Mentor – 922

Update – August 2019 – Saurabh Garg

I sent this letter to a few people that have helped me grow in my career. I plan to send this every month. If you want me to add you in this list, please do let me know (please send me your email address – you have it with you). I plan to send one letter a month.

Please tolerate the formatting – I composed this on Google Docs, sent it on Gmail and now posting on blogger. And even though all three are Google products, there is zero interoperability in terms of fonts etc.

Update for Aug 2019

Hi! Good morning!

I am Saurabh Garg.
Of course, you know me!

You are one of the 30 or so people getting this email. And you are getting this because…

A.
You know me from one of the places I’ve been at – MDI, GE, CLA, Gravity, Social Wavelength (aka Mirum now), VISCOMM, C4E, The Nidhi Kapoor Story and at airport lounges, community tables at Starbucks outlets, Twitter threads, and other similar places.

Yeah, I’ve been around a lot.

And because I have been around a lot, I have a lot of experiences and opinions and ideas and thoughts and expectations and ambitions and energy and more ands and lot more ands. You know, the kid in the candy store?

So, I know you. More importantly, you know me (you may not remember me though – if you don’t, I don’t blame you – I’ve largely flown under the radar). And thus this email.

B.
Newton apparently said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”.

Newton never named those giants, but I know who those giants for me are.
You are.
Yes, you!

Each of you has helped me shape my personality and helped me reach where I am. At various times, you have taken an active interest in my career and without your generosity or your shoulder, I kid you not, I wouldn’t be here.

Whatever little I’ve done in life is because you allowed me to stand on your shoulders. And no, I don’t mean it as a humblebrag. I’ve done very little and I have a really really long way to go – and I promise I will reach there!

From where I stand, I see a lot of hits.
Thank you to each of you for making those hits happen.
Can’t stop thanking you!

And even more misses.
And I know I could’ve done a lot more with the kind of opportunities, time and access I had. If I could not reach where I was supposed to, I am solely responsible for the miss. And oh boy, I only know how many misses I’ve had! I could write a book on those and it would run longer than the Bible!

So, thank you for your shoulder. I feel I owe a regular update to you. And thus this email.

C.
I read this Harvard Medical School study (link, story, TED Talk) that postulates that healthy relationships are key to a long and happy life.

And the age I am at, not young enough and not old enough, I am beginning to think a lot about these things.
Of course, I continue to think about making that dent in the world.

And while thinking about it, it dawned on me that each of you is important to me.
After all, you’ve given me your attention and mindshare.
And backed me up.
And gave me a long leash.
And allowed me to experiment and make mistakes. And grow.
And helped me to develop the ability to master my time (most months, I can get by without worrying about going to an office on a daily basis; few months I need to beg. But that’s ok).
And shaped my personality (all the opinions, ideas, thoughts, experiences, expectations, ambitions, value systems that I spoke about earlier? All of those have happened because of your patronage).

While I continue to wander, in search of that ever-elusive new new thing, that shiny new toy, I realized that I need to work on nurturing existing relationships.

And what better relationship to nurture than that I have (/ had in the past) with you?
You were a teacher / employer / mentor / partner / colleague and lot more and you made me who I am!

And thus this email.

D.
This weird epiphany happened that most of the misses I talk about in B above are a result of two things and two things only.
1, I am / was not a finisher (I am working VERY hard on it and early signs are encouraging).
2, I thought as a “creator” all I must focus on is to create. Even though I am a marketing consultant (to brands, companies, individuals and everything else in between), I never thought about marketing myself. You know, build a personal brand! I even tweeted about this.

So, need to fix these.

Like I said, I am working hard to fix 1.
I pick fewer projects, I have measurable objectives (thanks John Doerr’s OKRs – blog, book) and I have clear deadlines. The number of things that are left unfinished has reduced considerably. I can now proudly dole out the most important advice that Steve Jobs ever did – ‘Real Artists Ship!’

The 2, marketing myself, remains a challenge.
This letter is an attempt in the direction.
And thus this email.

So, clubbing A, B, C and D…
So, like I said, I am sending this to about 30 people that have helped me over time.
So, why this email?
So, what if…
So…

Ok, I so got carried away.

So, well, the agenda is threefold. Lemme use bullets.
I clearly love em!

1. Seek your help as an advisor
I said I am making great progress on the ability to finish things. And I need to accelerate that ability. In the sense that I want to finish EACH project that I take up. By making a commitment to you and holding myself accountable to you (I do NOT want to disappoint you ever), I will increase the odds of me not missing the goal!

This is not peculiar to me but is a universal thing – many research studies postulate that when you make yourself accountable to people you don’t want to disappoint, the odds of success go up manyfold!

The other way to look at is to consider yourself as a board member on a company called Saurabh Garg’s Life. I am accountable to you, even though I may not have access to you. You know how Eklavya built a statue of Guru Drona and taught himself and held himself accountable? And became so good that he was better than Drona’s best student, Arjun? That!

So, at the risk of jumping the gun, here’s my first promise to the board.
In the month of Aug 2019, I will…
a. Finish the Show Bible for Book 2.
Yes, I am still working on my second book. And unlike the first one, this time, I am writing the entire story beforehand. In the form of a show bible (what is a show bible?).
b. Lose 1 inch from my waist.
I will do this by focussing on the diet, working out and generally working on my fitness. I met a friend yesterday to take tips on this and he told me that number 1 tool you need to get fit is to get great sleep. So, I will fix that as well.

I will write in September and update you on how I do on those goals. If I get stuck, I will ask you for help! If you have something that can help me work on these two, please do point out.

2. Learn from you!
Thing is, I consider myself a sponge. I love to know more. And I love to know about all sorts of things. And I love it even more when all those things make a connection in my head. You know, when I see the dots connect. And I sincerely think that this ability to use a large information set (howsoever shallow it may be, Feynman will hate me – here’s why) and use inputs from multiple disciplines will be a necessary skill to succeed in the times to come! Jacks will rule the world soon!

When I was with you, I was on this steep learning curve that kept me on my toes. And I loved it! Plus, you are among the most learned, evolved, intelligent people I know.

So, can I request you to please share content (books, texts, links, videos et al) that you loved? That you thought were brilliant? That you would revisit over and over again? That you think I MUST read if I want to become better! May be on email. May be on Whatsapp (click to message me)? Or on email?

3. Give back…
If I could be useful to you in anything you are working on, I would love to volunteer.
No, I don’t want anything in return. I really want to help. I want to do good work. I want to be of use to you.

Thing is, I sincerely believe in the concept of Guru Dakshina.
Lemme get back to. Eklavya. Guru Drona asked Eklavya for his thumb as Guru Dakshina (here’s why). And as an archer, you can’t do anything without your thumb. A regular person would have probably said no. Eklavya did not bat an eyelid before he chopped his thumb and placed it at the Guru’s feet.

You’ve are and have been a Guru to me and I owe you. I don’t have a thumb to offer. But anything that you think could be useful to you, I will be very happy to offer! I am pretty nifty with marketing, events, digital, branding, writing, storytelling, content, brainstorming, big-picture thinking, etc. And I have a fairly large risk appetite. You will probably know this if you remember me.

Please do tell me if I could be of use to you.

***

Phew!

So, yeah this is it.

I plan to send similar emails every month, once a month. I know this one is long (1800 words or so). Promise that the next one will be shorter, crisper (not CRISPR) and more concise. I don’t know the difference between these words. They just sounded nice together!

So that’s about it.
Thanks again for your patience.
And all the help.

Hope you have a good day and a good month ahead. Please do let me know if I could be of any service to you.

Gratitude and Respect,
Saurabh Garg
+91-9819981337
saurabhgarg.com, @saurabh
Send me anonymous feedback

PS: I understand that you may not want me to clog your mailbox. Some of you probably wouldn’t even remember me! So, PLEASE do tell me if you don’t want to get these once-a-month emails. I promise to not get offended. I’d understand.

PPS: The intention of this email is not to seek work or connections or something from you. If I need em, I will ask for those things directly. What I seek is continued patronage and an active interest in my life, my career, my ambitions et al. That is it.

PPS: You may use https://forms.gle/28bVP8DYz2WGdHdp8 to give me anonymous feedback on this email. Or anything else under the sun. I will read EACH input and work on it! Promise!

Thank you, Pradeep (11)

Post 11 of #sg100peopleToThank. More about this series is here. I started this in April and then as things got busy, I sort of forgot about it. Until I was cleaning Asana and saw that I had decided I will write 100 thank you letters. And here I am!

Thank you, Pradeep!

So, Pradeep Daniel. I don’t even know how to describe him as. Before I try to talk about him, lemme give context. At a point in time, I used to work with this events agency as the client servicing / strategy person and Pradeep was the head of the creative team. As two senior resources of the company, we often had to work closely on various projects. And like all other colleagues that work closely, we’ve shared some great times. And not so great times.

Of course, Pradeep moved on. And then I did. And there was no reason to stay in touch but like those old warhorses that gather together to relive their battles, Pradeep and I meet often (about once in two years when I am in the same city as he) and talk about the times gone by.

So, now that you know who he is, lemme try and describe him. Try is the keyword. He is one of his kind. I know this is a cliche and the writer in him would cringe at this. The supervisor in him will ridicule me and ask me to rework the copy and the friend in him will encourage me to think harder. He is not just a senior. He is a friend. To everyone that knows him.

This still does not do justice to who Pradeep is. Lemme try harder. Maybe Pradeep is someone who could write so well that his email could move you to tears? I remember reading one of his emails when he wanted leave. I distinctly remember wanting to be his driver and drop him to his hotel with my own very hands. In fact, I would look forward to reading his emails – even if they were for work. They were pieces of art. If I were him, I would put those emails on an exhibition. If nothing else, I would publish a book.

Of course, he is more than a writer. Lemme try harder, as he would say.

Maybe Pradeep is that original multitasker who taught me that I need to be able to write copy, make my own artworks, get the damn thing printed, ensure that prints have come out alright and follow up with the Production team till those are put up at the event venue! Maybe it is the time that I spent with Pradeep that has made me chase this multitaskness! May be secretly I hate him for being so good that all my life I’ve chased his benchmarks!

Maybe he is someone who taught me that I ought to enjoy those long rides home from work (I lived some 50 KMs away from the office. Pradeep, another 10 or so beyond that). In fact, Pradeep made those rides fun (the drive otherwise is way too long, too drab, too monotonous and too tiring). If not for Pradeep, I think I would’ve quit Gravity long before I eventually quit.

Maybe he is someone who had the balls to stand up to two super-smart, super-opinionated, super-intelligent people that he reported to. You know that unstoppable force hitting an immovable object? Pradeep was that force. Suvi and Anna were that object. You can not imagine the intensity of that explosion. And of course, on the way back home, he would glow in the, well, afterglow. And I would catch some radiation. And, well, radiate.

Maybe he is a magician under the garb of a human being – he has answers to all the life’s questions and mysteries. May be is Calvin and he is pulling a fast on us by posting Calvin posts on his Instagram feed all day long. Maybe he is the hero we all need (but do not deserve).

You get the drift. That’s Pradeep Daniel for you. Thank you, Pradeep. For being you.

Oh, and I have a confession to make. I am guilty of often overlooking the contributions made by Pradeep because there was Suvi around. Each is different. Each is important. But as it happens often, the polite one tends to fly under the radar. Like Pradeep did. I know this is too late and too little. But I have to put this on paper. Pradeep, thank you!

Till we meet next, Daniel San!

Love,
SG

Others posts in this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Thank you, RaJ!

Post 6 of #sg100peopleToThank. More about this series is here.

Thank you, Raj

I consider myself a destiny’s child. Good things happen to me, without me asking for them. Of course, there are times when it takes time for those things to happen, but they do happen. And at times when I am totally unprepared for those. Case in point? ~~Raj~~ RaJ Kurup, founder of Creativeland Asia, an advertising agency.

So this is back in 2007. I had put in my papers at GE and I had no clue what to do (not that I know now but back then I was even more clueless). I had seen some great ads (this, this and this) and back then I thought making ads would be something that could be exciting. I went to a placement consultant and asked her to get me interviews with some. She got me two – one with Raj and the other with Law & Kenneth. From what I recall, both accepted me and Raj offered me more money. Plus he was cooler for sure. That chance meeting with him and the decision to join him as one of his first employees turned out to be among the best decisions of my life.

In the two years I spent with him, I learnt EVERYTHING I know about the business of communication. Each day was fun, exciting, nerve-wracking, full of learning and more. There was this constant amazement. I was on the steepest learning curve of my life. Apart from his brilliance, Raj had assembled this team of great people, each a master of their craft. Each interaction with the team at CLA was enriching. Each day I left the office a better person, richer with knowledge and more aware of the world. And I tap-danced to the office most days.

I spent exactly two years with him and I quit him to go back to Delhi and start something of my own. It’s ironic that Raj was himself responsible for feeding me with all the ambition that made me want to have more than what Raj paid me and quit working for him.

Of course, with time, life moved on. But at each workplace I have been to since I have merely applied things that Raj and team taught me. Raj gave me the best foundation that I could expect to get and I merely built on top of that. Gravity allowed me to learn from practical experience. Social Wavelength added another dimension to what I knew. VISCOMM / C4E gave me, as Redbull will say, wings. But all of it started with interactions with Raj and CLA.

If not for Raj, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing right now. Life would have taken a different trajectory for sure – I don’t know for good or bad.

As I end this, I think I was extremely lucky to have met Raj at a time when I needed someone to take an active interest in me and help me grow as an individual. Raj did exactly that. I am thankful and indebted to him for this. In fact, each day I try to pay it forward by trying to find some young people that I can mentor. Are you one? Lemme know and let’s talk 🙂

Lastly, I think the greatest compliment that I can give Raj (or anyone else for that matter is), if I could turn back time, I would not quit Raj.

Thank you, Raj. Good luck with everything you do.

Others posts in this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

PS: Lately Raj hasn’t been in the news for the right reasons. I am not sure how to comment on it but the respect I have for his work ethic and ambition remain intact.

#in2019, I will…

Hello hello! Long time no see!

In case you dint hear, I was on this self-imposed digital detox. I know these things are often attempts at vanity but trust me I was not trying to be vain. A lot was (and is) happening with life and I needed a break from the routine. And routine from me was work, hustle, dream. Repeated in an unending cycle. In an ideal world, you want this cycle to be a growing spiral (you know the difference? Dont you? Scroll to the bottom of my version of difference). But since it was a circle, I needed to get away from it and look up. And thus the break.

Anyhow.

So, its 2019. We are one year away from that fabled 2020 that all of us looked up to when we were kids. Unrelated, the other fabled time horizon that everyone looked up to was Y2K. And thats like 20 years ago.

Truth be told, 2018 hasnt been the best year of my life.
Far from it.
In fact if I could undo it, I would.
I am not sure what did I get out of the year, apart from some very expensive lessons. I will probably talk about them in a few days (once I am ready) but for the time being, allow me to see ahead.

Coming to 2019.
2019, ladies and gents, means a new year. A new beginning.
And like every year, I want to make a longish list of all the great things that I will achieve in this year!

Oh, I dont know if you know or not, I am big on this concept of new year. Each year I spend substantial time thinking about how I’d make the new year the best of my life.
I write long notes on what I want to do.
I think hard about the year gone by.
I think harder about where I want to be.
And I look at my abilities.
I marry all three and then I come up with a list of things that I think I can do in the year ahead.
And because I was in this digidetox towards the end of 2018, I could not access my tools to do the homework required. I even made plans to travel to the hills for 3 days to work on these yearly things but because of a last minute snafu I couldnt go. Lol, such a cry baby!

Not important.

Important is that even though I could not spend the days leading to the new year in deep contemplation, I could still think of 4 large themes that I would chase in2019.

These are Writing, Health, Meditation, Relationships (how obvious 😉 and how similar are these to your previous year themes!)!

From these four keywords, I have culled out things, goals, resolutions, plans that I want to work towards and achieve in 2019. Each thing adds up to get me closer to these 4 things. And these 4 take me closer to my life goals (Everest, $1Bn, Impact a billion lives).

So, in2019, I will…

attend a 10-day Vipassana retreat. I went for one in 2009 and its apt that I go after 10 years!
do 4 Keto cycles of 20 days each.
launch 12 new projects. One each month. I am not sure what these projects would be but they have to be side hustles that allow me to make money. And more importantly, teach me!
turn off technology for 3 consecutive days (weekends hopefully), once a month.
read 24 books. I used to be a voracious reader at a point in time. I lost it somewhere. I will get back to reading this year. Biographies and supertexts only.
work with 50 students and be the shoulder that they could stand on. Preferably MBA students. If you know someone who may need a mentor or sorts, please do point them to me.
do a water-fast one day each week.
run / walk 10KMs every day.
meditate 20+ minutes each day. Want to be able to do 45 minutes everyday. YNH does 2 hours EVERY day!
write 200,000 words this year that are available for public consumption. These would be spread across my blog, SoG, Book2, Podium etc.

I will track these goals and more importantly the progress here (a shared cloud document).
You are welcome to see and recommend changes.

Each thing has a reason for being in the list.

Each is a number. So I can measure how I am doing with respect to the goal.

Most have a frequency component (for example, to be able to write 200K words in the year, I will have to write about 700 words per day on an average). This will allow me to track my progress.

I know I have conspicuously left out work here.
Not that it is not important to me – rather, I cant differentiate work from life (or home or play or whatever). Just that I am not prepared to think of tangible work goals yet. I will do so over the next few days. Before the first week is over. That will leave me with 51 weeks but its ok. One of the things that I learnt in last year was not to be harsh on myself.

Thats about it!

Oh, if you do wish to indulge me further, pray do tell me what is that one big thing that you’d do this year. And do tell me if you need help with that. If not with specifics, I can be a great tool that reminds you to stay on course.

All the best for 2019.

Hope the year is full of love, luck and happiness.

May you live long and prosper.

Love,

Saurabh

P.S.: In case you are curious, here are similar posts from previous years: 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012.

P.P.S.: Oh, while I wrote this, I was tripping onto Faridkot’s Haal E Dil. Must support more indie work. Wish there were a way to show people beyond the ones that can buy media! Maybe I’ll add to my todo list.

P.P.P.S.: Cycle vs Spiral.
Cycle – a never-ending loop that does not have the beginning or the end.
But has distinct stages.
And you are merely moving between those stages without any growth.

Spiral – again, a never-ending structure with distinct stages.
But at each stage, you grow up and you are doing things at a larger scale.
You are growing.

I’ rather be in a growing spiral.

P.P.P.P.S.: This is probably one of those few years where I have not included wealth (or money) in my list. Of course I want to move towards that. There IS a financial goal that I have set for myself. But I want it to be the byproduct of how I live. Journey, as they say, has to be more rewarding.

#note2self. Must do a post on how 2018 went and the big lessons I took from the year.

The first copy of #tnks

I just sold the first copy of The Nidhi Kapoor Story.

And I am so thrilled about it. So thrilled that I am still shivering as I write this.

It came as a surprise. At a moment when I wasn’t expecting it.

I bumped into VK’s mentor at a mall. I was seeing him after almost a year and even though he had a tough time remembering my name, he still asked me to stop by and bring him up-to speed about what I was doing in life. And we spoke for some 15-20 minutes on topics ranging from life to work to money to big-bangs and small fires and yoga and books. And just when I was leaving, he asked me what was I going to price the book at. I couldn’t think of a number and I said 99. He opened his wallet, flipped a 100 rupee note, gave it to me and said, “This is the advance for the first copy of your book”.

At that moment I didn’t make a lot out of it. But after he left and reality hit home, I realized what he had done. This has to be amongst the best things that anyone has done for/to me. Ever.

That time, I just said a meek thank you and left. But now, after all this time, I am speechless. Its been some time and I still cant think of a way to thank him for the gesture.

Sir, if you are reading this, thank for buying the first copy. Thank you for the motivation and support. Thanks so much for your faith and confidence in me. Hope you like it when you read it.

Delhi to Bangalore and Back

So for my birthday, I decided to disappear again (last year, I went for Vipassana). Why would you do something like that dude? I think I just wanted to hide. I cant handle all the sudden attention for the day. I mean I dont mind attention but then I cant tolerate how fast the attention disappears after the special day.

Anyways, so I went to Bangalore. Of all the places in the world, why would I choose Bangalore? Because I have this very special friend there. I trust her and her family and I know if I am with her, I will be left alone and I can do what I really wanted to do in these few days. Then I had grand plans of borrowing her car and driving to some hill station in Karnataka of Kerala. And I wanted to read, write, think, laze around, catch on sleep, do things that I like – walk, window shop, click random pics etc. I made copious amount of notes and I am hoping to jot them down (digitally) tomorrow.

I met up with a few friends that I hadnt met since ages. And a friend that I have been talking on the Internet for some months now. And a senior from MDI who I am enamored by. I am trying to coerce him into becoming my mentor. Second after VK.

BTW I loved Bangalore. The weather is very pleasant. Imagine, I was walking around Bangalore at 11 in the afternoon. There are ample roads and footpaths to walk around. Most of these are covered with trees. And there are surprisingly very less beggars. Those tales of racial slurs and attacks sounded distant as whatever few people I interacted with were warm and hospitable.

Most of my opinions tend to be colored anyways. I loved the time I spent at Bangalore. And I think I need to do this every three months.