Slowing Down to Focus

One of the best parts about running a company is that you get to live, run and breathe at a hundred miles an hour. That means, you’re moving with speed and force that crushes obstacles and leaves competitors in the rear view mirror. 

And the results are blatantly obvious. In the past 2 years, across my companies, we have:

• Earned or raised in excess of $2,000,000 
• Pushed through legal obstacles by fighting large convoluted laws 
• Established trust and confidence in the ability to execute at scale

With that, comes a significant impact on everything - life, work, family and values. As with everything in life, some of it is good and some of it is bad.  

Being on the road for the past few weeks has been extremely important for me. Living in New York, you add a lot of layers of bullshit in your decision making process. 

Being on the road brings clarity. Some changes I’m sharing below. Others will be shared in a future update. 

Effective immediately:

• I will no longer invest in companies if I cannot have a material impact on the outcome. There’s simply no point. 
• I will no longer invest in people who are still employed or have a safety net. Comfort is the enemy of success. 
• I will no longer invest in people who haven’t experienced life - whether it is travel, adventure, a foreign language or international culture. These characteristics are critical to prove how one navigates the ever-changing landscape of startups.
• I am halting the publishing of my 3rd book. I do not believe I’m ready to write the most important chapter of my life - not just yet. 
• While I will always consider New York City home, it is time to move on. Later this year, I’ll be packing up a few bags and moving to Los Angeles. New York has been home for me for nearly 15 years. Every good thing has happened here. A lot of firsts. A lot of important decisions. I respect the hustle this city has taught me. But, it is time to add a second home.

Lastly, I realize I’ve been spread too thin. I need to breathe, sleep and enjoy more of why I work 18 hours a day. As such, I’m going to be spending a vast majority of my time at Poln. It has been growing at a significant pace and its time to guide that rocket ship to the next level. As such, my time on other projects and companies will significantly be reduced. 

There are a few more important decisions that have wide ranging consequences, but this is day 1 of my return to reality. None of these decisions are easy for me. But they need to happen. Otherwise I’ll be back on a treadmill to nowhere. 

For This

I'm sitting on an Airbus A380, operated by Emirates, the world's largest operator of these jumbo jets. I'm sitting in a first-class suite which features showers on board and a bar. I'm sipping a glass of Dom Perignon and later on, I'll be drinking Hennessey Paradis, the most expensive liquor in the sky.

I lean back, get ready for the jet to thrust into the air and take me home. I catch myself in the mirror in my suite and I have a huge smile on my face.

This is it. This is my life.

At some point in my past, I made 2 decisions. The first one forced me to walk away from everything. The second decision was to give up a very well paying job to build my companies.

These decisions meant not to accept small victories or instant gratification. But to fight for the things worth chasing. To commit all the way or to not bother at all. I made a decision to live life my way. And that's what I've done on this trip.

I produced my first video in a long time:

I captured stunning sunrises: 

And capped my days with jaw dropping sunsets:

I flew on the world's first commercial airline to offer an apartment:

And as this trip comes to an end, I'm excited to get back to the grind. There are a few large hurdles I need to cross amongst our group of companies. But, if the past is any indication - there's a way.

Nothing worth having is easy. Nothing easy is worth keeping. Every good thing in life takes 3 things: time, patience and perseverance.

And those that want it badly enough are the ones that get it.

Live well. Be well. Chase your dreams. And be strong enough to make them reality.

What You’re Taught and Why it’s Wrong

(A repost from nearly 3 years. Nearly every word still holds true.)

The past few weeks have been interesting. I’ve had severe setbacks in ventures and then great upswings. It’s a weird feeling, but it also reminds me of how different real life is than what school and professional institutions force into your head.

Elementary school:

Remember elementary school? Where they taught you A for Apple, B for Ball and C for Cat? When’s the last time you had an apple while playing ball with a cat? Never. Elementary school sets you up to dream. Yet, as people progress through life, the dream – whatever it may be – slowly starts dwindling down to the path of least resistence.

Middle school:

Middle school is where you start reading books. Not fancy Shakespeare just yet, but good books that are mostly inspirational and highly adventerous. Yet, there are so few people who pursue adventure in real life.

High school:

Remember when you snuck out of your house to do something fun that your parents didn’t want you to do? That was fun. Yet, most people don’t have fun – don’t pursue fun as they get older. They stick to their boring desks in a useless job and in their tiny apartments and just keep on working. Sneak out and go have fun!

College:

College is another animal. If you don’t have fun in college, you’re missing out. And yet, this point in your life, you’re independent, living in the crappiest location and have the least amount of money. Still, the fun never stops. 

Job: 

If you go through all the different types of schools and end up at just another job – you’ve already lost the game. Finding a job is great. Finding the right job is important. Many people find a job based on their professional degree. That should never be the case. Finding a job on your passion is far more important. A professional degree has a set path. If you’re satisfied with that path, fine. You’ll make a six figure salary in the next 15 years, you’ll take 2 weeks off every year to go to Florida or Mexico or some other pre-defined place – because that’s what every one does. 

But, take a look at everyone who is succesful and happy – they fought their way to be there. No one – ever – is going to give you the opportunity to succeed just by staying on one path. 

The “system” is broken. Companies don’t succeed, because people don’t like their job. People don’t like their job, because they don’t enjoy it. They don’t enjoy it because it’s not their passion.

Most people are talented. Heck, everyone is talented. Just do what you want. And don’t accept less than perfect. It’s not worth it. 

Chasing a Dream. Living an Adventure

I got on a plane for the first time when I was 2 years old. It was a Boeing 747 flying between India and Saudi Arabia. Ever since then, I have been hooked on aviation. A significant portion of my life and funds go towards traveling and exploring the world. A few years ago, I decided that I was going to make it my mission to travel to every single country before I turn 50. So far, I'm on track. Some years are great. Others, not so much. But the progress is always moving forward. 

When I first started traveling independently, I wanted to get to New Zealand. At that point, I had two options: fly New York to Los Angeles to Australia and then to New Zealand. That's all great, but I really didn't want to spend $2000 to fly in coach. So, I waited. In exactly 15 days, I take off for the journey of a lifetime: New Zealand in pure luxury. 

Etihad First Class Apartments:

Etihad announced their A380 jets not too long ago. And it took the world by surprise. I'm privileged to fly one of the first few flights in an apartment. Yep, a first class apartment. Spoiled? Absolutely! 

These photos speak for themselves: 

Emirates First Class: 

On my way back from New Zealand, I'm flying back on the Emirates A380 in their first class cabin. I'll once again, let the photos speak for themselves: 

Park Hyatt Sydney: 

WHY:

To chase this image:

CHASING THE DREAM:

The total market price of this trip is close to $50,000. That's larger than most people's down payment on a house. While I'm paying nowhere close to that amount, I am taking a few weeks off to chase the dream. 

I meet with so many people that want to either travel, quit their job, start a company, etc. BUT, they don't. I'm only concerned with people that do. The people that chase their dreams. The people that make the hard choices. The people who actually mean what they want. 

“Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream until your dreams come true”

— Aerosmith

Untrustworthy People

“Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it’s broken, but you can still see the crack in that mother fucker’s reflection.
”

— Lady Gaga

I've written quite a bit about why we invest in people first and everything else later. It's because we need to be comfortable with people and build a layer of trust before we decide to work with them or support them. More importantly, it is so that we don't waste our most valuable asset - time. 

Over the past few weeks, as we've moved into looking at two particular scenarios in depth - one personal/professional and the other one purely professional, I've been taken back. 

I don't think I've been this angry in a while. Seriously, untrustworthy people, go fuck yourself. You don't deserve anything. #Betrayal

— Aanarav Sareen (@aanaravs) May 27, 2015

Yesterday, I had a minor outburst on Twitter and received a few offline messages about them. And the truth of the matter is - that once you think you trust a person - and then you find out that they're living a secret life, it sucks. It sucks that people have the audacity to lie to you - when all you've done is support them unconditionally. But it also becomes really easy to back away. 

“You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

— Marilyn Monroe

And so it goes. Another day. Another story.