Another interesting story about my first boss - after a few years as a manager, he decided to pursue his masters in the UK. He sold his nice comfortable house, his big cars, let his maids go - and took his family with him (his wife and 3 kids). He was on full scholarship but given pounds currency was a few times more, he took extra jobs to survive - cleaning toilets every morning from 3am at his university. But he has such a great spirit that he would publish comic strips of a “floor engineer” making light-hearted jokes of his experiences mopping the floor and washing toilets everyday. He finished his masters with high qualifications, and IEEE recognised his accomplishments and awarded him a full scholarship to do his PhD. He was among the10 selected globally. He went on to finish his PhD and next thing you know, the US hunted him down, got him a special O visa - I think it's called an “extraordinary visa” which is super hard to get. After a few years of hardship, today his family is quite settled and he has a good life going for him. What a journey to look back to.

Was catching up with my former bosses today - I’m blessed to have had great bosses - though both were different. My first boss was a hands-on kind, and big on self development - perfect for a starter team. We constantly pushed ourselves to be better. This team was fun, I was the birthday prankster and we even jammed together (I did the drums). We were without a doubt the most popular team of 10 in a building of 3000 people. My second boss was different - he was a hands-off kinda boss but a safety net if you fall. He gave that freedom and his trust with it. This was perfect as I was expediting my growth stage in my career. I rarely entered the office but sealed deals bigger than his sales team that he decided to create another role for me. I hated sales and I would tell customers as it is and somehow they trusted me. I remember only setting meetings with my boss every time his favorite team Manchester United wins - boy he will be in the happiest mood lol. Over time I kept in touch with both of them but they have both left the country - one to the US and one to Singapore. They are both incredibly polite and kind and I have never stopped short at learning from them even till today. It’s nice and nostalgic catching up with people who leave good memories in your life

Good luck, America

In today's episode of what the cat brought home. Maybe its some kinda baby water dragon or monitor lizard i don't know. Found it in my kitchen. It was still alive so I left it back at a lake nearby. Amazing how quickly they change colours based on the surrounding, but man if curiosity does not kill the cat, its likely gonna kill me. Luckily the dog was in the room sleeping.

The energy is real, but the soul is tired

Wolfgang Mozart joined the Colloredo’s court in 1772 as a concertmaster but was so miserable because his creative inclinations did not go hand in hand with the traditional ask of the Archbishop so he parted ways and decided to be autonomous for his creativity to thrive, and thrive he did. But he was poor for most parts of his life because he could not bridge with the audience that loved him easily. Prince wanted to breakaway from his contract with his longtime label, Warner Bros so he renamed himself to an unpronounced name. Chance the Rapper never signed a record label when he got famous. It's not a question on whether value for value and self autonomy in the creator economy works - artists have wanted this for centuries. The entire Punk era proved the workability of the system. It's about reaching out to passionate artists who want to express themselves in their own way - and they have a certain genre of audience that they can attract. These are people who believe in self expression to the core and do not want to be tied down to what mainstream labels demand of them. And these are the people who will create a cultural revolution in how the creator economy thrives. Eventually mainstream influencers who are naysayers now will join in and rock the boat. It’s just how it is

Been listening to acoustic covers this week - these guys are so good. This is my current playlist but I love all their covers - they do not disappoint

Never lower your standards to fit in

Curiosity is the strongest countermeasure against bias

Find joy in the little things. It gets too dark, too quickly otherwise

The most remarkable innovations often occur at the intersection of humanity, technology, and creativity.

Was catching up on some tv shows over the weekend, Lincoln Lawyer was good but damn the cars! One of the best things about America are the classic cars. You can’t beat that. I drove a red convertible mustang for a while when I lived there - riding that across the golden gate felt so surreal . I love fast cars but could never be a racer. Once I followed someone I was dating for a drag race and one of the drivers asked if I would like to sit in the passenger seat for a spin and i said why not. Oh man - my heart just flew out of my body with those corner. I think I held my breath all throughout. Never again. Watching Gotham garage next. Gotta love the pimping up of classics. I love the synergy of the team and how they problem solve openly - business direction, creativity, sales deals. If you are overwhelmed with the US elections, catch up on some classic cars. It might remind you of the little things that you love about America again.

keep the faith

Wrapping up my day with this beautiful book - Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Album. Sometimes we get so caught up with “what’s happening to us” that we forget to see this precious life we have for what it is. Morrie says “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” I’ve read this book many times and while each time it reads differently, this passage has always been my favorite. Some other lines I love : Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. If you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too—even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling. Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others Don’t assume that it’s too late to get involved. The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it. (In a conversation with a TV host) “Morrie,” Koppel said, “that was seventy years ago your mother died. The pain still goes on?” “You bet,” Morrie whispered. Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently . How can you ever be prepared to die? “Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, ‘Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?’ Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. Even I don’t know what ‘spiritual development’ really means. But I do know we’re deficient in some way. We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted. This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there’s someone who is watching out for them. It’s what I missed so much when my mother died—what I call your ‘spiritual security’—knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame. If you want the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, then you should have children. Learn to detach. detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you are able to leave it. You have to find what’s good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. We’ve got a form of brainwashing going on in our country,” Morrie sighed. “Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone. When Morrie was with you, he was really with you. He looked you straight in the eye, and he listened as if you were the only person in the world. I believe in being fully present there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don’t respect the other person, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don’t know how to compromise, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can’t talk openly about what goes on between you, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don’t have a common set of values in life, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike. “And the biggest one of those values, Mitch?” “Your belief in the importance of your marriage.” People are only mean when they’re threatened and that’s what our culture does. The big things— how we think, what we value—those you must choose yourself. You can’t let anyone—or any society—determine those for you. Every society has its own problems. The way to do it, I think, isn’t to run away. You have to work at creating your own culture. Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you. Don’t let go too soon, but don’t hang on too long. It’s not just other people we need to forgive, We also need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn’t do. All the things we should have done. You can’t get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened. “If we know, in the end, that we can ultimately have that peace with dying, then we can finally do the really hard thing.” Which is? “Make peace with living.” Death ends a life, not a relationship.

What musical instruments do you’ll play ? Anyone picking a new instrument this year ?

This week’s feel good attempt for my dog involves coconut oil. Because kidney disease causes extreme dry skin, I dab his stomach and private area with coconut oil-soaked- cotton balls and it works like a charm. He recently started developing gum issues - so I tried giving him some edible ones to drink and he licked it off my palms. He has been doing this every night this week, abt 3 teaspoons, and his gums are much better. He had some throat irritation and that’s gone. Every night I hear his stomach churning and that’s stopped too in recent days. This boy is feeling much much better, still weak from lack of red blood cells which is also a side effect of kidney problems to which he takes folic acid, but as of now he is a happy boy, out sunning his balls and just chilling! Keep those kidneys well. One too many problems when they get messed up!