Why Common Sense Makes You A Common Man

1. BEING PERFECT IN LIFE

- The common man’s philosophy on being perfect in life is to never make mistakes, and be that geeky person with neatly combed hair who’s always obedient in doing everything others say. You may be called a good person but…

- The counter intuitive way to perfect your life is to try different things and FAIL FORWARD. Experience is the greatest teacher, but most of our schooling system never allows us to make and learn from mistakes. The person who’s tried and learnt thru experience is far more perfect than the ones who’ve hardly tried..

Note: Schools despise failing. It’s only after college that life teaches the reality of failing forward. ‘Perfection’ is to know your imperfections and work on them. Nobody is ever perfect in life.

Again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not everyone will accept it, but those who do and follow thru would truly perfect their lives on their own accord…

2. GETTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED

• The intuitive or most logical way to call yourself qualified in life is to probably chase that MIT, Harvard, Ivy League, IIT, IIM, degree.. or postgrad, and feel great about it. Most parents start prepping their kids from a very young age to get into these apparently “prestigious” institutions. This works but…
• The counter-intuitive way to getting qualified in life is to chuck all of that, screw that certificate and chase after what you really love… your passion in life, and to do what you’re born for. This radical thought process usually brings out people like the Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg, etc. Such peoples’ achievements are so great that they really don’t need to prove their qualification to anyone.

Note: I’m not against the ivy leagues. I’m against the sheep mentality of just copying what everyone else is doing, and taking advise from people who have no clue about what you are born for.

This is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not everyone will accept it, but those who do and follow thru usually go really far ahead in life…

3. GAINING TRUST & LOYALTY

• The intuitive way of gaining trust is by talking about your success. It’s to brag about your accomplishments — the number of awards you’ve won, or probably the number of celebrities that you’ve taken a picture with. This works but…
• The counter intuitive way of building a deeper bonding and trust with people around you is by “standing for something bigger than yourself” and talking about your personal story of struggles, exposing your flaws to the world and what you’ve learnt from it.

Note: Most people don’t like to talk about their dark side. But those who do actually can gain more trust. I’ve bought a ton of stuff online from those who spoke about their flaws, because of their genuinely acceptable story, and personal experience.

Again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not everyone will accept it, but those who do and follow thru usually build a loyal following…

4. GETTING MORE BUSINESS

• The most logical thing to do to get more customers for your business is to probably hit the phone directory, buy leads, blast emails to cold lists and train your sales teams to start making an insane amount of sales calls. It works, but…
• The counter-intuitive way to get more customers is to first set your vision clear and speak more about your mission than your products or service. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it (Simon Sinek).

When this happens, then you’ll have your customers and partners coming to you rather than you chasing after them.

Note: Stop being a ‘hunter’ chasing after customers. Be a farmer, plant the seeds of value, and let your customers chase you based on the value that they experience, and the value system by which your business is built.

Again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not everyone will accept it, but those businesses who do and follow thru usually go really far ahead in the game…

5. GETTING WEALTHY

• The common thing to do in order to get rich & wealthy is to work really hard, keeping MONEY as your focus. I personally know so many businessmen who have this as their only focus and who are successful. They may be called rich but…
• The counter intuitive way to get wealthy is to drop the whole idea of getting rich and keep VALUE GIVING as your focus. I was listening to a couple of podcasts where a few millionaires were interviewed, and this point kept coming back. The moment they stopped chasing the money, and started to think about adding value to the world, that’s when their wealth started to grow.

Note: You’re truly wealthy when you have something which money cannot buy.

Once again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not everyone will accept it, but those who do and follow thru would definitely create fortunes…

6. GETTING A LIFE PARTNER

• The most common thing one does to get a life partner (boyfriend or girlfriend) today, is to hit upon dating sites in desperation and look for someone using the outside-in approach. How good do they look? Are they attractive enough to have sex? Do they have a good education and well qualified? Do they have a good job?
• The counter-intuitive approach to finding your partner would be to stop being desperate, control your senses, and become a person who attracts the right mate thru the inside-out approach. Evaluate your potential partner’s value system first? Do they align with your goals in life? And then let them first feel safe around you.

Note: Having the right posture and belief system will help you attract the right soul mate, and not one night stands. My good friend Vish Iyer has written a book on this topic called Yoga & Love. This talks about the inside-out approach.

Once again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not everyone will follow this, but those who do and follow thru would find partners for life…

7. BECOMING FAMOUS

• The most logical thing to do is to chase after fame and recognition by taking snaps with famous people and flaunting around your accessories and smallest successes. This is what I call ‘cheap fame’ or wannabe fame. This works for some people but…
• The counter-intuitive way to getting recognised is by dropping the desire to get famous, by letting go of the grudges you have within to prove someone wrong, and by creating something which has an impact in society. Mark Zuckerberg is famous for the change he created in the world of communication.

Once again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not everyone will follow this, but those who do and follow thru would get so famous that it becomes irrelevant for them…

8. KIDS: CHOOSING A SCHOOL

• The most common thing people do to get their kids in school is to look up on Google for the top 10 schools in their location and somehow get their kids in there by paying hefty fees. The common notion is that if you pay big fees and get them in an ‘international’ school, then your child’s future will be bright!. This works for some but…
• The counter intuitive approach to grooming the next generation is to pick a school that focuses on values and cultural heritage more than the fancy playgrounds and glass buildings & infrastructure. Adopting homeschooling, Steiner system or even the Montessori systems which are alternative methods are proven to be more effective today.

Note: Did you know that the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, the co-founders of Google, Larry Page & Sergie Brin, Prince Charles & Prince William and many other powerful leaders in the world today come from a Montessori background?

Once again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not everyone will follow this, but those parents who do and follow thru would get their children to really big contributors of the next generation…

9. WORK CULTURE & HOW YOU TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES

• The traditional common sense way to build a company is to ask your employees to come in and work the 9am–6pm, finish their tasks for the day, and ensure that they check in and check out diligently. Yes, that’s how it’s always worked from the industrial era. It still does work, but…
• The counter-intuitive approach to building a team of high productive team members in business is to drop the idea of them being employees, talk to them about your vision and the company’s vision, and give them the flexibility to think and contribute as an intrapreneur in an organisation, rather than looking the check in and check out timings.

Note: When you paint a vision let employees decide on how they would like to contribute, you can see surprising results in productivity and progress.

Once again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not all business owners will follow this, but those who do and follow thru would have more loyal and productive employees in their organisation…

10. HEALTH: TREATING YOURSELF DURING SICKNESS

• We all fall sick. It’s a part of life. The most common thing to do is to go to a doc, pop some pills and get ok. While this seems logical, did you know that a lot of the modern diseases today are actually created by the BIG PHARMA industries. It’s a huge game played by hospitals, pharma companies, doctors as well as insurance companies, where the whole goal is to have more recurring patients. Modern medicine is great in many cases, but mostly treats only the symptom and not the root of the problem — which usually comes back to diet and lifestyle.
• The counter-intuitive approach to being healthy and fit is to adopt more traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda which do take longer to cure, but have more permanent effects on the body, because this is not a “business-model”. When we switched from the nebulizers to traditional Ayurvedic cures for our baby who was suffering from chronic cold and breathing issues when he was toddler, and it took just 6 months on Ayurveda, and the root cause of the issue was solved.

Note: The advancement in medical sciences are amazing. I truly respect the researchers who have put in their hard work. But the issue is when this research is used to create new problems, so that newer medicines can be consumed by the masses.

Once again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not all people will follow this, but who do and follow thru would live healthier and happier lives…

11. ULTIMATE GOAL: SCIENCE OR SPIRITUALITY

• The big trend in the world today is to approach everything scientifically, by means of experiments and proof based on what we perceive through our sense organs. Many puffed up scientists reject the presence of a Higher Power or Higher Intelligence behind the creation of this universe, and only talk about a BIG BANG in terms of molecules and chemicals. This is may apparently seem true (coz we learnt them in school) but…
• The counter-intuitive approach to approaching life is to first understand the concept of the soul and consciousness. When somebody says that “He has passed away”, what has passed away? It is the soul. If we approach life from a spiritual plane of understanding, then we have a better chance of understanding ourselves and our real goal of life — which is to re-establish our lost connection with our Creator — God.

Note: The purpose of life can never be understood from a chemical stand point. We have to go back to the scriptures (specifically Vedic scriptures), which go back thousands of years, and have been passed down thru a master-student disciplic succession.

Once again, this is a counter-intuitive thought process…. Not all people will approach life in this way, but who do and follow thru would really have a meaning and purpose in their life…

I hope this post inspired you to start thinking differently about life.

Being counter-intuitive (which I have used so many times in this article) is the only way to go far beyond your potential.

Normal is boring.

Common sense will only make you a common man.

But truly you deserve to be more… do more… and create a positive change in the world.

Hope this information was valuable to you!

Cheers
Siddharth Rajsekar