Three things that tell me that life's amazing!

You know how life is amazing?
No?
Lemme give not one, not two, but three examples!

One. 
I told Parijat a few days ago that I want to speak to a large gathering and be good at it. And develop that skill. He mentioned that the only way to do it is to get more face stage time. And like most advice that Parijat gives, it made sense.

So, from then on, I am on a lookout for opportunities to speak on large, public forums.

And somehow Universe conspired and made it happen.

I am going to speak to a group of 120 people about communication and branding.

Now, it is not exactly what I want to talk to the world about but it is a start. And the two other speakers that will speak on the same date to the same audience from the same stage are FAR FAR better than I. And thus, the opportunity is thrilling and scary at the same time. And yes, I am getting paid for it!

So, yay!

Two. 
I've been wanting to make public art for a long long time. And I am keen on establishing myself as an artist. Even though my "art" skills are non-existent and even though I try and write every day, my words are barely passable. And thus, the idea of a being an "artist" has remained a distant dream.

Till I saw this opportunity to exhibit at a museum. See Affordable Art Fest.com. These guys are new and are willing to give an aspiring artist a chance. And a chance is all I want.

The moment I saw it, I knew what I was going to send there. If you are curious, this. I need to work on it and polish it a lot for it to be even considered. After all, these days, every person with a camera is a photographer! 

Of course, I am yet to be selected and all that. But it did inspire me to think more about the "art" and the "artist" in me.

So, yay again!

Three. 
Recently, while thinking about my brand and reputation, I realized that I need to give my words a longer flight. And one of the ideas that I considered was to somehow get into the business of writing songs  I thought if I could make music and put that out, it would be awesome. And this is when I met this singer-writer-composer who is EXACTLY in the same zone as I - Indian, Sufi, Ghazal and similar.

Of course, I got talking to him and found him really affable. One thing led to another and he ended up asking me if I could write some songs that he could compose and sing. And I was like, "Woah dude! this is what I wanted!"

No, I haven't composed any songs. But the opportunity to do so is here.

So, yay yet again!

***

So you see, life does throw opportunities your way.
And it is amazing.
All you need to do is, give luck a chance :)

The Girl In Red Shorts

So, most days, I leave from home at around 645. Some days I am early and some, late. But it is around this time. The idea is that there's no traffic on the road and I like reaching early and getting a head start. Against who, I am not sure. 

Why would I leave home in the first place? Early or late? Cos I cant work at home. If I had my way, I would leave home at 3:45 and reach at 4:15 and get going with things that are supposed to be done. You know, more things get done in the morning. Don't you? 

What is open at that hour? Starbucks close to my place opens at 7 AM. The office is 24 x 7 access, though there's no AC. Which is ok these days. So, there is someplace to park my ass, get the Internet and get some work done.

Ok, I am digressing.

Coming back. When I leave at around 6:45, I see all these young people trying to get fitter - some are pumping iron, some are doing yoga and a lot of them are running around. I also see older folks that are pretending to work out and whiling away time. You know, in life. And then there are those walkers, employed with the sole purpose of getting the dogs to poop at places where no one can spot em. I also see those scrappy young men cleaning cars. And I see sleepy-eyed guards that often do double shifts. Everyone is part of the scenery.

The only person that catches my eye in all this melee is this girl that is running like her life depends on it.

And no, she's not the only one running there. People of all ages, shapes, genders, and sizes run. And they run with varying speeds. And with different emotions. Some are calm. Come are huffing and puffing. Some are enthused about the act of running. The scenery I talked about? Each person is part of the scenery. You see them and you ignore them. They are like furniture that you don't even know you ignored. They are there. To fill the stage for the main hero to come in and perform. Like those filler acts that open for the headliner?

And who is the headliner? The girl I talked about. The girl in Red Shorts. The one that is running like her life depends on it.

For starters, I have this thing for red. The color of C4E. The color of excitement. The color of energy, strength, passion, Coke, blood, danger and lipsticks.

Plus, when she runs, it is a sight to behold. It is an epitome of the beauty of the human body in motion. Don't confuse her for those fashion models that just look great. This woman is in motion. In action. When she's running, she's pushing herself. And her physical limits. It is a spectacle to watch.

Thing is, when she's running, all you see on her face is this determination for the next stride. You can see that she is trying hard and pushing herself. Unlike a lot of other people that run, she is not smiling. She is not relaxed. She is not taking is easy. She is at it. Hardcore man. You know that this running is taking considerable effort for her. And she is putting in the effort required. Which a lot of people will not. They would give up. Heck, I would give up!

I am of course at a respectful distance and not make her uncomfortable with the staring. But for as long she is in the line of sight, she does not stop running man! I wish I could run like her. I don't know her name but I do know that theGirlIn Red Shorts is my inspiration. If she can, I can. In fact, if I had the balls to talk to random women, I would walk up to her and ask her to be my trainer.

Irrespective, I need to get back to running (for the umpteenth time). This entire idea of someone running, struggling at it and yet not giving up is an alien concept. I HAVE to be like her. Right now, I get excited about something, I do it for a few days and then I give up. I need to have consistency in what I do. And in when I do and how I do.

Maybe the Girl in Red Shorts is the inspiration?

Regards,
The guy in black short shorts who does not run at all.

Read other #TheGirlIn stories here.

Thank you, Pradeep (11)

Post 11 of #sg100peopleToThank. More about this series is here. I started this in April and then as things got busy, I sort of forgot about it. Until I was cleaning Asana and saw that I had decided I will write 100 thank you letters. And here I am! 

Thank you, Pradeep!

So, Pradeep Daniel. I don't even know how to describe him as. Before I try to talk about him, lemme give context. At a point in time, I used to work with this events agency as the client servicing / strategy person and Pradeep was the head of the creative team. As two senior resources of the company, we often had to work closely on various projects. And like all other colleagues that work closely, we've shared some great times. And not so great times. 

Of course, Pradeep moved on. And then I did. And there was no reason to stay in touch but like those old warhorses that gather together to relive their battles, Pradeep and I meet often (about once in two years when I am in the same city as he) and talk about the times gone by. 

So, now that you know who he is, lemme try and describe him. Try is the keyword. He is one of his kind. I know this is a cliche and the writer in him would cringe at this. The supervisor in him will ridicule me and ask me to rework the copy and the friend in him will encourage me to think harder. He is not just a senior. He is a friend. To everyone that knows him. 

This still does not do justice to who Pradeep is. Lemme try harder. Maybe Pradeep is someone who could write so well that his email could move you to tears? I remember reading one of his emails when he wanted leave. I distinctly remember wanting to be his driver and drop him to his hotel with my own very hands. In fact, I would look forward to reading his emails - even if they were for work. They were pieces of art. If I were him, I would put those emails on an exhibition. If nothing else, I would publish a book. 

Of course, he is more than a writer. Lemme try harder, as he would say. 

Maybe Pradeep is that original multitasker who taught me that I need to be able to write copy, make my own artworks, get the damn thing printed, ensure that prints have come out alright and follow up with the Production team till those are put up at the event venue! Maybe it is the time that I spent with Pradeep that has made me chase this multitaskness! May be secretly I hate him for being so good that all my life I've chased his benchmarks! 

Maybe he is someone who taught me that I ought to enjoy those long rides home from work (I lived some 50 KMs away from the office. Pradeep, another 10 or so beyond that). In fact, Pradeep made those rides fun (the drive otherwise is way too long, too drab, too monotonous and too tiring). If not for Pradeep, I think I would've quit Gravity long before I eventually quit. 

Maybe he is someone who had the balls to stand up to two super-smart, super-opinionated, super-intelligent people that he reported to. You know that unstoppable force hitting an immovable object? Pradeep was that force. Suvi and Anna were that object. You can not imagine the intensity of that explosion.  And of course, on the way back home, he would glow in the, well, afterglow. And I would catch some radiation. And, well, radiate. 

Maybe he is a magician under the garb of a human being - he has answers to all the life's questions and mysteries. May be is Calvin and he is pulling a fast on us by posting Calvin posts on his Instagram feed all day long. Maybe he is the hero we all need (but do not deserve). 

You get the drift. That's Pradeep Daniel for you. Thank you, Pradeep. For being you. 

Oh, and I have a confession to make. I am guilty of often overlooking the contributions made by Pradeep because there was Suvi around. Each is different. Each is important. But as it happens often, the polite one tends to fly under the radar. Like Pradeep did. I know this is too late and too little. But I have to put this on paper. Pradeep, thank you! 

Till we meet next, Daniel San!

Love,
SG

Others posts in this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Post Travel Post-Mortem

Hello! So, I was traveling the day before and yesterday. And while that is a good thing (travel always is), what sucked was that this entire thing about Deep Work that am trying to implement in life? It took a back seat. I could not spend time on thinking, I could not write, I could not fill in my trackers, I had no clue what was happening with work. The worst was that the momentum that I had going for last 4-5 days is gone.

As I started the day, I DID check social media while I was on the pot. I did not meditate. I had no clue what I was supposed to do during the day. And I did things that were not allocated on the calendar. And of course, I am distracted AF. In fact, as I write this, I started at 0900 but its 0936 and I've done a million other things but wrote here.

I need to find a way to not slot things when I am traveling. And I need to find a way to get back to work once I am back.

Plus, I think this philosophy of Deep Work that requires you to take regular breaks to recuperate, I don't that would work with me. I have this need to keep busy and be all over the place. And because I know the importance of taking breaks, I will probably do 2-3 days of digital detox. In the sense, I will not work at all on a computer at all. And I will use that time to read, think, eat well, sleep, meditate and generally do nothing.

Of course, the challenge will be to get back to work after that break. Let's see how I do that.

Oh, and I write this, I am listening to Wakhra Swag on loop. Try it. It is addictive AF.

With that, it's over and out. See you guys soon.

Lessons from Anurag Kashyap's Journey in Bollywood

Thanks to Vijesh, I saw this talk where Anurag Kashyap talks about his journey in Bollywood. There are tons of lessons in there. I think you must check it out. This blog post is a list of lessons that I am taking away from it.

Here's a list.

• Once you know what you want to do in life (that's where I think half the battle is), identify places where people who can help you find work on what you want to work on hang out. Spend time there. Offer them your services for free. Till a point, you become so important that you start getting the work you wanted. Aka, hustle. He says that he worked at Prithvi Cafe because that is where all the film-wallahs would hang out. And once he was there, he started to work for free, as a writer. Because he could write fast and did not ask for credit or money, he started getting work. And with time, he became important.
• Always be available. Continuation from the first point. 
• No one owes you anything. If you want it, you better go work for it. Just because you want it, the world will NOT serve it to you on a platter. He gives an example of how people goto him and tell him that they want to make movies and he asks them, "who's stopping you?"
• He says that each choice has a consequence. And you have to know that you will have to live with and deal with those consequences. 
• Every time he would see resentment from people around him, he would move out from that clique. 
• Do things. And not just crib. Do not blame others. Do not abuse others. Don't just cry that things are wrong. 
• Jugaad. How do you understand people and appeal to their desires deep down and get things done. He gives an example of how he got a digital camera for free by offering a role to the person who controlled the camera. 
• When you believe in something, you HAVE to stand up for it and fight for it. You HAVE to take responsibilities. This is my biggest takeaway. 
• Persistence is probably one of the most undervalued traits! Of course, you have to know what you really really stand for in life. And once you know what you believe in, you HAVE to persist with things!
• When you fail, you don't crib or moan. You go back to the drawing board and restart. As he said, the world does not owe you anything! 

That's about it. Do tell me what you take away from his talk. Over and out! 

PS: This was first written for subscribers of my letters, SoGv2. More about em is here. 

Hello, themes!

Good afternoon!

So, as I write this, I have just spent one hour of almost uninterrupted time on book2 and trust me, it was HARD. For someone like me (who has an attention span of a Goldfish). It sucked to not reach out for the phone every 1 second. But I am happy that I could do an hour on #book2. Today was the second day when I could work on it. If I go at this rate, I will probably have the bible ready in a month or so (that is what I am hoping to achieve). And why? Because a talent agent has asked me to write the bible - it apparently interests them enough to go pitch to some production houses. Yay to that! 

Like I've been saying, the ability to write (and remain unfazed with negative feedback) has been the largest thing to me. These letters and my blog is ok - these are consumed by friends and family and thus I get immense support. But what I write in my books is for the world at large. And the world at large is anything but kind. I mean the world is kind as well. But there are enough and more that would not cut you slack. But then, those people expand my universe and get me ahead. So, it is worth the grind.

So yeah.

What else? Yeah... apart from this two-day streak of working on #book2, yesterday was a special day. I saw my name on a screen for the first time yesterday, as a producer. Of a short film. The only other thing that I've done before this is helping a musician friend with this music video.

No, can't say much about the short film at this point in time, there are a lot of open ends. But we should be able to talk about it in less than a month. Hope it happens sooner. Can't wait! It is a step in the direction of where I want to move with the theme of storytelling. And been wanting to move for a while.

Theme. Themes.

I think I have finally found a universal word to describe the method in my madness. I like knowing about many things and I love to talk to many people and I want to learn as much about things as I can. There is so so much that I want to do, stand for, push, etc. But I never had the word to describe those things. And often I would get trapped in my own head. And of course, no one would understand what am doing, let alone what am hoping to achieve. I was dancing to a song that no one else could hear.

Not anymore. I have the words to express what I am hoping to do. I call it themes.

Themes.

So, some themes that I have in life are...

1. Storytelling / Entertainment 
2. Relationships / People 
3. Long-term thinking / Compounding 
4. Longevity 
5. Abundance / Wealth 
6. Enabling 
7. Ambition
8. Give back / Pay it forward 

Of course, this is an indicative list. There has to be more. There is. And then, once I have a largish set of themes to work with, I will reduce these themes to less than 5.

The list remains WIP. Like I said, with time I will refine these in a manner that they'd make more sense to me (and to the world). The point is that each thing I do must fall under a certain theme.

• Write books? The theme of storytelling, entertainment.
• Travel? The theme of exploration.
• Mt. Everest? The theme of adventure, ambition, inspiration. 
• Teaching? The theme of giving back.

Think of these as tags. Each thing I do can now fit under a particular "theme" and with time, I will refine these.

Makes sense?

What are some of the themes that you relate to? What can I help you with?

Originally written as a letter to some friends on SoGv2. 

The randomness of success

Remember, yesterday, I talked about the guy that I met that made me think hard? Well, that hard thinking is still happening! In the sense that what he said, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. There are a million threads going all over the place but the one that I keep coming back to, again and again, and again and again and again is the one where he asked me about my heroes and their success. He said, what if the heroes that I look up to (people like Steve, Bill, Elon, Jeff, Paul, Raj, Suvi, Rajesh and others) were not really driven by hard work but by randomness. What if they just got lucky and there is no formula that you can take from their success to apply to your life and get successful.

Now, this is a very new idea to me. I mean am aware of the concept of fooled by randomness and the coin-flipping concept outlined in the Superinvestors of Graham and Doddsville. But I never applied that to the success of people that I look up to. I always thought they were ahead of the curve because they were doing something right. And I've believed that I can reverse engineer their success and create this magic potion that can help me find success.

But this very thought that the heroes that I look up to could be because of sheer luck, it is not cool. In the sense, I want to believe that success is achievable and there is a path that I can walk to reach the end goal. I am not getting in this debate between goals, path, destinations, etc. Hope you get the drift when I say that you can tread a certain path to reach the end goal. 

I tried hard to give evidence against the assertion. I said that if success is random, then how is that some people can get successful at multiple ventures. And before I could wait for a reply from the guy, it dawned on to me that just the law of large numbers can explain people who have multiple successes and people who have nothing. It IS all randomness!

The idea that success is random also sort of questions the very existence of this idea called Saurabh Garg. I mean the inking that I have in terms of what I want to do with life is around enabling others to live their best life and that means I need to help them get successful. But, if I can't decode success and thus I can't enable it, why am I even alive?

The day that was - 11 Jul 2019

Yo. I have nothing special to report. Except that, today was one of those eye-opening days. I met this guy who made me think about the very reason why I am alive! I always thought I had the answer but I did not :(

I mean I know I want to enable a billion people to do better. By setting an example (you know, do tough things like climbing the Mt. Everest, making a billion dollars, etc). And then by connecting them with others that I know could help them. I just don't know how to do that at scale! 

So, he gave me this brilliant framework to think on. And that means I will have to work hard, think hard and probably get hurt as I uncover those patterns that have made me who I am. Task's been cut out for me. Tough thing.

Apart from that one meeting, I did some work, walked almost 13K steps (not that I did not want to - blame it on Mumbai traffic), ate like a pig (need to fix this), published a letter, wrote this post and getting ready to call it a day. Oh, now, when I end the day, inspired by Deep Work, I shut down the laptop and do not even think about things.

So, all in all, a pretty ok day. I just hope that I get to sleep well.

Until tomorrow, over and out!

Day 3.

Today is day 3 of publishing three days on the trot on my blog. The one I wrote the day before, there was an agenda to it. The one I wrote yesterday, there was no agenda. Today, I have one. To take the streak to 3. In absence of anything meaningful on my hands and absence of ideas that I can work on to make meaning, this is the least I can do.

As I write this, I have not checked my email in the last 18 hours or so and no the world has not come crashing down. I will check emails right after this post is done. I have spent less than 10 minutes on Twitter + Instagram combined. I feel I am missing out on a lot. But so far nothing has been taken away from me. Guess once I miss on a big opportunity because I was not around to respond to messages. But then, like they say, if there's something that is important enough for you to know, it will find a way to reach you. So, let's see. I have stayed away from Whatsapp as well. Unless absolutely necessary.

Thing is, I am trying to implement Deep Work philosophy in life.

It is tough - this concentration without the distractions that I am used to. So far its been a few hours and I am yet to see any tangible positive results. If I can do this for a month or so, I will probably see the impact. Let's see how that goes. I just need to get enough writing and enough exercise done. Once that happens, life would be ok I guess - other pieces are good (family, relationships, friends, etc). Money continues to remain a challenge. Let's see when that gets resolved. 

The thing with Deep Work is that it asks you to allocate distraction free chunks of time on things. Like this piece. I allocated 30 minutes to write this piece. I am in the 17th minute and I don't know what else to write. I have to persist for 13 more minutes and write whatever comes in my head. Ok, 10ish. I will need 3 minutes to edit, spell-check, etc.

The biggest takeaway that I had from this book was the importance of winding down. I knew about it but I would never exercise it. Now is the time to do it. Yesterday I did not work as I was about to sleep. I did not start work immediately as I woke up today. Of course, work is light these days and thus I have the luxury. Let's see how the next few days (as I get busier) go.

Ok, I am at the 23rd minute and I can't write anymore. Will edit and publish this.

And that's about it for the time being. There is nothing else to write. I will, however, write a few more words today on SoG 1KWAD piece. In case you want to receive those in your mailbox, please let me know.

Chalo, over and out.

PS: As I was editing this, I realized that there are so many forward-looking statements in this piece! Such has life been - forward-looking. Saving up sex for old age. Etc.

PPS: Why would I force myself to implement Deep Work? Because I realized that life is short, you are alone and we waste so much time that it's not funny. And, this quote...

Dr. Peterson says, "if for 10 years you dint avoid doing what you knew you needed to do, what would you be like?"

My next ten years started on Jul 1, 2019. I am 10 days in and if I can't write every day, why am I even trying? There is so much comfort in taking up an easy job!

Till tomorrow...

9 things about Saurabh Garg

I just felt like publishing something on the blog. And because I had nothing else, here are 9 random things that you did not have to know and I did not have to publish but here I am.

1. I am writing this on a MacBook Air. I bought the machine a couple of years ago and I don't know how much I have typed on this but the keys A, S, D, E, and C are faded to a point that I mistakes when I type sentences like this that require these letters.

2. I am a big fan of talk shows, the kinds David Letterman can pull off. In fact, I love Shekhar Sumar for his Movers and Shakers (that used to air on TV when I was a kid). I want to at some point in time, create such a show. The motivation is to learn from these amazing people (guests) and then do what...? I don't know. But I do know that I love when I am meeting these interesting people and learning from them. At some point in time, I need to figure that shit out.

3. The biggest thing that I suck at is consistency. I have tried a million times to do things on a regular basis and I have failed. This 9 random things today is an attempt in the direction. I will try and post something for the next 100 days (yes, yes, you've heard this before - I have taken up these multiple challenges and failed at most of those). But I can't stop trying. You know.

4. As we speak, I am interested in a few things that may or may not be of interest to you (like most of this post). The topmost of that list is this thing called Personal Knowledge Management. The idea is that you know so many people and so many things and so many ideas - there has to be a place to catalog those together.

Other things that I am interested in are - ways to break larger goals into tiny things that you can track (for example, if I want to grow my business, I need new clients and the way to track could be to see how many cold calls I send). Get the drift?

5. As I write, I am watching Khosla Ka Ghosla - it is one of the best movies that I've ever seen. You have to see it. If you haven't.

6. Mumbai right now is reporting the best weather of the year. It is raining cats and dogs and it is lovely. Just that the roads are jacked because of the metro and roads. But it's lovely. You need to experience the city in the monsoons if you wish to experience Mumbai.

7. I am on #7 and I don't know what else to write. I did not know it could be this tough. Ok, my favorite food these days is Indian - you know Dal and Parantha, etc. If I had my way, I would just eat that. But them carbs suck. Wish someone could invent Indian food without carbs.

8. I own some 8 pair of shoes and I wear none. Actually, I don't know if it's 8. But there must be that many. Will count some day.

9. Last. Phew. I was such a pain. The last thing. I am working on my website for the last few days. And I am stuck on it. It has to be like an online place where I catalog my ideas, thoughts and other things that I wish to stand for. Or take a stand on. You know, this blog for example. You know where am going?

Phew!

So, 9 things. If you are reading this, do tell me 9 things about you. Would be lovely to know :)

Over and out.

Rant - 8 Jul 2019

Ranty post ahead. Talks of things that may not be polite or nice or good. Read at peril. 

So, few things happened in the last few days that have pushed me to the edge, if there is an edge. No, I did not want to jump over something. Just that it was stifling, for the want of a better word. You know, how life could be unfair? If the last few days is any indication, life IS unfair. And is probably meaningless. So so many things happened that left me listless. Lemme talk of each of those in short. 

A, A friend is going through a bad breakup. The girl is clinically unwell and seeing a doctor. The guy is ok but his parents are unwell and is at hospitals all day long. I am one of their common friends and I thus know both sides of the story. And its a stalemate - it is not going anywhere, both of them know about it but hoping to not accept it. I wish I could fix it. Two great people. In pain. For no rhyme or reason. 

B, Someone I knew about and had exchanged a few tweets with passed away. No, I did not know the guy. I knew of him. Just that he was everything that I’ve ever wanted to be - nice guy, chasing fitness, restauranteur, helpful (he would help everyone that needed help), married to the love of his life, hustler, stood up for times when he was wrong, celebrated awards that his restaurant would get and so on and so forth. Because I knew of him on Twitter, while he and his life are familiar, he was still a stranger to me. And despite that, when he passed away, it came as a shock to me. He was young and he was a great guy. And you know, bad things aren't supposed to happen to great people. But it did. Life is fucking unpredictable, unfair and terribly short! Wish I could undo it!

C, Work hasn’t been great lately. I am working on this project that I really want to do well and despite all my attempts, I am failing at it. To a point that I am doubting my abilities. I anyway suck at BD and when I can't seem to deliver on a project, I get jacked in my head. My work is really really important to me and it sucks when I suck at it. And it sucks all the more that I don't know how to fix it :(

D, Something happened with this group of friends (no, can't talk about it here - this is reserved for sgEchoChamber) that made me realize that I do not have any close friends. I am just a convenient acquaintance to most people I call a friend. And the stupid part is that I've molded my entire life hoping to be of use to people I call friends! 

E, I've been unwell for far too long. And there's a different thing every goddamn time. Like this recent trip to Delhi (more about it in a bit), every time I’d sit in a cab, I'd feel pukish. Every time I’d eat something oily, I’d want to die. And this was coming on the back of that week when I feel sick. So, that's not been cool either. 

F, the only thing that was working out was the letters that I would send and the connections I made from those. Those too sort of stopped once I was in Delhi. Blame it on travel and general fuckery of the mind. 

Lemme talk about Delhi. So I had this meeting on a Tuesday and I decided to stay back the week. And I did. Met old friends and acquaintances. Jammed with them - it helped because they don't see me on a day to day basis, they could see things from an emotionally detached space. And thus, got tons of ideas. Which was a great thing to get some much-needed distraction! 

I also realized that I probably will never be the Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. Heck, I won’t be Paul Graham ever. Leave him aside. I won’t even be an Indian Internet Entrepreneur that impacts things at scale. And it's not a great feeling to realize that you will not be what you thought knew you were all your life! 

So yeah. These and other such things kept me awake. Pushed me to the edge. 

And while I was thinking about things and writing this, I realized that I ought to be so thankful about my life. And about all the opportunities that come my way. And now that I am trying to get out of the slumber, I think I will have to be faster and lot on point. 

Guess these are the rude shocks that I needed to be able to make my life better and larger and all that? No?