Reach for the stars..

In many ways ‘writing’ is like starting a new business. You got to be witty and attractive with a flow of edgy ideas. Now this might come as a shock to most in the age bracket 20 - 30 that there are 13 year olds out there writing some extensive blogs as they are of the certified age to do so. The competition out there is so fierce; it leaves you feeling old even at 23! 

If that is not enough to scare you, research shows that one of the causes of poverty is failure in the business arena. The Big Bad City thus compels us to go down on our knees and look up towards the heavens and pray for a miracle or at least for a slight change in the markets.

Being a student of Economics, I was always taught that 'monopoly' is to be revered as the sacred sanctum of perfect markets. However to be a monopolist you have to drive in the opposite lane with oncoming traffic in your face. Only then will you be truly noticed. But how can you be original when it's hard enough to come up with your own original yet catchy blog name!? And the list of limitations is endless, ironically.

Every Google search gone in vain, and every comprehension of the concise lists of 'How to start your own blog/business’, leaves you in an eternal search for Nirvana. The variable that most forget to factor into the equation is, how many of these ideas are truly original and what can you pinpoint as a necessity rather than a luxury.

Drowned in the vastness of this negative universe, we try our best to listen to our own inner voice. And, at the risk of sounding completely redundant, I tell you to reach for the stars with childlike enthusiasm because that's when things will come your way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Push

Image
It was a strange feeling, not being able to recall anything a few seconds later… or maybe it had been a few minutes or hours. I set my phone aside, knowing I had to do something but what? Look up a recipe in my saved folder? Message an old friend? Was there an event I was missing? I could feel the cogs of my mind turn slowly, almost arriving at a definitive conclusion. Then, the dopamine rush-inducing ‘ting’ sound buzzed again and all was lost. *** I’ve always found Instagram to be a window into the world of others. A glimpse of their lives shines through and then it’s gone as you scroll away. But there is a morbidity that comes as you lie on your back and flip from one reel to the next till your hand aches. It’s almost as if we are trying to find the end or go back to the beginning so that all that doom scrolling would mean something. I think I found it one night when I scrolled myself into oblivion.  It was 3 am when I found myself in a lucid dream. My phone buzzed and I awoke, r...
Read more

Reflections unseen

Image
  “I don’t like looking in the mirror… because that’s when she looks back…”  When my four-year-old nephew said these words to me I replied with the standard: “Eric, there’s no such thing as ghosts.” Though the thought was eerie, never did I imagine there was any truth to it. As psychiatrists, we are trained to understand the logic behind every fear but something about my nephew's phobia wasn't irrational. Over the next few days, I went about my business, trying to put this egregious thought to rest. What I noticed was that I grew fearful of my own reflection. For some unexplained reason, I was hesitant to look at car windows, shopping displays or even the notice board outside my office. I couldn't escape the foretelling of something demonic when approaching a looking glass. The hairs on the back of my neck would stand and I’d get a bone-chilling feeling like something was watching me. I was completely powerless against the fear that a four-year-old had planted in me. So, th...
Read more

The proposal - A short story

Image
As the music grew to a dull roar I could see that he had changed his mind. Our family and friends had gathered round and were excited to witness a climactic moment, but I knew their wait would be in vain. My eyes searched on for a growing sense of recognition in his, but found none. He was far gone. His one knee proposal felt like he was imploring me to read his mind, and so I did. Finally, standing up, he hugged me. The crowd cheered on as I put my arms around his neck and kissed him gently on his cheek. He wrapped his arms around my waist, nestled his head in my shoulders' nook and whispered softly in my ear, "I can't do this." To everyone else we were heading toward a new chapter in our lives but it was actually the end of an unexpected and beautiful journey. It wouldn't end in 'Till death do us part', it ended right there on the dance floor, where the music died.
Read more