Speakers and raconteurs often use stories to convince the listener/s. Marketers use a storyline to drive sales. Scientists employ analogies to convey a discovery to the public – DNA is like a spiral staircase, blood vessels are like highways of your body, etc. Politicians weave history to fit their agenda. Extremists abuse anecdotes and narratives […]
Common job interview questions with sample answers
My first job interview was a disaster. I froze when the interviewer asked me, ‘Why do you want this job?’. The most honest answer that came to me was that I needed the money. But of course, I am not so daring. I don’t remember what came out of my mouth except that it was […]
Your mind is a liar
We are convinced that we are right most of the time, if not all the time. But we are all swayed by our minds. And our mind is a compulsive liar influenced by several biases. These are prejudices and generalizations that have become a part of our system, second nature. Even the liberals amongst us […]
‘Perfection kills progress’
Perfectionism is a mindset with deleterious side effects. Perfection has nothing to do with getting things right. It has nothing to do with creativity. Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself progress. It is a closed, vicious loop that causes you to get stuck in the finer details of what you are creating and makes […]
Cheatsheet: Make a one-page black and white resume in 20 mins
Yes, I know! One-page resumes are trite. However, a one-pager is preferred for a reason. As a hiring manager, I have had to go through countless three, four, or even five pages long resumes. These are verbose resumes that involve the life history of the candidate, including their personal address. So much for privacy. Hiring […]
Perceptual Contrast
If we see two things in sequence that are different, we will tend to see the second one as more different from the first than in reality. This is called perceptual contrast. Here’s a killer example of perpetual contrast from the book ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion‘ by Robert B.Cialdini. It is a fun read. […]
Contrasting Personalities and Excellence
Cristiano Ronaldo is a machine. And arguably one of the world’s best footballers. He wakes up every day at a specific time, has his entire month scheduled for training, and follows a stringent diet. Ronaldo’s training philosophy is to work for 3-4 hours a day and get 8 hours of sleep every day for recovery. […]
Mentorship is free
Life is hard. But fortunately for us, there are people around us who have already made these mistakes. And a few amongst those will help you avoid those mistakes for free. These are the gems one must find and acquaint with. But reaching out and asking for help can be challenging in the beginning. Our […]
Creating your own way of life
We often find ourselves in pointless arguments. We are familiar with disagreements about God, the purpose of life, free will, the universe, life after death, and much more. These questions have caused some of the most heated disputes since the beginning of humanity. However, we have made very little progress in answering these questions. And […]
News
“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re misinformed.” – Mark Twain Either you are uninformed. Or you are misinformed. You can read the newspaper that comes almost free of cost at your doorstep every morning. Or you can consume news being delivered to you free of cost on social […]