warikoo Wanderings

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GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME​
​27th Aug 2002 - I took my first ever flight in my life.
It was for the USA.
Papa had had to take a Rs. 55,000 loan to pay for the one-way ticket.
A KLM Airlines flight. Stopover at Schiphol Airport. Then Detroit. Then East Lansing.
East Lansing is where Michigan State University's campus was located.
For the next 5+ years, I had chosen this place to be my home.
As a PhD student in astrophysics.

I still remember the scene at the Delhi airport.
My entire family had come to see me off. Ruchi has come too. Everyone was crying.
I was crying too.
But I was also excited. For the future.
This is what I had always dreamt of.
To go to the US for a fine education, become a space scientist, join NASA, land on Mars.
And that dream was finally coming true.

I had been admitted on a 100% scholarship.
The only way we could have afforded this education.
I was carrying 400 dollars with me. Money that my extended family had given as a farewell gift.
My luggage comprised utensils, masalas, stationary, Asian edition books, and winter clothes.
Anything and everything possible that would save me money once I was there.

The minute the flight took off, a deep sense of sadness overtook me.
Not only was I going far far away from the people I loved the most, I also did not have the financial strength to visit them whenever I wanted.
Forget visiting, I didn't even have the money to call them as much as I wanted.
A 10-min call would cost me $5. A fortune!

Landed at Schiphol airport. It was a 6hr stopover.
I still remember the song that played on loop.
'Here I am' by Bryan Adams.
For the next 5hrs, I cried, as I listened to one of my favorite songs at that point.
​It's a new world, it's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day, it's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am​
It was almost as if the one deciding the song that day, had decided it for me.

I reached Detroit around 3pm.
Cleared the immigration.
I was awestruck with the airport. There were so many people, different skin tones, different accent, different clothes.
Hungry, I went to McDonald's and ordered a cheese burger, thinking that is what it is. A cheese burger.
Turns out, it was not a cheese burger :)
My food budget for the day was over.

I reached East Lansing at 9pm.
The Indian Students Association had offered to send a student over to pick me up.
But I couldn't see anyone.
There were only pay phones at that point.
I called a number, but it wasn't answered.
I didn't know what to do. So I decided to wait.
After 90 mins, the student showed up. Apologized, because he had an assignment to finish.

We drove to the campus in his old Camry.
Reached the apartment that I was to call home from now on.
He said - the first night is usually tough. Are you sure you do not want to stay with us tonight?
I was sure I didn't want to.
He helped me with my luggage, I thanked him and closed the door on him.
As I turned around towards my room, I realized I was all alone.
All by myself!

It is crazy how vividly I remember such things.
Almost as if it were happening to me, right now, as I share it with you.

I decided to eventually drop out of my PhD program after 2 years, and come back to India.
But these 2 years gave me so much. They taught me so much about myself.
In my solitude, I truly found myself.

I felt an immense sense of guilt dropping out. The university had paid for my education, given me a handsome stipend every month. They had invested in me and here I was ditching them.
I never felt the university would ever want to do anything with me, after that.

27th August 2022 - exactly 20 years to the day I left for Michigan State, the university confirmed me as a speaker for their alumni speaker series.
I will be going to the university this April, and addressing the students. Share my journey with them.
And it feels surreal to even say this!

18 years back, when I came back to India, if someone had come up to me and said
​Hey - I am from the future. And I have some exciting news for you.
In about 18 years, you will have more than 7Mn people follow you on something really cool called social media.
You would have written a best selling book. You will be loved and respected by a lot of people.
You will be invited by top companies to address their employees and motivate them.
Forget all of that - this very university that you are dropping out from, will call you back to address their students.
​I would have told the person to get a CT Scan and get their brain checked! :))

But here I am.
Living this life.
Not because I am the smartest person I know or the most hard working person I know.
I am living this life because I did not give up on myself.
I loved myself. I cared for myself. I critiqued myself.

A lot of you would be going through something similar in your lives.
A new company, a new city, a new career, a new relationship, a new experience.
And it may not always turn out to be what you wanted it to be.
But that's not the end.
There is never any end, until the day we all die.
Up until that day, you have yourself.
And I wish for you to find that yourself one day.
As I thankfully did.

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BOOK I AM READING THIS WEEK

Finished reading The Carbon Almanac​
Must read, if you wish to do a deep-dive into climate change, the source of it, the impact of it and how it isn't about individual changes that will bring about change.
It is about collective systemic change.

Started reading The Z Factor​
This is Subhash Chandra's (founder of ZEE Entertainment) autobiography.
Quite a fascinating story of how from a rice mills guy to building one of India's largest media and entertainment conglomerate.
ZEE TV was India's first private TV network and it brought about a social revolution back in its days. I distinctly remember that period, growing up in the 90s.

If autobiographies is your thing, then this candid memoir will be a lot of fun.

In other news, I finished the manuscript of my 2nd book (to be released this December) - GET EPIC SHIT DONE. At the end of the month I will be signing an UNREAL number of copies for all of you, for pre-order. More details at the right time :)

My book DO EPIC SHIT is now available in Hindi, Marathi and Tamil.
Of course, also in English :)
190,000+ copies sold.
3 more languages coming up! (Including Portuguese)

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QUOTES TO SHARE

Stay away from people who bring out the worst in you. Even if it includes family.
​​(Share on Twitter)​​

It's perfectly normal to want to slow down in life.
​​(Share on Twitter)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

It's ok to have a job and not want to startup. Just saying!
​​(Share on Twitter)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION

Last week I asked you:

If you have 5 mins to kill, which of these are you most likely to do?

1. Look at my phone
2. Read something
3. Listen to music
4. Talk to someone (could be on the phone too)
5. Do nothing / close my eyes / nap
6. Something else...

Here are the responses:

Observations:

• Phone usage increases with age - clearly an addiction :)
• Listening to music isn't a 5-min time killer, with growing age. Reading takes its slot.
• Also small talk with people is not a thing grown up do, evidently :)

The best response I got in the other category was: 'Repent to God for my sins'
Hahaha - kitne paap karte ho dost? :))

My response?
I am split between doing nothing (especially if I am in a crowd - I love to observe people) or check my phone.

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PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Met up with friends for a lovely lunch, after a long while. Next to me is Ankur Singla, facing me is Akhilesh Bali, next to him is Simran and then a whole host of other folks blurred in the photo.
Photo courtesy: Shyamala (she is terrific at this!)

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Where do you follow my content the most?

1. YouTube
2. Instagram
3. LinkedIn
4. Newsletter
5. Podcast
6. Other platforms

​​Click here to let me know your answer (anonymously)​​​​​

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CONTENT I SHARED THIS WEEK

Podcast:​
Title of episode: 60 Seconds
​Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, JioSaavn, Gaana or YouTube.

YouTube:​
How do my interns earn 8L pa?
​You can watch it here.​

Instagram:​
Stop chasing these 3 things
​You can watch it here.​

Twitter:​
3 tips for life
​You can read it here.​

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You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.

I love reading all your emails, even though I may not be able to reply to them all.
Yes! I READ ALL MY EMAILS. ALL OF THEM.
​​​(Dilli mein awesome vada pav khane ki kasam)

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