Before we begin, this isn’t a regular edition of Execution Log.
It’s probably the most personal thing I’ve written here. And if we ever meet in person… let’s pretend this newsletter never happened.
Today marks one year of Common Sense Tamil.
On July 19, 2025, I uploaded my first Instagram video.
The channel was blocked within minutes.
Speaking of great starts.
After verification, it was restored the next day and the first video finally went live on July 20, 2025.
The goal was ridiculously simple.
Post 150 videos in 150 days.
Rain or shine. Good video or bad video. Just keep posting.
Did I do it?
Yes.
The funny part is, I had estimated the outcome too.
I thought I’d probably reach around 1,000 followers. If everything went perfectly, maybe 5,000.
The experiment ended with nearly 30,000 followers.
But that’s not the story.
The question I was asked most over the last year was:
“Why are you doing this?”
Fair question.
I already had a career I genuinely enjoyed. I had been headhunted into a managerial role and moved countries. I was running the agency I started in college, managing a six-figure monthly payroll. I had just become a father.
Objectively, it was probably the worst time to start another project.
So why did I?
I’m the first graduate in my family.
That meant there wasn’t a roadmap growing up. I had to figure out almost everything on my own.
Looking back, that became my biggest strength.
It also created something else.
A constant need for validation.
Validation from family.
Validation from friends.
Validation from society.
It took years to slowly grow out of it.
Then life happened.
Despite doing everything “right,” I was at one of my lowest points.
Mentally.
Financially.
Physically.
I still remember visiting India for my son’s first birthday.
When I looked at the photos later, one ridiculous thought crossed my mind.
“When my son grows up and posts these pictures, he’ll probably crop me out.”
It sounds stupid now.
But that’s genuinely where my head was.
No matter how much I achieved, all it created was more expectations.
More work.
More responsibility.
More pressure.
I kept carrying more while somehow feeling like I hadn’t moved from the starting line.
I needed a distraction.
Not because work was bad.
Because I had forgotten to do something purely for myself.
Around the same time, I realized something uncomfortable.
Nobody was going to ask me,
“How are you doing?”
“Do you actually want this?”
“Maybe you should take a break.”
Those conversations had to start with me.
The problem was…
I wasn’t in a position to slow down.
So instead of taking a break, I found something else.
I started creating.
I’ve always loved making content.
I just never did it consistently.
This time, consistency became the goal.
Not followers.
Not views.
Not money.
Just consistency.
Every video had one job.
Post it.
Whether it reached 500 people or 500,000, it didn’t matter.
Tomorrow, another video was going out.
Somewhere during that process, something unexpected happened.
The self-doubt slowly disappeared.
For years, I’d convinced myself that most good things in my life were luck.
Now I had proof.
I could stay consistent.
I could execute.
I could finish what I started.
That confidence didn’t come from the follower count.
It came from keeping a promise to myself.
What started as one small experiment quietly changed the rest of my year.
- Posted nearly 300 videos, growing a community of 71,000 across Instagram and YouTube.
- Started this newsletter, which you’re reading today, now with 240 subscribers.
- Co-authored a marketing textbook for business schools.
- Launched my personal website.
- Built two small products – Loan Buddy and Better Budget – now used by over 6,000 people.
- Grew my agency and welcomed three new teammates.
- Crossed a few major milestones at my full-time job (can’t share them yet because of NDA).
- And somewhere in between, completed our first international family trip.
Looking back, it sounds like an incredible year.
Living through it, it just felt like showing up every day.
I’m not listing these to impress you.
I’m listing them because a year is longer than you think.
Imagine what happens if you repeat that for three years.
Or five.
That’s where life changes.
Has my life completely changed?
Maybe a little.
Maybe not as much as Instagram would like you to believe.
Am I a different person?
Not really.
I’m just trying to become slightly better than I was yesterday.
One week at a time.
One video at a time.
One newsletter at a time.
If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this, it’s this:
The journey isn’t what gets you to the goal. The journey is the reward.
Thank you for reading.
Whether you’ve been here from the first newsletter or joined last week, thank you for giving my thoughts a place to live.
As always, if you loved this, hated this, or just want to say hi…
Reply to this email.
See you guys next week.