Lifestyle

How to Always Think Independently

I had a sinking feeling in my gut... read more

I had a sinking feeling in my gut when I told my boss at P&G that I was leaving to travel and write a novel more than a decade ago in 2008. The timing felt wrong. I was 29. M... read more

15k

130

31 August

The Life-Changing Lesson No Life Coach Teaches You

I was sure I’d fail all my B-School... read more

I was sure I’d fail all my B-School interviews. I was living in a small town when I got my interview calls with no access to coaching classes or the Internet. On the day be... read more

20k

21 February

My Only Dream For My Daughters

I want my daughters to strive to become... read more

I want my daughters to strive to become Olympians. If I share this with my friends, they tell me I’m a helicopter parent. Or I’m trying to live my unfulfilled ambitions thro... read more

25k

13 September

Vipassana Meditation: why you should spend ten days in silence

I don’t practice Vipassana meditation, leaning towards more... read more

I don’t practice Vipassana meditation, leaning towards more concentration-based techniques instead, but I think vipassana is an excellent meditation technique for beginners and e... read more

158k

21 January

How To Have The Best Sleep In The World

I couldn’t sleep. I’d lost all my money... read more

I couldn’t sleep. I’d lost all my money after a year of travel. The job market was tough. I was alone in a new city after a break-up. I would wake up at odd hours in the ... read more

21k

9 March

How To Become a Master of Time Forever

My younger daughter, Rumi, turned one a couple... read more

My younger daughter, Rumi, turned one a couple of days ago. People we know wished her a happy birthday and turned to us, “I can’t believe she’s one. How time flies. It fee... read more

19k

1 March

Is your life a story?

I was lost. I’d published my second novel, Johnny... read more

I was lost. I’d published my second novel, Johnny Gone Down, after a couple of years of working on it. Now, I was free. I was working in a new job, living in a new city, meet... read more

15k

2 February

How To Change Your Life in 2017

I failed at everything I set out to... read more

I failed at everything I set out to do in 2016. I wanted millions of people to read The Yoga of Max’s Discontent, my first worldwide novel with Random House, so I poured all m... read more

22k

2 January

The only reason to write a book–or create anything

I thought Johnny Gone Down would change the... read more

I thought Johnny Gone Down would change the world. I’d written it in a dark phase of my life when I was single, broke, and almost unemployed at age 30, a far cry from what I thou... read more

16k

21 June

The one thing writing teaches you about life.

I was rejected for the sixtieth time. Every... read more

I was rejected for the sixtieth time. Every literary agent that read The Yoga of Max’s Discontent’s first three chapters had the same feedback: “I couldn’t get into t... read more

19k

14 June

Three steps to achieve transcendence in your work

On May 3rd’ 2016 when Penguin Random House’s... read more

On May 3rd' 2016 when Penguin Random House's Riverhead imprint launches The Yoga of Max's Discontent in the US, I will join the ranks of debut novelists in the US, speaking in emp... read more

30k

13 March

Willful De-construction: Why you should self-destruct every so often

I thought my life would go like this.... read more

I thought my life would go like this. I analyzed every decision to death so that it would be the right one—find the perfect partner, choose the right jobs that would accelerat... read more

14k

21 February

How to not let your dreams die after kids

I’ve noticed a strange change in myself since... read more

I’ve noticed a strange change in myself since Leela was born eighteen months ago. My risk appetite has grown tremendously. This is completely opposite to what people said would h... read more

17k

21 February