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By:

Divyaa Advaani 

2 November 2024 at 3:28:38 am

Knowing Everything. Growing Nothing

There is a particular performance that most accomplished founders have been giving for so long they no longer recognise it as a performance at all. Every conversation is an opportunity to demonstrate expertise. Every room is a stage for what they already know. Questions feel like exposure. Admitting uncertainty feels like weakness. And so they perform knowledge confidently, fluently, convincingly even when genuine curiosity would serve them infinitely better. Even when the person across from...

Knowing Everything. Growing Nothing

There is a particular performance that most accomplished founders have been giving for so long they no longer recognise it as a performance at all. Every conversation is an opportunity to demonstrate expertise. Every room is a stage for what they already know. Questions feel like exposure. Admitting uncertainty feels like weakness. And so they perform knowledge confidently, fluently, convincingly even when genuine curiosity would serve them infinitely better. Even when the person across from them could teach them something that would change how they lead, how they decide, how they show up. The performance is exhausting for everyone in the room and quietly destroying the brand it was designed to protect. I know a senior professional multiple boards, businesses built and advised across decades who does something most people at his level would never do. When he reads something that teaches him, he says so. Publicly. Without the carefully managed caveat of "of course I already knew this." Just a clean, direct acknowledgement I learned something from this offered openly in a room full of peers, without any concern for what it might do to his image. The effect on everyone watching was immediate and unmistakable. His credibility did not shrink. It grew. Because the room understood instinctively what most founders take years to learn — a person secure enough to say "I am still learning" is someone who has never stopped growing. And people who have never stopped growing are always the most worth being in a room with. This is the single most underused brand signal available to any accomplished founder. Not the polished pitch. Not the curated profile. The willingness to not know. The confidence to say so openly, in a room where knowing is the primary currency of respect. Here is what the performance of expertise is actually costing you — and this is the part nobody says out loud. When you are only ever the expert, you stop being interesting. When you stop being interesting, people stop seeking you out. When people stop seeking you out, your brand begins to contract not dramatically, not visibly, but consistently until the rooms you are invited into start to reflect the ceiling you placed on yourself by deciding you had nothing left to learn. The most magnetic personal brands I have worked with belong to founders who are as genuinely curious as they are knowledgeable. They ask questions that reveal depth rather than assert it. They acknowledge learning without managing the optics of doing so. They make the people around them feel that their perspective is genuinely valued not processed and filed away. And because of that, those people become advocates and connectors in ways that no amount of performed credibility ever generates. Now the question that matters and answer it honestly. When did you last publicly acknowledge learning something from someone you did not expect to learn from? When did you last say in a room of your peers that you did not know something and were genuinely glad to now? If you are struggling to recall a recent example, that absence is not a neutral data point. It is a direct signal about the brand you have been building and the ceiling you have quietly and unknowingly placed on it. Intellectual humility is not softness. It is the most sophisticated brand signal a serious founder can send. It says — I am secure enough in who I am that I have no need to perform it. If that question sits uncomfortably with you, good. A Founder Brand Audit is a focused consultation call where we examine the gap between the brand you are currently projecting and the one that would genuinely serve your next level. This is the beginning of a specific investment in yourself. Five slots open each week. Book your call here: https://www.calendly.com/divyaaadvaani/founder-brand-audit Divyaa Advaani, Personal Branding Strategist (The writer is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

A beacon of hope for rural athletes

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

How Akash Shinde transformed from a shy village boy to a prominent kabaddi player

beacon of hope

Mumbai: In the heart of Nashik's Adgaon village, a young boy Akash Shinde dared to dream big. Little did he know that his journey from playing in the muddy grounds of his town to becoming a PKL winner would inspire a generation of aspiring athletes.


“Initially, when I used to play, I would come home with bruises because Kabaddi was played in the mud,” Akash recalls as he enters his fourth season with the Puneri Paltan. And despite his family's initial concerns, his passion for kabaddi burned bright, fuelled by the unwavering support of his early mentors Sagar Malwade and Vinod Labde.


His path to success was far from smooth. He faced numerous setbacks, failing to make the cut in his first attempts at various levels. “I fell short in my first attempts at all levels. I went for my senior camp for Maharashtra and fell short there too!”


But instead of letting these failures discourage him, Akash used them as stepping stones. “These setbacks kept me determined, and I knew I needed to try harder and with renewed energy to show the world what I could do and achieve.”


His breakthrough came in 2019 at a seniors’ trial in Nashik. This performance opened doors, leading him to play in the Junior Nationals and eventually catching the eye of Yuva Paltan, which is the Puneri Paltan’s academy.


The turning point in Akash’s career came when he represented his college in Beed, earning his first chance to play for Maharashtra. Under the guidance of Anil Jagdale and Kailas Jagdale, his skills flourished. His journey accelerated as he moved from Mahindra & Mahindra to Yuva Paltan, where mentors like Sangram and Ashok helped refine his game.


Akash’s PKL debut with Puneri Paltan in Season 8 was a moment of immense pride, not just for him but for his entire village. “No player from the Nashik region had made it to PKL or even the Maharashtra team, so it was a shock, a pleasant one, for everyone. The entire Nashik district was very happy. It felt really good,” he reminisces.


But it was in Season 9 that he truly announced his arrival, becoming a formidable force on the mat. In the 22 matches that Akash played on the way to his first PKL final, he scored 139 raid points, averaging 6.32 raid point per match.


His performances caught the eye of the national selectors, earning him a spot on the Indian team for the Asian Games. “I received my Team India kit on the 27th of October. I still remember it,” he says.


The crowning glory came in PKL Season 10 when Akash, along with his Puneri Paltan teammates, lifted the coveted trophy. Albeit playing a diminished role, he managed an impressive 56 raid points in the 13 matches he played. “There was only one target then... we had made up our minds that we had to win the title this season, whatever it took,” he shared, reflecting on the team’s collective determination. Now, Akash stands as a beacon of hope for young athletes from rural India. His message to them is clear: “Keep believing in yourselves and your dedication and efforts.” He emphasizes the importance of loyalty, urging young players to stay true to the clubs that nurture them.


As he prepares for PKL Season 11, his journey from the muddy grounds of Adgaon to the bright lights of Pro Kabaddi serves as a testament to the power of dreams, determination, and unwavering support.

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