Tag: growth (page 18 of 22)

April 6, 2025

The Product Manager Mindset: Build a Better You Today

If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer, you are the product being sold.

This phrase has been around for years and is often used for big tech companies like Facebook, Google, and, recently, OpenAI (ChatGPT).

In this context, the user is often the “product” served up to advertisers and their data. This is done to help companies manipulate users into making purchases from advertisers.

This principle applies to Life as well.

Breathing is free. Time is a gift. Waking up and Sleeping is free.

And since it’s all free, you are the product.

In business and entrepreneurship, a product fails without a product manager. Features are added without proper checks. User needs are ignored, and ultimately, the product fails to achieve its potential.

Similarly, without consciously managing your own “product” (your life and abilities), you can drift aimlessly, reacting to external demands rather than proactively shaping your growth and impact.

Don’t Drift Through Life on Autopilot

Many people drift through life without a clear roadmap or objective.

They wait for instructions. These people optimize for comfort. They never ask: What am I building here?

This mindset creates dependency, passivity, and missed potential.

That’s not you. You won’t be reading this if you simply want to drift through life. You prefer to proactively design your life rather than react to external forces.

When You See Yourself as a Product, You Start Improving

Your current strengths are the “features”. Personal weaknesses are your “bugs” to fix. Your life becomes the roadmap.

As the product manager, your ultimate objective is to ensure the overall product (you) is stable, efficient, delivers maximum value to its “users” (the world around you)

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself – Rumi

This mindset creates self-awareness and a system for continuous self-improvement, just like version upgrades in a product.

Embrace the Product Manager Mindset

When you embrace the product manager mindset, you become the architect of your life.

You prioritize your time, energy, and resources according to your own goals. This gives you a greater sense of control, purpose, and fulfilment. You are no longer a passive product but an active creator of your own experience.

You are constantly iterating, experimenting, and refining.

Become the best in the world at what you do. Keep redefining what you do until this is true. – Naval Ravikant

Here are the steps to become the Product Manager of your Life.

The 4 Rs of Becoming a Self-Product Manager

The Product Manager Mindset to Life

1. Review your “features” and “bugs”

Review your life as a product manager by thinking in features and bugs.

A feature is a product’s specific functionality, capability, or characteristic that delivers value to the user. It distinguishes a product from its competitors and enhances its overall appeal.

Bugs are errors, flaws, or defects which prevent a product from functioning as intended. Bugs need to be identified, tracked and resolved to ensure a smooth user experience.

List your current strengths (features), your weaknesses (bugs), and your goals (roadmap).

Define your personal “North Star.”

In product management, a “North Star Metric” (NSM) is a single, measurable metric that best captures the core value your product delivers to customers. A North star metric is measurable, actionable, clear and simple.

What are your core values and long-term goals? Write them down and review them regularly.

Then base your daily actions on these principles.

And don’t be afraid to fail or make mistakes. Use those experiences as data points to improve your next iteration. Iterations lead to mastery.

The goal is not to achieve perfection but to strive for continuous improvement.

2. Refine and Make Data-Driven Decisions

When building successful products, product managers don’t rely on feelings alone—they rely on metrics.

Do the same with your time, energy, and priorities. Track decisions and outcomes in your life by using a journal or note app. Review your trends every month.

Schedule regular “product review” sessions with yourself.

Reflect on your progress and identify areas for improvement. Then, adjust your “roadmap” accordingly. Be honest with yourself about what is working and what isn’t.

3. Release the Minimum Viable You (MVY)

No one can compete with you on being you. Most of life is a search for who and what needs you the most – Naval Ravikant.

Just as a tech startup launches an early version of its product with core features to test the market, identify your core strengths and focus on developing them first.

Instead of trying to be everything at once, concentrate on delivering value in a specific area.

As you gather “user feedback” (through your experiences and interactions), iterate and add new “features” (skills and knowledge) to your MVY, continuously improving and expanding your capabilities.

Launch the simplest version of a project or skill, then iterate based on real-world feedback.

When approaching a new endeavour, identify the smallest step that allows you to test your assumptions.

Want to write a book? Start with one article.

Seeking a career change? Do a single project in that field before full commitment.

You can check out my book – Fast Track which shows you how to build and achieve the complete roadmap in achieving this step.

What is the Lifetime Value of You?

In product management, there is a metric called “Lifetime value (LTV).”

Companies calculate this metric to make better product development decisions. The lifetime value prioritizes high-value customers and allocates resources more effectively. LTV represents the total revenue a customer is expected to generate over their entire relationship with a company.

Apply this concept to yourself.

What is the value you bring to the world and your relationships?

What value do you bring to your well-being throughout your life?

How can you increase that value through continuous learning, growth, and contribution?

Repeat and keep shipping updates

When building and managing products, there is a ritual known as “Daily Stand-up” done by the product team.

A daily stand-up is a short, focused meeting where the product team align on progress, goals and blockers. When done right, it always saves time and encourages accountability among the members. Daily stand-ups keep the team moving efficiently towards product goals.

Start your day like a daily stand-up meeting.

Ask yourself: What did I do yesterday? What am I doing today? What are my blockers?

Just like a product manager reviews progress and roadblocks, treat each morning like a product check-in.

Keep Shipping Updates

Why accept a version of yourself that stays the same?

Every week is a new version to keep learning, growing and doing.

Be real. Be yourself. Then become someone greater than your former self each day. – Victor Asemota

And when you are not yet your highest self with unfinished goals, tell yourself this:

You’re not stuck. You’re just a version behind.

Become the Product Manager of Your Life

In a world where free services often make you the product, take control by applying product management principles to your own life.

Treat yourself as a product. Your strengths are its features, your weaknesses are bugs to fix, and your growth is an ongoing iteration.

By embracing the 4 Rs of Self-Product Management (Review, Refine, Release (MVY), and Repeat) you shift from passive drifting to intentional living.

Define your North Star Metric (core purpose), make data-driven decisions, launch the Minimum Viable You (MVY), and continuously ship updates through daily self-reflection.

Just as great products need strong product managers, your life needs you at the helm. Stop being the product others shape—become the architect of your growth, value, and impact.

You are the product. Don’t let anyone mismanage you.

It's not 10,000 Hours. It is 10,000 Iterations

March 30, 2025

Why the 10,000 Hour Rule is Outdated (And What to Do Instead)

“Put in your 10,000 hours and you’ll become a master”

You’ve probably heard this advice if you’ve ever pursued excellence in any field. It’s been repeated in bestselling books, TED talks, and countless motivational speeches. But what if this widely accepted “truth” about mastery is fundamentally wrong?

For years, people have clung to the idea that 10,000 hours of practice is the magic ticket to expertise.

What is the 10,000 Hours Rule? (And Why It’s Misunderstood)

Gladwell’s “Outliers” popularized that 10,000 hours of deliberate practice leads to expertise.

The concept is simple: dedicate time, and you’ll achieve mastery.

But here’s the problem: time alone doesn’t make you great — iterations do.

Time Spent does not Equal Mastery

Think about it.

If you spend 10,000 hours lifting weights with bad form, will you become an elite powerlifter? No.

If you practice the wrong technique in business, will you become a millionaire? Highly unlikely.

If you drive a car for 10,000 hours, do you become a Formula 1 racer? Not at all.

Why?

Because mastery isn’t about counting hours — it’s about counting iterations, refining each attempt, and learning from every mistake.

I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times. – Bruce Lee

This reminds me of Zenitsu, one of the characters in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Zenitsu mastered a single sword-fighting technique (Thunderclap and Flash), so he could utilize it even while asleep. His swordsmanship skill drastically evolved to match that of the Hashira, the highest-ranked and most powerful swordsmen in the story.

All I am saying you can spend 10,000 hours doing something wrong and remain mediocre.

Many people focus on the quantity of hours, not the quality of practice.

The Problem with the 10,000-Hour Rule

Most people misinterpret it.

The 10,000-hour rule misses a crucial point: two people can spend identical amounts of time practising something yet achieve dramatically different results.

Why? Because most people have misinterpreted the research, focusing on the quantity of practice rather than quality.

The problem with the 10,000 Hours Rule is that it focuses too much on time spent rather than the quality and structure of practice.

Many people have put in 10,000 hours at their jobs without becoming exceptional at them.

They focus on the sheer quantity of practice, ignoring the quality. It’s not about mindless repetition — it’s about strategic, intentional iteration.

It’s 10,000 Iterations, not 10,000 Hours

“It isn’t 10,000 hours that creates outliers, it’s 10,000 iterations.” – Naval Ravikant

Top performers don’t just put in time—they test, tweak, and refine.

They aren’t afraid to break things, fix them, and push the limits of what’s possible.

It’s about 10,000 focused attempts at perfecting that one sword technique, with feedback and correction each time.

Do this to Replace the 10,000 Hour Rule

Iteration is Already a Part of Life

Look around you—iteration is the fundamental building block of progress in nearly everything:

Children learn to walk through thousands of tiny adjustments after falling.
Startups use “build-measure-learn” loops to develop products.
Evolution works through iterations of genetic variation and natural selection.

Also, look at how technology evolves.

Mobile phones started as bulky bricks that did little more than make calls. Now, they’re pocket-sized supercomputers. From Nokia 3310s to iPhones and Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

Every major advancement in technology, art, science, and human skill came through repeated iterations — not just hours of effort.

The same applies to your personal growth and skill development.

You’re already iterating every day

You just don’t realize it.

Ever adjusted a recipe after tasting it? Iteration.
Ever tweaked your workout after feeling sore? Iteration.
Ever adjusted your playing style after failing at a game? Iteration.

The problem? Most people stop refining too soon. They settle for “good enough” instead of pushing for “what’s next?”

What is Iteration

Iteration is not repetition. Iteration is error correction.

This distinction is crucial. Repetition without adjustment is just going through the motions. True iteration involves these 4 Steps:

Try something.
Break it.
Fix it.
Repeat.

Each iteration should teach you something new about your craft. Without this learning component, you’re just spinning your wheels—even if you’re logging hours.

How to Iterate Your Way to Mastery (Progressive Overload)

The secret? Add weight to your practice.

Lifters add more plates.
Learners add more challenges.
Gamers add more combos.

The key to real growth is progressive overload.

This is the principle that small, consistent improvements over time lead to massive gains. Just like lifting weights, you don’t jump to the heaviest load on day one. You progressively challenge yourself, increasing complexity and intensity with each rep.

Imagine learning a new language.

You don’t just cram vocabulary for 10,000 hours. You practice speaking, make mistakes, correct them, and repeat. That’s iteration.

It’s not necessarily all about the volume of time, but the number of reps you put into a specific task. The magic happens when you complete enough quality iterations — whether it takes 1,000 hours or 20,000.

Because it’s the meaningful repetitions that matter, not the clock.

Make Every Iteration Count

Want to master anything? Make every repetition count.

Start small. Focus on one variable at a time.
Measure. Track what changes.
Adjust. Improve one thing each time.

This is progressive overload—the same way athletes build strength by gradually increasing resistance.

But instead of weights, you’re adding challenge, precision, and refinement.

Mastery isn’t about sitting in one place for 10,000 hours — it’s about pushing through 10,000 iterations, each one sharper and more refined than the last.

It’s not the hours put in at work, it’s the work put in during the hours.

If you want to accelerate your success, stop worrying about the clock. Instead, focus on how many quality reps you’re putting in.

Your highest self will thank you.

September 22, 2024

Solomon’s Paradox: How to Counsel Yourself Right

Let me tell you when I first encountered Solomon’s paradox.

As a born strategist, I learnt chess as a young child by playing my fellow peers in high school.

We used to form a ring in the classroom where the players sit at the middle with the chessboard. Then the remaining people – the spectators stood and watched the moves of the players.

And every single time, I noticed a pattern.

Whenever I was a spectator, I saw the best moves each player would have made. Their mistakes. And how the game will eventually end.

As non-players, we would nod in approval when one of the players made a good move. We giggled or gasped if a bad move is done.

Yet, when I was in the middle, either playing black or white – there was friction. I don’t see the game clearly as when I spectated. Mistakes were always bound to happen.

Does the Bystanders See better than the Players?

Our teachers used to say, that the spectators often see the game better because they are not pressured or making the moves themselves.

This pretty much happens to everyone in life, but I only connected it later.

When people are thinking about significant life issues, they frequently concentrate on the specific details of their own experiences, which hinders their ability to see things from a wider angle and is counterproductive to logic.

Why is this so?

This is because we don’t see the world the way it is, we see the world the way we are. We are emotionally invested in our own circumstances but logical when evaluating those of others.

The psychologists called this phenomenon – Solomon’s Paradox.

Solomon’s Paradox – Visualization Credit: Pejman Milani

Why did they call it Solomon’s Paradox?

Because you see… King Solomon was famous in the Old Testament for his extraordinary wisdom. He was regarded as one of the most brilliant individuals to have ever lived.

Yet, King Solomon had a disorganized personal life:

Hundreds of wives and concubines. Lack of interest in his children’s upbringing. Obsession with wealth and money.

To put it briefly, King Solomon was an excellent advisor but a bad one at applying the same counsel to his own situation.

You have at some point found yourself in Solomon’s Paradox.

You are impartial, and logical, when you are thinking about the issues that other people are facing.

When you think about your own issues, you become volatile, emotional, and illogical.

Solomon’s Paradox strikes when you give others clear, logical viewpoints and guidance but are unable to give yourself the same kind of clarity and reason.

How do you then break out of it?

I love the strategies recommended by Sahil Bloom. Firstly, Create Space. Then zoom out.

Create space from your emotional decisions.

You tend to make poor decisions because of your emotional attachment to a situation. The secret to getting out of the paradox is to give the situation some distance. Either physically or emotionally.

To create this space, you must pause, reset and engage.

Pause to give yourself time to react—whether it’s a few seconds, minutes, hours, or days. Reset by reminding yourself that you are in charge of what happens after you give yourself permission to experience the emotional reaction.

Then engage the situation with a more balanced perspective.

Zoom out to gain a wider perspective

Like a chess player, you live your life zoomed in.

This creates challenges. Because of this view, your progress appears smaller than it actually is. And your difficulties appear greater than they are.

Zooming out gives you perspective on the remarkable extent of your progress the real nature of your difficulties.

That’s all it takes…

A wiser man after Solomon’s era summarized these strategies to escape this paradox:

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?

How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?

Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)”

Solomon’s Paradox serves as an important reminder that while we’re all excellent at giving advice, we’re not so good at following it.

Create space and zoom out. That’s how you escape your Solomon’s paradox.