Learning Nerd’s Diary #13 👂

Sep 8

Hi folks!

Welcome back to the the Learning Nerd’s Diary.

The Delhi Belly finally caught up with me! I’m down with a stomach bug as I write this. I’ll admit, I almost considered skipping this week because of this. But happy to be here, let’s jump in!

Gal Suno

Last week I spoke about conversational currency, this week’s spotlight is something similar to that. My dad’s favourite Punjabi words these days - Gal Suno which translates to listen to ‘listen to me’. For him there is a funny story associated with it but I was thinking about how these two words encompass so much more.

I’ve spent the first few years of my career as a researcher. Similar to therapists, researchers get paid to listen and interpret. Gal Suno is our motto in life. Listening is different from just hearing though, when you listen you try to understand and interpret. So, as business or an individual, you can have one superpower - just listen.

*Google clearly needs to improve its listening skills*

Coolest Things I Learnt This Week

Doing doesn't mean perfecting: I’ve been thinking about how learning or growth of any kind is messy. Anyone who is a master at something got there only after being really bad, failing over and over again and having days when they wanted to quit. So if you’re doing something new and feel like shit, this is just a reminder to yourself (and maybe myself too) - don’t stop, you’ll get there.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." — R. Buckminster Fuller pic.twitter.com/t52DpsXhzL
— Visualize Value (@visualizevalue) August 29, 2021

People stop themselves from starting projects because their early work is cringe.

Every creator faces these demons.

But most people quit because they're tormented by fear.

To get through this phase, remember that your favorite creators weren't always this good at their craft.
— David Perell (@david_perell) August 30, 2021

Trusting your gut: I was over at my aunt’s house for a sleepover the other day. And since my whole family is a bunch of Bollywood freaks, we ended up staying up and watching Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara again. I have easily watched this movie over 10 times now, and every time I take back something new from it. This time it was - trusting your gut.

Adulting is hard. Mostly because there is no one right answer to any decision. And also because you call the shots. Last few weeks have been quite a rocky ride for me - have had to take some pretty big decisions. But trusting my gut on this one, it’s served me well so far (albeit the ongoing Delhi Belly).

If it isn’t a HELL YEAH! it is a No.

– @sivers

This advice applies to product prioritization too: if you’re working on a fast-growing product with a tiny team, this is likely the only prioritization “framework” you need.

And the real skill is in how you reach the HELL YEAH!
— Shreyas Doshi (@shreyas) September 6, 2021