Billionaire Psychology, India's Rise, And More
5 fascinating ideas in 5 minutes
Hello readers,
In case you missed it, your boy just appeared on a podcast and spoke about IIT, reading (of course), and other interesting things. Watch me blabber non-stop.
For all new subscribers: we’ve had an interesting last month, covering some fascinating topics, like:
How we went from being broke and poor to rich and amazing?
Some philosophical observations on the future of AI
6 delicious book recommendations for the learning community (you can’t miss this one)
Today, we’ll cover 5 meaty learnings from July, with individual links for you to take a deep dive. In case you learned nothing new last month and are killing yourself with guilt, don’t worry. The next 5 minutes will turn things around:
Billionaires: What would you do if you suddenly got a billion dollars? The answer to this question can say volumes about whether you’re the type who can actually become a billionaire. Most of us would talk about what we’d buy, where we’d donate, etc. But not the one with a billionaire mindset- that person would immediately try to figure out how she’ll make another billion. This is what separates them from the rest- the pursuit of wealth as an end in itself, and not because it serves some purpose. Interestingly, there are a few traits observed across billionaires: not just a lot of greed but also extreme levels of overconfidence, and an obsession with horizontal inequality- comparing yourself not to the remaining 99.9999% of the world, but to the other billionaire in the city who has a bigger yacht than you!
Finally, the fingers are all sorted Dr. Ambedkar on Gandhi: In this rare BBC interview, you can listen to Dr. Ambedkar’s candid thoughts on India’s freedom movement, and specifically, his thoughts on the role of MK Gandhi. Since he faced Mr. Gandhi not as a devoted admirer but as a political opponent, Gandhi showed him his real side (or fangs, as he puts it). He believes that India would have achieved freedom without Gandhi’s efforts and stated that he was merely an episode in India’s history, certainly not an epoch-maker. He went to the extent of saying that his memory has been kept up only because the nation has been made to remember him by declaring a holiday in his honor and other such means. “If these artificial respirations weren’t given, he’d be long forgotten”. Quite a few nukes were dropped in the course of the interview. Don’t take my word for it, listen to it yourself.
India’s breakout growth: This report by Capital Group, which seems to be peppered with a truckload of optimism, is quite fascinating. India seems to be poised for a decade of explosive growth, based on the 9 indicators that the analysts highlight. With solid reforms in place (Aadhar, GST, RERA), a mad infrastructure boom that many of us may not have noticed in the last decade, China plus one tailwind, and favorable demographics (you should know about the coming population collapse), Bharat seems to be in an enviable position and the $10tn might not be the distant dream it has always been.
Everything Is Cyclical: In the history of warfare, we learn that victory sows the seeds of another war. Everyone thought WW1 was so terrible something like that’d never happen again…till WW2 happened. Businesses show that breakout success sows the seeds of eventual downfall. So many of the most successful companies of the 1900s grew so big they crumpled under their own weight. The same is true for our lives- things move in cycles. “Start with a dream, accomplish that dream, then what was previously considered a dream becomes a new baseline, and the gaze of your ambition moves to the next dream. Inadequacy, hard work, elation. Inadequacy, hard work, elation. Everything is cyclical.” The only way to real peace and happiness is to find an exit from this mad cycle.
On Leadership: This is a good conversation on leadership advice, which is increasingly rare to find in a world of generic gyaan and endlessly repeated (and oft meaningless) truisms. A common thing among great leaders is that they make their reports feel big in their presence instead of projecting their own grandiosity. Interesting way to look at it- and all leaders ought to ask themselves “Do my people feel better in my presence? Or do they just feel that I’m the dominant one who needs to be suckered up to, which actually does the opposite?”
That’s it for today, folks. I hope you picked up a new idea or two to impress your grandma at the dinner table. If you want to get even more impressive, I’d highly recommend you take out a few more minutes for these fun articles:
If you enjoy reading this every Sunday, share my work with some smart friends. I’d be immensely grateful:
Loved how you actively fought default male bias by using 'she' in the context of billionaires rather than a 'he' ✨ Thank you for yet another insightful post!
Keep this coming!