3 lessons we can learn from my friend’s love story — At 11:35 pm, my phone chimed, and a notification message popped up on my lock screen. I picked it up, and it read, “I feel like I’ve lost my best friend.”. A second later, another chat bubble appeared that read, “I don’t know what to do without him,” and before…

The store’s creative marketing techniques are extraordinary — If you asked which brands were coming out with a Valentine’s Day ad, the typical options would be any chocolate, flower, wine, or jewellery company. A home furnishing brand wouldn’t come to your mind, right? Wrong. IKEA, a home furnishing store, rode on the wave and made a Valentine’s Day…

Mental shifts that you can easily adopt — Since childhood, Epictetus was lame in one leg. In some stories, his physical impediment was a result of harsh beatings from his slavemaster. Early in life, he came to Rome as a slave, and when he was 34, Epictetus was banished from Rome by Emperor Domitian. Fortunately, his study with…

You don’t need to spend big budgets. Use psychology to increase your marketing outreach. — In 2013, the new rounded Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate bar had made some consumers irate because it’s sweeter than the original, more rectangular bar. In Cadbury’s defense, it announced that its formulation hasn’t changed. Who’s right? What difference does a rounded and a rectangular chocolate bar make? …

You’re not the highlight in the conversation, the person you’re talking to is. — Over the years, I’ve met people in different social contexts. When I meet people who’re great conversationalists, we will click right away, and our chemistry is off the charts — the kind of conversation where an hour feels like a minute. Yet, on the other end of the spectrum, I’ve…

First, put away photographs of famous authors on your desk — I’ve never considered myself a talented writer. I don’t have a degree in writing, nor am I an editor by profession for the New York Times. Ever since I’ve taken my passion for writing to Medium, I’d like to think that I’m an experimentalist who embodies the philosophy of learning…

What lessons could we draw from the experience? — Here’s a thought experiment: It’s the year 0. You open your eyes and find yourself in a white, windowless room constructed with an abysmal ceiling and walls. A metre across from you stands a silver metallic podium with a digital tablet attached to it. …

From movies like Toy Story and Monster Inc, storytelling is no secret — If you had to pick a favourite movie of yours — one that remains etched in your memory throughout the years— what would it be? For me, Pixar’s Ratatouille is a film I hold dear to my heart even till this day. It not only teaches us that sky’s the…

Understanding them helps us steer away from unintended troubles — It was a lazy Monday afternoon. My friend Amy, and I visited Starbucks to catch up on an assigned project that was due tomorrow. Two cups of lattes sat atop our table with our laptops opened in front of us. “Oh my god. This is driving me nuts. He was…