Dale Carnegie wrote a book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ – it is a great book which every kid in class 8 to end of graduation should read and make it a habit as much as possible. Sure today there are more gadgets available but you should take the trouble to read and implement the same. Do it.

This blog is not about Dale Carnegie, it is about me. I am trying to tell you what makes me what I am..or rather what I say which makes me well – not so popular and not so influential. At least on my face people say nice things..so I am loving it..but what do I say that people do not like?

1. Milk is not good for health, go vegan: OMG people hate me for this..but let me assure you try doing this no milk (largely for vegetarians this is what it means) do it as an experiment for 15 days and then post on my blog about how was your experiment. I know friends, their kids, etc. who do not like doctors who say ‘milk is harmful for the calcium in your body’ . Or come to the cruelty part. A cow is impregnated continuously – so that milk can be produced. In the milking process they get puss and blood too apart from the milk. Righteously a part of this milk belongs to the calf. Think of it. A child’s food is being used to make the rasgoollas that you ate yesterday. The gulab jamun that you had looks red or brown? Do you get a SICK feeling? I AM TRYING TO GO FULL VEGAN but have not succeeded. Pray or reiki for me!!
2. Do not buy a house: ‘Subra is mad’ you should put in your share of 20% and buy a house. After all who gives you a loan @ 10%p.a. to buy an asset which ASSUREDLY grows @ 20% for 200 years? Well well ‘Innumeracy’ I chuckled. What to do it is impossible to convince people that renting is far more sensible than buying. In many cases even the act of furnishing (say Rs. 5o lakhs) is not a worthwhile proposition to renting @ say 20k a month!! However when you talk about this it gets emotional. ‘Subra you know investing is not an IQ decision, it is an EQ decision’ or ‘First house you should think from the heart not from the head’ or…blah blah blah..Honestly there is no math which can shake me from my stand. I am happy that people think that they should buy a house. The biggest cost of buying a house is interest cost. Hdfc (a permanent kinda member in my portfolio since 1980) has a king’s share of the business. Ultratech sell cement. Godrej Properties sells dreams. Oberoi Realities is no longer there in my portfolio, but I have fond memories. DLF fond memories (I was about to buy, but did not, saved a big amount), I will soon be buying metals. Asian Paints of course is a darling. Why will I crib? Happy to be a little contrarian and a little unpopular and a person who cannot influence people. My bad.
3. Get married ONLY if you are ready for marriage: this makes me a persona non grata among my friends because their children pounce on them saying ‘see Subra uncle is also saying this’ so the friends with grown up unmarried children are a little suspicious about my friendship with them 🙂 I think. I do not think a person should get married because he/she has reached a particular salary, grandparents want to see their great grandchildren, or that you have a great job, or you have bought a house, or your last friend standing also fell into the matrimonial trap, ….NO. Get married only when you are ready. Ask him/her views on work ethic, who will keep a job, income sharing, work sharing, parental care sharing……even if you think these are 20 years away. Have the broad picture. Then take the plunge. There is no right age for getting married. Ditto all this before you have a kid. Getting married NEED not mean you MUST have kids. You could go rear a cat!! or a Russel Viper. Choose your poison. It need not be marriage.
4. Uber. Ola, EasyCab, Meru – all of them are making the motor industry shape up. More importantly it removes the need of a workhorse car. You could still buy a Silver Ghost if your money permits. Remember to drive a car of that caliber will require some training – but in the driver seat you could get a massage 🙂 . Parents who did not own a car like to push their children harder. Remember the elephant who abandoned her child because she could not swing from tree to tree like the monkey kids.
5. Eat less, exercise regularly, sleep early, get up in the mornings and go for a walk : well easy things are different ….and difficult to fathom….think of an answer tomorrow…