Hello there!
Welcome to the 38th Edition of ‘The Lighthouse’!
May you find yourself.
May you be free.
May you be.
I wish this upon you for 2021.
Here’s Wishing You All A Happy 2021!
Thanks for all the love and support that you’ve given me in 2020! I couldn’t have asked for anything more than this.
I consider myself incredibly lucky. I’ve witnessed the turn of a year, a decade, a century, and a millennium in 2001. Now I get to see 2021 - the likes of which will only repeat in 2122. That’s a century away! To all of you who have witnessed this, you’re fortunate too.
2020 was a grinder for humanity; like intense pressure and temperature that transforms a piece of coal into a diamond. 2021 is then, a chance for us to shine.
Let’s dig in!
Decide.
Photo by Oliver Roos on Unsplash
Every moment of your life - you split yourself into three parts - the you that was, the you that is, and the you that will be. The you that was - held onto beliefs most of which don't matter now - made decisions that have led to the you that is. The you that is, - holds on to ideas that seem to matter the most at the moment - is making decisions for the future you.
When you have a great outcome, you're amazed at your decision-making process. When you have a bad result, you're shocked at your decision-making process. The past you relied on all the information that was available to make a decision. The present you is also depending on everything that you will ever know in the present moment to make a decision.
Making decisions is a part of being human. Every moment presents us with choices, and we have to choose. Not choosing any of the available options is also a choice. "Why did I take that decision? Why didn't I take Option B? It was the worst mistake of my life." It is pointless if you're still cursing yourself over something that you did or did not decide on in the past. Apart from drowning in misery, it isn't doing you an iota of benefit.
When you made the decision, you made it with all the available information you had with you. You thought about every option you could ever think of and made that decision. So when you have done your best after sweating it out, why blame yourself now?
Often, when you look back at your past self, you feel embarrassed or sometimes even foolish. But when you've realised that the old you appears a little silly, why bother too much about him? The old you has a place in your life - the past. Let him stay there.
It is easy to get caught in this trap. Remind yourself - "It was the best way out, or rather, the only way out at that time."
Here’s some interesting stuff I came across last week:
Tobi Lutke on the Observer Effect with Sriram Krishnan: “On that note, why are technical founders overperforming the market right now? I don't actually think it's because they're technical. I think it's because of a very specific childhood experience that a lot of the people running technology companies have had. Most of us grew up in a world which we knew would change significantly because it was really badly designed given what we knew about the potential coming soon. And this potential coming soon was the march of computers and digitalization. I think that a lot of us, including myself, have leveraged this insight into significant enterprise value. I think this is the reason why we started these companies, but it’s more of a side effect. I think that the reason a lot of us did this is because we spent our teens and our formative years in this state of significant discontent regarding the quality of the things around us.”
Earnestness by Paul Graham: “It's a commonplace now that the kids who were nerds in high school become the cool kids' bosses later on. But people misunderstand why this happens. It's not just because the nerds are smarter, but also because they're more earnest. When the problems get harder than the fake ones you're given in high school, caring about them starts to matter…Along with "nerd," another word that tends to be associated with earnestness is "naive." The earnest often seem naive. It's not just that they don't have the motives other people have. They often don't fully grasp that such motives exist. Or they may know intellectually that they do, but because they don't feel them, they forget about them.”
You’re Only As Good As Your Worst Day by FarnamStreet Blog: “You’re only as good as your worst day. Not because what you do the rest of the time doesn’t matter. Not because you should be expected to be perfect under immense stress or to behave according to plan when everything goes awry. But because what you do on your worst day is impossible to fake. It’s honest signalling. There’s little time for posturing or stalling. On your worst day, you reveal whether you’ve been planning for the possibility of disaster or just coasting along enjoying the good times.”
Here’s a thought I’m ruminating on:
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki
Till next weekend,
Take care and cheers!
Prashanth
If you would love to discuss anything I’ve written about and shared, please reach out to me by replying to this email or sending a direct message on Twitter 🐦 @iam__prashanth. The tribe there is close to 2000 members and continues to grow.
If you’re reading this because someone shared this newsletter with you or you clicked a link somewhere, welcome! Please subscribe to receive future updates. Thanks for the love!