Why I am looking forward to 2021

All things said and done, 2020 has been a very good year. At least for me. I hope it has been for you, too.

Not because I made more money. It's that I made many more friends than I had in any one year in the last decade. And that kind of wealth is difficult to measure.

Yes, the year has had its downs. I might have written more obituaries this year than on any other. But not all of those deaths were Covid-19 related.

At my age, I guess it is only expected that my contemporaries will be moving on. As, no doubt, many of us will, sooner than later.

But till then, we can leave this world a better place.

And here's why I think 2020 made the world I live in a better place.

1. The world realized how to make nature happier. Work from home. Don't commute. You dramatically reduce your carbon footprint.
2. Brands realized they were more than just products with a name tag. Every brand can have a phygital stream of revenue. The use of technology accelerated for most brands as they pivoted to generate revenues.
3. Thespians realized that geography is now history. A new genre of online the@ter emerged. Where actors and audience could see each other across continents.
4. The best way to grow is to give. The more I gave the more I got.

So here are some New Year resolutions I recommend.

Resolution 1: Let your fingers do the traveling

There are several advantages. Let me count the ways.

1. Mother Nature is happier. Less commuting means less pollution. Now you know you don't really need to travel for meetings. The world does, too.
2. Quality time with family. You get to spend more time with the people you are really working for.
3. Eight hours of work can be done in five hours. Want to know how? Read on.
4. You don't have to be limited by your geography for business. You don't need an H-1B Visa to earn in Dollars.

But will we learn from Mother Nature's year-long lesson? I am beginning to doubt it. Hence this appeal to the more enlightened amongst you.

Please don't go back to your old ways.

Haven't you had enough of traffic jams? Think of the lives you've saved in road accidents alone.

Staying home and staying safe has more meanings than one,

And if that's not enough of an incentive, do what I have been doing since 2001. Stay in the place you love while helping the world earn more. You end up earning much more than you did if you thought your market was just Kolkata. Or even India.

Let your fingers do the traveling. Business around the world is only a keyboard away.

Resolution 2: Create online businesses for your brand

I hope you have realized by now that every brand can have an online stream of business.

And that's because brands have emotionales. Products have rationales.

The rational benefits of products can be understood through the five senses.

The emotional benefit of a brand is understood in the heart.

If you truly have a brand, you can create a service that can be delivered digitally. And meet that emotional need. Profitably. Sure, phygital brands are even more profitable.

I would be happy to prove that this is true for every genuine brand.

So unless you have already pivoted, do so in 2021. I'd be happy to help. And if you've already discovered a new revenue stream for your brand, do share in the comments below.

Resolution 3: Chase a hobby. Make a world of new friends.

My hobby is theater. I got addicted when I was turning 17 and have never really given up. When Covid-19 came along, The Red Curtain, a theater group I have been associated with for more than 50 years, discovered how to do plays online.

The Red Curtain is committed to doing good theater for good causes. Within the first three months of lockdown, we had raised more money than we had done in three years of playing in proscenium stages and 'black boxes'.

Geography became history. Cast, crew, and audiences now spanned continents.

In November 2020, The Red Curtain celebrated the new ways in which actors, around the world, engaged with live audiences. We held a festival of plays that were not pre-recorded. And awarded the best in the world. With the help of an International Jury.

My e-mail list grew by more than 1000 names from 30 countries. People who also believe in good theater for good causes.

Go ahead. Name a hobby. I will be happy to show you how to be part of a global community that shares that hobby. They are all just a video call away.

Get a life. There are friends to be made across the world.

Resolution 4: Give generously. You get generously.

The trick, of course, is not to make getting the motivation of your giving.

I find that the more generously I give what little I know, the more I get to know what I don't know. And the more I learn what I don't know, the more I can give. It's an endless cycle of wealth.

The more people I manage to help, without expecting anything in return, the more they seem to end up helping me fulfill my dreams.

Which, in a way, is really simple.

To leave the world a better place.

Now, who wouldn't want to help with that?