I plan to find it out for myself. With me as the product.

Experts often advise us to build our product in public. Because they feel that continued feedback while building helps us gain insights that can be used to improve the product in build phase itself. Which is great, because no one likes their product falling flat on face after a grand launch done with much fanfare. So you save on loads of time, money, resources and heartbreak. Smart move, I daresay.

Though, heartbreak is only for those who build with love and passion.

But then, I happen to be a very emotional person. And whatever I do, if I do, is with full passion. So when ideas fail, whether they be for a book, course, website or career pivot, it hurts. Hurts bad. And it is worsened by the fact that I am a soloist, an introvert, not very good at communicating with others and horribly bad at marketing myself. After much soul searching (I do it every morning for 20-25 minutes and then through the day whenever my brain decides to go hyperbole on something someone did or said. Or did not say or do!) I realized that the issue was not with the ideas per se. It was me that needed building properly. Me the person. Me the soloist. Me the writer. Me the mom. Me the human being. Me the Indian. Me the avid reader and thriller story lover.

There are so many “me” that it becomes near impossible to decide which “me” should take lead for any given situation.

Which results in complete chaos.

When I am doing client work, the mom in me says I should go check what the kids are up to. When I am writing, the soloist keeps nagging at the back of the mind that I must send those pitches lined up for the day because I need to land that high paying project yesterday. When I am cooking, cleaning or doing other household chores, the reader in me says I should continue with the unfinished book while waiting for the timer to beep.

The gist is that I need to get myself right before any of my ideas can take shape and get executed successfully.

And when I say right, I mean I need to get clarity on my thoughts — what I really want to do and what is really possible given the constraints I have to work under. Everyone has constraints. And a soloist mom living in multi-generational home has even more. Add to that the desire to become a bestselling writer and you have the recipe for disaster, I tell you. But again I digress. Like always I do while journaling every morning.

But you, my dear readers, are going to act like my accountability partners.

Where only I am accountable to you, not the other way round. Your participation is pure discretion. Oh! how I would love to be such an accountability partner to someone (sigh).

So I was telling you about what I want to do, and I have some constraints.

Here are the things I want to do

  • Writing books. Lots of Them. That people read too.
  • Coding. A few software that people really use and love. Because it solves their problem(s).
  • Coaching/Counseling/Advising/Mentoring women on how they can have a life of their own besides all the caregiving and household responsibilities they have or are expected to shoulder in future.
  • Reading fiction for min 2 hrs a day
  • Teaching coding/computers/information technology to children. In a way that enables them to appreciate its power without getting awed by it.
  • Reading, learning and researching about AI, cybersecurity, psychology and developing software.
  • Learning more about content marketing so that I could completely pivot to that.
  • Developing an inventory management system for the restaurant I started with my husband.

This is what’s coming to mind right now. Will keep sharing as and when more come up!

To actually do what I want, these are the things I am doing

And above all, to be financially independent, I do client work.

Since all my personal ruminations, in the privacy of my journal haven’t been able to change much, here is my attempt at building out in public. I plan to share my ideas and reflections around them as they come to me so that you, my dear readers, can help me crystallise the one I should run with.