“Think big”, an oft used phrase.
Think big, one should definitely do provided the thinking isn’t beyond means and methods.
And for small ventures, “think big, act small” is more ideal. This part, you and I know already. Many books and articles have been written.
“Think big, act small!”.
We read. We listen. We nod in consent.
Yet, when it comes to doing, we forget!
I have started running recently.
It’s been 3 weeks now and makes me feel good.
In the last 2 weeks, I used to do 10 laps in the ground near my home in about 28 minutes usually, a distance of around 4.6Kms.
Yesterday, since I entered the 3rd week, I thought I will push myself a bit more. So I tried to run just a wee bit faster.
To my surprise, it took me longer than my usual sub-28 minutes.
It took 30 minutes. I had slowed down during the latter part a bit.
That made me think.
It is especially important that I keep these things in mind given my current situation. Gave up my job, too many experiments, lot of ideas, lack of execution knowledge, what-next situation, etc.
It’s been 3 months since I quit my job.
And I can relate to a quote by Derek Sivers I read recently.
“Most people over-estimate what they can do in one year, and under-estimate what they can do in 10 years.”
To start with, I guess I had too many options to choose from and hence, had been facing a problem of plenty. Naturally, that meant dissipated attention.
Deciding what to do next is not easy and I have been behaving like a flip-flop. Here, here and here.. I have had different opinion. Initially, I thought I would do something related to my hobbies. Then, after some deliberation, decided against it and thought my interest in personal finance and analytics (my regular job) were worthier things to work on. If not my own startup on Analytics, perhaps a job in a startup, I felt.
It’s been a while since I blogged.
After quitting from work on Mar 11, things have been very slow. I tried to accomplish too many things and naturally ended up not doing much. Here’s a quick update on things.
Travel:
The only travel I did in this period was a quick trip with wifey to Goa and a visit to my in-laws place, Shimoga.
The plans to travel to Andaman didn’t materialize.
Tomorrow, hopefully if my waitlisted ticket gets confirmed, I will be travelling by train to Sikkim (New Jalpaiguri and then by bus). I have plans to visit Varanasi too, if time permits.
Start-up plans:
The start-up ideas haven’t materialized yet and am finding it hard to decide as to what to pursue. Unlike many people who quit with a particular reason to pursue, I had quit without any reason, but with just an idea to do something new in life. I guess the process of figuring things out could take much longer than I had anticipated. And yes, by far, I had under estimated how soon I would set things rolling.
Source: Picked from an old email. Real source unknown.
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering Coffee to his guests, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: ‘If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other’s cups.
Today is my last day at Ness.
I enjoyed my stay of over 3.5 years here! I do believe Ness is a pretty good place to work at. Much better than the biggies – Infy’s, Wipro’s, TCS’s, IBM’s of the world.
In a matter of hours, will add to the pool that is confused if they are unemployed or self-employed!
Why do this?
A lengthy answer if you have a bit of time to waste, read about it here.
Where am I headed?
No clue yet! There are a few initial thoughts like I had mentioned in my earlier post.. but too early to discuss them.
Am I scared?
Absolutely yes! I do sometimes feel like being in a circular room trying to figure out a corner! At the same time, if I figure out that there is no corner, I wouldn’t mind dropping the search and returning back to where it all began… another job!
For how long will you look/try before you give up and return?
Haven’t really given that a thought. Perhaps a year. Or 6 months. Or if there is a drop in my net worth. Or if I figure out that there is no corner in the circular room. Actually, no clue!
Have the last 2 months been of any use?
Absolutely! These 2 months have been so worth it that I now believe this could be one of the best decisions of my life even if it is not successful.
That said, not having an offer and having to figure things out is so different from doing the same sitting on a nice job. Like Warren Buffett once said, it’s as different as reading about s** and actually doing it!
**Away until Apr 1**
Finally,… will be away from the blog and social media until at least Apr 1. I have been contributing too much noise to an already cluttered world. You guys are better off without my self-indulgent updates!
So, don’t bother checking for updates for a month or so!
Four more days before I add to the unemployed pool.
The last 3 weeks have been very good.
I’ve been spending time on figuring things out and am pretty pleased with what I’ve figured out. Very importantly, was able to realize that certain things weren’t for me. Also, been able to figure out few things that I certainly would want in life.
I would say, the map is almost 3/4th done. There are missing links, those can be figured out, by trial and error.
A few key updates
Figuring out a startup idea is like finding a life partner.
If one is extremely lucky, one will come across something and intuitively figure out that its for him/her. I’ve been lucky with finding a life partner that way. I am still hunting for the same luck for my startup idea.
Unlike many others I have spoken to, who chose to start something after having atleast a basic plan, I had done the opposite. I had no plan. I simply, badly wanted to give a shot at my own stuff. Where the headiness came from, I do not know.
Now that the initial euphoria of letting the world know that I would be doing something *cool* on my own is gone, things are a bit different.
Crossroads
“You have a kid. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“What about the risks?”
“You don’t have a proper plan!”
Everyone’s been asking me.
Wish you all a fantastic 2011!
May all your dreams come true! May the travel gods smile upon you! May your bikes take you places! May your cameras click wonderful images! May you live the life you always wanted to! May there be more leaves when you want to travel! 🙂
May your life be wonderful!!!
2010 through the rear-view mirror:
2010 to me was fantastic in terms of travel and photography!! Initially, I thought I would do a full fledged year review, but thought year reviews are too personal and hence wanted to save you the trouble of reading through yet another boring review.
So, I thought I will just list a few memorable moments of 2010.
