Raw and Real Conversation
Life’s tragedies spare no human.
In a world where everything is unequal, the one thing that unites us all is the equivocal distribution of tragedies that have chosen to befall on every single one of us.
Some face it early on, some face it later, some just face it without even knowing they are in one.
And I am no different.
Pain, panic and precariousness have become my forced friends at all times I wanted peace.
But the one thing that worked out for me was I discovered I loved writing early on, as early as when I was 23. I even wrote my first book in a month and published it at the age of 24.
And then, I was deeply addicted. The addiction is called monthly salary.
It was an ongoing addiction of three jobs spanning 8 years.
And now I have been a solopreneur for over 3 years.
As I look back at that time, I often feel (without exception) that I wasted those 8 years.
Even though I worked with the nicest people.
Even though I learnt a lot.
Even though I earned a lot of credibility.
Even though I discovered I was capable of so much.
Even though that led to early stability and career lessons I carry to date.
At the end of the day, a corporate job sucks your soul out of your body and your joy out of your very existence, that you end up forgetting who you are.
It was only by matter of chance that I got into the solo business I am running. And by matter of grace that I learn lessons every single day today.
If I were to redo my life differently (and this is such a vague question, because there is a reason the past is past) but hypothetically, here is what I would do:
I would become a full-time writer right after clearing my CA Final exams. I would write books instead of going any other path of a writer. And figure how to make more money than the “market rate” for CAs as well as writers. Combined.
But life is life. It teaches you lessons you won’t have otherwise learnt if you hadn’t gone through that hell.
However, what does this life lesson mean for you?
First things first, do NOT quit your job because I told you I “wasted” my time in jobs. Everyone’s life situations as well as everyone’s inner architecture to deal with work is different.
What you MUST do, even if you are in a happy job, even if that job pays you well, and even if none of your colleagues are toxic is the following. Please bear in mind we are not here to replace your income, we are here to replicate your joy that you have forgotten to feel for the longest time.
Start doing something you are curious about. Anything. Even it means repairing water pumps or cleaning homes or picking best flowers for different interiors, if you LOVE that. Just two hours every weekend is enough to begin.
Forget social media marketing for now. Try getting ONE sale for the thing you do. It is often the things you love that you do for free that you do not realise doing it often would give you more joy.
Rinse and repeat.
Money buys things, and the addiction of salary would eventually lead you to affording Louis Vuitton and Rolex as well.
But in all of this what is lost is YOU. And YOU come alive through the joy in the work you do.
Please try inculcating joy the side thing you work on.
It will give you freedom of working for yourself, freedom from the mood of your manager when they give you the periodic ratings forgetting your hard work and results of the entire year, and most importantly, freedom from the system that is never designed for the A-players in the first place.
Whether you will make more money off it or not is a later conversation, but the most important thing is you start. For your joy.
Isn’t that what you have been looking for ever since you grew up from a contented kid into a wandering adult?
I’ll end it with a cliche quote, but it is fit in my brain and always comes to me when I am in the middle of procrastination:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
2 Raw One-Liners by yours truly:
The world belongs to the human who is always learning and getting better, and the human who has no intention of proving others wrong.
(too big for a one-liner, but some one-liners deserve these) Just because someone is close to you, you cannot have the luxury to talk to them in any manner or use the least empathetic words. You must be intentional with your words and behaviour with everyone, but especially with your loved ones. There is zero reason to take someone who loves you for granted.
3 (for) Real things I am grateful for:
The weather. The right weather at the right time is such a blessing for the environment as well as the soul.
A clean intent. Life sometimes makes us come across people who are always doubting and never listening to their intuition. I am so glad I am the opposite.
The “joy” of writing this Raw and Real. A lot of my thinking from every Monday of every week is centred around how can I make this week’s Raw and Real more relatable and more “aha” for the audience. So thank you, thank you, thank you, if you read this far. 💚🙏
And I will see you next week, with my intent of another “aha” story.
Wish you the best weekend ever!! <3
Nishtha Gehija
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Instantly access my ebooks, chalo chalo, do it now:
20s versus 30s: The strange and unique differences between the two most important decades of your life
The Corporate Life Handbook: If you are in corporate job and struggle with daily humdrums of it, one-pagers with harsh truths are something no one is going to tell you :)
The Career Changing Guide: If you are looking for a sign, this is it :)
How to Deal with Heartbreak: A book almost everyone needs but no one gives you right in your hand. If you don’t need this, get this for a friend you know certainly needs it.
Every Writer Needs to Read this: A book I wish I had 11 years ago when I was starting out as a writer