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Life is beautiful.

I believe the beauty of life is its journey. Each individual in the world goes through life in a different way. The amazing part is that as humans we can share experiences and memories through emotions. There’s no one particular roadmap to life’s journey. However, we can learn from our collective experiences and make the most of the life that we have right now.

Here’s some simple yet profound perspectives 25 Things You Must Know To Get Through Your 20s and 15 Things Everyone Should Avoid In Their 30s from Lifehack.

Managing vehicle traffic in Nepal

Posted on September 22, 2019September 22, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Kathmandu faces an acute traffic congestion problem. News of traffic congestion worsening are not rare. The population density is increasing, more vehicles are being added on the road, construction happening almost everywhere etc. We can’t just wait for Dashain holidays to be able to drive comfortably in our capital when most people go to their homes to celebrate the festival. The problem needs solutions right now.

I started researching on how cities around the world are tackling traffic. A good overview can be found on World Economic Forum’s Seven ways cities around the world are tackling traffic. From electronic road pricing, electronic journey planner to integrative public transport model and active traffic management approach, big cities around the world are managing traffic and creating ways to increase their revenue while providing a better quality of life for their citizens/visitors.

Nepal government, concerned government and city agencies, private sector and all other stakeholders should proactively start working on solutions to improve traffic management in our capital. Better late than never.

the long game

Posted on September 9, 2019September 9, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Playing the long game:

The first 1,000 are the most difficult

1,000 True Fans

How to Build a High-Traffic Blog Without Killing Yourself

The Surprising Power of The Long Game

Moments that make you

Posted on August 29, 2019August 29, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

One of the defining moments in our lives is when we get rejected: for a job that we really wanted, for a position that we really wanted or anything that we strived to get. There could be many reasons for why the rejection happened. However, we need to keep these moments in perspective, not let these moments define us completely, and become stronger.

Mentally strong people use the “rejection” situations as learning experiences. They become self reflective and assess what they could have done better next time. Instead of blaming others or even themselves, they acknowledge that “rejection” is just a part of life. Everyone faces rejection in one way or another. We all respond differently to rejections. Mentally strong people also don’t let the rejection define them entirely. Rejection does not mean someone is a complete failure or a complete loser. They become even more hungry, work towards improving themselves, and focus on what they can control. I personally try to laugh off “rejection” moments as much as I can and strive to get better next time.

Mastery by Robert Greene

Posted on August 28, 2019August 28, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Mastery by Robert Greene is on my book bucket list now.

A friend of mine found this book very useful and highly recommended it. I read several book reviews of Mastery on GoodReads and Amazon and most of the readers were raving about the book.

the money lessons

Posted on August 26, 2019August 26, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Becoming financially savvy will help any individual manage their personal and professional lives easily. The sooner you start becoming financially aware and responsible, the better prepared you will be for different stages of life.

Teaching kids and teens about good money habits early is key for their long term financial security and personal/professional success. Some things that I learned through an article about money and kids/young adults are:

For kids, money is a lot more visual. The best way to help them understand the concept of saving is to use a jar that lives in a visible place, so they can watch money being put away and spent at a later date.

Use a summer job not only as an opportunity to start the conversation about budgeting and finances but also about the responsibility of earning money and saving it.

Encourage them to ask questions when it comes to money and create a safe environment where they can come to you about it.

Source link: An age-by-age guide to teaching your kids about the value of money

Decision memos

Posted on August 21, 2019August 21, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

I love this productivity tip.

A Fast Company article cited how former President Barack Obama made decisions when he was in the White House. The article stated how the former president preferred written advice to spoken ones and how “decision memos” get delivered to his desk with three checkboxes at the bottom:

agree
disagree
let’s discuss

This simplicity allowed the decision maker to make decisions easily while understanding the context. The decision maker can then spend more time solving the problem than spending time trying to understand the problem.

Author: Nirmal Thapa