Category: Personal Story

What are the three words that describe you?

Neera

It’s one of the common interview questions.
Most of the time, people answer it with some adjectives.

– Reliable
– Outgoing
– Energetic
– Team player
– Dependable

But there is more to this question than just a bunch of adjectives.

People who have achieved a lot in their lives can be easily defined in three words.

Here are a few examples:

Gandhi – Truth, Non-violence, Equality.
J.F. Kennedy – Service, Social Justice, Collaboration.
Steve Jobs – Innovation, Visionary, Disruptive.

In their case, the three words are their philosophies, rather than mere adjectives.

Now think again, what are the three words that describe you?

It’s not an easy exercise, but a worthwhile one.

Once you know what you’re all about, what you stand for,
you will find the inner drive that will guide you

I recently did the exercise and the three words that describe me are:
“Freedom, Power and Adventure.”

‘Freedom’ to do whatever I want to do.
‘Power’ to make it happen.
A life full of ‘adventure.’

I would add a fourth one as well:
‘Authorpreneur’ turning writing into a business.

This is exactly what I do and how I live.

For years, I had a dream of becoming a writer

Neera

For years, I harbored a dream of becoming a writer. However, a significant hurdle stood in my way—my less-than-perfect grasp of English.

This became glaringly evident during a performance review when my boss remarked, “The only thing standing between you and a senior management role is your written English.”

His words hit hard, but rather than letting them dishearten me, I took it as a challenge.

Here’s how I turned things around:
– I joined a writing group
– I enrolled in writing courses
– I mastered the art of composing minutes, reports, and discussion papers
– I honed the skill of storytelling in business writing

These efforts paid off, and I secured the senior management role I aspired to.

Inspired by this success, I decided to fully dedicate myself to writing. In 2019, I left my six-figure management job and embarked on a journey to pursue my dream.

During this pursuit, I:
– Established a website and began blogging.
– Authored a weekly newsletters and articles for online magazines.
– Engaged actively on various social media platforms.

Despite persistent efforts, progress seemed elusive.

Then, unexpectedly, I poured my heart and soul into a manuscript and self-published it. Almost overnight, I transformed from a struggling writer into a published author, gaining recognition as an authority in my field.

Over the next 18 months, I authored four more books, witnessing a substantial shift in how people perceived me. Individuals from diverse backgrounds sought my advice on writing and publishing books.

My journey has been truly remarkable, and I hold a deep appreciation for the opportunities that unfolded since then.

I share my story as a testament to the power of establishing authority through authoring a book.

What does your ideal day look like?

Neera

Here is mine:

6.00 AM – 9:00 AM
– Meditation (15 min)
– Journal writing (15 min)
– Planning my day (15 min)
– Yoga (15 min)
– Gym (1 hr)

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
– Breakfast
– A Sketch (15 min)
– LinkedIn Post (30 min)

10:00 PM – 12:00 PM
– Adventure of the day
(On Mon, Tue, Wed working on Ghostwriting
On Thu and Fri Memoir Writing on Substack
On weekends filing, and bulk tasks & bringing my inbox to Zero).

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
– Lunch
– Cooking
– Housework

2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
– Adventure of the day (as above)
– Meditation (15 min)

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
– Walk

6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
– Dinner
– TV

10:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Notes Taking (30 min)
Journaling (15 min)
Meditation (15 min)

11:00 PM
– Sleep

I only get to have my perfect day once or twice a month.
The rest of the time the chaos prevails.
But having a schedule helps.

What is your ideal day like?
How often you get to have it?

What’s the biggest thing you can achieve in your life?

Neera

It took me twenty years to find out.

Throughout my twenties and thirties, I lacked self-confidence.

I remember in a self-development course I attended; I thought so highly of other participants and so lowly of myself that I kept my head low and didn’t say a word.

But then the course facilitator did something that changed my life forever.

She gave all the participants a sheet of paper with the name of each participant on each sheet of paper and asked us to write one good trait we saw in each other.

At the end of the exercise, we got to read our sheets.

When I read mine, I cried.

Others thought I was:
– Logical
– Intelligent
– Hard working
– Clear thinker
– Highly educated
– Compassionate
– Conscientious
– Determined
– Smart
– Witty

I never saw those qualities in me.

I only saw my faults.

At that moment, I changed.

I became a person who was all those things that others saw in me.
We all have good-traits and not-so-good traits.

But by nature, we choose to concentrate on not-so-good ones. They make us feel inadequate.

When we don’t respect ourselves, others don’t respect us either.

Try to identify good-traits in yourself. If you are having trouble, ask the people around you to spot one good thing they like in you.

Collect them and put them where you can see them every day.

You are all those things and more.

So, what’s the biggest thing you can achieve in your life? “It is to be comfortable in your skin.”

I have great news to share with you.

Neera

I have been invited to participate in the LinkedIn Editorial Content Program this month.

It’s LinkedIn’s new deep dive and Top Voice spotlight initiative.

I was so surprised and delighted to be picked up by their Australia Chapter.

This training and help from the platform is so timely as I am getting more focused with my content and trying to address the right audience I am planning to serve.

The training starts in the third week of January, and I am so excited.

Rest assured I will share my learnings with you.

Follow me and turn your notification on so that you don’t miss my posts.

Thanks a heap, LinkedIn!

I declare 2024 as the Year of Marketing

Neera

I have been writing online for 5 years now.

So far, my trajectory has been:
From a:
Terrible Writer —> Confident Writer
Confident Writer —> Author of 5 books
Author —> Course Creator
Course Creator —> Book Writing Coach

But there was one significant missing factor.

I didn’t learn how to market my books and my course.

By marketing, I don’t mean selling.

Marketing is about creating and nurturing relationships.

Marketing is about understanding your customer and their needs.

Marketing is about solving your customer’s problems and adding value.

Marketing is about you and your story as well.

I like this definition of marketing the best:

“Marketing is the art of telling a story that resonates with your audience and convinces them to be part of it.”

This is exactly what I will be doing.

I will share my story of studying marketing, learning from the best marketers I can find, implementing their strategies I like, and inviting you to be part of the journey.

Because, if you haven’t learned to market, you will miss out on the chance to turn your passion or idea
into a thriving business.

What is your biggest marking challenge?