Paradigm Shifts And Challenged Assumptions

Image via WikipediaMy personal hero in tech Larry Ellison (Larry Ellison, Larry Ellison's Personal Life) often talks in terms of paradigm shifts. When entire industries collapse that is a tectonic paradigm shift. When banks collapsed in New York and freed up tech talent for tech startups, that was a paradigm shift.

Larry's own life is full of paradigm shifts. My favorite detail probably is when one of his wives left him for a Harvard MBA. Wait, there is another. One of his wives had the option to take the family pickup or Oracle stocks. She picked the pickup truck.

Larry Ellison's Personal Life

The very best entrepreneurs cascade from paradigm shift to paradigm shift. Ordinary mortals don't even see the tsunami coming. When you ride the wave - you could also call it the tiger - a lot of your assumptions get challenged. What was just true is no longer true. And that is a hard thing to navigate. The ordinary person feels tremendously unsafe when that happens.

I look at the details of Larry's personal life, one failed marriage after another, and the many paradigm shifts Oracle has navigated, and no wonder I think his biography reads like fascinating.

Freshly divorced yet one more time Larry shot this email to a friend: "Congrats on getting and staying married!"

Think Different

Yesterday some of my Nepali friends had a meeting about me.

"He is not like you and me. He is different from us," one said.

Months back another Nepali friend bought bakery products for me. That was his way of his saying this guy has become too Americanized.

There is a flip side to the coin: Americans coming to me from the Bollywood/yoga angle.

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The Facebook Effect
Meeting Fred Wilson In Person

From: Paramendra Bhagat
Date: Sun, Jul 10, 2011 at 2:13 PM
Subject: {New York Metro Madhesi} Sunday ---- Come out and dance --- free event
To: nycnepali@googlegroups.com, New York Metro Madhesi

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137120103034144
http://www.acehotel.com/newyork/calendar/sundays-live-music-series
https://twitter.com/USRoyalty/status/90104312633622529

Ace Hotel
20 West 29th Street
Sunday, July 10 · 8:30pm - 11:30pm

Alabama

Image via WikipediaDuring orientation week, fresh off the boat, I was saying hello to anyone and everyone. Finally it was the turn of this guy. He said, "Hi, I am Jeremiah, I am from Alabama, but I am nice."

I shook hands and played normal. But I was like, wow, what's up with this guy, he feels the need to announce he is nice. What's going on? He is kind of immodest, don't you think?

It took me about a year to realize as the shit called racism hit me full force just as I formally ascended to the most powerful student position on campus.

He had meant that although he was from Alabama he was not racist or anything like that.

Like William Faulkner said, the past is not over, it is not even past.

Jeremiah went on to become my Class President.

Subhash Chandra Bose
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With John Liu
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Southern Hospitality
At The Buspark
On A Bike