Hello there! Thank you for joining me in my first official blog post "Learn with Vas". This is a place where we share ideas & perspectives on Learning, Business & other useful things in Life. I am glad I am starting this first post on a very auspicious day- the 74th Indian Independence day & birth anniversary of my late guru Swami Dayananda.

Fear of starting

I was sitting on this idea for writing a blog post for a REALLY long time. There is a fear to start. What do I know? Why should people listen to me? I do have my experiences, but I am not the Guru or the expert. I have my limitations & experimenting with many things as I go along. This is one more such experiment. There is the famous myth of "writer's block". Many famous bloggers & writers have called out that myth & said that it is only procrastination & not able to face your fear. So this first post is going to be on my thoughts around fear, overcoming this fear itself & some of my learning around this.

Impostor Syndrome

There is another common fear called the Impostor Syndrome - will I called out for my inadequacy? Are my shoes too big to hold me? Whether we like it or not, we are being judged every single time we interact with others - the phone calls, emails, reports, how we show up at meetings & personal interactions. I am responsible for how I prepare myself & present myself at every one of those interactions. I cannot take any responsibility for how others perceive me & their judgement. I wish they see me positively, but it is only that - a wishful thinking. The reality is that we cannot satisfy all the people whom we come across. So even for this blog post, there will be some who will resonate with what I write, there will be others who will think that it is a load of ****.

Fake It Till you make it

In the learning world, there is a common expression "Fake it till you make it". This well-meaning advice, but if not understood properly can cause a lot of problems. What does the faking it mean? Or more importantly, what it does not mean? I have a role to play and I continue to play the role to my best understanding. I don't need to fake the role, I need to just play the role & understand the role well. It is all about the understanding of the role & playing the role. A professional actor does not fake the role, he plays the role. By "Till you Make It", you are making it as if it is a future event. It is in the here and now, the reality is that you are playing the role now. You get better at playing the role only by deliberately playing the role & learning from the experience.

Authenticity

Another commonly mis-understood expression is "Authenticity". When I play my role in any setting, being authentic does not mean I blabber whatever I feel like. What does authenticity mean to me while being the writer of this blog post? Authentic means I will hold myself to a set of values and behave according to them consistently over time. In these pages, I aspire to remain curious and continue to celebrate the abundance in life. To be authentic then is to stay true to these values of curiosity & abundance.

Vulnerability

Curiosity goes alongside with Vulnerability. I do not get cocooned in fixed dogmas or world-views. Staying curious means that I throw away my hubris and be open to other points of view. That is vulnerability - open, questioning mind - ready to explore the lay of the land. Vulnerability does not mean diffidence and agreeing to whatever is out there. It means that I carefully analyze the different points of view, find my truth, yet remain open to further exploration & wisdom. Like what my favorite author & coach Michael Bungay Stanier says as a subtitle to his book "The Advice Trap" - "Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever"

Consumption vs Contribution

All of us consume other people's work everyday in many ways - social media, websites, music concerts, arts, books, etc. - the list is endless. We do contribute with our work which others consume. As Adam Grant says in his book "Give and Take" - Givers have a worldview of Abundance and are helpful to others whenever they see the benefits far outweigh their personal costs. This blog is my small initiative to be a Giver - ideas, inspiration, tools & insights which would be helpful to somebody out there.

Keep the engine going

It is easy to start and leave an initiative half way. I have been guilty of it many times in life. Even as I am starting, I am conscious of the commitment to keep the engine going.

I heard recently that Seth Godin has been writing his blog everyday of his life for the past 20 years or so - that's mind boggling. My personal endeavor is to be able to produce atleast one post per week. Given my current commitments, it is a tall order. As they say, we find time for the things we regard most important in life.

Remember, Celebrate Abundance, Celebrate Life!