I was with my friend Siddharth Gaikwad at his home in Bangalore. He is a very senior digital user experience designer. Together, we have been working on creating an online platform for youth. The concept is simple - to create a space where youth can be inspired by other youth.

Lets say I love taking photographs, and have taken 30 photos in the last one year. The platform would enable me to meet other youngsters who love photography - maybe for the last 4 years and have a collection of 200+ photos. They have been at it longer and gone deeper than me. They have built a BODY of WORK. And they are the same age as me! That would certainly inspire me. The same applies to youngsters who love to draw, paint, sing, dance, prepare for competitive exams, cook, trek, cycle, run, write, and so on.

We have been working on the design of this platform for almost 4 months. Yesterday, as we sat down and discussed, I felt a tinge of FEAR. The whole thing seemed to be getting bigger than I had imagined. The project is starting to look big… and exciting. The investment, the team, the resources, the time required is starting to look massive.

Yesterday, we met another friend who is running a startup. He told us that he has been building his digital videography app for the last 1.5 years and has already pumped in Rs.1crore. No revenue yet. Now he is looking to raise more funds to be able to sustain for another six months. I suddenly felt a little self doubt. Have I bitten off more that I can chew!!

I thought I was doing a good job of hiding it. But then I said something, and Siddharth’s response was ‘Adi, why are you limiting yourself?'

His words have been doing ‘Taandav’ (Shiva’s energetic dance that depicts the creation and eventually the dissolution of the universe) in my head since yesterday. I have been asking myself ‘How many times in my life have I actually limited myself before??'

The truth is, I have.

I know I could have done much more, achieved a lot more, been much fitter, created much deeper relationships than I have. I know I am capable of much more. I guess I have known it for almost a decade now. But this is the first time I am writing it. I have thought about it, I have voiced it before, but always with a sense of guilt and regret. But right now I am writing it not with guilt, but with tremendous clarity.

I have decided to stop limiting myself.

I will be fitter than I ever imagined. I will not limit myself.

I will be happier than I ever imagined. I will not limit myself.

I will be wealthier than I ever imagined. I will not limit myself.

I will contribute much much more than I ever imagined. I will NOT limit myself.

Thank you my dear friends for reading, and helping me unleash myself.

With love and gratitude,

aditya.