Reboot Podcast Episode #124 – A Map Is a Poor Substitute of a Life Lived – with Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan

The Reboot podcast showcases the heart and soul, the wins and losses, the ups and downs of startup leadership. On the show, Entrepreneurs, CEO’s, and Startup Leaders discuss with Jerry Colonna the emotional and psychological challenges they face daily as leaders.

Episode 124 // May 15,2020

Guests

Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan (Rajan)

Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan (Rajan)

Entrepreneur, Product Leader, & M&A Strategist

View Bio

Episode Description

As leaders, necessity requires that we spend ample time designing for the future and building safety nets for the unknown, but what happens when life throws the unexpected our way and our best-laid plans are torn asunder? In times of turbulence, it’s not uncommon to feel suspended in space. To combat the unease of unknowing we search desperately for a map that might provide guidance in our path forward. In looking to the external, we often lose sight of the compass rose that lives deep within our being and the truth at our core. 

In this episode of the Reboot Podcast, you’ll meet Thiyagarajan (Rajan) Maruthavanan, Partner at Upekkha, an Indian SaaS Accelerator. With all the uncertainty that has emerged in the face of the novel Coronavirus, Rajan comes to Jerry holding questions around the future of the business and how best to support the founders who are struggling. What follows is a thoughtful conversation about the power of radical self-inquiry, the undeniable truths that emerge when we align with our hearts center, and how those values ultimately provide clarity around purpose in unpredictable times.

Rajan Maruthavanan on TwitterShip of Theseus | Reboot’s VC Bootcamp


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Show Highlights

“We spend an enormous amount of time plotting and planning and then life happens.” – Jerry Colonna

“Initially, my North star was, I wanna work with a few set of founders versus now which is that now do I become a player or should I continue to be a coach?” – Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan

“A map is a poor substitute for a life lived.” – Jerry Colonna

“Who are you? What do you believe to be true about the world? What kind of a leader are you? What kind of man are you? What are your values? How would you like the world to be? See, the answers to those questions will point you to your own core.” – Jerry Colonna

“How do I distinguish between map and the unchanging core?” – Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan

“Every single plank on Theseus’ ship has changed. But the core purpose of the ship, which is to travel the wide seas remains the same.” – Jerry Colonna

“I always found it joyful to do projects which are beyond myself.” – Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan

“I’ve come to appreciate the value of grief. And we can grieve the loss of plans, the loss of dreams, the loss of wishes. And it’s important to go through that grieving process in order to create space for the reinforcement of that which we know to be true.” – Jerry Colonna

“One of the things that I know to be true is that we need each other deeply and powerfully.” – Jerry Colonna

“When the world is falling apart what is absolutely more true than ever before is that we need each other.” – Jerry Colonna

“Our task is, is to hold ourselves in this sort of center space where we believe in the future as we anticipate it to be, but we hold that belief lightly. But what we hold tightly are our values. The why do we do things, the why of who we are.” – Jerry Colonna

“Am I allocating my time in the right way to all the people that are important in my life, which includes my son, my family.” – Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan

“If we want our children as adults to live in a particular way, then the calling to us is to be that way ourselves.” – Jerry Colonna

“You’re creating space to forgive yourself and creating space to begin again. I failed, tomorrow I begin again and again and again and again. I am worthy regardless of whether or not I fail today, and that my goal is to try again tomorrow.” – Jerry Colonna