The Most Important Thing I've Ever Made
People glorify consumption.
Buying expensive things, wearing luxury brands, flexing lifestyle - these have become our modern-day signals of success. It’s how many demonstrate that they’ve “made it”.
But here’s the question:
“What did you make?”
This idea – consumption versus production – has been on my mind all week.
We all consume. We consume food and water to survive. We consume energy to stay warm, transport to travel, content to escape. We scroll, binge, snack, watch.
But on the other side of every act of consumption, there’s someone who produced what we’re consuming. Someone cooked the meal. Someone wrote the script. Someone recorded the podcast. Someone built the plane.
Over a lifetime, if you produce more than you consume, you are a net contributor to the world. If you consume more than you produce, you’re a net taker.
Neither is inherently wrong. One just creates more meaning. It is so much more fun being on the production side of life because that’s where learning, mastery and pride resides.
And speaking on producing…
Last week, I produced the most important thing I’ve ever made. A lifelong project I’m calling: Project Ziva. I hope to raise her to be a net producer in the world, someone who contributes more than she consumes.
See you next Sunday.
👋 I’m Harsh. I collect useful ideas to win in business and life.
Here’s where I spend most of my time:
iDeals Virtual Data Rooms – building a $1B business by helping dealmakers close deals faster
M&A Community – uncovering personal stories and strategies of M&A, private equity, and investment banking leaders
Happy Ratio – growing a food company the hard way: profit-first, purpose-led
Marcellus Investment Managers – evangelizing long-term investing to build financial independence
Harsh Batra
(LinkedIn)