Grab and run opportunities

Posted on by pareen

Watch Silicon Valley. Check out how Peter Gregory gets curious about Burger King and then figures out the scarcity and economics of sesame seeds.

This sounds great but Peter Thiel wouldn’t operate like this.

Most traditionally successful people end up gaining the most on compounding, doing the same thing again and again till they get some kind of competitive advantage.

It makes little sense for them to go out of their way to find “grab and run” kind of deals and pursue them.

There is the exploration phase and then there is doubling down on opportunities. Money is made by doubling down on opportunities that you understand better than others.

Pendulum Theory

Posted on by pareen

This connects to Elements of Human Stack.

Can’t believe I never put this to words until a reference popped up.

Anyway, the Pendulum Theory states that we can never reach equilibrium from one end of the spectrum until we swing wildly to the other end. With every swing, the force is less, and the effects of extreme ends of a spectrum become visible. So we arrive somewhere in the middle, maybe leaning a little to one side or the other. Ideal is a middle but most of us choose our stance on the spectrum to complement our external environment.

On a personal, organizational or societal level, we would do great to acknowledge this.

Personal: If I am an overweight couch potato, I cannot do a nice morning routine that Atomic Habits tell me to. I will have a much easier time going to the other extreme and then coming back to the couch for a little bit. This helps my body and mind experience the effects of each lifestyle and then consciously choose. Most people rely on a mythical concept called discipline to get in the perfect schedule and end up giving up. Not how humans work.

On every level, I think we are always moving from one side of the spectrum to another. Whether it is about our beliefs, values, or behavior. We are constantly changing – some slowly, some fast. Some do it subconsciously, some intentionally.

We know both ends of any spectrum are bad. Moderation or Madhyast in Eastern cultures is the way.

I think the more conscious we are of the swinging, the faster we can bring it to an equilibrium. The ‘grass is greener’ problem is also solved by being conscious of which part of the spectrum you want to be on, and why.

The more stable we are, the better we can find communities that align with us: Alignment of human stack.

Fucked up reward-system

Posted on by pareen

Human beings grow. To grow, we need the motivation to put in some effort. This motivation used to be biological. Now it is mostly social.

This means society rewards and punishes each one of us in different ways. One of the most used ways is to give or take away attention. This has a direct impact on dopamine and other reward centers of the brain.

Having seen inboxes of a diverse set of women friends, I know that they can get rewarded for picking their nose on video.

Suddenly, effort != reward.

This fucks up their system and in the long run, it will fuck up the entire society.

I know and theoretically understand how bad patriarchy is. But the other end of the spectrum is going to be worse. Although my Pendulum theory says we will reach the other end of the spectrum before moving to a balanced middle, I would like to experiment and tell this incredibly dangerous, politically incorrect idea that reward should always correlate with effort.

All about possibilities

Posted on by pareen

I love it when I see possibilities instead of roadblocks. This may put me on the dreamer / optimistic side of the spectrum but I am addicted to this like a drug.

I think of possibilities in every situation, with every person, with every idea connecting to another idea, with every place, and with life.

Just that I always thought too much of negative possibilities most of my life. Now, I consciously decide to focus on the positive ones.

This makes me go from milestone to milestone without the loss of enthusiasm.

Pseudo-adventure industry

Posted on by pareen

Friend: I don’t like living in apartments in cities. I want to live under clear skies, sleep under the stars, live in a place with fresh air.

Me: I don’t think I can sleep on the roof as yet

F: No, there are other ways. We can have a glass roof in our room.

Now, here’s the problem. Sleeping under the stars is an experience, an adventure, and not just a sensory one. Sleeping within a room with just a visual of the stars is like going on an adventure with training wheels.

One, that is ironic because it takes adventure out of the adventure.

Second, this level of fear among human beings have created an entire industry that I would like to call pseudo-adventure. People who think they go on an adventure but never really approach the boundaries of their fears.

Me: I don’t think I want to get a glass roof. I will slowly learn to sleep on the rooftop.

[[add more examples]]

There are billion-dollar industries selling pseudo adventures to people who do not realize how unhealthy this is for their risk appetite and self-worth.

Every pseudo adventure is like a street handjob. Deep down you know this is the rock bottom. It is the

Ideas don’t matter

Posted on by pareen

I get too many people saying, “they stole my idea”.

To them, all I want to say is, ideas don’t get you credit, money, or importance if you can’t execute them. Exception is academics but let’s be frank, which academic has ever had an impact on the world. Only practitioners do.

So listen to this guy. He says what I want to tell you:

Read up about Ramanujan. He had answers to complex mathematical problems. But he had to ‘prove’ them before the fraternity accepted his genius.

That’s how the world works.

Stop complaining. Start executing.