Why I went missing
Written on 21st Aug 2025
I know, I didn’t publish a newsletter for the last couple of weeks.
Which proves no one is perfect. There’s room for improvement in every human being’s life.
You might see me being consistent with Instagram and YouTube. Truth is, it’s because I built systems for that. I shoot content once or twice, almost every last week of the month. That content gets edited and posted across my socials.
I have a system to ideate, script, publish, and edit. My team handles parts of it.
But these newsletters will never be delegated. These are my raw thoughts that I write personally.
Why I Went Missing
There have been things going on for the past two weeks on the personal side. I couldn’t focus on the newsletter. I thought I’d overcome this barrier and come back strong with a lesson for you guys.
So, here it is.
Lesson number 1: No matter how rough life gets, don’t compromise on sleep.
The week before last, I barely slept. Averaged four hours every single day. Insane. The next week, I was operating on low energy.
You might have seen it reflected in my videos. And at the gym (Bench press dropped from 60kg to 40 lol)
Actually, shooting videos gives me energy. I’m usually energetic while doing that. But everything else suffered.
Sleep Is Non-Negotiable
Sleep isn’t optional when you’re building things. Having a calendar is useful too. But sleep comes first.
The Bright Side Illusion
Recently, it was a rough few weeks for me. Took a lot of mental energy away.
On paper, if you’ve consumed my content, everything looks good and fine, right?
But behind the scenes, things are really different. The backend game is different.
Whenever you see someone at 100%, remember they hold the power to show their bright side. If you’re looking at me, you might think I’m sorted. The reality is, maybe I’m not.
Maybe things are bothering me.
Most often, we see people having things, but they have different issues at different magnitudes. Or the same issues but at high intensity.
Never think yourself short. Always respect yourself and put yourself first before anything else.
Lesson 2: Celebrate Wins
I recently got my Critical Skills Visa sponsorship.
I was sponsored before, but it was General Skills. The difference between General and Critical is the pathway to Stamp 4, which is equivalent to PR.
If you’re on Critical Skills, it’s 21 months. If you’re on General Skills, it’s 57 months. The shorter, the better.
I have been chasing this goal since 2023. And when I got it, I felt nothing.
Because of something called “The Gold Medal Syndrome”
Athletes spend their entire life chasing one goal. Once achieved, they lose sense of their being. The whole life was about that chase. Now it’s done. And that’s when their depression mode kicks in.
But then I realized, I should celebrate this. A friend pushed me for that too. Kudos to that friend.
I then decided let’s go running, swimming, bowling. It felt good. Btw, here’s the entire vlog about it. PS: If you’re reading before 22nd Aug this is the private link, the video isn’t out yet ;)
The main point is that no matter what happens, try to enjoy small wins.
I look at my channel, the views, the numbers. Everything is fair. But through this channel, I’ve connected with so many brilliant people over the past two weeks.
People like Moksh Vasant, Saksham Gaur, Akshat Tongia, and and drumrolls please Ali Abdaal’s Brand Manager Tintin Smith.
Whatever I was going through, that’s fine. But on the other side, there were bright sides to this content creation. Isn’t it?
Even I need consultations. Haha!!
The efforts I’ve been putting in for the past three years are finally paying off.
And that’s the power of connections. That’s the power of having your brand out there. When people reach out, you have access to a really good community.
Sometimes we “Should” pause and look at the bright sides. Appreciate even the small wins, let alone the big ones.
If I followed my diet today religiously, that’s a win. Even if it’s 80%, that’s a win.
Anything greater than zero is actually greater than zero. It’s progress. Even 0.5% is still 0.5% progress.
What worked For Me
If I were to track back about what’s worked and pinpoint a few traits I’ve built in myself.
First, surprisingly, I have really good communication skills. People skills. Even though I used to call myself under-confident or introverted.
Fundamentally, I was following principles from Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Praise people with their wins publicly. Criticize them in private. Make them feel important.
I was doing this indirectly, unknowingly. When I read the book, I realized these were the things I was doing unconsciously.
Hence, I have a lot of friends. A lot of people invested in my channel, Instagram, these newsletters. There’s a sense of connection I can plug into whenever I want.
It comes out as genuine because it is genuine.
If you feel like you’re lacking people skills, I highly recommend reading Dale Carnegie’s book. Classic recommendation, but it works.
Living By Systems
Second was living by the calendar, having everything on Notion. These are basic technical things.
But I’ll speak more about the emotional and mindset stuff. If you search YouTube for “how to be productive,” you always get answers like use calendars, use Notion, use to-do lists.
What no one tells you is you have to develop the mindset. You have to have a positive attitude toward everything. You have to believe that whatever happens, it will work in your favor.
I mean if you can’t convince yourself that you can, then how would the rest of the world?
The Three-Year Journey
It took me three years to get the Critical Skills sponsorship.
Assume I didn’t have General sponsorship by now I would have to leave the country. But I never thought in that way.
I was always fighting for a new role, a new job that would match the salary criteria to make me eligible for Critical Skills.
I was putting in efforts. I had this belief that no matter what, I would end up with CSEP. That’s what happened.
You have to think anyway, so why not think positive? This is woo-woo stuff. But this is literally what has worked in my favor.
Always thinking I will make it. No matter what. No matter how long it takes. I will make it.
Just bet on yourself.
Betting On Yourself
If today I was given two options - invest 50k in stocks or invest in myself - I’d choose myself. I know for a fact that if I invest that money in my personal education, I’ll have 200x the ROI.
Let me give you an example. This isn’t me showing off, but this is how it works.
Last year in November, when I was in India, I met a few chartered accountants. CAs specialized in investment advisory. Personal finance managers, portfolio managers.
I met them and they all said, “You have 22 lakhs in loan. The best option would be to keep paying EMI for eight years. On the other side, start investing and you’ll get good returns.”
But I said, “I want to pay off the loan next year.”
They said, “Based on your current salary, it’s nearly impossible to do so.”
I was like, “You shouldn’t have said that. I’ll be around 10 lakhs by the mid of this year. And I’m pretty sure I’ll pay off my entire loan by Jan 2026”
That was the confidence. Even now, I have the confidence.
Fast forward today - the loan amount is 13 lakhs. I have 2 lakhs in savings, which I can use to make part payment. Technically, I have 11 lakhs left.
I achieved what I said. Literally every CA I met - three of them - said it’s impossible. But I did it.
Because I believed in myself. There was a sense of belief.
The Testing Phase
One of the rough patches I went through was a lot of backlash on my video around truths about racism and videos around networking and job hunting.
It should not bother me a lot, right? Of course, I’m human, so it did.
But I knew for a fact I have a journal entry about this that it is my testing phase.
If I want to be a successful YouTuber. I want to get that silver play button, gold play button, and create an impact on society through my content.
This is the price I have to pay. Whether it takes a toll on my mental health or whatever. This is the price for moving forward.
I think I crossed that very well. I dealt with it fairly well.
That’s why the channel grew. Instagram went from 5k followers to 6,500 within three days. Insane. Kudos to my team of “A players too”
Same goes for YouTube. Currently standing at 6,300 subscribers. Insane.
It goes back to believing in yourself. I have this goal by the end of this month, I want to hit 10k across channels. YouTube and Instagram.
Since I passed the test, I think growth is inevitable.
The Final Thought
If you want something, you will be tested so badly. I can’t even express how badly the testing phase will be.
But once done, once you achieve the thing, once you’re out of the testing phase, the finish line will meet you halfway.
You’ll achieve everything you’ve dreamed. Just make sure when you achieve it, celebrate.
And drop me a text if I was able to be a part of it or help you at all.
That’s it for today’s newsletter. See you next week.
Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:
Strategic Advisory call: Get on a 60-minute strategic advisory call with me to break through a current personal or career roadblock.
Gain a high-impact mental model to navigate your challenge with clarity and confidence. Reframe obstacles into leverage points that accelerate your growth. Walk away with a precise action plan that gets you moving without unnecessary friction.
See you next Week!