Akshat Shrivastava

My wife, Zayn and I are designing our life around taking vacations.

It sounds super fun, but a lot of prep goes into this:

[1] We are super asset light. Almost all of our work is done through a laptop & a phone. We don't carry much while travelling.

[2] We are homeschooling our son, Zayn.

[3] Both of us are trying to get fitter: so we now do 10-15mins HIIT & are now going to do 10K steps challenges for fitness.

This can be done from anywhere.

[4] We are non-fussy eaters. And, we try to eat basic food, as often as possible. Yes, we do go out to expensive places, every now and then.

[5] Financial preparation is an imp aspect of living a flexible life.

You don't need to earn millions, but have a fairly good estimate of how much you REALLY need to earn, save and invest.

The most important aspect of such a life is the philosophy with which you operate: we are minimalists and it works well for us.

Also, we are not glorifying this lifestyle. And we understand that there are pros and cons to living any type of life, including the one that we are trying to build.

The perk: we get to enjoy good weather and views like these :)

Some basic things about my personal investing/spending habits:-

1) Every winter I buy 3 hoodies; every summer I buy 6-7 basic T-shirts. Therefore, you see me repeat my clothes on Youtube videos.

2) My primary phone is Honor-X, which I purchased 3 years ago. However, I shoot my videos on i-phone-11.

I also own some expensive work gadgets: eg. MacBook.

3) I own an i-20 car, might upgrade to a slightly bigger car when Zayn grows up, so we can go on more road trips. But, it will not be a luxury car.

4) Whatever products/stocks I talk about on my videos, I invest my own money/my family's money in it. Therefore, I show you live investing.

5) My philosophy: create more experiences than accumulate things. This according to me is Curated Minimalism. Interestingly, this is the title of the book, I am writing.

I lived in Singapore for a few years.

Every time, I would board a metro, I would see literally 95% glued to their phones.

This was back in 2014.

Over the next few years, I saw the same thing happening in India as well.

Board a metro now-- and you would see almost 90-95% people glued to their phones.

People don't like to get bored.
Phone provides a constant stimulant.

But, boredom provides an opportunity to engage with your thoughts. And, reflect on the way you think.

Not getting bored, ever-- is one of the fastest ways to kill creative thinking.

Phone is an addiction.

You are losing years of your life, without even realising it.

After yesterday's budget, any sensible investor should ask:-

What's the guarantee that in the next 30-years, the long-term capital gains on equities won't be 30%?

All your retirement planning will fail.
And, all the excel calculation would look like a joke.

The only (somewhat protection) is: asset class diversification, international diversification.

Learning these skills are not 'optional' any more.
Going forward, I will cover: these topics on my Linkedin posts/YT videos.

If you tell people that you are a Minimalist...

- Why do you use an Air Conditioner? You can just use a fan.
- Why do use a MacBook? You can buy a 2MB RAM laptop.
- Why do you eat food? Why can't you just survive on air? 😂

Because that is not what minimalism means (at least to me).

I am not running after a bigger house or a bigger car. But, I would like to avoid unnecessary discomfort and save time, whenever I can.

The goal is: to consume (information, materialistic things etc) more mindfully.

And, that is my version of Curated Minimalism.

- An MBA, doesn't necessarily help you become an Entrepreneur.
- Studying a lot, doesn't necessarily help you get a great job.
- Going to a great college, doesn't necessarily set you up for life.

Life probably doesn't even follow any equation: eg. do X to get Y.
But, every little thing adds up and ends up shaping you.

[1] A slow life consists of:

- Getting up when you want.
- Working as much as you want.
- Taking 30 mins to finish your lunch.
- Brewing your own Coffee.
- Going to places where the weather is good.

Slow life is good life.

Everyone gets it!

[2] But, there is always an internal debate:

- Should I do more?
- Am I optimising my potential?
- Am I making the best use of the opportunities around.

[3] And, the world convinces me that the “slow life“ is probably bad:

- They say: move to XYZ location, work options are great.
- Earn a million by 30, it is super cool.
- Hustle or perish.

[4] May be we need a more practical rat race:

- Work hard upto a point
- Be efficient & skilled.
- And, get to enjoy a slow life for a significant period.

[5] But, it is tough, not because it demands efforts, but because it demands restraint:

- Knowing when is enough
- And, discovering your own meaning of life is something even the wisest philosophers have struggled with.

As I write my book on Curated Minimalism, I am dedicating a chapter on why living a slow life makes sense.

Spending 75 Lakhs on a degree seemed ridiculous.

In 2012: I was deciding to pursue my MBA. Any top MBA program in the world would cost anywhere between 60 Lakh-1.5 Cr back then.

The very thought of investing this money seemed ridiculous.
Why? because I had very little.

Even after asking money from parents, loan and everything: I would never be able to get 75 Lakhs. Banks would not even give me that much loan.

I knew there were scholarships. But, the chances of winning one was slim.
But I thought: let's get started. And, where this goes.

I took the leap: wrote GMAT twice -- the first time I scored a 720, the second time 770 (top 1%)

Networked for over 2 years with my intended schools.
Did everything possible I could.

The end:-
I got into 7 top schools.
1 offered a significant scholarship.
I attended the program. And, it changed my life.

Right from: working abroad, to expanding my networking, to building different ventures-- the network I built, helped out every step of the way.

If I go back to 2012: focused on 75 Lakhs? And, decided to quit. My life today would NOT have happened.

Point is: when you start chasing any goal, things from the starting line, always look risky. And, to an extent-- ridiculous.

But, you will never know: where the journey takes you, unless you START.

While as an Entrepreneur, I am comfortable working 16hrs/day for my businesses, I would not expect the same from my teammates.

I have 0 ambitions to build a unicorn. But, 100% intent of building happy work places.

If you cut out all the fluff, it boils down to one simple thing: money is a tool to live a happier life. Not an end in itself.

People who invested in Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) would lose at least 9-10% post budget.

The selling of SGB began roughly in 2015. Most of these bonds would start maturing now.

All of a sudden (in budget 2024), the Government reduced the import duty on Gold from 15% to 9% on the budget day. This increased the supply of gold. And, crashed the gold prices.

But, unlike SGB where people got locked in, If you had physical gold-- however, there was no obligation to hold it till maturity.

And some of you might have booked your profits earlier.

I was probably the only Finance guy who spoke against SGB. And, got a lot of heat. But, it is fine-- it doesn't change macroeconomics. My goal is to teach that.

There are 8 different types of rich people in the world:

[1] Money Rich= have a lot of money temporarily. Eg. winning a lottery.

[2] Wealth Rich = have multiple pieces of cash flows (income). Well diversified, sustainable.

[3] Time Rich= have a lot of free time.

[4] Health Rich= strong mental and physical health; high energy.

[5] Social (breadth of network) Rich= one-to-many networks. Eg. Social Media Stars. Many people know them.

[6] Depth of network Rich= old relationships, meaningful network, which has been cultivated overtime.

[7] Mindset Rich= very happy with intrinsic abundance; less impacted by external validations.

[8] Skill Rich= can use their skill to convert it into more free time, money, heath, social.

Aim for being overall rich.

Share this with someone, who needs to understand this rich mindset better.

At 30, I decided that I wanted to change my life.

I was always a 0 to 1 type of a person, who loved building new things. And, realised that I was a misfit in the corporate world. 

So the decision was simple: stay in it forever, just for the heck of money. Or, live life.

I would argue that many of us would reach this point, but would take a different direction than the one I took.

I too would had hard time taking a leap of faith. But, a few things helped in my case:

1. I had a strong pedigree- if things failed, I realised that I could go back (brands do matter!)
2. I had taught myself about money for years; saved, invested (planning helped) 
3. Most importantly, I had a strong family support (if I failed, my wife and parents would step in and support me)

While it is easy for me to take credit for everything and gloat about the path that I eventually took, it is needless to say that a person is a sum total of his/her environment.

Every single thing in life matters (your family, hard-work, luck and everything in between), don't let people tell you otherwise.

*****

So if you are working towards something: be it pursuing a degree, preparing for an exam or doing a job, try your best-- because everything adds up in the end.

Several of my friends are multi-millionaires. But, continue to overwork at the expense of their health & family.

They can leave their jobs any time they like.
But, they don't.

Taking a salary cut.
Or giving up a job to pursue a hobby.
Or taking a flexible job for better health.

Are all acceptable things we should do.
But, we don't.

We continue the grind.

Because:

As humans, we struggle to give up what we have built.
As humans, we fear the unknown.
As humans, we delay making difficult decisions.

Most of us are worried about our retirement.
Rather than how to live better today.

12 years ago, my salary was INR 10,000. I used to work with a non-profit organisation. And, loved my work.

But, I wanted to study abroad. And, there was no way I could afford that on my salary. So I started looking for more opportunities to earn.

[1] Since, I had a good GMAT score, I started teaching for the GMAT. I found my first clients by posting regularly on GMAT club.

[2] For close to 3 years, I took 0 weekends off. Every weekend, I made some additional money that would help me fund my MBA

[3] I had no intent of building a business. Or even knew how to build one.

I had a simple goal: to fund my MBA. And, Teaching helped me cover a part of it.

With time, my love for teaching evolved. And, I taught at top business schools, undergrad program and on YouTube as well.

Money helps, no doubt. But, my real wealth has always been that my students remember me.

Even till date, whenever I go to a beach or to a restaurant: I often get to meet my students, who learn from my YouTube or courses. Or would have worked with me on their Case Solving/GMAT/MBA prep.

Thanks to all of you, I have a reached a point in my career, where I can truly pursue my passion projects without worrying about money.

One such project for me is Finance for Kids. This is a 100% free initiative (and will remain so) for the end audiences.

Thanks to our partners TaxBuddy.com (and its Founder Sujit Bangar) for helping us run this mission.

We did our first event in Delhi, NCR. And, will soon expand to other cities.

In case you want to be invited for the next event, please fill the form in comments.

5 critical lessons we all learn at some stage in our life:

[1] We lose touch even with our best friends.
As life evolves, so does our friend circle.

[2] For most people:

- Early stage: Money > Time
- Some stage: Money = Time
- Later stage: Time >> Money

[3] You don't make friends in the corporate world.
You make connections. 99.99% people have an agenda.

[4] You are either a cost centre or a profit centre for the firm.
To grow in your career, up-skill and stay as a profit centre.

[5] Value actions, not opinions.

Almost everyone has an opinion on everything.
Because opinions are free.

Ask people to put their money/time/effort on things where their opinions are. Very few will follow through.

Honouring your word is a rare trait.

Your life will change:

- If you understand finance.
- If you don't understand finance.

Here are 3 simple things you need to know:

1) Rule of 15*15*15:

- If you invest 15K monthly.
- At 15% growth.
- For 15 years.

It becomes 1Cr.

2) 70% savings rule:

- If you are able to save 70%+ of your salary
- For 10 years
- And, do not undertake lifestyle inflation

Then, you can theoretically retire [that's the rule, I am not saying savings 70% is easy]

3) 4% withdrawal rule:

- For every INR 100 of savings, you could spend INR 4. And, your money would stay the same.
- Provided you can grow your wealth at least at 10%. And, this is not too difficult.
- Math: The inflation in India would be approx 6%, your money grows at 10%. So net you are making INR4 on INR 100 savings.

Need a simple rule to spend, this could be a goto rule.

If you truly wish to grow your wealth, you should learn how to invest.

To get started, do check out some of my free Smallcase list: https://lnkd.in/envmhA7e

5 simple finance rules that can change your life:-

[1] Should you buy X? [X=Car, iPhone etc]

- If you can't afford something twice, don't buy it once.

[2] When to invest in Stocks?

- You invest in the equity markets (stocks) if you don't need that money for at least 5 years.

The biggest wealth is created through compounding, not by trading stocks.

[3] How much money you need to retire?

- If you can save 70% or more of your salary for a period of 10 years, you can retire at that point.
- Provided, you are not inflating your lifestyle AND you are investing at market returns (in India around 12% returns).

[4] When will you be financially independent?

- When you learn to separate needs from wants.
- Live a frugal lifestyle (or make crazy high money!)
- Learn to invest AND invest!

Also avoid big ticket purchases which give poor returns.

For example, if you buy a crazy expensive house, which does not appreciate much in value, you will hurt your financial well-being.

[5] When can you say that you are RICH?

- When you are both MONEY RICH (have a decent amount of liquid money).

- And, TIME RICH (can spend time however you like)

If you have 10 EMIs on your head, guess what? you will theoretically own a lot of stuff.

But, technically that stuff will be owning you. Because you would have to continue to work to pay those EMIs.

******
I teach more about finance through my courses: https://wisdomhatch.com/

Top 1% earners in India make roughly 55 Lakhs/year.
While, top 10% earners in India make roughly 12 Lakhs/year.

This math applies across professions.

[1] If you work with top-tier Management Consulting firm (1%) you would make most money in Management Consulting.

[2] Banking, Marketing, Startups you name it. The difference between top 1% and top 10% would be huge.

[3] The same logic applies to investing as well.

If you simply do Index Investing, you could be in top 10% of investors (not kidding).

But, to be in top 1%, you need to buy undervalued things, show patience, build an investment philosophy, save commissions and whatnot. This requires efforts.

Is it worth the effort? Here is the math.

Let's assume that you'd invest for the next 30 years of your life (even if you are 55, this might apply to you)

- At 12% CAGR, NIFTY, you will turn 25K/monthly investment into 8.82Cr after 30 years.

- At 16% CAGR (this will most likely put you in top 1%), 25K/monthly for 30 years give you 22Cr.

Almost 2.5X your portfolio.

You can easily dismiss this math saying: it is all paper excel.

But, these calculations are important to understand where you should direct your effort.

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I'm building India's biggest investment community on Wisdom Hatch: https://lnkd.in/dDpRMS3J

Just because your boss treats you badly, does not mean you should do the same.

The world is harsh.
We are all going through our own battles.
If you are someone's boss: try to be kind.

What you can change is: how you behave, if you are in a position of power.

In a ruthless world: being compassionate is really tough.
But, your compassion can save someone.
And, people really need this today.

I have lost a lot of money in my life:

(1) I did not learn about equity investing:

- As a result, I kept on investing in Mutual Funds via Mutual Fund agents. 
- Every time, I invested: I lost commissions not just to Mutual Fund managers but also to Mutual Fund agents, who sold me these products.

How to avoid: while individual equity investing is tough, anyone could invest in passive mutual funds (eg. any #NIFTY50 Index).

(2) I purchased Term Insurance quite late in my life:

- As a result, I now have to pay higher premiums. 
- I delayed my decision to purchase insurance because I was extremely lazy about this topic. 
- Don't be lazy like me: my friend Pawan Kumar Rai runs Ditto Insurance. If you are confused about buying insurance speak with his team (for free and get expert help)

(3) Excessive trading:

- Once I felt confident about picking stocks, I overdid it. 
- Every now and then, I would buy and sell stocks; and I lost a lot in terms of paying commissions. 
- Overtime, I realised that you should buy good stocks at the right price and hold them. This is the most sensible way of making money.

I teach this on my YouTube, so do check it out :)

[1] Imagine this: you work all your life. And, you are set to retire. But....

The government tells you:

- Inflation is 10% (so earn more now, or see your savings disappear)
- And also you can't withdraw more than X% of your money

What would you do?

[2] You would say this is a hypothetical case -- can't happen.

Well, not really: the same situation played out in Lebanon recently.

People saw their savings get depleted.

There were capital controls, so folks couldn't withdraw their own hard earned money.

[3] Another scary situation is playing out in Russia as we speak: what Vladimir Putin is doing is plain wrong.

But a lot of common Russians are also suffering.

Many of them have been cut off from their accessing their own hard earned money.

[4] The excess high debt that the US has taken and the current war with Russia-Ukraine is bankrupting nations like Sri Lanka, which is facing one of its worst economic crisis.

You'd ask how? The answer is simple: high inflation.

Sri Lanka's economy is not as resilient as the US's.

And, the high inflation environment is the US's gift to the world post 2008.

Many small nations will suffer for decades.

[5] The point of this post is simple: to encourage you to think that all your life savings can be gone in a matter of months (no matter how much you earn).

The centralised systems are deeply messed up.

When people/governments make you believe that centralisation is the key to prosperity. Understand that “prosperity“ is held by a selected few.

Not getting access to your own money is the epitome of how unfair centralised systems have become.

Things have not become expensive, we have become poorer.

In the last 10 years, Indians have lost roughly 30% of their wealth.

Last 10 years real data:-

- The total increase in prices= 60%.
- Total increase in per capita GDP= 30%.

The real problem is the slow growth of wealth.

Here are simple steps to grow your wealth:

[1] Get better at your job (up-skill)
[2] Negotiate your salary (and keep a track if its growing at inflation)
[3] Learn to invest (stocks, bonds, real estate etc)
[4] Respect money (don't do YOLO/FOMO, just spend sensibly)
[5] Gain more experiences. And, turn those into income streams
[6] Cut out the negativity. Mirror people you wish to be like; observe their strategies and try to do what you can.

From working 14hrs/day to now trying to work 6hrs/day, here is what I have truly learnt about the hustle culture.

[1] Working 14hrs/day (like truly working) is advantageous.

The harder you work, the luckier you get. But...

[2] Hustling is not FOREVER.

With age, most of us will have more responsibilities and our priorities need to shift.

At 20, make me work 18hrs/day, I would gladly do it.
But at 34, I need to plan things better.

It is not as if I CAN'T work hard now -- I very much can -- and I do work excessively hard from time to time.

But, there is life outside work.

[3] Meaning.

We work for three reasons:

- Sustenance
- Meaning
- Creating a legacy

As we progress in our life, the gravity of these factors would change

- For example, you might see no reason to work if you have made a lot of money) or
- You might be making a lot of money but wouldn't want to work because you don't find any meaning to that work.

Life exists in a flow and how hard you want/need to work also changes with that flow.

Bottomline: don't slack off, work as hard as you can -- yet live a life. And, honestly you can't quantify this in terms of “4-hours“ or “14-hours“ work days.

PS: Folks ask: why do I write “Ex-Child“ as my designation on some of my YT videos.

Well, that was the best designation I ever had: I hustled (played, learned and did a range of things) without even realising what hustling was.

Our education system in 20 years:

(1) As India moves from a low income country to a mid income country, the nature of jobs will shift from agriculture to services (since we have a very small manufacturing base).

(2) This trend would improve the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) across all education levels.

Small scale intensive agriculture is not lucrative as of now. The situation will only worsen with time.

(3) Educated folks will keep on paying more and more for their kids education.

Monopolisation of education is inevitable. We already know the names of the firms that will monopolise the education sector.

(4) These firms --- in the name of 'revolution' and 'innovation'--- will deliver their last blow to the archaic education system that currently exists. They will formally enter into schools as well.

Entire India will be converted to a 'Kota Factory' model even at a nursery level.

These firms will become rich beyond measures and might even hold the biggest market cap on Indian stock indices.

You as an investor will get filthy rich by investing in these firms (hey, I will invest too!)

But you as a student will get intellectually bankrupt by participating in these models.

(5) India will celebrate trends like: improving GER, highest market cap for EdTech, more access to education etc.

(6) However, kids who go onto creating next-gen innovations are likely to be homeschooled (and to an extent protected from the monopolisation of education).

If you are 30 years old with a wealth of $180Mn, would you retire?

The answer for many of us would be a YES.

And, this is precisely the reason why we will never have $180Mn.

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Right from a young age, we get into the habit of being goal obsessed.
- Get 95% marks.
- Get a 750 on the GMAT.
- Work at a top-3 consulting firm by age 25.

We assume that life is some kind of a race with a very clear finish line.

When we run this race day in and day out, we feel exhausted.
Be it working with a firm, running your own startup or preparing for an exam.

****
The key is to enjoy the journey towards achieving your goals.

Whether it is Taylor Swift, Elon Musk or Sundar Pichai, I can bet, they never started with the goal of being the best in their respective fields. They enjoyed their journey of pursuing their traits. Money was just an outcome.

Thinking about results, comparing yourself with others and scrolling through Instagram feeds is the fastest way of hating your journey towards your own respective goals.

#Motivation

Last 10 years of my life have been about building a career where I make $, gaining free time, developing location flexibility.

My time at INSEAD played a pivotal role in shaping this vision. Meeting like minded, driven people, changed how I viewed career/life.

Since graduating from INSEAD in 2015:-

[1] One of my batchmates founded a Unicorn (in Europe)
[2] 100+ ended up garnering wealth in excess of a 3Mn$+ each in the last 10 years (through jobs)
[3] At least (20 folks) I know did not go through the job route. But, profitable startup route. And, generated in excess of 10Mn$ in the last 10 years.

I had the pleasure of knowing these people.
I still talk to many of them on one-on-one basis.

3 things stood out for me about these wealth builders.

[1] They are EXTREMELY comfortable leaving their comfort zone.

- They are okay shifting countries/firms for professional growth.
- They are not scared of doing hard things. Or learning new things.

[2] They are EXTREMELY focused. They know what they want. And, they go for it.

- Many of my friends were startup guys, wanted to shift to consulting
- Worked hard. Got into Consulting
- Then quit to do a startup again

Excelling at something gives you confidence to do more amazing things subsequently.

[3] They have EXTREMELY good judgement.

- Whom to trust, what career move to make, how much risk to take etc
- Can't be taught. There is no course on this.
- But, this aspect of your life is going to impact you THE MOST.

Good judgement comes from making harder and harder decisions.
My teachers at INSEAD played a pivotal role in helping me cultivate this skill.

While, I can never thank my teachers enough for helping me get ahead in my life-- from time to time, I would love to share their work with you.

Associate Professor Abhishek Borah, has written a wonderful book called Mine Your Language (you can find this on Amazon)

It teaches you about how to communicate effectively (in your job & through social media) through better use of language.

Do give it a read-- it is a wonderful book :)

India's GDP by 2033: 6.5Tr$
US's debt by 2033: 50Tr$

US's debt is roughly 7X the size of India's GDP.

More interestingly, from 2033: US will pay roughly 1.6Tr$ as interest repayment on its debt, every year (this is ~25% the size of India's GDP in 2033).

Most people will shrug their shoulders and say: this is US's problem.
Why should I care, sitting here in India?

Well, you should because this single thing is going to impact you THE MOST in the coming 10 years.

Why?

[1] US prints more money.
[2] This devalues USD dollar.
[3] The world trade happens in the USD.
[4] Weaker currencies suffer more (they fall eve more in value compared to USD).
[5] The buying power of local citizens come down.
[6] To buy the same assets, you need more money.

This applies to the government as well. So they end up (de-facto) taxing you more.

Solution:

[1] It is becoming easier to earn (you need to be smart, structured and increase your earning sources).
[2] In a high inflation world, money will erode, if you can't grow it faster than inflation. You need to learn investing.
[3] Become half CA. Lean every tax optimisation strategy there is to learn.

You can follow Wisdom Hatch: I write in-depth posts. And, share macroeconomic analysis for my community there.

Three life-defining skills that are not taught in schools & colleges:

(1) Investing and finance:

- It does not matter whether you earn 10,000 or 10L per month, you need to invest.
- If you don't know how to invest your money, you will end up losing A LOT of it over your lifetime.

(2) Emotional Quotient:

- School is a great place to build your EQ muscle.
- Unfortunately, group projects are a joke in most schools and colleges.
- We understand the value of EQ once we get a bad feedback from our Managers

(3) Entreprenurial skills:

- Knowing that you can make money, even if you get fired from your job, is a great skill to have.
- Teaching basic money making skill is something that schools should look more into.

School systems should be skilled based.

College should get more practical: the fees of a college should be contingent upon the performance of the students in the job market.

Give people: money, time, freedom.

- MOST will use it to fight with others.
- SOME will use it to improve themselves.
- VERY FEW will use it to improve (also) others.

In today's day and age with a 1000 Rs internet connection:

- You could learn anything.
- Build anything.
- Do good.

So one could argue: that the path to financial freedom (or any type of freedom) actually starts with the right intent.

People are too obsessed to reach the top.

You will spend 99% of your time on your journey to the top.
And, may be 1% time at the top.

If you hate the journey itself, what good would that 1% time at the top do?

Almost every parent want their kids to be happy-- more than they want them to be successful.

Don't kill your happiness to be successful.
Be successful to the point that it makes you happy.

Share it with someone, who needs to hear this today :)

At 32, Markus Persson sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.

Then, he spent $100Mn of luxury items like: buying a mansion. And, eventually went into depression.

Point being: Money and purpose are two very different things.

And, pursuing a career is a way to attain both.

Career allows you to build money.
But, that's just step 1.

What comes beyond is purpose. A good career allows you to 'pursue' something that holds a greater meaning for you personally.

The idea that you are good at something. And want to keep improving at it, (vaguely put) is purpose.

Most people are unhappy with their careers: because while chasing money is easy and tangible. Finding purpose is not.

On YouTube, people have watched my videos for a whopping 20 Million hours.
Put another way: it is close to 2,283 years of total viewing time.

But, I am still a very nervous speaker till date. And, I don't think I will ever become that 'extremely confident' type A personality.

So what's my story?

I come from Gwalior, a tier-2 city in India. To even take a test (eg. GMAT or CAT), I had to travel 350 Kms to Delhi.

Internet pre-2000 was not big in India. And, in simple words, I had a serious lack of exposure.

- Most of my fellow classmates did not speak English.
- Almost nobody from my school traveled abroad.
- And, we automatically assumed that people who grew up in Delhi or Mumbai were far more intelligent and eloquent than us.

Kids thrive on confidence.

But, in my case, I kept regurgitating such negative thoughts. And, killed mine.
Even when I stepped into the Corporate World, I had serious confidence issues.

Thankfully, I was academically smart.
And, with some luck and hard-work, I got an opportunity to study abroad.

I worked abroad.
And, it gave me exposure to people from different backgrounds.

Some were extremely gifted intellectually.
Some were great at public speaking
Some were great at networking.

I realised that we all have our own set of inherent strengths and weaknesses.

For me, it was never public speaking.
But, I realised that it was a critical skill to inculcate.

So, I reframed the question from :-
a. How to be a great public speaker? to
b. What can I do to NOT be bad at public speaking?

This simple shift in though process took a lot of pressure off, helped me crack top jobs and eventually start a YouTube.

Till date, I am somewhat under-confident.
But, honestly (with practice), I am able to manage this weakness.

The reason I am telling you this story is: that you might have a weakness too.
Don't work with the goal of 'crushing it'; it puts too much pressure on you.

Work with the goal of: being more self-aware.
And, making your weaknesses more manageable.

If you work 8hrs/day, 5 days a week for 40 years straight at ANYTHING (literally anything!) you should become a master at that skill.

This could be a sport, a musical instrument or cooking.

Interestingly, this fact does not apply to managing money. Most people despite working all their lives (40hrs/week for 40 years; and somewhat managing their money) struggle to make ends meet.

Think about this fact, it is truly mind-blowing.

******
Learn about managing money, investing through my courses: https://wisdomhatch.com/

Source: Quantum Wealth

Let's analyse 5 timeless sayings about money:-

[1] If it costs you your peace, it is too expensive

- May be, but then 99% jobs are stressful. And cost people their peace.

- But, if they stop working they won't be able to afford things.

[2] Money cannot buy happiness

- But, it can buy at LEAST a few 100 things that can lead to more happiness.

[3] Money is the root cause of all evil

- Corrupt people with money are the root cause of evil. They design the systems their way.

- Very similar to how psychopaths with guns are a problem.

[4] Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful

- Yes, but pick the right assets. If you keep buying a share that is 80% down. Guess what, it can go to 0 as well.

[5] The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money

- Like it or not, money gives a massive head start for most people in life. It buys expensive college education, private coaching, exclusive memberships to clubs with access to other rich people.

- In most cases, rich people lose friends fast once they lose their wealth.

Money is like fuel in your bike.
It gives you choices WHERE you want to drive it. And, at WHAT pace.
Don't drum it up, but also don't discount its power.

We 'get' things, when we 'least' need them.

Classic example:
- Olympic Medal winners getting new phones & cars.
- Do they DESERVE this? Yes.
- Do they NEED this (especially now!)? No.

But, several firms in the garb of pushing their own products will dole these out.

The reverse is true as well.

You do not get things, when you need them the most.

Classic example:
- Students looking for jobs & internships.
- They NEED these (absolutely, need this!).
- But, they are exploited in the job market in the garb of getting internships & jobs.

Lesson: the bridge between 'what you need' and 'what you get' is crossed by effective planning.

Here is my story of planning things effectively: https://lnkd.in/eDeFdBwb

Here is a fascinating story of how good sustainable billion$ firms are built:

Indians lose ~INR 26,300Cr in remittance fees (link in comments). The rewards for solving this problem are huge.

Despite being a multi-billion dollar business, PayPal knew this issue existed, but made no efforts to solve it.

As a habitual PayPal user, I kept paying high fees to make transfers. It was not until my money was stuck for a month with them that I realised that I needed to find an alternative.

My senior from INSEAD, Taavet Hinrikus (and Kristo Käärmann) started Wise. The firm was a big talking point on campus, and I decided to give it a try.

I became a user of Wise from 2015 (from being a student at INSEAD) to now my businesses using Wise. I myself would have transferred upwards of 100K$ using their product - all the money that PayPal lost from me. They refused to pay heed to a simple problem that they could have solved easily, but didn't.

Lesson: Billion$ businesses are built not on customer acquisition, but through customer retention.

US was an average economy in the 1850s-- but by 1950, it was the #1 Economy in the world.

What changed in these 100 years? While there were many changes, there was a massive uptick in economic consumption.

This happened due to development of: Railroads, production of Oil and Assembly line automation. Three key innovations.

India too is witnessing catalytic changes: more internet penetration (more opportunities for digital jobs); increase in consumer spending (we are moving away from saving) and improved healthcare.

This creates a base for faster growth.

China pulled roughly 750Mn people out of poverty in a span of 40 years. India too could do something similar.

Everyone believes in you when the results are good.
And, everyone doubts you when the results are bad.

This is a simple fact of life.

You can see this playing out right now in the stock markets.

In the early part of 2021, people were jumping into the stock markets.

Reason: everyone was making massive returns and nobody wanted to miss the bus.

Record number of DEMAT accounts were opened.

Unfortunately, now things have turned real bad now.
In fact so bad, that some blue chip stocks are trading at 30-40% below from their top.

And, guess what?
- People have stopped doing their SIPs
- And are withdrawing money and moving to other asset classes.

A few months from now, the story will turn again.
And, we will see this crazy dance continue.

When we read stats like: 90% of retail investors lose money. Well, they will -- because they panic. And, work purely on short-term results.

*****
If you are stressed about this high volatile environment, you can check out this Smallcase: https://lnkd.in/dHij4Rz7

If you are unhappy/confused about your career, you should know: that top 1% make the most money.

And, this trend is only going to accelerate with time.

- 20 years back, there were 30 companies in India that accounted for more than 80% of India's profits.
- In the last 10 years, this number has come down to 16 companies.
- The world is getting increasingly monopolised: be it established corporates, startups or one person firm.

The world is rewarding excellence more & more.

****
If you are an investor looking for monopoly firms in India, do check out my SmallCase for reference: https://lnkd.in/envmhA7e

This year is going to be one of the best years to find jobs in Management Consulting.

If you are a college student, aspiring to work with a top-tier Management Consulting firm such as #McKinsey, #BCG or #Bain, you should start doing these 3 things right away:-

#1. Build your basics:
- Get brands on your CV through internships & side projects.
- Ace your case solving skills. You can't pick this skill in a month, so start early.
- Understand the work of your target firms (office wise).

#2. Network:
- Getting folks from the firm to support you is the best way to get your CV shortlisted.
- You can't go on #Linkedin, look up random strangers and ask them to refer you.
- This way you don't build relationships; you burn relationships.

If you don't know how to network, I will post a free mini-course on this topic here (so follow the space): https://lnkd.in/e7Enwk8

#3. Craft a story:
- The thing that people remember most about me is that I am passionate about Teaching.
- I have a compelling story to tell on this topic.
- Similarly, you have your own story to tell. Figure out that story.

People remember stories, not numbers.
Saying stuff like: “I scored 99% marks in class 10th, makes you sound cool, not memorable“.

As a kid, I detested studying Math.

My mother did everything: studied with me, made me learn tables by brute force, sent me to tuitions, but nothing worked.

I just considered Math as a messed up subject and thought I would never need it. And, that was that.

Fortunately, with time, I gave up on this churlish attitude and learnt early in life that learning complex things is actually good for you.

Why am I telling you this? because I hear people making the same arguments about Cryptos/NFTs/DeFi/Blockchain right now.

All complex things have immense potential. You will only benefit if you give it a chance.

[Disclaimer: not an investment advice]

****
I am building a Finance and Investing community on: Wisdom Hatch

Saare Jahaan se accha Hindustan Humara.
Ajoobe chuppe hain har jagah nazariye ka khel hai saara.

MakeMyTrip & MoT have got together for this amazingly beautiful initiative. Couldn’t resist collaborating with them to share the google map link they have created of some of India’s top hidden gems across India.

Really makes me feel there is so much more to India than meets the eye

Start exploring: https://lnkd.in/dYPQWx9E

Quite Cool MakeMyTrip,
Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism, India

#MakeMyTrip #IncredibleIndia #MyBeautifulIndiaMyPride

It is fairly clear that the Metaverse is going to be a big thing in the coming years.

This is a new planet that is getting built, which has infinite possibilities: right from new age social media to next-gen gaming.

Two categories of firms are making a play for it: Meta (Facebook) and the 2nd category of players are Crypto Metas (these would be decentralised apps like StartAtlas).

While people are too busy debating which of these options would win, smart investors are learning about this space and are already making good money.

Lesson: when a novel technology comes, study it objectively.

If you are from a tier-2/3 college in India, life is not over for you.

[1] Good colleges generate something called as the “signalling effect“.

In simple terms, it means that: people assume good/bad things about you based on your college.

This impacts your job and internship search. And, this is true.

[2] However, NOW , there are numerous opportunities to generate this “signalling effect“ through other means.

You just need to excel at something. It could be:

- Sports
- GMAT/GRE
- Your Network
- Your skills (eg. coding)
- Social media presence

[3] In the past, folks looked for strong college degrees because it allowed them to filter candidates quicker.

But now, with more opportunities to excel, the world has become limitless for doers.

Roadmap is simple: build skills and claim your place.

*****
My course on Management Consulting: https://lnkd.in/d9_ejAFU

In addition to career and money, what are some other things we should consider more closely?

(1) Health:

- In fact your ability to earn goes down massively if you are not in good shape.
- You need not become the next Tiger Shroff, but 10-15 mins of HIIT exercises can do wonders.

(2) Legacy:

- Most of us work for two reasons (a) sustenance (b) doing something meaningful (ie. leaving something behind)
- It is important to not get caught up with the everyday mundane tasks and think about this 'long-term legacy'.
- Legacy might sound grand, but it need not be. It could be as simple as helping people around.

(3) Stress levels:

- Stress= loss of productivity (plus several other negative things).
- 1 hour of deep work is equal to 10 hours of unproductive work.
- If you have a stressful job/stress giving boss, figure out a way to move out. You owe it to yourself.

On my YouTube, I have started a Sunday Positivity series. A video on: How to be happy will come out tonight: https://lnkd.in/euWTJwE

If this story doesn't convince you to invest well, then nothing will.

Ronald Read, a retired gas station attendant and janitor, ended up amassing a wealth of 8Mn$ by the time he retired.

Did he win a lottery? No
Did he invest in a Ponzi scheme? No
Did he get into get quick rich schemes? No

He simply invested whatever he could save over a period of decades. And, ended up building a massive wealth.

In addition to this story, I could not agree more when Morgan Housel states:

That being wealthy has more to do with your financial behaviour than your financial knowledge.

You don't need a degree in finance to invest well.

Here is an entire video on the topic: https://lnkd.in/eD57svV

#financewithakshat