Spotlight

In this series, we’re discussing twenty great ideas to make 2020 a truly life-changing year.

We covered some ground with six ideas in the previous post — the importance of deep work, the power of keeping a journal, the equation of risk and luck, the key to following your passion, poking the box, and developing a contrarian mindset.

Allow me to kindle a firework in your head with a few more mental constructs. My hope is that, if learned and re-learned, these ideas will make 2020 a transformational milestone in your life.

[Read more…] about Spotlight: 20 Ideas to Make 2020 a Life Changing Year – Part 2

On December 31st, as I was scrolling through the new year’s wishes, a particular message caught my eye. It was from my favourite writer Derek Sivers. He has a way of adding jolting perspectives to mundane things. He wrote —

A new day begins when I wake up, not at midnight. Midnight means nothing to me. It’s not a turning point. Nothing changes at that moment. A new year begins when there’s a memorable change in my life. Not January 1st. Nothing changes on January 1st.

Your year really begins when you move to a new home, start school, quit a job, have a big breakup, have a baby, quit a bad habit, start a new project, or whatever else. Those are the real memorable turning points — where one day is very different than the day before. Those are the meaningful markers of time. Those are your real new years.

[Read more…] about Spotlight: 20 Ideas to Make 2020 a Life Changing Year – Part 1

Monty Hall problem has baffled the maths enthusiasts for decades. Mr. Monty Hall was associated with the popular game show called Let’s Make a Deal on American TV. Over his 30 years long career, Hall hosted nearly 5000 episodes of Let’s Make a Deal.

At the end of every episode, the contestants were offered to play a game called “Big Deal.” Here’s how it was structured.

A contestant was invited to stand with Monty Hall facing three big doors: Door no. 1, Door no. 2, and Door no. 3. Behind one of these three doors is a grand prize like a brand new car. The other two doors have something useless like a goat. Of course, Hall knew beforehand which door had the prize.
[Read more…] about Spotlight: Stay or Switch?

Randall Monroe has an incredible mind. Even if his name doesn’t ring a bell, I am sure you’ve seen his work. He’s the creator of XKCD comic strip. Monroe, a physicist, was working for NASA before he became a full time cartoonist.

Monroe had a significant fan following among nerds because of the XKCD but he shot into fame when his book The Things Explainer caught the attention of Bill Gates. Monroe’s genius is revealed in his book where he takes up the challenge to explain complicated things using a vocabulary of only one thousand simple words.
[Read more…] about Let Your Curiosity Take You Places

I am a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. According to me, it’s the greatest comic ever created. Sadly, Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, developed an interest in other creative pursuits and stopped making Calvin and Hobbes after 1995.

For the uninitiated, Calvin is a 6-year-old boy who is a little too smart for his age. But judging by his performance at school, one would think of him as a slow learner. However, Calvin’s genius is revealed when Watternson lets you peek into the little boy’s life outside the classroom. The kid may not know basic mathematical operations like addition or multiplication but he can outsmart any adult when it comes to imagination. And let me remind you what Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
[Read more…] about The Orangutan Theory