20 lessons from 20 years of career

Today marks the end of second decade. looking backwards, it was an awesome ride for sure.

1/ career path need not be linear. Start anywhere and keep searching for what resonates with you and keep the search on. My first decade was all about understanding and falling in love with human computer interaction. The second decade was all about protecting the love.

2/ growth path in the product world has a pattern to it. The important step is to understand how business works and contribute accordingly. remember you are the cog(not a part) and it must work friction free in the business world. Don’t make it hard for u and for others.

3/ the needs and wants of the context can take you in different paths. You can choose to go with the context or you can choose to stay with your clarity. Both have consequences, so choose wisely.

4/ your career is a very small but a highly significant part of your life. In your 36500 days of living (assuming 100 years) and 7000 days of career in it is small but a big part of your adult life is spent here so pay attention.

5/ choose process over products and brands. It doesn’t matter what problems you solve, the process of solving is exciting. It could be boring printers as well but the nuances of the problem is and was exciting. Process taught me more about career than the brands I worked for. Journey >> Destination

6/ decouple finance from your careers. Please try to. This will allow you to choose what you love and be obsessed with it all along. Too many ANDs in a Venu diagram will make your life harder. You will start compromising with intersections.

7/ your experience is your experience. No one can understand it as it is yours. If you feel joyful and others don’t get it, empathise with them. Not everyone needs to love your career as much as you do. My mom still feels I waste my time with scribbles and type ?????♀?

8/ every rabbit hole is deep. Try and choose one and go deeper. It will keep you humble and grounded. Also learn about every other rabbit hole. It will help you go deeper with the one you choose.

9/ basics and foundations come a long way. Staying true with the basics will keep you sharp. BS is so visible. There is no escape.

10/ make friends at work. It is hard to get smart and like minded folks in other parts of your life. Career is your best bet. Use it.

11/ staying healthy, wealthy, happy is what everyone wants. Career is one of the paths to health, wealth and happiness. Don’t screw it up.

12/ retirement from work is necessary when you are tired of what you do. On the other hand It can also be a path of freedom and enlightenment.

13/ you grow everyday and your logical mind doesn’t get it. Don’t try to fit yourself in a goal sheet. You will our grow it soon. Be fascinated by your growth and that is the best you could do.

14/ you can detach career from your identity. It too is a mask and you can keep it down when you don’t need it. I saw too many of my friends live and die their career. Don’t waste your life in one dimension. Life >>> career

15/ no one at work will tell you, you need auxiliary skills like public speaking, writing and sketching. For your own good pls learn it and practice it. It makes you a better person everyday.

16/ politics will be there where human beings are there. Everyone has their own agenda. Don’t get caught up in someone else’s agenda. Get caught up in yours. You will atleast be passionate about it.

17/ keep a documentation of everyday at work. Our human memory is lousy and don’t use it for storage. Use it for processing. We miss this documentation and we miss our evolution as well.

18/ you need a number of factors to be successful in your career. Your health, your relationships, your tribe, your bank balance and above all your well-being. You can’t do well at work if other parts suck.

19/ change your vocabulary. You don’t have to work hard. You don’t have to hustle. You don’t have to be hard on yourself. Work joyfully. Work effortlessly. Move away from this hardship bias and be less hard on you. It helps.

20/ career is just one part of your life. Don’t make it everything. At the same time don’t discount it. Balance your career so your odds of great life is high. If you love playing pixels just do it irrespective of your grey hair. You get young at heart by doing what you love.

Malcolm Gladwell is wrong. Even after 70000 hours (workaholic) I don’t think mastery comes easy. Stay humble and stay grounded as you will die ignorant anyways.