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

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for historical tech, new gadgets, stationery, product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay Link to all social media platforms - https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h Your Lifestyle and Technology Blog for the last 10 Years!

New Year Resolutions - Week 01 Achievements & Failures in 2023 #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

I feel so lonely without these posts as it also gives me an insight into my own life as we keep forgetting it on a weekly basis. I generally don't remember what I did and what I will do in the next week, so having a placeholder or the light tower to guide me on the path to the right is always good. Also, you people can help me with the accountability aspect as well as now I will have to regularly post and share what I did with my time on Planet Earth. Let's begin with the Year 2023 and some changes in our posts that will be introduced as and when it becomes clear in my mind and thoughts. 

1. Happy New Year 2023 - We came back from Mauritius tired on 31-Dec-22 and spent most of the time sleeping and resting. The new year started with prayers after bathing and post that I created some YouTube Shorts. I thought that I would post a daily short in Jan-23. We went to Laudium to eat Dosa at VimalRaj Restaurant and totally loved the taste. 

2. Tasks - A lot of tasks were on my mind including the time spent standing in the queue for License Disk renewal so I brought the form one day before from Benmore Gardens and then went again in the afternoon to get it done. Now it's sorted for a year and there is no tension. Another action item on my list was to submit all the medical bills pending to be submitted to Insurance in the amount of more than ZAR 13k. Hence, I did that too and now will await the return of money after the 10% copayment charges deductions. I also changed both the wipers on the car's front window. I bought them from the BOSCH store for ZAR 580. I also got the gas cylinders refilled as both of them were empty and we were left without any tea or food and now we don't have an electric stove to rely back upon. Also, as we were not home for the last 2 weeks, we had to go on groceries and veggies shopping as well. I generally buy veggies from Randburg Wholesale Market and found them to be the cheapest there providing value for sure. 

3. New School Season - My daughter went to high school so it was time to stand in the queue for a new school dress including a blazer and stationery items for her. We went around the city for the same in search of them from Woodmeads to Sandton. She never told us the full list and kept adding stuff to buy that I then bought from Makro, Pick n Pay and Checkers too. 

4. Data Transfer - Most of the time was spent on transferring the data from almost full laptop memory capacity to the new 5TB HDD I bought. I made the same as my YouTube videos and thumbnails data dump hard disk so all the digital data related to the category went into the same. It gave breathing space for the Photography HDD I have (3TB) and also the day-to-day Seagate SSD (500GB). This is one of the tasks that need your attention on a daily if not a weekly basis for sure. This is an activity that's totally hectic and takes a lot of attention as there is a chance that your digital data can corrupt because of connection breaks or memory failures or automatic shutdowns of the laptop in between. Check out the unboxing video - 

5. Entertainment - I watched the 3rd season of Jack Ryan on Prime Video and totally binge-watched it. The story is not as fast-paced and thrilling as we saw it in the earlier seasons. It's always difficult to beat the first season for any web series and so is the case with this one as well. Not many web series have been able to beat their first season and sometimes the team divides it into 2 portions so that people are curious and wants to watch the second part knowing that if they release the same as the first one the whole series is going to be marked as a flop for example Lupin. 

I think the most number of views are in these weekly blog posts and since the time I stopped writing them the views on the previous weeks have risen quite a bit. Hence I am starting the new year's weekly posts too so that you can get to know a little bit more about me and my decisions and actions. 

Cheers!!!

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for historical tech, new gadgets, product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay Link to all social media platforms - https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h Your Lifestyle and Technology Blog for the last 10 Years!!!

New Year Resolutions - Week 52 Achievements & Failures #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

Week 52 - Sat 24 Dec 2022 - Fri 31 Dec 2022

This is the last week of the year 2023 and for the whole week, we will be sightseeing in Mauritius and seeing a lot of beaches and enjoying the warm tropical weather by switching on the AC inside the car. The temperature it seems is too hot to handle as we have never faced such kind in Johannesburg in the last 9 years of being here. The body has not adjusted itself to Joburg's temperatures and can't take any other without getting uneasy. The taxi drivers don't own the AC in Mauritius even after you say them to because they love the hot weather. 

1. 10 Years of The Life's Way - I celebrated the 10 years of The Life's Way by relaxing on a beach and seeing some new beaches in Mauritius. I ate food at the Sitar Restaurant in Tamarin, Mauritius. 10 years back when I started thinking about the name, it took me 2-3 days to come to finalize the name of The Life's Way. Also, many other people guided me to get the domain name from the start and another one told me to have the visiting cards made. It really guided me in the right direction and I still love those moments when I won some of the big contests via my blog writings. I am not going to please anyone again in 2023 and do what I love most, what I want to write and the brands who value me will get my total support. 

2. Last Week in Mauritius - We stayed in Mauritius till 30th Dec and so far we have come across a lot of good places to eat Indian food, especially since the taste is not matched even in Johannesburg restaurants. One of the main ones that really left an impression is in a food court of Super U Grand Baie mall called Indian Flames. Some of the items served are really nice like Idli Sambhar, Dosa Sambhar and Samosa Chaat. Even their golgappas are nice as the spicy tangy water they prepare is really great. Another one we loved is Sitar Restaurant in Cap Tamarin Super U mall. I didn't buy any local mobile number but the trick was that every restaurant & McDonald's now offers some kind of free wifi that helped us to book taxis and check our WhatsApp etc. 

3. Resolutions - It's time to make some resolutions but I think this year only a single resolution or word to follow is ACTION. Take action fast and with full force. Don't second guess as the universe likes speed. I am going to do things that I have never done before, take risks, fail fast and recover from the same. Let's create content that's not there on YouTube and the rest is in the hands of Lord Shiva. For a long time now, I have moved into the bhakti of Lord Shiva - bholenaath or Mahadev. When you close your eyes and chant MAHADEV the sensation emerges in your whole body? Have you tried it or do it now and let me know! 

4. Daily Walking - Finally after all the hard work and tracking the same, I completed the 1000 kilometres on 25th December 2022 and somehow it was done on a day that half of the world celebrates. I stopped tracking after completing 1000 kilometres so did around 13 kilometres in total. I am still thinking if I am going to continue the same in 2023 or will move to other kinds of exercises. I want to spend 2023 learning Yoga and meditation for sure. I ended the year with 1011.48 kilometres tracked using the Huawei Watch GT2e. 

5.  Happy New Year 2023 - We came only in the afternoon after the flight we booked was cancelled by Kenya Airways and spent all night running around the Nairobi airport I have not thought that never I am going to fly with them ever again. We came around 1pm to home with Pizza Hut and McDonald's takeaways. I totally loved the Pizza Hut Giant Chocolate cookie that came free with the large pizza. I only woke up at 8pm in the night and then the restaurants were getting closed at 930pm so we rushed to Punjabi Tadka for some dinner and thereafter spent the New Year countdown at the kid's zone in Montecasino. It was nice and we were satisfied that we could rest during this December break. 

I hope you guys have the wonderful new year 2023 and create goals that can help you move forward in your life, career, love and money. I wanted to change my money mindset last year but somehow the focus got lost during the year so I am renewing the same this year as this needs to be taken care of. I am so grateful to Universe for everything that they have given me throughout the year. 

Cheers!!!

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay. Support me with $3.34 only per month - https://www.patreon.com/TheLifesWay Namaste! https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h 

New Year Resolutions - Week 51 Achievements & Failures #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

Week 51 - Sat 17 Dec 2022 - Fri 23 Dec 2022

Week 51 is entirely spent relaxing on the beaches of Mauritius and enjoying the luxurious holidays of my life. Never ever I have spent so much money for a single day charge for a resort. This has been the most expensive holiday ever in my whole life span of 42 years. 

1. Daily Walking - I did a lot of kilometres during the course of this week around the resort and various other spots on the island I eventually reached 995 kilometres from the 958km I completed last week. It is a massive 37.26 kilometres in a single week. Now you will know how and why people feel tired when they go overseas on a trip to any tropical island? Even inside the resort, you do have to do a lot of walking around etc which makes your body stretch high because you are motivated to enjoy there but as soon as you hit the back/reset button and then every muscle of your body does a rendevous with your mind. 

2. Mauritius Trip - We booked into an all-inclusive resort thinking that it will be difficult otherwise but the cost of the same is also high. Considering I am vegetarian and a non-drinker of alcohol, it doesn't make any sense for me to go on an all-inclusive resort accommodation. In total, we must have drank 10-12 water bottles that were not covered in the package if we have taken half-board or full-board or even bed and breakfast then also I would have paid around ZAR 400 for the same whereas I paid ZAR 11000 per night for full-board and half-board would have been ZAR 6000. I would still get breakfast and dinner that's the main part of the food you want to eat. So for a person who's vegetarian or vegan, and doesn't drink alcohol or eat seafood, going half-board is the best option to choose and save a lot of money. The only pleasure was that we didn't have to check the price of anything before ordering as everything was covered from the first portion of the menu in most of the restaurants and lunch stalls. 

3. Sightseeing in Mauritius - After roaming around from corner to corner and all four directions of the island, there is nothing that's so important or that you will miss if you don't see it. We live in South Africa which is thousand times more beautiful than Mauritius so for me, Mauritius was nothing special. The only thing is that there are very less waves due to coral reefs around the whole island and white sand makes the water turquoise up to 1000 meters around the island. There is no taxi service like Uber but there is one Yugo app which only fetched us the same 2 drivers, again and again, every day. This app was working fine in the Gansbaai and Trou Aux Bitches areas. 

4. Meeting Your Best Friends - There is no great feeling than meeting your best friends after a gap of many years. I have some good friends from our MBA time in Hyderabad and we organized a meeting during the trip to India on 26-Jan-2020 didn't know that we won't meet again till this trip with one of them. My friend in question came all the way from Thailand to meet us in Delhi in 2020 and now he got transferred to Mauritius so we met him thrice during the trip. I think this is the longest we have spent time with him since 2007 when we used to all stay together in a flat in Srinagar Colony sharing a common dream to do something in life. Some of the dreams are not fulfilled but some got fulfilled for sure. 

5. Activities in Mauritius - I did some of the activities that I have not done earlier and did some after a long long gap of multiple years. I did the Kayak and there was a glass bottom kayak as well that I did twice and another one multiple times as per the energy I have in my body. The coral reefs that we see in Mauritius are not as colourful as shown in Australia's videos or we may be doing it in a particular area named Balaclava. Let me know if you went diving and saw some better colourful corals?

Let me know how did you like this series of weekly posts across the whole year of 2022! It's just like a written version of vlogs. I wanted to write more stuff but didn't get time as I still think of myself as a disciplined writer but I take a lot of breaks when I am not able to focus. I think of myself as a superman but I am only a man who needs rest and other tasks take priority sometimes but I keep The Life's Way in my mind. 

Join using my link on the TheSalt influencer platform and we will do some of the influencer marketing campaigns together in 2023 for sure - https://app.thesalt.co.za/join/ynwjv

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 with $3.34 only per month - https://www.patreon.com/TheLifesWay Namaste! https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h 

New Year Resolutions - Week 50 Achievements & Failures #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

Week 50 - Sat 10 Dec 2022 - Fri 16 Dec 2022

Now we are in our 50th week of 2022 and I am hopeful that you are liking these posts on my blog it's going to be my 10th year of The Life's Way. Though I have not achieved a large amount of success as I could not devote myself to creating networks and sponsorships on my blog I did get a large number of press releases and invites to several events throughout the last 10 years. Some of the things I have done in my life are only because of The Life's Way that I would not have explored also. 

1. Daily Walking - I only did around 16.89 kilometres during the course of this week as I was flying out of the country on Friday 16th Dec. I didn't take count of all the kilometres walked in Johannesburg and Kenya airports while reaching the necessary gates. In Kenya, the gate almost closed when we reached there because it was on the far end and it took some time to come out of the plane and then queue up for bathrooms and then for security checking. My total is now around 958 kilometres out of a 1000 km journey. Will I be able to do something in Mauritius is a question now? 

2. Entertainment - I watched the CAT season 1 on Netflix and totally loved the same. It stars Randeep Hooda as a spy who helps the police catch the criminals by becoming one of them and joining their gang. Then I watched Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery which was not so difficult to solve in my mind. The same is also available on Netflix. My wife is using the Netflix membership exclusively from the start on her phone and TV. We only get to watch if she is not watching anything or we watch together as a family. 

3. YouTube Creators Summit - It was my first time ever speaking in front of so many people about myself. There was a hesitation for sure and nervousness to top it up. I prepares some answers but totally forgot them. I just said what came to my mind on the journey I remembered during the course of 2022 in YouTube Shorts. It was great meeting everyone at the end of 2022 and good to know the plans they had for the rest of the year. 

4. Travel to Mauritius - This was my first time ever on an aeroplane after a gap of 3 years as I last travelled in Feb-2020 when I came from India via Dubai. What I have observed is that if the flights are going on time, everything works fine and if there is a delay or cancellation then the staff on the ground is too confused that they don't know what to do! I had problems with Kenya Airways while coming back but no communications no replies etc has been received. The staff kept sending us to different counters and the whole night was spent at the counters at the airport. Never ever flying again with Kenya Airways. It's better to go to Mauritius using the direct South African Airways flight rather than roaming to other countries and reaching there. Lesson Learnt!

5. theSalt - My only sponsored posts came from this influencer platform and I did 5 campaigns for them for brands like Uber Eats, OneCart, Ensure, OneDayOnly and SAB. They give you cash that gets deposited in your bank account which is much more beneficial than the free products we don't need or use. Also, they don't deduct any percentage of commissions as you get what they will tell you upfront at the start of the campaign. Also, as an added bonus there are always some gift vouchers or products that come as additional benefits which makes your earned money go a long way! My recent desk setup which had the arm for a monitor came using their ZAR 1k gift voucher only! So what are you waiting for? - Join using my link and I will welcome you at the other end of the influencer marketing campaigns - https://app.thesalt.co.za/join/ynwjv

I hope that I will get new campaigns in 2023 and will earn some money that can help me to build and enrich my lighting and other accessories required for the video creation exercise. I think I am definitely in need of a Mobile gimbal and secondly a dome light where I can control the temperature and brightness and softness as my main light. 

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 with $3.34 only per month - https://www.patreon.com/TheLifesWay Namaste! https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h 

New Year Resolutions - Week 49 Achievements & Failures #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

Week 49 - Sat 03 Dec 2022 - Fri 09 Dec 2022

Week 49 started with watching some of the movies before I go on a trip of a lifetime. There are some of the learning from this trip as well as how and why I have fallen in love with South Africa. 

1. Daily Walking - Week 49 saw me slow down a little bit and reached only 14.61 km. I completed 940 kilometres to meet the target that I set for this week after taking 2 weeks off as planned. After reaching that point, I just rested for the next 3 days. Sometimes relaxing after achieving the kinds of kilometres is totally required for your body to come in its original condition. 

2. Entertainment - I watched the Ram Setu movie and it was a disaster. Other than watching the character of AP that gets solved during the climax that's really great. I also watched the Black Adam movie that stars Dwayne Johnson and Sarah Shahi. Sarah, you will remember from a famous Netflix series as well if you have seen the same. 

3. YouTube Shorts - This week I got the news that I will be part of the Creator's Community Spotlight at the year-end festival of YouTube Shorts. The team from the UK is going to come for the event and I will be on the stage where people will get to know more about me. Will it increase my subscribers, I am not so sure but I am grateful to YouTube for making a dream become reality! I attended my first YT event in May and there I thought about going on stage in Dec I am on the stage. All thanks to the YouTube Shorts community for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. 

4. Trip to Mauritius - A lot of the time went away planning clothes and packing for the upcoming trip to Mauritius. Along with that, there were school closing ceremonies and other events to take care of with family. Also, the office also had some important meetings for the planning of the future upcoming year 2023 so it all become a little hectic by the end of this week. 

5. theSalt - If you are an influencer or trying to become one! If you are a blogger or on any other social media platform - join #theSalt influencers platform to earn some money! 

By connecting your lifestyle with prominent brands, they help you become part of selected marketing campaigns. You’ve heard of Influencer Marketing, right? Well, in effect, they help you become an influencer for a brand. And the thing is that it is really simple to do! Once you have been selected as an influencer, all you will need to do is to interact with your community around aspects of the campaign. theSalt team will be at your side the whole way so there is nothing to be worried about. Then, the brands will pay you for the exposure. In fact, if you are selected for a campaign, you could earn up to R3000* per month just by doing your everyday activities and posting about it on your social media accounts.

To sign up, simply complete the application form and wait for them to find the perfect campaign for you. Link to action - https://app.thesalt.co.za/join/ynwjv

We are now in the last few weeks of 2022 and there have been some resolutions I didn't make any progress on but there are some that I have finished and completed with flying colours. The uncompleted ones will move to the new year based on if I want to still do it in 2023 and the rest will be marked as done and dusted. 

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 with $3.34 only per month - https://www.patreon.com/TheLifesWay Namaste! https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h