Reflections on my 206-Mile Journey: Lessons in Excellence
Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a 206-mile road ride from Seattle to Portland with my great friend, Rajkumar Balasubramanian. As first-timers in this event, we were filled with excitement, anxiety, and self-doubt. However, we successfully completed the ride in under 13 hours, and it turned out to be a fantastic day. Though 4 weeks have passed since the ride, I still feel immense satisfaction, self-belief, and gratitude. The memories of preparation, planning, and execution continue to play on a loop in my mind. Reflecting on this experience, I realized the parallels between the challenges I face in both work and life. This journey has inspired me to distill some key traits that contribute to excellence, which I now share as a "run book" for success. What Is Excellence? To me, excellence is about identifying a meaningful problem, acquiring and applying the necessary skills to arrive at an optimal solution, executing with maximum effort, seeking feedback, and r