#6 B2B Startup Inner Fit, Physics Nobel Prize,Ocean's Eleven Teachings (the best!), When do People Give Up, Be an idiot, #ikigai misunderstood, #2023

Would you believe it if I said that the world you see is not locally real? Atleast, The Physics Nobel Prize Winners of 2022 - a bunch of quantum physicists certainly seem to be able to prove it. It simply means - what you and I see and understand, is only real to us, and may not necessarily be the reality. Further simplifying, it means each one of us are able to create our own reality. I just came back from my visit to Center for Brain Research (about 400), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and learned about their aging research. Everyone seems to agree that how brain perceives something is still a mysterious phenomenon.

So, how does it matter to us? What if the world is not locally real? What's in it for us to apply and reflect upon?

I will explain -

Insight -

We see the world around us through the filter of our inner thoughts. The more we refine our inner thoughts, the better our outer world tends to become.

This is my year end newsletter and 2022 feels like a lifetime to summarize. I will try to write looking ahead.

On setting personal goals - using a product centric approach!

I am sharing a few graphics and charts that I thought made a difference in my life through the year 2022. Here is one on better organizing your personal and life goals.

Insight - Mission → Vision → Strategy → Goals → Roadmap → Task

When you are setting goals for 2023, always think about the mission, the vision, your strategy, mini-goals/milestones, roadmap, and task. This template is used by product experts in creating great products, but I would say this approach can be used to succeed in personal life goals and milestones as well.

Stress management

Working closely with founders on my podcast Pitch Cafe has given me exposure the levels of stress a founder goes through, day in and day out. It is not easy being a founder, who has made the plunge and living without a fall back job for job security. Here is a graphic that got me thinking on how to help founders reduce their stress levels

What can be done about such stress?

I use the formula called Ikigai, doing what you love for a profession reduces a lot of stress.

But off late I have been hearing that Ikigai is misinterpreted. Ikigai is not only about making money as you do what you love, it is a very western interpretation. Ikigai has nothing to do with productivity, it is more to do with being inspired to live life gratefully everyday.

Eitherways, both versions of Ikigai have helped me, as a founder myself, to beat stress levels. The left image is the westernized version of Ikigai ??, and the right image ?? is the actual interpretation of the term Ikigai.

Being in love with the business you are in - is also Ikigai

Case in point, I would like to bring up an unusual case study about Barnes & Nobles that is quietly making a comeback and taking over Amazon book stores. Until now Amazon's legendary focus on customer-centricity had made Bezos a hero who overthrew Barnes & Nobles.

"The lesson is so simple. If you want to sell music, you must love those songs. If you want to succeed in journalism, you must love those newspapers. If you want to succeed in movies, you must love the cinema. But this kind of love is rare nowadays."

"You don’t fall in love for logical reasons, and you could never convince someone else to do so on the basis of arguments. People either feel it or they don’t. That’s true whether you love your spouse or you love something more intangible like a song or a book or a movie. "

If you don’t really love the music (or books or newspapers or cinema or whatever), and you are in it just to make money, those cash flow projections you make may turn out to be wrong.

On not giving up - Being consistent and committed to success

My rockstar mentors have always taught me the power of consistency. On not giving up easily. But it is important to understand why we give up and how not to ? Here is a graphic that really helped me navigate fear and personal inhibitions. I hope you find it useful!

Insight -

If you ever find yourself in a weak moment, recognize it, embrace it and then you will realize how to come out of it. You cannot solve the problem if you do not shift your plane of thinking. For instance, if you are stuck in a job you don't love, doing things you do everyday, will not get you out of that situation. You will need to move to a different plane of thinking and "acting", so you can move to your "magic" zone of productivity and success.

As Simon Sinek calls it "Be an Idiot" - Another mantra that has helped me succeed and beat stress

When I work with new clients, I don't pretend to know it all. And this has been my single most reason for becoming successful, understanding client needs and coming out with a product that delights them! Listen on...

No harm being an idiot!

B2B startup Inner Fit - beating stress by democratizing executive coaching for all

Super thrilled to be showcasing the B2B startup Inner Fit on my podcast Pitch Cafe with brilliant alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay , Sanchit Garg who has already float a successful startup TravelTriangle . Listen to his vision and mission of making Inner Fit an app that can make executive coaching available not just to C-level execs but to all employees.

Wrap up -

Mental health is at the fore of 2023, I believe. Human beings have access to most comforts in life, and left with lots of time to think and reflect. It is of prime importance how we think, and drive our actions, our physical and mental health. Here 's wishing you a productive, happy, fulfilling and holistic New Year 2023!

This shloka clearly states that what we make of our inner world flows into the outer world. How we feel inside our minds and hearts flows into our outer world and vice versa. It is all indeed part of an organic whole -

Wrap up -

Here's wishing all of you the path from insight-to-impact,

Upward-and-onward,

the very best of everything!

-Vida Patil