First of Many

"...It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Marianne Williamson

LinkedIn is a platform which is more centric around our lives in our respective professional careers.

Some use it merely when they want to switch jobs, some more often to share a lot more, from struggles in desperate times, to achievements when they are flourishing.

I'm probably part of the former group who uses it occasionally.

But today, for a change, I'm writing this post to share few recent experiences in my own life and hence to highlight the need for us to stop for a moment and contemplate the lives we are living and why things are the way they are.

There's a strong rat-race we are all part of (maybe not willingly) due to various factors, majorly due to societal norms as well as the so-called industry benchmarks. But does it really has to be this way? Take the time out, to answer this question.

We all are so focused on our professional journey, that we tend to murder our dreams which we once had when we were kids back at school. Yes we need money to live a safe & healthy life, but how much money do we really need, is there an end to it? Maybe the society will label you as a failure, because unfortunately society measure a person from its professional success? Take the time out, to answer this question.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm writing this post to share few of the recent events, few of the decisions in my life, and how these experiences were received when I shared them with fellow folks around me in this corporate world.

I recently picked up 10m Air Rifle Shooting in April 2023 when my wife Asmita encouraged me to test my caliber at sports, as she was aware of my general sports acumen as I've been playing badminton as well as football since I was a kid and performed well at it.

I initially picked up Rifle Shooting as a hobby, something to look forward to after an exhausting day at work. But after seeing my performance, my coach encouraged me to give it a more serious thought, to maybe give it a try at the professional level.

At the age of 29, I was not just the oldest student at the shooting range, where the avg age of students is around 15-19 years, but I was also elder to both my coaches. But I moved over this mental barrier of "odd-one-out" soon enough.

Fast forward May 2023, I participated in Uttar Pradesh Pre State Championship (because I registered myself as shooter from UP) and I was able to clear it with ease, barely after a month of picking up the rifle for the first time in my life.

This was the first time I participated at a tournament which bigger than some inter-school football tournament or inter college tournament.

This came as a major confidence booster and with some more practice, I was able to clear the Uttar Pradesh State Championship as well in June 2023 and hence I'm now eligible to compete for the India Pre-National Championship later in October 2023.

It was at this time, I started thinking about quitting the corporate rat-race, to break the societal norm of excelling at work-place, to maybe earn less but live in a more satisfied & content way, to maybe fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a sportsperson & represent the nation.

At the same time, I was also burning a some of my midnight fuel to manage my investments in a lot more systematic way, so that I have some passive / side income as a safety net for bills, random expenditures & EMIs, if & when the time & situation arises.

And it seems the time had come.

Like a lot of us, I too started my stock market journey right after the COVID fall, but over the past 3 years, there were numerous learnings.

So, I set aside few targets & started measuring my returns on monthly basis and kept on tweaking few things here & there as per market movements.

Results --> I've been able to book 5% profit every month with consistency since April and here's the link to my Verified P&L (powered by and kudos to Zerodha )

I left my job on 4th September 2023 and now give my time & energy to Air Rifle Shooting (6 days a week, 3-4 hours everyday) as well as to study a lot more about stock market investments.

But the most important part is that neither of them feels like a task to me. I enjoy both of them and hence I live a lot happier life, with a lot more time at hand to give to my family, friends and my health.

Whenever I shared these experiences with my friends or fellows in the corporate world, they were usually surprised or shocked in terms of the feasibility of one indulging into such activities.

We all are so lost in chasing FANGs or some lists like 30 under 30, that we forget the present.

I know I've generalized a lot of things, maybe in a negative way, but unfortunately generalization is a cruel thing. Now I'm not trying to say that one should absolutely restrain from chasing these targets, afterall I too am chasing some other goal. But what I do wanna emphasize on is that we should take the time out to think about what we really wanna chase?

Afterall its a crucial decision as it will stick with you all your life.

Are you enjoying the race?

With the support of my lovely wife, my ever understanding parents, my caring in-laws and my ever encouraging friends & coaches, I sure am enjoying the race now more than ever and I hope this small step to break the loop will encourage others too to live a more fulfilling life.

Pic Courtesy (all of them): Dipanjan Acharya

"First of many"