15 insightful quotes from: Running Lean

If you're an aspiring entrepreneur, "Running Lean" by Ash Maurya is the perfect book for you! It's packed with useful advice and tips on how to make your startup a success.

The book starts off by helping you define your vision and understand your customer. It then moves on to helping you build the right product by testing and validating your assumptions. It also covers the importance of setting goals and tracking your progress.

Book also explains the Lean Canvas, a tool Ash Maurya created to help entrepreneurs plan and validate their business models. 

Finally, book provides tips on how to secure funding and scale your business. 

In short, if you're looking to launch a startup, "Running Lean" is a must-read. It provides practical advice on how to make your product a success and how to avoid common mistakes. 

Here are some insightful quotes from the book:

My Messy Work Desk

Recently I posted on LinkedIn about My Messy Work Desk. Here are more details about each item and where to find it.

I started out with the laptop on my bed and let me tell you, it was a bad idea. Remote working when not done right, can easily go very very wrong.

At Makkajai we encourage and enable everyone to make all necessary changes to their work desks so that we do not have adverse impact on our bodies. Other than getting a proper table and a chair, here are some more changes I did to my work desk.

The Stand

Got a raised metallic stand for my MacBook. It's a small investment (~Rs. 2000) that makes a huge difference to your posture and comfort.

The Monitor

Got a 24" monitor (~Rs 24000) to increase my efficiency. Now I don't have to keep switching between windows. This monitor also comes with an All-In-One USB-C port for power and data transfer. This means if you use the USB-C connector, it can charge the MacBook as well.

The Monitor Stand

To make sure the monitor doesn't take up too much space, I got a dual monitor stand (~Rs. 3000). This one is underrated but totally necessary. The arms of this stand can be moved in different direction so that you can get that perfect title on your display. 

Initially I thought I will create a 3 display setting. Left monitor, Centre MacBook screen and Right Monitor. But after trying for a few days, it didn't workout for me. It might be because the older monitor looked so much worse compared to the new monitor and MacBook display. 

PS: I already had an old monitor when I got a new one. You can see that on the right side behind the MacBook screen. Because both monitors are from different companies and their dimensions are different too, they do not align perfectly. Now I use this monitor as a display for my Mac Mini. 

The Keyboard

A set of bluetooth keyboard and mouse (~Rs. 2500) to avoid pain in my hands.

The Desk

This is the desk (~Rs. 6000) on which everything fits perfectly.

Conclusion 

A total investment of ~Rs. 37500 - this has already saved me a lot of future body pain and has given many hours of productivity boost!

Books Of 2022

 This year I managed to read 24 books. All of these are very good reads. But my top 3 books of the year are:

• The Right It
• The Mom Test
• The Lean Startup

Here's the complete list:

A Trip to Egypt: Adventure Awaits at the Land of Pharaohs

If you're like me, then the allure of ancient civilisations is hard to resist. I mean, who doesn't love getting a little taste of history? And what could be more historical than a trip to Egypt?

Home to some of the most iconic ancient ruins in the world, Egypt is a must-see for any history lover. Not to mention, it's also one of the most beautiful countries in the world. With its stark desert landscapes, towering pyramids, turquoise blue waters of the red sea, Egypt is a true adventure seeker's paradise.

To enjoy Egypt you need to have interest in history, as our tour leader said it very well

In Egypt everywhere it is - dekho to khandar, socho to wonder!

Which means, you will only see ruins, stones and rubble everywhere, but if you close your eyes and imagine what life would be in those times, it's mind blowing!

The Trip

We landed in Cairo and straight away we departed for Alexandria. It is a costal town towards the west of Egypt. It is also home to one of the worlds biggest library which has around 4 million books and is 11 floors!

This is the city from where Romans (including Pompey and Julius Caesar) came to Egypt. Naturally wherever Roman's went they had to build an amphitheater - there were no streaming services in those times :P

We were in awe as we approached the Great Pyramids of Giza. They were massive! As we got closer, the enormity of it all started to sink in. Pictures don't do justice to their awesomeness.

Egypt is famous for taking good care of their dead. Everywhere you will find elaborately designed tombs. For ancient Egyptian people, death is just the beginning of the after life. Pyramids are basically burial place for one person - mostly a King.

Inside of a pyramid looks like a tunnel which leads to treasure and burial rooms. You have to crouch to go to the room and no there is no more treasure left!

Another very famous thing, it's called the Spinx - It is a mythical creature with human face and lions body. It's supposed to protect the pyramids.

4500 years old - but they are amazing even today! 

Cairo is almost like Mumbai - And yes it has the traffic jams of Mumbai as well.

It is home to beautiful Hanging Church and Mosque of Muhammad Ali

Next few days we spend on a Nile cruise. 

Crew members were very talented - they cooked and danced very well but they folded the towels in the most innovative ways!

The lush green banks of the Nile are home to some of the most ancient and awe-inspiring temples in the world. Our favourite was the temple of Abu Simbel. When the Aswan High Dam was built, the entire temple was submerged into water. The entire temple was relocated to a higher ground in 1968. 

At Luxor we got an opportunity to do hot air balloon ride over the valley of kings. It was beautiful!

Luxor was once the capital of Egypt and is now home to some of the most famous Pharaohs in history, including Tutankhamun and Ramses II. Visit the Valley of the Kings and Queens, where you can see their tombs up close. The kings of new kingdom ditched the idea of building a pyramids because they were easy targets for robbers. 

Inside of the tombs are decorated with paintings and carvings which are very well preserved. The colours used are bright even today, imagine how nice they would have been when they were originally created!

Finally, it was time to take a dip into the Red Sea. My son got to do his first scuba dive here! 

We got to see beautiful corals and tons of fishes. We also saw a lot of dolphins too.

This was the first time we saw a sun rise on a beach!

Overall, we made many beautiful and unforgettable memories! 

My NPS score for Egypt is a perfect 10!