Nupur Nishant is an aspiring entrepreneur. He is currently studying MBA from the Delhi’s prestigious FMS (University of Delhi). Since childhood, he has always been proactive when it comes to writing. In fact, he won an award at each of the school competitions in which he participated in.

Currently, Nupur is busy with his academic life and writing a lot. You can see his writings on Quora where he discusses and engages in a lot of intellectual conversation with fellow Quorans.

We recently caught up with Nupur Nishant for this exclusive interview to understand his future plan and life during lockdowns. We are thankful to Nupur for spending a few time with us to share his thoughts on a wide range of topics.

Here are the interview excerpts!

Hi Nupur! Welcome to TheCheckerNews.Com. Please briefly explain about yourself.

Ans: I am a 21 years old man. I am currently a student at FMS, Delhi. My courses at IIT Ropar ended on 19th May, so technically I haven’t graduated yet. I love reading, and sometimes I write. I have a decent following on Quora, even though I will soon start writing on other platforms. I like reading, as I already said, but it is worth repeating. I don’t read just anything. I read almost exclusively non-fiction, because there are plenty of good stories or movies if I want a story. I love reading books about mathematics, biology, economics, history, philosophy(sometimes), and a very small number of self improvement books(because the vast majority of them are worthless).

I also like studying some subjects or topics purely for fun. I mean, I tell myself that this knowledge will be useful in future, but it is generally the fun that keeps me going.

I also love working out. I have worked very hard consistently for a long time to look good, and I love being fit. I try to eat exclusively healthy, unless my body is begging for sugar.

Other than that, I love audiobooks(I am a nerd ;)). I love anime too, and I read manga at times. There is some fiction that feeds your soul. That motivates you and gives you clarity. I love that for entertainment.

What Is Your Ambition in Life? Are you moving in that direction?

Ans: To become  an entrepreneur. Yes, I am moving in that direction. There is a lot of uncertainty as to how to get there. There are many ways. Some take you there fast, some slow. The path I am on, doing MBA and educating myself as much as possible on the side, should take me there. I am not certain of the whole path, I can only look a few steps ahead.

Once I take those steps, I can see a few steps ahead. I never know the full way, but that is okay. It is more fun this way.

What has kept you busy during the lockdown last year and this year?

Ans: Last year I was trying to build a website(failed), learn some artificial intelligence(Deep Learning), reading books(most notably, those by Yuval Noah Harari), and most importantly preparing for CAT 2020.

I was also working hard to build an attractive body, in which I have made decent progress.

This year, since I had cleared CAT with a decent score, I was waiting for B-school calls, and working out, and reading still(otherwise I felt like overthinking would make me insane). Now, since the gym has closed I go for runs, I am happy to say I have built some stamina. The rest of my time goes into reading, watching anime, audiobooks and relaxing, since MBA starts in a month.

Can you please elaborate about SMARTNESS CLUB on Quora? It reached around 1-Lakh members. What’s Your Reaction?

Ans: When I started the space, it was because I was sick of low-quality content on Quora – hook-up stories, memes and screenshots of tweets for answers, many absolutely useless answers crowding my feed. So, I started a space “for those who are on Quora to get smarter”. As I realized, many other people had the same problem as I did, the space grew and grew. I have tried to keep the quality of the space as high as possible. Only what is going to be worth your time to read is shared there. To me, that explains the success of the space. I am happy it reached so many members, but it was to be expected.

You can join SMARTNESS CLUB ON QUORA here.

Were you always passionate about writing since childhood?

Ans: I won a prize in all writing competitions in school that I participated in. I used to write stories of my own fantasies when I was 9 years old. They usually involved animals in some form or other. When I was 11, I wrote down the Ramayana from memory. I had read it in Hindi class the previous year and I did not want to forget it. I recently read it and I was impressed that my grammar was good for an 11 years old boy. 3 years ago, my roommate at IIT Ropar was boasting about getting 55 upvotes on his answer on Quora and how it was such a big deal. 3 months later, I got 2.7k upvotes on an answer and I realised, maybe I am good at this. That answer stayed collapsed for more than a year and has more than 17k upvotes now.

In school my friend used to joke that I wrote so fast in essay writing competitions that my pen would burn the paper.

How do you motivate yourself? What should one do when things don’t go as per his or her plan?

Ans: I motivate myself by invoking my pride. Every person should know what motivates them. I had to accept that what keeps me running is largely my pride and that I could not bear to look at myself in the mirror if I got scared and gave up.

For you, you need to be aware of what or who motivates you. What is something you value that you lose if you fail or give up?

When things do not go as per plan, improvise. Get up. No compromises with what you want. Change strategy. Maybe change your exact path. But still chase what you want. Life is a sisyphean game.  We will get knocked down, mathematically speaking. Doesn’t matter. Giving up = death, unless you’re rendered incapable of fighting.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Please explain

Ans: My MBTI type is an INTJ. I am absolutely an introvert. I have good social skills, I can talk to anyone. I can flirt with anyone. I like talking to some people, but not people in general.

My version of fun is sitting in my bed and watching some thriller anime with a bottle full of milk. I am not very fond of people, unless they “earn” it.

How can we accomplish success? Is there any shortcut to the same?

Ans: No shortcut, no fixed path. No fixed formula. Anyone giving you a success mantra is fooling you.  But there are 7 deadly wins discovered by psychologist Kevin Dutton. Develop these 7 qualities and you have a much better claim for success. They are  – FOCUS, CHARM, RUTHLESSNESS, FEARLESSNESS, MINDFULNESS, MENTAL TOUGHNESS and ACTION.

Who are your real-life role models and why?

Ans: Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. I don’t care what anyone says anything about them, I admire the hell out of them both. They are both men on a mission to change the world in a way they deem necessary, and I admire that a LOT.

Finally, can you recall some difficult moments that you have successfully overcome in your life?

Ans: I had a heart break right in the middle of my CAT preparation. It hurt but it was fun. Overcoming your weaknesses is genuinely a pleasurable experience. I was struggling with horrible self esteem from 11th standard to the first 2 years of college. I hated myself so much. I exaggerated my vices out of proportion  and diminished whatever was good in me.

How did I overcome it? I accepted my personality and decided not to become who I did not want to. I was forced to change by the conditions of the world I was not suited to. So, I decided to live as per my own rules, and it has been fun since. If anyone else is in the same state I was in those 4 years, I recommend reading Robert Greene’s The 50th Law. That book showed me the way.

[Thank you so much, Nupur, for this fantastic interview. We wish you all the best in your life and career.]