I was sitting at home one afternoon, watching random Youtube videos when this video titled ‘The $21,000 First Class Airplane Seat’ popped up in my feed. I was obviously very curious and started watching this guy describing his experience on the flight in a very animated & unique way. I was instantly hooked. I went through his channel on YouTube and he seemed to be a very popular guy. Soon enough I was binge watching his daily vlog episodes.

I’ve learnt a lot from Casey Neistat. ‘Experience does for the soul what education does for the mind’ he said in one of his recent videos. He has made me realize the importance of trying to be productive and pushing yourself away from your comfort zone. I have always battled this feeling of complacency. I find it difficult to go to places that I don’t usually go to and I get uneasy in crowded places. I’ve consciously tried to fight this demon and honestly, if you can just make yourself take the first step then the whole process becomes a lot easier. In fact, I’ve ended up having a great time in places I wouldn’t generally go and with people who I wouldn’t normally meet. We make ourselves believe things that make us stay in this imaginary circle that we create around us and feel comfortable staying in. I also realized that it’s a battle of the mind more than anything else and once you’ve overcome that part, half the battle has been won. Casey has an incredible work ethic and to be able to churn out daily videos like he did (he just announced the end of his vlog) requires a different level of dedication. I obviously can’t be like him but I’ve decided to try and spend majority of my free time doing something productive. I get distracted very easily and can sometimes spend hours just doing absolutely nothing and I feel that if I can put this time to good use then I can make the most out of my day and also gain some valuable knowledge and experience. Even this blog which I started a couple of years ago has been inactive for most part of 2016 because of my laziness. So the plan is to create more music, video content and write my blog more regularly along with my professional life of being a digital strategy consultant. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be successful but I will try and give it my best shot.

Sometimes we also seek appreciation for all the work we do and when we don’t get it, that demoralizes us and makes us not wanna do more than what we would normally do. I guess the better approach is to keep your head down and just keep working. Sooner or later someone will recognize what you’ve been doing and you’ll get rewards for your hard work in some way or the other and even if you don’t then you’ll know that you gave it your best shot. Akshay and I were having a conversation while we were deciding to start Pangea (Orion J9 Foudnation at that time) and he told me something that has been instilled in my mind. He said “Sooner or later we’re going to die but if there is one thing that will remain forever then that’ll be our music. So lets work on leaving a legacy behind.” This makes sense not only musically but in many aspects of life. Staying positive is a challenge and there are days when I keep questioning the motive behind everything I do. I’m still battling this demon but can say that I have made small strides and am trying to find positivity in everything that happens in life. This whole practice is not something that stays with you and you need to constantly motivate yourself and remind yourself about the consequences of being lazy and complacent. I hope Casey’s vlog helps y’all as much as it helped me. It’s a lot more than just a vlog about his daily life.