Schools NEVER teach us the secret systems that govern our lives!

What we are taught in school is not needed much in real life and what is needed every day in real life is not taught in schools. So what is it that you need to know in real life. Here is the secret.

Photo by Rubén Rodriguez on Unsplash

In 2002, right after my b-school, I was assigned the responsibility of setting up a dealer network for my company. Over eight months, I met 9000 dealers (in their place) and shortlisted about 800, the best of the best. Yet, the sales were abysmal. The blame landed on me.

I moved on to my next job at CRISIL where I found my answers in the macroeconomics report at CRISIL. Coming out of the 2001 crisis, the economic conditions were not conducive to what sales we had targeted. I was done in by laws of economics. I should have known better. My bosses should have known better. But they did not.

I realised that most people do not know what forces govern their lives unbeknownst to them. No one has told them. Schools, even b-schools, keep this a secret.

So here it is - what I have learnt.

There are three subjects we need to be conversant with. We need to know the basics and how to apply them in our daily lives. Those three are Economics, Politics and Religion.

We have Android or IOS on our phones and Windows or MacOS on our computers, and that determines what we can achieve with these devices. In the same manner, life seems governed by three operating systems, each controlling one aspect of life.

Economics is the operating system of the material world.

Our livelihood depends on economic realities. Most of us understand this intuitively. But we do not understand the real workings.

For instance, we do not heed the central banks raising rates. We do not heed trade barriers. We do not understand that some of these things have changed our employment prospects or sometimes enhanced them. We do not understand that we cannot expand our business using debt in the teeth of a credit crunch.

Economics helps us understand how to create and structure incentives to achieve our goals and outcomes. Economic organisations, i.e. firms and corporations, are based on economic incentives - salaries, pricing, contracts etc.

Politics is the operating system of group behaviour.

Politics rules the social world. It helps you understand the creation and operation of groups. It helps us organise to solve a problem. Political expertise helps us solve problems of policy, governance, evolution of laws and social environment.

Political organisations are based on social incentives. They develop a social goal and seek members to work together. Politics has the ability to hurt your personal and economic future stealthily. You suddenly find yourself an outcast, cancelled, banned, your accounts seized and your house and family watched without knowing what you did wrong.

Religion is the operating system of the personal domain.

Religion helps us achieve physical capacity, mental fortitude, emotional strength and confidence to stick with our duty in difficult times.

Most religions give us a moral code and values-based structure to help our personal growth. Some religions do not involve the physical aspect of personal development in the religious code.

As per Sanatan Dharma, the operating system of the personal domain is Yog. As per sage Patanjali, eight limbs of yoga cover different aspects of the personal domain, including physical, emotional and spiritual.

Schools should also teach this.

If we understand the basics of these three operating systems that govern our lives, we will be able to achieve our potential.

Our education system is geared towards teaching basic skills, technical skills and sometimes even advanced skills. Yet, it fails to teach these ESSENTIAL skills.

But learn you must, for each of these operating systems can really upend your life. Conversely, they can stabilize you and give you hope and clarity that is lacking today. Knowing Economics, Politics, and Religion may give you strength and happiness.

In Sum

We got to start somewhere. I heard Patrick Bet-David describe a method. Go to Amazon, type the subject and sort the most bought books. Buy the top 5 books and read them. That should get you started.

It is possible that I am ill-informed. Maybe they do teach it at schools. Maybe I missed it. Maybe I should have paid attention and learnt all this at my school, engineering school, business school or law school. But I was unaware of this reality. And I hope to awaken those, like me, who are yet unaware.

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