Why news is bad for us?

On average, human gobbles down roughly 60 news items every day across various sources - newspaper, magazines, articles, videos and so on. Gone are the days of reading newspaper with a cup of coffee and watching the evening news updates to know the latest events across the globe. With the advent of internet, news reaches us faster than ever before. We don't have to find the news. News will find us. No matter wherever you are. Thanks to digital media, news consumption has increased three-fold now.

Does this wealth of information in the form of news make us a better individual? Does the torrent of news help us make better decisions in life? Have you chosen radical path because of news consumption? I have jotted down some of the underlying factors why news is bad for us.

Do those who read newspaper are well-informed and knowledgeable?

For a long time, those who read newspaper were revered as the most radical, thoughtful person. There is illusion that those who read news have better understanding of the world. But the opposite is true. The relationships between the world knowledge and the consumption of news are inverse. Far more knowledge is attained when the background context of particular subject are more abstract, complex and non-linear. News items were made simpler and tailored to easily digest in your mind. They don't go deep over a subject rather broad. The news items with greater fanfare add more value to the adverts financing the media. And these glossy, breaking news in no way improve your knowledge. 

Looking out for a source that will help you improve your understanding and knowledge of any subject? Without a second thought, Go for books and well-researched long articles. Books outweighs news media and the one who reads valuable books have competitive advantage over the rest. My remarks weren't meant to offend the news consumers, rather to correct their perception of the news. Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of modern America, realized this," The man who never looks into newspaper is better informed than those who read them".

News is waste of time

Most of the news articles are free of cost. Nothing is free, and when something is, it usually comes with expectations of intangible returns. You are trading your precious time for news consumption. Remind you, there is no free lunch on wall street. Seneca, the most significant philosopher in the roman empire at the time, warned that, "We're tight-fisted with property and money yet think too little of wasting time - even though time is the only commodity with which we really ought to be misery".

Let's suppose that your workplace is where you are. You need to relinquish your soul in the middle of work. Putting your stressful task aside for a while, you entered into news site to know the latest events around the world. Once you are done reading the content of your choice, you are tempted to click on the glossy and fancy hyperlinks. Here begins a constant battle between your will power to resist clicking the link and the temptation to weaken it, and finally, temptation gets the upper hand. Eventually, you have pressed the link and this cycle of temptation continues until the willpower wins you back. Once you've returned to work, your brain requires some time to refocus on the work. Where exactly did you leave off? What was the next thing you are going to do before the news hogged your attention? Refocusing alone robs you of 2-3 minutes each and every time.

Is news heavily-biased?

Clay A. Johnson has remarked, "For every reporter in the US, there are more than four public relation specialists working hard to get them to write what their bosses want them to say".

Hundred years ago, the American writer Upton Sinclair wrote, "when you read your daily paper, are you reading facts or propaganda?"

In India, most of the news channel, newspaper are owned by political parties, highly influential individuals. Expecting unbiased news from them is unrealistic. False propaganda of Ache din and Dravidian model was used to deceive people. It's high time we understand the ground reality and protect ourselves against these fake news and false propaganda. As a common individual, it's hard to distinguish between truthful, unbiased news and those with manipulative, biased content. Abstinence from watching the news is the only go to solution to discard the fake news.

One such classic example of fake news is the testimony of Kuwait nurse named Nairayah in the UN council. She claimed that she saw Iraqi solider killing the newborn babies in a Kuwait hospital. This caused massive public outrage across America which triggered the outbreak of the devastating Gulf war in 1990s. Later, it was proved that she provided false testimony in favor of Kuwait govt and the CIA. A false propaganda and fake news led to one of the most devastating wars in the late 20th century.

News reshapes your brain

Our brain consists of 86 billion nerve cells interconnected by more than hundred million synapses. For a long time, scientist believed that the brain reaches its full growth once it reaches adulthood. In the recent time, however, with the torrent of news raining down on us, the brain constantly changes its shape. Brain routinely loses a connection and creates a new connection. News rewires us.

Research conducted by the University of Tokyo observed that the more frequently a person consumed different media at the same time, the fewer brain cells that are responsible for attention, impulse control. When you watch a news junkie, you can figure out his concentration span shrinks.

The more news you consume, the more you encourage the formation of neuronal circuits adapted to multitasking. However, the circuits necessary for deep reading and deep though will shrink.

Detoxing the brain is necessary to regain the skill of concentration and deep reading. Ditch news to cleanse your brain. The sooner you start, the sooner you will regain focus.

How does the media promote terrorism?

Imagine this, world without press. A bomb goes off in a crowded area, killing hundreds and destroying properties. The routine life of the locals was affected due to the explosion. However, throughout the period of explosion, the other parts of world would continue to perform the usual day-to-day activities. The rest of the world have little or no information about the bomb explosion. Thanks to no media coverage over the aftermath of bomb explosion. The people never stopped to fear about the terrorism and its catastrophe effect.

Let's talk about the current real news mania world.  Round the clock, the media gives extensive coverage about the terrorist attack to the public across the globe. The main goal of a terrorist in planting a bomb is not to kill a few people, but to instill fear throughout the world as a result of the explosion's impact. By publicizing the attack, the media facilitates the terrorist's job of instilling fear. Breaking news, top news showcasing torrent of horrific aftermath visuals, front line reports cause panic in every corner of the world. Media generates revenue by selling terrorism to the public. 

Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari has remarked, "Terrorist kill very few people but nevertheless manage to terrify billions. The theatre of terror cannot succeed without publicity. Unfortunately, the media provides this publicity for free".

If you consume the news, just be aware you are unintentionally supporting terrorism.

Bottomline

News is to mind what sugar is to body. News destroys the peace of mind. Read the comments under the online articles. The hatred you find there brings the worst in humanity. Any type of content - novels, non-fictions, books, films, music, art, essays is a better conduit for wisdom than the news. New-free diet brings the best in you. Our brains are full of crap news. We need to cleanse them, detoxify them and free them of junk.  Let us live in a world free from fear, toxicity, hatred by abstaining the news.

You are not convinced yet. Are you embarrassed about missing important global events when you are newsfree. Well, go ahead and subscribe any reliable magazines with well researched contents that could satisfy your hunger for knowledge of current affairs. If you are frugal with your time, try for biweekly editions.

Reference: Stop reading the news - Rolf Dobelli

Video Reference: 

How to make friends and inspire people - Part 1: Organize your arguments

People are absurd, jerks, wrong-headed, strongly opinionated. They have an irrational thought process. With these beliefs ingrained in your mind, you decide to go out and meet new people. Unfortunately, you are going to have a really bad day.  Without the help of others, you can't pull off the competition in business or challenging tasks at work. Yes, there are plenty of jerks around the world. However, the fear of ending up with bad people always makes no sense.

Warren Buffett, the big dog in the stock market, was once asked a question, "How you'd succeeded in your business?". "Well", he replied, "I do business with good people. That's the reason I have been able to persist in this business for so long. " His statement makes sense. When you are surrounded by good people, you can enrich your life. When you end up with bad ones, your life becomes miserable.

So, how do these successful people influence and make friends with the good ones? Next time you are out looking for those good people, kindly consider this article as a life parable on how to make friends and influence people who are thoughtful and intelligent.

How do unproductive arguments make the environment hostile?

Over the years, try to recollect the arguments you had in your work place, at home, or in any public place. Eventually, you end up remembering far more embarrassing arguments than the good ones. Arguments that hurt your pride and feelings take a deep dive and remain in your heart as unhealed wounds.

Charlie Munger once said, "How you behave in a place, will help in surprising ways later."

When you are in an argument, if you lose, you lose, and if you win, you also lose. Though you have won , you have lost because you have hurt his pride and lost your opponent's goodwill. He would eventually resent your victory. What you have earned is an empty victory. You haven't earned the respect of your opponent, though you are damn right over the topic with a difference of opinion.

 

The best way to win an argument is to avoid it. When you realize you are in an argument that is futile and unproductive, the best way is to get out of that argument quickly, no matter how bad the other feels over quitting the argument. At the very least, you have maintained your friendship and goodwill with those with whom you have debated and avoided physical confrontation.

How to handle effective arguments

Over the years, the arguments, the difference of opinions, changed the course of history. So, when the argument sounds logical and productive in nature, it can't be ignored. Instead, these effective arguments need to be dealt with in subtle and better ways—without raising your voice, losing your cool, or coming to blows.

In an argument, get the other person to say "Yes, yes" immediately. Socrates used this technique to keep the opponents saying yes to logical steps that led to his conclusion.

Picture this: two friends discuss the topic "The importance of book reading". One of whom is an avid book reader, and the other guy hasn't in his life time read books other than subject books for schools and colleges. We are well aware that reading books is essential to life, but his friend is a firm believer that books are just a waste of time. In a real-life scenario, what starts as a discussion probably ends with a heated argument. But, the bookish friend starts his argument through Socrates approach.

He asked his non-reader friend a set of questions.

"Do you love creativity?"

"We are living in the era of innovation. Creativity leads to innovation. isn't it?",

"Do you accept that books enhance your creativity and develop your vocabulary skills?"

"Do you find books to be reliable and trustworthy because they are written based on years of research into various articles and other books?"

"The most powerful people, leaders read books. Do you agree? " and so on.

Most of the questions would have been answered in an affirmative tone by his friend. That's what is expected out of an argument, the Yes material. Finally, instead of coercing your friend to accept your argument, persuade him to accept your argument through logical reasoning and a series of questions that end up with an affirmative tone.

Conclusion

Marriages are successful because when one of the partners yells at his/her spouse, the other partner keeps quiet and maintains calm. Some of the underlying factors that cause a relationship breakup include a raised voice and a refusal to leave the topic drop. Avoid pointless arguments and effectively handle arguments that are worthy. Please try incorporating the Socratic approach into your arguments and please let me know the outcome. 

This is the first in the series of "How to make friends and inspire people." With hope, I will continue writing the rest of the series targeting the other refined ways to influence people.

Thanks for your precious time spent reading the article.

Reference: How to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie

 

How to be successful by being a GIVER?

In recent decades, the world has witnessed Jews dominating America's top 10 billionaire list. Surprisingly, Jews constitute just less than 5% of the American population. I wonder how they could be so successful in life. Their success mantra is to give back to society indefinitely by adhering to their holy book, which preaches the art of giving.

The common belief is that we live in dog-eat-dog world, where only greed, hate and selfishness can lead to success. On the other hand, there are certain communities, such as Jews, that are the most generous people in American society, contributing a minimum of 10% of their income to philanthropic causes.

Why do rich, successful rich people donate their wealth to noble causes?
I happened to check the various attributes that contributed to the success of the rich people. They all share one common trait: they give back to society, a highly noble activity. "The more you give, the more you move towards reaching the level of stratospheric success."

Citing the quote of Warren Buffet, "If you are in the luckiest 1 percent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 percent."

As a philanthropist, Warren Buffet donated millions to various institutions. Take the case of D. Rockfeller, the founder of national oil, considered the wealthiest American of all time, highly influenced by a meeting in 1893 with Swami Vivekananda, who enlightened him on the virtue of helping the needy. As his wealth grew, so too his giving, primarily to education and health causes. In India, we are fortunate to have the magnificent Tata dynasty, generation after generation, contributing their wealth to the philanthropic cause.

Surprising but true, these philanthropist's fortunes were neither sapped nor slumped for giving to a noble cause; rather, they were far more richer through the karma earned from giving.

Larry King, one of the greatest interviewers of all time, who interviewed many powerful and successful people, was once asked a question: Are your guests as genuinely nice as they seem to be ? His remarkable answer was, "The bigger they are, the nicer they are." Nicer, in the sense that they give more value to others.

How on earth can the common man be a giver and successful at the same time?
Ingrained into our memory, to give others, you need to be financially stable and successful. No wonder too many people think "be a giver" means writing a cheque to provide financial assistance to charities. This is one specific facet of giving. There are other ways of giving—one who gives thought, gives attention, gives care, gives time, and gives value to others.

Most of us laugh when we hear that the secret to success is giving, but it's the hard truth. To receive the benefits from someone, "be a giver" first. When you are the ones who focus only on receiving and shy away from giving, then typically, the harder you work to achieve your goal, the further away it seems to be. Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.

Remembering the famous quote from Deepak Chopra, " When you want something, give it".

In his early stages of his career, when Rockfeller worked as a small clerk, he used to donate 10% of his income to charity. The rule of thumb for giving is to donate at least 5–10% of your income to some good cause.

Bob Burg and John David Mann, authors of "The Go-Giver", mentioned in their book, there are 3 universal laws for man - "Survive, Save and Serve". Survive - to meet your basic needs. Save - to go beyond your basic needs and expand your life. Service - make a contribution to the world around you. Unfortunately, most people spend their lives focusing on the first, while a smaller number focus on the second. But those rare few who are successful-not just financially, but successful in all aspects of their life-keep their focus squarely on the third.

Conclusion
Giving doesn't sabotage your wealth. I was brought up with the belief that one could not be rich and do good at the same time. To contradict the belief, there are countless examples of eminent rich people who added greater value to the world around them.

Mahatma Gandhi, once said, "To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer".

Thank you for your precious time spent over reading the article.

Reference:
"The GO - GIVER" - Bob Burg and John David Mann
"The JOYS of Compounding" - Gautam Baid

How to make ends meet during job loss?

A wakeup call to all salaried individuals, nevertheless working harder and getting affluent pay checks, concerned about the job Security. 

Did you realize, over the years, there is a spike in your financial pay checks, yet you find it hard to run the family without a month's salary? Why do we find it hard to run the family without a pay check? Right from the stone age, humans had the ritual focus squarely on saving what was best for their future. In this sense, saving experts should live a comfortable life free of financial concerns. On the contrary, they worry more about the financial matters that threaten their livelihood.

 

Paychecks help you meet your daily expenses, but far more of your salary money is spent on paying EMIs (Debts owned due to property purchase, usage of credit cards, and so on). EMIs are a headache for the salaried population, which cannot be laughed off. Properties are not bought from our pockets but rather with loans the bank provides.  Working out of fear to pay off debts causes us to rarely work for passion or glory. Inflation, job losses keep haunting us over the uncertain future.

 

Are you the one who is helpless without a month salary?

When you are too dependent on your salary, you are trapped in a dog eat dog world, not having an amicable relationship with co-workers, using others as a stepping stone to reach your goal and being untrustworthy.

 

Without further ado, a simple solution for making ends meet in the absence of a pay check for a few months : Start to invest in an emergency fund—a non-investment fund, used solely for emergency purposes in the case of job loss or medical emergencies. 

 

Let me illustrate with an example. Bala is earning 1 lakh/month. Bala concerned over job security, decides to start an emergency fund (a new bank account dedicated solely for emergency). Each month, he invests some amount into the emergency account. Once the emergency fund accrues reaches the cap limit [Here, Bala threshold limit is 5 months of his salary (Salary * 5 months) (100000*5 = Rs.5 Lakhs) ], he stops investing further into the emergency fund. Bala owns a debt and pays an EMI of Rs.30000.  Imagine this, Bala loses his job after a certain period of time. Jobless Bala won't panic, as he can manage his living costs as well as pay his EMIs through his emergency fund. When looking for a new job, he maintains a positive attitude and takes his time to negotiate the best deal. However, imagine Bala without an emergency fund. He would be in a state of despair, desperate to get into a new company to avoid defaulting on the next EMI.

 

Can I expect my emergency fund to be a hedge against inflation?

The emergency fund is not going to earn you any good returns, but rather it will stay idle in the bank account. Your emergency fund won't fight against rising inflation. However, this is your only fund that could be used for emergency purposes because of its liquidity. Your properties, plots are non-liquid assets which can’t be used in emergency cases. Please, keep in mind that having an emergency account with five times your salary earns you a healthy and safe lifestyle.

 

Do you remember the childhood story about the ant and the grasshopper? Of course, you are blessed with a stratospheric memory. Ants store food for the rainy season to manage food scarcity during the rain. Grasshoppers have no worries about the food catastrophe during the rainy season. Instead, it enjoys the moment and fails to save its food. During rainy times, Grasshopper faces harsh rain effects.

 

In a similar manner, associate ants with you and rain effects with job loss. As an ant stores food in its nest, you save your money in an emergency fund.

 

Conclusion

We work for the money. It should be the opposite, Money should work for us,  or else it is deemed worthless. You are the master of your money. I hope this piece of advice helps you during this financial crisis. 

 

If you need your emergency fund to fight inflation to some extent and also to be in a liquid state, go for a Flexi FD plan with no lock-in period. guaranteed minimal returns.

 

Trust me, emergency funds are bliss to salaried individuals in the case of emergencies.

 

Thanks for your precious time spent reading the article.

 

Reference: Let's Talk Money by Monica Halan

 

 

How to spot the good(and bad) billionaire?

 The headline news over the past two weeks, Gautam Adani, climbing up the Forbes billionaire lists, to become the 2nd richest person in the world. Indeed, a moment of pride in India, the presence of Indian dominating the Forbes List. Perhaps, the impact of mixed emotions among the masses, Indian economy will be on the radar for next several months. The oppositions rattle that Adani holds Lion's share and these Super riches are widening the inequality gap, needs to be validated. In hindsight, over the mushrooming of billionaires, the public could backlash over the widening inequality gap.

The first line of argument, Which kind of billionaires are productive to the economy? Will productive billionaires make an impact over the economy to move in the upward trend in the upcoming years.

Well, First, Lets understand the billionaires across the world. Take the American billionaires from the 21st century, out of which majority of them are from Service and innovation industry. Back in the baby boomer era, the hey days for the manufacturing and mining sectors, Billionaires were mainly from Commodities - Mining of Gold, steel, aluminium and other precious metal and energy resources. Back then, Manufacturing & Mining Sectors contributed major share in the America's GDP. Well, the Americans didn't leave any stone unturned. The Paradigm shift happened and the big dogs of 20th century were replaced, from the late 20th century and early 21st century witnessed the emergence of the new faces from Technology and innovation sectors. Averaging the present GDP shares, the Service industry contributes to nearly 60% of the GDP. At the height of the dotcom boom period, the techie billionaires outnumbered the billionaires from commodities sectors, however, the dotcom bust flipped the balance.


Good and Bad Business
How do even figure out which is Good business and which one is Bad business. Good business - Business that are productive in nature and contribute its share in the growth of the economy and don't need cronies (political friends and their support) to run its business. Service Sector industries - Pharmacy, Finance, Manufacturing, Technology & Innovations fall under the Good business.
Bad Business are "Rent Seeking Industries" - Industries include Construction, real estate, mining, gas and other commodity industries that mainly involve digging natural resources out of ground. The billionaires win the regulation and politicians by milking the political situation, bribe the concerned people to get the deal done and exploit the resources as much as possible. Unfortunately, exploitation in the mining sector don't have the strict rules to deter over exploitation of the resources. Well, in the sense, these sectors are more prone to corruption than service sector and don't contribute much to GDP of the country.

Billionaires that fall under Good business are Good Billionaires and those who do bad business are Bad Billionaires.
Common misconception, the masses backlash against the all wealthy billionaires over the doubts of wealth accumulated. Falsify statement, We adore Ratan Tata of Tata & Sons, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jeff buzz of Amazon and so on, they are treated as universal Heroes by us. The reason these billionaires are celebrated as heroes, because people understand their business are productive in nature, generate jobs, chain creates consumers and eventually contributes to the growth of the economy. So, people don't find something fishy over their fortune, considered them to be Self-made billionaires . On the other hand, Bad billionaires, from the viewpoint of the public, felt they build their fortune through crony capitalism, corruption and settling things by illegit means. Business seems non productive in nature and through the political support get loans from Govt banks - Indeed, Loan not repaid is regular ritual of these Bad billionaires and ultimately economy lands in trouble. Hence, people seldom considered these billionaires worthy to earn the fortune and in the sense, they conclude their fortune will not contribute to spike the economy.

Did a Quick scan on the recent Forbes top 10 Billionaires list, and surprisingly found out that Gautam Adani is the only billionaire who comes from a non-service industry background. Elon musk - SpaceX & Tesla, Warren Buffet - Finance, Jeff Bozz - Ecommerce and Techie guys - Bill Gates, the Larry's , Sergio were all representatives from Service Sector. Mukesh Ambani does share common business traits with Adani, but Ambani had his business spread across various sectors, So lets keep him aside and just focus on Adani, the topic of the day. He builds most of his fortunes through mining, energy and construction sectors. His fortune increased five fold over the last 2 years, which resembles the Larger than life scenes - Rajini with no capital, and by a blink of eye becomes millionaire, those unrealistic scenes but well crafted goose bump moments

So, the second line of argument, is Adani bloated billionaire and where does he fall into the kind of billionaire (Good/Bad)?
What's your take on this argument? Where does he fit in. Remember, Service Industry contributes 65% share to the Indian GDP and Mining & Gas industry contribute less than 20% to Indian GDP. 

My future prediction is there will be rising Indian economy through fortunes accrued by the billionaires from the Service industry. I foresee more new faces emerging from the dominating service sector.

Thanks for spending your precious time to read article.

Reference: The Rise and Fall of Nations - Ruchir Sharma