Abhilash Rao

The work you put into improving your funnel is effort well spent. But attempts to build a perpetual motion machine of profit almost always end with bitterness, because they require you to push too hard and too fast to do anything that lasts. The goal is to prime the pump with ads that are aimed at neophiliacs, people looking to find you. Then build

... See more

One of the great comics of our time is booked for a gig in New York City. His agent isn’t paying attention, though. The comic shows up at the club; he’s in a good mood. He brings his best material. He’s up there, working the room, and no one is laughing. Not a peep. He’s bombing. After the show, he’s beating himself up, thinking of quitting comedy

... See more

Firms should broaden their competitive frame to invoke more advantageous comparisons. Consider these examples: In the United Kingdom, the Automobile Association positioned itself as the fourth “emergency service”—along with police, fire, and ambulance—to convey greater credibility and urgency. The International Federation of Poker is attempting to

... See more

even after all the obvious levels of skill and craft (chi) have been mastered, the Yu still depends on the discovery of new challenges (the “complicated place” or “difficulties” in the above quotation), and on the development of new skills ... In other words, the mystical heights of the Yu are not attained by some superhuman quantum jump, but

... See more

Second, we must give our brains the right amount of autonomy. When we have a choice, our brains often want to default to something easy. But we can mitigate that response by challenging ourselves to be innovative and provide incentives. For example, instead of debating whether to make a healthy choice at lunch, ask yourself: Do I want this fresh

... See more

3. Status attended to is the status that matters. Status is most relevant when we try to keep it or change it. For many people, status is upmost in our minds in every interaction. But it only matters when the person we’re engaging with cares about status. 4. Status has inertia. We’re more likely to work to maintain our status (high or low) than we are

... See more

Look at Google. Its heartbeat is erratic, unpredictable. It works for them—mostly, sometimes—but it could work so much better. Google arguably only has one big external heartbeat each year at Google I/O—and most teams don’t bother aligning with it. They typically launch whatever they want whenever they want throughout the year, sometimes with real

... See more

“What’s preventing you from achieving your ten-year goals inside of six months?” — Peter Thiel

What are the real obstacles that are preventing you?

Don’t arbitrarily try to achieve goals in predetermined time frames.

Compress your timelines.

In six months, you'll be thanking yourself.

When you have a superpower, you receive tremendous praise that feeds your superpower. Your strengths create such an aura that your colleagues, your peers, and even your boss will look past any shortcomings or bad habits that need development.

They assume it’ll go away naturally or it’s erroneous or too inconsistent to raise the issue, even... See more