GMAT with CJ

One of my students, who was very happy with what she was learning, told me, "I want to help you 10x your existing revenues." I asked her, "how would that help?" She probably didn't expect this question. After a long pause, she said that it was about growth. We should grow beyond where we stand. I asked again, "And how would this growth help me?" Sensing that she didn't have an answer to this one, I told her that I couldn't pursue such a goal because I, too, didn't have an answer. How would 10x revenues help me? I'll spend a lot of time and energy achieving this goal, but how would achieving it help me? I have no answer. This goal is dead for me, with just a number at the end. It has no life. If I think of a goal of making 10x people happier or adding value to 10x people, the goal suddenly makes a lot of sense to me. I see life in this goal. If I impact 10x people, 10x revenues may happen. However, this is a side outcome, not my main goal. Life looks interesting because I have life-filled goals, not dead ones.

During their GMAT preparation, it’s not that people who fail to improve don’t analyze their mistakes. It’s that they analyze their mistakes not out of a sincere desire to learn but because they have heard that doing so leads to an improvement in score. They are not really interested in learning; they are only interested in the score. As a result, their learning process remains a travesty. As a result, they don’t learn. As a result, they don’t get their desired score. — Similarly, it’s not that people who fail to improve their lives don’t try to understand themselves. It’s that their attempts to understand their own selves are borne not out of a sincere desire to know themselves but out of a desire to improve their lives. They are not really interested in knowing themselves; they are only interested in a better emotional state. As a result, their attempts to know themselves are just pretence. As a result, they don’t get to know themselves. As a result, they don’t end up improving their lives. —— People are not interested in learning or in knowing themselves simply because they have not yet tasted what learning for learning’s sake is or what genuine attempts to know themselves are or yield. Once they taste it, their lives will change forever.

You're attached to specific outcomes because you believe your happiness depends on those outcomes. However, this belief could be wrong. It is possible to be happy right now, to fully accept how life shows up. It may seem that if you become happy right now, why would you do anything? However, 'doing' need not always originate from dissatisfaction with 'what is'. 'doing' may originate from a desire for even more goodness, for love for life, and for love for 'doing' itself. Life is not meant to be a struggle. It continues to be a struggle for many of us because we have accepted the thought that it is so. If we change the thought, we may open up a different reality. By changing our thoughts, we can change our lives. Not metaphorically. In reality. So says spirituality. And it has worked for me.

Everybody wants success in something, whether it’s in work, love, play, finances, family, or an inner struggle. But success doesn’t come instantly. Life has a process of rejecting you to test you and prepare you to win. Steve Harvey lived in his Ford Tempo and showered in gas stations when he couldn’t get enough comedy gigs to cover his rent. Halle Berry slept in a homeless shelter in New York when she was auditioning to become an actress. Even James Cameron, one of the richest directors in Hollywood, was reduced to living out of his car when he was trying to sell the screenplay for The Terminator. The list goes on and on. How you handle rejection is very similar to how you’ll handle success. If you’re strong enough to handle rejection without taking it personally, without holding a grudge, and without losing your passion and drive, then you’ll be strong enough to reap the rewards. But if you’re too weak to handle failure and disappointment, then you’re too weak to handle success, which will only end up damaging your life and happiness. - From the book 'I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons' by Kevin Hart

In some of my sessions, I ask my students to stop making the same errors so that they can make new errors and, thereby, learn newer things. I was thinking, and it hit me that this applies to life, too. We keep making the same errors again and again. Unless we stop making the old errors, how will we make the new ones and grow?

Juani Vallés’ words reflect exactly what I encourage every GMAT aspirant to do: slow down, focus on understanding, and let go of the urge to rush through preparation. In just one month, Juani’s score improved from 615 to 675—not because of rushing or overloading himself but because he embraced the mindset of mastering concepts patiently and intentionally. I often tell students: Patience doesn’t mean taking longer than necessary—it means not wasting time worrying or rushing through without clarity. When you approach your preparation calmly and focus on building real understanding, fast results are possible, as Juani’s story proves. Thank you, Juani, for trusting me and adopting this mindset. I’m proud of your progress and your willingness to learn beyond the test itself. If you’re on your GMAT journey and feel stuck or rushed, let’s connect. Together, we can work toward both efficiency and excellence. #GMAT #PatiencePays #TestPrep #GrowthMindset

As long as you are worried about what others think of you, you are owned by them. Only when you require no approval from outside yourself can you own yourself. - Neale Donald Walsch

✨ Revamped Content Page ✨ After years of working with GMAT aspirants, I'm happy to share that I’ve revamped my content page to make it easier for you to access everything in one place! 📚 50+ articles filled with insights, strategies, and tips to enhance your preparation. 🎥 50+ videos covering several things, from foundational concepts to advanced techniques for tackling the GMAT. Whether you're just starting your journey or are in the final stages of preparation, this collection is expected to have something for you. Check it out here: https://gmatwithcj.com/content/ https://gmatwithcj.com/content/

In a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Jim Marshall, a defensive player for the Minnesota Vikings, spotted the football on the ground. He scooped it up and ran for a touchdown as the crowd cheered. But he ran the wrong way. He scored for the wrong team and on national television. It was the most devastating moment of his life. The shame was over-powering, But during halftime, he thought, “If you make a mistake, you got to make it right. I realized I had a choice. I could sit in my misery or I could do something about it.” Pulling himself together for the second half, he played some of his best football ever and contributed to his team’s victory. Nor did he stop there. He spoke to groups. He answered letters that poured in from people who finally had the courage to admit their own shameful experiences. He heightened his concentration during games. Instead of letting the experience define him, he took control of it. He used it to become a better player and, he believes, a better person. - From the book ‘Mindset’ by Dr. Carol Dweck. The question we face is: Would we let our failures define us or use them as stepping stones to bigger successes?

“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don’t give up though the pace seems slow- You may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than, It seems to a faint and faltering man, Often the struggler has given up, When he might have captured the victor’s cup, And he learned too late when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out- The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit- It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit” ― John Greenleaf Whittier

Where does your sense of security lie? "If my sense of security lies in my reputation or in the things I have, my life will be in a constant state of threat and jeopardy that these possessions may be lost, stolen, or devalued. If I’m in the presence of someone of greater net worth or fame or status, I feel inferior. If I’m in the presence of someone of lesser net worth or fame or status, I feel superior." Stephen Covey says in his remarkable book '7 Habits of Highly Effective People'. *** You can choose to place your sense of security in your humanity; you are valuable just because you exist, not because you have achieved X, Y, or Z. In this view, you do not need to prove anything to anybody, including yourself. You may continue to strive and pursue your goals not to prove to anybody or yourself but for your joy. In this view, all striving is internally motivated, driven by a natural desire to become better and more beautiful than we already are. And in this view, everybody is equal to us, nobody greater or smaller than us.

For a long time, I have been hearing my self-talk. Lately, I have begun observing it. Now, I'm realizing that how I behave with others is how I behave with myself. The little irritations that prop up within me as others do things that I don't like also prop up when I do things that I don't think I should be doing. The way I feel eager to label others negatively is the same way I feel eager to label myself when I do things that my 'should' voice considers not optimal or ideal. Recently, I felt irritated with myself for having wasted some time. As I did so, my observing self, who saw the irritation, told me, "You're again getting irritated". Interestingly, the tone of the observing self was one of irritation. In a way, I was irritated with myself for being irritated. It was interesting to observe how deep this propensity to resist, judge, and thus be irritated runs. For a long time, I've wanted to improve how I behave with others to bring positivity to their lives. Now, I'm beginning to realize that I simultaneously need to work on how I behave with myself.

I was amazed as I recently noticed that the biggest key on any keyboard is the space key. Not a part of any word. But makes all the words possible. Is it the same with silence? Not a part of any thought, but without it, all we'll have is just mental diarrhoea. As we fill our lives with more and more noise and activity, perhaps we need to pay some attention to the space key. Relax! Let go! Just be in the moment!

𝗠𝗲𝗴𝗮-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝟲𝟳𝟬𝟬 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗠𝗔𝗧 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 The compilation contains: * 1300 CR questions * 290 RC Passages (~1200 questions) * 2000 Quant questions * 2200 DI (incl. DS) questions You can sort or filter the questions according to the question type and difficulty level. Here's the link: https://gmatwithcj.com/all-gmat-official-questions/ Please share it with your friends who are preparing for the GMAT! https://gmatwithcj.com/all-gmat-official-questions/

Assess. Don't judge. "I think my verbal is worst than all students who have or are taking GMAT. In spite of all my accolades in the past, GMAT has instilled a super worthless and self-pity feeling (sic)," a student of our classroom batch wrote in an email to us. I told him that this judgment of being worthless and feelings of self-pity are voluntary and unhelpful. What's needed is self-assessment - "Ok. I can't solve this easy problem. So, I need to start from the most fundamental things. Therefore, I may need much longer to ace the GMAT than others do." I told him, "While an assessment is needed and will help you plan your actions, judgment may keep you stuck in the past. " This morning, I reflected on my not-so-good response to yesterday's situation. My inner voice said, "that's who you are." Fortunately, I remembered my response to that student. I told my inner voice, "Judgment is not needed. I assess that I've faltered there. Let me think about what I can do to be a better person in the future."

Andy Grove, the famous former CEO of Intel, said: 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴; 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮; 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. I believe the same holds for us as individuals. If we find ourselves in a crisis, we can choose to: 1. let ourselves be defined by the negative situation we're in and thus let the crisis destroy us. 2. push through the crisis and thus survive the crisis through a lot of hard work 3. be gentle and compassionate with ourselves in the crisis and thus improve ourselves by building a better relationship with ourselves. What will you choose?

A few years back, I gave a talk at Hansraj College on CAT preparation. One of the things I talked about was treating studying not as pain but as a worthwhile activity. I also shared that I used to enjoy my studies while I was in school or college. After a few hours, I received an email from a girl who attended my talk. She said, "Everything else you said was fine. But how can somebody enjoy studies? We have to study to have a good career. It's not something we want to; it's something we have to." I was happy and intrigued. Intrigued because for this girl, "enjoying studies" was an idea she never thought existed; it was novel for her. Happy because I was able to provide her with a new perspective. Quite unfortunately, the way education is delivered and the way we ask our children to study (If you don't study, you'll not get a good job) continuously reinforce the idea in their minds that education is not intrinsically worthwhile; it's something to be pursued for the result it leads to: a job. By depriving our children of a better perspective, we not only take away from them the potential to enjoy learning but also push them towards mediocrity. Mediocrity since it's very difficult to excel at something you don't enjoy!

🎯 Special New Year Offer: Official Mock Exam Pack Now Available at a discounted price for Everyone! For the first time ever, we're extending our exclusive Official Mock Exam Pack beyond our student community. This is your chance to access high-quality practice materials at an attractive price! 🖥️ Product: Official Mock Exams 3 to 6 ⏳ Validity: 1 year from the date of purchase 📊 Regular Price (Official Website): ₹10,700 (inclusive of GST) 🎉 Our Special Offer: ₹7,500 (inclusive of GST) 💰 Your Savings: 30% off! The offer lasts till our stocks last :) https://gmatintensive.com/product/gmat-official-practice-exams-3-6/ https://gmatintensive.com/product/gmat-official-practice-exams-3-6/

May this year you stop arguing with your life! We often resist what is, fighting against our reality instead of accepting and working with it. — My wife wore a warm suit and a jacket over it. When she told me that she still felt cold, I said, “Simple. Wear a sweater under the jacket.” Not so simple. She said, “I am already wearing enough layers. I should not be feeling cold.”Me: “Are you going to argue with your body?” She had only two choices: Wear a sweater and feel comfortable. Or, don’t wear a sweater and continue to feel cold. Arguing with her body that it should not feel what it was feeling (cold) wouldn’t help. — "It keeps happening again and again," a GMAT student confided in me. He had been preparing for over a year, yet struggled with a peculiar challenge. While reading RC passages, a single sentence might remind him of an argument with his father. Before he knew it, ten minutes would pass as his mind wandered through memories of their altercation. "Why is my mind doing this?" he asked, frustrated. "I've worked so hard for so long. If I keep getting distracted like this, I'll never reach my target score." "Notice how you're questioning your mind's behavior," I responded. "Your 'why' isn't seeking to understand - it's an accusation. You're telling your mind it's wrong to do what it's doing." However, is that helpful? Likely not. That’s why you have been stuck for the last many months with this problem. Your mind is constantly going back to your arguments with your father because there are strong unresolved emotions associated with those arguments, and it’s nature of the mind to think those thoughts that attract the strongest emotions. Instead of resolving those strong emotions, you are arguing with your mind that it should think about those things. Doesn’t help. — Another GMAT student struggled with severe anxiety around quantitative problems. Her father had spent years ridiculing her mathematical abilities during her childhood. When a friend suggested therapy might help with her math phobia, she immediately resisted. "I can't need therapy just to prepare for a test," she argued. "I'm not that weak." For six months, she remained trapped in this cycle of anxiety and self-judgment. Only when she finally accepted her need for support and began therapy did she start making real progress in her GMAT preparation. Her arguing against her needs didn’t help her. — All these stories share a common thread: arguing with what is - whether it's physical discomfort, emotional patterns, or personal needs - only prolongs our struggle. Progress begins when we accept our reality and work with it rather than against it. So I'll say it again: May this year you stop arguing with your life!

"Sir, didn't you ever think of pursuing careers in Consulting or Investment Banking?" a student asked me at the end of a session. I told her that I didn't know what I wanted to do at the time of my MBA. Besides, companies in these domains wouldn't have taken me even if I wanted to pursue these careers. I was very shy and introverted and lacked the communication skills to get into these roles. People who think I'm around the top in my field start believing that I am brilliant in all ways and that I could have succeeded in any domain. That's not right at all. Given my narrow range of interests and skills, I can succeed in very few domains. I need to remember and acknowledge this to stay in touch with reality. Successes and failures both are transitory. My future joy may lie in a domain in which I may struggle in the short- or medium-term, and I know that being grounded in reality will help me immensely then.