The Best Addiction A Man Can Have

Principles Decide What to Do Systems Ensure You Do It. Have Anchors In Your Day.

Aug 17, 2025

Happy & Rich — it’s not a destination, it’s a pursuit. As a sales leader, founder, and investor, I share three useful ideas every Sunday from my journey.

This week:

Principles Decide What To Do. Systems Ensure You Do It.
The Best Addiction A Man Can Have
Have Anchors In Your Day

I am a part of Zero1 by Zerodha, a curated network of high quality storytellers that build what this generation needs and not what it needs to be sold. You can also find all past editions here. Also check out my Master of the Deal podcast and the M&A This Week newsletter.

Let’s dive in 👇

(1) Principles Decide What To Do. Systems Ensure You Do It.

I asked Mr. M, our VP of Product, how he manages his teams. I expected a checklist or software recommendation.

Instead, he said:

“I mostly manage with context and principles, not KPIs or policies.”

His principles are shaped by a few timeless books:

The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Ben Horowitz
High Output Management — Andy Grove
Good Strategy, Bad Strategy — Richard Rumelt
Transformed: Moving to the Product Operating Model — Marty Cagan
Continuous Discovery Habits: Discover Products that Create Customer Value and Business Value — Teresa Torres

But what stood out was his approach to decision-making. He doesn’t rely on dashboards. He relies on questions:

Is this feature really required?
Does it add real value, or do clients just think it does?
Can we charge for it? Will it turn a profit?
Can it extend to others, or is it a one-off?

Good questions → good answers. Experience and principles allow him to ask the right ones. And repetition is what makes them second nature. Charlie Munger once said: “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Reading once isn’t enough. You need to re-read, re-think, and re-apply until the principles become part of you.

One more thing struck me: to foster innovation, Mr. M tells his team not to benchmark against others. Start from scratch. Imagine your own solution. That’s where creativity lives.

On the business development side, my world looks different. I can’t only manage by principles. My team runs on KPIs and systems — 50 outreaches, 5 responses, 1 meeting a day. The law of large numbers works in our favor: inputs drive outputs. Without activity, there’s no pipeline. Without pipeline, there are no deals.

So what’s true for product is also true for sales — just inverted.

In product, principles protect you from building the wrong thing.
In sales, systems protect you from not doing enough of the right thing.

For a company to win, you need both.

Principles to make sure we’re solving the right problems.
Systems to make sure we’re consistently executing against them.

Clear thinking + consistent doing. That’s how you win.

(2) The Best Addiction A Man Can Have

Every man addicted to something
Some smoke
Some drink
Some chase girls
Some waste time

But real man—
He addicted to discipline

To early wakes
To prayer
To training
To silence

Discipline no need motivation
Discipline move without feeling
Discipline say “I go anyway"
Even when tired
Even when lonely

Discipline is best addiction

You want strong life?
Discipline build it

You want peace?
Discipline protect it

You want respect?
Discipline earn it

No shortcut
Only work

Be man with control
Not man with excuse
No cry
No blame

You want better life?
Start with better habits
Discipline everyday
Until discipline become you

I typed this out from this video of Khabib and loved it. Discipline my friends! Discipline! Rain or sunshine, good luck or back luck, good news or bad news — if you have discipline, you can be the rock which can weather all storms.

(3) Have Anchors In Your Day

No two days are the same. And if they are, you’re probably half-dead. That’s not my line — it’s Nassim Taleb’s.

I’ve noticed that even my “perfect” days can’t be replicated exactly. The same systems, the same routines, the same plan — yet the next day feels different. Energy changes. Sleep changes. The challenges in front of you change.

Taleb’s point is that unpredictability is life. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ground yourself with principles that make you feel happy, productive, and in control — even when the day isn’t.

Alex Hormozi says his mood is best when he lifts weights and eats with friends. So he schedules them daily. For me, it’s waking up early (bed by 11), avoiding my phone, grabbing coffee, and running or going to gym first thing in the morning.

Here are three other principles that make me feel like I’ve made progress:

Pen and paper: Writing slows my mind and sharpens my thinking.
30-minute timers: Keeps me honest about whether I’m doing focused work.
Dashboards: Helps me zoom out, then zoom in on what matters most.

You can’t control the day, but you can control your anchors.

👋 I’m Harsh. I build businesses and share useful ideas in pursuit of a happy and rich life — grounded in health, wealth, and relationships. Read by 7500+ every Sunday. If you’re curious about what I’m building, here’s where I spend most of my time: