Words


Srikanth Kalakonda at Candolim, Goa

The words count, not the word count.

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16 Career Hacks

1)  Wenn schon, denn schon 2) Writing is thinking 3) Be an outlier 4)  Seize the narrative 5)  Don't follow, lead 6)  Consume less, create more 7)  Get to the source 8) Codify your expertise 9) Collaborate strategically 10) Teach to learn, advocate, and network 11)  Progress, not perfection 12)  Build in public 13) Think first principles 14)  Think multidisciplinary 15) Pivot early on 16)  Carpe diem
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The 10 Corporate Lessons

1) Decouple your identity from the identity card. 2) Network through work. 3) Never gossip. 4) Espouse your values. 5) Teach to learn, advocate, and network. 6) Communication is everything. (Use email wisely) 7) Arrive and leave on time. 8) Go the extra mile strategically. 9) Colleagues aren't friends, they are colleagues. 10) Focus on work, work, and work. (The only reason you're hired in the first place)
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The Source

If you want to master a subject, you need to find and get to the source. Always seek the direct source material on the subject. For example, if you want to learn about Personal Finance, pick the top 3 or 5 books on this topic and learn from the experts. Look at the citations and references in the book and go deeper into where the experts have found the base material to develop the book. The idea of delving deeper is to reach the source, to the extent possible and build your knowledge from there. When you read books, looks for footnotes and endnotes provided by the author. They will lead you to research papers and a range of books related to the subject. "They muddy the water, to make it seem deep." — Friedrich Nietzsche You don't need to follow some random influencers on the subject. You'll only end up gaining superficial knowledge without any depth. Influencers are mostly curators and not really creators. They quote the same books to build their content. Some are sma...
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The Art of Self-love: 16 Meditations

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The Self-made Opportunity

No money, no problem! In fact the lack of money, resources, and a pre-built ecosystem presents you a rare opportunity to become self-made. It's probably a blessing in disguise. Who would not want a good head start, plenty of resources, and a level playing field? Ideal worlds don't exist. So, in an unequal world where most people are inherited with wealth, familial fame, and many other opportunities beyond your reach, life might look and feel unfair. It's isn't! You can flip the narrative. See this as your chance to learn and grow from the ground up. If you ask me, competing with the fortunate is more fortunate. Remember, that inheritance has robbed the others of this golden opportunity of being totally self-made. All the wealth in the world can't buy you the satisfaction of becoming a self-made individual. Here's my speculation on inheritance . Here's my other question. Are you rich? Some are self-made and some are shelf-made. What opportunity did God bless ...
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The 10 Don'ts

1) Neglect health 2) Fear change 3) Compare 4) Groupthink 5) Harbor resentment 6) Be miserly 7) Please everyone 8) Just coast 9) Wait for opportunity 10) Play God
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Free is Expensive

Free is always an expensive affair. It comes with many hidden costs like obligations, low quality, and unforeseen future costs. Always pay for services and products for the best outcomes. Free is costly.
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The Redesign Question

If you ask any seasoned designer they'll tell you that redesigning a product, takes more effort than designing a product from the ground up. Redesign is a highly complex affair that could lead to a domino effect on the various aspects of the product, service, brand and the business itself. Apart from those so-called design aficionados, most people are happy with the current product design, unless there are pressing issues that need to be addressed. When was the last time, you as a user, woke up and dived into the day, seeking products or services to be changed. Change is tough for everyone. Change comes with a cost, both emotional and financial in most cases. Redesign is like fixing a bus on the move. Design leaders understand the intricacies involved and the repercussions of redesigning a product with interconnected systems. It's just not that interface, what your customers see or an amateur designer sees. I tend to ask this question in interviews as well. “Do you want to rede...
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Wenn schon, denn schon

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I think the only way to get what you want in life, is to go all-in and then go all-out. Half measures don't work. You have to commit yourself to what you want and go all-in with faith, strategy, action, and persistence. Wenn schon, denn schon is a german expression which means: if you're going to do something, go all out! Going all-in is committing your time, energy, and available resources towards your goal. Once you make a decision, don't dilly dally when it comes to taking action. Embrace fear as you have already made the decision to go all-in. If it's not scary, it's probably not even worthy of your time and effort.  Going all-in is about depth, and going all-out is about breadth. Spreading yourself too thin is gambling with your time and life. Focus on what matters and increase your odds of success.  Now that you're committed, you have to explore and pursue all possible ideas, strategies, and opportunities in your focus area. This is not the time to think ...
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Writing is Design

If you're a UX Designer, you should also address the UX writing aspect of your design. Writing can't be an afterthought and fixed at a later point in time in the design process. (At least work at a rudimentary level to address this aspect of design.Writing is an integral part of design.) While UX writing in itself is a specialised skill, it should not stop you from thinking about this aspect as it can help you build a holistic design solution which includes interaction, visual, motion, and copy. The copy address the usability, persuasion, and the trust aspect. User adoption and engagement depends on effective writing, blended into the design. You might not know that you're already a UX writer as well as a UX designer. If you have named your menu items, or given a name to a form-field, or even a label for an icon, you're more or less a beginner-level UX writer or a nano or micro copywriter. The idea is to embrace writing and think about how your design can bring in the ...
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