What's in 2020?

Unlike previous years, Last year(2019) was very eventful because I could achieve visible goals both personally and professionally. I got a chance to work more in NLP((conversational AI), grew my LI family from 200 to 11k, Started writing an article and tutorial, new job, became #rasa superhero, etc. Awesome, right?

Yes, but I suck at many things too which I realized over time and after a bit of research, I listed a few important skills which I should learn to make my next year 10X productive. I know there is a lot to learn and it never stops. But these are MUST have skills that I decided to master this year and thought to share with my LinkedIn family. 

Storytelling

This is one of the hard-earned skill which only comes with practice. Being at various startup and community events one thing I realized is that I used to suck at networking and I felt storytelling is a must-have skill for communication because no one likes plain and boring conversations. I came across this book "Unleash the Power of Storytelling: Win Hearts, Change Minds, Get Results by Rob Biesenbach" and few YT videos. I will share my learning over time :)

Networking

This isn't at the top of everyone's to-do list. Also, It can be time-consuming and incredibly draining. But it is definitely required for personal and professional(a community for me) growth. Networking isn't merely the exchange of contact details with others. It is all about establishing and nurturing long-term which I will try to master. I think networking like an investment that can pay you back in dividends throughout the course of your career. I feel meeting new people will definitely bring diversity in thoughts.

Look good

Though this is not a skill but everyone wishes for this. Knowing the right fashion and fitness sense(let's call it skill ) blended with tremendous will power will definitely make you achieve this. There are tremendous benefits to doing it. An most important is "Confidence"

Reading books

Charlie Munger said, “Go to bed every night a little wiser than you were when you got up”.

Reading is the best way of vicariously learning. We don’t always have to make the mistakes ourselves and we don’t always have to do everything by trial and error. It is so much better to learn from other people who have done what we have done or we have not done. Reading allows us to stand on the shoulders of giants and learn from people who have triumphed against the odds and overcome huge challenges and become successful.

Time to ditch the FOMO and switch to embracing JOMO

Aren't we overloaded with so many things? Hence we develop FOMO and it leads to extreme dissatisfaction and has a detrimental effect on our physical and mental health. To avoid that "Learn to say No" and turn on JOMO. It helps you be clear about your values and priorities, living in the moment, be better you, deeper connection/relations, etc.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Time management is one of the most rewarding skills that will take you far in your life. Again, it has numerous benefits. Better time management will make you productive, reduce stress levels and keep work-life balance. One thing I realized the hard way is "never ignore spending time with friends and family". Take an at least week-long break once in a quarter and get completely cut off from the usual routine.

Get Past the Fear of Learning Something New

Why should we do that?

It helps you to improve your skill, problem-solving and knowledge base, boosts confidence and decision making, become an open-minded and good thinker, etc

last but not least,

Helping others as much as I can personally and professionally through community "Co-learning lounge". Only the goal of our community is making education affordable by open-sourcing it and uplift everyone part of the ecosystem.

What's your new year resolution?

I wish you a very successful 2020.

Stay healthy ??, happy ??, get rid of the noise??, plan?? and execute?? it well.