Early twenties are the best time to start a company This is another area where there’s more than one way to skin a cat. You can start-up in your teens when cost of failure is super low but you’re coming with zero world/industry understanding and going to learn a lot of things the hard way . It’s not only going to be hard on you but also hard everyone who works with you, because lets face it - you’re a noob. A squidgy rock not a polished diamond . On other hand, you can start-up later with the benefit of experience, industry connections, and a refined understanding of how the world works. The problem is that anyone successful with good connections, etc. will become risk-averse and be weary of starting up . Also, to be noted is the startling fact that the average age when entrepreneurs started their firm was 42, not 24! Another example where the fetishization of youth dominates the narrative. 42 seems like the place where you’ve had a decent career, had kids and then are going out to start something . To each his own.

Mumbai University normies who just do a blanket MS and run to the USA are dumb and unpatriotic I’ve had about a 3rd of my 12th standard classmates go abroad (primarily to the US) for studies. A lot of these weren’t the brilliant ones in class who got top ranks in IIT, making obvious candidates for advanced master’s degrees . They were people who went Mumbai University’s okayish engineering colleges. Most of them didn’t crack top tier masters programs either. They went to okay-ish tier 2 (at best) programs, and it was clear that they just wanted to go abroad (or their family wanted to send them abroad) . Funnily a lot of them already came from quite well-off backgrounds. My reaction on observing this was “Eww, you could barely understand high school physics . Why the hell are you doing a masters in X for?”. I considered them dumb, wannabe, undeserving, and a tad unpatriotic.

This was ~10 years ago, and my opinions have changed. I still consider a lot of them of dumb and undeserving. Not individually underserving, but on the whole there would be several students far smarter and better suited to these degrees than the people who wanted a visa . It takes a lot more courage for someone from a non-privileged background to make the leap to go abroad without a support system. However, I think their decision was overall the rational one and in hindsight the obvious thing to do if you want give yourself/your kids a better life . It was also a better decision for them. Without great tags providing them tailwinds, their lives would’ve been harder in India. India has way more cut-throat competition for everything . Vote with your feet and get the fuck out. Nationalism is fool’s gold and a modern invention, take care of your family and if you can, some more. That is all.

Side-note: In an irony of fate, most of these folks went into tech sector job, the same sector India in which has moved eons in the last decade. Yes we have a long way to go but if you’re a brilliant entrepreneur, a great engineer, a charismatic product manager - the iron for you is hot and only going to get hotter . Suddenly it’s more high status AND high paying to be an early employee at Flipkart than it is be Employee #5402 at a random firm abroad. India is just 5-10 years away from reaching the point where staying back in India will be a very serious but not necessarily obvious option on the table . Becoming the obvious option will take 20.

Life’s Do’s You have obligations towards parents/family/x This is largely true because I imagine most people have normal parents. I can’t say because I haven’t had normal parents and they don’t engender any feelings of love or affection in me (despite their attempts to!) . Even within the family, as a spouse, a parent, as a sibling; love has to be nurtured, respect has to be earned. No one is entitled to shit. If you are a toxic human being who hurts everybody, nobody is obligated to be nice to because they’re your family . They’re people too and want to lead happy lives. Following along, you don’t have the obligation to suffer a horrible relationship out of some mythical family obligations . Of course, you should try your best, but sometimes it’s best to let go and move on.

I’m supposed to be consistent / upright / disciplined / caring / giving a shit Nope. The universe exerts no pressure on you whatsoever. There is a lot of peer pressure though. And some pressure from culture and society, which is peer pressure but from your grandfathers’ peers . Being consistent, upright, disciplined, etc. are great things in and of themselves but they’re applicable in the same way to everybody. The world benefits as much from the genius inconsistency of an artist as it does from the predictable consistency of a bureaucrat . Not everyone can wake up at 6 AM or focus for more than 2 hours or read books. And not everyone can do a handstand, run a marathon, and cook a swell meal either . Yet everyone’s held to a common ideal.