Any one who is trying to achieve anything in life must be obsessed about it.

• Tiger Woods, obsessed about winning.
• Imran Khan, obsessed about making Pakistan a great nation
• Marther Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, Passionate about equality for all
• Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, passionate about organizing the world’s information.

As a teenager I was obsessed with learning Photoshop, so I became amazingly good at it. Growing up, I had an obsession towards achieving more than people of my age did – So I did end up earning professionally, ran a few businesses, and advised PhD’s and entrepreneurs older than me. I was without exception the youngest senior member of any team. These days I am obsessed about becoming super rich, so one day Inshallah I will be one.

An year ago, I became obsessed with running, when I had stamina of a turtle. Now my stamina is of a rabbit.

3 months ago, I became obsessed with learning Rails fast. It was one of the most frustrating skill learning period of my life. But now I am good enough to find bugs and faults in senior programmers code.

Obsession is truly a prerequisite to any huge achievement. (Note: Winning a lottery is not an achievement). Think of any time of your life, when you achieved something. It could be big or small, but something that you really wanted. Chances are that you were obsessed about how you could find a way to achieve that goal.

Whether it be learning a new (programming) language, marketing a startup, learning how to become more productive, becoming more outgoing (Yup, its a challenge for introverts like me ). If you are committed and obsessed about achieving that goal, you will get there.

Most of us start with Zero. We do not know how to get the goal, we do not know who can help, but we know we want it. That’s always the start, and its an important step towards achievement – clarity and obsession towards what you want.

This post is a response to Techy Jeremy’s posts:
AppGratis Is Nothing More Than A Black Hat Marketing Company which recently got some traction on Hacker News.

Firstly Jeremy, Thank you for speaking up and expressing your deep concern that motivated you to write that post. This democratic speak-upness makes our society better and stronger. But I disagree with you.

I will respond to your points and tell you why they are incorrect.

You said: AppGratis is a Black Hat Marketing company
I say: They are the StumbleUpon/Digg of the AppStore 

You gave an example of how value-less link-building spams the Google Algorithm into ranking websites with spammy links higher. The companies that build those spammy links are not providing any value to the consumer, Google or to the entire internet ecosystem. Its a pure business of spam. Only website owners who have ill-intentions will hire those link-building farms.

In case of AppGratis, 12 million consumers are voluntarily downloaded the AppGratis App so they can get the value of app reviews from a source that was not available in the Apple AppStore. You see when people go out and get something and do not get rid of it, that means that they want it. Clearly there is a need for it. Maybe, just maybe AppGratis is not providing quality reviews, that is not for you and I to judge. It’s on the 12 million users to judge. AppGratis is not a dictatorship, its not a monopoly. People can leave them the millisecond they decide. Unfortunately people tend to be incapable of leaving Microsoft, Apple or Google, the millisecond they decide, because they truly have a monopoly in some of the markets.

You said: The existence of AppGratis affects the entire ecosystem of Apple App Store
I say: Yes it does, but in a self correcting way

Lets think of all the websites out there on the internet, and people start bookmarking website on StumbleUpon, Digg.com, Reddit etc. The website owners who buy ads on any of those sites to promote their website certainly get advantage of higher exposure, and rightfully so. They bought exposure and they are entitled to that. Yes the added exposure will affect the entire website ecosystem. There might be other websites out there which may be better than the advertised websites. But that’s how the world works. A less talented person will get the job if she sends her resume to 100 companies and a more talented person will never get a job if she never posts her resume.

You have to realize that the 12 million users are willingly using AppGratis to find apps, download new apps and write their personal reviews of the apps they like. If the users HATE the promoted app, it will get more bad reviews than good ones. So in a way AppGratis is magnifying and speedifying the purification of the Apple AppStore since more and more people will discover and rate apps in the Apple AppStore faster.

You Said: You pay AppGratis to promote your app.
I say: So what’s wrong with that?

You pay Google to put your add on top of the search results, you pay TVs to put your ads, you pay the lobbyist to convey your points to the Government officials, Red Bull pays you to have your car painted like a Red Bull can.

If AppGratis are writing false reviews and do not have editorial integrity, then I am 100% with you on having such unethical behavior banned.

You said: Your app skyrockets to the top of App Store’s charts. (When AppGratis promotes your app)
I say: That’s Apple’s Algorithm problem not AppGratis problem 

Its like Google banning Twitter or Digg or StumbleUpon for having sponsored tweets/posts because websites mentioned there get too many backlinks and popularity.

I am not a pro at Apple AppStore rankings but I am an SEO pro. I know that the search engines have openly said what are good ranking factors and what are not. Its a very open and mature space at this point. Apple AppStore ranking factors are still a closed door arena. The only factors I know that matter in Apple AppStore search are the search keywords matching with the App name and its description. What makes an app get featured in the Apple AppStore is still a blackbox. If Apple AppStore algorithm is taking into consideration AppGratis reviews, that’s a bad algorithm. (Its like Google taking into account Stumbles heavily in their ranking algorithm)

If AppStore is taking the following factors into consideration, its a good idea

1. How fast, how many and what quality reviews are apps getting since its launch

Now the only power AppGratis has is to expedite the promotion of an app. The quality of review posted is strictly an opinion of a user, hence AppGratis is just a promoter and not a blackhat one.

You Said: They(AppGratis) promote your app inside their own app.

I say: So what’s bad about it?

Apple recently changed their policy to have no app promote apps inside their app. Apps can only promote their own apps.

I don’t have much to say here, I see Apple’s point here.

Conclusion

I do not user AppGratis, I do not own an iPhone anymore, and I am not against or for the removal of AppGratis from the Apple AppStore. What I am saying is that we need more and more companies that innovate and take the power away from the few and give it to the many. Despite its imperfections, democracy(power to the many, not a few) is the best way to sustain and grow any ecosystem. AppGratis is one of those players who did its role in de-monopolizing the Apple AppStore and I support the rebels who make our ecosystems innovative and progressive.

• A players hire A player
• B players hire C players
• and C Players kill the company

Oh hawk! Don’t be scared of these gusts of wind that hit you, they are meant to make you fly higher – Alama Iqbal (Urdu poet)

Obstacles are not there to stop you, they are there to see how bad you want it – Randy Pausch

Your talent is going to fail you if you are not skilled.
And skill is developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft

- Will Smith

If knowledge is power, Prophet Mohammad is the most powerful person in human history

Why did they all use the term Steal, Stealing means someone lost and the thief won. It means the good lost and the bad won

Inspiration is a better word. Because Inspiration means that my source of inspiration is continuing to do its part and my creation does its part in its own unique way. Nobody lost, and everyone won.

All the big dogs who meant it well, but they used the wrong word.

Quotes

Art is theft – Pablo Picaso

I am more like a tasteful thief – David Bowie

I am a shameless theif – Woodie Alan

You steal little, they throw you in jail, You steal alot they make you a king.

If you are going to steal, steal from the best - 

Good artist Borrow, Great Artist Steal – Pablo Picaso

We are shameless about stealing great ideas – Steve Jobs

We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us, because you can’t steal. You will take what we give you and you will put it in your own voice and that’s how you will find your voice. And that’s how you begin. And then one day someone will steal from you. - Francis Ford Coppola

P.S. Steal Like an Artist – Nothing is totally original (video)
http://uxweek.com/2012/speakers/austin-kleon/#video

“Generosity Keeps the Engine Running” - Austin Kleon

The world goes round because good things keep happening, there are artist, leaders, change agents who do good, give the gifts in the form of money, time, advice, and support just from the goodness of their heart. Just to give. Some people might say that those altruist people want fame in return, they might be right, but only in some cases. For the majority, they do it for the peace their heart receives.

Comfort zones make us mediocre, living in it is like a downward spiral because our mind is so used to it, we run on autopilot. It needs deliberate and concious effort to get out of it, and when you do, do not go way to far. Just go a little further our, get familiar with the zone and start expanding the circle.

Plan to the very end, and feel as if you are there right now. If that feeling does not excite you, then your end goal is not worthy for pursuit.