INDI A

SINGAPORE

M A L AY S I A

Notion Press Media Pvt Ltd No. 50, Chettiyar Agaram Main Road, Vanagaram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600 095 First Published by Notion Press 2021 Copyright © Keshav Agrawal 2021 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-63957-519-0 This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. While every effort has been made to avoid any mistake or omission, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that neither the author nor the publishers or printers would be liable in any manner to any person by reason of any mistake or omission in this publication or for any action taken or omitted to be taken or advice rendered or accepted on the basis of this work. For any defect in printing or binding the publishers will be liable only to replace the defective copy by another copy of this work then available.

To Mumma, You made me the person I am. Everything I have achieve and will achieve will be because of your love. Thank you for everything!

Contents

1. Introduction���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9 2. Better/Best Conundrum����������������������������������������������������������������� 15 3. Getting into the M.O.D.E������������������������������������������������������������� 27 Part 0: Making Way for the M.O.D.E of Levelling Up 4. Cleaning the Palette ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 45 5. Your Knowledge is Breaking Chains����������������������������������������������� 61 Part 1: Levelling Up Mindset 6. Hurling Through Mindset ������������������������������������������������������������� 73 7. Tale of Two Mindsets ��������������������������������������������������������������������� 83 8. The Arable Mindset ��������������������������������������������������������������������� 103 Part 2: Levelling Up Observation 9. Objective – Exploiting Your Cognition����������������������������������������� 121 10. Service – Make It Work ��������������������������������������������������������������� 139 11. Motivation – Just Observe It!������������������������������������������������������� 155 Part 3: Levelling Up Decision 12. Deciding the Right Stuff��������������������������������������������������������������� 167 13. Decisional Precision (Zones)��������������������������������������������������������� 185

6 | Contents

Part 4: Levelling Up Extraction 14. Organic Extraction and Learning������������������������������������������������� 197 15. Consciously Learn, Apply and Evolve������������������������������������������� 207 Part 5: Wrapping Up Conclusion��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 221 References ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 227 Acknowledgements��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 231

Chapter 1

Introduction

T

hroughout our lives, we interact. Every interaction occupies a tiny part of our brains. While we forget most of them, some of these interactions stay in our minds for a lifetime. What role do these interactions play in our development? They form an infrastructure for us—a surrounding, an ecosystem from which we can learn. We are habituated to learn from our surroundings. Some interactions challenge our beliefs, while some create them. Some push us to become a better version of ourselves, while some pull us back to negative behavioural patterns. One thing which is common in all interactions is duality. Interactions happen between people. When you talk to a person, you are interacting with them. When you engage on a social media post, you are interacting with the poster. When you watch a movie, you are interacting with everyone behind it. And when you read this book, you are having an interaction with me. Interactions are not limited to sensory responses only. They are driven by our thoughts that arise in tandem with changes in our environment, situations and emotions. The way we handle our interactions defines our trajectories. These dynamic effects of interaction make us social beings who absorb their environment like superhumans. What differentiates us from one another is our way and rate of absorption. Two people can take away different lessons from

8 | Reaching the Next Level

the same interactions and lead directionally opposite lives. This describes why siblings who grow up together in the same environment eventually become different people and students who study in the same school, under the same teacher, can go forward to lead different directions in life. The reason why we are always absorbing from our surroundings is that our bodies hate stagnancy. They need development at some level or the other. Otherwise, they are going to act out. For example, when we don’t exercise enough, we tend to gain weight—that’s our bodies headed in the negative direction. What happens when we get low grades, or what happens when we follow the same boring routine in our life? Or when we are unable to meet work timelines? Anxiety starts building up, and we tend to get depressed day by day. Anxiety, depression and similar behaviours are negative developments. We have evolved in a manner where we absorb compulsorily, whether positively or negatively. Absorption from our surroundings is, in fact, a level before adaptation. Now, there are three simple ways in which we lead our lives. Either we improve, remain stagnated or damage ourselves and our potential. Our whole time and energy are spent tackling these three. The day we read a good book, we improve. The day we carry our lives on bland autopilot mode, we remain stagnant, and the day we consume a harmful substance, we cause damage to ourselves. Happiness that comes from success is a vital part of human life. It has two components—happiness and success. But the way we approach it dramatically changes when we see them from a long-term perspective. Momentary success can bring us fleeting joy. But as time distances us from those moments, the happiness also starts reducing and sometimes ceases to

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exist. Because as we level up, the magnitude of past success minimizes, and as we level down, all we are left with are the images of what we once were. Talking about success, the only way to sustain it is through continuous improvement. It can be an innovation in business. It can be personal development in our lives or gaining experience in our professions. Everything is, in some way or the other, a means to continuous improvement. Here, the adjective “continuous” is extremely important. “Continuous” connotes unstoppable, sustainable and consistent. These are the skills that make people successful. The theories behind continuous improvement are incredibly flawed because they correlate it with hard work alone. Hard work has its importance, but it is not the foundation of continuous improvement. Neither is just doing a course, reading a book or article or attending a seminar. The foundation is in absorbing. Absorbing means not only consuming information but also assimilating it to the best of our potential. When we view this from a fundamental perspective, we see that whenever we absorb something that leads us to the path of “improvement,” we are moving towards our goal of establishing a persona with continuous improvement at its core. We can ensure continuous improvement by learning from people, both physically and virtually. The reason is simple—we will inevitably be surrounded by people regardless of the direction we choose in life. Even if we lead a life of solitude, we’re going to interact with nature, technology or ourselves. So, trust me, interaction is not leaving us anytime soon. When we intend to sustain the notion of continuous improvement, it would be much easier to embed it with something integral to our lives. People, human resources,

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colleagues, friends, family, celebrities, nature, technology— we are surrounded by them. Absorption, adaptation and evolution—all three processes are fundamental. We need to have the right mindset, must know our objective, be vigilant about our surroundings, make the right decisions at the right time and use the appropriate learning method at the right time. Seems tough? Not really. I am here to guide you through it all. Who Is This Book For?

First of all, this isn’t just a book—this is me. My father has tried his best to give me everything he could, but I lacked a strong father figure all my life. He had his battles, issues, diseases, problems and, yes, attitude—the attitude that helps us grow as a person, teaches us to respect others and have gratitude for what we have. His business started going downhill when he began following his passion for astrology. His bipolar condition distanced a part of him from me that every child needs from a father—security, affection, respect, inspiration— throughout my childhood, creating a hole of vacuum in my everyday life. I had to see traumatizing arguments every other day, haunted by the image of a despotic authority figure I had created in my mind. It had a deep impact on me. My family comprises of my mom and two sisters—a family with a majority of women, something I consider a blessing. However, it came with a few side effects. Not negative side effects, but consequences. When I was young, I used to go to my sisters and ask them to apply nail paint to my nails and whip me up with some makeup. It’s not like men can’t apply makeup; all those stereotypes are bullshit. It was just that I used to see them enjoy doing those things, and

Introduction | 11

I thought it would be something that’d make me happy too. But, nada. That wasn’t something that made me happy. From moments like these, I started trying to get inspiration from people around me—my friends, teachers, uncles, aunts, relatives, movies, etc. And thanks to my mom, she instilled such a strong moral compass in me that I did not learn anything wrong from anyone. On the contrary, when I notice a negative trait in someone, I try to reverse-engineer it and then learn something good out of it. I learnt whatever I liked from anyone, which helped me kick-start my life at every twist and turn. Paralysis? Done and dusted. Failures? Lessons learnt and moved on. Death of loved ones? Cherished their memories, grateful and on the path to becoming the best version of myself. This mindset, this resilience, these habits and all these qualities are not something I was born with. Once, a doctor even said that I have depression in my blood due to genetics. But learning from people, looking forward to new challenges, enhancing my skills by observing my environment are the things that made me the person I am right now. And trust me, my mom is incredibly proud of the person I have turned out to be, which is the most significant achievement one can get. When I was 18, I came to realize this. I asked myself questions like why can I gain so much expertise in anything I do with minimal experience? How do I improve myself in any area? Because of my capacity to absorb, keep in mind that I am not using any term that might point towards cognitive power, I have increased significantly because of the habit of learning from others that I developed. So, once I structured exactly how I do it, I made it my mission to spread this skill to the world and help as many people as possible.

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This book is for everyone who wants to improve and become a better version of themselves. This book is for everyone who wants to lead a better life and become a more pleasant person to their loved ones. This book is for every person who feels stuck in their current life and wants liberation. This book is for everyone who wants to be happy with themselves. To be precise, there are five main parts in this book: Part 0: Removing of mental blocks and energy drainers Part 1: Mindset Part 2: Observation Part 3: Decision Part 4: Extraction Although these parts stand strong individually, you’ll get the highest return on investment of your time and money if you read it completely from start to end in the designated sequence. Every chapter builds upon the previous one to give a deeper insight into personal growth. In a very systematic and how-to format, I’ll be talking about how to remove various mental blocks, how to apply the right mindset for development, how to observe the right way, how to make the right decision and how to extract the most out of every situation. You’re in for a ride to take your life to a whole new level, and trust me, it’s going to happen without even your knowledge.

Chapter 2

Better/Best Conundrum

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ou must have heard about Apple, right? Not the fruit, but the one that might have burnt a 50,000-rupee hole in your pocket. And if you have not heard about Apple but you’re reading my book, then this book really must be a success! Apple is the most valuable company on this planet as of 2021. What makes Apple so unique? The brand? Yes. The marketing strategies? Yes. But what is the foundation of both of these things? The new products they launch every year bind Apple’s values and story! Apple’s products, their design and the way the company curates the products such that they can ensure there is a demand for their products make Apple so valuable. They do not just build consumer tech; they build environment and ecosystem—something that you cannot just replace. Imagine this scenario: What would happen if Apple stops making new products and introducing new upgrades on their existing products? Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will come to the podium and say, “Sorry, we don’t have any new products, so from now onwards you won’t be receiving any innovations from Apple anytime soon!” All other companies would bloom with joy. There would be a time when most people would have the latest iPhone because that’s the only one left, right? As more and more people have it, it would be more common. And then what? Demand for Apple products will

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fall. Why? Because the pride, happiness and royalty of having the newest iPhone would be gone. But what is this sense of pride, satisfaction and royalty? We are not at all materialistic, right? All these are feelings that Apple has invoked right in their products by inducing the Apple ecosystem in our lives. This is one of the biggest innovations of Apple. It first creates a product and then creates a buzz for the product. After every product release, Apple enjoys the first six months of selling that product and the next six months by creating a buzz for the next upgraded version of it. With every sale, it makes the ecosystem stronger. And the consumers resonate with Apple’s story so much that their reaction continues to be the same, year after year, because of the pride, happiness and royalty and, most importantly, the utility that the whole Apple ecosystem—iCloud, Apple Watch, iPhone, etc.—gives to a consumer. If Apple stops introducing new versions, then the gravy boat on which Apple is riding will end someday or the other. Not only from the demand side but also the company culture itself. They have curated an environment of innovation and creativity in Cupertino. Ending that will antagonize Apple from their greatest power. Now, the main question here is, what is that gravy boat they are riding on? I mean to ask, what is the gravy in the above scenario? Small improvements. Apple puts in full effort in adding new features in the subsequent models, no matter how negligible or invisible it might seem to us at first glance! For example, when in 2015 Apple launched the iPhone 6S, it was similar to the iPhone 6 externally. There were some improvements in the operating system like 3D touch. Otherwise, no one could tell the difference just by seeing the phone (and yeah, not many notice the “S” on the

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back). However, consumer behaviour remained the same. And, well, now Apple is above two trillion and still growing exponentially. Steve Jobs revolutionized Apple, and the only reason he could do so was by innovating. He instilled the values of minimalism in the culture of Apple. He improved what is essential to the core of the product and removed whatever was deemed unnecessary. This thought of minimalism gave Apple a direction for all its innovations. They removed the button, the headphone jack, and god knows what they will do in the future. We, humans, are no different from Apple. Yeah, none of us has our net worth in trillions yet, but we work on the same values. We are always in the process of improvement. When we stop our advancement, our proverbial gravy boat of relevance also starts depleting. And in our case, what is the gravy? It is knowledge, skills, personality, talent and anything that makes us, us. And just like Apple, making a strong ecosystem for ourselves can be instrumental for our growth. That is a huge reason we continuously need to improve ourselves if we want to survive on this planet. We undertake courses, we go to college, we go to school, but what happens thereafter? When real life starts. When the bills arrive on the first of every month. When we crave happiness and fulfilment every single day. The normal experience we gain because of which we think we’re improving is like cash. If we don’t do anything with it, it’s going to be of lesser value in the future. There is a massive need for selflearning now.

Ever felt stuck or felt that learning has stopped? Do you have that zeal to be better than what you consider your best? At times, we need a nudge to come out of our comfort zone and reach the next level. We have an arsenal of nudges all around us that we fail to utilize—people. Both physically and virtually, people are a powerful source of personal growth. From soft skills to intrinsic qualities like grit and mental toughness, to extrinsic and domain skills, we have a vast library available to us at every single point in time. Reaching the Next Level puts you into the M.O.D.E, with the methodology of Mindset, Observation, Decision, Extraction, to capitalize on the amount of growth and qualities you can absorb from your environment and compound the rate at which you grow.

WARNING! The techniques and methods in this book are incredibly potent and have the potential to make you susceptible to numerous sources of learning, both good and bad. It can make you great as well as dangerous. So, as a word of advice, kindly internalize the practice endorsed by the book with care and caution. It is easy to lose yourself in the environment for the process of growth with these techniques, so be mindful of how you’re approaching your environmental exposure and be responsible for the new powers you gain.

About the Author Hailing from a life of hardships and challenges from a very young age, Keshav Agrawal is on ajourney to explore what makes us take our abilities to new horizons and makes us achieve the impossible. Writing this book at the age of 18, Keshav Agrawal glides through bleeding-edge research in cognitive science, economics, psychology, behaviour, logic and spirituality to find answers to the key to personal growth as well as the mystery of human growth and capabilities. Keshav Agrawal is a writer, author, speaker and, most importantly, a student. He believes that apart from the laws of physics, we don’t have any other limits. With a sheer force of will, everything is achievable. His dream is to integrate all the sources of personal growth into an economic theory that will change the way people perceive human potential and overall development. Price 399