Learn and Create

Since 2015, I have been in a constant "learn and Build" mode. Like all immigrants almost everything was new for us in Canada and we had to learn to be a part of this new system. Top this up with the academic learning of my MBA. Drip by drip we did it like countless others but all of the above pales in comparison to the "Learn and Build" mode that I was sucked into after my MBA.

From learning how to start and run a company, to building a product to learning about an industry, about the suppliers and customers, technical stuff, regulations -  the list is endless. Constantly scouting for new opportunities and problem solving on a daily basis made the whole experience very intense. I would argue that more than the external learning, the highlight of the last several years has been the internal deep dives that I  took to learn more about myself. Learning is followed with improvements and therefore this iterative process has helped me create a new improved version of myself. I am still a WIP and I guess it will always be like that. It's been a helluva ride of character building and living my values.  

Some of the things I learnt / created (I will keep updating this list) - 

Starting and running a business (this is a big one). Learn and build websites. About eCommerce. Learn about sales and human behavior. I love to read and have been learning about history, sociology, behavioral economics from some great authors. Constantly updating with technology. Learning to code and build with python. Learning about Marketing (especially from Seth), and digital marketing and SEO and social media marketing. Learning about product photography. About shipping and customer service. Marketplaces like - Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, FB and IG shops, G shops and so on. Learning accounts. About doing business with the Canadian government and UN and the NATO. About products such as military hardware to lumber to medical devices to agricultural equipment to gems and jewelry (it's a long list!!). About tech companies from India. US based SaaS companies. About establishing partnerships for business. About teaching and mentoring. Constantly learning about the equities market (this is an everlasting love). Body, mind and soul. Health, diet, exercise and meditation and learning more and more about these. About parenting. About cars. About the real estate market and helping clients buy and sell homes. About gardening & landscaping......

Some places where I did not venture because of lack of interest as well as lack of time - news, politics, religion, sports (saw negligible tv).

Few takeaways -

1. From history and sociology - I learnt that human behavior doesn't change. 

2. Learning about different things has helped me connect the dots from diverse domains. I have a better understanding of "How the world works". It also helps me be more creative.

3. Bias for action - Avoid overthinking and take lots of action. Speed of action and quantity of action is important. 

4. People are different - because of the different experiences they had. Try and understand where a person is coming from.

5. Do simple stuff. 

6. Brain has very limited bandwidth - learn to reduce your cognitive load. 

7. Changing your mind is hard. We have biases. The two main ones are - confirmation bias: seeing what we expect to see. And the Desirability bias: seeing what we want to see.

8. Common sense is not common (Really.)

9. Mindfulness and emotional management will help you be happier. I guess maintaining the state of "happiness" is at the heart of our existence on earth. The mindfulness part is important. One cannot practice emotional management without a high sense of awareness. You have to rein your wandering mind and keep the cross hair on the target. This is concentration. The only way to develop focus is to practise it.