wisdom – Page 5

Will you have the audacity to wave ’em off?

Posted on November 2, 2022November 2, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks waved off his teammates to take the game winning shot in Toronto against the Toronto Raptors on February 14, 2012.

Why is this a big deal?

It’s a big deal because we witnessed an Asian man in the NBA have the confidence to say that I’ve got this and led his team to victory. We need to see more visible Asian role models in sports, media, colleges/universities and workplaces have the confidence to lead just like Jeremy did that night on February 14. These individuals have put in the work, earned it and now it’s time to take credit for it. It’s been long overdue.

I could think of few questions to start empowering the current and next generation of Asians to have the audacity to wave ’em off (said in positive sense) when the time comes.

Are we encouraging children to speak with confidence at home and at school?

What’s the mindset that the parents and culture are creating for their children?

Who are the kids’ current role models and why?

Are the children and youth able/given the opportunity to see more individuals that look like them in sports/media/colleges/universities and workplaces?

Are parents and mentors having meaningful conversations and discussions around documentaries such as 38 at the Garden?

I’d love to hear other thoughts and suggestions on how to empower the current and next generation of Asians.

Inspired to write this blog after reading Dave Lu’s The Audacity to Wave ‘Em Off and watching the documentary 38 at the Garden.

Sleep as your superpower

Posted on October 26, 2022October 26, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep Unlocking the power of Sleep and Dreams packs a lot of insightful research and content in the sleep domain.

The World Health Organization and the National Sleep Foundation both stipulate an average of eight hours of sleep per night for adults.

Listed in the book’s Appendix are Twelve Tips for Healthy Sleep which I found very useful.

For an overview, they are sticking to a sleep schedule, getting good exercise, avoiding caffeine and nicotine, avoiding alcoholic drinks before bed and large meals and beverages late at night, if possible avoiding medicines that delay or disrupt sleep, avoiding naps after 3pm, relaxing before bed, taking a hot bath before bed, maintaining a dark, cool and gadget free bedroom, having the right amount of sunlight exposure, and not staying in bed awake for too long.

Appendix Twelve Tips for Healthy Sleep is from Why We Sleep Unlocking the power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker.

Transitioning from an employee to an employer

Posted on October 10, 2022October 10, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Entrepreneurship can be a beautiful journey.

Many individuals enter the workforce and work for several years before striking out on their own. Some individuals go straight into entrepreneurship before working for anyone else. There are several questions/scenarios that an aspiring entrepreneur(s) considers when deciding to stay in the current job (if working) to going completely in on their business opportunity/venture.

Few of the questions that can come up during this transition phase are:

Is this the right time to quit the job and focus completely on the business opportunity/venture?

Do I really need to quit my job to work on this business opportunity? Can I do both at the same time if I prioritized my time better?

What is the minimum monthly revenue I should be earning from my business before leaving my job to do the venture full-time?

How will I manage my daily/monthly/yearly expenses before the business really takes off?

When will I realistically get my first customer?

At what point will I actually make more money from doing entrepreneurship than when I was working for someone else?

There’s no exact science or art in when the best time is to launch a business. People launch businesses at all different times/seasons/economic cycles etc. Companies have started in recessions, economic growth cycles, pre-Covid era, during Covid era, post-Covid era. Here are some numbers around Small-Business Statistics. Note that 4.3 million new business applications were filed in 2020.

more authentic, less perfect

Posted on October 1, 2022October 1, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

There’s been an idea or belief that has been with me for a while. It’s that for some reason, life has to be “perfect.” It could have started in childhood, school or just the culture I grew up in.

Not being able to achieve “perfection”, it created anxiety or stress for no reason. I could not define what a “perfect” life is or why I needed to live that way anyway.

Now I’m focusing towards living a more authentic life than a perfect one.

Is success really “self-made”?

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

We often see the below headline in the media (blogs, magazines, articles etc.) to describe an individual or founders’ success.

They were self-made billionaires. They were self-made entrepreneurs.

Then the rest of the media coverage goes something like this…

Person A’s company is now worth a billion dollars. Having started in her garage four years ago, Person A has disrupted the industry and won every industry award.

Person B had a dream to change the industry and with another co-founder, they developed a MVP over a weekend. Now their work has become an industry standard and they are pioneers in helping to move the industry forward.

Using the word “self-made” to describe individuals running successful organizations does not provide the full picture. We have fallen so much in love with the narrative of a solo entrepreneur or visionary who did it all. From having nothing at all to now running one of the biggest so and so company in the world. However, it’s rarely one individual who does everything and becomes successful. There is always a team who is helping to run the company and making sure everything is operating as smoothly as possible. That team could be a handful of individuals or a few hundred or thousand. Yet the credit or the media coverage usually goes to the founder(s) who took the risk, “sacrificed” almost everything, and made an impact.

Maybe it’s about time we find a different word to describe this type of success than calling them “self-made.”

What’s a word that celebrates the individual’s work plus highlights the contribution of the team?

the “perfect” work

Posted on August 30, 2022August 30, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Seth Godin’s blog today was Unbeatable vs Perfect. In it, he states that Google has killed more than 200 projects over the last few decades. They fail all the time. MORE THAN 200 PROJECTS!!!

Over the years, I knew Google discontinued a few products/services here and there but did not expect more than 200. Often we see a company, professional, or industry expert present an almost “flawless” or “perfect” product/service out in the world. We expect our work to be like theirs or close to it as possible. We forget that we are on our own journey to greatness. There is no need to compare, contrast, or feel deflated. What you can do from the work you see out there is to draw inspiration, motivation and keep going at your pace. There is “never” a perfect version of something and there is “always” room for improvement.

If Google waited for the “perfect” project/product/service to ship, we won’t be talking about them in 2022. They launched in 1998 and are still relevant to us more than ever before!

Also if I waited for the “perfect” blog to post, this post would be in my Drafts and you won’t be reading it at this moment. Thanks for reading my “not-so-perfect” blog.

Saved in my drafts

Posted on August 22, 2022August 22, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

How many thought-provoking and authentic stories end up just in the drafts section of your blog?

How many original ideas stay in your employees’ head instead of being shared with the team and the company?

How many times does an important question gets missed because the individual feels like she or he won’t be heard or acknowledged for having the courage to share?

What holds people back from sharing and publishing their work? Are they waiting for the “perfect” moment to share the blog or idea or question? There’s no one size fits all answer to these questions. Pondering upon these questions is in itself an important exercise and a good starting point. I do this often when I compose a blog and then save it as a draft. On my blog, there are way more drafts saved than published. I save them so I can go back and add more content to the blog later, or the blog idea just came in my head and want to note it down or most times I tend to overanalyze on the blog’s quality and make a decision not to publish it yet. I am working towards publishing more blogs than just saving them as drafts.

You’ll be the co-captain of the varsity team!

Posted on August 16, 2022August 16, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

That’s what my high school basketball coach told me after having joined the team just a few weeks ago. Basketball was still a new sport to me. I had not played much basketball growing up but fell in love with the sport instantly.

My coach knew my grades and wanted to set an example to the other teammates that academic excellence was equally important as your on court basketball excellence. She saw the potential in me and made me the co-captain of the team. She made our star varsity player the other co-caption of the team. In practice, I was paired with the best basketball player we had on the team and he taught me better techniques in dribbling, shooting free throws, and taking jump shots. During our lunch break, I would tutor our best basketball player in math. My coach had orchestrated a genius plan to harness our individual strengths and use that to help members of the team. Since I was new to the game of basketball, she encouraged me to pick up handball to improve my hand to eye coordination. She was always looking out for me and I thank her so much!

After my high school varsity team experience, I played intramural basketball in college, pick up games, and even annual basketball tournaments. The basketball court is where I belong. In a way, playing basketball is a language for me that enables me to connect with individuals from all walks of life, from various corners of the world, and feel a sense of belonging. My high school basketball coach helped me find a place where I felt a sense of belonging.

What will your Ted Talk be about?

Posted on August 1, 2022August 1, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Imagine receiving an invitation to give a Ted Talk. What will your Ted Talk be about?

Each of us have unique experiences in the world and these experiences shape our perspectives, thoughts, and behaviors. Each of us has an authentic story and it deserves to be heard. There are many platforms out there to share your story and Ted is one of them.

In your Ted Talk, what will you focus on? what stories will you share? what experiences have shaped who you are today? If you had only 15 minutes stage time, how will you use that time effectively? What is your gift to the world?

Handling dissatisfying situations

Posted on June 15, 2022June 15, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

In Albert Hirschman’s book “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States” he mentions that there are four different options for handling a dissatisfying situation.

Decades of research show that you have a choice between exit, voice, persistence, and neglect. Exit means removing yourself from the situation altogether. Voice involves actively trying to improve the situation. Persistence is gritting your teeth and bearing it. Neglect entails staying in the current situation but reducing your effort.

How do you respond to dissatisfying situations?

Text reference: Originals How non-conformists move the world by Adam Grant

Who’s the most valuable member of the company?

Posted on May 24, 2022May 24, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Since it was the founder/co-founders’ idea that led to the company’s start, is she/he/them the Most Valuable Member (MVM)?

Sales team brings in clients and revenue. Are they more valuable then?

How about the technology team that made the software which the sales team sold?

And the human resource team who found and hired the talent with the right attitude, education, and skillsets?

Let’s acknowledge the Training team who help employees to keep their skills and knowledge up to date as per company’s needs.

Getting the software in front of potential customers at the right place and time, isn’t the Marketing team deserving of applause and attention?

Client services team is communicating with the client and making sure they have an amazing experience. Don’t they receive credit on what they do to make the customers happy?

Rooting for Jonathan

Posted on May 20, 2022May 20, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly, loved it so much that he went against its own flock to reach for the sky.

Yet we find fewer Jonathans soaring in the skies above because society wants conformity, has its beliefs and expectations. Many buddingJonathans face the harsh reality soon as they start going to school, around their neighborhood, and even at their homes. In lieu of protecting the ones whom we care about, we put our own insecurities and biases onto them and increase their self doubt and hold their independence. Rather than giving them freedom and choice to fly, we ground them onto the reality of the situation and make them have realistic expectations.

To groom the next Jonathan, realize first that each of us are unique and talented in our own ways. At times, its best to just let individuals to follow their intuition, learn from their experiences, and let them achieve their authentic greatness.

The creative narrative

Posted on May 15, 2022May 15, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

“She is so creative.”

“He is really creative.”

“That’s the creative team.”

Creativity is hard to define. Each one of us is creative – that creativity can be seen at our homes, workplaces, the hobbies we have, the activities we do, and it can be anywhere and everywhere.

What type of environment helps in facilitating creativity could be a more interesting question to ask. In my experience, the initial moments of feedback given to an individual who is exploring her or his creativity is critical. In those initial moments, the words and behavior (feedback/response) absorbed by the individual will shape how he or she sees creativity and the world around them. These earlier experiences can form a narrative and a fixed or growth mindset can be set towards creativity which can have a profound effect in the individual’s ensuing years. Creativity is a muscle and it gets better through exercises and engagements.

All of us are creative in our own unique ways. Change the narrative, change the outcome!

Curiosity is its own reason

Posted on April 29, 2022April 29, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Albert Einstein once said “Don’t think about why you question, simply don’t stop questioning. Don’t worry about what you can’t answer, and don’t try to explain what you can’t know. Curiosity is its own reason. Aren’t you in awe when you contemplate the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure behind reality? And this is the miracle of the human mind-to use its constructions, concepts, and formulas as tools to explain what man sees, feels and touches. Try to comprehend a little more each day. Have holy curiosity.”

Quote as mentioned in Mastery by Robert Greene

Your Authentic Greatness

Posted on April 20, 2022April 20, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Each individual has internal superpowers. These superpowers are unique and developed through our personal experiences, environment, and evolution. Storytelling is one of our authentic superpowers.

Each individual can define “success” in their own terms and go towards reaching their authentic greatness.

If each of us realize and tap into our internal superpowers, live our authentic greatness, then collectively we will create a better and evolved world.

Then what else do you see, Arjuna?

Posted on March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

“What do you see?” I see the eye of the bird.

“Do you see the tree?” No.

“Do you see the branch?” No.

“Do you see the bird?” No.

“Then what else do you see, Arjuna?” Nothing, I see only the round black eye of the bird.

Excerpt from The Mahabharata – A conversation between Arjuna and Dronacharya

Being an apprentice

Posted on March 23, 2022March 23, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Every human activity, endeavor, or career path involves the mastering of skills. – Robert Greene in “Mastery”

Robert Greene – Mastery

In his book Mastery, Robert Greene elaborates on the Apprenticeship phase involving three essential steps in the apprenticeship, each one overlapping the other. The three steps are: Deep Observation (The Passive Mode), Skills Acquisition (The Practice Mode), and Experimentation (The Active Mode). He states that within Skills Acquisition (The Practice Mode), in acquiring any kind of skill, there exists a natural learning process that coincides with the functioning of our brains known as tacit knowledge – a feeling for what you are doing that is hard to put into words but easy to demonstrate in action. He elaborates on how the apprenticeship system came about in the Middle Ages. “As business expanded in the Middle Ages, Masters of various craft needed more help and also wanted to build up skills in their workers. Thus the apprenticeship system developed in which young people from approximately the ages of twelve to seventeen would enter work in a shop, signing a contract that would commit them for the term of seven years. At the end of seven years, apprentices would have to pass a master test, or produce a master work, to prove their level of skill. Once the apprentices’ pass, they were elevated to the rank of journeymen and could travel wherever there was work, practicing the craft. “

Apprentice comes from the Latin word prehendere, meaning to grasp with the hand. “Apprentices learned the trade by watching Masters and imitating them very closely and learning through a lot of endless repetition and hands-on work with very little verbal instruction. Since resources such as textiles, wood, and metals were expensive and could not be wasted on practice runs, apprentices would spend most of their time working directly on those materials used for the final product. If the time was summed up for which the apprentices ended up working directly on materials in those years, it would amount to more than 10,000 hours, enough to establish exceptional skill level at a craft.”

Text derived from Mastery by Robert Greene.

Image source: Goodreads

Your company’s “Chief Question-Asker”

Posted on March 11, 2022March 11, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

“The most important thing business leaders must do today is to be the “chief question-asker” for their organization” says Dev Patnaik of Jump Associates.

Patnaik says that “the first thing most leaders need to realize is, they’re really bad at asking questions. The business executives rose up through the corporate ranks because “they were good at giving answers. But it means they’ve had little experience at formulating questions.” Without the company leadership setting the tone and culture to the rest of the organization that asking questions are important and critical to the business growth, it’s no surprise that the employees are not asking any or enough questions. If the employees who understand the company’s products/services are not asking any or enough questions to the customers/end users for feedback, or asking questions to explore new products/services in the market, the company will become stagnant and the competition will take over.

Adam Bryant, The New York Times Corner Office Column writer says that “the best leaders understand that asking open, exploratory questions can help them figure out what’s coming and where new opportunities lie, so that they can lead their company in new directions.” Leaders have to show vulnerability and humility to ask questions which is more important than upholding the persona of the leader who must “be all-knowing, decisive, and in possession of infallible gut instincts, all of which leaves little room for questioning.”

Are you the company’s “Chief Question-Asker”?

Quotes are from “A More Beautiful Question” by Warren Berger

What’s your dominant question?

Posted on February 12, 2022February 12, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

Jim Kwik, author of Limitless says a dominant question is the thing we keep asking ourselves, over and over throughout our day. It’s what drives our decisions in the moment and focuses our obsessions when we’re alone. He says the dominant question feels permanent but it is not.

“The questions you ask yourself will shape your life.” – Jim Kwik

In Entrepreneur magazine (June 2021), Jim shares his experience working with the actor Will Smith. They realized that Will’s dominant question is “How do I make this moment magical?” Jim recalls “One night, he was with Will Smith and his family on a movie set and it was 2am and everyone was freezing. He starts making hot chocolate for everybody, even though there’s a crew there that does that for them. He starts bringing us blankets. He starts cracking jokes. He starts telling stories. And I realized. He’s living his dominant question.”