Hi, friend. How are you? March has been an intense month - filming That Desi Spark (a podcast-turned-show that I’m hosting), speaking at SXSW, our annual team offsite and in-person meetings with all of our partners and vendors, Rho’s 10th birthday, and tending to some personal matters. My friend Annika Sharma was the creator and one of the original hosts of That Desi Spark, which she sold last year. I’ve been in conversations with the her and the new owners for months, and accepted the role of host at the end of last year. Working on this show has been a dream come true - prepping for and guiding the conversations, working with an incredibly talented team, and being a part of an established, valuable brand. I can’t wait for you to watch these conversations. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel (our first interview drops this week). This was my second time speaking at SXSW, and it was one of my favorite panels I’ve been on. We spoke about leading with humanity in an increasingly digital and AI-led world, and I shared the nitty gritty on how I lead my multi-generational, global team (one that works remotely and asynchronously). March is also when our team and our partners travel to New York for our annual in-person meetings, and we had an incredibly productive few days together (and a delicious team dinner at Gelso & Grand - highly recommend their private dining room for a large group dinner). I miiiiiight have gone over the top for Rho’s birthday celebrations (a family dinner at his favorite restaurant on his actual birthday, a class celebration and larger party at Chelsea Piers, and a family friends party at home). 10 is such a big year for him, and the shift from kid to pre-teen is so clear and somewhat confounding. I’m grateful for this advice, shared by a kind IG friend. I’m still grappling with the fact that we’ve been parents for 10 years now - it feels like Rho was born yesterday, and that he’s also been here my whole life. Parenting is a wild, wonderful journey, and I’m finding my sea legs for this new chapter. I won’t lie - things have been tough on the personal front. My mental health has been pretty low since we got back from India, and we’ve weathered a fair number of challenges as a family. I’ve needed to rely on propanalol and more breaks than I usually have. Taking a writing pause this month helped me manage the mental and emotional load, but I sincerely missed this practice and community. My initial reaction is to immediately ramp things back up to what I consider normal, but I really need to reset what normal looks like (and that it will look lighter than what I considered it). April’s plan reflects this intention, and I’m bringing back the accountability group to support each other. It’s my intention to resume my normal writing cadence (‘just the hits’ on Sunday, #5SmartReads on Wednesdays, and the monthly plans). I’m also giving myself grace to play and try out some new formats or themes that align with my new normal, so there may be some weeks where I miss a newsletter or two. I’m going to continue pausing paid subscriptions until I can stay consistent with our posting schedule (for my annual subscribers, your renewal date will be pushed out for the days I’ve paused billing). It’s really good to be back. I’ve missed you.
If you’ve made it this far, THANK YOU. And if you enjoyed this Substack, please:
Please take a break - or several. xo,
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