10 Years of www.TheLifesWay.com #TheLifesWay #BlogAnniversary #10YearsofTheLifesWay

Hi Friends, 

10 years is a mark that you think will change something but it's not like that as it's just your ego making mental challenges. I never thought that I will one day reach this point but I started The Life's Way only to carry on till the end of my life. I don't know if anyone will take it afterwards but it's a one-person effort, time, money and investment. I could never grow the same and it still is where it is as a one-person blog. 

In 2022, I changed my pivot to not waste time on brands that are not valuing me but rather than expectations in my mind and heart for them to recognise and send me their products or services. But this kind of mentality needs to be corrected so it's always better to set your expectations at the start of your services for the other brand. I think I have done enough in the last 10 years for hundreds of brands that made full use of me without any benefits in return. I don't blame them but it was me who never told me what I expect in return at the start of the partnership. It was rather a one-sided affair as I kept promoting them. 

During 2022, I deleted all the posts that don't serve my readers so the count has come down from 2500 posts that were for 9 years of The Life's Way to this one which is going to be 2050 or near that. I also spent more time reading and listening to books. I walked more than 1000 kilometres in 2022 instead of sitting in front of my laptop and the internet to post press releases for free or any trade exchanges or any kinds of benefits whatsoever. It's better to invest in your attitude, mental peace and learning. 

The Life's Way achieved 3.85 Million pageviews in 2022 despite spending very less time and reducing the number of posts and press releases. I am not so sure how much I will cross but based on the run rate I think I will be around 4.25 Million pageviews by 27-Dec-2023 the target that I have set for myself is around 5 Million. It's not going to be an easy task to get more than 1 Million pageviews in a single year and also I am thinking of migrating from Blogger to WordPress if possible. 

Coming back to the achievements during the course of the 10th year of The Life's Way - I did some of the paid assignments with theSalt influencer marketing company that really helped me earn some money along with some free products as well. I did a campaign for Webfluential as well along with one for the Vodacom Pay contest from YouTube Shorts and also for the Evetech Creator contest. The Salt ones fetched me some cash which really helped me buy all the stuff I bought in 2022. I spent much more than I earned in 2022 as I am thinking about it now. 

The best thing that happened in 2022 was the coming together of my brother's family and my parents all coming together to South Africa and we went to Kruger National Park for a 4 nights trip which was amazing. Then I went again to Hermanus to see the whales that were also on my wish list for many years. Then to end the year, I went to Mauritius which was my first international trip for more than 15 days on an island. All these trips were self-paid and not sponsored as some influencers thought and were jealous about. There is nothing to be jealous of as I paid for all these trips myself only the cameras to take pictures with were given for review and taken back after the completion of the trip. 

I focused mainly on YouTube channels creating long-form videos and Shorts and both took me in different directions. Long-form videos got me into the YouTube Partner programme after completing 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time in a single year. The YouTube Shorts took me into the Shorts Community by virtue of which I attended my first ever YouTube live events in person and virtually and received a lot of YouTube swag to enjoy as well. I also received my first YouTube payment too and which was USD 121 in the month of Nov-22. 

I did a lot of unboxing videos along with stationery videos and 100s of shorts. In total, I did around 159 long-form videos and 323 Shorts in 2022. My biggest dream came true was meeting Cycle Baba that I dreamed of in 2021 when I came to know that he is going to come to Africa. I met him on April 22 and shot a small interview video with him as well. 

I also completed 42 years of Hanuman Chalisa which was a dream work I wanted to do for many many years now and I could complete it before my birthday on July 22. I could finish the same in May or Jun-22 which was a month before the target time I allocated. It left me to focus on the walks and audiobooks. 

The products that were on my dream list that I shared were not fulfilled at all. I didn't get an Apple Macbook or DJI Gimbal or Canon EOSM 22mm lens. My father though gifted me Apple Earpods with wireless charging (2nd edition) that my brother gifted him. My brother also gave me his 7th generation Kindle Paperwhite I am enjoying it a lot and spent a lot of time reading books. I did buy certain products that I always wanted to own like RGB Headset stand, Monitor Arm. After buying them I felt good but not using them any longer as it hurts your eyes when you are sitting right on top of them. So all the RGB lighting that looks great on videos and images is just torture and stressful for your eyes for sure especially for me as I wear glasses so it gets a lot of reflections. 

This year I focused more on buying my own stuff rather than winning the same as I have been doing over the years. This is the year where my expenses rose more than my income from The Life's Way. I bought a lot of Pilot and Lamy Fountain Pens along with a lot of online courses from Skillshare, Udemy and other platforms like getAbstract. I did get some new kinds of opportunities this year where I went to a lot of conferences and in-person sessions. It did fetch me some special gifts that I never expected and showcased to you on my YouTube channel as well. 

I have not moved to another smartphone and still using the same ones (Note 20 and Z Flip3) as I was at the end of 2021 so nothing has changed much this time around. I did review some of the smartphones from Huawei, Honor, Nokia, Vivo, TCL and Samsung including some tablets as well. Those all were great phones but they went back as they came for a review period of 14 days or so. TCL phone people got really interested when I posted the unboxing video on my YouTube channel. 

The main focus remained on getting more and more Youtube videos and shorts and the blog took a little bit of beating due to the same. I kept making a lot of blog posts in my mind but the actual typing of those words never happened. It's still happening and I do think about all the posts in terms of storytelling but the words never get typed and directly go into videos if that happens. 

I am not sure what 2023 will bring for me but I hopefully want to change my mindset towards wealth and growth. I want to take risks in my job, career and money. I want to grow my channel to reach 100k subscribers on Youtube and the blog to cross 5 Million pageviews as told earlier. I will do my own thing and if I can align with some brands I will do it else just live my life on my own terms. 

Aum Namah Shivay!

Till next time...Aashish 

Thanks! Cheers!!! 

https://linktr.ee/thelifesway

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New Year Resolutions - Week 42 Achievements & Failures #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

Week 42 - Sat 15 Oct 2022 - Fri 21 Oct 2022

Diwali festival is coming near and we are all gearing towards the same. We had a lovely trip in Hermanus and I definitely want to buy a home there for my holidays and can lend the same as Airbnb also. Let the universe listen to my demand for the same. I am a firm believer in the law of attraction since 2007 when I first came across The Secret video and since then my life has changed for the better. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! 

1. Daily Walking - This week I did the lowest ever possible walk in the whole of the year and it came out to be only 4.77 km. I am extremely lagging behind the weekly targets and I hope that I will catch it up by Dec-22. The strong will I have will definitely help me to make this goal a success. 

2. Thank you - I only did 1600 counts and the same has been finally stopped but it's a habit that needs the counter else you will forget to do the same. There should be something to make you remember that this is the thing you have to do. I have to work on this in the new year now. 

3. Launch Events - I attended the MSC Cruises launch event where they introduced the new ships to be coming to South Africa along with a nice dinner at The Wanderers. Totally loved the same. I also attended the 3 part series of YouTube Shorts virtual event where a lot of international and domestic creators came and explained their process of creating the videos and going viral in their respective niches. This whole year is dedicated to the YT Shorts for sure for The Life's Way. 

4. YouTube - This is the 4th month since the Youtube channel got accepted into the YPP - YouTube Partner Program and since then I have not reached the USD 100 mark and this month I hope to reach there. Please continue to give your love and support in terms of views and likes. 

5. Entertainment - During Diwali times the only entertainment is meeting people as you give out the sweets. This time around wife prepared special stuff at home including besan laddu, snacks and so much more and especially created a Diwali box for everyone to receive from us. Though I told her that we have never got anything great in return for what we give that's fine at least people who get it look forward to receiving the same. 

Happy Diwali to all nears and dears and to all my readers too. The Life's Way is all because of you guys! Thanks!!!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on your services and products. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay #10YearsofTheLifesWay. Support me if you want with $3.34 only per month - https://www.patreon.com/TheLifesWay Namaste! https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h

New Year Resolutions - Week 41 Achievements & Failures #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

Week 41 - Sat 08 Oct 2022 - Fri 14 Oct 2022

The second week of the month of October 2022 was spent on the road as we only reached Johannesburg on 11-Oct-22 and then directly went to rest for some time as we started around 3am in the morning to reach by 1pm from Beaufort West. It was really a great trip but I could not shoot much of the content I intended to. I think I get overwhelmed with the devices, gadgets, angles and so much more mental pressure before I even begin to shoot that I miss a lot of easy stuff. I think I need to make a simple checklist to create my content and keep it as simple as possible. 

1. Walking - I only could complete 10 kilometres during the course of this week as the walking was casual on the beach and around the city of Hermanus. After coming back I felt too tired to walk so that's how it caused the kilometres to not reach the 20 km mark. This has been a consistent failure at my end and it will put me in a difficult situation as I may not reach the 1000 mark that I need to reach by 31-Dec-22. 

2. Thank You - As I told you last week that I am going to stop at the counter till I buy a new one from China Mall. This is a huge impact on my gratitude habit but let's see if I can do it without the manual counter to push the buttons. 

3. Events - I attended the virtual YouTube Shorts Event as a part of 3 part series with International creators including Arun Maini from MrWhoseTheBoss and felt really great to be part of the YouTube Shorts community. I have achieved a lot in terms of YouTube just by being part of the YouTube Shorts community in South Africa. Many thanks to the team and the partner manager. You should also make YouTube shorts if you are making reels on Instagram or videos on Tik Tok to take it further and earn some money too. 

4. Diwali Celebrations - The time has come for the Diwali celebrations as well after we celebrated the festival of Vijay Dashmi last week. I have always loved celebrating Diwali as you get to wear new clothes, distribute sweets and eat a lot of desserts. The best part is this time BAPS are doing their own fireworks in WITS University Sports ground and also Shree Radhey Shyam Temple is going to light the sky too. I am of the opinion that enjoyment comes from watching and not from firing them. I never missed any of the fireworks in London during the 14 months I lived there in 2010-11 by the government on several occasions. 

5. Entertainment - I didn't watch any of the web series or movies this time around. My family watched Laal Singh Chaddha on Netflix in Hermanus but I didn't like it when I watched it again also. Some of the movies are totally not worth your time and a person has to create something new and not repeat their regular acting as seen in their previous movies. Dangal was the only movie that I have watched in repeat mode of Aamir Khan and must have seen it more than 100 times. 

The second week of October went into the preparations for the Diwali sweets and shopping for the festival. This time I reduced my fireworks expense to a minimum and spent only ZAR 90 for Sparklers because the fireworks were arranged by the temple authorities and you only enjoy what you see in the sky much more than the ones you see bursting on the land. Have a great festive season! Cheers!!!

Cheers!!!

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on your services and products. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay #10YearsofTheLifesWay. Support me if you want with USD 10 - https://www.patreon.com/TheLifesWay Namaste! https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h

New Year Resolutions - Week 40 Achievements & Failures #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

Week 40 - Sat 01 Oct 2022 - Fri 07 Oct 2022

October 2022 started with a great trip to Hermanus and it was a relaxing and energetic trip to the small city with all kinds of modern facilities as most European tourists make their way to the same. It is one of the cities where I just got to drive less than 50 kilometres to see tourist sites which made a difference really though I travelled far to Cape Agulhas which I missed in my Garden Route trip due to wrong directions and time not on our side as we had to reach Pearly Beach for overnight stay. 

1. Walking - I only did 9.83 kilometres during the course of this week. Thursday morning the road trip to Hermanus started as well. During the trip to Hermanus, I ate something like some Indian chips that were made from Jackfruit but in some kind of oil which really took my throat into a vial fever state. Despite drinking warm water or rather hot water later, I could not control it and had to go down the fever route. 

2. Thank You - From 24000 onwards it reach 35000 before the counter again turned to zero. This is going to be the last week of using the counter. Will restart the activity in a new form in the new year. I will definitely recommend you to do this task or fun activity as it will being a lot of good in your life in terms of whatever you desire. I have got many good gifts that I always wanted in my life due to this Thank You Arigato In Arigato Out technique by Ken Honda. 

3. Travel to Hermanus - Driving for around 1425 kilometres needs a lot of planning and resting stops need to be minimized as well. I loved the city of Hermanus when we saw it for an hour or so during our trip from Pearly Beach to Cape Town. That's when I planned to visit the same once again and this time I spent many nights in Hermanus. My Honda Civic 1.8 Elegance car reached there without any problems whatsoever. 

4. Contest Win - I won a contest from Incredible Connection for Jabra Earphones that I received when I was outstation. The same will be unboxed in some days on my YouTube channel. I am not able to find out what I wrote on the Facebook page but the day I wrote those words was early in the morning as I was sitting in my mom-dad room and it was a father's day contest. My parents were here in South Africa when I wrote this one and totally found out that this is one of the best words I can write on that day. Thanks!

5. Interviews - I did some interviews with the executives of Vivo Mobile South Africa which you can watch on my YouTube channel to learn more about the latest Vivo V25 series of smartphones. Vivo Smartphones have great cameras and check the executives if you want to visit Qatar 2022 World Cup courtesy of Vivo Mobile South Africa. 

Week 40 has been a great one for sure and I totally loved the road trip to Hermanus. Hermanus is a must-visit town or city as it gives the feeling of being in a European city but with the beautiful weather of South Africa. Most of the tourists that visit this town are European and the place is always booked. Also, whale watching is one of the best time pass activities you can enjoy and they also respond to you by coming very near the shore. Also, there is a 10-12 km long walk along the sea and I am sure by walking on the route you will see much more whales as compared to when you are on the ship inside the ocean to see it from a few meters away. 

Cheers!!!

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on your services and products. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay #10YearsofTheLifesWay. Support me if you want with USD 10 - https://www.patreon.com/TheLifesWay Namaste! https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h