If you met 7 year old self on the street, what 3 pieces of advice you would offer them? (Googling Myself 5)

 1. Respect every women in your life and around you.

2. Think very carefully before you speak.

3. It is good to make mistakes. Keep making them without feeling guilty.

The day I learn't the first, I got the love of my life. I wish, I had known this much before.

I have lost a lot of reputation and friends because I spoke irrationally a lot in the first quarter of my life. I corrected this mistake when I called Preeti back. I wish I could correct other mistakes too.

If I had pursued my Sainik School dream, my flat foot would have been caught at a very early stage, if I had pursued basketball, I could have made it to the National Team or even played internationally. There are many ifs in my life as in everyones. 

As a child, you doubt everything you dream of and your parents are there to tell you right from wrong. But their perspective of life is limited to their experiences. And to pursue ones dreams one has to put aside rational experiences and take irrational decisions and make mistakes. The earlier one makes mistake, the sooner they learn. 

I started making mistakes too late in life. I wish, someone had told me that it is okay to make mistakes if you learn from them.

The best thing I love about Jay is his attitude to make mistakes. He doesn't listen to me or Preeti. He just does what he believes in. And kanav on the other hand listens to me, analyzes and then makes mistakes. I wish both of them will make more of these mistakes before they get out in the real world.

What Kind of People Energize You? (Googling Myslef 4)

Positively Passionate people!

Passionate about anything!

Passion is a double edged sword. If it falls in the hand of a misguided person, it will not only strike him/her but everyone around them.

Positively passionate people are the ones who don't feel victimised in any situation and create opportunities for themselves. They are the true entrepreneurs in their field and are able to create positive dent in the area they wish to tread in.

They would lift you with their ideas and are not only confident but are quite self aware. Discussions with such people are enriching and sometimes even life changing.

Be it someone like Faraz, Yogi or Ranjith, I completely feel at home with them even if we talk after a long gap. I often try to read books written by such people or listen to their podcasts. 

These days I have been enjoying Vishal Gondal's Show which is probably a mine of some brilliant ideas. Even this concept of Googling Myself was suggested by one of his guests - Tirthankar Dash!

I am extremely lucky to be surrounded by passionate people including my Wife!

If you had $100million to invest in a social Cause what would you support? (Googling myself - 3)

Education! Of course!

It might be the same project which we had started in Punjab and develop it further to take it to places like Himachal, UP, Bihar etc.

The important question is Why?

When I answered this in 2008-2009, it was because I was quite passionate about teaching. And one of the best years in y life had been when I was in a teaching profile which I had enjoyed to the hilt.

But now, the reason is very different. It's not because I love doing it, but because the kind of impact I had seen a small project like Locus had created. 

Education is something which does not impact an individual rather, the whole community can feel the change.

What would be the title of my Autobiography? (Googling Myself 2)

 

The Rebel with a cause

What is a Rebellion? 

An act which does not conform to the standard norm of 'commonly acceptable behaviour' is classified as an act of Rebellion! 

When you are brought up in a typical middle class family, it is an unwritten rule that you have to step aside from your dreams and idiosyncrasies and follow a standard pattern in your life.

But how is that fun? 

How is that living?

Isn't it just surviving?

Don't one finds bound with chains most of the time?

I have struggled for freedom from these chains many times. The earliest struggle which I could remember was when I was in class 5th. I would have been around 11 years of age then.

My unrelenting passion was to join a Sainik School and train for being in the Army. This was also the time when Sharukh Khan Starrer, Fauji was released. And this dream of mine was fuelled by the creativity of this 13 episode series. I was preparing really hard for the written exams for Sainik School. I had even told a lot of friends about it. 

But Sainik School did not happen. Today as a father, I can clearly see the logic in the decision taken by my parents. But as an 11 year old it was suffocating. 

Later it was joining a taekwondo training academy, pursuing career in sports, not able to live my dream of being in defence forces. 

Do I blame my parents or anyone for it? No, never.

But this is what made my personality. The feeling of suffocation of not able to live your dream, however small is killing. Surviving is to live with this suffocation. 

I grew into an individual who would always find a way to break away from all this. It does take time for me to get on to the right path but every decision I take in my life is to breakaway from this suffocation. 

Over a period of time, I have been trying to find a way in which I can help other people to do the same. Be it by opening school in villages where we helped a lot of teachers breakaway from their suffocating lifestyles or be it as a Startup School Director at LPU, where I helped students.

People today need assurance that it is okay to breakaway. The cost of living your life the way you want is not exorbitant. Rather on the other hand it is even more worthwhile.

I hope that I would continue to create opportunity for myself and my kids to live a life one wants.

If I am locked in a room, what are the three things which I would take with me? (Googling Myself - 1)

If I am locked in a room, what are the three things which I would take with me?

1. Book - Discovery of India - by Jawahar Lal Nehru

2. A very heavy Register of atleast a 1000 pages (if possible)

3. A pen with Ink to last 1 lac words. 

Reason -

India is one of the oldest civilizations and a book which transcends time and captures the development of this civilisation provides insights into cultures, traditions, human behaviour and leadership. The pattern captured in the book is exquisite. Even after over 80 years since the book has been written, its power of capturing ones imagination is huge.

Why did I choose Discovery of India over my other favourite books - Mahabharata and Gita.

While both the other books are just outstanding in terms of the knowledge they impart and the way they make one look inside oneself. But Discovery of India sets itself apart from both these as it is a story about how we reached where we are and for me knowing both the things are important - knowing myself as well as how we reached here. I think that both these things combined will provide me direction into where I am heading. 

While for knowing myself, I am carrying the other two things where I intend to detail out myself and discover myself, this one book will help me get a perspective of the world we are living in today, the mistakes we have made, the things we could have done better and probably I would be able to identify things I need to read more about.