Your heart starts to beat faster. A flurry of emotions begin to take over. It is a strange sensation where you are excited and scared at the same time. Something inside you pushes you forward, breaking past boundaries once thought to be unsurpassable. Unsure how things are going to play out. This is unexplored territory. We are far removed from the safe enclave of our comfort zones. It is in these moments when we realize who we really are. We have a choice at this juncture. Break out of the homogeneous moulds society wants us to adhere to or play it safe and stay within those boundaries.

The risks of playing it safe are never apparent in the short run. We work hard to collect all the badges the world expects of us. Getting married, getting a secure job, buying a house and taking the occasional holidays. In our quest to check all the boxes we have taken the greatest risk of all. We have given up on our dreams and failed to grow into the person we had always wanted to be.

Each and everyone has the ability to make a difference in this world. The choice is ours whether we choose to pursue that path or not. The journey requires us to work harder and take more risks than most. It is only when we are operating on the edge of uncertainty are we are able to grow into our true potential. When we are able to push ourselves to achieve what was one thought impossible.

Always remember it is never too late to get started on this path.

What I am reading and watching this week

Founders often ask how they should split equity with their co-founder One of the most read posts of this blog my take on splitting founder equity. This post provides additional insights on how that split should take place. This is a very important decision for your startup. It should be given the importance and thought it deserves!

Macro perspective: The startup party is far from over! The author is one of the entrepreneurs I respect greatly. He has built a massive company in the online classifieds space and now is an active investor. While it is in his interest to perpetuate the frothy climate for startups, it was refreshing to hear the other side of the coin.

How to save yourself from a bad startup idea that looks good I interact with entrepreneurs all the time. As a result I get pitched a lot of ideas while they are in their early and formative stages. Defining what makes one idea good and another one bad can be tricky in some situations. This is an extensive post on breaking down this problem. Saving yourself from pursuing a bad idea could save you years!

Why Smart People Act So Stupid “A bat and ball cost a dollar and ten cents. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?” If you answered that question relatively quickly you will want to read the entire article!

A behavioral approach to product design Designing and building a new product is hard. This post breaks down the process into four easy to understand components. The article discusses each component with the help of easy to understand examples which makes it very simple to understand the underlying framework.

The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance (Book) Employee recognition is something that I am thinking about a lot these days. This is one of the better books I have read on the topic. It has a lot of great case studies and is based on an extensive research project. If you are leading a growing team I would recommend this book.

Chef’s Table – Season 1 (Video) This week’s post by inspired by some of the episodes in this documentary. It all about the top chef’s of the world and their process. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about following their passion and achieving excellence.