A Memoir - This Month Last Year - Aug 2017 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay

Hi Friends,

It's been some days I have not written on my blog and it was like some long week of holidays where everything was put on hold. I didn't attend any events other than some Instagram Meets and posted a lot of pictures on the Instagram channel. It was an awesome feeling to take a short break from all the things and articles I was posting and to celebrate the 2 Million pageviews for The Life's Way. There is no new targets and nothing which I need to accomplish other than just loving the passion for writing and sharing my view and knowledge about the latest gadgets I come across. I am enjoying all the benefits that come to me via all my social media channels. 

1. A Memoir - This Month Last Year - Aug 2016 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/08/a-memoir-this-month-last-year-aug-2016.html - The series has been my constant guide to check all the brands which were there with me last year vis-a-vis this year. I have been seeing that most of them have been giving me nothing in return for my efforts and I am stopping posting those brands unless I get something worthy of my time. I have my family and I can enjoy my time with them or watch some TV or play some games. There is always something better to do instead of wasting time with those brands who are not trustworthy or their PR company is.

2. #DoBiggerThings with the New @SamsungMobileSA Galaxy Note8 Android Smartphone - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/08/dobiggerthings-with-new-samsungmobilesa.html - Note Phablet series from Samsung has been on my wishlist from the beginning since it's launch. All these years I waited and waited for some brand to give me their smartphone to use in my day to day life but nothing went as per my wishes. Finally, I went ahead and bought one when I got some coupons worth R1200 from my company for working there for more than 10 years and rest I paid via my credit card. I really love using the same but I have not used the S-Pen as much as I thought I will since my last 7 months of using the smartphone. The review will be posted soon on my channels.

3. @Discovery_SA @JacarandaFM #SpringWalk Promises a Fun Family Walk and Run #9Sep2017 - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/08/discoverysa-jacarandafm-springwalk.html - I participated in the event last year as an invited guest and did 5 km and really enjoyed the same. This year I have bought the tickets to do 15kms Walk with one of my friends and looking forward to completing it and record my time as a benchmark to break the same in the next walk. Let's see how good this year's race is.

4. #Bollywood Hunks in Relationship Drama and Changing Society @SterKinekor #SouthAfrica - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/08/bollywood-hunks-in-relationship-drama.html - Every Friday a new movie is released and some of them touches your heart and some are not to be seen at all. Bollywood is now undergoing some changes and a lot of new low-budget movies are taking the market by storm rather than big production houses mega-billion dollars projects. SterKinekor remains my choice of cinemas to watch the latest ones every Friday.

5. A Memoir - This Month Last Year - July 2016 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/08/a-memoir-this-month-last-year-july-2016.html - July being my birthday month remains special to me and this year I turned 38 years old and soon I will be in my 40's. Let's create something which will earn me some living along the way. I will only post those articles which are written by me no matter how short or long they are. These can be only 5 in a month or 20 in a single month but every word will be mines and mines alone. Any brands want to collaborate with me has to come on board with their products or sponsored posts or goodies. Money is my utmost priority as I need to buy certain gadgets for myself and my family.

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

A Memoir - This Month Last Year - July 2017 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay #1550Post

Hi Friends, 

July being my birthday month has always been dear to my heart and mind. As I was born on 22nd July, I always thought it's the Life of Pi as you know 22/7=3.14 and it goes on and on and on so is my struggle to earn a living and getting what I want after a lot of effort and hard work. My life has never been easy, and I always had to fight back to get my share of living. But as in my 38th year of existence, I am thinking about the limitless power of Pi (22/7), it also gives me the infinite ability to create several infinite possibilities as I am endless human being. No one knows what I can think of and what I can achieve? What I can work on and what I can get?  

1. Hotel Review - All Seasons Boutique Bed and Breakfast #Pretoria @Bains_Lodges #SouthAfrica - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/07/hotel-review-all-seasons-boutique-bed.html - It was a lovely overnight stay and enjoy the evening with some of the close friends and many thanks to Geniene Preston from UKSACommuter for the beautiful invitation to visit this impressive Boutique hotel. I really loved this unique property, and it was my first time staying for a night in Pretoria. My family too loved the same, and we had an excellent dinner and morning relaxed breakfast. 

2. @SonyXperiaZA Set Up #Xperiatial Mall Activation to Launch #ItsASony Devices - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/07/sonyxperiaza-set-up-xperiatial-mall.html - I think this was the only time, Sony Mobiles gave a great goodies bag which has in it their impressive bass enabled headphones and I got the same in RED colour which is still unpacked as I wanted to review them but never got time to do so. Otherwise, if you attend Sony events, the goodies bag is always surprising as it will have a dairy or pen or keyring or vinegar etc. to create a DIY volcano. The people who promoted the Sony smartphone now are promoting another smartphone brands, and that's the irony of life. Everyone is an opportunist and if they have niche skill they can always migrate to other brands. I have been a Sony fan and still owns the maximum Sony products which are self-bought, and I remember my first earphones for which I saved money and bought them lasted me long.

Happy Birthday Aashish using the Huawei P20 smartphone (review unit)

3. #AcerForYou 2017 Blogger Road Trip – Making @AcerAfrica Your Partner in Life - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/07/acerforyou-2017-blogger-road-trip.html - Acer is another brand for whom my blog is full of articles about their products. I am even getting press releases from India from them along with from PR company in South Africa. I really love their SWIFT series of notebooks and Predator Gaming series of laptops. It hurt me when they didn't invite me to their last event, but life goes on. In the blogging world, you have to make your heart little bit less sentimental, else you will always keep on crying, and no one will care too so if you in deep emotional shit already, stay away from blogging!

4. Will You be Supporting Admiral & Jahseed and Reggae? #RedBullCultureClash @RedBullZA - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/07/will-you-be-supporting-admiral-jahseed.html - I love music, and this was my first time to Red Bull Culture Clash special media event. There only I predicted that DJ Tira's Durban Massacre will win the tournament. Their sound system was something that was missing in other DJ's. I totally fell in love with the vibes at this event, and also Red Bull is my favourite energy drink. 

5. #SouthAfrica Welcomes Sleek, New Compact #Nokia5 @NokiaMobile #Android Smartphone - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/07/southafrica-welcomes-sleek-new-compact.html - Nokia smartphones were launched last year in South Africa, and I only got to review them around March this year brings me to a question that shall I close down my blog? Or the PR company doesn't know who is the right candidate for them or shall I neglect the brand entirely? There is no right or wrong answer to any of these questions. It's all situation based on the marketing strategy and budget by the brands. Now you remember I wrote about being thick-skinned and that's very much true.

I do believe in the Law of Attraction and Universe, and it's those moments of Co-creation where I just think and the same happen instantly is what makes life experimenting with. The more you can co-create the more fun you can bring in your life. Happy Birthday Aashish from The Life's Way for creating this unique platform to share all your feelings and insights and also to create beautiful opportunities for yourself!!! Keep on going, and you will fulfil your heart's desires sooner or later!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

A Memoir - This Month Last Year - Jun 2017 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay

Hi Friends, 

June saw the maximum number of blog posts in 2017 which was 58 for a single month. It was kind of work done for 2 months in a single month and only in May 2018, I could do more than 58 posts in a single month. I generally think of doing 30 posts per month but sometimes I am able to meet that target and sometimes not. But now connecting the dots, I can see many brands who are now not a part of #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra journey. So, I won't post about them in this blog post as whosoever is gone, let them be bygone and why to waste our more time on them. I will continue to do what I do and enjoy my life with brands that love me till the time I ask for sponsored posts and then they go on their own way. Everyone wants free stuff and doesn't offer the money but as this commercial world works is on the MONEY and not on free gifts and exposure.

1. @MarkexSA Celebrates 30 years of Promotional Strategy and Creativity #Markex2017 - https://www.thelifesway.com/2017/06/markexsa-celebrates-30-years-of.html - I was part of this event last year and really enjoyed and received a lot of goodies in the press pack. This year it was not the case and goodies were not so interesting and very very less. If Marketing is not done via the media guests then it's not going to work is my thinking process.

2. Top 30 of World's Most Photographed Landmarks #XperiaNewPerspectives @SonyXperiaZA - https://www.thelifesway.com/2017/06/top-30-of-worlds-most-photographed.html - https://www.thelifesway.com/2017/06/worlds-most-photographed-landmarks.html - Sony has been the only brand who has always been dear to my heart as I had so many products except TV, I bought in London that even Country Manager for Sony India wanted to come to visit my home to see them all. I had everything from iPod docking to Portable e-Reader to mobile and everything was self-bought. None of the same was sponsored as there was no #TheLifesWay at that time in my life. Their technology is top class and I love them and they love me back sometimes.

Aashish Rai - Editor and Founder #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra

3. A Memoir - This Month Last Year - June 2016 www.thelifesway.com #1200BlogPost - https://www.thelifesway.com/2017/06/a-memoir-this-month-last-year-june-2016.html - I love starting blog post series which gives me writing space and continuity to do so again and again instead of thinking about topics to write about. The topic finding is the most difficult task I think for any blogger at least for me it is.  Once you have the topic identified, then its easier to research and assemble your thought process to create unique blog posts.

4. A Memoir - This Month Last Year - May 2016 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay - https://www.thelifesway.com/2017/06/a-memoir-this-month-last-year-may-2016.html - This year I am thinking of crossing 2 Million Pageviews in the next month or so and also created a page for the same so that you can also be part of my journey of #TheLifesWay. Next on my list is to start posting on my YouTube channel asap. Once I start I will create some s

5. @OsmanSquare Now Owns Pretoria T20 Global League Franchise @T20GL_ @BluBloodSA #TheBluBloodWay - https://www.thelifesway.com/2017/06/osmansquare-now-owns-pretoria-t20.html - Indian Premier League (IPL) has taken the world of cricket by storm and South Africa too is launching their teams but have not seen any movement since then on the same. Let's see when it starts in South Africa.

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

5 Years of www.TheLifesWay.com #TheLifesWay #Birthday #Blogpost #5YearsofTheLifesWay

Hi Friends, 

The year 2017 brought me closer to my dreams and I could do what I always wished to do for my blog www.thelifesway.com and that is getting some paid assignments. With the help of Webfluential, I could work on 4 paid assignments during the year and received my first cash in my bank accounts with which I bought a Canon 50mm Lens for my new Canon 100D. Till now I was doing everything for free or for some goodies or samples received from brands and PR companies.

The year 2017 is the 5th year of #TheLifesWay brought 565147 page views in 12 months from 357 blog posts and my Instagram channel too picked up its fast pace. This year the biggest event which fetched me the maximum gifts was rAge Expo from where I won the Maxnomic ESL Gaming Chair along with several other goodies from 1 TB hard disk from ADATA Technology to various Tshirts from promotors and bloggers. Silverstar Casino continues to be my top admirer to call me to all their events happening in their complex. Many thanks to them all the time.

This year was mostly good because of a lot of lucky draws and coupons received from Montecasino, Wellington's Tomato Sauce, Edger's, Acer, Woolworths, and Cubot. For the first time after 4 years, attending Canon Roadshows has become an integral part of me and this year, my daughter won the Canon Selphy Printer as a lucky draw prize. I felt great to receive the same and she was overjoyed too. Cubot made me a winner on the Instagram contest for their Fitness Band which I gifted to my dad. Check out all the images on my Instagram and Twitter channels.

For the first time ever in my relationship with Sony Mobiles, this year they gave their awesome Bass headphones to all the invitees at the Smartphone launch event in Mall of Africa. I have never received anything like that in a long time as all the brands are going on cost-cutting or calling certain people for some unique experiences around the globe or within South Africa and showered them with their smartphones and other goodies. Earphones continued to flow into my life with Astrum giving their ones in the goodies bag at rAge Expo and TechSmart's Robin gifting me Sony Xperia EAR on my birthday which is a really awesome device.

This year also marked my 10 years at the job with my employer after completing MBA in Finance and to celebrate the same, I went to Sangiro Lodge in Bloemfontein on their invite to stay for 3 nights. This trip gave me a chance to see Kimberley, Northern Cape which my daughter always wanted to visit. I was also part of All Seasons Boutique Hotel launch in Pretoria and stayed for a night too. Finally, on 31 December I also could reach the bottom floor in the video game called Pink Panther for the first time ever @ Montecasino to win my daughter 150 tickets to get the goodies of her choice.

Ster Kinekor invited me to many of their new movies and I saw a lot of the cartoon movies along with some Hollywood and Bollywood movies too. I bought some Acer goodies too from their online store when they launched the same this year including a 21 inch Acer monitor to better work on my blog and movies/photos at the same time. I also started using Canon 100D DSLR camera which I bought in a deal from the DionWired online shop during some weekend sale.

In the end Year, 2017 was a lot of luck and I felt great to be a part of this winning year. Looking forward to achieving in 2018 what I could not still achieve in 2017 in terms of sponsorships for Laptop and Smartphone. I contacted a lot of them with a lot of rejections from many but then life goes on and coming much stronger in 2018 to persevere and win! In 2018, the target will be to collect a lot of money so that I can buy the likes of Gaming Laptops or Apple MacBook Pro and Bose QC35 Bluetooth headphones, PS4 Pro, and a Full Frame DSLR camera. Thanking You Universe!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

1 Day To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #AllTheBest

Hi Friends, 

It time to celebrate the fifth birthday post for The Life's Way and series to end. It was a great topic to write all the posts as now I can just link them all and launch a book out of the same. There might be some editing required but it will form a good book to read to start the blog and to carry on working for your blog.

Your mind is something that plays with you all the time and either you control the same or you let it go on its own route. Blogging is where I find peace and release my emotions towards a lot of things. It won't take away the need of a friend but it will always stay close as much as your feelings are to you. Expectations are huge for my blog by myself and it sometimes gives me a lot of pain as I am unable to achieve them. Either I live without any expectations or just make small ones after they get completed.

To live your life joyfully, you need to take control in your hands as you can't be at the mercy of anyone else. Your happiness is in your hands only and no one else can make you happy. They may make you smile but not happy. To me, my happiness comes from completing my pending tasks on my blog and to get it done with. I keep thinking of new ideas and posts topics to go for. Many are lost at idea phase only and only some become a reality. Time is of utmost importance in our lives and we only have a set number of hours to achieve what we set our eyes on. Hence, I try to balance my life between the real life and the blog life.

Thanks to each and everyone who has invested their time and money in myself or my blog. Thanks to all the PR companies for including me in your press releases else I wouldn't have done 1500 posts so far. Thanks to all the brands for spending their money on the launch events and blessing us with goodies bag and a great evening of networking. Thanks to all the fellow bloggers to always inspire me to carry on and working towards achieving what they have been able to do so in their lives. Thanks to all the paying collaborations which are not much in the last 5 years but looking forward to having it multiplied 1000 times in the next 5 years. Thanks to technology innovations and new smartphones which are made to desire a sense of expectations in you and make you work towards achieving them. I am looking forward to a lovely time on my blog in the next years to come!!!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

2 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #WhatNext

Hi Friends, 

5 Years is a big landmark for my blog as it gives me perspective as earlier there used to be the most popular questions in interviews - Where do you see yourself in next 5 years? If asked to The Life's Way where it sees itself in the next 5 years when it was started in 2012, it is the time to answer the same now.

In the first year of The Life's Way - the goal was to do some 15-20 posts so that I can become listed in the blogger list of Indiblogger and Blogadda directories and start participating in the blogger contests. It was also the year to showcase your writing to the bigger audience and capturing content written with heart. I got some great success with winning a notebook and some other goodies which I always wanted to have.

The second-year goal was to win the Samsung Bloggers challenge and also to increase the number of followers on twitter for the new handle I launched at that time. I won the community challenge and got an entry into the finals for Mission Samsung. Meanwhile, I also started reviewing movies too with the help of Sony Pictures to list me in the media invites.

The third-year goal was still to get into finals for Samsung Bloggers Challenge and then winning it after a lot of twists and turns. It was also the year the pageviews touched 123k in a single month. It was one of those WOW moments I talked about in my earlier post.

The fourth-year goal was lost in translation as I attended a lot of events and did a lot of posts to touch around 396 for the whole year. Followers were just growing and Instagram posts too increased from multifold but still, I didn't get what I wanted or requested from the brands. Many brands were lost and many new were targetted, people whom I knew changed PR agencies and many contacts were lost too.

The fifth year of The Life's Way was a lot of introspection and removal of all those posts which didn't bring me any benefits on Instagram from the brands and archived them. It was also stating the right that unless I get something in return I won't waste my time but still, the posts were around 357 for the whole year which translates to 1 per day. I started participating in the twitter and facebook contests and won some around rAge Expo 2017 which was the WOW moment of the year!

Looking backward I can recite the story but at the start of my blog, I could have not predicted any of it. I only had hoped to get a good life and passion to create my own corner of ART and Achievement. Indeed, the same has been the case as I created something unique where I love my writing and feel good to do blog posts and take photos and share them on Instagram/twitter etc. I will continue to do the same in future too, the same kind of passionate writing as in my first year without any expectation and let the universe decide to grant my due or what I deserve!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

3 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Viral

Hi Friends, 

The Life's Way will be lost in history once I am gone as there will not be anyone to carry on the legacy. My daughter has no interest in this at the moment though she is too small and I shall wait for more 6-7 years before start expecting any inputs from her on this blog. Everything that gets started ends too but the creation which has been part of your life for so long can't be left without any strong emotions. 

Life is lived from moment to moment, from seconds to hours to days and years and if you live your life following the law of attraction and gratitude in your hearts and mind, the life you want will come to you. There is nothing which is due to you by life, will ever pass you by. You will always get what you deserve in life. But the question is who decides that? and can't we make any difference in those decision made by life. 

I think you can make a difference in whatever you are doing and create something which becomes viral. Every viral content has something which shows the true passion towards anything which can be dance, arts, and craft or just living your life joyfully. Similarly, your life, if lived with passion will sometime go viral and that when you will receive your due. For some, this time comes again and again and for some, it will once in a lifetime kind. 

I still have to receive my WOW moment but I am thankful to Universe, that I do have these little moments every year for a day or a week. It's not that big moments but it's enough for me to live my life for that year thinking that I have been lucky this year. It can be from meeting some movie star, to winning something which I always wanted but never really went and bought it or having some moments of life which I will always remember till the end of life. I do maintain a list of all the small to big moments which I do receive from all the brands be it memory stick or a chocolate. I am grateful to each and every one of them all the time while I still wait for my WOW moment!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

4 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Reality #1505Post

Hi Friends, 

It's just 4 days away from my blog's 5th birthday but in reality, it's almost more than 6 months down the line when I am still working on this series of posts. Life is not always that easy and goes as per the plans you make. Also, you can't meet your deadlines when it's not paying you for the food on the table. You will complete all your tasks assigned to your job when you know that unless you do the same, you won't be able to pay your home EMI, car EMI and many another day to day expenses to carry your life and living and other responsibilities. 

The Life's Way started with the same kind of dedication as my job but as the time went by, I am getting sucked more out by the brands without any benefits. I don't want any memory sticks and pens but then if they are not offering anything, I have to take whatever they are offering in enough quantity so that I can donate the same to some kids or people. And some of the brands who offers me some stuff are getting missed out by these other big brands which take most of the time without any personal benefits. Now it's my wisdom and experience to understand which brands suit me and which doesn't. With whom I should work and with whom it's time to say Good Bye! 

The wisdom sometimes takes a lifetime to come and by that time, the PR companies change, the people change and brands strategy change too. Nothing is consistent as much as the change in this industry, so you have to have some solid information and sensors to attune them to your benefits. I too need to develop that kind of information channels and data analysis into my life or the life of this blog. It is a lot of effort to work out posts and align all your social media channels to your strategy. 

My Dell XPS L501X laptop is now its end of life. I bought the same long back in 2011 in London and it has been my only source of entertainment. The Life's Way was born on this laptop and now it's time to pass on the legacy to the next one. I miss the backlit keyboard on this one, DVD drive has stopped working since last 2-3 years, battery life is around 20 minutes on the replacement battery too which I bought from Fordsburg, Johannesburg and the hard disk can crash anytime. Though luckily it's been consistent and I am the only one who uses this laptop at my home so it is working till date but I am not able to work fast as the speed has been very very slow for my liking. 

I have asked several brands for the same but till this day no luck and no response I get also when I ask the PR companies the same. Suddenly, they go mute on the topic and when it's time they have to show the impressions etc they want me to post their releases where I was not invited too. Many of the events these days, I have to pay for my cold drink too as they are only offering wine or whiskey. That life of a blogger for you!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

5 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #SelfDoubt

Hi Friends, 

Self-Doubt is the biggest building block that can really be relentless and comes in everytime there is some change in your current situations or the future you want to achieve. There is always a lot of doubt in your own capabilities and of trying something new out. Your idea can fail or it can pass but it's always a struggle to overcome the same. It brings in enough fear in your minds that it makes you totally cripple until you just carry on going towards your goal.

Fear can be of many things - fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of change, fear of so many things which can just make you go on your knees. But at that time, you need to follow your passion to create your own ART with which you are always Attached. I am so much attached to my blog and I carry on posting blog posts to make it work. If I go back and see my first posts and many posts - it's just not up to the mark but still, I love them as it kept me going at that period of time.

It takes time to write an article of your choice or the review of the products, you receive for the same. Even the press releases take a lot of time as you need to set labels, put some photos and backlinks to the brand's websites and social media handles and check the passage on Grammarly for any punctuation errors and spelling errors or some grammatical checks if you have the premium account. I don't have a premium one so I just can check the first two and secondly, press releases are not giving me any money to invest in the same too.

Self-doubt is one of the things that need to be tackled all the time and I have these moments from time to time. I fall into the trap of why I am doing it as it's such a waste of my time and effort. I can invest the same time in teaching my kids or play with my kids. That keeps running at the back of my mind - either there should be some money attached to the same or I need to decide on what's the best fit for me. I am not going to do stuff which is not getting me enough respect from the brand in terms of either their products sponsorships or money to write for them. There is definitely no self-doubt in the same.

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

7 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Community

Hi Friends, 

A week's worth of posts and then I can relax until the end of this year when I complete 6 Years of The Life's Way. I have learned a lot and now I am applying the learnings from fellow bloggers and influencers. You need to be in the community if you seek any guidance or advice or help or support. These communities grow together and you learn from each other. We are not made in isolation and we can't progress in isolation. We always need to collaborate with several individuals and agencies to let our network grow further. I have been missing a lot on this parameter but now as I have opened my arms, a lot of new opportunities are coming my way this year. 

A lot of efforts are required if you need to collaborate and the first one being disciplined. It means that you need to do what you were supposed to do on a certain date or as promised to the other party. Sometimes in my life, I am too tired to do the same but I have made this a rule of my life, long back that if I have promised something, I will surely do it. Habits are difficult to make but once you make them, they will help you throughout your life. With passing time, as you grow older you become more and more wise and humble and you start to think from other person's perspective too. 

Trying Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Camera #CanonRoadshow

Life is all about bringing your true potential and realizing your full potential. Mostly in our lives, we are not able to realize our own potential as we might not get suitable mentors or we never sought the guidance of anyone. Communities, if you a part of one, can take this disadvantage away from you as someone will be there to guide and mentor you. As I think of the past and connect the dots, I have been part of Landmark Forum community even before I started writing my blog and it helped me grow by putting me on right trajectory of thinking. It helped me grow myself from a boy to a man who valued his words.

Once I have started valuing my own words, I take time to respond and also say what is required to be said. But when you are in the industry of influencers then you need to constantly say, the same thing again and again to several people which might be boring to you but the other person will have a different reaction. You don't need to bring in a new topic of discussion in a single evening but the same talk with each and everyone present but make sure that the same person is never there in your conversations else he will find it boring to hell. I don't know how much benefit it will bring to you but I will definitely try out the same strategy at one of the next events I attend. Till that time...

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!

9 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Validations

Hi Friends, 

Your work should always have your own unique kind of mark which won't come so fast in your life. For some, it might but for some, it takes a hell lot of time. I am still trying to find my niche where people can validate or vouch for me in that area. I am still not sure as to where I am and where I want to go. I am doing several mistakes in my pitching to brands and PR companies. I have also done several mistakes for not grabbing opportunities when they came to me due to some constraints created by my mind only. 

Being vulnerable is okay and to get fooled is also okay because sooner or later, you will get what you want as companies will see your loyalty. As they say in the scriptures, Ramayana, where Lord RAM says to his followers, that Making someone fool is selfish and bad but if someone fools you, it's okay. You have accepted the person but now it will be his/her guilt that will be carried along with him/her always. You always have to believe in your KARMA as it can change anytime for anyone. 

You should carry on working on your niche and skills without any tension of paid work. The money will come once you beat your own work day and night. Beat your own self again and again. BE on the top of the things and enjoy what you do. I only wish that for myself but I am trying to get my mojo of things back. I recently observed after my last post that I have taken a lot of tension on myself to make it work. Even if it doesn't work won't have any effect on me financially but to match my lifestyle, I need to make it work. 

The best way to make it work for you is to enjoy your time when you are doing your social media stuff whatever it may be - posting a picture, writing some content or posting a blog post. Enjoy your time creating your content and later enjoy it getting viral. It might take some time but let's create something unique in 2018 which can help you fall in love with yourself again!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra! Check my influence and book me via https://webfluential.com/TheLifesWay

10 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Relationships

Hi Friends,

Not always we have the luxury to do paid or sponsored posts but we do have is what is called a winner's attitude which is a necessity to work in this industry. You need to thick skin otherwise people will abuse you a lot when you ask for money. They will either make your working here difficult or will take you out of the business. 

I have been under a lot of stress since the day I started asking PR companies for paid posts but they said, I don't have the ROI, we don't have a budget, the brand doesn't want to and thousands of excuses. But you will hear that they will have deals with their known resources so it all comes down to relationships in this industry. If you are good at building a relationship with every brand and every individual working with them, you will be hugely successful. 

Either you go up building your relationships or the EXIT is nearby!!! - Aashish Rai

Relationships are difficult to make in a single day, you need to devote and spend time and attention with the individual. You also need to be a little bit of charming and extrovert to be able to spend some quality time with the person. You have to have a collection of talks to initiate the conversation and smart enough to participate in all kinds of talks. I am all of it but I have never given a chance to anyone or myself to come closer to me. I don't think I have talked with many people for more than a minute or so. This is really taking me towards the stage of life where you are getting lonely and alone where I am in the party but still aloof. 

Every blogger needs to work on their social skills as it's what Social Media influence but when you don't have the first word correct in your personality, then what's the use of being one. So, you need to be a little bit of approachable and talkative so that every person can enjoy your company. Some people will like you and some won't so don't bother, keep giving your best as in this industry, there are same people in all the parties, all the time, whom you already know but this time take time to meet the person behind the facade and invest time in building a relationship.

This is one of the biggest mistakes I am doing and in 2018 I want to build relationships more!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra! Check my influence and book me via https://webfluential.com/TheLifesWay

11 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Goals

Hi Friends, 

The goal which seems too far is now within reach but still there a lot of posts between them. Starting a blog is easy but it requires a lot of planning on pen and paper. Once it's released to the world, then you have make the ecosystem around the same to work. It means setting up your other social media channels from twitter to Instagram, to pinterest to tumblr and facebook. Once you are done with all of it, it's time to create a lot of unique content so as to drive traffic towards all your channels. 

The second part starts when you have to find time to do it on a daily or weekly basis. Some people plan and schedule their posts so that there is regularity in the order which is great if you can do so. I can say that an ideal state of work ethics and professionalism. But with me, I am unable to do so till now in my 6th year of blogging and social media influence. I am lazy sometimes and tries to buckle up but sometimes technology too adds to the woes. Slow internet connection, laptop with not a battery backup and writers block are all the woes anyone can face. 

Aashish Rai - #Editor #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra

I always have a goal driven approach towards The Life's Way in terms of how much reach I can get from the content that gets shared on my Instagram channel. How many product reviews I can do on my blog posts and when can I shoot my video's for adding to the content of YouTube. There has been no success till date on the same but soon this laziness has to go as I have to achieve my goals this year. Though I am happy to see that my twitter handle was having 50 followers when I came to South Africa in 2013 and a smart watch brand didn't wanted to send their products for review and now I have more than 9000 followers in 2017.

I have started working on the same in small tasks as the first task I did was to create an email id which was pending since long for EDITOR@TheLifesWay.com so that it feels great for the companies to see that it's some passionate person you are working with.

Next task was to take out the autobot to post tweets from my handles for which I used to pay around ZAR 1800 per annum. I have saved on this cost and now I will spend the same on getting some merchandise for my brand and distributing it to the PR companies and my readers.

So, there are a lot of changes happening at my end and I will continue to share the same in rest of my 10 posts for the 5th Birthday Celebrations of The Life's Way!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra! Check my influence and book me via https://webfluential.com/TheLifesWay

A Memoir - This Month Last Year - Jan 2017 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay

Hi Friends, 

January 2018 is the first month to start executing your plans and goals to achieve your dreams for this year and I felt happy to finally create something I always wanted to and only investing time and money on the brands which reciprocate my feelings. Blogging is not an easy task, it does require time and sacrifice or FOMO from other activities. You need to leave so many other time pass activities to spend time with your laptop to keep this going.

1. A Memoir - Year 2016 for www.TheLifesWay.com #Blog #AashishRai (1000 Post) - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/01/a-memoir-year-2016-for.html - It's always wonderful to enjoy New Year with family and friends but as The Life's Way is also one of my top admirers, I love introspecting what went nicely to good to great. The Life's Way completed 5 Years on 27 Dec 2017 and during its last 5 years has brought me numerous good moments which I can always cherish and admire. Thanks to all those brands who have invested their time and money on my blog. Looking for a great 2018 too!

2. 5 Ways #Legion #Y720 and #Y520 Laptops are Upping the Game @Lenovo_Africa #LenovoCES - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/01/5-ways-legion-y720-and-y520-laptops-are.html - Lenovo recently held their new products launch in South Africa at The Maslow Hotel by Sun International. These products which I wrote about last year when they were launched in CES, have only arrived in South Africa now. That's too much of time to bring the products to this market and the disadvantages of living in third world countries. But these days, a lot of companies are launching their products in third world countries at the same time when they are launching them in CES or MWC etc. 

Keisha Clicked the same on her mom's old Nikon point and shoot 4mp camera

3. @HuaweiZA Mate 9 Wins Eight Awards at #CES2017 #Smartphone #AStepAhead - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/01/huaweiza-mate-9-wins-eight-awards-at.html - Huawei and I didn't do anything together in 2017 and neither I got any phones to review or to keep and it's been a while I have tested any of their smartphones. The relationship is broken we can say and let's hope if the same can be rebuilt in 2018. 

4. A Memoir - This Month Last Year - Dec 2015 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/01/a-memoir-this-month-last-year-dec-2015.html - This series of memories is very close to my heart as every month they give me access to my own feeling during the month. I am not always happy and sometimes irritated when the brands are not responding to my requests but then I continue to try, try and try again. http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/01/a-memoir-this-month-last-year-nov-2015.html

5. @LogitechG Unleashes Advanced #G533 Wireless Gaming Headsets - http://www.thelifesway.com/2017/01/logitechg-unleashes-advanced-g533.html - Logitech is one of the gaming equipment manufacturers who is investing a lot of money in eSports along with several other brands such that the prize money in eSports has now reached more than 1 Million Rands. Kudos to the eSports players and their sponsors!

All other posts in Jan 2017 are for some of the brands which have not given anything in return and the time invested in them by me has totally gone waste. You shall always detach yourself from those companies who have no interest in your wellbeing and then let it go!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra! Check my influence and book me via https://webfluential.com/TheLifesWay

Follow me on Instagram @araijain

16 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Dreams

Hi Friends,

No matter what it takes to finish this series of posts I started way back in December 2017, I will get them done. It's the story of my life and experiments with blogging and PR companies from many brands. I feel alone in the market today but I will shine one day as and when the time is right. Meanwhile, I have started my youtube channel using the smartphone I bought recently and will start posting the videos where I will be in them too. Also, I got 1 Million views on Google Maps - Local Guides program making me MASTER PHOTOGRAPHER on their badge and ranking system. I feel delighted as I focused on the same since July 2017 on and off and in November/December, I upped the game using the photographs that were lying in my hard disk to go online and help Google Maps. It's not that hard to get to that status but I feel happy to be there. Follow me on instagram @araijain 

Secondly, I have decided to start rather than wait for the right time etc. or resources or the perfect stuff to write. It's always my stigma and gives me huge delays in my posts on any of the social media channels. You need to always go ahead and post what is right at the moment instead of delaying it to the future. Thirdly, I will stop the subscription to the automated tweets systems in March 2018, I have been using for the last 2 years. It will impact me hugely but I am not using it to the best of its abilities and thinking about the content I want to create in the coming months, it won't serve me the purpose. 

I will continue to finish all the tasks which are pending on me from various brands for many of the smartphones and laptops - I got to review and for which I still have to write the right stuff. It has been delayed due to don't know what kind of work or small stuff which has been attached to my life. I have to clear it from my desk and mind asap. Also, I have now worked on a plan to review the devices which will give a 360-degree view of the device from all features perspective. I am working towards all this in this new year 2018 and I hope to achieve the good work in the coming years with a dream to reach Mobile World Congress in 2020.

15 Days                                                                                                                                        17 Days

Cheers!!!

 

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra! Check my influence and book me via https://webfluential.com/TheLifesWay

17 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Patience

Hi Friends,

Though it's way beyond the 5th birthday of The Life's Way (27th December in 2017), as there was no internet connection available for more than a month, I could not do any of the blog posts for so long. Patience is a virtue which is definitely needed by all. I have waited long enough for everything in my life. Unless and until I deserved the same, I was never granted the same by the universe, but things changed with The Life's Way bringing great luck in my life. My first big win was a laptop from HP for a post which I wrote with all my heart. When my friends read it before I posted the same, they were cracking jokes about me but I knew that post has winner written all over as those were the songs I loved. 

The Life's Way has patiently waited for all the great things in life to come and pampered a lot of PR companies by posting for free and some has used the same to their advantages. It's ok to be getting used but once or twice they shall realize that we all need money to run the day to day business. If I am not getting sponsored posts and campaigns, I won't be doing free posts too. Even posting press releases takes a lot of time along with photos and captions and handles to be shared etc like I share. It takes me at least 1 hour per post even when all the content is written in the press release as you need to read it and then check for images and then post labels, twitter links, website URLs etc. I am sacrificing important parts of my life to post something on my social media channels so I need to get Return on my time in terms of money or kind. 

But it's good in the end, once you realize that the other person is taking advantage of you and then you stop doing his/her work, then after a while they will realize the importance you bring to the table. I am waiting for those right moment patiently. Even if it happens in a long long time, it's fine by me and if it happens sooner that I will be happy. Also, another change is that I will stop asking for gadgets to be sponsored as I will buy what is the best in the market as compared to used/old/reviewed units sent to keep rather I will ask directly for money to be paid into my bank account. Why waste time on things I don't want in my life and spend my energy keeping them unused at my home?

16 Days                                                                                                                                      18 Days

Cheers!!!

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on paid/sponsored campaigns. No FREE posts! #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra! Check my influence and book me via https://webfluential.com/TheLifesWay

18 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Contentment

Hi Friends, 

#Contentment

The Life's Way is very happy to celebrate its 5th birthday this holiday season and far from the crowd, it is going to be a private affair with myself having some whoopie moments. We have come so far and next round of things will be classy and entrepreneurial. Being content is no easy feat to achieve but let's try that for 2018. Whatever the case may be, let's focus on creating unique personal content and share with the world. Sponsorships will come once I have achieved that status of niche and unique and not get lost in one of the pages in world wide web. I love what I do so it's just a paradigm shift of the ideas to implement on all my social media channels. 

I have been trying to start the minimalism practices and recently wrote an article on the same in one of the UK-SA collaboration magazine named Anytime Anywhere Magazine where Passion People Places is the motto. I will work on getting sponsorship for the Travel and Technology pages I write in this magazine. Check it out if you can find an issue at airports, hotels and Gautrain stations. It will be awesome to work on this new initiative in 2018 as we create something unique every month and the team is simply excellent. All the team members are working very hard and smart to make it a great magazine comparable with Bar Coded magazines. 

Generally, in life, you have to work hard to achieve the status of contentment and it's a daily practice which needs continuous efforts just like minimalism. The Life's Way has achieved a lot and is happy with the results as the amount of time invested is also limited and lost to do the posts for free stuff looking PR companies but now onwards whatever time is saved will be to work on creating unique and lovely content and then sharing on all my social media channels. Also, each social media channel needs some time and efforts to create a unique design and posts, so in 2018 each will be allocated time and respect. Opportunities might come from any channels but myself being an opportunistic blogger, I will be there to grab them. 

Cheers!!!

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to sponsor your products and services #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra! Check my influence and book me via https://webfluential.com/TheLifesWay