25 things I’m proud of achieving in 2025:
1) Published 153 newsletter issues, 8 podcast episodes, 10 Lives, and 300+ Notes in Substack. Showed up even when consistency felt boring or was a lot of effort.
2) Took my Substack newsletter from 958 to 2,135 subscribers, and paid subscribers from 14 to 59. A slow but steady growth.
3) Wrote 137 LinkedIn posts, including 17 solo video posts, and got over my inhibition of speaking to the camera.
4) Started a LinkedIn newsletter, expanding my writing beyond Substack.
5) Stepped into fiction writing and wrote and published 26 short stories on a Substack publication called Neera’s Fiction (to stretch different creative muscles).
6) Did a 30-Day Notes Challenges on Substack in January and quietly kept going for 60 days.
7) Developed my own content calendar, which genuinely 10x-ed my productivity and saved my sanity.
8) Published my 7th book ‘A Writer’s Guide To Write Travel Stories’ and hosted a virtual launch on Substack, one of my favourite moments of the year.
9) Published my memoir, ‘My Life in 100 Objects,’ a deeply personal milestone.
10) Travelled through Spain, Portugal, Morocco, London, and Uzbekistan, collecting stories instead of souvenirs.
11) Wrote and published The Ultimate Guide to Simple Book Marketing Strategies on Substack (to be published in the future).
12) Wrote another book on Substack on Author Branding (to be published).
13) Launched the 90-Day Write Grow Monetize program in July and then again in October as live cohort training for three months to 50+ paid subscribers of my newsletter.
14) Ran another 60-day Notes Challenge across June and July and then again in October.
15) Lived in India for two months as a senior nomad, proof that work and life don’t have to be opposites.
17) Wrote and published 6 novellas plus a reader magnet, entering a completely new publishing rhythm.
18) Built a fiction mailing list from 0 to 235 subscribers, one reader at a time.
19) Started writing monthly reports on Substack, creating a habit of reflection.
20) Created 5 digital products – ‘Substack Notes Playbook’, ‘LinkedIn Playbook, 90-Day Reusable Content Creation System’, ‘How To Create Your First Digital Product In 3 Hours’ and ‘How To Turn Your Expertise Into Income With A Paid Newsletter.’
21) Took up singing lessons, something I’d wanted to do for years.
22) Ran ’20 Minutes Exercise To Solve Your Hardest Problem’ sold out workshop in collaboration with another creator.
23) Rebranded my Substack, aligning it more closely with who I’ve become.
Launched my 2026 program, Book-to-Business, with clarity and conviction.
24) Wrote the first draft of the book, ‘One Book to $100K: The Proven Book-Led Path to a Six-Figure Business,’ due to be published in March 2026.
25) Conducted a workshop, ‘How to Write a Book and Turn It Into a Business’, closing the year by opening a door. (2 more planned in January).Activate to view larger image,
Month: December 2025
I’ve stopped making yearly plans?
Every January, I’d sit down and map out the big stuff:
I’ll write and publish 6 books this year.
Grow my newsletter to 5K subscribers.
Launch 3 courses and hit $X in revenue.
It looked impressive.
It felt productive.
But truth was, it rarely worked.
Life happened.
Priorities shifted.
Plans became irrelevant.
So, I changed my approach.
Now I plan in 3-month blocks.
Why?
Because I’ve noticed something about myself:
Every 3 months, I need a break.
A holiday.
A reset.
That’s my natural rhythm.
So whatever needs to get done,
I make sure it happens within those 90 days.
There’s urgency.
There’s clarity.
There’s flexibility
And there’s room to pivot when things are not working.
Three-month planning keeps me:
Grounded
Motivated
Moving
I still have a vision for the future.
But I move toward it in short, focused sprints.
If long-term planning has ever left you overwhelmed, stuck, or feeling behind…
Try a 90-day plan instead.
It might just change the way you work.
And how much you actually get done.
P.S. Do you plan yearly, monthly, or in short sprints like me?
I’d love to hear what works for you.
Why I Deleted Half My Offers (And Made More Money)
There was a time when I had too many offers.
- A digital product here
- A course I planned to launch
- Some 1:1 coaching
- Custom sessions I created on request
- And ideas for at least 3 more things in my Google Docs
I thought having more offers meant more chances to earn.
But all it did was confuse my audience, and drain my energy.
People didn’t know what to buy.
I didn’t know what to focus on.
And nothing was gaining real traction.
It looked like variety.
But it was actually noise.
So I did something radical: I deleted half my offers.
Not because they were bad.
But because they didn’t align with my core transformation:
Helping experts turn their knowledge into income, on their own terms.
I kept the ones that:
- Were simple to deliver
- Felt aligned with my long-term vision
- Solved a clear problem
- Made both me and my clients feel energized
Suddenly, my business got simpler.
And stronger.
Here’s what happened when I simplified:
- I stopped explaining 5 things, and started owning one
- My audience instantly understood how I could help them
- I had more time to improve the offers that mattered
- My messaging became sharper
- My income went up, because clarity builds confidence
Turns out, simplicity doesn’t limit your business.
It unlocks it.
Here’s my invitation to you this week:
Audit your current offers.
Make two lists:
- What’s draining me?
- What’s driving results with ease?
Then ask: What would happen if I gave myself permission to let go of the rest, even temporarily?
Because success doesn’t come from doing everything.
It comes from doing the right things, deeply.
Writing isn’t about time management.
It’s about your energy flow.
You can carve out 2 hours on your calendar.
Sit at your desk. Open your laptop.
But if your energy is flat, the words won’t come.
I’ve learned this the hard way.
On days when my energy is high, I can write 1,000 words in an hour and still feel light.
On low-energy days, I can stare at the same sentence for thirty minutes, and it still feels wrong.
Here’s what shifted everything for me:
Instead of asking myself, “Do I have time to write?” I ask, “What’s my energy level at the moment?”
Sometimes, that means writing first thing in the morning before the world intrudes.
Sometimes, it’s after a walk, when my mind is clear.
Other times, it’s at night, when the house is quiet and ideas finally breathe.
Writing with energy flow feels different:
– Words don’t resist, you channel them.
– The work feels lighter, even joyful.
– You stop forcing and start allowing.
If you’ve been struggling with consistency, maybe it’s not about willpower.
Maybe it’s about learning when your energy flows best, and riding that current.
Writing becomes less of a grind and more of a practice in alignment.
People often ask me: “How do you keep writing book after book?”
The truth? I don’t write books for the masses. I write for one person.
When I sit down to write, I picture a single reader:
– someone who’s stuck
– someone who wants to write
– someone who needs encouragement
And I write as if I’m sitting across the table, talking to them.
If one reader finishes my book and says, “This helped me take the next step,” that’s worth more than a thousand unread copies on shelves.
My proudest moment wasn’t when I saw my book on Amazon.
It was when a reader emailed me: “Your book gave me the courage to start my own.”
I don’t write to impress. I write to impact, one reader at a time.
I never thought I’d be running a business in my sixties.
At 64, I should be slowing down.
Spending more time gardening.
Cooking for friends.
Maybe taking up knitting.
Instead, I’m building a business from scratch.
Not because I need to.
But because I want to.
Every morning, I write for at least four hours.
Not because I have to.
But because I want to.
I’ve “failed” at several things:
– Retiring quietly
– Staying in my comfort zone
– Accepting that the best years were behind me
But I’ve succeeded at a number of things:
– Writing and publishing 8 books (with 4 more in draft mode)
– Growing an audience on LinkedIn, Medium and Substack — all after 60
– Launching a newsletter business that brings in income and impact
– Building a community of writers who support each other
– Creating digital products, running live workshops, and launching a course
– Running a podcast where I interview amazing authors and publishing pros
– Becoming a book coach and helping others write the book that changes their lives
I don’t have a marketing team.
I don’t have a big following.
What I have is a system, a voice, and a relentless belief that it’s not too late to do anything you want.
My journey isn’t about “going viral” or chasing some big fancy title.
It’s about creating work that matters, on my own terms.
If you’re in your 50s or 60s or 70s and wondering if you missed your chance to build something of your own?
Let me say this again.
You didn’t.
The second act might just be your best one yet.
