Gravitas WINS Radio

Life is uncertain. To deal with this vastness of uncertainty, we create small pockets of certainty like safe spaces like our houses, daily routines like going to and returning from the office at a fixed time, and dependable friends. Often, our parents provide us with a foundation of certainty on which we can build. These certainties act as proof that we have successfully navigated life thus far.

However, relying solely on these established certainties can weaken our convictions. Conviction is a steadfast belief in something, even without concrete evidence or complete knowledge. Conviction is deeply rooted in intuition, values, and personal principles. It empowers us to chase our dreams and stand up for what we believe in.

Conviction and certainty might seem like opposites but they are intertwined. To think a little more clearly about the relationship between these two, we can plot them on a two-by-two matrix.

In the top-left quadrant is an area of high certainty and low conviction. There are a lot of people here who sacrifice their deep beliefs for certainty. Imagine being in a well-paying job with a lot of benefits, but lacking a genuine belief that it's the right job for you. I liken it to Nassim Talib's Thanksgiving turkey. The turkey is well fed every day and it thinks life is great until Thanksgiving comes and it loses everything. If you live in certainty without conviction, you're like that turkey.

Then comes the low certainty, low conviction quadrant. When we venture into the world on our own, leaving the foundations laid by our parents, we find ourselves here. We might also find ourselves here whenever big events happen in our lives — marriage, the birth of kids, being fired from a job, and so on. At those times, we find ourselves confused about our identity and values. Usually we grope in the dark until we find an anchor. The best way out of this quadrant is to start with a theory or a hypothesis and conduct a lot of experiments to identify a path forward.

With a lot of trial and error, you will come to a place of high conviction and low certainty. This quadrant is where groundbreaking innovations and life-changing ideas originate. People in this category may be fully convinced about their chosen path but are yet to see tangible results. Startups frequently fall into this category. Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Tesla's Elon Musk both began their ventures with conviction but without any visible evidence of their visions.

The ideal place to be is where high conviction and high certainty intersect. This is a dreamland, where you are reaping the fruits of your vision and effort. Very few people reach here. If you reach here, enjoy while it lasts. Because of two reasons: those who reach here don't like to pitch a tent and settle here, they would like to build upon this foundation; and also because of the way the world works, the certainty will get disrupted and you'll be back in the journey.

Since having a deep conviction is the way to dreamland, let me conclude by dealing with how to build such convictions.

Some of us are born with convictions. Take the example of Richard Branson. If any of us are stranded on an island after our intended flight was canceled, we will expect the airlines to arrange the next flight. Not Sir Richard Branson. He rented a plane, sold all the tickets to the stranded passengers, and flew everyone out of the island. Then he started virgin airlines. Only a handful of us look into a situation in a problem-solving mode. Nature shapes them differently.

For the rest of us, philosophy can come in handy. Peter Theil of the PayPal mafia learned about the mimetic theory from the philosopher Rene Girard. It says, we all mimic our role-models and closer we get to the model, we fight with our own models. When Peter learned this philosophy, he created a corporate version of it. He decided one person would be in charge of only one thing to avoid this mimetic violence. As an investor, Peter encourages startups to create monopolies as he believes competition is for losers.

My own philosophy of career building goes like this:

- Corporate opportunities are discussed in your absence
- you need a sponsor to propose your name when such opportunities are discussed
- you need to build gravitas so that a sponsor can propose your name and when it happens others can agree
- you build gravitas by building a flywheel of wealth, insights, networking, and self-development

I developed this philosophy by studying books, talking to experts, and observing corporate life. I journeyed through phases of low certainty but now I'm in dreamland. I've taught this concept to others and they have reaped the benefits too.

You can build conviction for your job, life, and other ventures, through a combination of self-discovery, learning, and adaptability. By studying, seeking insights, and observing the world around you, you can shape a philosophy that guides you. As your philosophies shape your journey, you'll move from moments of low certainty into the realm of profound conviction. Such conviction can become your compass, leading you toward a dreamland where your conviction meets certainty. I wish you get there.

Have a life of WINS.