Saurabh Mithal

Writer, Teacher, Career Coach, Mentor. Work website: passionatelycurious.in I write a daily blog at https://blog.passionatelycurious.in

Earning trust.

Whether it's about getting a new client, making a new friend or finding a romantic partner, it all comes down to earning trust. But, how do we do that? There are three things that lead to earning trust: deep, authentic, and emotionally resonant interactions, how frequent these interactions

Residual results.

Some changes can have a ripple effect on future actions. Make the change once and it makes things better going forward. These system-level changes are easier to put off for later. We can always adjust. Why change something that isn't broke? But, if we start making these changes

One thing at a time.

Focus on one thing. One thing only. Keep working on it until it starts taking shape and it's done. When we keep switching tasks without getting them done, we don't make progress in any. This is true for projects as well. Once we commit to a

Making time for fear.

If we believe that fear will not show up as we work on our project, we are not being serious about the work. Any project worth pursuing will have its component of fear accompanying it. And if don't make space for the fear, it will show up at

Too big a leap.

A leap takes courage and it changes the way things are. It's different from a step or even a jump. It creates leverage and can potentially shift us to a different trajectory. But, there is also the possibility that it might not work, that we might fall, and

Trust your self.

To do the right thing when you are in the arena. To be generous, compassionate, kind, honest, vulnerable with others and yourself. To make the decisions that you feel are right, even if they might not work. To allow yourself to make mistakes and take leaps. To get back up

People like us...

There is magic in surrounding ourselves with people like us. People who are generous, ambitious, creative, entrepreneurial, change-makers, and ruckus makers. People who are always there to listen, to help, to motivate, to push us forward, to connect, coordinate, lead and create possibility. I am so very grateful to be

Fear, change & generosity.

The key element of generosity is change. Without change, there's no generosity. And fear and change go hand in hand. Too much change, too soon can be too scary for many people. So, it makes sense to break it down into micro-steps and allow others to enrol in

Creating abundance.

Creating an abundance of knowledge and skills: Invest time & money in books, courses, podcasts, and workshops. Creating an abundance of people: Reach out, initiate, instigate. Have coffee chats. Be interested in other people. Figure out who you find interesting and find and connect with more people like them. Creating

Until it's done.

Don't leave the seat. Don't change the tab. Don't make an exception. Don't stop doing what you are doing. Until it's done.

Neutral zone.

During the day, any stimulus can trigger us into the negative zone, the zone where emotions are high, the zone where we doubt ourselves, the zone where we think more and do less, and the zone where we can't see anything good about us or the world. Sometimes,

Who's incharge?

Is the project not going the way it's supposed to? Why? Who's incharge? Are you? If not you, then who? If no one's incharge, is it a wonder that things are in a mess right now?

2 kinds of projects.

One is the predictable kind, the one with a set recipe which we simply need to follow. This kind of project can be drawn out on a Gantt chart. It's similar to driving from one city to another using a GPS system. You can tell exactly where you

The hard work.

Doing the job is not the hard work. The hard work is creating something out of nothing. The hard work is initiating. instigating, leading. making things imminent. The hard work is listening, empathising, building trust and connection. The hard work is getting the right people in the room. There are

The cliffs and the cul-de-sacs.

“If It Is Worth Doing, There’s Probably a Dip” - The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), Seth Godin The cliffs are the addictions. The activities that give a slight high every time we do them but have massive withdrawal symptoms

The illusion of rest.

Spending time on YouTube, Instagram, and Netflix is not taking rest. That's an illusion that we have created. Rest leaves you in a calmer, relaxed, more energised state. These activities don't. Mostly, they leave us drained.

Thank you, next.

When we start showing up with intent, there are chances that we do not get what we are seeking. The potential client we reach out to does not sign up. The girl/guy we ask out for a date does not agree to go out with us. The jobs we

What are you working on?

That's the question, isn't it? What's your priority project? What does it look like when it's done? What's the deadline? What's left to do? What's the next action step?

"Is it done?"

May be a better question than, "Is it good?" And an even better question than, "Is it perfect?" When it's done, it may be good enough. On the other hand, when it's good enough, then, may be, it's done.

More of better.

Doing less of something is difficult. When we focus on doing less, we create a vaccuum and more often than not that vacuum will be occupied by something else on its own. Instead, what we can focus on is doing more of something else, something better. The more we engage

Better together.

It's tempting to take up the challenge of creativity and entrepreneurship alone. Even if you prefer working on your own, it helps significantly to create a community of fellow creatives not only to keep yourself accountable but also to feel connected. Many times, this would require you to

Action steps.

It's easy to talk about your project, your dreams, your goals, and even your challenges and pains. It's easy to seek validation from your friend, your family member or your coach. But what matters is what are you going to do about it. What action step

As inspiration waits...

When we do creative work, we schedule a time to work with inspiration. Inspiration syncs her calendar with ours and shows up on time. But many times, we show up late or don't even show up. We keep inspiration waiting. And then, we say that we lack inspiration

Professional mode on/off?

You can't be in professional mode all the time. You need to know when you turn it on and when you turn it off. Every decision you take then will follow the single decision of whether you are in professional mode or not.

What's the next action step?

Yes, you have dreams, you have goals, you have an idea, you have a problem, you want to discuss. Yes, that's okay. But what's the next action step? And by when can you get it done? And who can follow up with you about that? It&