2011: Year of dreams

It looks like yesterday when I was woken up in the middle of the night by a nightmare!

Jobless, directionless and confused. Having given up a good job and nothing working out in life, I cursed myself left, right and center.

I quickly realized that it was just a nightmare. I still had my job. I still had a salary coming in every month. And the appraisals and a possible good hike just around the corner.

I sat at my desk at 2.30am in the night and really wondered if I should resign from my job without any idea about what next to do in life.  Should I hang on for a while? Should I take it easy? Should I wait until I figure things out?

I couldn’t come to a conclusion. I slept.

Come morning, come light.. I thought, “heck, let me just do it”. Also, my wife was very supportive about it. That really helped!

I resigned from my job. The day was January 4th.

And then, began the story! Read the rest of this entry »

Salesmanship

A few years ago, my Dad sold a house in Ooty.

He sold it at least 40% below market price.  Primarily because the property had some issue (and was in a lawsuit).  Also because my Dad was not a salesman!

He was a retired Headmaster. Someone who had held the highest position in a school. How could he be a salesman? His self esteem forbade him from stooping to a salesman’s level.

He tried talking to a few guys, got a few quotes, got pushed hard by low ballers and bailed out cheaper. In fact, he got frustrated by delay and said ok to a 20% cut at the last minute on the initial proposed price.

Now, they say, “like father, like son”! I hate it for this particular thing! I am no salesman too!

Read the rest of this entry »

Books I’ve liked: Personal finance, investing & entrepreneurship

Every now and then, a friend asks me for a book recommendation, especially on personal finance, entrepreneurship and investing. Not because am an investing guru (which I am not), but because I read a ton of them!

I thought I will note it down here as well.

All these are books that I have read and liked a lot.

Few like One up on Wall street gave me the confidence that I too can be an investor in the stock market, which until then was crocodile infested space to me. Few like Intelligent Investor have been a huge huge help on almost everything finance. Few like Where are the customers yachts? changed my opinion on the stock market quite abruptly and changed my style of investing drastically.

And yet, few like Richest man in Babylon made me realize that simplicity and a principled method matters. A few like Extraordinary popular delusions helped me stay away from making costly mistakes.

Perhaps, there have been a few that have led me astray as well. Rich dad poor dad? Could be!

Read the rest of this entry »

Questions!

“Entrepreneurs make the mistake of focusing on their business plan before they’ve focused on their life plan”.

- Norm Brodsky

I don’t know if I am an entrepreneur yet. But I am glad I read this, because I was on the same path. Focusing too much on the business plan and ignoring the much more important life plan.

Life’s a roller coaster these days!

On days when I have many enquiries, I feel on top of the world. On days when there’s hardly an email or two, things look doubtful. Will I be able to cross last months revenue? What the heck am I doing here? Should I go back to a job? Questions plague me.

My way of overcoming those questions is usually by hitting the gym. Running does wonders to my mood.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why buy when you can rent?