Upbeat Interview with Raj Setty (part 1)

A few weeks back I gave away a few copies of Raj Setty’s latest book Upbeat. The response for this book was very strong. Folks really liked the ideas presented in the book, so much so that I asked Raj to do an interview with me to talk about the book and about his take an being an entrepreneur. Raj has a very interesting take on how to remain upbeat in these challenging times, and it is my pleasure to share a little more of him with you.

Phil: Upbeat is the perfect book for these crazy times. How long did it take you to write it and what gave you the inspiration for it?

Rajesh: Thank you Phil for the opportunity to have this conversation.

I had an opportunity to build my first startup during the previous recession. It was not easy. The easiest way to define what was happening then was that "nobody was buying anything from anyone and everybody was trying selling something to everyone." If we loved bad news, then we were in luck. There was bad news everyday – on the TV, in the newspapers, on the radio and there was generally some bad news shared during any interaction with anyone – online or offline.

We learned a lot during that period as the only way to have survived running a "bootstrapped" startup was to stay Upbeat. So I wrote most of it during that journey but by the time I completed the book, that recession was over. So I packed it up and and kept it aside.  I didn’t have to wait for long as there was a another recession very soon. I unpacked the book, updated it and got it published.

Phil: What’s your biggest tip for remaining upbeat?

Rajesh: Biggest tip: You have only so much time in your day. So please focus on things that will add capacity to you and others around you to contribute more. This means you will automatically avoid focusing on bad news, gossip and unnecessary "sympathy exchanges" as that will neither add capacity to you or people around you to contribute more.

Phil: Who are some of your attitude role models, and why?

Rajesh: Not trying to avoid the question but I really can’t do justice by listing only a few names. It is just not fair :)
I learn from a lot of people and I am fortunate to be surrounded by many of them.

Phil: Have you always been this upbeat?

Rajesh: I have my down days, yes but I don’t remember many of them. I have sort of selective memory – I end up remembering all the good things and automatically the things that bring me down fade away.

So, in summary I have chosen to be Upbeat. I don’t succeed all the time but mostly I win.

For more from Raj right now, you can download Beyond Code for free, or read his Beyond Code blog.

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow with Raj, where he talks about being an entrepreneur and how we can be more entrepreneurial in our lives as managers.

Photo of Raj courtesy of Karthik Sundaram at Purplepatch Services