Author: Rachit

  • 6 Hour Layover in Amsterdam

    During my last 6 hour layover in Amsterdam, I wanted to make the most of my time. Although the Schiphol airport has great lounges and many shops, the train to the city centre is short and a great way to spend the time exploring the city.

    My flight landed at the airport early in the morning at 8 AM. Since I only had a backpack, I did not need to store my luggage and made my way to the train station past passport control.

    There are ticket machines where you can purchase tickets to the central station. I got a round trip ticket for around $12 CAD. I asked the staff which platform and made my way to on the train.

    When I arrived at the Central Station at around 9 AM and walked out into the city, I could not believe how quickly I got off the plane and in the city.

    I walked around the city along a path below. I also took a short ferry to check out the new lookout tower.

    As soon as you walk out the central station there is a tourist information centre. Walking straight down from the station for 10-15 mins you will arrive at Dam Square. There are usually free walking tours starting here.

    After spending a few hours touring the city it was time to head back to the airport and continue on with my travels. Here is a short video of the many sites I visited on this foggy morning:

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  • Dream Track Day Experience

    From dream to reality – I always believe if you can dream it, you can achieve it.

    As a passionate car enthusiast, I have been playing racing games as long as I remember. There is one track that I love and have driven countless times with a variety of cars.

    My dream has always been to drive my own sports car on this track and experience the real experience. It was not until I got my dream sports car and the new Forza 6 with the new Xbox One that this dream was getting closer to being fulfilled.

    I would drive my car on the track using the in-car perspective and enjoy the turns and the connected feeling. I just knew that I had to get to California to make this happen.

    With hard work and determination, I had the opportunity to intern in San Francisco and I was really excited to book a track day at my favorite track.

    After an exciting road trip driving across the country and exploring San Francisco, I was counting down the days to drive on the track.

    I researched a lot of any track day preparations that need to be made. I installed a set of new brake pads and racing brake fluid.

    The day finally arrived and it was as amazing as I imagined. Arriving early morning and meeting fellow passionate car enthusiasts made me ecstatic. I was paired with a fellow BRZ owner in the beginner class and learned car control techniques first.

    Here are some pictures of me enjoying the track:


    The first drive on the track was phenomenal, it was great to mix with reality from the TV to the real experience. I was especially excited for the Corkscrew, a challenging turn with a drop as shown below:

     

    Over the course of the day, I drove on the track numerous times and I was content by the end with a happy grin as I left the track.

    Here is a video highlighting my day:

     

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  • Book Reflection: Primary Greatness: The 12 Levers of Success

    This book was very inspiring to read and reminded me the importance of character and it’s continual focus.

    Lever 1: Integrity

    Lever 2: Contribution

    Lever 3: Priority

    Every time we hear or see someone successful we only see the secondary greatness, the byproduct of primary greatness which is all the hard work behind the scenes.

    I was fully immersed reading this book and felt empowered to keep working on my personal integrity and accountability. Life is about honesty, love, contribution, and to keep upholding our values.

    Lever 4: Sacrifice

    Lever 5: Service

    Lever 6: Responsibility

    In the book he talks about our three lives, public, private, and secret. The secret life is the magic of greatness, to have the courage to explore what you really want out of life.

    By focusing on our character, on what a person is, we can build a strong foundation for the rest of our life. This way we can align to principles ( universal, timeless, and self-evident) which help us create a strong personal discipline.

    Lever 7: Loyalty

    Lever 8: Reciprocity

    Lever 9: Diversity

    This important lesson of staying on the true north had an important impact on me as we are vulnerable to being distracted. The value of having an aligned vision with a shared value system based on principles is critical.

    By continually evaluating how we see the world and being open to changing our perspectives is the only way to grow and develop our character.

    Lever 10: Learning

    Lever 11: Renewal

    Lever 12: Teaching

    I strongly believe this book will be instrumental in shaping both my personal and professional life as I think about life for deeper meaning, achievements, and happiness.

  • 1% Growth Everyday

    HOW IT GOT STARTED:

    Every day I get up in the morning, I think today is an opportunity to learn something new and I jump out of bed with an enthusiastic smile. My daily routine of reflecting on my past day, setting daily goals, coming up with ideas, and envisioning my aspirations really motivate me to go and make the most of my day.

    After jumping out of bed I also start listing out things I am grateful for in my life and start to read an impactful nonfiction book. Then I follow by listening to a feel good song and to wrap up my get out of bed routine, I do push ups to get going.

    I learned that the first hour of the day is the most important and it really sets the course for the rest of the day. By already having such an empowering first few minutes, my whole day feels bright and vibrant. My morning routine is always subject to tweaks and refinement as my schedule changes. This sparked my interest in 1% growth every day.

    INSPIRATION:

    – Kaizen

    I have always been fascinated by the idea of constant improvement and optimization. The Kaizen mindset is exactly that. Finding how to streamline the process and then continually improve to make it better.

    – Software development

    Windows is always updating! Bugs are found and patches are released. I like this idea a lot, get lots of feedback and try to improve what I am doing.

    – Engine improvements

    Every new car is built to uphold new environmental and safety regulations. Each year creative solutions must be made to add value to the customer and at the same time keep the price the same or lower. Similarly, I want to continually come up with new ideas and solutions with the existing resources at hand.

    THOUGHTS GOING FORWARD:

    Reading daily, getting exposed to fresh ideas, and new ways of thinking all allow me to grow at an exceptional pace with a compounding nature. Gaining insight and wisdom from many people’s life experiences helps me maximize my time and build awareness. This will allow me to make smarter decisions and how to give/create value in a meaningful way with lots of impacts.

  • Book Review: Is Your Genius at Work?

    To start of 2017, I decided to read an inspirational book recommended by many people: Is Your Genius at Work?: 4 Key Questions to Ask Before Your Next Career Move

    I enjoy reading inspirational books that allow me to reflect and think deeply about my life. Reading non-fiction self-improvement books have greatly improved the quality of my life.

    Reading this book has led to many aha moments as the students in the book were discovering their own genius and by completing the exercises. It led to a discussion with my family and friends and also inspiring them to reflect upon what their genius might be.

    Everyone has unique talents and undergoes different circumstances in life which result in everyone having a genius that is uniquely theirs. Before this book, I was not able to connect the dots of how my skills and experiences got me here. Reading the examples, I analyzed my strengths and weakness objectively and was able to find an underlying theme of my life and how I approached new situations.

    This book is empowering as it makes the case that ultimately we are responsible for our lives and what we make of it. By figuring out our core strengths, our unique purpose/genius, we not only enrich our own life with greater clarity but also create more value for others.

    I am glad to understand and appreciate my unique talents at a young age as this will help optimize my life for the future and set myself up for success by working with my strengths.

  • Pepper – Marketing Communications Perspective

    For my class, we were asked to find a new technology or product that is using new marketing communication practices.

    Our group decided to pick Pepper as it is a relatively new product used widely in Japan and is starting to be used globally in a wide range of applications.

    Here the commercial is targetted for developers to see pepper as a platform for many applications. We had a quick discussion for the class regarding the possible target markets.

    I then talked about some stats about Pepper and it’s growth:

    • More than 7000 units sold
    • Available for home use in Japan
    • Price is $2000 in Japan plus maintenance

    Below is my first-hand experience with Pepper in California where it is used to serve information about the mall.

    We then had a discussion on the impacts Pepper would have on in the Consumer Decision-Making Process, Internal Psychological Processes, and which stage of the customer decision journey would Pepper have the most impact on.

    Finally, we had a debate and split the class to discuss the pros and cons of Pepper being used for marketing purposes.

    In conclusion, pepper as a tool will aid and give marketers new and innovative possibilities to market new services/products.

  • Fresh Perspective

    The new year is here!

    Every day is an opportunity to grow and learn. There is an abundance of information which is getter larger.

    I continually read more books, learn more, and listen to new thoughts.  I experience growth and awareness. My goals are to keep developing my self and be exposed to new approaches of doing things or to see things from different perspectives. This is to build awareness and make smarter decisions to make the most of my time.

    With such rapid changes all around us, I feel it also important to make time for reflection and to be present with one’s thought to understand the core reasons why am I doing something and what do I hope to achieve from the activity.

    This is why taking breaks from the ordinary are so important whether it be a vacation to a new place or just being in nature. You have a moment to be in a different environment, separate from the daily cycle.

    The most important thing I have learned is to get clear on what I want. Within the cosmic perspective, our lifespans are minuscule. Within the short time frame of my life, I hope to get clear on what I want and fulfill my dreams.