NAVEEN NIVERTHY

AUTHOR, MARKETING & SALES LEADER, LIFE STRATEGIST

Think Better and Thrive. Step by Step.

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Health. Work. Love. Parenting. Spirituality.

  • Die With Zero: A Wake-Up Call to Stop Wasting Your Life

    There’s a person out there—you might be one of them—living life on autopilot. Following the script. Cookie-cuttering every step, afraid to break the mold. Deep down, they yearn for more. They want to move to a new city, say “I love you” first, run the marathon, chase the dream, live the story. Yet the fear…

  • Fluke: How Chaos, Chance, and Randomness Shape Everything We Do

    In his fascinating book Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters, Brian Klaas invites us to fundamentally rethink the nature of cause and effect in our lives and societies. Rather than seeing the world as a tidy sequence of deliberate actions and consequences, Klaas shows that randomness, small events, and chaos are far…

  • Alone, But Never Lonely: A Journey into Thoreau’s Solitude

    In a world where solitude often evokes images of isolation and loneliness, Henry David Thoreau offers an entirely different portrait—one brimming with vitality, connectedness, and serene companionship with nature. In the “Solitude” chapter of Walden, Thoreau invites us into his quiet life by Walden Pond, where aloneness becomes a form of liberation, and nature, in…

  • Why You Might Be Better Off Without Social Media

    In a world that pulses with tweets, reels, stories, and scrolling thumbs, the idea of someone who’s never had a social media account feels almost like a myth. But Cal Newport, a millennial, computer scientist, and bestselling author, stands as a very real exception. Standing on a TEDx stage, he made a bold claim that’s…

  • A Simpler Way: Thoreau’s Bold Economics of Living

    When Henry David Thoreau retreated to the woods around Walden Pond in the mid-19th century, it wasn’t to escape society but to see it more clearly. In the first chapter of Walden, aptly titled “Economy,” Thoreau turns a sharp and contemplative eye on the economic systems of his time—and what he saw remains disturbingly familiar…

  • Vedantic Analytical Idealism: A Consciousness-Centered Reality

    In recent years, philosophical interest in consciousness has surged, particularly in response to the limitations of materialist explanations of reality. At the forefront of this revival is Analytical Idealism, a position that aligns closely with ancient Indian thought—especially Advaita Vedānta. By integrating this modern philosophical model with the Vedantic concepts of cit (consciousness), sat (existence),…

  • Life Truly Begins at 40: Embracing the Journey to Authenticity

    There’s a reason why the old adage, “Life begins at 40,” resonates so deeply with so many. It speaks to more than just age—it captures a pivotal moment of transformation that many of us quietly sense as we approach this milestone. At 40, something shifts. It’s as though the road behind us, lined with expectations…

  • How to Add 20 More Years to Your Life (Without Changing the Clock)

    What if you could add 20 years to your life—not in time, but in quality? That’s the powerful opening thought from Mel Abraham’s heartfelt conversation on life, purpose, and financial freedom. This wasn’t just another personal finance talk about budgets and spreadsheets. It was a deep dive into how to live fully, how to create…

  • The Conversation That Might Just Shift the World: A Meeting of Minds on Consciousness, Science, and Reality

    Imagine a world where science and spirituality are no longer strange bedfellows but companions in the same inquiry. Where the age-old questions of “Who am I?” and “What is real?” are not dismissed as abstract musings but approached with the same rigor and reverence as particle physics or neuroscience. That world doesn’t just exist in…

  • The Am-ness of Self and the Is-ness of Things: On the Unity Beneath Experience

    There is a subtle yet profound thread running through our experience of existence — a thread that weaves together the quiet awareness of “I am” and the simple presence of the world around us. The phrase “Am-ness of self is the same as is-ness of things” invites us to pause and feel into this connection.…

  • You Don’t Need a Partner to Be Whole: The Joy of a “Good-Enough” Single Life

    For many, the quest for happiness seems intrinsically tied to the hope of finding a romantic partner — a soulmate, a spouse, someone to share the mundane and magical moments of life. When we’re not in a relationship, especially when we haven’t been in one for a long time or have never had one at…

  • The Hidden Cost of Comfort: Why Seeking Discomfort Might Just Save You

    Imagine standing at the edge of a vast frozen wilderness. The cold slices through every layer of clothing. Your breath turns to crystals in the air. There’s no phone signal, no Wi-Fi, and certainly no cozy couch waiting at the end of the day. It’s just you, the elements, and a primal need to survive…

  • Rich Is When You Don’t Have to Do Anything You “Should”

    What if the real definition of wealth had less to do with your income and more to do with your peace of mind? That’s exactly the premise explored in this conversation, which challenges the traditional markers of success and redefines what it really means to be rich. It all starts with a surprisingly simple but…

  • The Unexpected Riches of Having Less

    Is it possible that having less can actually give us more? At first glance, it may sound like one of those frustrating clichés designed to console those who are struggling. Many people would rightly push back, arguing that when your basic needs aren’t being met, romanticizing scarcity is offensive and out of touch. But what…

  • Naval on True Intelligence: Designing a Life You Actually Want

    You only get one shot at life—so why do so many of us settle for mediocrity? Naval Ravikant, entrepreneur and philosopher, offers a striking redefinition of intelligence that cuts through the noise of IQ scores and academic credentials. In a world full of distractions and pre-written scripts, he argues that true intelligence is about getting…

  • You Don’t Experience Non-Duality—You Are It

    In a world flooded with meditation apps, self-help books, and spiritual retreats, the question “How can I experience non-duality?” might seem natural—profound, even. But as Swami Tadatmananda so gently yet firmly points out in this advanced meditation session, asking to “experience” non-duality reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what non-duality actually is. Let’s unpack that. When…

  • The Secret to Lasting Happiness: Spend Less, Live More

    In a world where success is often measured by wealth and possessions, it might feel counterintuitive to claim that happiness doesn’t lie in how much we earn or own. Yet, page after page of psychological research tells us something surprisingly liberating: we can be happier with less, and the key lies in embracing the ancient…

  • Why Money Might Not Buy Happiness—But Poverty Can Steal It

    There’s a raw, often unspoken truth buried in modern life: being broke hurts. Not just practically, but emotionally, psychologically, and even existentially. When we lose our job, our home, our savings—or live under the constant threat of losing them—our sense of safety and dignity takes a hit. Words like foreclosure, bankruptcy, eviction, and pink slip…

  • Your Happiest Days Are Behind You—And That’s a Good Thing

    When we think about happiness, we tend to look ahead. We imagine it waiting for us in the future, just around the next corner—after the promotion, the relationship, the vacation, the next big change. But what if that’s the wrong direction to look? In his heartfelt and humorous TEDx talk, psychologist Robert Biswas-Diener flips the…

  • Through Our Eyes: Bernardo Kastrup, Idealism, and the Meaning Behind Suffering

    What if our suffering wasn’t meaningless? What if every ounce of pain, injustice, or despair wasn’t just something to bear, but something through which the universe learns what it is doing to itself? This isn’t a metaphor. It’s the heart of a deep philosophical vision put forward by Bernardo Kastrup—computer scientist, philosopher, former CERN researcher,…

  • Tiny Experiments, Big Shifts: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World

    In a world that’s constantly evolving, many of us find ourselves drowning in cognitive overload. We absorb more information than ever before, build endless to-do lists, and cling to routines in a desperate attempt to keep up. But our brains haven’t evolved to match this speed. We’re running ancient software on modern hardware. Social media…

  • The Spiritual Cost of Productivity: Simone Weil’s Haunting Warning

    We’re constantly told to hustle, to grind, to find our passion, build our personal brand, and make every moment count. Productivity is a virtue, distraction a sin. But what if the system that urges us to give it our all is, in fact, designed to take everything from us—our time, our spirit, our very humanity?…

  • Daniel Kahneman on Well-Being: The Pursuit of Happiness vs. The Story of Our Lives

    Title: Daniel Kahneman on the Science of Happiness: From Experience to Memory and Back Again In a conversation as illuminating as it was honest, Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman sat down to reflect on his decades of groundbreaking work—not just in behavioral economics and decision-making, but in the complex world of human well-being. Best known for…

  • The World is Not Physical: Understanding Bernardo Kastrup’s Analytic Idealism

    Most of us assume that the world around us is made of solid, physical things—matter, atoms, and forces interacting in space. But what if that assumption is wrong? What if the world is not physical at all, but entirely mental in nature? This is the bold claim of philosopher Bernardo Kastrup, who argues for analytic idealism,…

  • Don’t Waste Your Life: Lessons on Risk, Wealth, and Time from Bill Perkins

    The Fear of Wasting Life If you’ve ever felt stuck in the mundane rhythm of life, hesitating to take that leap—whether it’s moving to a new city, chasing a dream, or telling someone you love them first—Bill Perkins has a message for you: Don’t waste your life. Bill Perkins, the author of Die With Zero,…

  • The Perfectionism Trap: Why You’ll Never Be on Top of Everything (and That’s Okay)

    Inspired by Oliver Burkeman | Inspired by his book Meditations for Mortals and BigThink talk If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly falling behind—like if you just had the perfect system, the perfect schedule, or a little more self-discipline, you’d finally get control of your life—you’re not alone. Perfectionism, productivity anxiety, and the endless search…

  • 5 Signs It Might Be Time for You to Retire

    We all reach a point where continuing to work may cost us more than stepping into retirement. But how do you know when it’s the right time? Many people delay retirement for financial reasons—income, benefits, 401(k), and so on. However, at some stage, the marginal benefit of earning more money starts to diminish, and continuing…

  • Life Rewards Action, Not Intelligence – Lessons from Neill Conor

    Neill Conor, a leadership coach, shared a powerful message in one of his YouTube videos: “Life rewards action, not intelligence.” It’s a simple yet profound idea, one that took him years to fully embrace. Growing up, Neill realized he could do well in school by relying on intelligence alone, with little effort. This gave him…

  • We Can Do Better Than Happiness: Insights from The Big Picture

    In our modern quest for happiness, we often treat it as the ultimate goal—a prize waiting at the end of life’s journey. Books, podcasts, and motivational speakers eagerly promise the secret formula to attain and sustain this elusive state. The message is clear: if only we were happy, everything else would fall into place. But…

  • The Big Picture by Sean Carroll

    The idea of the “Ten Commandments” is fascinating. It mixes two things we love: making lists of ten and telling others how to live. The most famous list comes from the Hebrew Bible, handed from God to Moses on Mount Sinai. Over time, people outside religion have also made their own lists—like atheist or socialist…

  • Why Time Feels Like It Speeds Up in Middle Age (And What You Can Do About It)

    Ever feel like time is flying by faster than it used to? One minute you’re celebrating the New Year, and the next, it’s December again. This weird, sped-up feeling of time is super common, especially in middle age. So, what’s going on? Why does life feel like it’s on fast-forward when we hit our 40s…

  • How to Be Successful: Lessons from Sam Altman

    Sam Altman, a visionary entrepreneur and investor, shares a practical and inspiring guide to achieving success. His advice centers around thinking differently, taking bold steps, and focusing on what truly matters. Here’s a breakdown of his key points, reimagined into actionable steps for your journey. Think Exponentially While Others Play a Linear Game Success often…

  • Midlife: Not a Crisis, But an Awakening

    Carl Jung, one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, made a bold statement that continues to resonate: “Life really does begin at 40. Up until then, you are just doing research.” This challenges a deeply ingrained narrative in popular culture—that midlife is a time of decline, chaos, or crisis. Instead, Jung invites…

  • 5 Mental Models from Charlie Munger to Improve Your Decision-Making

    Charlie Munger, the legendary investor and Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, has shared timeless wisdom over the years. His mental models help people make smarter, clearer decisions in all areas of life. Here are five models, explained in a way that anyone can use: 1. Inversion Sometimes, the best way to solve a problem is to…

  • 7 Simple Money Rules (That Might Save You One Day!)

    Managing money can sometimes feel like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. But don’t worry! Ben Meer has shared a cheat sheet for financial sanity, and I’ve broken it down for you with a sprinkle of humor and some easy-to-follow tips. Let’s dive into these 7 money rules that can make adulting a lot…