I’ve never been one to mark each passing year of my life with a loud celebration, but today, being the day I complete 3 decades, I feel the urge to draw some attention to the significant milestone that it is in my life.
A lot of people have been calling me through the day and some of them have asked me how it feels to be 30. Although I had earlier expected to worry more about the piling on of years, I’m quite happy to report that I’m feeling quite the opposite – a sense of contentment.
Priya, my sister-in-law, asked me when she called about what I thought about 30 being the “top of the hill”. I told her that I thought of 30 being really half-way up the hill. Everything that I dream about and hope to accomplish in the future is really going to happen over the next 30 years so if you think of 60 being Mt. Everest, I’m probably still at base camp!
There’s this moment from 8th grade history class that I remember very distinctly. We were learning about Chinese history and famous philosophers like Confucius and Lao-Tzu. I came across this quote by Confucius that has stuck in my mind ever since:
Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life
From teaching myself computers and programming in the 5th grade, learning Carnatic singing, training in long-distance swimming, playing tournament-level chess, studying for the IIT exam, contributing to open source projects, singing in a rock band, leaving Morgan Stanley to join Hillcrest, driving a BMW, to giving it all up and striking it out on my own, all I’ve ever done is follow my heart and do what I truly love.
So when Sharat, my cofounder and one of my dearest friends, asked me if I had any unfulfilled desires or regrets, it really got me thinking. And after thinking about it for nearly the entire day I realized that I had no answer for him.
I’ve actually done every single thing that I had wanted to do by 30. And I’m married to the woman of my dreams.
What else could I ask for?
