Year In Review - 2022

Top Lessons

• Don't get carried away by the visible public metrics. They don't tell the full story.
• When you facilitate kids to pursue their interests, they will surprise you with results

WINS Flywheel

I use Thriving with WINS as a personal flywheel. WINS stands for: Wealth, Insights, Network, and Self.

WINS is a systems framework, which means that when you improve a factor, you make the whole better.

If this flywheel interests you, you should gwcourse.

Wealth

Increased income

My total revenue increased by 60%, which is amazing not just because it is a fabulous jump but it increased during the uncertain times.

Getting lucky & buying a retirement home

I am hitting 50 soon, so we have been thinking about buying a retirement home. I am pro-stock investing and a hesitant real estate buyer. During this year, we spent almost four months searching for a retirement home. Finally, we purchased a home near my sister's house. Buying a home is not an easy task. Lots of ducks have to align and this year they all aligned.

Increase in assets value

Because of the retirement home and increased stock value, total value of assets increased by about 40%.

Insights

• "Christian Manager" is a Christian Trust that publishes management related materials (magazines, books) for Christian organizations. They publish an annual "Management Devotional." I contributed 7 devotions (a week) to this year's "Management Devotional 2023"
• There is a huge difference between publicly visible metrics and what happens privately. None of my public metrics (followers, subscribers) changed much. In contrast, I saw a greater increase in revenue and net worth. Lesson: Pay attention to what matters, not vanity metrics.
• Started much more active in fediverse. Found it to be lot more engaging than Twitter.
• As with 2021, I took a month long break from all external activities. Why? Because Is there a 'pause' time on your calendar is good for you and your heart.

Network

This year, I didn't meet many new people. I did, however, keep quarterly and weekly accountability calls. It was those calls that kept me in good spirits and on the right track.

Self

Health

I and my wife both contracted COVID. Though it wasn't serious to the level that required admission in a hospital, we suffered for almost a month.

Travel

In South India, I have driven long distances, but not in North India. This year, I drove to Amritsar. We visited the Golden Temple and the Jallianwala Bagh.

In most memorial places in Jallianwala Bagh, I stood in silence. To stand and imagine innocent citizens being brutally shot and killed was surreal. To realize that such authoritarian attitude still prevail in Indian administration was depressing.

Homeschooling

• Homeschooling went beyond my expectations. Kids’ writing improved much. Now they are able to identify and use metaphors, juxtaposition, and tricolons in their writing.
• They are writing an essay every day. They are posting on substack every week.
• They have also started learning photography. I taught them about rule of thirds, lighting, contrast, and patterns. They have grasped them really well. Then I gave them a challenge of posting a photo every day.
• I hope with this they will learn about consistency and way to learn new things.

Faith & Harassment

I have heard of religious harassment. I thought those were only for others. I thought these things wouldn't happen to me because I'm "privileged."

In April, some right-wing religious nutcases stormed into our church and disturbed the service. One of them even threatened my 13-year-old son. It was not just once. It happened multiple times

When I say thugs, it might conjure up an image of an uneducated and unemployed person. Not true. Those rowdies could've been my colleagues in the IT industry.

For two days, I felt a mix of anger, fear, and helplessness. Every tall and fat person I saw reminded them.

We tried getting help from the local authorities, but that was no help. We had to relocate our church.

The threat compelled me to reassess my beliefs and my reasoning for them. My belief became even more firm after more than six months of reflection. Prior to that, I had played a minimal role in church activities. I decided to play a much larger role after that event.

Retros of the earlier years

I’ve been publishing annual reviews for more than a decade. You can read them to understand the journey I’ve come through.