It has been a super-hot minute, Internet! How are you? How have you been? Did I catch you in London? No??

Welcome to my new and improved (?) Stakeholder Report.

The idea is very, very simple. AK is a business. And each month, she writes a report on work, life and everything in between. For her Stakeholders, ie people who are invested in + support her. And, the world at large. Whoever might be reading. To share field-notes, document lessons, articulate recurring thoughts and ask questions.

This shall have 3 new sections.

1. Work and life thoughts
2. Monthly memories
3. Goals for the next month
4. (Optionally) Help me out

Let’s go?

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Work and life thoughts.

One. My problems don’t change. Am I doing something wrong?

So, one of the reasons I had not written these reports in a while was because I felt I keep coming back with the same problems I need to work on. And these are your simple everyday life things. Wake up early, write regularly, your-calendar-is-sacrosanct, build a brand, hit the gym, make money, expand luck surface area, all that.

So, I know there is an ideal day design. And days might have variability. But you should be able to smooth them over the course of months. And the graph should be headed upwards YoY, ideally. I don’t think that has happened. But then, if I were to pick any point in my life 3 years ago vs now, I’d still pick this one. Regardless, I will not mull and wonder pointlessly.

What I still have is a bunch of time, excitement and energy. To make more of life. We shall do that.

Perhaps, my only gripe with myself is, I still don’t believe my input to life is all that I got. Over 5 years of being an over 18 adult – which I know is an arbitrary number but let’s go with it – I’d have wanted to struggle with output and outcome. 

Something to fix asaply really.

Another way I look at it is literal muscle-building. You try, you break, you fix. And the muscle is always broken. But today’s broken is stronger than yesterday’s broken. 

Two. Negative body image is a weight I no longer wish to carry.

I have so many notes and thoughts on it.

But here’s the TLDR.

I am fat and I know it. We are fine there. Whether it’s the genuine health concern or the good old bully. I have learnt better than not letting that upset me.

What I am still not okay with is the voice in my head. That compares being fat with self worth. Not in the pretty sense. But not doing enough work to ultimately show up for life way. And that follows me around in a bunch of things. Dressing up for the day. Exploring food. Or the heartbreaking lack of feeling-good-in-my-body days in my life.

I do wish someone in my life had prepared me for this. Managing health on my own once I adult up. School, family, the works. I’ve been served too much on a platter like that (wow, this is witty lol)

And the last 18 months have been the first time I have actually struggled with that. The weight number and aesthetics.

And what do I really want on this front? Very simple things: clear skin, regular periods and 30% body fat. Anything else is a want beyond functional health + positive self image.

That’s just regular maintenance.

SOME TLDR HAHA.

On the no longer wish to carry part. I have decided to give it the time, money, energy and more importantly, the restraint (food, sleep, doctors, not scrolling) needed to get it in order. Good thing is, it also fixes other life habits. I am giving myself till the end of year on this. Winter arc :p 

I also have thoughts on why that is important to me. But we don’t want to make this too long. Next blog?

Three. Much more is achievable when you ask for it all.

I don’t know the source but this is a starred note in my diary. I am a very, very strong believer of this. Basically, there’s this whole school of thought about how one can not have it all. And that makes all the pragmatic sense, sure. But again. One life. Must maximize. And want for it all. And shoot the largest shots.

In other words, you might not always have it all. But if you set out asking the world/life/Universe/self for everything, you might end up with far more. Than what you would have had if you had chosen to settle. So, always think out-of-aukaat. Or go home :p 

The funny thing is, while I 100% agree with it, I will still fear and shrink myself into smaller dreams and goals. Most times, SG checks me. And for that, I could not be more grateful.

I know I always wake up more excited when I have some out of aukaat goal to chase. But a lot of the aftermath is still TBD.

Four. Do you have a purpose in life?

Someone asked me this recently. I do not think I impressed them with my answer. But again, what I learnt from SG is that your-purpose-has-to-purpose-for-you.

The closest I can come to answering this question is: This Mrs Maisel monologue that puts it better than most things. And, having a shit ton of optionality in my life.

I also believe a life built and lived for only yourself x Billions of people = literally everyone happy. Don’t give me Game Theory contradictions to this.

But a lot of money, access, opportunity, freedom, experiences, etc. should do it for me. And sure, all this could look like different things over days and weeks and months and years. But the roots remain the same.

I think I can live well enough with this much. Or maybe, I don’t have the selflessness, depth, et al to ask for more. Guess we shall never know?

Five. Some notes from Shashank’s AMA.

At least 5 different people had sent me a link to the post. And it was super close to my place. Here’s a copy of my notes. These are all versions of what he said. Don’t quote me :p

1. A common question people seem to have for TWT is: Have you become big? Are you one of the incumbents now? And how will you know you have become one? To which, the team seemed to have a pretty coherent answer that – Till they think about creating more value for customers first, and not worrying about making the least possible amount of loss – they are not too big to be a typical incumbent.
2. “Being morally right is no reason to be strategically stupid.” I agree with Samarth on this being a quotable. This was about how impact-first organisations often call the high ground. But doing the “good” thing and creating impact is no excuse to not maximise your revenue. When that’s literally your business fuel.
3. Walnuts have a ton of fat in them. And go rancid very, very fast. I did not know that!
4. In his business, having a good product is a must-have. But, the brand is a force-mega-multiplier. And thus, worth a ton of investment.
5. #NoteToSelf. I think all great leaders are very, very charming. And that’s a brilliant skill to have.
6. Someone asked about how they maintain consistency in product/brand communication. Across all touchpoints. To which SM answered with the idea of entropy. That the Universe will always tend to entropy and chaos. And you can fix it time and again. And it will keep going back. So, while one part of the job is fixing it and trying to restore point 0; the more important part is accepting entropy and not losing peace over it.
7. In building TWT, the first thing they worked on was creating demand. Having demand gives you aircover for solving all other broken parts. But make an MVP. Fast. One that has some demand. Very, very fast.
8. Early hires were all intent > skill.
9. And that, what he wants to build is a super-resilient food company. In the face of cacao scarcity and whey prices and whatnot.

Monthly memories.

I have realised I don’t document very well. I shall begin again (hello, Taylor)

For now, it’s just vibes.

Goals for the month.

1. On brand
   1. 70k followers on Decoding Draupadi
   2. 30k followers on LinkedIn.
   3. Put out 15 podcast eps. Find the coolest women to know and have a chat.
2. On health.
   1. No processed sugar this month. Not even coffee this month.
   2. Weekly steps avg: 10k.
   3. Wake up at 6 AM everyday. I shall X thread this.
3. On work.
   1. I actually don’t know what I am working on this month. As of now. But I shall come back and update this.
   2. However, you can assume I will find an MVP with demand by Halloween.
4. On life.
   1. No more Sunday morning sleep-ins. I shall go out and entertain myself :p
   2. And no passive hangouts.

The help I need.

Hold me accountable. If you see me making excuses, please push me choose better 🙂

Alrighty!

That’s all. See you around!