warikoo Wanderings

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IF YOU ARE SO SMART, WHY AREN'T YOU HAPPY?

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Naval Ravikant wrote this on Twitter - "If you are so smart, why aren't you happy?"
And I believe it to be true.
I believe that happiness is a decision, as opposed to a feeling.
Once we decide to be happy, is when we can truly be happy.
If we however leave happiness to be some emotion we will feel once life is great, it may continue to elude us.

And somehow, my lessons on happiness have not come from books, or motivational speeches or even internal reflections.
Most of my current understanding of happiness has come from - surprise surprise - music competitions! :))

Specifically, America's Got Talent.

I have a problem with Indian talent shows. They focus either on melodrama or cringe. So either you are shown the "andhi maa, bin bihyayi behen" side of the candidate or the fact they are such doofus that you can only laugh at them.

America's Got Talent also has that.
But their content team does an exceptional job of mini clips that come after the show and take over the internet, which stir emotions one would not expect from such shows.

One such mini clip surfaced 2 months back. I watched it a month ago.
It is the Golden Buzzer performance of a singer, who goes by the name Nightbirde.
Her real name is Jane Marczewski.
And she is suffering from cancer.
Not yet fully recovered.
She has a 2% chance of survival.
But, according to her "2% is still better than zero!"

The clip was not about her back story, about her crying family, about her miserable life.
It was just centered on her performance.
She sang a stunning song - "It's OK" - through which she casually shared what she might be going through in her life.
And that was it.
That was enough to move people.
Because her performance was our own version of the movie Anand.
A character, facing death and yet smiling at the life that's left.

And then Jane, towards the end, said a line, that to me sums up pretty much everything that I have come to realize about life:

"You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore, before you decide to be happy."

​Watch the video - it will hopefully give you the courage to be happy, despite all that you are going through.

True to my cold emailing beliefs, I sent her an IG DM (and got a reply!) - sharing it here to give you all hope.

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GETTING SIX PACK ABS AT 33

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On this week's podcast episode I share my journey from a fat overweight 32 year old, to getting six pack abs at the age of 33!
Why would I do that?
And what did I learn from it?

Give it a listen on Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, JioSaavn or Gaana.

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BOOK I AM READING THIS WEEK

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I took a break this week from reading. We are in the middle of a tennis tournament (we exited from it yesterday, in the semi finals, and I am so bummed!) which was happening in the mornings and I had to change my morning routine for it.

Which reminds me, have I shared my morning routine with you before?

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QUOTES TO SHARE

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Don't leave inspiration to chance.
​(Share on Twitter)​

If you are miserable in your current state and waiting for a safety net before you quit, then you are going to continue being miserable.
​(Share on Twitter)​

We will never be able to answer "what if?"
We will only regret it!
​(Share on Twitter)​

People are not data points on an excel sheet.
​(Share on Twitter)​

If you are happy with who you are in life, nothing else matters.
If you are not, nothing else will matter!
​(Share on Twitter)​

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​RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION

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Last week I asked you all:

Please tell me which part of this newsletter appeals to you the most, and why?

1. The headline story
2. Podcast episode
3. Book I am reading
4. Quotes
5. Last week's responses
6. This week's question

It is so amazing to see the responses:

Here are my observations:

1. Notice how "book I am reading" gains prominence with age. Younger folks are like - "later in life, bro!"
2. Notice how as you age, you stop giving two damn about what others think (lol!). So declining interest in both "this week's questions" and "responses from last week's questions"
3. Headline story (because it is random musings) I think lands well for most, except those below 18, who most likely are like "what trip is this uncle on?"
4. Podcasts are universally ignored - haha - and I really feel that is the best expression of mine because it is my voice with all my emotions.

So so interesting :)

PS: So many of you wrote in to say that my ending kasams are what you like the most. FML!

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

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If all of the following courses were for 3 hours each (pre-recorded) plus 1 hour live Q&A every month (for 6 months), how much would you pay for each of these courses?

1. How to manage your personal finances?
2. How to manage your career?
3. How to manage your relationships?
4. How to manage your time?
5. How to lead a mentally and physically healthy life?

​Respond by clicking here (the form is anonymous)​

Of course, you can always write to me directly, by simply replying to this email.
I may not be able to reply to all of your emails, but I do read them all.
I READ ALL MY EMAILS (FD ki doobti ahmiyat ki kasam!)

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​Read all previous editions of the newsletter here.​

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