My First Medium Story — After Five Years!

Recently, a bunch of us got together to discuss life. We wanted to see how life has changed in the last five years. It is a tricky question that makes you think.

And when it was my turn, I went 100% philosophical:

“A lot has changed. Yet nothing has changed.”

Life often feels like a circle. You start at a point and then you keep moving. And then you continue only to come back to the same point.

Only this time, you know something.

You have gained insights. Experience. New knowledge. And looking back, I feel like I am back to the same point.

I have completed the circle.

Only this time — with more stories, experiences, and thoughts to share.

What Has Truly Changed

This is a personal update where I wish to introduce myself in this post. It is a delight to be here — to share my journey almost after five years. :)

My name is Sid, and I was born here:

As you read this post, you will see:

• Why people around me shaped me
• How I am self-employed
• Who is my biggest inspiration?
• What did I do to achieve my goals
• Reason I said YES to a good life
• Personal life experiences
• Why am I here?

Let’s get started:

Born And Raised In The Same City

Currently in my late 20s, I have been self-employed all my life. The city I live in is Bangalore. In fact, I have lived in the same city all my life.

Bangalore is known for its greenery:

And for IT (most tech guys, IT professionals, and startups are right here).

Also for its worst traffic — can take hours for a small journey!

I still enjoy this city — and wake up with gratitude everyday. In fact, this is something I was taught early as I was…

Raised By A Single Mom

Growing up, I saw the struggles my mom went through. My dad quit on us when I was five and my brother was thirteen. He secretly moved to a new city, married someone else, abandoning our family and left us with no hope.

The bright side?

My mom was stronger than anyone could ever imagine. She single-handedly changed the journey of our lives! Not only did she fight all the pains and struggles but also emerged victorious.

I will briefly talk about my mom and why she is my life’s biggest inspiration later. Just some context from one of my earlier post:

As a single mom, my mother had limited choices. She took care of us. Of the financials. Of the house. And of the tiny shop that was 10 miles away. Yet living off of $100 per month in India, raising two little kids, paying our school fees, monthly bills, buying groceries, timely rent… life felt like a constant battle with us on the weaker side.

I feel anyone fighting obstacles leave behind valuable teachings.

Deep down, I am also very fond of my family — which encouraged me to:

Start Working At The Age Of 16

I used the gift of Internet at home and started writing articles. One thing led to another, and I turned into a blogger.

As one of the youngest blogger in the city, I started writing about technology, gadgets, smartphones, and slowly also learned how to generate traffic, SEO, and online marketing.

Things really changed here.

I generated millions of pageviews on my websites and it led to new miracles.

Here’s what happened:

• I was supporting my family
• I was featured in the country’s biggest newspaper
• I was able to buy real estate properties

To make it even better?

Big companies started inviting me — showing me some fancy new places (to stay) while hoping to get a “review” for the products.

This led me to travel to new cities in India and live in some of the best hotels and eat some of the fanciest food:

I will stop at two images! Ha!

All in all, it was the first phase of my life where I saw the power of writing. Not only am I grateful for this but I saw a whole new world filled with hopes and opportunities.

Life definitely changes when you least expect it to.

Saying YES To Passive Income!

At this point of time, without even realizing, I was making a lot of money through blogging:

Right from the comfort of my home, I was also hiring writers, marketers, and creating several other blogs. I simply moved one step after another.

After quitting college, I decided to pursue this journey full-time. I almost felt retired as the income was good enough to support our lives. In fact, it was more than required.

That is why I purchased a couple of real estate properties. And used my free time to read books.

Nothing In Life Is As Rosy As It Seems

I guess life has a way of showing you what is truly important. Just when I thought things were perfect… things went south!

I made several mistakes.

One of the writer passed away and I couldn’t do anything.

Our family went through personal problems and I didn’t see any reason to continue my blogging journey.

These were dark times.

I did what I knew best:

To be silent.

In these moments, I had to pickup something and I found books!

I was absolutely obsessed with books. I started reading more about philosophy, spirituality, advertising, copywriting, sales pages and a lot more.

In fact, my biggest achievement is to:

Read Over 2000+ Books

I was part of the mastermind group where we shared books. So I did nothing but read books day and night. Back then, I really wanted to know the purpose of doing what we are doing.

You see, life can work with you or against you.

Why does it happen?

That’s the answer I was looking for.

By this time, I was already in my mid twenties and I had to revisit life once again:

The Big Decision: To Do Something New!

It was time for me to restart life. This is when I discovered cryptocurrency and started investing a small amount of money.

I was also going back to blogging with a different idea.

Plus, as I was changing myself, I wanted to change my surrounding.

This is when I decided to get a new office space. I knew I wanted the best space possible.

It has been three years here. I love this space:

In my free time, I play ping pong here:

It is a great place to meet like-minded creators:

The terrace is heaven:

I spent the last 3 years working from here. I also started a crypto blog, working as a marketing guy for crypto exchanges (one of them exit scammed), and did a lot of crypto trading.

For now, with the lockdown, I have started working from home. Earlier, I was working from home… then office… and now back home. Again, feels like I am back to the same point. :)

Perhaps this is what “connecting the dots” is all about.

Lastly, Why Am I Here On Medium?

I am here to:

• Share everything I have learned so far
• Meet like-minded folks!
• Actively participate in the growing community
• Engage and build valuable relationship
• Say YES to opportunity and growth
• Have a GOOD time!

If you read it this far, thank you! It feels absolutely refreshing to share my experience.

And I would love to connect and follow my Medium friends — and continue my writing journey here with a smile on my face!

Like I am having one right now as I finish this post. :)

Cheers, Sid