Are you scared of taking on big goals?
Of course, as a term, ‘big’ is relative. For me, ‘big’ is when I get stretched, challenged and have to operate outside of my comfort zone. ‘Big’ is not what others define for me. It is what I think as ‘big’.
I have not been scared of taking on ‘big’ goals
As an example of a ‘big’ goal, around the same time last year, I completed my journey of creating 366 original Quotes.
This journey began with a comment from a friend. I was playing with some words and he said, ‘You are brilliant with one-liners!’ I had heard this comment before too. In fact, in the past, as an amateur, I had created tag lines and advertising copy and had received accolades and awards, including one from Titan, the watchmakers.
I have always believed that when the time is ripe, things begin to happen around you. For some reason, this comment from my friend was stuck in my head. As luck would have it, at the same time, I stumbled upon an App known as YourQuote. See, I told you! Things begin to happen!
YourQuote is a simple App that allows you to choose a background from a large variety available there. One can create a Quote, choose a background, publish it in YourQuote and also share the Quote on any platform such as Instagram or Facebook.
Aim big, start small
I opened a section in Google Keep on my phone and began creating my one-liners. Initially, these began as thoughts. They would be turned into Quotes later.
Whenever I had time I would be thinking of my own life, my career, my relationships, the people around me, my different stations in life, my own motivation and drivers in life and my own life philosophy. These thoughts led to Quotes. For me, such thoughts fell into one of the three categories – my experiences, my observations or my aspirations.
I was actually quite surprised by how prolific I was. In the beginning, I was easily creating about 10 thoughts every day. I opened another section in Google Keep in which my thoughts were converted into Quotes. I was surprised to see both sections filling up rather quickly. This was fun!
Marching forward from March
On March 17th, 2017, I created my first Quote on the App.
Actually, I love working with very ‘big’ goals. Initially, I had thought of creating 52 Quotes – a Quote a week. But the rate at which I was creating these Quotes, I felt 52 Quotes would be a very easy goal – nothing to feel excited about. I then thought of 100 Quotes. But again, I was closing the gap very quickly. As I was approaching the number of 100 Quotes, I had already decided to aim higher.
I was not scared of taking on ‘big’ goals
I then set myself a target of 366 Quotes – a Quote a day for the entire year. It would be perfect, I thought.
On Sept 3rd, 2017, I created my 100th Quote on the App.
Since 100 Quotes was just a milestone in the journey towards 366 Quotes, my 100th Quote said,
‘On the way to achieving the goal, don’t forget to celebrate the milestones.’
On that day, my wife and I headed out to dinner to celebrate.
By this time, I had 3 sections in Google Keep – Thoughts, Quotes and Final Quotes, representing the 3-stage creation process. The Final Quotes were meant for the App. After breaching the 100-mark in 6 months, the 200-mark came fairly quickly in the next 3 months. By now, I was publishing a Quote almost every day. In another 4 months, I had touched the 300-mark.
366th Quote
My 366th Quote was released on July 7th, 2018. It said,
‘Chase big goals in life to know what you are capable of.’
Meanwhile, I had been thinking of the next steps. What would I do after the 366 Quotes were done? Anything in the virtual world is ephemeral. I would like to create something with a longer shelf life.
How about a book of Quotes?
I thought of creating a book in the form of a desk diary. Titled, ‘366 Insights for Life’, I decided against putting a date on each of the pages. What if someone wants to keep a particular Quote open for a longer time? It looked like the time for the desk diary had come. Yet again, something miraculous happened. While meeting a friend, I was introduced to another person who had joined him for the meeting. My friend introduced him as the owner of a popular printing press.
I introduced my idea to him. He was so excited that he came up with many ideas. He suggested the design, logo, typeface, size and look. Since there were likely to be 366 pages, I asked for double-sided printing to reduce the size of the book. Before sending the material to print, I wanted it to be proofread. Again, a friend showed up rather fortuitously – I had never known of her capability in this domain.
Everything happens twice in this world
As I held the book in my hands, I was thinking of the magic of creation. It is said that everything happens twice – once in imagination and once again in reality.
It was a great feeling to see my name in print. I have had such experiences when my articles were published in The Hindustan Times, The Pioneer and The Deccan Herald. But this case was different. After some minor corrections, I gave the clearance for bulk printing. My printer-friend took great care in the printing process. By now, we had begun to think alike.
I decided on the pricing and set up ‘366 Insights for Life’ as a product on Instamojo. I was learning all of this on my own – way outside my comfort zone.
On Sept 7th, 2018, on the day of my wedding anniversary, my wife and I launched the book into the world from a resort near Mysore.
‘366 Insights for Life’ has been lovingly welcomed by people. I have received great reviews. In addition to a large domestic population, my book has now gone overseas to the US, the UK, Australia, the Middle East, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Korea and parts of Africa. Last year, I received bulk orders as personal & corporate Diwali and New Year gifts.
Last week, at a new client site, I was pleasantly surprised to meet two women who had been gifted the book by their Leader. They wanted me to autograph the books. It felt terrific.
New developments – more ‘big’ goals
- Since every one of these Quotes has a story behind it, I began a series, ‘Every Quote has a story’, on Facebook.
- My business card has been printed with a unique Quote behind each card. Whenever I hand over the card to someone, it evokes interest and I get a chance to talk about my journey.
- Since I am also a Motivational Speaker, recently, I launched an offering known as ‘Quotivation‘ – Motivational Speaking using my Quotes. In this brand new series, I carry a bunch of my Business Cards. Each Business Card carries a unique Quote. I ask each member of the group to pick a card. As the session progresses, each person loudly reads out the Quote that is on his card to the rest of the group. Thereafter, we discuss the different perspectives emanating from that Quote. What is magical is that people invariably tell me that they seem to have received a Quote that is most apt to their situation. ‘Quotivation’ is a highly interactive session that is now getting quite popular with my clients.
Someone recently asked me, ‘Why don’t you create more Quotes?’ I smiled. I was thinking of my first Quote which says,
‘Don’t keep milking the same cow. Move on.’
So where is the journey headed? Well, I have some very clear plans to create short videos based on my Quotes with some quick takeaways for the audience. It is already brewing.
Well, as you can see, I am not scared of taking on ‘big’ goals.
Interested in setting up and achieving ‘big’ goals in your life? Contact me at [email protected]. Let me fuel the achiever in you.
If you wish to order my book, ‘366 Insights for Life’, you can click on the link above. In case you are ordering in large numbers as many have done, I offer Bulk Pricing slab options beginning from 5+ books. Such bulk orders are also going out as Diwali and New Year gifts. Write to me at [email protected].
366 Insights for Life – your lifelong companion
