A HUSTLE AND CONQUER

D E T E C T I V E L I N M Y S T E R Y

Supermind
Shift your mindset. From
Surviving To Thriving
INDEX

Introduction
Reflect
Mindset
Surviving vs Thriving Mindset
Determine how you think
Never Expect Anything From Anyone
The Law Of Action
Stop Doubting
Stop Living In The Past
There's Nothing To Find. Only To Create
Love Yourself
Solve Problems. Make Money
Working Hard Doesn't Mean Working More Hours
Don't Despise Money
Be Around Positive People
No "Yes" Either "Hell Yeah" or "No"
First Follower - Leadership Lesson From A Dancing Guy
I Don't Set Goals
Be Mindful
This Is Not The End

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INTRODUCTION

I’m not your guru. I’m not an enlightened soul. I have not
figured this life out. Not even close. I write this book to share
my experiences and things that have helped me.

After reading this book, either you’ll think I’m dumb or you’ll
find this valuable. Either way, I thank you for trusting me with
your time and money. It means a lot.

So many people struggle in life. Struggling to get money.

Struggling to get in shape. Struggling to be happy. Fulfilled.
Loved.

I used to struggle too. I’m still struggling with a few things.

But, I’ve built some simple mental models, mindset hacks that
help me live a better life. Financially, mentally, physically.

This book is about that. I’m going to share the mental models,
hacks and techniques I use to get richer, fitter, smarter &
happier.

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The mindset shifts I’m going to share here have helped me quit
my 9-5. Agency. And helped me make a full-time income
online.

My online businesses have helped me work on my own time. I

now have more time freedom, location freedom and financial
freedom.

I went from working 12+ hours to working 3 to 4 hours a day. I

can now work from anywhere. All I need is my phone, laptop &
an internet connection.

This book is not about starting an online business. This book

will help you achieve your own dreams. No matter what they
are.

I believe anyone can live a great life. Fulfil their dreams. You
only have to change your way of thinking. Believe. Be open to
receiving.

In this book, you’ll learn how to shift your mindset from

surviving to thriving. How to move away from a scarcity
mindset. And how to access all the abundance you have around
you.

No, this isn’t about affirmations. Woo-woo stuff. These are

practical tips to radically change the way to think. I’ve also
included a few sections dedicated to reflection.
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I want you to sit down and do those exercises sincerely. And not
lie to yourself. Be as honest as possible. Even if you see flaws in
your thinking. Write them down. Reflect.

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REFLECT
Before we get into the techniques. Let’s first figure what’s that
you actually want. This is your number one enemy. Most people
have no clue what they want out of life. Most have very vague
ideas about their dream life. Influence by outside sources and
circumstances.

If you want to get ahead. You must first decide where you want
to go. Have a vision for your life. What’s your dream life look
like?

No matter what you want. Money, health, better relationships,

peace, happiness.

Take a piece of paper (or get a new diary) and write down …
What does your dream life look like? Write down your
definition of a fulfilled life.

Don’t skip this step. This is important. I’d suggest you don’t
read the book any further before you complete this.

There’s no right or wrong way to do it. Don’t compare with

someone else’s life. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to
be “what you really want?”. Truly.

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It should be something that if given a choice, you’ll take it
without blinking your eyes.

Here’s how I think about this …

I ask myself a simple question. ​“What’s the ultimate thing I want

from my life”

Answer: Happiness.

Ask further. ​“What are the things that don’t bring me

happiness?”

It’s easier to know what you don’t want than to know what you want. Because,
more often than not, what you want is in the future. You’re just assuming. You’ve
not experienced it yet. So, you make things up. You look at someone else’s life and
fool yourself into believing that you want what they have. Usually not true. Exactly
why we have so many unhappy “successful” people.

But, what you don’t want is the preset or the past. You’ve already experienced it.
You have proof. You exactly know what you hate doing. Writing down what you
don’t want is much more useful. Because now you know who’s the enemy. And
how to attack it.

So, I always start with what I don’t want. Then once I figured all the things I don’t
want, I then move to the things I really want. It’s much easier this way. This
framework has served me well.

Answer:​ I did this exercise when I quit my agency. I was not

sure what exactly I wanted to. So, I asked myself a question.
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“What I don’t like about running an agency? & what’s the
alternative?”

Here are a few things I wrote down.

● I don’t like to be told what to do.

● I hate that I don’t have any control over my time.
● Agency business is not scalable.
● I don’t like to be dependent on unprofessional people.
(Labours, contractors etc)
● I don’t like to ask (sometimes beg) for payments from
my clients.
● I can’t run this business from anywhere. I have to be
physically present.
● I hate that I’ve to work 12+ hours and answer 50+
calls every day.

These were the few things I didn’t like about agency. I wrote
them on a piece of paper. And started working backwards.

Doing all these things made me unhappy. So I had to figure out

a business model that works without me doing any of the
above.

I looked around. First thing I started was dropshipping. But

soon started hating it, because I couldn’t deliver the best
products. I was selling cheap Chinese products. My customers
hated it.
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Finally, I stumbled on a business model that fits my needs. I
decided to start a blog and start selling information products
online.

Now, I had no one to answer to. I could work on my own

schedule. I could work from anywhere. All I need is a laptop and
an internet connection. I was getting paid in advance.

When I started my online business, I didn’t make much money

initially. But 2 years in I’m making way more money than I did
at my agency.

I have more money. More free time. Location independence.

Work on my own schedule. Answerable to no one. No daily
routine. Almost no phone calls. I wake up when I want. I travel
when I want. I make more money working fewer hours. I’ve
more time to take care of my health. Be with my family.

I feel in control of my life. I’m happier than ever before.

Now for all aspects of my life, I use this framework to figure

out a better way of doing things and living.

Now, I want you to do the same exercise.

Write down everything you don’t like about your life right now.
Then work backwards to figure out a way ahead.

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This framework helps. It has helped me in the past. This is how
I think now. It’s very useful.

Again I suggest you don’t skip this part. Do this exercise before
you read further.

In the following chapters, you’ll be able to identify how you

think. And how to change it to win. Get more out of life.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have all the tools/frameworks

you need to live your best life.

LEGAL STUFF …

Don’t copy, steal from this book. I’m not going to sue you, but
it’s not cool. Don’t do that.

I’ve tried my best to be as accurate as possible. However, there

may be some grammar or typos. Thanks for understanding.

The purpose of this book is to educate. It’s not an ultimate

resource. And you can’t sue me either. Cool?

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MINDSET
What is the mindset?. It’s a way of thinking. It’s how you see
the world around you. How you perceive people and situations.

It’s not your values. No your beliefs. They are much harder to
change. But changing your mindset is fairly easy.

With awareness and the frameworks, I give you in this guide,

you’ll be able to change your mindset. ​Your mindset is your
reality.

It will decide if you’ll live a happy, fulfilling life or a miserable

one. Irrespective of your current situations. Your mindset will
make you or break you.

It can stop you from living your best life. Or it can help you
create the life you want. Depending on how you optimize it.

Your mindset is everything. At the core level, there are two

types of mindsets.

● Surviving mindset
● Thriving mindset

Let’s understand each mindset. And how it helps or destroys

you.
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SURVIVING VS. THRIVING
MINDSET
If you’re struggling in life, there’s a good chance that you have
a surviving mindset. Stephen Covey calls it a scarcity mindset.

The surviving mindset is about what you don’t have.​ ( Don’t

confuse this with the exercise we did in the “REFLECT”
chapter. That’s different). ​Thriving mindset is about seeing
and creating opportunities. Believing in abundance.

Surviving mindset will stop you from seeing opportunities. You

see “lack” everywhere. You see competition everywhere. You
see life as a zero-sum game. Negativity all around you. It’s
impossible to live a better life with this mindset.

Some people also call these “mental blocks”. These mental

blocks will create more problems for you. Here are a few
examples …

“People who make money are evil”

“People who are happy are lying”
“There are not enough opportunities for everyone”
“Rich is taking from the poor”

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There are many others. But you get the point. If you’ve any of
these blocks, it’s impossible to do well in life.
Most people have a surviving mindset. That’s why we see so
much poverty, hatred and lack everywhere around us. This is
why people hate strangers on the internet.

People hate billionaires because they think billionaires have

taken away from the poor. It’s farther from the truth.

No matter what they have. People with a surviving mindset are

always focused on what they don’t have.

This is the exact mindset that stops people from living a rich,
happy life.

I’ve experienced this personally. There was a phase in my life

when I struggled with a surviving mindset. I was miserable.
Hateful. Struggling in all aspects. It was painful.

No matter how hard I tried, it seemed impossible to think any

other way. And get rid of my surviving mindset. That’s when I
stumbled upon a YouTube video (I think it was from Tony
Robbins) that completely changed my perspective.

I found out the reason why I wasn’t able to change my mindset.

It’s a cycle. Here’s how it works

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What’s the first thing that happens when you have a surviving
mindset?​ Y
​ ou lose self-belief.

What happens when you lose self-belief?​ I​ t shows in your

action.​ If you truly believe in yourself, your actions will be
positive. ​When you’ve no belief in yourself, you act out of fear
& doubt.
What happens when you act of fear & doubt?​ ​You see poor
results. You don’t hit your goals.

What happens when you get poor results? Y

​ ou lose self-belief.

Back to where I was before. I was stuck in a cycle. Without even

realizing it. But this framework helped me realize it and
eventually overcome it.

I’ll share how the technique I used to get out of this cycle later
in the chapter.

Exercise​ - Take out your diary. Think of your life. Write down
your mental blocks. Where do you see lack? Which area of your
life do you find yourself focusing on “what you don’t have?”.
Don’t judge yourself. Don’t beat yourself. Just write down what
comes to mind. Without acknowledging your flaws, it’s
impossible to overcome them.

For now, let’s look at what a Thriving mindset looks like. This
is where you need to go. This is where the magic happens.
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With a Thriving mindset, you see opportunities everywhere.
You see prosperity. You realize there’s enough for everyone.
You become more generous with your time and money.
You let go of negative feelings like jealousy, hate, & pity. You
realize you’ve complete control over your life. You feel
confident in yourself that you can achieve anything in life you
set your mind to.

You feel more grateful. You’re excited about what’s possible.

Not fearful about failures. You’re happy to see other people
win. You love yourself and everything around you.

Now the cycle we discussed in the Surviving mindset section

works in your favour when you have a Thriving mindset. Here’s
how.

What happens when you have a Thriving mindset?​ Y

​ ou believe
in yourself.

What happens when you believe in yourself?​ ​You take massive,

positive actions.

What happens when you take positive actions?​ Y

​ ou see positive
results.

What happens when you see positive results?​ ​You increase your
self-belief.
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The cycle never ends. Soon, you achieve all your goals &
desires. You become the best version of yourself.

Exercise​ - Take out your diary. Think of what you have in life.
Make a list of things that you’re grateful about. Write down
your strengths and what you appreciate about yourself.

HOW TO DO YOU MOVE FROM SURVIVING MINDSET TO

THRIVING MINDSET?

Now that we know two different types of mindsets. And the

cycle that drives both mindsets. The question is how do you go
from Surviving to Thriving.

Here’s how I did it.

When I realized I was lacking self-belief and was stuck in a

cycle. The first thing I decided to do was to start believing in
myself.

How do you do that? Affirmations? Yes, affirmations help but

when you’re in a rut, it’s impossible to come out of it just by
writing down affirmations. You need something more.

The first goal was to find out what will help me believe in
myself? So I asked myself a simple question.

“Why don’t I believe in myself?”

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After some deep thinking, I figured out that it’s because I don’t
keep promises I make to myself.

So, I almost never finish what I set out to do. That resulted in
low self-belief.

It’s easier to say “I’ll just finish what I start” than to actually
do. Problem wasn’t the finishing. It was in my goal-setting. I
was setting up the wrong goals. They weren’t logical.

So, I decided to break down the goal into a series of small goals.
Goal so tiny that it’ll be impossible for me NOT to do it.

For example,

Having a goal of building six-pack abs is huge. No basis. No

logic. No evidence that you can pull-it off.

But, doing 2 push-ups right before you sleep is extremely easy.

It’s hard NOT to do it. You’ll do it out of guilt.

No, 2 push-ups won’t give you six-pack abs. But, it’ll rewire
your brain into believing in yourself. That you keep the
promises you make to yourself. You do what you decide.

What happens when you keep promises you make to yourself?

You increase your self-belief.

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What happens when you increase your self-belief? You take
more positive actions. You move from 2 push-ups to 5 to 10 to
going to the gym.

What happens when you take massive actions? You start seeing
some results. You start getting in shape, feeling better.

When you see results, you believe in your abilities. You believe
you can do what you set your mind to.

Every time I get stuck or feel a lack of self-belief, I look for

what’s the smallest thing I can do to move in the direction and
I start doing that.

This framework has never failed me. I always come out of the
rut. I always hit my goals. Give it a try and let me know.

I don’t need to tell you this, but let’s look at some of the
reasons what It’s useful to change your mindset.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Your mindset is your
reality. This is how you experience your life. Your mindset will
decide whether you’ll enjoy your life or be miserable. Whether
you’ll be successful or struggle. Whether you’ll be rich or
broke.

Let’s look at some of the benefits of changing your mindset

from Surviving to Thriving.
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 ● You appreciate your life
● You see more opportunities
● You decrease your daily stress & anxiety
● You take control of your daily life and surrounding
● You build happy and fulfilling relationships with
everyone

In the next chapter, I’ll give you the tools to figure out how you
think.

This will help you figure out whether you have a surviving
mindset or a thriving mindset.

This is useful because you can only change what you know. And
it’s important to know your current mindset deeply, so you can
change it.

Let’s go …

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DETERMINE HOW YOU THINK
I’m going to share a few descriptions of surviving mindset
behaviours. These will help you determine whether you’re
stuck in a surviving mindset or not.

I want you to be honest. If any of the descriptions match your

current mindset, acknowledge them. You don’t have to tell
anybody. But you must acknowledge them. Self-awareness is a
superpower. And you can only change what you know.

So, be as honest and ruthless as possible.

You focus on the lack.​ You give more attention to the things
you don’t have. You worry about what you don’t have. And not
be grateful for what you have.

You’re uncomfortable with compliments.​ It’s hard for you to

receive compliments. You always doubt the motive, even when
someone is genuinely complimenting you. You often find
excuses for why you’re not that great? Next time someone
compliments you, just smile & say thank you. Even if you think
it’s sarcasm. Just say thank you. No explanations. No
self-deprecating humour.

You don’t ask for help.​ It’s harder for you to receive help, even
if someone offers it voluntarily. This behaviour shows that
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deep down somewhere you believe that you’re not worthy of
the help. Or you don’t deserve it. (Of courses there are
exceptions, but most people are like that). Sometimes you
don’t ask for help just for your ego.

You think about the past more.​ Past is gone. You can’t change
it. You have no control over it. Stop talking about it. It’s not
useful. It only hurts. When you only talk about the past, you
miss seeing the opportunities in the present.

You envy other people’s success.​ If you feel jealousy or envy

when you see people around you succeed, it’ll be impossible for
you to grow. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have
competitiveness, I’m saying don’t feel jealous. Be inspired.
Learn from them. Follow their success. Here's a good rule I
learnt from Naval. If you’re not ready to switch 100% of your
life with someone else, don’t compare yourself with them.
Don’t envy them.

Your daily vocabulary is negative.​ You use words like “I

don’t”, “I can’t” or “I won’t” very often. Words have power.
They shape your mindset. Be careful to use any negative words
about yourself. Not even self-deprecating humour. It hurts you
more than you think. Instead of saying “I don’t have time” say
“It’s not a priority right now”. Rewire your brain to think
positive. This one shift alone will change your life for the
better.

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You blame others.​ You accept it or not, but your life is 100%
your responsibility. Stop blaming the government. Your family.
Your friends. Your parents. When you blame others you train
your mind to believe that you’re not in control. When you don’t
feel in control of your life, you’ll not take positive actions. You
give up on your power. You lose hope. You feel unable to change
your situations.

As I said earlier, if you have any of these mindset flaws,

acknowledge them. Don’t try to fool yourself. Self-awareness
is 50% of the game. Again, you can only change what you
know.

In the next chapters, I’ll share frameworks that I use to shift

my mindset from surviving to thriving. These frameworks have
helped me become more peaceful, happy and made me more
money.

You don’t have to believe what I say. I just want you to give
them a try. At least for a month. See if they work for you too or
not.

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NEVER EXPECT
ANYTHING FROM
ANYONE
I went from feeling miserable to happy from the day I stopped
expecting from everyone around me. My friends. My parents.
My partner. Politicians. Teachers. Mentors.

Your life is your responsibility. You like it or not. It’s the truth.
Everyone will help you (or pretend to help you) as long as it’s
within their comfort zone. You ask them to do something,
that’s a little bit out of their comfort zone and they’ll dodge.

Your happiness. Your inner peace. Well-being. The amount of

money you make. Everything is your responsibility. No will
give you that. No one will save you.

Too many people make this mistake of thinking that someone

is going to save them. Nobody’s coming. You need to save
yourself.

Here’s what happens when you stop expecting from people.

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 ● You don’t look out for handouts
● You stop blaming people & situations around you.
● You don’t get hurt when someone is not standing up
for you.
● You don’t need someone else to be happy and love
yourself.
● You feel less anxious. Feel more in control of your life.
● You don’t look for outside validation for your actions.
● You finally take responsibility for your life. And do
what’s best for you.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not about detaching yourself from

the people around you. This is about not seeking validation &
handouts and finally taking responsibility for your life.

Try this for a month. Stop getting pissed off when your friends
ditch you. Or your family members don’t support you. Stop
getting mad at the government or your boss for not looking out
for you. Stop blaming your parents.

Stop seeking validation. Appreciations. Handouts.

This will change your life forever. You’ll be happier, wealthier

and peaceful. You’ll stop hating. You’ll stop blaming. You’ll be
more loving and sympathetic about other people.

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THE LAW OF
ACTION
I believe affirmations don’t work without the law of action.

We hear this bullshit every single day. Thousands of YouTube

videos. 100’s of books. They tell you things like …

Ask and you shall receive

Believe and you shall receive
Think and grow rich
Recite affirmations
Believe and the universe will conspire to make it happen

You get the point.

I’m not saying these don’t work. Maybe they do. I’ve no proof
that they do. Don’t know a single person around me who’s
successful because they only recited affirmations every
morning.

The law of abundance, affirmations don’t work if you don’t

work.

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No amount of thinking or believing will help you if you don’t
take action.

If you want to make more money, no matter how many great

ideas you think, if you don’t take action, actually do something
about it, you’ll not make money.

You can succeed with a mediocre idea if you take consistent

action. Growth is not in ideas, it’s in execution.

You can’t have a great physique just thinking about it. You’ve
to go to the gym, workout, and take action to get a great body.

The law of action applies to everything in life. In fact, it’s the

fundamental difference between people who become
successful and people who don’t. Irrespective of their
background, race, religion, geography.

I’ve wasted months thinking about something but never doing

anything about it.

Take action. Massive action. Without that progress is

impossible. Success is impossible. Living your best life is
impossible.

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STOP DOUBTING
Easier said than done. I know. We hear this all the time. “Stop
doubting yourself”. “Believe in yourself”. But how do you
actually do that? Here’s a framework I use.

Whenever I catch myself doubting, the first thing I do is ask a

simple question. “What’s the evidence?”

Let me explain … When I first thought of launching an ebook. I

had doubts. Imposter syndrome. I somehow convinced myself
that nobody would want to read my book. I had doubts that I’ve
nothing important to share. I had doubts that people won’t like
my book. They’ll laugh at me. Make fun of my writing. I
postponed writing my first ebooks for months because of this.

To overcome this, I asked myself, “what evidence do I have to

believe my doubts?” The answer was nothing. Not one. I had no
evidence. It was procrastination attacking from a different
angle. Let’s look at each doubt and see.

“Nobody would read my book” - What evidence did I have to

believe this? Nothing. I’ve never written a book before. I’ve
never sold a book before. I had no concrete feedback that
people would not read my books.

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“I have nothing important to share” - Again. How do I know
I’ve nothing important to share when I’ve never shared
anything before? There’s no way to know this without sharing
my work first.

“People will make fun of me” - I can’t say that for sure. Maybe
they’ll love my work. I had no evidence to prove this.

You get the point.

Doubt most often than not is your fear. Sometimes

procrastination in a new outfit.

The only way to stop doubting is to look for evidence. When

you don’t find any (you’ll not, most of the time) take action.

Write that book. Build that app. Stop doubting. It’ll only waste
your time. Even if you fail. There’s no upside in doubting.
Doubting yourself will lead you nowhere.

Nothing will kill your progress more than self-doubt.

Learn to see right through your doubts and take action

regardless.

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STOP LIVING IN THE
PAST.
We discussed this earlier. But, it’s important. So, I’m sharing it
here again. It’s a reminder.

I’m lucky to have great parents. My childhood was great. My

parents were supportive. Money wasn’t a problem. I know it’s
not true for a lot of people.

Some people had a terrible childhood. Some of you struggled.

But letting your childhood affect your present is not useful.

Past is gone. You can’t do anything about it. Can’t change it.
Alter it in any way. It doesn’t exist. What’s the point of
dwelling on something that can’t be changed?

The only thing you have is now. What you do today, now,
matters. If you spend all your energy and time thinking or
talking about the past, you’re not getting anywhere. It’s not
helping you. It won’t help you.

The best way out of this is to completely stop talking about

your past. Good things, bad things. Don’t talk about them.

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Live in the present. Do what you can do now.

This is both ways. Some of you had a great past. Maybe you
were popular at your college. Maybe you were a great
sportsman. Won many medals. How is it useful today? It’s not.

I have a few friends who always talk about how great they were
in college. Or how amazing their bodies were 5 years ago. None
of that matters now. What matters is where you’re in life right
now. If you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do. If you’re
struggling right now, your past doesn’t matter.

Stop talking about it. Completely. Detach yourself from your

past failures or successes. As if it never happened.

I know it’s easy to say. But unfortunately (or fortunately),

that’s the only way to get ahead. Progress. Be successful.

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THERE’S NOTHING
TO FIND. ONLY TO
CREATE.
You don’t find peace. You create. You don’t find happiness. You
create. You don’t find purpose. You create.

There’s nothing to find. Only to create.

I’ve spent years trying to find my purpose in life. Purpose of my

existence. Never found anything. Because there’s nothing to
find.

You make your life. You create your life. You give it a meaning.

I see so many people wasting their time looking for their

purpose in life and doing nothing. You gotta try things. A lot of
new things. See which one makes you happier, richer, smarter
and healthier. Do more of that. It’s that simple.

You don’t one fine day find happiness out of nowhere. You
create it step by step. You create things and the environment
around you that makes you happy.
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You don’t suddenly find peace. You have to become peaceful.
You have to do things that bring peace into your life.

Stop wasting your time looking for “the purpose of your life’
and start doing something about it. Start crafting your life.

It’s your life. You decide. You control it. You create it. You live it
the way you want.

What you think is best for you, do that.

If you think making money is more important to you. Make

more money.

If you think helping people is more important to you. Help

people.

Do what you like now. If you don’t like it later, do something

else.

Stop chasing. Start creating.

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LOVE YOURSELF
Knowingly or unknowingly sometimes we go too hard on
ourselves. We dwell on our mistakes. Sometimes we hate
ourselves.

I’ve been there many times. I still get into that zone from time
to time. I feel I’m not talented enough. Disciplined enough. I
slide into bad habits. Feel miserable for days. Unmotivated.
Sometimes can’t get out of my bed. Watch TV all day. Do no
productive work. It’s painful.

For years I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. I

always came out of it within days but mostly by force or sheer
work pressure.

After reading the book by Kamal Ravikant (Love yourself like

your life depends on it) I realized the core problem. I didn’t
love myself enough. I kinda liked myself. But I didn't love
myself.

That book completely shifted my perspective on the way things

I was doing. How I lived.

In the book, he has this one question that’s life-changing.

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“If I loved myself truly and deeply, would I let myself experience
this?”

This is life-changing. If you feel depressed or hurt. If you feel

angry. If you’re upset about what someone else did to you. Just
ask that question to yourself.

If you feel like skipping the gym, ask that question. If you feel
like eating crap. Ask that question. If you’re procrastinating.
Ask that question.

For, everything you do in your life that you shouldn’t do, ask
the question.

“If I loved myself truly and deeply, would I let myself experience
this?”

The answer will always be a no.

Love yourself enough, to not skip the gym, to not watch TV for
5 hours a day, to not eat crap, to not indulge in bad habits.

Love yourself enough, to work on the things that will get you
ahead in life, even if they’re hard to do.

Love yourself enough to live the life you truly deserve.

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SOLVE PROBLEMS.
MAKE MONEY
For years I believed that to make money, you’ve to be someone
special. There are tricks. Hacks that only the rich know. Secrets
that I can’t access. It’s further from the truth.

People will pay you money if you’ll solve their problems. That’s
it. That’s the secret. Nothing more, nothing less. The amount
of money you’ll make is determined by the size of the problem
you’re solving.

You solve a small problem. You make less money. You solve a
big problem. You make more money.

Two ways to look at the size of the problem. If you want to

make more money.

You can either solve a BIG problem for a small number of

people. (Selling rockets to NASA). Or you can solve a small
problem for a big number of people. (Netflix sells
entertainment to millions).

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Most people don’t get rich because they solve a very small
problem for a few people. (aka 9-5 or small businesses).

This is exactly why I quit my agency. And started working on

multiple online businesses.

With my agency, I was serving 15 to 20 clients. I was making

good money but I was also spending a lot of time. Not the way I
wanted to live my life. Plus scaling an agency beyond a certain
point takes decades.

So, starting something online was my best bet. I can create

something once (software, info products) and sell it for years.
To millions of people all around the world. Almost on autopilot.

If you want to make money. Solve problems. If you want to get

rich. Solve problems for more number of people.

Money doesn’t discriminate. You solve problems. You get paid.

It's as simple as that. It’s not rocket science.

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WORKING HARD
DOESN’T MEAN
WORKING MORE
HOURS
I was fool enough to believe that being busy was a good thing.
Hustling 24x7. Long nights. 3 hours of sleep. Hell no. It is not a
good thing. Working more hours just for the sake of it is not a
good thing.

I didn’t realize this for long. I was miserable. Working 17 hours

a day. Burning out. But nothing to show for it. I almost never
got anything positive out of working more hours.

A lot of people believe that hustling 24x7 is the way to go. In

some cases yes. If you’re Elon Musk. But for the rest of us, it’s a
stupid way to live a life.

All you need is 4 hours of focused time. That’s it. 4 hours a day
without distraction is enough to build a solid business.

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If you’re like me, it’s probably hard to NOT work all day. I still
sometimes find it difficult to switch off. But it’s only hurting
you.

Here’s a framework I use to work more efficiently.

Recurring tasks (Social media + emails)​ - 30 minutes in the

morning. 30 minutes in the evening. 1 hour when my audience
is most active. Total 2 hours to manage my social media
accounts and reply to emails.

Non-recurring tasks​ (writing a blog post, writing a book etc)

for 1 to 2 hours a day.

That’s it. That’s how much I work now. I’m not saying, this
applies to everyone. Maybe you need to work more hours. And
that’s okay.

But, make sure you’re working on the most important things

that’ll help you progress in the right direction. And you’re not
working on things just to be busy. Don’t confuse “urgent” with
“important”.

Focus on being effective, not busy.

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DON’T DESPISE
MONEY
I see so many people do this. A lot of my friends do this. They
hate money. And they hate rich people. Most of the time for no
logical reasons. Just because they don’t have enough money,
they start to hate money. And say things like …

“Money is not important.”

“Money can’t buy happiness.”
“Money is the root of all evil.”
“Rich people are not good people.”
“Only unethical people get rich”

You have heard this. Maybe you say these things. This is not
helping you. Never helped me.

I struggled with this mindset for a long time. I seriously

believed that “only unethical people get rich”. I held this belief
so close to my heart that I didn't even try to get rich. I was
stuck in a 9-5 and fooling myself that I’m doing the right
thing.

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I grew up with a lot of rich people around me. And most of
them were unethical. Maybe that’s why I held that belief since
childhood.

I started to look more closely and shift my mindset, when I

found people making insane amounts of money on the internet
by genuinely helping other people. Making their lives better.

That’s when things started to change for me. I quit my job.

Started an agency. Made more money. I started online
businesses. Made even more money.

If you want to get rich. Stop hating money. Stop hating rich
people. Sure there are a few evil rich people, ignore them. Focus
on people who are doing it right. Don’t envy them. Learn from
them. Model their success.

Know that ethical wealth creation is possible. And money IS

important. Money is a tool that’s needed to get things done in
this world. Everything needs money. It’s impossible to live a
good life without money.

Get rich. Make as much money as possible. Good for you. Good
for your family. Good for the world.

Don’t despise money.

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BE AROUND
POSITIVE PEOPLE
You believe it or not, but this is the single most important
factor for your success. Be around positive, uplifting people.
People who talk about progress, doing good, improving.

You have to be ruthless with negative people. Even if they are

your closest friends or family members. Get rid of them. If you
can’t get rid of them, spend the least amount of time around
them. If they talk negatively about anything, change the
conversation. Leave.

I’ve had a few negative friends. Perpetual complainers. It was

hard for me to let them go. But that’s the best I’ve done for
myself. I’m still friends with them. But I don’t hang around
with them. We talk on the phone once a month. Hardly ever
meet. Some of them completely stopped talking with me. But
that’s cool. I feel way better that way.

Get rid of negative people from your life. Stop consuming

negativity (news, politics etc). Your life will be 100x better.

People you surround yourself with will either stretch your

vision or choke your dreams. Be careful.
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NO “YES” EITHER
“HELL YEAH” OR
“NO”
I got this from Derek Sivers. One of my most favourite people
on the internet. I love how he thinks and operates.

I love this rule. “Hell Yeah” or “NO”. I use this rule daily. I say
no to 99% of the things and offers I get. I get so many DM’s
from people wanting to work with me 1-on-1, who want to hire
me. I say no to everything. My only focus right now is to grow
my info business and my blog. That’s it. No distractions. I’m
done selling my time for money. I only focus on the things that
can scale to the moon without me.

I apply this rule to all aspects of life. Invited to a party? Hell

yeah or no. Travelling to a certain place? Hell yeah or no. It’s
super useful. Saves me tons of time.

Try it for yourself. If you’re not absolutely excited about doing

something, say no. Your default answer should be a no to
almost everything. Life is much better this way.

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Here’s a description of this rule by Derek Sivers.

Use this rule if you’re often over-committed or too

scattered.

If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, say

“no”.

When deciding whether to do something, if you feel

anything less than “Wow! That would be amazing!
Absolutely! Hell yeah!” — then say “no.”

When you say no to most things, you leave room in your

life to really throw yourself completely into that rare thing
that makes you say “HELL YEAH!”

Every event you get invited to. Every request to start a new
project. If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about it, say
“no.”

We’re all busy. We’ve all taken on too much. Saying yes to
less is the way out.

This is absolutely life-changing. Give it a try.

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FIRST FOLLOWER -
LEADERSHIP
LESSONS FROM A
DANCING GUY
Again this one is from Derek Sivers. This is from his Ted talk.
And the idea is absolutely amazing. This is how you go from a
nobody to a leader. From 0 followers to millions.

Watch the video here

Here’s transcript

A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But
what he’s doing is so simple, it’s almost instructional. This is key.
You must be easy to follow!

Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows
everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an
equal, so it’s not about the leader anymore — it’s about them,
plural. Notice he’s calling to his friends to join in.

It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave

ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated
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 form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a
leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that
makes the fire.

The second follower is a turning point: it’s proof the first has done
well. Now it’s not a lone nut, and it’s not two nuts. Three is a
crowd and a crowd is news.

A movement must be public. Make sure outsiders see more than

just the leader. Everyone needs to see the followers, because new
followers emulate followers — not the leader.

Now here come two more, then three more. Now we’ve got
momentum. This is the tipping point! Now we’ve got a movement!

I find this idea of leadership fascinating. This shows how

important it is to show up. Be ready to feel embarrassed. Be
ready to look stupid. You do you, because it’s important to you.
Even if no one supports you in the beginning. Your time will
come if you don’t give up. Show up. Do your thing. And do it
publicly.

Here’s a great quote from Gandhi on this …

“First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they
fight you and then you win”

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I DON’T SET GOALS
When I say this, a lot of people fight me. They say things like …

“You can’t achieve anything if you have no goals”

“Without goals there’s no progress”

Maybe that’s right for some people. But not for me. I don’t set
goals. Not at least in a conventional way. I don’t set target
oriented goals. I set action oriented goals.

For example,

I set a goal to write daily. I never set a goal to write 1000 words
daily. If I write one paragraph, I’m happy. If I write 5000 words
I’m happy.

This has served me well. I’m less anxious. Less stressful. I

don’t seek happiness in some made up numbers.

The goals most set up are made up. There’s rarely any logic
behind them. Sometimes they are influenced by people and
things around us.

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“I want to be a millionaire before 30” is not a useful goal to
have. There’s no logic behind it. No evidence. No past track
record to support it.

I have believed in this idea for a very long time. But somewhere
deep down I always felt, maybe this is not the right way to live
a life. Despite having almost no side-effect of following this
rule.

Until I stumbled upon an article by Jason Fried. “I’ve never had

a goal”. It supports my way of thinking. It made things much
clearer and easier for me. Made my belief even stronger. Now I
try to live by this.

I’m reposting the article for you here. You can read it on his
blog h
​ ere

I can’t remember having a goal. An actual goal.

There are things I’ve wanted to do, but if I didn’t do them I’d be
fine with that too. There are targets that would have been nice

to hit, but if I didn’t hit them I wouldn’t look back and say I
missed them.

I don’t aim for things that way.

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I do things, I try things, I build things, I want to make progress,

I want to make things better for me, my company, my family,

my neighborhood, etc. But I’ve never set a goal. It’s just not how

I approach things.

A goal is something that goes away when you hit it. Once you’ve

reached it, it’s gone. You could always set another one, but I just
don’t function in steps like that.

When you shift from 1st to 2nd, 1st is behind you. Then from
2nd to 3rd, 2nd is behind you. I approach things continuously,

not in stops. I just want to keep going — whatever happens

along the way is just what happens.

I consider B
​ asecamp​, my current business, as one continuous

line back from when I sold the first thing I ever remember
making — a logo for $50 (which happened to be for A
​ ndrei

Heramischuk​— who knew!). I was 16 or something like that at

the time. I didn’t have a goal to make two logos, or to be able to

charge $5000 for a logo. I just made logos. And then I made

software. And then I made websites. And now I make software

again. No goals in the process that I remember.

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 I just worked at whatever I was working on and ended up

wherever I am. I continue to approach work and life that same

way today.

If I’ve used the word goal, I didn’t mean it that way. It was just
the word I picked, a synonym for something else.

I really like what Jim ​Coudal​ said about goals:

“The reason that most of us are unhappy most of the time is that we

set our goals not for the person we’re going to be when we reach
them, but we set our goals for the person we are when we set them.

That pretty much sums it up for me.

Like everything I said in the ebook, I don’t want you to accept

everything I say. But I sure want you to give this idea a try for at
least a month. And see if things get better for you.

I leave you with a quote from Naval …

"Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy

until you get what you want."

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BE MINDFUL
Most people go through life unconsciously. They don’t know
why they do what they do. They do most things out of habits.
Because they’ve always done it that way.

It's a miserable way to live a life. Life is not meant to be lived

on autopilot. Being mindful of your actions and thoughts is
important.

I’ve always been a guy who did things without thinking much. I
was stuck in a job I hated for 2 years. I was stuck in my agency
for 4 years. I hated it. But I was operating on autopilot. I was
miserable. I was operating as if I didn’t have a choice. It’s what
I was meant to do and die.

A year ago I stumbled upon the idea of mindfulness. It changed

my life. I started consciously observing the things I was doing.
Why I was doing them. Do I really like doing them?. Reflecting
on these things helped me a lot. I went from living my life like a
zombie to a more conscious, mindful life.

I’m still not perfect at this.I still make a lot of decisions

unconsciously and struggle. But I’m getting good at this. Being
more mindful about daily choices and actions.

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But how do you be more mindful? I have a few tips to share, but
they’ll be incomplete. Probably not very useful for you.

So I’m sharing these tips from someone who understands this

subject better than anyone in the world. (Leo Babauta)

Why You Should Care

Why bother to spend the time learning these tools? Is it just for
some ideal of living a peaceful, stress-free life?

No. A stress-free life doesn’t exist, but these tools will definitely
make you more prepared to deal with the stresses that will
inevitably come your way.

But just as importantly, they’ll help you overcome the fear of

failure and fear of discomfort that’s holding you back, that’s
keeping you from making positive changes in your life.

These tools will help you launch your new blog, start a business,
write a book, put out your first music album online, find your
purpose in life, become the person you’ve always wanted to be.

This is what I’ve found. I’m certain you’ll find these tools just as
useful.

The Toolset
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This list, of course, is not complete. It’s a collection of things I’ve
been learning about, and am still practicing, things I’ve found
useful enough to share.

1. Meditation.​ ​Meditation is where mindful living starts​. And

it’s not complicated: you can sit still for even just 1 minute a
day to start with (work up to 3-5 minutes after a week), and
turn your attention to your body and then your breath. Notice
when your thoughts wander from your breath, and gently
return to the breath. Repeat until the minute is up.
2. Be Awake.​ Meditation is practice for being awake, which is
not being in the dream state (mind wandering into a train of
thought, getting lost in the online world, thinking about past
offenses, stressing about the future, etc.) but being awake to
the present, to what is. Being awake is something you can do
throughout the day, all the time, if you remember.
Remembering is the trick.
3. Watch Urges​. When I quit smoking in 2005, the most useful
tool I learned was watching my urges to smoke. I would sit
there and watch the urge rise and fall, until it was gone,
without acting on it. It taught me that I am not my urges,
that I don’t have to act on my urges, and this helped me
change all my other habits. Watch your urge to check email or
social media, to eat something sweet or fried, to drink

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 alcohol, to watch TV, to be distracted, to procrastinate. These
urges will come and go, and you don’t have to act on them.
4. Watch Ideals.​ We all have ideals, all the time. We have an
ideal that our day will go perfectly, that people will be kind
and respectful to us, that we will be perfect, that we’ll ace an
exam or important meeting, that we’ll never fail. Of course,
we know from experience that those ideals are not real, that
they don’t come true, that they aren’t realistic. But we still
have them, and they cause our stress and fears and grief over
something/someone we’ve lost. By letting go of ideals, we
can let go of our suffering.
5. Accept People & Life As They Are.​ When I ​stopped trying to
change a loved one​, and accepted him for who he was, I was
able to just be with him and enjoy my time with him. This
acceptance has the same effect for anything you do — accept
a co-worker, a child, a spouse, but also accept a “bad”
situation, an unpleasant feeling, an annoying sound. When
we stop trying to fight the way things are, when we accept
what is, we are much more at peace.
6. Let Go of Expectations.​ This is really the same thing as the
previous two items, but I’ve found it useful nonetheless. It’s
useful to watch your expectations with an upcoming
situation, with a new project or business, and see that it’s not
real and that it’s causing you stress and disappointment. We

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 cause our own pain, and we can relieve it by letting go of the
expectations that are causing it. ​Toss your expectations into
the ocean​.
7. Become OK with Discomfort.​ The ​fear of discomfort​ is huge
— it causes people to be stuck in their old bad habits, to not
start the business they want to start, to be stuck in a job they
don’t really like, because we tend to stick to the known and
comfortable rather than try something unknown and
uncomfortable. It’s why many people don’t eat vegetables or
exercise, why they eat junk, why they don’t start something
new. But we can be OK with discomfort, with practice. Start
with things that are a little uncomfortable, and keep
expanding your comfort zone​.
8. Watch Your Resistance.​ When you try to do something
uncomfortable, or try to give up something you like or are
used to, you’ll find resistance. But you can just watch the
resistance, and be curious about it. Watch your resistance to
things that annoy you — a loud sound that interrupts your
concentration, for example. It’s not the sound that’s the
problem, it’s your resistance to the sound. The same is true
of resistance to food we don’t like, to being too cold or hot, to
being hungry. The problem isn’t the sensation of the food,
cold, heat or hunger — it’s our resistance to them. Watch the

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 resistance, and feel it melt. This resistance, by the way, is
why I’m doing my ​Year of Living Without​.
9. Be Curious.​ Too often we are stuck in our ways, and think we
know how things should be, how people are. Instead, be
curious. Find out. Experiment. Let go of what you think you
know. When you start a new project or venture, if you feel the
fear of failure, instead of thinking, “Oh no, I’m going to fail”
or “Oh no, I don’t know how this will turn out”, try thinking,
“Let’s see. Let’s find out.” And then there isn’t the fear of
failure, but the joy of being curious and finding out. Learn to
be OK with not knowing.
10. Be Grateful.​ We complain about everything. But life is a
miracle. Find something to be grateful about in everything
you do. Be grateful when you’re doing a new habit, and you’ll
stick to it longer. Be grateful when you’re with someone, and
you’ll be happier with them. Life is amazing, if you l​ earn to
appreciate it​.
11.Let Go of Control.​ We often think we control things, but
that’s only an illusion. Our obsession with organization and
goals and productivity, for example, are rooted in the illusion
that we can control life. But life is uncontrollable, and just
when we think we have things under control, something
unexpected comes up to disrupt everything. And then we’re

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 frustrated because things didn’t go the way we wanted.
Instead, practice ​letting go of control​, and learn to flow.
12. Be Compassionate.​ This sounds trite, but compassion for
others can change the way you feel about the world, on a
day-to-day basis. And ​compassion for yourself​ is
life-changing. These two things need remembering, though,
so mindful living is about remembering to be compassionate
after you forget.

The Practice

OK, that seems like a lot to digest and remember, right?

Well, there’s hope. I often forget all of this stuff, but then I
remember, and say, “Ah, I was doing it again!” And then I practice
again.

And then I forget, but I reflect, and I learn, and I practice again.

This is the process of learning mindfulness. It’s forgetting, and

then remembering, again and again.

And it’s worth remembering, again and again.

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Here are a few more articles on Mindfulness from Zen Habits
(Leo Babuata’s blog) that you must read and act upon.

How to be mindful all the time

The honest guide to mindfulness
9 Mindfulness rituals to make your day better
The mindfulness guide for the super busy

There are many more articles about this and living the good life
on Zen habits. Read them. Reflect on them.

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THIS IS NOT THE
END
It’s a pause. I’ll be adding more frameworks, ideas,
life-philosophies to this guide as I learn & reflect more.

I’ll be adding a few worksheets in the future that’ll help you

reflect on the ideas I shared in this guide.

Thanks for taking the time to read this guide. Hope you found
some value in it. Hope it helps you improve your life. Get ahead.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at

[email protected]

Don’t DM me. DM’s are messy.

If you enjoyed reading, consider leaving a 5* review on

gumroad.

Thanks again for trusting me with your time.

Have a great life. Win.

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