Category: Mundane Updates

Hello April / Monthly Review – Feb and Mar 2020

Hi!

This is my bi-monthly (used to be once a month, but from now on, once in two months) report on what I am up to.

Before anything else, I must say, the past few days will have to be among the MOST incredible days that I have ever seen. The entire world has come to a literal stop and everyone is suffering. You know, makes me feel lucky that I have had any major incidents, accidents or anything negative like that. The closest that I came to harm is 26/11 when I was still far away in Vashi playing pool with a few friends and terrorists were pummeling parts of South Mumbai. And when I compare myself to others that have been caught in Mumbai floods, communal riots (in Mumbai in the past and now more recently in Delhi), wild accidents and all that, I think I am really really lucky! Though this one may bring me to my knees. Let’s see. 

This year has been wretched, to say the least. I think this tweet from a GMMR fan account will sum this up…

2020 was directed by me.

— George RR Martin (@GRRM) March 18, 2020

I just hope you and your loved ones are safe, cared for and in comfort. If you can read this, you are among the privileged few that have access to a house, an internet connection and most importantly, the ability to read and comprehend what I am writing.

So, coming to the review for Feb and Mar and the plan for Apr and May (lol :)). To jog your memory, when I do a review, I track progress compared to my yearly goals, life plan and goals. And for the record, three large goals for 2020 are Book 2, a sub-5-hours marathon, a topline of 50 crores. 

Here’s the recap for Feb and Mar 2020.
I have sections for fails, wins, inbetweens, lessons, plan for Feb 2020 and a question.

#fails 

  1. Did a lot of things that did help me make some connections. But none of them were going to contribute to the large goals I have. So the lessons is, I need to pick my battles well!
  2. Did nothing on the sub-5 marathon goal. I did go for long walks but that’s that. With every passing month, I am realizing that I may have to drop the health goals altogether! 
  3. I was to write 25K words on #book2, had to train to be able to climb 100 flights and had to fix the C4E website. Did none of those 🙁

#wins

  1. Attended a concert by AR Rahman. While it does not serve any professional goals per se, on a personal level, it is a dream come true to have seen him live. Plus now that I have seen the setup of his concert, it is on my wishlist to do something like that. Assuming I remain in the events business after this COVID-19. 
  2. Along with AD, I published an article on one of the most respected business magazines (it was on my todo list since 2018). Read it at podm.in/ivm.
  3. Again, along with AD, I am making progress on my first podcast. And the article I talk about above, gave me the thrust required to get the podcast ready. We call it The Founder Thesis and the first few episodes are ready! If not for COVID-19, we would’ve released those by mid-April. In case you wish to listen to those, please lemme know and I will share. 
  4. My #aPicADay has reached 95+ days! Longest I have kept up with something! 

#inBetweens (these are neither wins / nor losses)

  1. I had a little more time this time than other times. And thus I attended a few open mics, at-home concerts, live shows and so on and so forth. I was enamored by the struggle that these performing artists put in. I wish I could do something about those. Any ideas?
  2. saurabhgarg.com has finally taken shape. Phew! I pestered a friend into teaching me the basics of Elementor and I hacked together a page. A page. Not a website. But after trying with multiple tech-teams and failing at it, I can finally send people to a website! 
#miscNotes / What did I learn this month?
I will also include things that the lockdown has taught me (though I would write a longer post would happen at some point in time).
  1. The most important thing has to be the lessons in deliberate practice. Lemme call it Riyaz. I wrote about it in detail here.
  2. Since we’ve gone in lockdown, I have started a few online courses (the ones that I never had the time for). This one, about learning how to learn stands out. Please consider doing it if you have the time. 
  3. I learned that while I am ok to cook and clean and all that, it ends up wasting a LOT of time. Like 5 hours a day. And then it drains you out of the energy – physical, mental and emotional. I did these for a few days and then found a restaurant that at a steep price is willing to deliver meals to me. So that’s cool. 
  4. I actually like this lockdown. I haven’t been able to step out since this happened but because I am on my own, I am pretty much a master of my time. I would love to maintain this life where I control my time. 
#inApr20
What do I plan to do in April?
I am not sure if we would get out of the lockdown and a lot depends on that.

My key work area is events and if lockdown extends another month, the events business is almost as good as gone. And that means I would be jobless and will have to think of an alternate career. And at a time when everything around me would be bad – slow economy, joblessness, too many talented people around that are vying for the same jobs. So, I am not sure how things would play. What do you think? 

But what I can do is, control things that I can control. Things like #book2! And the 25K words that I have planned since I was like a kid in diapers! Yeah, on it. 

***
So, that’s about it for the update. As always, thank you for your time and attention.

Over and out! 
09 04 2020

FEEDBACK. Should you want to give me anonymous feedback on this email or anything else under the sun, please use this form – https://forms.gle/28bVP8DYz2WGdHdp8. And yes I do get not-so-kind inputs. Brutal and honest feedback is the best feedback.

PREVIOUS UPDATES are here…
2019 – Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2020 – Annual Goals, Jan, Feb-Mar (this post)
Thank you for your patience. It is not an easy task to survive these long emails! 
Lemme end this with the best photo that I clicked in the last two months

Hello February / Monthly Review – Jan 2020

February of 2020 is here! Time does fly!

This is how I spent Jan 2020. I know you may not be interested, but I like the idea of keeping the universe accountable. Plus, the review would tell me if what I did in the month is helping me reach my yearly goals (and eventually, life plan and goals). For the record, three large goals for 2020 are Book 2, a sub-5 marathon, a topline of 50 crores. 





Here’s the recap for Jan 2020.
I have sections for fails, wins, inbetweens, lessons, plan for Feb 2020 and a question.

#fails 

  1. We did not do a single meetup for the Mastermind group. I plan to fix it by pushing the existing group and creating a new mastermind group. Also, I need to think that if these keep failing (this was my third attempt), then may be I am doing something wrong? 
  2. Lost a VERY big deal that could have catapulted me in the next league. I did everything I could (saam, daam, dand, bhed and more) and yet I did not get the project. But thanks to this, I have started to maintain a list of failures (that I will look at every time I feel great). 
  3. I could not follow a schedule that I would like to. I was traveling a lot more than what I typically do for a speculative assignment that I have taken. The assignment propels my brand forward and thus is an important one. I thought about it and I realized that I am unable to manage time because I don’t have a place to work out of. 
  4. Did nothing (apart from a trek) to further the sub-5 marathon goal. 

#wins

  1. Went on a trek to Mahuli Fort. This is the first trek that I have done in years and it was tough! but I am glad I made it to the top. And more importantly, I came back! Thanks, SK for this. 
  2. Got myself a place to work out of (at a co-working space). With this, I’ve fixed #Jan20F2. Plus the place is like 500 meters from where I live and is open 24×7. I will now get into a schedule of sorts. And as I expand things, I plan to work out of this place irrespective of work, ideas, people. Unless I take up a different gig! 
  3. Launched Podium sometime in the last year (with AD) but it has started to sputter to life. The first thing that we do under that is a weekly newsletter (PLEASE SUBSCRIBE). We’ve sent three editions and response has been encouraging. Need to scale it in Feb. 
  4. I have reached 35 days on my #aPicADay challenge.
  5. I successfully implemented an indexing system for notes, thanks to DB. I am now trying to implement a color-coded life tracker (thanks, Visa). There’s this joke that my friends make – I spend more time tracking things than actually doing those! 

#inBetweens (these are neither wins / nor losses)

  1. I got invited to pitch to a project that I could’ve taken on, put on the slow burner and made some trickles once in a while. But I chose to charge a large sum for it upfront and then, nothing happened! Which is ok. I want to be paid worth my time. 
  2. I need to control my obsession with tabs on a browser window. I have like 100 tabs open at any given point in time. And the worse thing is that I don’t even know what to do with those tabs – after all, its inhuman to pay attention for that long! 
#miscNotes / What did I learn this month? 
I think I got lucky in Jan. I have three tailwinds that have helped me do better than most months…

a, I moved to a place that is a little more accessible for inter-city travel. I can now meet people in a reasonable time. Where I lived before this, I had to travel for 3 hours to even get a meeting. As a result, I was letting go of a lot of opportunities. And I was wasting time, money and energy with it.
Lesson? Always live at a hub. Even though it’s expensive and all that, the money is worth it. 
b, I got to partner with AD on Podium. The great part of working with him is that he is very numbers, insights kind of person (and I am very intuition kinds). So I am learning the other side of things. Plus he is meticulous (faaaaaaar more than me) and of course, focussed (even a Goldfish is more focussed than me). So that is helping! Plus now that I am accountable to him, I am putting in the extra effort to get things done.
The lesson here is that I work better when I have partners that push me! Need to find similar people as I go along. 
c. Within the Podium umbrella, AD and I are trying to write a journalistic piece on podcasting. And that is allowing me to meet a lot of people at the leadership levels. And that’s awesome! I need to make a process that allows me to write more pieces and thus meet more people. In fact, the thesis that I had when I started PPP and TRS is getting validated with The Podium.
Lesson? Create / own / work / whatever with a media brand! And if possible, invest more on such “media” platforms! 

#inFeb
Here are the things that I will get done in Feb 2020. Again, these need to be in sync with the yearly goals.

  • Write 25K words on book2
  • Start climbing stairs. Do 100 flights a day
  • Fix the C4E website 
Apart from these three, I will continue to try and be better every day. I will try and continue to upload a pic every day, deep dive into the Messy Middle and try to eat better. 
What am I thinking about? Alert: Rant Ahead!!!
So, apart from this regular mundane work thing, I am struggling with this idea of impact. I wrote about it initially here.

…the thing that keeps me up is that C4E and all the allied things I do are merely taking things from 1 to 1.3 or something. I am not doing anything in the 0 to 1 space. Or even 1 to 100. I am not adding any tangible, real value to the world. I am not making any dents. All I am doing is doing a different take on what others have done before me. If I were to disappear tomorrow, not one person would miss what I do. Imagine if Apple were to disappear, would you miss what they do? That! I want to do what people at Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and other such places are doing. They create new things. They create a 1 from 0. They make that ding in the universe.

So, the deal is, I run C4E – an events and marketing consulting business. Now, like I said, anyone in the world can create this business. There is not one thing that I do that is irreplaceable. No, I don’t chase immortality (though I would love to not die, ever) but I do want to do meaningful work. Work and things and output that gives happiness, validation, comfort, peace, inspiration, platforms and other such things to a billion people. And more, if possible. And I have no clue how to go about doing that. What I do gives a handful of the above-mentioned things to a handful of people. And that is not enough. I believe I have what it takes to deliver all of that. But I don’t have the platform! Neither do I know how to build such a platform. And worse, while what I do is interesting, it may not lead me to that goal. There is no large mission that I am a part of. And I do not know how to get there. The world needs to be the oyster and yet, today, I am limited to like Veera Desai road! 

I often wonder about Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and Paul Graham and Sam Altman and Adam Grant and Aswath Damodaran and all that. When did they realize that they have what it takes to inspire generations and generations? When did their work move from operational to the inspirational zone? How did the transition happen? What ticked them in the direction? How did they learn so much that they could make things happen at their businesses AND do more things at the same time? Who helped them? How do they work? Do I have it in me to become like them? And if not, do I quit the hopes of helping others and get settled in a comfortable 9 to 5? At least I can enjoy the riches that the world has to offer! 
And finally, am I the only one that grapples with this challenge? Because I see people around me very happy with what they are wading in! 
Would you have answers? 
Sigh! 

Rant Over! 
***
So, that’s about it for the update. Do let me know if you want me to look at anything else. 
Over and out. 
4 Feb 2020

FEEDBACK. Should you want to give me anonymous feedback on this email or anything else under the sun, please use this form – https://forms.gle/28bVP8DYz2WGdHdp8. And yes I do get not-so-kind inputs. Brutal and honest feedback is the best feedback.
Wish to UNSUBSCRIBE? I understand that you may not want me to clog your mailbox. So, should you want me to stop sending this once-a-month email, please do tell me. I promise to not get offended.
PREVIOUS UPDATES are here…
2019 – Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

PS: To track these (like I said, I track more and do less), I use the following tools…

  • I follow the Maker Day – Manager Day philosophy.
  • I use tags extensively and I tag everything – mails, tweets, notes even when I write with a pencil. And I ensure that the names and styles are consistent. Sometime in the future, this would become a really big differentiator. Information archiving is easy. Retrieval is a pain. 
  • Asana – I use the free version. To track tasks etc. 
  • Google Calendar to schedule meetings etc. 
  • Toggl – this is a paid app but I use the free version to track time on Manager days
  • A 15-min interval calendar – template here. I take a print of this on my Maker days and list all tasks. And then I track every 15 min. The idea is to reach a point when I can start tracking 1-hour long slots. 
  • A combination of Evernote, Miro, Notes app on Mac, a physical notepad, post-it notes, numerous spreadsheets and don’t know what all. With time I want to move to just one online tool and one notepad. I don’t know the optimal solution. But let’s see. Plus, I am thinking, once I reach a certain stature and stage, would I need to minutely manage my time/life? Not sure! What do you think?  
  • Lately have started to use Roam to catalog thoughts. Let’s see how it goes. And In Feb, I will try to use Notion to create hyperlinked content. Again, not sure if I would continue to use it. Let’s see where it goes. 
PPS: Going forward, I will use the above format (have culled the number of things I am doing drastically to be able to reach three large goals for 2020) to report how the month went by was. 
PPPS: I, of course, need to give you an update on the tasks that I planned for Dec and Jan (since I did not do the planning for Jan). Here is an update on what I had planned…

  • a. Work on #book2. I started working on this. Not full-steam though. I’d give this a C. 
  • b. Start running. I could not. Been trying since Oct. But I did take some actions on trying to get fitter. So, C. 
  • c. Get saurabhgarg.com up and running. The site is up but I don’t like it. So, a D.
  • d. Do a one-month reading deep-dive into one specific topic. No action. So, an F.
  • e. Work towards creating a business that takes me beyond India. Worked hard on it and yet it’s not showing me the results. Attempt – yes, the outcome – no. So, a C. 
  • f. Renew focus on C4E. No action. F. 
  • g, fix my planning process. Did! Not quite an A but a B for sure! 
Oh, like I said, going forward, I will not have more than three goals for the month that I will track / chase. If I manage those 3, I will add more. But three is what I would plan for! 
And with this, ladies and gents, over and out! 
Thank you for your patience. It is not an easy task to survive these long emails! Lemme end this with the best photo that I clicked in Jan 2020…

Hello, September!

I send a monthly letter to a few people that have helped me grow in my career. This is a slightly edited version of this. If you want me to add you to this list, please do let me know.

Hello, September!
Hi!

This is Saurabh and this is the September version of my monthly emails to people who care 🙂 In case you forgot what I wrote in August, it’s archived here.

August was long and yet it flew away faster than the fastest Bullet Train that has been promised to us Indians. August was faster than you can blink. I mean I couldn’t even read and respond to your emails and the month had gone by!

I will talk about what I did in August, but before anything else, thank you!

Really.
Thank you! 

For being around.
For helping me when I was in a soup.
For tolerating these emails.
Even if you don’t read these, the thought that you are reading these emails keeps me going. You know, Eklavya?

So, in August, I had said I’d do the following…
a. Finish Show Bible for my second book
No, I did not do it.
I tried. I could not.
It is taking longer than I expected. I did put in the effort and yet it is far from the finish. It is taking me longer. I will work on this in September as well.

b. Lose 1 inch from my waist.
I did this one.
Yay!
Thanks to a combination of a lot of things – sleep, tracking what I eat, mindful snacking, a 3-day fast to get into the healthy habit and walking more than what I would typically walk. And a lot of effort from BR on helping me understand the importance of food.

I want to lose another inch this month. Even though I am on the road a lot this month, I am hoping to add running / brisk walk to my fitness regimen this month on. More on this in a bit.

c. The other notable things that happened in the month of August 2019 are… 

  • #tnks (my first book) got shortlisted at the South Asian Film Market at Singapore South Asian International Film Festival. Was a big deal for me. I hope it gets picked up and gets converted into a film. If it does, it will be a step closer to where I want to be as a writer. Also, when I was in Singapore, I understood how much harder and smarter I need to work to be able to reach where I want to be! I learned a lot and I was left humbled. I even wrote a short post on it. If you are curious, you may read it here.
  • Bin Bulaye, the first short-film I co-produced with a couple of people is now ready for release. This officially makes me a filmmaker that has shipped some content and marks the start of my career as a filmmaker. The next step is another short and then after a series of such steps, someday, an actual feature. Oh, for the next short, I am raising money. In case you know people who want to fund indie, short films, do connect. Please note that “investing” in a short film does not give any returns per se – so these are risky “assets” (the largest return you’d get is bragging rights). And if you want an esoteric answer, as a filmmaker (or a creative individual), you do these things and put your life and money and effort and blood and toil and everything else into the art to be able to open the eyes of people who’ve shut them tight. Indie films allow you to do that.
  • Launched Hop197.com. Hop197.com will chronicle the journey of a dear friend Sujoy and his wife as they attempt to become the most-traveled couple from India. So far they’ve been to 120+ countries. I am helping them put the website and a partner in the online piece. Let’s see how it goes.
  • Gave my first paid-for talk on a stage to an audience of 100 odd people. On branding and storytelling. And oh boy, what a bad job I did there! I need to work hard on my presentation skills. I am thinking I will join some acting school or something to improve how I talk and how I conduct myself on stage. Thankfully the presentation I made at Singapore about my book was pretty cool. Phew!

So, September.
In this month, I plan to work on the following…

a. Show Bible for the second book
Been on this since August 19.
It is taking longer and from what I’ve seen, it will take more than just a month 🙁
So, even though I will gun for a finish in September, it may stretch into October. Let’s see.

b. Start running
Not walking, not jogging. Running.
This means that I need to be able to 4 kilometers in 30 minutes.
I know it is not fast. But that is what I hope to do. To start with.
If I can do this, in October, I will add weights to my training regimen.


c. Get saurabhgarg.com up and running
I’ve always wanted to have a home for all that I do and think and play with and all that.
I’ve had the domain name for a while but never cared to work on a website.
In Sep, I will.
And along with the website, I will stop underselling myself and start marketing myself.
No, I don’t want to go overboard but I want to be known a tad more. After all the size of opportunities you get is a function of the number of people you know! This thing about being known more has got reinforced after the trip to Singapore. In fact, I ran an experimental survey where I asked people to tell me what they think of me and this is what they had to say. Not really in the zone that I want people’s perception to be about me, but it is a great starting point.

d. Do a one-month reading deep-dive into one specific topic
I plan to read about one topic in as much depth as I can. And then try to put a blog post about it. For example, can I read A LOT about whatever Warren Buffet has said (and see all his videos) and then catalog them into a nice note that can be a primer for others? Much like what Tim Urban is attempting about “everything“. Or what Julian did for writing, muscle, and growth. And of course, I will continue to read about a wide range of things, apart from this one thing. I just need to find a subject. If not Warren, then maybe I’d read about crypto. Or about what Jeff has said? What do you think will be in demand in times to come?

e. Work towards creating a business that takes me beyond India
The intent is to go global and have reduced dependency on the motherland for my survival and growth.

And why would I do that? Long story. I’d write a post about it someday.

But help me. I can straddle between digital marketing, events, and strategic marketing. If you know of opportunities, would love to pitch in. And apart from that, please do tell me what other things could be done that take me beyond the borders. I’ve been meeting people and I have some ideas but I need more help.

That’s it. That’s how September is going to be. And no, these are not too many things.

So that’s about it.
Thanks again for your patience.
And all the help.

Hope you have a good day and a good month ahead.
Please do let me know if I could be of any service to you.

Gratitude and Respect,

–

Saurabh Garg
@saurabh
Send me anonymous feedback
Updates from previous months – 0819

***



Previous updates: Aug 2019
All posts here.

Update – August 2019 – Saurabh Garg

I sent this letter to a few people that have helped me grow in my career. I plan to send this every month. If you want me to add you in this list, please do let me know (please send me your email address – you have it with you). I plan to send one letter a month. 


Please tolerate the formatting – I composed this on Google Docs, sent it on Gmail and now posting on blogger. And even though all three are Google products, there is zero interoperability in terms of fonts etc.

Update for Aug 2019

Hi! Good morning!

I am Saurabh Garg.
Of course, you know me!

You are one of the 30 or so people getting this email. And you are getting this because…

A.
You know me from one of the places I’ve been at – MDI, GE, CLA, Gravity, Social Wavelength (aka Mirum now), VISCOMM, C4E, The Nidhi Kapoor Story and at airport lounges, community tables at Starbucks outlets, Twitter threads, and other similar places.

Yeah, I’ve been around a lot.

And because I have been around a lot, I have a lot of experiences and opinions and ideas and thoughts and expectations and ambitions and energy and more ands and lot more ands. You know, the kid in the candy store?

So, I know you. More importantly, you know me (you may not remember me though – if you don’t, I don’t blame you – I’ve largely flown under the radar). And thus this email.

B.
Newton apparently said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”.

Newton never named those giants, but I know who those giants for me are.
You are.
Yes, you!

Each of you has helped me shape my personality and helped me reach where I am. At various times, you have taken an active interest in my career and without your generosity or your shoulder, I kid you not, I wouldn’t be here.

Whatever little I’ve done in life is because you allowed me to stand on your shoulders. And no, I don’t mean it as a humblebrag. I’ve done very little and I have a really really long way to go – and I promise I will reach there!

From where I stand, I see a lot of hits.
Thank you to each of you for making those hits happen.
Can’t stop thanking you!

And even more misses.
And I know I could’ve done a lot more with the kind of opportunities, time and access I had. If I could not reach where I was supposed to, I am solely responsible for the miss. And oh boy, I only know how many misses I’ve had! I could write a book on those and it would run longer than the Bible!

So, thank you for your shoulder. I feel I owe a regular update to you. And thus this email.

C.
I read this Harvard Medical School study (link, story, TED Talk) that postulates that healthy relationships are key to a long and happy life.

And the age I am at, not young enough and not old enough, I am beginning to think a lot about these things.
Of course, I continue to think about making that dent in the world.

And while thinking about it, it dawned on me that each of you is important to me.
After all, you’ve given me your attention and mindshare.
And backed me up.
And gave me a long leash.
And allowed me to experiment and make mistakes. And grow.
And helped me to develop the ability to master my time (most months, I can get by without worrying about going to an office on a daily basis; few months I need to beg. But that’s ok).
And shaped my personality (all the opinions, ideas, thoughts, experiences, expectations, ambitions, value systems that I spoke about earlier? All of those have happened because of your patronage).

While I continue to wander, in search of that ever-elusive new new thing, that shiny new toy, I realized that I need to work on nurturing existing relationships.

And what better relationship to nurture than that I have (/ had in the past) with you?
You were a teacher / employer / mentor / partner / colleague and lot more and you made me who I am!

And thus this email.

D.
This weird epiphany happened that most of the misses I talk about in B above are a result of two things and two things only.
1, I am / was not a finisher (I am working VERY hard on it and early signs are encouraging).
2, I thought as a “creator” all I must focus on is to create. Even though I am a marketing consultant (to brands, companies, individuals and everything else in between), I never thought about marketing myself. You know, build a personal brand! I even tweeted about this.

So, need to fix these.

Like I said, I am working hard to fix 1.
I pick fewer projects, I have measurable objectives (thanks John Doerr’s OKRs – blog, book) and I have clear deadlines. The number of things that are left unfinished has reduced considerably. I can now proudly dole out the most important advice that Steve Jobs ever did – ‘Real Artists Ship!’

The 2, marketing myself, remains a challenge.
This letter is an attempt in the direction.
And thus this email.

So, clubbing A, B, C and D…
So, like I said, I am sending this to about 30 people that have helped me over time.
So, why this email?
So, what if…
So…

Ok, I so got carried away.

So, well, the agenda is threefold. Lemme use bullets.
I clearly love em!

1. Seek your help as an advisor
I said I am making great progress on the ability to finish things. And I need to accelerate that ability. In the sense that I want to finish EACH project that I take up. By making a commitment to you and holding myself accountable to you (I do NOT want to disappoint you ever), I will increase the odds of me not missing the goal!

This is not peculiar to me but is a universal thing – many research studies postulate that when you make yourself accountable to people you don’t want to disappoint, the odds of success go up manyfold!

The other way to look at is to consider yourself as a board member on a company called Saurabh Garg’s Life. I am accountable to you, even though I may not have access to you. You know how Eklavya built a statue of Guru Drona and taught himself and held himself accountable? And became so good that he was better than Drona’s best student, Arjun? That!

So, at the risk of jumping the gun, here’s my first promise to the board.
In the month of Aug 2019, I will…
a. Finish the Show Bible for Book 2.
Yes, I am still working on my second book. And unlike the first one, this time, I am writing the entire story beforehand. In the form of a show bible (what is a show bible?).
b. Lose 1 inch from my waist.
I will do this by focussing on the diet, working out and generally working on my fitness. I met a friend yesterday to take tips on this and he told me that number 1 tool you need to get fit is to get great sleep. So, I will fix that as well.

I will write in September and update you on how I do on those goals. If I get stuck, I will ask you for help! If you have something that can help me work on these two, please do point out.

2. Learn from you!
Thing is, I consider myself a sponge. I love to know more. And I love to know about all sorts of things. And I love it even more when all those things make a connection in my head. You know, when I see the dots connect. And I sincerely think that this ability to use a large information set (howsoever shallow it may be, Feynman will hate me – here’s why) and use inputs from multiple disciplines will be a necessary skill to succeed in the times to come! Jacks will rule the world soon!

When I was with you, I was on this steep learning curve that kept me on my toes. And I loved it! Plus, you are among the most learned, evolved, intelligent people I know.

So, can I request you to please share content (books, texts, links, videos et al) that you loved? That you thought were brilliant? That you would revisit over and over again? That you think I MUST read if I want to become better! May be on email. May be on Whatsapp (click to message me)? Or on email?

3. Give back…
If I could be useful to you in anything you are working on, I would love to volunteer.
No, I don’t want anything in return. I really want to help. I want to do good work. I want to be of use to you.

Thing is, I sincerely believe in the concept of Guru Dakshina.
Lemme get back to. Eklavya. Guru Drona asked Eklavya for his thumb as Guru Dakshina (here’s why). And as an archer, you can’t do anything without your thumb. A regular person would have probably said no. Eklavya did not bat an eyelid before he chopped his thumb and placed it at the Guru’s feet.

You’ve are and have been a Guru to me and I owe you. I don’t have a thumb to offer. But anything that you think could be useful to you, I will be very happy to offer! I am pretty nifty with marketing, events, digital, branding, writing, storytelling, content, brainstorming, big-picture thinking, etc. And I have a fairly large risk appetite. You will probably know this if you remember me.

Please do tell me if I could be of use to you.

***

Phew!

So, yeah this is it.

I plan to send similar emails every month, once a month. I know this one is long (1800 words or so). Promise that the next one will be shorter, crisper (not CRISPR) and more concise. I don’t know the difference between these words. They just sounded nice together!

So that’s about it.
Thanks again for your patience.
And all the help.

Hope you have a good day and a good month ahead. Please do let me know if I could be of any service to you.

Gratitude and Respect,
Saurabh Garg
+91-9819981337
saurabhgarg.com, @saurabh
Send me anonymous feedback

PS: I understand that you may not want me to clog your mailbox. Some of you probably wouldn’t even remember me! So, PLEASE do tell me if you don’t want to get these once-a-month emails. I promise to not get offended. I’d understand.

PPS: The intention of this email is not to seek work or connections or something from you. If I need em, I will ask for those things directly. What I seek is continued patronage and an active interest in my life, my career, my ambitions et al. That is it.

PPS: You may use https://forms.gle/28bVP8DYz2WGdHdp8 to give me anonymous feedback on this email. Or anything else under the sun. I will read EACH input and work on it! Promise!

#Untitled – 16 Dec 2018

So its been sometime that I wrote here. There are a couple of reasons for it.

A
I dont have anything interesting to report. Thing is, this is my personal blog and I think I have said all that I had to. I mean there is nothing special happening on the personal front. I am merely growing old and along with that, I am growing more rigid, rude and un-companionable. And thats not something that I want to report. Or write about. I can talk about how growing old is giving me the clarity and making me better and all that. I actually wrote. But when I did some review while editing, I realised that it had become a ranty piece. And since I’ve decided that I wont whine, I removed it all.

So, in one line, nothing worth writing, reporting.

Of course I do write a letter everyday to a few friends (called #SoG, some letters are available here, where everyday I talk about one thing that you can do to improve yourself; lemme know if you want to subscribe) and I am active on twitter and all that (this will change, read below). But I simply dont have anything that I may want to write.

One may argue that the blog is not meant to be a report-card but a place where you dump your thoughts. Thing is, I have found better alternatives for that. I write on my echoChamber, my journal and other places and that helps a lot.

Oh, in case updates are important, there ARE a few things that I am trying in the next few days. Maybe those will interest you!

Here’s a list.

1. As of today, I am off twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Till the 2nd of Jan 2019. Lets see how long do I last. This is important to me. Because I believe that these SM channels allow you to create your personal brand, that in turn gets you opportunities and all that. More than that, I really enjoy “eavesdropping” on the chatter on the twitterverse. Twitter in fact is the first source of information for me! 

2. On the next Saturday (or maybe Sunday), I will get off whatsapp as well. Till the 2nd of Jan’ 19. In case you wish to reach me, you will have to call me. Or SMS me. Like the good old days. Its ok if I lose out on the opportunities. Again this is big. MOST of my work happens on WA. From tiny things like coordinating to large things like reports and invoices and all that – all happens over WA. Lets see how I survive.

3. And on the 25th or so, I will switch off my computer. Again till the 2nd of Jan. Really. Last time I went this long without my laptop, it was in 2009 when I went to Vipassana. Lets see how the experiment goes this time.

I plan to do a complete digital detox. This means no electronic device except a basic phone.

I will still goto Starbucks and wework to work sit and read and write. With a physical book and a pen and a paper. It will be tough to walk around without a laptop or an electronic device that gives me access to Internet. Lets see if I can be a modern day hermit!

Oh while I am in my self-created hermitage, I plan to revisit some old classics – Walden, Meditations, Count of Monte Cristo et al. There are health books that I am hoping to read (Bulletproof Coffee etc). If I can find time, I will read some modern ones as well – 21 ideas for 21st century tops the list. I would have learnt to code but I am not sure I can do that without a computer. And I dont even want to try.

Oh, while I go on the detox, the only thing I am worried about is my meditation. I am dependent on Headspace for guided sessions. I will see what I can do about it.

The other thing I am worried about is writing with a pen and a paper. I really suck at it. Ideas dont really flow while I use a pen. But a decision is a decision and I dont want to have an iota of distraction.

Wish me luck 😉

B
I am on this trip where I want to eliminate all negativity from my life.
Negativity. Not feedback.
Trolls, not debate.
Things that drag you down.
That snide comment, that mocking reference to your achievements or to your shortcomings. Those jokes that are cracked at your humor. Anything that puts you on the back foot. Of course as a man you ought to fend those off and get back with a louder wise-crack. But, do you want to invest your energy or time or intention in that?

Not me. Life’s short and there are things to be done. And now that I am on the wrong side of 30s, every minute is at a premium.

So, if this means that I need to choose my battles. And if this means I need to get away from things that I dont appreciate, I will. If this means leaving all friends behind because they cant understand where I come from, they will have to wait on the sidelines. If you are the woman I love and you dont respect time, I am out. I will run on my clock and if you can keep up, good for us. In case you cant, well, there are so many great men! If you are my family and all you care about is what would others say of my decisions, please stay with them. If you work FOR me, WITH me or I work FOR you, please know, work takes priority over everything!

I know I am being a dick about things. But thats ok. Its about time I took control of my life and it starts today. I sincerely hope that people important to me can keep up.

In fact I am told that when people die, one of the top 5 regrets is that they wished they kept in touch with their friends. I think thats bull. I’d rather die alone than die a pauper because I spent all the time in doing things that made my friends “value” me. More on this later. I have a letter (#SoG51) to write 🙂

Thats’ it.
Over and out.

PS: Of course at some level I am responsible for this. I revel in self-deprecating humor and texts (this blog is a testimony). But all of it changes now.

PPS: While I am on detox, I will have help from my “assistant”, who will help me order books, change my meals (I am this subscription service that sends meals at home) and all that.

Untitled (and The Wheel of Life)

Hello, world!
Where’ve you been?
Well, life’s been up and down last few days.
I got a new workplace.
I have started to learn new things.
I am discovering re-discovering meaning of friendship and relationships.
I am little more aware of my limits as an individual.
I am still as dreamy as I were when I was 16. For context, am 36. PS late 30s without money sucks. Please do whatever you can to make all the money while you are in your 20s. Must write a thing for people in 20s to not waste the best part of their lives on chasing frivolous things. And make them pick skills that computers cant do! 

Ok, lemme use this Wheel of Life thing that I found on the Internet, to talk about things.
It looks like…

Health
I’ve tried to get into Ketosis at least 5 times in last one month. But I have failed. In fact as I write this, I am at a McDonalds and I have had half a KG of vegetable oil. And deep fried potatoes. Well!

I did start jogging and meditation but that lasted exactly one day. I plan to start from tomorrow. Lets see how that goes.

But I am reasonably sharp and alert and active. I’d thus give myself a 5 on 10.

Wealth
I am doing ok. I have enough in the bank to fulfill all my commitments for a year. I would have wanted this to be at 24 months. But thats where we are.

Money is an object that allows me to do things that I want to do. Nothing more, nothing less. Right now the amount of money I have, I can do whatever I want to but there is that nagging thing at the back of my head for sure when I spend. In fact, I am running in the Eco Mode. I wrote about it in 2012 and 2013. Will write about it in today’s letter. What letter? See below. 

I’d give myself a 3 on 10.

Relationships (and family) 
I am probably at the bottom of the ocean, with a rock of the size of the Mr. Everest tied to my legs with a chain made of Titanium.

After all these years I think whatever little emotions I had left (and had buried deep in my heart) for sgMS, they’re gone. I dont know if its a good thing or bad. Its a thing. Like they teach you in mindfulness, I am just aware of it as a thing. No emotions attached to it.

Most friends are increasingly busier with their respective lives and things that are important to them. And I know I dont feature in any of those things. Not because they dont. But because I’d rather be writing or reading or dreaming.

Other relationships, well lesser said the better.

Also, recently, someone I know decided to call it quits and depart from the world. 
He was a colleague for almost 4 years and even after I quit the company we worked at, we decided to stay in touch. And we continued to help each other out. To me, he was one of those “magicians” that could get things done, come what may. 


I will never know why he decided to do this. He was strong, confident and had things figured out. 


I still dont know how to cope up with death. I like to ignore it and bury myself in meaningless hedonism. I try to make my life into a blur and pile on things. So as to not think about them. 

I’d give myself a 3 on 10.

Writing 
Of course I have been writing. I think the month gone by has been amongst the most productive when it comes to writing. As I write this, I have written 28K words (and I have written EACH day for last 25 odd days). And I have edited a few blogposts for friends, I have written things that I havent pushed in public domain and more.

Most of what I’ve written is in public domain (just that its not on this blog). I sent a email out EVERY DAY to people who have subscribed (this is what I talked about when I talked about Eco Mode above). They are archived here and should you want to get those in your email, send me your email address. I am @saurabh on twitter.

In those emails I talk about one thing that I learnt in the day. And how you could apply to your lives. And often when I dont learn a new thing, I talk about things where I need help. I sincerely think I add value to readers. Lemme know if you want in.

PS: I am substituting hobbies for writing. I would love to read, play the Uke, play pool, learn swimming and all that but I cant seem to find time after all the work and writing. May be once I get into a routine. But writing is fun. Its my catharsis. 

I’d say I am at least a 7 on 10 on this.

Work
A lot has changed at work. There are new challenges and new opportunities. That’s all I’d talk about.

There is a lot of excitement (when do I not have this?) and if things pan out the way I planned those, I would get lot better on the work front. Finger’s crossed.

I’d say, I am a 5 here.

Thing is, I have decided that the work I do HAS to inspire others, make an impact and of course make me rich. My ability to inspire and make an impact is constrained because of the limited influence that my company has. Once we are able to scale, I think this will sort itself out. 


Personal Space
On a personal front, I think I am challenged enough. However I am still not making the kind of impact that I would want to make. And that is not happening because I dont have a podium to talk from.

But I am reasonably sure of things and the path I am on. So, I’d give myself a 5.

Contribution.
I think I am making a difference to the lives of people around me. I try to make them better, I nudge them (even if I am rude), I invite them to challenge themselves and chase a higher calling, a higher purpose.

I’d give myself a 6 on 10.

To end this, 
So, once I do this little exercise, I came up with this edited version of the wheel.

As on Nov 2018

The idea is that over time this wheel must have more area confined in the lines than outside.
And of course all will not be stable all the time. Things will change. But idea is to work on all these aspects as I chase that elusive dream of the perfect life!

That’s about it for the day. What does your wheel look like?

And finally, no, I havent disappeared. I am still around. Still writing. Just that life hasnt been kind lately and I hope to get out of this better, stronger and richer! 2018 has been among the worst years of my life. I will write about it toward the fag end of December.

Do let me know if you would want to subscribe to my daily emails.

PS: Do I sound like a whiner? Or do I sound like a dude who’s got no one to share things with and thus is trying to use this blog as his audience? 

Update – 02 Oct 2018

As I write this, I haven’t written in a while. More than a month. Or if Vivek is to be believed, I’ve made just one post in last two months. I don’t know what’s worse – nothing in a month or just one in two months. Whatever is. The worst of them has to be the fact that I haven’t been writing. Not here, not on my echochamber, not emails and no updates for sure.

I can hide behind a veil and put blame on a million things but of course while I haven’t been writing, I’ve shat, ate, slept and did all those other important and not-so-important chores. The only thing I didn’t do was write!

Despite promises (to self) and assurances (to friends like Krishna), despite knowing that writing give my rooh the much needed sukoon, I did not write. I could not. The words wont flow! And I do not know how to go about getting that flow, to well, flow!

Let me try to change it. Today. This post will be a 1000 words, if not more. And now that I think about it, I will need more than that. After all a lot has happened and lot has to be told (to whoever is listening and to those 30 unknown people that come over to this blog on a daily basis).

So here goes. In neat silos.

House hunt.
This has been clouding my head for the last 15 days. In fact come to think of it, since July of this year, something or the other has made me a slave. First it was work, for almost a month. Then it was another 15 days of work. Then it was the birthday blues. And now its the house!

So, the place I live at? Where I take those gorgeous pictures from? That is no longer mine to stay at. The lease is expiring on the 5th and I need to find a place to live. So, while I have the intent and the ability to pay for an alternate place, I cant seem to find a place that gives me access to the kind of life I want. And you know the funny thing? I don’t want much. Just a little bit of space, a clean house, a nice building and some fresh air. In a city like Mumbai, all this is IMPOSSIBLE to get.

Unless you are an Ambani.
You want fresh air? You can make a house that rises up higher than the highest airplane!
You want space? Go vertical!

The process you undergo to find a house in Mumbai inflicts so many wounds on you that the suffering makes you a philosopher. And these wounds and not just physical – those are easy to heal. These ones are slashes on you conscience, on your heart and brain. Even the damned time cant fill in the gaping voids left by the attacks. I mean when was the last time your life was scrutinized by strangers? How much money do you make? What do you do? Are you a vegetarian? Do you party a lot? And these are the easy ones to answer. There are others that I don’t even want to write about!

And no, I am not a privacy fanatic but the way you ask these questions and the intent with which you ask these is what makes the experience, well, painful!

You need to get past the needless scrutiny from strangers, hoping that they’d like your “profile” and would “allow” you to live at their house. In an ideal world, this would be a fair and equal transaction – both parties would respect each other and all that. However, the landlord in India, has an upper hand. Someone has to fix this. Someone has to change. Some startup needs to disrupt this. Lets see if I get around to working on this. Rant for another day. The fact of the matter remains that I don’t have a house to live in.

Anyhow… the bright side? You save the time and energy and effort you need to go for a digital detox. Or for a a meditation camp. These questions make you question your very existence. You start thinking about the decisions you’ve made in life. Your entire life flashes in front of your eyes. You realize that you’ve made the worst decision of your life by not “investing” in a house when you could. You chased experiences and independence and a life of poverty while you could have slaved worked for a large company and by this time, have enjoyed the perks that come along with a stable naukri. So if your boss is an asshole that makes your life tough? Clients that we work for are the same. Unreasonable. Make life tough. Hard. Demanding. After you go from pillar to post in this country, to look for a house, you realize that your life’s been a damning lie! Everything you did, stood for, dreamt of has no meaning or bearing if you haven’t made it. You know, have enough to have bought a house of your own.

If you are in your 20s and are reading this, unless your parents have 3 houses in a 3 different cities please do NOT chase your muse. Work hard, get that house, even if it binds you to an EMI. It’s ok. You would not have to strip your soul in front of strangers.

Moving on.


36
I am now 36.

That means I am half past the average life span for a healthy adult in India. That means half of my life is over.

And what did I achieve in these 36 years? Nothing. Nada. While I’ve been meaning to do a million things, nothing has moved and there is this gnawing feeling in my gut that keeps me up at night.

I really wish this year takes me closer to where I want to be. And where is that? Amongst the stars! Well, I will be there someday but for the time being, metaphorically. If you are the kinds to trust in God and have a tad of faith, please do pray for me. I can really do with some help!

And yeah I stopped at it abruptly. I don’t mean to rant. Or belittle myself. 

C4E
A lot is up at work. Like I said in my previous month’s newsletter, there have been hits and misses and there have been highs and lows.

But I guess that’s how work will be. Most days you move towards a goal post. You will have those bad days when nothing would happen for you or those one-off days when you actually move backward. But that’s alright.

So, the good (AND the bad news) from work is that I need to work harder than I’ve ever worked in my entire life. And this is that one shot that could give me what I seek – enough “achievements” that stop that thing that is eating me from inside. And enough money that allows me to not go stripping in front of prospective landlords!

Thing with work is that am a tad more emotional about it than the average “worker”. Which is a good thing most days – it makes me do far more than what I would otherwise do. And bad on some days – there are days when am so restless that I cant sleep.

Of course, the number 1 priority remains getting more work. If you know someone wanting to engage an events agency, please point them to me.

Other “work” projects
Apart from C4E, I have a few more projects that occupy me. Lemme talk about those.

onWriting. Well, its sputtering along. Not at the speed with which I would it to go. No, I am not happy about it. It had to be a well-oiled machine cracking at speed that no one else has seen. Need to be faster on it.

TheRedSparrow. Again, sputtering. And the tough part is that we operate in a category that demands content and yet are sputtering. Different reason that onW for the lack in speed but a reason nonetheless. So, need to up the ante!

Podium. Has been dead for over 6 months now. What do I say about it…

And then there are a few other projects that I better not talk about. They are as disappointing as any other.

To summarise, nothing seems to be moving. And from where I see things, I can have the following options.
A. Quit everything. Work on my book.
B. Listen to what every damn person I know has been telling me. Focus on one thing and make it large. So, that one thing that becomes large gives me the cash flow that I can use to hire talent and run the other things? And if I were to indeed focus, which one? onW? TRS? Podium? Or the latest idea to have hit me (the real estate one). 
C. Get a naukri, make those easy million and then retire at Panchgani, in a house next to Vivek’s.
D. These are the options (above) that I see. Do you see any more?

Writing
Well, you know where’s writing. Apart from not working on this blog, a couple of things that I am (not) working on are a, the next book (which should’ve happened in 2015) and b, a non-fiction on lesson’s I’ve learnt! Both are stalled. Both need action.

Oh, and I put Podium under the broad bucket of writing. And that again needs some bit of effort. Lot actually. Not some. 


Sad state.

Health
The bucket is health. Last few days have been really terrible. Since the Delhi trip actually (which is almost three weeks now). I was home and my mum showered all her love in form of paranthas and all that. And for some reason, despite knowing that I ought to eat healthy, I could not say no to her while I was there. And I am back to being the fat, old man that I was before Keto made me a tad fitter.

Oh, I started on Keto yesterday and I plan to do a 15-day cycle at the very least. Lets see where it takes me. Been 2 days and so far so good! I just need to augment this with IF and a bit of workout. I will probably start running. I am, after all, supposed to run with Daksh at the next Delhi marathon. Lets see if I run. Or walk.

Other things
Good things first. Since I moved on from the previous structure at C4E, I have become a tad more social! So, been meeting a lot more people than I was previously. And while it is definitely helpful, I need to now start leveraging this.

I also need to listen to Vivek and get more social. Now on. Starting tonight. Anyone up for a coffee / drinks / dinner at Powai?

In the end
So yeah. I wrote after a while. There’s nothing interesting to an outsider. Mundane life and mundane updates. But then, thats what life is. No? A series of mundane updates!

PS: Thanks Vivek and Krishna.

Back!

Last I published something on this blog was on 1 Aug 2018.
And before that I had taken a pledge to write 1000 words EVERY day for the rest of my life.
Well, I failed.
I can get into a that endless rant about why I could not.
I’d rather not.
No, dont want to berate myself.

Lemme write about all that has happened in the last few days month or so.

PS: As I edit this, I realise that this is more of a conversation with self than anything else. So, read it with that intention. 

1. Welcome Mira! 
Remember that scene from Ram Lakhan where a young Ram runs around the village telling everyone that his Lakhan is here? That! I want to run around the world and tell that Mira is here. My Mira is here! If only I were little more fit!

Apart from anything else, now that she is here, I have lot more responsibility on my shoulders. Need to up the game.

2. Work 
a, A lot is happening at work. The most noteworthy thing is that I delayed the salary for my team by a few days. This is the first time since I started C4E that I havent paid on time. And because I did not have enough in the bank. Need to work harder on the cash flow.

b, I restarted the C4E newsletter.


c, I was at Chennai doing an event and I realised for the first time that apart from being the most stressful job in the world, the work of an event manager is probably the loneliest of them all! Its more lonesome than a job of a solider posted on the watchtower or a Captain’s mate atop the Crow’s Nest or even that of a tennis player in a singles match at the centre court at the finals of a Grand Slam!

In fact while I am at it, apart from being an event manager, am also an individual-founder that knows where he wants to go but hasn’t quite figured out the path yet. That makes the journey even tougher. I wish I had a someone that I could sit with jam on things. I wonder how does a Steve Jobs or a Jeff Bezoes or an Elon Musk operate?

3. Health
Last few weeks have been hectic. In the sense that there’s been travel and stress and odd hours and hard, physical and mental labour. I need to get back. Started doing lo-carb today. Will get onto Keto by end of the week. Will also start running.

4. Break
This is the birthday month and that means that I need to escape again. I am one of those weird ones that get depressed around their birthdays and when that happens, am not the best person to know. So, rather than pass on the grief to others, I go into hiding.

5. Other inane things
a, I bought myself an Agatha Christie omnibus. To get that kick that makes me write. When I wrote #tnks, I was tripping on Jack Reacher. This time, I think it will be Poirot. This also means that I have finally decided to end the hiatus and start working on book2. Yeah, I have made this claim a thousand times in the last 5 years. And each time I have promised and all that. But to no avail.

b, I went to a #tweetup after almost 5 years, if not more. Thanks to AD for organising. Felt good to connect with new people and new ideas. Felt great to be among other doers. The big takeaway was that I like meeting new people. I ought to do more of these. Last few years I had put myself into a shell and I need to get out of it. Especially now that I need more work, I need to go out and know whats happening in the real world!

c, Time to move houses has come up. Dont think I can continue living at a lavish place. While my sis was around, it worked out well. But as someone who lives along, dont think it adds up. This time I need to find a cheaper place so that I can invest on various ideas that I am cooking. Lets see where I end up!

In the end… 
Thats about it for today. Good to be back to posting. Will try and post one tomorrow as well. And then more.

Over n out. 

The Daily Grind – 2730 – 120718

Day 3 on the trot of posting on this blog. Nothing much to report apart from work and all that.

However I must say that doing a post each day is a BIG commitment. I dont know how to people manage this WITH their day jobs! If they can, you can too, Mr. Garg. 

Plus in the zamana of byte-sized content and reducing attention spans, I am not sure who has the time to write blogs anymore. Fuck writing. I dont know one person who reads blogs. Do you? Tell me. May be leave a comment?

Anyhow. I can rant all I want to. The fact of the matter is that I have committed that I will write a post a day and I better do that. So, here’s the post for the day.

*stares at the screen, thinking what to write.*


*still staring*


*staring….*


*yes!!!!!!*

So while I was staring at the screen, thinking about what to write, it dawned onto me that there was a time when I could write for hours and the words wont stop pouring out. And now I am having a tough time writing a 1000 words post!

I am not sure what is wrong. May be I am out of practise? Probably a post a day would fix this! Lets find out over the next few days.

*still no clue what to talk about*


*Oh yes!”

So I made a day trip to Thansit today and among other things, I clicked a few pics from my phone. One of them is embedded below.

I dont know about you but as an independent, I really like the photo above (and all the other photos). They are as good as you would see from someone else. I just need to edit these better!

Actually, I will create a photoblog where I will capture these pics and the stories. On saurabhgarg.com (yeah, I have started work on the website). Lets see when I get around to doing this.

***

So yeah. Thats about it for the day. 1000 words?
I am not sure.
Not counting.
For the time being I want to just get the post up and running before the day ends.

And to be honest, here’s something that you can help me with. 

Tell me what do you want me to write on. The kind of person I am, thoughts (and opinions) meander from work to life to authenticity to polygamy to money to purpose to writing to I dont know what all. Try me. Just give me an idea and lets see what comes out of it. Please!

Thank you!

Back!

So I am bak from Dubai and thus, back to the grind. This means that I am back to work. There is that one post that I need to make where I’d probably summarise my Dubai stint. Yeah. Ok. No one wants to read musings of a random old man about his time in a hotel. But then, when I write, I am not writing for the junta party. You know?

Anyhow. So I am back. Its time to get up on that treadmill and go start running. Literally and figuratively. Watch this space. 

Why the fuck…

So it’s been some time since I’ve written. Last post was on Feb 23 – that time I thought I was going to die. But as I’ve found out, I am not! And if I am not dead, why the fuck have I NOT made a post on my blog? Or written anything else? Why am I even alive?

Two weeks. I have no excuse to be honest for not writing. I know I was busy. I know I was travelling. I was unwell. I know I was fucked in the head. But then, that’s no excuse for not writing.

In an alternate universe, in two weeks I could have written 15000 words. And in 6 such two-week pockets, I would have written the next book! Like Charles says…

Source: Unknnow. Found via Google Image Search

Now that we are talking about book 2, ladies and gents, I know its long overdue! It was to hit the stands last december (2015) but I am nowhere close to even completion. I am sure my publisher has given up on me. However from what I hear the first book is no longer hardly available on any of the online bookstores (the wait time to get delivery is 10 days). So the first print run of 2500 is almost over – I guess. So may be there is a reprint sometime in future. Depends on the publisher. Let him take a call. I’ve done my bit by writing it.

Coming to the next book, lately, a lot of people have started to ask me about the status of my next book. May be they genuinely enjoyed the first one. Or they are genuinely concerned about my writing career. Or they dont have anything else to talk to me about. Irrespective, I need to uphold their trust and faith in me. I ought to write. If not for them, then for myself.

So there. I will ensure that the book comes out before end of this year. With or without a publisher. Wish me luck!

Update. On tall claim. And on life.

Since I made that tall claim that day, I have tried to post something everyday. Except the last four.

Because I was traveling and was in Goa where access to Internet is quite a pain. And for a change I did have the time and the ideas to write but I just could not.

Now that I am back, I am going to restart writing. On this blog and otherwise. After all, writing is like a muscle. More I flex it, stronger it gets.

So I went to Goa. To different people, Goa means different things. To me, it means a trip to the casino and a drive through long winding roads through the green cover of trees et al. Over time, casinos have become more expensive and cocky. Roads have become crowded. And if not for these two, Goa is like yet another place that I have no emotional connect with. In short, I think I am done with Goa for the time being.

And I am done with poker as well. I have been losing consistently for almost two months now. Like they say, form is temporary and class is permanent, I think I poker is not for me. Yet to decide on it. Lets see what I do with it.

The initial excitement over The Nidhi Kapoor Story is over. The book is out in October but I am already onto the next plot. I am in that phase where I have some 5 – 6 plots brewing in my head and I ought to pick one and move with it. I have given myself till the end of August to shortlist a plot and then another three months (till the end of November) to get the first draft out. Like it was for #tnks, I hope that the first draft of next one would be about 100K words. Translates into about a 1100 words each day. Pretty manageable.

Naukri still remains elusive. Been interviewing and meeting people. But nothing is materializing. Guess I am not as good as I think I am. I am running on fumes now. If things dont fall in place by end of Sep, I think I may be back home. For good. I dont want to leave Mumbai but then I dont know if I can continue to stay here. Again, update on this as and when things get clearer.

What else? What else could be troubling a middle aged man with no naukri and no love prospects? Quite a few things actually. But then, nothing else seems to be coming to my mind right now. May be in the next few posts?

P.S.: The Independence Day came and went and for a change I did not experience any strong emotions about it. Same for Rakshabandhan and Janamashtmi. Is this because I am growing up? Or is it because there are far more important things that are on my mind? Or may be I am unwell (mentally)? Or I need a break? Any armchair psychologists?