If you are reading “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant” one thing is clear, you will stop and reflect after every other line and it was no different for me as well. It made me think about my travels over the last two decades. As they say, we are shaped by our environment, our parents and society…
In the first two decades of my life, I stayed in my hometown and the next three decades outside. In the first decade when my father was around, he had taken us to Mumbai and places around his hometown. His job involved very little travel during those days. So when I had to leave my hometown for a job all hell broke loose. I had to first build my confidence up and then convince others in the family and then I had to venture out with a sense of wonder…
This was in the year 1995. I had moved to Pune, 6 months back from my hometown and was coming to terms with the city and living alone for the first time. I was making new friends, getting accustomed to new ways of eating Idli sambhar in those three eateries ( Savera, Roopali and Vaishali) in F.C.Road. Every day I would try different restaurants but Idli and sweet sambhar were my permanent choice. It was only on weekends that I experimented eating at other places.
Initially, it was a terrifying experience. Always having the label of a small-town guy with broken English, my confidence was at an all time low. I stayed in a hostel near to our office and that was just the right decision I took as I used to go to the office on Saturdays and Sundays to learn 3D Solid Modeling. I somehow passed the interview thanks to my school friend who allowed me to learn Autocad in 21 days. I recollect going to his cousin’s training centre at 10 PM when the shutters were down and then firing up the computer- I guess it was Intel 386 and typing into it the DOS commands to bring the Autocad version 12 software. I learned just enough to give them the confidence to hire me. I owe my first break in my career to my guide under whom I did my engineering project and his protege. I was introduced via him to his close friend who was working in the same company. I got excellent support from him to navigate my life from Day 1. The best thing I picked up on the way was to understand that you are the average of the five people you hang around with.
My colleagues were my go-to guides across multiple areas of life. I had a colleague who was very aspirational and he was encouraging me to go the extra mile. Another colleague was very much rooted, he made me start believing in myself. Finally, I had a bunch of people who helped me settle in Pune. It was after 6 months into my career that one day the managing director of the company called me into his room. I was not sure about the agenda. The most important lesson learned from him on that day was how to aim high in life. He looked at me and asked me the price of the shirt I was wearing. I admitted that it was not a premium brand. He mentioned that if you want to succeed in life aim to wear a premium shirt because what you wear defines who you are. That maxim has stayed with me all along and I sometimes wonder when I go for brands I recollect this message. He offered me a pay hike and asked me to pack my bags and leave for Kolkatta ( then Calcutta – the city of joy). I was in two minds and I was not clear about what to do. The only way I could run my rational mind was to speak to my colleagues. There was a section of my colleagues who mentioned against moving to a new place. I was also tilting towards that option. However, there was one person who sat me down and told me and made me understand about ” change” and how this could be one of the best decisions in my life. These days when I am reading Almanack of Naval Ravikant I came across this phrase and it made sense to me looking back :
Simple Heuristic – If you’re evenly split on a difficult decision, take the path more painful in the short term.
I landed in the City of Joy taking my first flight in my life. I recollect my first flight experience on that Indian Airlines flight. I was initially staying in a lodge. I shared the room with an elderly person. Found out that those are the kind of people you need to keep yourself away at least from a monetary point of view. Again I must thank some of the new colleagues whom I befriended and who helped me to move to a place closer to my office. It was in that apartment that I got my first experience of eating rice and fish in the morning. It is from that place my life changed as far as travel was concerned. I used to travel in the Shatabdi Express. It was a great experience compared to other trains then. Since then I have been on all kinds of wheels travelling and it has become my companion. I was always fascinated by just one thing during my travels and that was exploring and also cultivating a sense of wonder…
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