An email received Feb 10th 2016 and replied to on Sep 2 2017, posted to the web on Jan 4th 2019.

Hi Imran,

You are writing a lot of stuff on how to promote YM and how to get more folks involved. Now sit down and write an honest document on the following and READ it after about one week, see if feel the need to change anything and then send it to me, want to discuss this with you next time we meet.

1/ Why am I doing this, what do I hope to achieve in terms of ... Personally ? Commercially ? Socially ? Do not be vague be clear and use numbers.
Personally - to become a planner, writer, public speaker, facilitator and maybe someday life coach and counsellor. Ive always wanted to help peple and this is my way of giving back

Commercially - i hope to build relationships that would eventually translate into requests for technology - I can provide and teams I can build / lead. If I had an audience, I could also sell ads and get subscriptions. also want to exchange favours not cash. I hope within a couple of years this will lead to business ventures that I can make good money out of. there is a commercial angle to all of this but im just not focusing on that first. ive had various ideas to make money of it but thats gonna take a good bit of planning and maybe even some luck.

Socially - to become known as a do gooder and a guy who can get things done (from within the YM circle). helping ngos and individuals with technology and marketing abilities. also maybe provide vision and content to these people and guide them (in good time) to function better. providing operational excellence to companies was an old dream of mine. you can see about my social ambitions from this article I wrote back in college.

2/ How will you judge this concept is taking off, FIRST HOW and then HOW far away from the launch date will you apply this litmus test ?

One way of judging it is by the encouragement I get from certain quarters, esp elders. makes me believe Im onto something special. In the last 4 years I have wasted a lot of time and not played smart but I did say Oct 2018 was my cutoff. So by the time im 35. I need to work out some activities and ventures + get a few more content creators on board. Im no longer restless nor expecting immediate validation. Im trying to get vix/vee on board and I guess that will be my litmus test - that and whether I can get anything done from this core group im forming

3/ What will NOT GET done if YM does not exist, what void are you trying to fill ? You have stated that in several ways I know, but if I am still asking this question then its an issue. Appears I am not getting it.

My personal growth in areas close to my heart will not get done if I dont persist. Im a dreamer and need to have BIG goals - as my prof told me in college - you shoot for the stars that you may hit the moon. im happy to devote the rest of my life to this and im not worried about whether it clicks. I hope to help a bunch of people (ngos) and motivate others to explore their potential

4/ Several times you have told me, I hope this will link me up with folks who needs stuff done and I can do it, its a lot simpler to market yourself in a traditional direct social media based marketing don't you think ?

Nope, I need a vision of where Im going with all of this before I find enough inspiration to move on. It takes more time maybe but now im ready to leave all the jargon aside, roll up my sleeves and do a LOT of work

Cause the target audience may not even get the fact that some services are available in this manner.

I am not being harsh on you or discouraging you from your chosen path.

I am just trying to hold up a mirror to your face so you take a look, as this is consuming you in ways which may not be healthy and once a while you have to pause and see if the road is leading to the destination, and more important if the destination is where you want to reach and even if it is is the road you are taking the best way to get there ?
Its taken a lot of time to gain clarity, wind myself up, exorcize my demons and build the confidence to now begin. I used to spend all my time reading / watching movies / programming for fun. now I just have time for work, YM, my writing and family/friends. Thats all I want from life at this stage. Im also hoping that ill find a girl with similar passions whilst doing all of this

Else you will put lots of effort and not even know if you are getting rewards, if to start with you DO NOT define what these rewards you are looking for are.

Need not be money but it needs to be something you can measure using yard sticks you create.

Will bring up the question of yardsticks to the core group... lets see how far we get by Feb. thats my next milestone.

So PAUSE and THINK

its survived the longest periods of disconnect from self. its comes back to animate my soul. ive wasted a lot of time looking for validation and support from outside. now im just going in silent mode.