A Fresh Start
Hello everyone, or should I say no one? 🤔 This is a fresh blog right now, with probably no one even looking for it. 😃 But this is how I want it to be. I am starting to write here without wanting any validation and without the resistance of any criticism.
I have had my fair share of experiences in life, and by nature, I am very inquisitive. My friends and teachers have always said that I ask a lot of questions, but mostly I got those answers by myself... by reading books or through introspection. In my childhood and while I was a student, I used to read mostly fiction and books related to my discipline. But after I finished my studies and was struggling on my startup journey, I had a lot of time to start getting the hang of non-fiction.
However, my love for non-fiction didn't start abruptly. It came from reading a particular article that discussed the concept of polymaths. In fact, that was the first time I learned that anything like a polymath exists and that having a large breadth of knowledge helps in many aspects of life and career.
During my master's, I was suffering from a breakup. It was not a breakup per se, as the love was unrequited, but I was very emotionally involved in it. Plus, I was studying at an institute that was in a different town from my hometown. During my MSc, I also started to lose interest in my studies. This was because I was introduced to the semester system of study, which was a drastic change. Earlier, I had much longer periods for studying and assimilating any topic, as the exams were conducted biannually, and major exams came annually or sometimes once every two years.
When I was exposed to the semester system, it was a major shift, as I had to take class tests every 15 days, then mid-semester exams every 2 months, and then semester exams after a gap of 4 months. So, I was not able to fall in love with any topics, which could have been an antidote to my breakup pain. To cope, I started to spend most of my time on my newly bought computer.
I bought that computer to help with my studies, and this was the first time I had access to a personal computer. Given my inquisitive nature, I began trying many things on my PC. When things went wrong and it slowed down, I would format the OS. This way, I became quite skilled at handling various software and troubleshooting computer problems. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I knew many things better than what the IT support of my institution was capable of.
I shared that knowledge in various technology forums across the internet, where I started becoming a regular member and sometimes even had the chance to moderate those forums. Eventually, I also received offers to write for some blogs, which began my tryst with blogging in 2010. I then started my own blog, where I continued to write even while pursuing my PhD.
By then, I was very much a tech enthusiast. I began experimenting with how to earn through blogging, trying various ad networks, and eventually shifted to affiliate blogging to earn some cash. However, the way I started affiliate blogging began to push me away from my passion for sharing free information, and the pressure of completing my PhD, along with subsequent job insecurity, ended my blogging journey. But I learned a lot in the process. I was devoid of hope at that time, but later I understood where those experiences became helpful.
Moreover, they gave me a unique confidence that I could gain sufficient expertise outside my field of study as well. In my student days, I only knew what I studied; I had no outside knowledge, and I didn't engage enough in outdoor activities. Thus, my friends were much ahead of me in most practical aspects. That confidence booster offered quite a bit of relief.
However, that confidence in my ability to earn money outside my area of study became my defensive shield when I wasn't getting jobs after my PhD. I became quite interview-phobic, and after a short stint as a postdoc, I stopped applying altogether and decided to venture on my own.
Thus began my startup journey. Unlike what I assumed, it started with its usual jitters. I was naive enough to think it would provide lesser uncertainty than going through years of postdoc and job searching. This led to disappointment and frustration, causing my confidence to wane. At that time, I began reading extensively across various topics and disciplines for distraction. I wish I had started that reading a bit earlier, as it might have prevented me from jumping into entrepreneurship all at once without enough planning.
Besides my experience with blogging, investing also helped to build my confidence. Before 2016, I was oblivious to this aspect. I only knew about fixed and recurring deposits as modes of investing. I had heard of mutual funds and knew my family had some investment in them, but I hadn't bothered to learn about them.
One day, when my mother said I must take care of those investments, I pushed myself to learn about them. And boy, I got fascinated within a few weeks! Soon, I started investing in mutual funds and then in stocks. To follow a very conservative approach, I began reading books and blogs for making wiser choices in investing. Perhaps the fact that the market was very pessimistic at that time helped develop my cautious approach, alongside the reality that I wasn't earning steadily and was primarily investing my family's funds.
Nevertheless, I became sufficiently proficient soon, and just as in my early tech experiences, I started engaging in forums and discussion groups about this. When the COVID boom began, I had built enough of a reputation that a few friends would even ask for my suggestions on how to approach investments in equity markets. 😊
Both these endeavors—tech blogging and investments—became my shields to continue earning something if nothing worked out, including my entrepreneurial venture. During that period, I developed a voracious appetite for reading non-fiction, a habit triggered while learning about stock market investments.
I tried to find the blog that sparked my fascination for reading across various domains, beyond investing, business, or entrepreneurship, but I couldn't. However, I can clearly remember how liberated I felt after realizing that being a jack of all trades is not a bad thing; I had been worried for long that I was becoming a jack of all trades for not delving deeply into any particular field.
Reading about these concepts and the idea of picking mental models was a unique experience. Within a few weeks, my comprehension of new topics became smoother. I began to approach new topics with greater optimism. Then, I assumed that it would help me improve my thinking process and decision-making vastly and very promptly. But very soon, I realized that while I could understand these things, I struggled to explain them to my wife clearly. Assimilation was not happening as promptly as I had wished.
Today, I realized that it was obvious. I can expect to connect dots easily, but the brain takes its own sweet time. After nearly an 8-year gap, I believe I am now better at those aspects and that I am feeling the urge to write about many things. However, I still plan to write/journal outside of public sight under a pseudonym. This is because I am unsure how my thinking will take shape, having not written much before, apart from a few LinkedIn replies to Mark Manson, James Clear, etc. But whatever it is, I feel now is the high time to start writing regularly, to gain mental clarity, and to experience some departure from my monotonous job schedule.
