This is an excerpt from the book “The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE” by Tom Peters. I was introduced to this piece of exceptional insight many years ago by one of my mentors who is popularly known by the initials KK. He was conducting a session on Excellence at work and he shared the below article with the audience. The impact of this insightful piece of writing was visible as everyone was able to reflect on their forgotten dreams and being busy managing the daily grind. I urge you to read it and reflect on your own journey and share what you felt.
I cannot begin to tell you how important and practical I think this item is. I cannot begin to tell you how much I would like to reach out from this page, and shake you, and shout … You can do this. To myself, I keep saying … IF NOT THIS, WHAT? You take over a department. Twenty-eight people. You aim to make it a “smoothly functioning unit.” As time goes by, and you deal with brush fire after brush fire after brush fire (we all do), your aspiration-in-reality becomes “making it through the day.”
And next thing you know, you’ve indeed “made it through the day”—about 700 times. And three years have passed. There have been no mutinies. And your annual evaluations have been consistently “pretty damn good.” But what do you really have to show for … three whole years of your precious life? Actually, not much. “Competent survival” might be an accurate description.But nobody’s beating down the door to get into your unit. And you really don’t have one or two … stupendous … accomplishments to brag about or sleep on. Well, I don’t think that’s good enough. For you. For the people in your unit. I beg you … yes, beg … to review the definition-aspiration with which I launched this item. I beg you … yes, beg … to talk with your peers and your folks and anyone you can buttonhole about … WHAT COULD BE. I beg you … yes, beg … to “go public” with a doc called, more or less… “Towering Aspirations of Growth and Excellence” ... and then use it as a litmus test against which you judge …every decision, small or large; … every project, small or large; … every people move small or large. I believe there is a decent chance that, if you get moving ASAP, three years from now you will be able to look back and say …“Oh my God, we did that…” “How cool…” “How ‘Wow’… ”And, yes, people from all over the organization will be hammering on your door, begging (yes, begging) to sign up and become part of your … Greatest Show on Earth.
Here are some really fresh ideas to add zing to your bucket list and give it a meaningful twist –
(1) Travel Solo – It is always fun to travel in a group either with family or friends. But if you want to spend time with yourself and connect with your inner self then travel solo. Travel activates our senses and creates a feeling of freshness away from the mundane and the routine of day-to-day life. Travelling alone can be a very enriching experience.
(2) Have a terrace garden – and use it to cultivate essential herbs and veggies for your own kitchen. It is a daily joy to watch the plants grow and you will experience a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction when you use the produce of your own kitchen garden.
(3) Live in another country at least for an year – If you get an opportunity to relocate and stay in another country welcome it with open arms and live there for at least one full year. it is a great experience as you get to experience their culture, all the seasons of the year and take part in all the festivals of that land. It surely will expand your horizons and help you become a better person.
(4) Give back to the society – Giving only money to the charities is not what I mean. When your contribute some of your personal time and effort, and sometimes a little sweat, back to the society you will realise that it is such a humbling experience. And your heart will be filled with gratitude for the abundance in your own life.
(5) Start a Bullet Journal – Bullet journal is a shorter version of the classic journalling. In that way you get to jot down the key aspects of your life and observations with our spending too much time. Additionally it also helps you express your creativity in the form of doodles. You can search the internet for the many many ideas available and choose what suits your style.
(6) Learn a new skill – it could be a life skill like swimming or learning to give primary first-aid or CPR or it could be something you are passionate about like playing a guitar. It will boost your confidence and above all add a feather in your cap.
(7) Achieve your ideal weight – make health your priority and sign up for a fitness regime to look your best. This one thing will have multiple benefits in various aspects of your life.
(8) Run a marathon – It is a great milestone to achieve and it also helps you become a fitter version of yourself.
(9) Connect with past teachers and mentors who have had an impact on your life and thank them. Very few people actually reach out to the teachers and thank them once they have moved out of school/college even though the teachers leave a lifelong impact. Take time to Thank them.
(10) Give a heartfelt surprise to someone – We all have one or two such longings in our heart but due to various constraints we keep postponing them to the next time. You may not realise that life slips away like sand from our hand. Don’t postpone the joy.
At times we get overwhelmed by our own emotions. Sometimes it could be sheer frustration at other times it could be grief. It can be betrayal or even separation from a loved one. Emotional turmoil can mean different things for different people both in type and intensity. One of the most common reasons for emotional turmoil is the mismatch between expectations and reality. This could be in the form of a bad appraisal, betrayal of a friend, separation from a loved one, heated altercation with spouse or not being able to keep up with the daily grind when there is too much on your plate.
Whatever the reason might be, the important thing to understand is how you respond to adverse situations in your life. Observe what you do when you find yourself in one such situation and feel completely helpless?
Do you sulk and sulk till you get over it. Do you brood over it over a cup of coffee or over a smoke break. Do you just pull the blanket over your head and hit the bed to cut out the continuous chatter in your brain Or do you throw temper tantrums.
Some people weep and need to be left alone till they get over it. Some look for solace in a friend’s company. While some others subconsciously binge on chocolates and junk food. Some even go shopping to divert their mind.
Different people have different ways of dealing with emotional stress. At a very broad level – it is either FIGHT or FLIGHT.
Some things heal with time, some are bundled and pushed into a corner of your mind as you get busy with the things at hand till someone pulls the skeletons out of the closet once again. And in most cases you learn to live with the pain.
What if I tell you a that there is a way which will help you deal with your emotional stress in a better way. What If you could channelize your emotions in a positive way. It may also help you heal over a period of time. For the healing to happen we need to learn to manage our emotions.
If you want to learn about a healthier way to deal with your emotional stress watch this space for updates.
Long ago in a village in Rajasthan, a farmer left a strange will for his three sons. The will stated that, “The eldest son should get half of his Camels, The middle Son should be given 1/3rd of the Camels, and the youngest Son should be given 1/9th of the Camels“
The problem was that the farmer had 17 camels. The sons realised that it is not possible to divide 17 into half or 17 by a third or 17 by a ninth. And neither of them were interested to give the other two more than the share mentioned in the Will.
Unable to resolve the issue amicably, they decided to go to a wise man for help. The wise man listened to the issue patiently and they showed him the Will and told him about the problem of dividing the 17 camels as per the Will of their father.
The wise man, after giving the problem a careful thought, smiled, got up and brought one of his own camel & added the same to the 17. That increased the total to 18 camels. “Now”, he said, “let’s read the Will one more time.”
The eldest son should get half of the Camels – 18/2 = 9. So he gave 9 camels to the eldest son.
The middle Son should be given 1/3rd of Camels, 18/3 = 6 So he gave 6 camels to the middle son.
Youngest Son should be given 1/9th of the Camels, 18/9 =2 So he gave 2 camels to the youngest son
Now adding : 9 + 6 + 2 = 17 & this leaves 1 camel, which the wise man took back.
MORAL: The art of negotiation & problem solving is to find the 18th camel i.e. the common ground. Once a person is able to find the common ground, the issue can be resolved. Though it can be difficult at times. However, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there IS a solution. If we think that there is no solution, we won’t be able to reach any!
Most people I speak to these days lament that they hardly find time to read books. Even though they somehow start one, the progress is negligible. And the time gap between two successive times when they reach for the book is so large that they have to re-read a few of the previous pages just to refresh where they left off last time. I am sure by now you are nodding in agreement and smiling.
So here are a few easy hacks that you can adopt to increase the number of books that you manage to read each year. These hacks recommend small changes that are easy to make and will help you connect with your passion of reading books in newer ways.
Make your environment more reading friendly – Make it easier to read books – (1) have books easily accessible at your favourite places in your home especially near your bed (2) Keep the distractions away like leave the ubiquitous smartphone at a little distance from your bed
Carry your book(s) along – that way you will always have a book handy when you are travelling in cabs or standing in queue or waiting for a friend
Read more than one book at a time. Not everyone can do this but if you have the appetite you can read multiple books from completely different topics in parallel. It is a great way to add variety to your reading and also helps complete difficult to read books
Talk about books with others – share stories & recommendations
Post book reviews social media or your own blog once you have completed the book
Make time to actually read the book rather than turning to the smart phone every time you get some free time.
Have a goal to read at least 15 min each day and this one habit alone will be enough to get to your reading goal.
1. Why was the fraction apprehensive about marrying the decimal? – Because he would have to convert.
2. Why do plants hate math? – It gives them square roots.
3. Why did the student get upset when his teacher called him average? – It was a mean thing to say!
4. Why was the math book depressed? – It had a lot of problems.
5. Why is the obtuse triangle always so frustrated? – Because it is never right.
6. Why can you never trust a math teacher holding graphing paper? – They must be plotting something.
7. Why was the equal sign so humble? – Because she knew she wasn’t greater than or less than anyone else.
8. What do you call the number 7 and the number 3 when they go out on a date? – The odd couple (but 7 is in her prime).
9. What do you call a number that can’t stay in one place? – A Roamin’ numeral.
10. Did you hear the one about the statistician? – Probably.
11. What do you call dudes who love math? – Algebros.
12. I’ll do algebra, I’ll do trig. I’ll even do statistics. – But graphing is where I draw the line!
13. Why should you never talk to Pi? – Because she’ll go on and on and on forever.
14. How do you stay warm in any room? – Just huddle in the corner, where it’s always 90 degrees.
15. Why is six afraid of seven? – Because seven eight (ate) nine!
16. Why DID seven eat nine? – Because you’re supposed to eat 3 squared meals a day!
17. Why does nobody talk to circles? – Because there is no point.
18. What do baby parabolas drink? – Quadratic formula.
19. How do you get from point A to point B? – Just take an x-y plane or a rhom’bus.
20. The problem with math puns is that calculus jokes are all derivative, trigonometry jokes are too graphic, algebra jokes are usually formulaic, and arithmetic jokes are pretty basic. But I guess the occasional statistics joke is an outlier.
We, as a society, really have no idea how *suffocated* people are in their emotions. Most people have *nobody* to express themselves entirely to. Everyone is holding back their *vulnerabilities* to maintain the *social image* of a confident and happy person.
Heart-to-heart conversations have become *rare, artificial and shallow*. Most hearts are filled with *empty defences*.
Most people can’t even talk to their *life-partners openly* for the fear of being judged or rejected. Emotions await just a release. Social images make sure that weakness is not glorified.
Children have *bottled up* stress. Young people suffer from anxiety and depression.
It is just lack of social support. It is *lack of non-judgmental* friendships. It is a result of *fast and busy lives* where nobody has time to just sit and watch someone cry.
It is a result of *instant and impatient lifestyle* practices, that *emotions have started feeling like a waste of time*.
Our forefathers talked to each other. Because talking helps…..
The *face-to-face* type talking, the *just-listen-to-me* type talking, the *hold-my-hand-and-let-me-cry* type talking, the *sit-next-to-me-and-listen-to-my-silence* type talking… the talking where *persons can be themselves and say anything they feel without the fear of any judgement or loss or rejection*.
Today, we don’t like that type of talking! In fact we *avoid people*. Naturally, it has led to mental illnesses…. which are becoming an epidemic.
There is not much we can do but we can offer *listening* !
It is extremely important to have those heart-to-heart conversations where you can express yourself without being judged.
It can add years to your life and more importantly life to your years.
Let’s let people talk without any fear. Let’s create conversations.
After having learned about “Goals Based Investing” and its benefits, today we are going to learn the simple steps to create a goals based portfolio. There are no pre-requisites to this exercise. All you need is willingness to explore this investment philosophy and evaluate the benefits vs your current approach and then decide for yourself. Obviously, you will have a few questions around this concept and we will address them as we proceed. If you still have queries, please feel free to post it in the comments, I will try to address them. The first possible question that may come to your mind may be “What about my existing investments? Do I have to start afresh?” You do not have to start afresh. Once you are clear about your financial goals, you should be able to align the existing investments to some of your goals. So let’s get started by first taking a look at the many benefits of this approach –
Goal based investing is an investment framework which helps you align your existing as well as new investments to your financial or life goals.
It helps you diversify your investments as it helps you understand the right type of investment for each goal.
It ensures that you are aligning your investments as per your priority
It helps you avoid impulsive financial decisions so that you do not have to regret later
Let’s get started.
Step 1 : List Your Financial Goals
Create a list of all your financial / life goals such as buying a house, kids education, dream vacation etc etc. Against each financial goal mention the approximate amount you think you will need and the time period in which you want to accomplish them.
In the first pass don’t be bothered of being too accurate with the years or the amount required, ballpark numbers will do to get started. However it is important to capture all the goals.
For instance you may need INR 20 lakhs as down payment for buying your own home in the next two years. Or you may need 1 Crore for your retirement after 30 years. Or you may need 5 lakhs for your vacation abroad or or 3 lakhs for the downpayment of your new car next year.
Financial
Goal
Amount Required
By When
Down payment for New House
20 Lakhs
May 2021
Retirement Corpus
1 Crore
Dec 2049
Singapore Family Vacation
5 Lakhs
Jun 2020
Down payment for New Car
3 Lakhs
Jan 2020
…
…
…
Step 2 : Prioritize Your Goals
Once you have created the list, take a close and thoughtful look at it. Decide which financial goals are the most important. And which ones are more important than the others. Start numbering them in the order of priority. It is natural to have conflicting goals and you may have to make some uncomfortable choices.
For example goals like your kids education or saving for your own retirement are non-negotiable. While there may be others which are essential for financial security like having an emergency fund equivalent to at least 6-9 months of your current monthly income. And then there are those discretionary ones like buying a new car or vacation abroad which you can prioritise depending on your flow of income.
Step 3 : Decide on the Investible Surplus
Now you know WHAT your financial goals are. Let’s look at HOW to achieve them. Based on your current income and expense, think about an amount that you are willing to put aside each month towards these goals. This is the amount you have surplus after meeting your daily/weekly/monthly expenses. Do include the amount you are currently investing in SIPs or RDs. Let’s write it down as we are going to be using this in our next steps. In the first pass write down a number that you are comfortable with. In subsequent reviews you can revise this number depending on the availability of funds.
Step 4 : Map the Investible Surplus to the Goals
Let’s assume you have committed to invest INR 50k every month. This amount needs to be divided among the various goals depending on their priority and time horizon. So first you have to calculate the monthly investment required to achieve each goal.
Financial
Goal
Amount Required
By When
Months
Monthly Investment Required for Goal
Down payment
for New House
20 Lakhs
May 2021
24
83333
Retirement
Corpus
1 Crore
Dec 2049
368
27174
Singapore
Family Vacation
5 Lakhs
Jun 2020
14
35714
Down payment
for New Car
3 Lakhs
Jan 2020
8
37500
…
…
…
…
…
Once you do this exercise it is quite possible that the investible surplus you have decided may not be enough to fund all your goals adequately. This means you will have to review your goals once again. By review I mean, you may have to either revise the amount required or the timeline of the goal or increase the monthly investment. Based on your priorities you may have to go through a few iterations to arrive at an acceptable balance.
Step 5 : Understand Your Risk Appetite
At this stage you are equipped with the knowledge of which goals are you chasing and how much you are willing to invest towards each of them. Now we need to decide WHERE are we going to invest this amount. For this we first need to evaluate your risk appetite for the short, medium and long term.
Simply put, risk appetite means how much money are you willing to lose on an investment. It can vary for different individuals based on their current financial situation, age and confidence level. Also there is no good or bad or one size fits all approach. Each person’s situation is unique. Look at the table below and calibrate your own risk appetite.
Sometimes your risk appetite may vary according to the time period. You may be willing to take higher risk in the short term and invest in stocks/equity directly where you feel more confident of being able to absorb the downside (if any). However you may want to stick to safer investment options for your long term goals or vice versa.
Step 6 : Decide the Investment Type for Each Goal
There are a plethora of Investment Options available now-a-days but to keep this discussion meaningful I will restrict the discussion to the few tried and tested ones viz. Mutual Funds, ELSS, Stocks, NPS, PPF, NSC etc. One you understand your risk appetite and depending on the amount you have for investment you could try investing into Bitcoin, F & O, Commodities, Real Estate, Art and what not.
To start with, take a look at your existing investments and map them to some of your goals. For example if you have recently started a PPF account, you could map it to partially fund a goal which has a time horizon of 15 or more years. Similarly, you could map the corpus of your PF and the amount invested in NPS to your retirement goal and so on.
Now look at the goals that need to be funded. Depending on the time horizon, risk appetite and amount required you could invest in MF, Equity, ELSS or a Debt/Liquid fund. After deciding on the type of investment, note down the monthly amount you are committing to invest towards that goal. If you are investing in Mutual Funds, then SIP is the best way to fund your goals on a month-on-month basis without having to go thru the hassle of manual intervention.
Obviously, managing your wealth is not a one time activity. To ensure that your money continues to earn and grow, you will have to periodically review your portfolio and tweak it if required to meet the changing needs, disposable income and other factors. You may have to do a couple of iterations of your Goal Based Portfolio to make sure that you have reviewed it thoroughly and are ready to implement it. Feel free to share your comments and/or questions and I will try to answer them.
A lot of people have bright ideas…and even world changing ideas ! What do most people do with these ideas?
They discuss those ideas with friends and colleagues
Feel proud of themselves to have thought a really good one
Ponder about it some more and smile in satisfaction
Wish someone can implement this idea
Beyond that they do not do anything. They give plenty of excuses to themselves as to why they cannot implement even if it is a great idea. A couple of years later or may be even sooner, they see a business venture or start-up being run on the same or similar idea and once again they say to their friends – I thought of that 2 years ago!
“People do not lack good ideas They lack confidence To believe in their own ideas And the courage To take a stand…”
If you have a good idea, add a little bit of conviction and effort to it and genuinely try to implement it. If you cannot go all out try to do it at a small scale. But do something and make the world a better place.
Every drop adds up to fill the ocean.
Don’t just sit on your idea. Do something.
Watch the below video which shows how small actions can also impact in a big way.
