In one of my posts, I explored the power of manifestation and how a seed of an idea may develop into a tangible reality if nourished with good intentions and constant effort. In a separate blog post, I discussed technology advancements and why we should use them consciously. As we have observed, technology has become so pervasive in our lives that the line between the real and virtual world appears to be blurring.
My unwavering faith in the benefits of technological progress and determination to put it to good use led me to do more study and write a book on the subject. This significant turning point in my life is evidence that manifestation works. It reflects the remarkable journey many of us take when we resolve to realize our goals. We channel our thoughts, focus our energy, and watch our ideas take shape, growing into something we can hold, share, and learn from.
I am thrilled to share that my book, “TechRevolution Magnified: Thrive with Consciousness,” is now published and available in print and as an e-book with all major retailers and online platforms. Here is the Amazon link.
“TechRevolution Magnified: Thrive with Awareness” evolves into thoroughly examining the interface between technology and human consciousness. The book decodes the rapid technological progress that has an extraordinary influence on every economic sector, region, and individual’s life.
The book explores the growth of dominant technologies like artificial intelligence, robots, renewable energy, and digital connectivity, emphasizing their ability to transform the world as we know it. However, as strong as these astounding developments are, they should only be considered a means to a goal. How we use them will determine the quality of our life.
The book emphasizes the significance of striking a healthy balance between our reliance on technology and our awareness of its function as a facilitator. As a collective community, we now have the capability to apply unprecedented technological innovations to resolve critical problems, improve living standards, and accelerate economic growth. However, we must be aware that our compulsive and unconscious use may have unforeseen consequences.
“TechRevolution Magnified: Thrive with Consciousness” serves as a reminder to maintain this delicate equilibrium. It promotes an awareness for the relevance of technology in contemporary life and the necessity of being conscious while making decisions that include using technology.
The journey from a blog to an extensive investigation for writing the book has been enjoyable, informative, and illuminating. It has reinforced my confidence in the transformational potential of technology and the importance of human consciousness in harnessing this power responsibly.
As we enter a future full of technology possibilities, let this book serve as your compass, guiding you across the enormous technical landscape with consciousness and purpose.
I eagerly await your comments, views, and interactions as you read “TechRevolution Magnified: Thrive with Consciousness.”
Life is a rollercoaster ride, with periods when everything goes as planned and others when nothing appears to go right. We all know this, but we have negative emotions and energy when external events are not how we want them to be. Lately, I have also been irritated because of some work and personal life-related events. Nothing extraordinary, but enough to keep you thinking. Generally, I am self-motivated. However, this time, I needed a little nudge.
The universe was listening and provided just that. A few weeks ago, an email popped up inviting me to attend the “Art of Livin’” by Matthew McConaughey. I have talked in my blogs about discovering who I am, winning against self is the most important competition, the importance of life experiences, flexibility and strength of being like water, the power of a conscious and creative mindset, taking action, and intuition, along with being boundless to unearth limitless potential we all have. I know what is right, and I have been practicing it.
However, sometimes, you need a reminder, an external voice to reconfirm and validate your beliefs about life, values, purpose, and the tools to navigate the journey called life effortlessly. The event provided me with just that.
Therefore, I decided to share with my readers some key takeaways from the event.
Background: I have not watched any of Matthew McConaughey’s movies. However, I have heard him speak over the last few years. I loved his style of storytelling, the choice of words, and the anecdotes he presents from his life to relay the thought. I read his memoir “Greenlight” twice and listened once. It is a gem! If you have not read it, I highly recommend reading it. For those who want a quick download of critical ideas, see my thoughts at the end of the blog.
So, I attended the “Art of Livin’” event on April 24. You must be intrigued by the choice of the word “livin’” in the title of the event. Matthew explains during the event that life is nobody’s proper noun, and there’s no “g” at the end of livin’ because life’s a verb.”
The notion that “life is a verb” emphasizes that we are constantly changing and adapting to fit in with our surroundings. The concept shows how vital it is to participate in one’s life and enjoy the ride. Developing, learning, and adapting throughout time are essential for thriving in life. This point of view urges us to do what it takes to make our lives meaningful and authentic expressions of who we are and what we value.
The event began with the idea that what binds every one of us is a desire for more. We seek wisdom, money, wealth, and freedom. McConaughey emphasizes science’s fundamental connection to the art of livin’. Science is knowledge, art is experience. The scientific side represents facts and methods, while the artistic side represents each person’s goals, dreams, and feelings. Science can create art. Studying the playbook and using the right tools may help one call audibles and create life’s art. The art of living makes life meaningful and enjoyable.
McConaughey recommends asking the appropriate questions to have a happy and fulfilling life. Living effortlessly has no single solution. Mastering life requires serious self-questioning and honesty. These questions will help people achieve their ultimate goal: a life they like and are proud of.
The “art of livin'” also involves finding your frequency or life’s driving forces. Finding your frequency requires risk-taking and experimentation. “Be prepared to confront the impermanence of life,” says McConaughey. If you follow your passion and principles, you’ll find your unique frequency and live a real life.
McConaughey emphasizes that self-awareness is the first step to mastering the art of livin’. Accepting our views, feelings, and prior experiences helps us manage fear and uncertainty. We must own our future-altering decisions. Being adaptable and open to new ideas might improve your life.
The event was full of inspiring talks by Tony Robbins, Marie Forleo, and Trent Shelton. I have already re-visited parts of the conversation, and they have provided me a boost and have inspired me to become more of what I’m today. Remember my blog on how we are never finished.
I’m in a crucial phase of my life where the outcomes of my actions will profoundly impact the quality of my life. However, I can confidently say that whatever the outcome is, I’m more joyful than ever in taking these actions and will not stop chasing the goals even if the results are not in my favor. Life is an obstacle course, and I’m prepared with a big heart and smile.
*****
As promised, below are some excellent quotes and their context from McConaughey’s thrilling memoir, Greenlights.McConaughey describes life as a road trip full of traffic lights, greenlight (positive moments, opportunities, and realizations that propel us forward) and red and yellow (obstacles, setbacks, and moments of uncertainty or reflection). The key is resilience, which turns the red lights into green. McConaughey notes, “The problems we face today eventually turn into blessings in the rearview mirror of life. Yesterday’s red light leads us to a green light today.” In many cases, people need a challenge to push them to develop and change for the better. We will learn valuable lessons and grow as individuals by facing adversity head-on.
Another important lesson I learned from the book is a quote from McConaughey’s father, “I’d rather lose money having fun than make money being bored.” McConaughey also said in an interview, “It is okay to have a beer on the way to the temple.” This expression is a metaphor for taking pleasure in the little things in life without feeling guilty about them, even when you are focused on the end goal. It also emphasizes the significance of balancing material comforts with the pursuit of one’s happiness.
“Stepping in shit is inevitable, so let’s either see it as good luck or figure out how to do it less often.”This phrase underlines the influence of perception on our experiences. Misfortune is unavoidable in life, but we can choose how we perceive and respond to it. We may better handle life’s ups and downs by changing our mentality and viewing setbacks as chances for progress.
“Persist, pivot, or concede. It’s up to us, our choice every time and a good plan is first to recognize the problem, then stabilize the situation, organize the response, then respond.” The statement emphasizes that we have the choice of response and by careful selection, we can change the outcome of the challenging situation.
“It is not about win or lose, it is about do you accept the challenge.” This comment underlines that facing and experiencing a problem could be more valuable than winning. If we accept the process, we may grow as individuals and gain knowledge from the experiences that we have had.
“We cannot appreciate the light without the shadows. We have to be thrown off balance to find our footing. It’s better to jump than to fall.” The quote highlights the need to maintain equilibrium despite the inevitable ups and downs that are a part of everyone’s lives. The ability to persevere through adversity and adapt to new circumstances can be developed by accepting and even welcoming the challenges and unknowns that lie ahead.I will leave you all with this McConaughey’s quote to ponder on our existence, the life we want to create, and the mark we want to leave on the lives we have touched, “Rather than struggle against time and waste it, let’s dance with time and redeem it because we don’t live longer when we try not to die, we live longer when we’re too busy livin’.”
I have been researching technological innovations for over a decade now. I started writing a blog a few months ago to share my life experiences and why I trust that conscious use of new converging technologies will create immense wealth for everyone willing to act proactively. However, I need more guidance on improving the message, creating my niche audience, and building a brand.
“What you seek is seeking you.” I firmly trust these words by Rumi. Something similar happened last week when I was talking to my friend Jawad Mian (Twitter — @jsmian), who writes “Stray Reflections,” where he discusses markets and how knowledge of oneself helps make sound investment decisions.
I consider Jawad’s introduction to “Almanack of Naval Ravikant” as a signpost, a direction from divine forces. I was seeking clarity on the way forward, and every word in the book illuminated my path. Naval is an iconic venture capitalist (more here). This is the first time in my life that I have read a 242-page book in one sitting. The book is a collection of Naval’s wisdom from different Twitter feeds and podcasts — compiled and edited by Eric Jorgenson.
Almanack of Naval Ravikant is like a textbook on creating wealth joyfully without getting lucky. Every sentence in the book is worth reading many times. Some of the key takeaways (by no means are these the only ones), as excerpted from the book, are:
Creating wealth is a skill anyone can learn and apply. Wealth is a set of assets that make money while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Get wealthy by giving society what it doesn’t yet know how to get — at scale.
You’re not going to get rich renting out your time. In most cases — renting out your time means you’re replaceable. You must own equity — a piece of a business — to gain your financial freedom. It could be by starting a company, investing in it through the primary or secondary market, or even working with a company and, in return, being compensated through stock options.
The internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers. Most people haven’t figured this out yet.
You don’t get rich by spending your time to save money. You get rich by saving your time to make money.
Arm yourself with specific knowledge, accountability, and leverage.
Specific knowledge is primary for creating wealth. Specific knowledge is accumulated by pursuing your genuine curiosity and passion rather than whatever is hot today. For this reason, building specific knowledge will feel like play to you but look like work to others. You cannot be trained for specific knowledge. We live in an age of infinite leverage, and the economic rewards for genuine intellectual curiosity have never been higher. If society can train you, it can train someone else and replace you. Specific knowledge is often technical or creative, acquired by apprenticeships rather than in school.
Clear accountability is essential. Without accountability, you don’t have incentives and can’t build credibility. If you have high accountability, that makes you less replaceable (and you’ll likely get more equity). Embrace accountability and take business risks under your name. Society will reward you with responsibility, equity, and leverage. The people who have the ability to fail in public under their names generally gain a lot of power. In modern society, there’s not much to fear in terms of failure, so people should take on more accountability than they do.
A leveraged person can out-produce a non-leveraged one by a factor of one thousand or ten thousand. Business leverage comes from; 1) people (the oldest form, such as labor, meaning people working for you); 2) capital (money, which can be bought and deployed for outsized returns); and 3) products with no marginal cost of replication (such as software code and media including internet, which are permissionless and source of all new wealth). Robots have reached their peak and are available all around us in the form of software programs. We are trying to provide them with hardware now.
Productize yourself — Productize = leverage + specific knowledge. Yourself = uniqueness + accountability + specific knowledge. Question yourself — “Is this authentic to me? Is it myself that I am projecting?” And then, “Am I productizing it? Am I scaling it? Am I scaling with labor, capital, code, or media?”
Judgment is the most important skill. Judgment is the exercise of wisdom, which comes from experience. Decisions are crucial because of the leverage of modern technology, large workforces, and capital in the business. Someone who makes decisions right 80 percent of the time instead of 70 percent will be valued and compensated hundreds of times more in the market. You’ll get nonlinear returns if you can be more right and rational.
Get comfortable with frequent, small failures. If you’re willing to bleed a little bit every day, but in exchange, you win big later, you’ll do better. The crowd is after the reverse — frequent, small victories (don’t be the crowd).
Escape competition through authenticity. No one can compete with you on being you. When you’re competing with people, it’s because you’re copying them. It’s because you’re trying to do the same thing. But every human is different. Don’t copy. If you are fundamentally building and marketing something that is an extension of who you are, no one can compete with you. Long term, if you’re good and successful at what you do, you’ll find you’re pretty much doing your hobbies for a living.
Become the best in the world at what you do. Keep redefining what you do until this is true. You need to be deep in something because otherwise, you’ll be a mile wide and an inch deep, and you won’t get what you want out of life. You can only achieve mastery in one or two things. It’s usually things you’re obsessed about.
All the benefits in life come from compound interest, whether in relationships, life, career, health, or learning. Play long-term games with long-term people. Over the long term, everyone is making each other rich, whereas, in the short term, everyone is making themselves rich.
The secret to peace of mind: You’re competing against yourself — it is a single-player game. Training yourself to be happy is entirely internal. There is no external progress, no external validation.
Created using GPT-3, a generative AI program by OpenAI
Peter Diamandis, a space-entrepreneur-turned-innovation-pioneer, says we live in the best times humanity has ever seen, and more wealth will be created in the next decade than in the last century.
What are you waiting for? We are born with everything necessary to become the best version of ourselves with boundless financial and spiritual expansion. A positive mindset combined with relentless action and technological innovations is a killer combination for relentless growth.
Look within, find your niche, grind yourself to perfect your product, service, art, sport, or anything you enjoy, utilize the technological infrastructure, solve global challenges, and create wealth.
#neverarrive #limitlesspotential
I’m grateful for your time in reading this blog. In the comments section, let me know your experience and perspective on the subject. Please share the blog with your friends if you enjoyed reading it.
Technological innovations have been the fundamental blocks of human development forever, but more so since the beginning of the 20th century. People used to do everything using their physical power. Now, a person with mechanical equipment, and sometimes an automated machine alone, can do what several people may not be able to accomplish just a few decades ago.
The pace of innovations and convergence of exponential technologies are gathering unprecedented momentum to solve global challenges, including climate change. Doing so will inevitably disrupt the old business models giving way to new ones—creative destruction in action! Joseph Schumpeter, in 1942 first characterized creative destruction as innovations in the manufacturing process that increase productivity, describing it as the “process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one.”
Source: Visual Capitalist
Technology investments have created immense wealth over the last few decades. However, the innate nature of technology is growth-oriented, which means a higher risk and higher return. Therefore, in risk-averse environments such as now, the markets may reduce investments, which leads to a correction in the sector. Here, I’m not primarily talking about the companies like Alphabet and Meta that generate revenues primarily by advertising, but the IT companies that sell technology-related hardware and software. The sector has witnessed steep stock price declines periodically, often more than broader markets leading many to believe that the industry could remain in a bear market for long periods.
This year is one of them, where many are referring to the “tech wreck of 2022” and assuming that the IT sectors’ best days may be over, at least for the foreseeable future. The rising interest rates, geopolitical fragility, and the fear of supply chain disruption have hit technology stocks and their IPO market. An analysis by Meritech suggests that the cumulative market capitalization of the fastest-growing software-as-a-service (SaaS) stocks had fallen almost 70%. The technology sector’s IPO volume has reduced by 80% y-o-y in the first half of 2022, while the number of late-stage financing rounds collapsed for emerging startup companies.
But, as the below chart (S&P Tech Index and MSCI World IT Index compared to S&P 500 Index) shows, over the last 25 years, the technology sector has fallen in a risk-off environment and has bounced back faster and stronger than the rest of the market after that. Although the index considered here has companies like Alphabet and Meta, the outperformance still holds without them.
In each global selloff in the last 25 years, including the great financial crisis in 2008 and COVID-19 in early 2020, the technology sector correction was deeper than S&P 500. Still, the returns in these events’ aftermath were massive almost every time.
Source: Bloomberg
Would you bet against the turnaround in the technology sector, especially now that innovations are accelerating, creating more value for each company and industry besides solving grand challenges? I will not!
See the picture below from a presentation by Tony Seba. Within just a few years, cars took over the horse buggies. That’s true creative destruction! We now see similar events around us, albeit happening at a much faster pace.Autonomous cars and flying taxis could become mainstream similarly in just a few decades.
Source: Tony Seba
The common understanding is that the country’s leadership and bureaucrats lead to economic and social progress. However, if you pay close attention, you will see that technological advancements lay the foundation of development.
Historically, governments worldwide have not been quick to accept, encourage, and adopt technological transformation. The vote bank is in danger most of the time, citing reasons such as the loss of jobs due to automation. Most often, the group of innovators and forward-thinking investors will keep pushing the idea into practice with little policy and funding support from the governments. The technological breakthroughs then one day become so essential and lucrative that turning them down start looking foolish. At that time, the government bowed down to make policies and provide funding for technological advancements, which led to socioeconomic progress.
Consider this; until a decade ago, every country seems to like solar as a solution to carbon emissions from power generation. Novel innovations in bringing down the cost of installing solar, becoming comparable to fossil fuel, pushed the governments in its favor. Now, every government around the world has ambitious solar deployment goals.
Massive socio-economic development is underway not only in technologically advanced countries, but innovations are enabling the global south to leapfrog the wealthy world at an unprecedented pace.
Picture this: While I was growing up in India at the turn of the century, business process outsourcing (BPO) was becoming a dream job of every person in India after software development. BPOs became a possibility because internet-based communication became cheap enough to make economic sense for someone from the U.S. to call customer care, talk to a specialist in India, and resolve the concern. The BPOs created jobs with good salaries. People in my social circle often asked me to get a job in BPOs while I was in college, saying that most start at a salary higher than their father’s wages at retirement.
But there is more to the story. They not only created quality jobs and bought much-needed international presence and, of course, $$ to the economy, but they also led to overall real estate development to accommodate fancy offices and provided business opportunities to food vendors, cab drivers, and all the maintenance staff. The socioeconomic development was unparalleled.
We all know the transformation bought by the advent of smartphones. Remember how quickly landlines gave way to mobile phones; now, smartphones are pervasive. It democratized and demonetized several services and products we used separately. I remember the first time I visited the United States in 2006. I used to buy a $5 calling card that would allow me to call my home in India once or twice a week for a couple of minutes. Now, I talk to my parents, friends, and relatives on FaceTime without worrying about the time and at a fraction of that cost. This is nothing short of magical progress.
We now even have wifi on a plane, 34,000 feet in the sky; it was unthinkable just a few years ago.Imagine how much business activity will increase, and social upliftment will happen when the rest of the unconnected world can access the internet through programs such as Elon Musk’s OneWeb program.
The disruption is not limited to a country or a particular economic sector. Technology is becoming the heart and soul of every company’s growth strategy. No industry is untouched by technology. Innovation is racing ahead to make everything bigger, better, faster, and cheaper.
Every company is integrating technology to connect closely with customers in every corner of the world, innovate rapidly, and gain efficiency in operations. Cloud computing helped us navigate the tough times during COVID-19, and businesses could still operate with remote work amid lockdowns. Industrial processes and the services sector are digitizing, and decisions are being made using data, where digital twins are helping virtually see possible outcomes of a specific solution and adjust accordingly to get desired results. AI/ML and the internet of things are becoming pervasive in decision-making. DNA sequencing and gene editing are promising to treat and even cure chronic conditions, expanding a healthy lifespan.
The human mind has the ability of limitless creative imagination. The technological advancements have reached a point where they themselves provide further resources for faster innovation. Ray Kurzweil describes this as the “Law of Accelerating Returns.”
Human evolution may have reached its pinnacle in physicality, but our mind is boundless and will keep evolving and innovating. In our lifetime, we will likely see paradigm shifts in how we live, interact, do commerce, and travel, along with solutions to leave the planet better than we inherited.
#neverarrive #limitlesspotential
I’m grateful for your time in reading this blog. In the comments section, let me know your experience and perspective on the subject. Please share the blog with your friends if you enjoyed reading it.
**Disclaimer: Views expressed here are personal and do not represent any institution or entity I’m associated with.
Never Arrive
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