It's a common saying which goes like 'Marriages are made in Heaven'; but we all know that the couple should still lead their lives on (beautiful yet complicated) Earth!! All of us want and yearn for a happy, peaceful, fun filled and satisfying married life and a partner who would support, defend, and handhold us in this journey. But very rarely do we come across couples who have achieved this stature. This book 'Row, Row, Row your Boat' is a book written by couple therapists, Sophia and Roopak(a couple themselves!!), who turned around their married life which was on the verge of collapse with therapy's help. This is a short but insightful read on little things that couples could do 'together' to reach their vision of becoming a made-for-each-other couple, which apparently was their original vow when they got married but may have fizzled out as years passed by. 

Let's assume this situation. You are working in a reputed organization and your appraisal is underway. You have high hopes of getting a sizeable increment with a promotion to a leadership role. All of a sudden, your manager invites you into his room and asks you to poach some information to a competitor firm for some illegal commission. Would you be okay doing this so that your appraisal sails through, which will also keep you in your manager's good books or would you back off as you would be hurting the organization for illegal short term again. This is just an example of one of plethora of daily dilemmas that life throws at you with varying complexities. This book by Hardayal Singh, a civil service Officer, attempts to highlight through fictional and real stories of common men, that choosing and walking along the righteous path with an unwavering mind is possible but acknowledges that it is extremely difficult. 

What is the ultimate goal of one's life, beyond earning resources to meet basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter? I have pondered over this many a times but couldn't come up with any concrete answer. Having heard Jay Shetty speak in his Youtube Channel, I had developed high regards for his practical solution in dealing with life's day to day problems. So when I came across this interesting title with the tagline 'The secret of how to harness the power of positivity and be happy now', I picked this book with eagerness that it will bring me closer to the answer that has been eluding me for long. And after having read and re-read this book, I would say that this book lived upto my expectations.

It’s not just the human brain that is complex but also the human nature. As someone who is curious about human nature, I have always wondered if one could develop a playbook which will help one gauge what the true intentions of the other person are. I know that is a very wishful thinking but after reading Maugham’s books, I came to realise that nothing is more unfathomable and enigmatic than that of human nature and a desire to master it is not just wishful but near impossible task!! Perhaps, this uncertainty is what makes us feel vulnerable but at the same time gives a ray of hope that things will change for better. This post is just a sample collection of gems from the treasure trove of his writings compiled in the “Collected Short Stories- Volume 4”. I am sure that if you are someone who has interests in understanding people’s behaviour, reading this post would make you devour on Maugham’s collection as his words evokes a mélange of emotions, by laying the intricacies of human nature bare before the readers. 

‘Finance’ is one field where the sheer usage of the term could give jitters to few. Just like how food, cloth and shelter are the basic needs, knowledge of finance and its management are essential to every individual. Do you know what is certain about our life – the fact that it is uncertain! Sounds cliched but a fact is a fact. As the world is embracing pandemic, which resulted in job losses and downward spiraling economy, we also witnessed that the stock market hit rock bottom in March-April 2020 and as I write this post, is trading at all-time highs. Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) best defines present-day world. How do we guard ourselves financially  in the VUCA world so that we can have a peaceful sleep at night? Morgan Housel has the answer in his book “The Psychology of Money”.