Aashish, Author at Aashish Chopra

Two Cafes, Two Choices: What I Learned About Kindness on a recent trip…

You know those moments when a small interaction stays with you way longer than it should? I had two of those in Paris, and I can’t stop thinking about the difference between them.

Day one: Found this tiny sandwich shop. The owner was passionate, explained everything about his baguettes with such pride. Amazing food, clearly loved what he did. But when we said we didn’t want the meal deal – just the sandwich – he charged us for it anyway. We were tourists, didn’t catch it until later. It wasn’t about the money, really. It was about that choice he made. Here’s someone who takes such care with his craft, but then… that little moment of taking advantage. It just sat wrong with me all day.

Day two: Different cafe. Same pride in their work, same quality. We asked for extra milk in our coffee – they didn’t charge. Then brought us a free cake we never ordered. Just because. When the bill came, of course I tipped them well. More than that – I left them a glowing Google review. I became their brand ambassador without even thinking about it.

Walking away from that second cafe, it hit me: both owners need to make revenue. Both clearly care about their work. But one made a choice to take a little extra, and the other made a choice to give a little extra.

Guess which one I’m still talking about? Guess which one got the Google review, the recommendation to friends, the customer for life?

I keep coming back to this – where does it pay to be kind? Where does integrity actually matter? Maybe it’s not about the immediate transaction. Maybe it’s about something bigger. That second cafe owner probably has no idea that his small act of generosity created a ripple effect that’s still going.

The universe has a funny way of paying back kindness. In business, in life – those small choices we make when we think no one’s watching? They matter more than we think.

Sometimes being nice isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.

How a top salesperson at a company had a secret that changed how I think about goals forever..

My dad used to tell me a story about his friend who was legendary in sales.

While everyone else was scrambling to hit their quarterly targets, this guy was consistently crushing them by 200-300%.

His manager thought he was just naturally gifted.

His colleagues assumed he worked twice as many hours.

But the truth was simpler… (and powerful)

Whatever target his boss gave him, he quietly set his personal target at 3x that.

Here’s why this worked:

A 20 Lakh target makes you think: “How do I close more deals?”

A 60L target makes you think: “How do I completely change my approach?”

The difference isn’t just in effort — it’s in strategy, the way you look at the problem, perspective.

When you aim small, you optimize within constraints.

When you aim big, you break the constraints entirely.

You stop tweaking your existing process

You start building entirely new systems

You zoom out to see opportunities others miss

Chase the given target = constant struggle to “just make it”

Chase 3x the target = you innovate, deep dive your way to results that seemed impossible

This isn’t about working harder.

It’s about thinking from a fundamentally different altitude.

What would you do differently if your target was 3x bigger?

Don’t comment, take a note on your notepad, think.. imagine.. keep looking at it, tweaking it.. deep dive… like I did

What to do if you fear you’ll be replaced?

Being known in your field is the ONLY countermeasure against everything trying to replace you..

But here’s what most people get wrong about building that presence..

The whole personal branding circus creates this illusion of celebrity that takes you away from what actually matters – being of service.

Building a personal brand is NOT about you. Get over it.

It’s not about you, or your awards, or designation or how many people report to you or how powerful you are.

It’s about thought leadership. It’s about helping the younger version of yourself. It’s about sharing what you’ve learned so others don’t have to make the same mistakes.

What that does is create a shield around you – detaching you from designations, jobs, bosses. You become your own person.

Was talking to a friend who’s a senior CXO saying “I want to start but can’t find time.” Begin now with baby steps. In 2-3 years, you’ll see the impact. Start wherever you are.. write, record whatever… create! It’s like building an insurance.

Another close friend wanted to start a podcast for years, told him to commit to 100 episodes before even starting. Making one is easy, but consistency compounds. He’s now at 25 episodes and growing. Super proud of him because he’s truly sharing value, and he’s evolving into a thought leader in his own niche.

When you’re known for your thinking and not your title, more doors open, more opportunities flow, more people listen.

The alternative to being known for your thinking is being ignored when your designation disappears.

Start sharing what you know. Help someone who was where you were five years ago. The freedom that comes from that? Priceless.

When your designation disappears, so does the spotlight..

Recently met with a CMO friend who’s been thinking about building a stronger thought leadership..

In our conversation.. he was telling war stories from campaigns, leadership pressures, sharing his take on how marketing is evolving, and opening up about everything in between..

It was pure insight gold that any marketing professional would find invaluable.

But here’s what I’ve noticed – most CMOs and senior leaders spend so much time being busy leading teams that they forget to build their own voice.

Then one day, they suddenly no longer have a job, or they quit, or they burn out.

That’s when reality hits

The fancy marketing event invitations stop coming. People stop following them. Comments on their posts decrease. The world was after the designation, not the person or the thought leader.

If you invest time in building and sharing what you’ve learned, you become detached from the designation. You become known for your thinking, not just the company you work for. That’s real freedom.

How many other leaders and CXOs are sitting on their goldmine of insights, waiting for the “right time” to share their authentic stories?

from my experience, the one thing thought leadership does for you personally.. is kill job insecurity.. and drives you towards a more purpose driven freedom wali life :)