1000 Days of Love

I got my first award as a Creator-preneur 💚 About two months ago, I got an email from “The Helen Keller Award” team notifying I’ve been nominated for the Creator Entrepreneurship category. And they invited me to join a virtual award ceremony. I was excited - but definitely did not think I’d win. But lo and below, my name was called out as winner… (though I could see host struggled to pronounce it 😄) Huge thanks to the team for putting in dozens (maybe hundreds?) of hours reviewing videos and stories from creators around the world. To me, this one’s a special award. I’ve loved writing and storytelling as much as I’ve loved creating and building. Books. Courses. Startups. Videos. Communities. Events. So thank you for seeing that - Richard Lowenthal, Angela Silva, and team. (About Helen Keller Award: The Helen Keller Award celebrates creators and entrepreneurs who are using storytelling and lived experience to make a meaningful impact in the world. They specifically look for women creators with <50,000 subscribers on YouTube.) --- 👉 If you're in the Bay Area, don't miss the most important gathering of tech immigrants, happening in 14 days: Open Atlas Summit 2025. :)

The biggest cause of my professional suffering has come from this: trying to win at a game that I wasn't even excited to play in. ✅ This happened a few times: - Trying to top grades in undergrad when my passion wasn't even chemical engineering - Trying hard to get a corporate job when I knew in my core that I wasn't meant for it - Trying to build a company when all I really wanted to do was write If you hate your school, job, or career, it's worth asking: Do you even want to play the game anymore? Or rather, design your own? ✅ Graham Weaver shares what that looks like in his last lecture: - Choose a goal that stirs your blood. One that makes you feel something. - Design your own game. Most “rules” are just convention - break them. - Play with people you admire. Who you surround yourself with shapes your identity. - Play now. Not later. Now is your life. “You’re more likely to achieve an aspirational goal you’re excited about than a moderate one you don’t care for.” :)

Exactly 4 years ago, I met the man who would change my life. Today, we launch a book, course, and community - in hopes it might change yours. Free for first 100 of you! (🎁 We’re offering a free invite to the course/community to first 100 people who join here: https://lnkd.in/gSYdk5B3) When I met Rajesh Setty, I was 25. Lonely. Bitter. Depressed. On the outside, I had it together. Inside, I was barely holding on. For reasons I still don’t understand, Rajesh saw something in me. And then did something few people ever do: He stayed. Most people you meet pass through you like water. You share a moment - then go your separate ways. Some stay a little longer, enough to leave a mark. A rare few become your anchor - the kind who ensures you never feel alone in this world. And then there is… Rajesh. He lives with Parkinson’s and goes through more physical pain than most of us, but is the happiest person I know. He has every reason to spend his days focusing inward, yet he spends every day lifting others up. He simply gives. Over and over and over again. Believe it or not, Rajesh and I have talked every single day for the past 3 years and 11 months. Most days, we talk 3+ times. That’s over 4000+ conversations. And from these, we distilled the best lessons and created something we’re proud to share: 👉 A course: Beyond Luck A 5-hour journey on how to grow in your career, relationships, and mindset using generosity. 👉 A community: 1000 Days of Love Club A space for people who want to grow through service and connection. 👉 A book (coming 2026): 1000 Days of Love A novel about a lonely young woman who meets a man with Parkinson’s - and how their conversations over 1000 days change both their lives. 🎁 We’re offering a free invite to the course/community to first 100 people who join here: https://lnkd.in/gSYdk5B3 thank you <3 P.S. Forever indebted to Joshua Levy for making the introduction of a lifetime.

I’m hosting a free live session with Brad Feld, cofounder of Techstars. Register to win his new book, 'Give First'. ❤️ Brad Feld almost didn’t invest in Fitbit (now part of Google) - one of his most successful exits - simply because he didn’t listen properly on a call. In his new book, “Give First”, Brad breaks down the power of mentorship & what it means to show up for someone (hint: yes, listening matters!). I first met Brad in August 2022 when I cold-emailed him to ask if he’d speak to me about my book, 'Unshackled' (which at the time was just a vague idea). To my unbelievable shock, he said yes. Even though I was a nobody, he gave me his time, listened closely, and suggested I try crowdfunding. That led to me raising $100K for the project - and Brad was one of the earliest VIP contributors. He didn’t have to do any of that. But he did. And that’s the kind of person you want to learn from. ✅ Attend this if: You want to be an exceptional mentor You want to become an exceptional mentee You want to build stronger founder/investor relationships 👉 Click here to register: https://lnkd.in/gfWxMhHW 🎁 BONUS: Want a free copy of Give First? Drop a question you’d like to ask Brad in the comments - I’ll pick 3 to gift a copy!

An Uber ride that I’ll remember forever. It was a Friday night. I’d just wrapped up a partner dance class. Emotionally, I was in a pretty sad state. I got into a shared Uber, hoping to just get home and switch off. Ten minutes in, I realized I’d left my jacket (with my house keys and credit cards) back at the venue. I turned to the driver and asked, “Is there any way you could take me back? I’ll pay you directly for the extra time.” “Of course!” But by then, another rider got into the cab, so we had to drop her off first. This gave us 45 minutes together… where Hector shared his life story. → Moved from El Salvador when he was ten years old. → Lost both his parents by seventeen. → Spent 10 days being homeless and begging for food. → Began washing cars on the street, and eventually got a menial job at a car wash. → Achieved his lifelong dream of owning a house after ten years of working two jobs. :) Hector’s 55 now, and still drives Uber every night, to earn an extra $150 for his expenses. When we finally got the jacket & reached my place, he said: “Don’t worry about the money. It is my duty to get you home safe, and that’s what I did.” He had no reason not to take the money. Or spend those extra 45 minutes helping me. But he did it without hesitation, and without expectation. Being generous when you have plenty is one thing. But being generous when you barely have enough is a kind of wealth that money can’t measure. (I tipped him later.) We all have the choice to be nicer to each other - kinder to each other - in every interaction. Sadly, we squander it by trying to be snarky, selfish, and "I'm better than you." My hope is to find more people like Hector out there. If you've had such an encounter with someone, share below. :) — 🌿 Please re-share if you found value. 👉 Follow me for more insights on personal growth, storytelling, and mastering the 0 → 1 game.

Thanks to my London dreams falling through 6 months ago, I got to write my book 1000 Days of Love in 3 farms—across 3 continents :) Six months ago, something bizarre happened in London (some of you know) that crushed my London dreams. But thank goodness it happened. Because it gave me the chance to visit three farms and three continents to write my third book (hehe, the rule of three is quite strong on this one ;)). Currently in a beautiful farm in Montana working on the next draft of my novel, 1000 Days of Love. When shitty things happen, it feels like universe put a hole in your plans. But then, you later realize that this was the plan all along. <3 p.s. If you're curious, I stayed at Vaksana Farms in Chennai (Kiruba Shankar) and Yash Farm Stay in Bangalore (Karthik Padmanabhan). p.p.s. I wrote my book in India, Australia, and now America.

Life update: Leaving India to head to Dubai today, followed by spending the next 2 months in Australia, and then fly to San Francisco :) → Dubai: Attending the Indiaspora conference. → Australia: Working on the third draft of my third book, 1000 Days of Love while living with my brother & family. → San Francisco: Return to work on getting a publishing deal for 1000 Days of Love, find a production house for a movie adaptation and host a successful Unshackled conference in Aug. → ? I never expected my life to look like this. Some days, it still feels deeply overwhelming and unsettling. But, for now, I'm embracing the privilege of being a digital nomad in 2025. If you're an immigrant in America, join the waitlist to attend the Unshackled conference in Aug 2025. It'll be the largest event hosted of its kind: unshackled.events. ✨

How Soundarya Balasubramani went from being a chemical engineer to a product manager to an entrepreneur to finally writing 1000 Days of Love :) Success isn't linear - so it's ok if your career isn't either!

A stranger ruined my morning—and then restored my faith in humanity. A few years ago, I was rushing to my co-working space one morning in San Fransisco. There was a catch: If you don’t reach before 7:30 AM, all parking spots are gone. That day, I reached at 7:25 AM. There was one spot left. Except, a car was parked in between two spots, blocking me from using the final spot. I was thoroughly puzzled. I walked up to the car and noticed there was a woman inside. She saw me approach, and immediately looked like she was ready for a fight. “Hi, you’re parked between two spots. Could you please go back or forward?” She snapped: “There’s enough space in front of me. Just go park there.” (There wasn’t) I tried again: “Ma’am, there isn’t enough space. Could you move a little so I can park?” She rolled up her windows, signaling me to leave her alone. I spent the next five minutes unsuccessfully trying to squeeze into a smaller space. Frustrated, I went back one more time. “Ma’am, please. I just need a few feet. I don’t want to get a ticket.” This time, she shouted: “You are beginning to bother me. Stay away! I’m not going to move an inch.” And rolled up her windows. Scared that she might hurt me (or pull out a gun), I walked away feeling confused, shocked, and just angry. Cut to two weeks later. I was parking my car when someone approached me. “Do you remember me?” It was her. The woman who ruined my morning. I nodded cautiously, unsure where this was going. She said, “That day, when I shouted at you, I had just found out that my brother died. I was so angry. I’m sorry for how I treated you.” I was speechless for a few seconds. I told her how sorry I was about her brother. She continued: “It’s fine. I’ve been thinking a lot about that day and was hoping to meet you for the past two weeks to apologize.” She paused and asked, “What’s your name?” “Pooja. What’s yours?” “Mysa.” She struck out her hand, shook mine, and left. I’m not advocating that we tolerate rude/bad/unhealthy behavior. But, it’s worth giving people benefit of doubt—because we really have absolutely no idea what each of us are going through. I thought of this incident recently again and wanted to share it! :) 👉 Follow me for daily nuggets on immigration, entrepreneurship, career & writing! #unshackled #immigration #USA #o1 #h1b #eb1 #visas #entrepreneurship #writing #freeresources #freeguides #layoffs

Deciding to leave America to return to India (or your home country) is not a sign of failure. Just this week, a friend of mine pinged me sharing he’s decided to leave America to build his company in India instead. He was fed up with America’s immigration restrictions. It’s crazy to think this now, but even I spent >70% of the past two years in India. Context: I didn’t have the visa to work on my second book, Unshackled, so I packed my bags, moved my stuff to a friend’s garage, and returned to Chennai in January 2023. I set up my LLC after I landed in India. Eventually, I got an O-1A extraordinary visa through my company and returned to the U.S. end of 2023. But even after getting my O-1A, I’ve spent half the time in India. There’s a stigma around returning to your home country after living in America. I know it because I felt it. On that flight journey from San Francisco to Delhi, a part of me felt like I failed in the mission to “make it in America.” The past 5.5 years felt wasted. Except it was all just a fleeting feeling. Once I landed and got settled in, I didn’t care where I was as much as what I got to do every day. 🇮🇳 Here are 5 things I love about India: - FREEDOM: After spending years stuck in an immigration system that was outdated and limiting, it felt liberating to do whatever I wanted when I woke up. Unshackled would not have been published if I didn’t go back to India. And now I wouldn’t get to write my third book, 1000 Days of Love, if not for living here. - Cost of living: Things are cheaper by an order of 5x in India, starting from food to travel to services. - Being closer to family: It wasn't easy at first. But, eventually, I cherished the time I got to spend with my parents, family, and built a wonderful support system across Chennai and Bangalore. - Perspective shift: For a long time, I viewed India as a country that limited personal freedom. Thank god for U.S. immigration, I got to see a different India when I went back! A country that had undergone digital transformation, urbanization, and innovation. - Thriving startup ecosystem: While U.S. may still be the startup country of the world given the amount of capital there, there’s a thriving ecosystem up and coming in India. A move back to India is a chance to write a new chapter in your life. It's a chance for you to realize that you can *create* opportunities if you can't find it somewhere. If you’re thinking about a move, I hope you don’t give up because of stigma/limiting beliefs. And know that you CAN return to the U.S. in the future on another visa. I returned on the O1 and now split my time between both places as I see fit. Please re-share this post so it helps more people! 🙏 👉 Follow me for daily nuggets on immigration, entrepreneurship, career & writing! #unshackled #immigration #USA #o1 #h1b #eb1 #visas #entrepreneurship #writing #freeresources #freeguides #layoffs