The year it was -2023 edited version

In 2023, my year kicked off with a whirlwind – juggling Party Corner operations, Bangalore house registration, and the Swiggy layoffs. However, every setback seemed to pave the way for something better. The Swiggy layoff, in particular, expedited my move to a new house, and the compensation helped with the down payment.

Navigating the job market was surprisingly smooth, thanks to Arun's referral at CoinSwitch and Nihit's assistance with an interim job. Faced with a decision between Amagopro and CoinSwitch, I chose the latter, drawing on wisdom from past experiences with smaller companies.

Joining CoinSwitch opened up a world of engaging conversations with traders, insightful data analysis sessions with Balaji and CEO Ashish, and involvement in exciting launches. Simultaneously, I had to make a tough call on closing Party Corner operations, applying the wisdom of not persisting when positive results weren't on the horizon.

Venturing into swing trading in stocks proved fruitful, with mentorship from Rajiv Khanna's blog and support from Gautam's WhatsApp group. While there were losses, the lessons learned were invaluable, prompting a more measured approach.

A promotion request in October faced a delay, but instead of dwelling on it, I focused on my work and embraced the wisdom of not pushing for recognition. December brought an unexpected health challenge with a typhoid diagnosis, highlighting the importance of prioritizing well-being.

The year's ultimate takeaway was the importance of focusing on fewer, highly rewarding pursuits. Stripping away distractions like social media and real estate deals, I narrowed my focus to three key areas: family health, career growth at CoinSwitch, and supporting my wife in raising our daughters.

As I bid farewell to this eventful year, I eagerly anticipate the next, ready to channel all my energy into these three vital aspects of life. Here's to a focused and fulfilling new year!

The year that was - 2023 own version

Year 2023 started with a lot of activity -  party corner operations, new Bangalore house registration, Swiggy layoffs. As they say whatever happens, happens for the best, Swiggy lay off meant I could expedite shifting to new house, the compensation for layoff helped in paying off the initial down payment. I had to find a job which happened smoothly because my friend, Arun, at Swiggy referred me to his friend, Balaji at CoinSwitch. I was also relaxed because my senior, Nihit had helped me with an interim job that kept me occupied and cash flow positive. 

I had to take a decision between continuing with Amagopro or to join CoinSwitch when I received CoinSwitch offer. I chose the latter because of the wisdom I gained from my previous experiences of working at smaller companies and unorganised set ups. I don't know if it affected my relationship with Nihit. I don't know if he would help me next time. But again you never know the outcomes of decisions for sure, what you know is you take a decision and make it work for you.

I started liking talking to our traders, knowing their backgrounds, motivations to trade with CoinSwitch and the issues they were facing. I was also enjoying the data analysis and in depth data discussions with my manager Balaji and our company's CEO, Ashish. I was also involving myself all new launches (API trading, integration of international exchange) and learning a bit of tech along the way. 

I had to take a decision to close out Party Corner operations because we (Sachin, Avee and I) were not giving enough attention to the business apart from investing our money. It was going anywhere with no sight of profitability in near term. With about INR 3 lac investment, 6 months of effort, it was not an easy decision to make. My wisdom from my previous experiences helped me make a decision here. The wisdom was never continue to invest in a pursuit if you are not seeing initial positive results. 

I have taken active interest in swing trading in stocks. With 50k INR investment, I could make 20% ROI in 4 months. My mentor, Rajiv Khanna's blog and my friend, Gautam,'s WhatsApp group helped. I made a few losses where I had to sell at lower prices after waiting for weeks. I could not give time every day to check stocks, hence I started investing less. 

I asked for promotion in october at my work based on JAS results we have shown but my manager said his manager needs more time to promote me to the next level i.e a leadership position in the company. I decided to focus on my work instead of getting disappointed with the setback. This is again from the wisdom I gained from my previous experiences. The wisdom was never push anyone to do anything for you. If they genuinely feel you deserve it, more often than not they will give it to you. Also sometimes success gets into your head, I didn't want this promotion to affect my enjoyment for my work. 

 

In December after a vacation at my in law's place for my brother in law's wedding, I got diagnosed with typhoid. For the first couple of days, I suffered with body pains. I had to take 4 days off from work. This made me realise how difficult it is to manage with poor health. I realised my immunity has decreased. I needed to go back to basics. Wash hands, eat good food, being phychically active. By God's grace I recovered in 4 days and resumee work. When I was sick, I was getting extreme thoughts of leaving my work and focusing on my health and moving back to Hyderabad to take it easy. All those thoughts vanished when I became better again. The lesson was to give body enough rest and take care of health so it will help you maintaining good thoughts and continue good work. 

My biggest learning and takeaway from 2023 was focusing on fewer and highly rewarding pursuits in both personal and professional journey. I asked myself where should I be deploying my limited bandwidth? Should it be on quantity or quality? I have decided to focus all my energy, time to my work at CoinSwitch. Any minute spent exploring other things like browsing through news, discussing on a new business plan with friends, working part time for additional money or investing in real estate or in equity would mean sacrificing my bandwidth from work. I removed Instagram, Facebook, twitter, Google news and linkedin from my phone. I stopped searching for deals on real estate and stopped engaging with friends for business ideas. I decided there are only 3 things I should be spending my time and energy

1. Health of my family and me 

2. Getting promoted at work to reach leadership positions 

3. Helping my wife raising our daughters 

With these thoughts, I sign off from this beautiful year and look forward to new year to continue to focus on these 3 things. 

Manipur violence

Today I ready the news of two women sexually assaulted by a mob and they were paraded naked on the road in Manipur. How pathetic is that? 

Is this how low we stopped ourselves?

Someone is claiming that this is Government's doing to stay in power. 

In West Bengal, I am told people will hurt BJP bhakts. 

Why so much hatred?

On one hand, there is so much happening in the financial markets with sensex reaching its highest ever.  Isro launched chandrayan 3, generative AI is ruling the world. Block is building a handheld device to keep bitcoin safe. Our team is working hard to gain market share. 

People are fighting for power and hurting others? Is this the shortcut to gain power? I hope they are punished like all culprits. 

Missed train

I was supposed to board train at 6.20 pm. I wanted to leave office at 4.45 pm. I estimated 90 mins to be good enough time to reach the station. It took me almost 2 hours to reach leaving me disappointed. 

What could have I done?

1. Left office at 4 pm

2. Booked a cab to leave from office 

3. I should have left the task for later 

My wife's exams got postponed for the 6th time. In the last 41 days, she could write only 5 exams. 

We are not arranging birthday function for our chidvi's first birthday. 

I am not sure how to take these in my stride and move on. I am glad that my parents and my wife are not sad atleast visibly. 

.

Jaane kya dhoondta hai ye jindagi tujhko kya chahiye

 Its been a month since I am living alone, I feel restless at times

I have a good house to crash

I have a job that keeps me occupied in a good way

I have a family that cares for me

I have great friends who meet and have fun

Still, I am longing for something !

When I introspect to find that is, there is NOTHING!!

I have established talking terms with my ex

I have spoken to friends who I have lost touch with

I have found new passion in investing/trading in small caps

I have read books that were long pending

I have been keeping myself clean, eating home cooked food, cleaning my place, clothes

I am worshipping GOD that I deeply connect with

I have watched movies that were long pending

I am working out daily

I think it's mind's nature to wander

I don't know how to control it

I only know that I feel much better if I let it be like that

Miles to go before I sleep!

mid way 2023

1. House party where kids stole the show

2. Lost the ring and found it by god's grace

3. Went to anusha's parents house for the first time on sankranthi 

4. Got laid off by swiggy in January 

5. Worked with Nihit da on data analytics project for a month

6. Joined coinswitch and started exploring fintech space 

7. Started observing market trends and got interest in investing

8. Following dolly khanna best pics blog and started investing in small cap stocks

9. Sent Anusha for exams that were long pending 

10. Visited iskon temple 

Being happy with what we have

We can choose to be unhappy even when we have all that we need 

I was looking at my Facebook profile earlier today. My friends were roaming around the world and posting pictures. Then I saw, my seniors display picture on WhatsApp. He is in a toy car with his daughter in a shopping mall in Chennai. They looked happy and he looked happy. 

What struck me was, who should I relate to? If I relate to my friends on Facebook, i would be sad. If I relate to my senior, I would be happy. Then I felt, it's basically upto me ultimately.