The Founder’s Dilemma at 65: I met a founder recently. 65 years old. Steady, thoughtful, and carrying a responsibility much larger than himself. His situation was complex: – His elder son didn’t want to join the business – His younger brother, who once shared the load, had passed away – His nephew was still young and unsure of his future – And the entire business … Continue reading The Founder’s Dilemma at 65
Mahabharata & Ramayana: Two Wars, One Missing Document: Two of India’s greatest epics began for one simple reason: families had power, wealth, emotions… but no governance. Think about it: In the Ramayana, a single, unchecked, undocumented, and emotionally interpreted verbal promise sent a prince to the forest and shattered a kingdom’s stability. In the Mahabharata, unclear succession, no rulebook for inheritance, and decades of silence … Continue reading Avoid Family Wars: Succession Plans Inspired by Epic Tales
A mid-sized manufacturing entrepreneur from Gujarat, now in his early sixties, had built his machine-parts business over the course of four decades. His two sons had settled abroad, one in Toronto, the other in Singapore, both successful, both clear that they did not want to return to run the family business. During a quiet family lunch, he finally asked the question parents often avoid:– Would … Continue reading Succession Planning When No One Wants to Succeed You
Last Sunday, Mehul visited his mother. She handed him a steel dabba and said,“Beta, take this back home.” He opened it expecting snacks.Instead… it was filled with old keys.Dozens of them.Tiny ones, fat ones, fancy ones, keys that looked older than him. He asked, “Maa, these open what?”She smiled, “I don’t remember… but they must open something important. Keep them safely.” They both laughed, but … Continue reading The Keys we Keep, The Clarity we don’t
A few weeks ago, I met a woman in a small town fighting her divorce battle.She had asked for a lump sum alimony, but when I asked how she arrived at the figure, she admitted it was just a guess. We sat down together and worked it out:– her monthly household and medical expenses,– the impact of inflation, and– the interest her corpus could realistically … Continue reading From Wedding Bells to Courtroom Battles – Why Financial Literacy for Women Matters:
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Almost every week, we see stories in the press about family business disputes—siblings fighting over control, cousins dragging each other to court, or next-generation leaders clashing with the old guard. This raises a critical question: Is conflict mandatory in family businesses? The answer is NO. Conflict is not inevitable, but it becomes unavoidable when there is no structure, no clarity, and no succession planning. Family … Continue reading Family Business Conflicts in the Headlines:
Recently, while dealing with high BP, I realised something important. Treating high BP is meditative. It’s not about reacting in panic, but about learning to stay calm despite everything happening around you. You have to ignore the noise, both outside and inside, and focus on being still. Just like meditation teaches us to watch thoughts without chasing them, managing BP teaches us to watch life … Continue reading Treating high BP is meditative.
In today’s rapidly evolving professional landscape, the concept of self-renewal has become increasingly vital for individuals across all sectors. As industries undergo transformations driven by technological advancements, changing consumer behaviors, and global challenges, professionals must adapt to stay relevant. John Gardner’s book Self-Renewal emphasizes the necessity for individuals to continually reassess and reinvent themselves to thrive in such a dynamic environment. Self-renewal involves not only … Continue reading Reinventing Yourself: Why Self-Renewal is Essential for Career Success
As we journey through life, there comes a moment when the familiar becomes unfamiliar, and the comfortable becomes uncomfortable. It’s a moment when the whispers of yesterday’s dreams and the echoes of tomorrow’s uncertainties converge, forcing us to confront the greatest question of all: ‘What’s next?’ Welcome to the midlife crisis – a transformative odyssey that challenges our identities, reshapes our priorities, and reveals the … Continue reading Midlife Crisis: Symptoms and Coping Strategies
Writing for Sanity, Not Just Fame “I write books, even if there’s no reader. I craft movie scripts, even if no one buys them. I pen blog posts, even if there’s no audience.” Sometimes, our own sanity matters more than external validation. Benefits of Writing for Myself 1. Therapeutic Release: Writing helps process thoughts, emotions, and experiences. 2. Personal Growth: Reflecting on our writing fosters … Continue reading Writing for Sanity, Not Just Fame
In many Indian families, the husband traditionally handles financial management, leaving the wife unaware of key financial details. This lack of knowledge can create significant stress for the surviving spouse after the husband’s death. Ensuring your spouse is well-educated about the family’s finances is essential to succession planning. The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy According to a report by UNESCO, less than 40% of women … Continue reading Financial Literacy for your Wife to Live a Stress-Free Life After Your Death
The recent suicide of an E&Y employee is merely the tip of the iceberg, and this iceberg is growing larger by the day. More and more people are living with the burden of job-related stress. Work environments have become more intense, businesses are struggling to stay afloat, and social media has intensified a pandemic of peer comparison. This is our reality—a world where many feel … Continue reading Confronting Job-Related Stress: Practical Tips
Do your work, and rest will happen at the right time. Yes, that proved true. I wrote a movie script (Work) in 2015 and pitched (Ship) to studios thereafter. In 2017 agreement was signed with a leading prediction house. That’s it. My work was over. Then I started working on my next script and shipping also followed. Then comes 2021 suddenly I came to know … Continue reading Work, Ship, Work, Ship, & again Work, Ship is the Approach to Success
“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher. There is no time for negative energy during cancer. You need to be around people who inspire, challenge, and make you better.” Oprah Winfrey. Cancer has become widespread in recent years. For every family, someone close is inflicted by this dreaded disease. The disease is not only about the patient. It is … Continue reading 11 Books about Unconventional Cancer Treatments Everyone Needs to Read
On a recently completed road trip, we encountered drizzling while going to Khajuraho. In some places, it was drizzling and somewhere it was raining. I used the car wipers at the speed at which the raindrops were falling on the windshield. It ranged between slow and fast. Cut to: There are two kinds of thoughts that our brain has to process: 1) We want to … Continue reading How does Speed of Windshield help deal with Unwanted Thoughts?
Considering Yoga only as a fitness activity is like valuing a diamond as a piece of glass. Definition of Yoga: Yoga Chitta Nirodha Stoppage of flickering of the mind. Yoga is to achieve equanimity in pain & pleasure, happiness & sorrow. “ġham aur ḳhushī meñ farq na mahsūs ho jahāñ,maiñ dil ko us maqām pe laatā chalā gayā.”(Film: Hum Dono, Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi) This is … Continue reading What Yoga Is?
After detailed planning and packing mentioned in the previous post, we were ready to hit the road on 4th Jan 2022. We had decided to leave as early as possible to reach the day’s destination before it was dark. Finally, the day arrived. On 4th Jan 2022, we started our 20 days long road trip at 6.15 in the morning. All packed up and stuffed … Continue reading Discover India Road Trip 2022 – Mumbai to Khajuraho, Gwalior, Shekhawati, Rajasthan and Much more
“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” Ralph Waldo Emerson A road trip might be easy but planning a road trip is not an easy task. So many factors count especially when the trippers are spouses. Safety, uncertainty, road condition, hotel options, and booking, food, car cooperation, the list goes on and so is the packing list. Indian and especially Gujaratis are known to travel with plenty of luggage as … Continue reading India Road Trip – Planning and Essential Packing List
If you search for the best road journeys in India, the one which always finds the place is Mumbai- Pune Expressway. The Mumbai–Pune Expressway (officially Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway) is India’s first 6-lane wide concrete, access-controlled tolled expressway. It spans a distance of 94.5 km connecting Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state and the financial capital of India, with Pune, the cultural and educational capital … Continue reading Pune Mumbai Expressway Road Journey
The idea of the book came to me at a condolence meeting when people were offering their personal tributes. Listening to their goody goody talks about the deceased, I thought does only good people die? I have never heard in a condolence meeting of a person who died, had any of the qualities like he/she was corrupt, stingy, ungodly, violent, arrogant, angry, adultery, lying. Only … Continue reading A Book Idea – You Can Plan Your Condolence Meeting When You Are Alive
(This was in 2016. This post was written for another blog then as this blog was yet to be born. ) Destination decided. Parashar Agro Farm (PAF), Rajuri, Junnar District, Maharashtra. This was after a marathon search on Google. All the prominent monsoon resorts in Maharashtra were booked for the weekend. We were looking for a travel distance of around 200 KM from Mumbai, not … Continue reading Parashar Agro Farm – A Forgotten Journey
My new fiction book My Condolence Meeting was published earlier this month in two languages. English and Gujarati (Titled: Mari Partrhna Sabha). I approached well-known actor Sachin Khedekar to write a few words about the book for which he readily agreed. Here is a blurb he wrote about the book. The Book… “MY CONDOLENCE MEETING” has put me in a very reflective mood. We attend … Continue reading What Sachin Khedekar has to say about My New Book?
Beyond the horrors of Corona, the last 20 months have been quite productive and contemplative for everyone. WFH improved not only productivity but also the family time we spent. The quality and quantity of time spent with the family members increased. Both spouses could get a better chance to know each other’s life. The parents also could spend more time with their children. This was … Continue reading The Finest Self Help Book You Need to Read
All of us are pursuing our dreams since the day we commence our careers. For most of us it’s a daily routine and slogging and many times we feel it’s not happening in spite of our hard efforts. Sometimes we fail and sometimes we think our bosses or circumstances fail us. The bottom line remains the same – We are pursuing, but nowhere near our … Continue reading Aren’t We All Waiting For Our Over No. 18th and 19th?
Many of us practice meditation to keep the constantly flickering mind cool and stable. Constant flickering of the mind happens for two reasons. One: thoughts that keep coming to our mind and, Two: thoughts we keep igniting in our minds. For the first, it is not in our hands to do anything. It’s an automatic process. What you have in your hand is whether to … Continue reading No Opinion Day – Mediation on the go
If you are a Foody and don’t know the food and diet rules, you are going to suffer. If you are a Workaholic and don’t know how to relax, you are going to suffer. If you are an entrepreneur and don’t know how to communicate persuasively, you are going to suffer. If you are an Employee and don’t know how to remain resilient (this includes … Continue reading How to Make Life Livable with Ease and Happiness?
Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift. Dante Alighieri Fear of Better Opportunity (FOBO) Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Fear of Covid (FOCO) Fear of Job Loss Fear of Financial Crisis Fear of Failure Fear of Unknown The list is ever increasing. Our fear probability is on the rise. Our quotient/ability of dealing with fear is diminishing. … Continue reading How to Deal with FOBO, FOMO, and FOCO with Peace of Mind?
The way with enthusiasm, we are celebrating special days like Fathers’ Day, Yoga Day, Mothers’ Day, Daughters’ Day, Earth Day, Organ Donation Day, World Laughter Day, it tells two things: Either We have forgotten these special people or special things in life and we need annual reminders; or These are so special people, things, that they needn’t be forgotten ever. I think it is more … Continue reading The Days
“Overall, becoming a carbon-neutral country would involve changes in our behaviour, but these are modest compared with the changes that will be forced upon us if we do nothing.” Caroline Lucas, Politician Bill Gates in his book How to avoid a climate Disaster writes, “we are adding 51 billion tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere every year. The target is to make it Zero. … Continue reading Climate is Sinking, We are Ignorant, Future is Miserable
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I am happy to announce that my third book is getting published during the pandemic. After publishing Balancing is the Work in Oct 2020, a significant book Indian Women & Financial Fitness was published on the International Women’s Day 2021. & now Indian Startups, SMEs, & Financial Literacy. Financial Literacy is very important literacy but ironically is not given the importance it deserves in our … Continue reading A Business Success Book Every Indian Entrepreneur Shouldn’t Miss
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