Most of the people you meet will tell you ‘rights and wrongs’ of the world. Not of ‘the’ world but of the world as they know it to be.
And Most of it is crap because how they see life is not how you see life. Most of it is their frustrations and opinion that will never come in agreement with yours. Don’t pay attention.
But there are special kind of people – let’s call them ‘Bar Raisers’ because they raise the bar. Every time you ship something, they raise the bar. They inspire you to do better. They make you want to do it better.
How? There are many ways – most of the times they will do it better. At other times, they will show you a better way. Introduce you to a new way. And so on. There is something about them that makes you expect more from you.
Don’t get me wrong; I am not talking about the people who compete with you to make you look less important. I am talking about people who know you can be better – who know you to be better. And they don’t make you feel less – they make you feel more worthy.
How do you tell crap from Bar Raisers?
Crap:
- Oppose you and your beliefs.
- More interested in argument than discussions.
- Just have to say something.
- They rarely ship anything on their own.
- They don’t expect anything from you, they are just saying because that’s what they do – throw their shit around.
Bar Raisers:
- Don’t challenge your belief – at least not in words (worst way to do that). If they need to challenge them – they will make you ask.
- They talk and discuss – give you reasoning and are eager.
- Have something to say – often you will ask them for advice.
- They ship – that’s how they show you the better way.
- They expect you to do better. You can feel it. They don’t need to tell you.
When you ship:
Crap-ers will eat your head. They will hate you for it.
Bar raisers will… raise the bar. So you jump higher. That’s whom you want to be friends with. These are the people who want to hang out with.
I’ve been meeting so many bar-raisers lately. For me: Utkarsh & Aditya are bar raiser when it comes to programming. Hardik is a bar raiser when it comes to writing and learning. Nandini is a bar raiser when it comes to being-yourself. Alex is a bar raiser when it comes to design.
There are communities full of bar raisers. Go seek them. You will not see a bar raiser wearing a tag on their fore-head; but you will feel when they are around.
And yes, most of the bar raisers are hackers. (Hackers as in those who raise the bar, not the crackers – who crack a code or something).
Don’t worry, next time you meet one you will know – they will raise the bar.
I shared my bar raisers with you, who raises the bar for you?
Photo by SD Dirk
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{ 23 comments }
I like the way you have differentiated “Bar raisers” as you call them, from others!
Respect to the Bar Raisers of your life.
You are one too ;) Not enough space to mention all of them you see.
That was bloody right! I would further add
*Crapers are those who argue and show off their gyaan, bar raisers are the one who care to use your service and ask to get it improved
*Crapers give gyan and go invisible. Bar raisers follow up.
*And most important… Crappers question.. Bar raisers cross-question
Thats from me :) And for me Bar – raisers are teenpreneurs :P these small rats who are always out to do much bigger than what they are supposed to . .. I feel jealous and yes inspired too….
Cheers!
Thanks for the comment man!
Nice additions! They do go invisible. :P
Oh nice! Cool innit? The leading edge doing the bar raising for you. I am glad we poke you with a stick till you feel compelled to move about ;)
nice note dude, differentiated really well between bar-raisers and crapsters , and nice points added up by himanshu..
Thanks for reading dude.
So I have gotta vote too :P
Yes dear bar-raiser. You’ve got my vote too.
i’d like to believe that even the ‘crappers’ are on their own journey. they may be a bit slower than the others but they’ll get there soon. its how we INTERACT and not REACT to them, that’ll make us bar raisers too. suspending judgement would be the term here.
Everything in the process of becoming, so yeah!
Hi Sid,
I aim to surround myself only with bar raisers.
As my definite major purpose becomes more clear I naturally attract folks who will help my goal to manifest and most of these people are bar raisers.
It’s cool too how you note that bar raisers rarely argue/fight. They are FOR harmony and whatever it is they are working toward while the crap crowd is AGAINST since they aren’t clear on their definite major purpose.
Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
Hey Ryan!
Great to see you here. And it’s awesome how you surround yourself with bar raisers!!
It surely does. I am so glad that you got the spirit of the article! Thanks for all the praise.
Hope to see you here more often.
I think its wonderful the way you have subtly tried to make the point that not all people are good, but then not all people are bad, and one does meet people who are absolutely wonderful, who inspire a new line of thought, a new perspective in a person.
I love the point about where you say that bar raisers are the people who will reason with you because reason is the only abstraction the mind cannot ignore so easily.
Having said that, there are some people who try to inspire you by getting on your wrong side. So one must always take the best out of each experience. :)
Couldn’t have said it better than you! Awesome – make the best of both.
Thanks for comment Sirtaj! Hope to see you here more often!
Wow! This was awesome. There are many bar raisers for me too. One of them being you! :) And some others in various fields.
Thanks for sharing man!
Sure dude!
Glad I raise the bar ;)
Keep hustling.
Most people are crapers though :P anyway the difference is brilliantly brought out. Great, precise,concise writing as always Sid :)
Thanks KK. And pin pointed comment, as usual. :)
Keep rocking!
Nice Post. Definitely makes sense to me. I am surrounded by bar-raisers at L-pad..
So am I ;)
My boss in work raises the bar for me. She’s not really a ‘boss’. but more of an excellent ‘leader’.
She sets me tasks. Shows me the best way to do the task if I’m unsure (more often than not I’ll have to ask though).
Every time I complete a task, or feel I’ve done a good job, she ‘raises the bar’ and sets new goals / harder goals.
I’ve learnt a LOT about my job in just the past 6 months (I’m in food retail), purely because of her leadership. And I’ve learnt a lot about how to lead and motivate teams of staff too.
I love working with her because every time I mess up, she doesn’t jump down my neck. She explains where I go wrong. The reasons I’ve gone wrong (if I’m unsure why I messed up). Then she gives me harsh, but very constructive criticism on how to either correct my mistakes, or do a much better and more efficient job next time.
She raises the bar for me every time I complete something, and is always pushing me. Sometimes even beyond what I thought I was capable of. I guess that’s ‘raising the bar’.
Excellent post. Thanks King.
Ben @ The Dried Herbs Co.
Thanks for sharing the interesting story, Ben. She surely is a bar-raiser & you just raised the bar for people who think boss is evil.
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