New Year Resolutions - Week 23 Achievements & Failures in 2023 #TheLifesWay

Hi Guys,

Week 23 is now in full swing as there are some of the new smartphone launch events as well as some of the new gadgets to get introduced to. I feel thankful and grateful to the brands which value me but don't like if they don't give me importance like I give them by creating content using their products or about their products. 

1. Launch Event - I was invited to the launch event for Vivo V27 5G and Vivo V27e Smartphones. This time they have chosen some of the influencers who already had the phone available to them. Last year I did a lot of YouTube Shorts for Vivo from their launch event but despite that, I was not the chosen one. I received the phone the same week it was launched for two weeks but was not allowed to take the same to Zambia. It was an opportunity missed by the brand for sure. They also had a creative manager whom I tried contacting and he knew me as well to my surprise but he was not interested so I left the conversation and took the goodies bag and came back home immediately after. Thereafter I even rejected the interview requests as they didn't fetch more than 20-30 views in the whole year since the last year's launch event. 

I also received the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 which I won during the NDA event for the Galaxy S23 smartphone. It took a while but I felt great to be receiving any gadgets I can make Youtube videos on. I also returned the Samsung Galaxy A54 that I received to review. 

I also had a meeting with the Deli Stationery country manager at their office in Johannesburg CBD. They gave me some of their products that I made videos on my channel but I think they didn't like my content and I have not received any further comms from them to date. 

2. Thank You - I started from 13000 onwards and reached 45000 counts by the end of the week. This is the best exercise I can do on a daily basis. It frees me from all the negativity and thoughts that really are not the best for me. 

3. Entertainment - I watched the Fast X movie and it's a one-time watch. I now have forgotten the story of the same as well. I think the series needs to now take a break but there are so many ensemble cast that they can continue forever till they live or even after that using the AI tools and green screen. 

4. YouTube - I have stopped doing 5 Shorts on a daily basis since the start of June 2023 and the growth has not slowed down for sure. I have reached 2080 subscribers on my channel. I have taken a break as I was getting mentally stressed due to the same. It takes a lot of time to make and work on creating content all the time. 

5. Stationery Videos - I have been posting a lot of stationery items from pens to other fancy products and more are going to be posted in the coming months as well. Let me know if you are interested in watching this type of content. I am really thankful to all the brands that exist and create a lot of videos on the same. I am not creating to get views as I don't do trending videos at all. I don't even get views on these types of videos which is not going to get me even some cents from Youtube adverts but I love creating the passion I have for the stationery items since childhood. I have spent a lot of money all my life on these items which I could have spent enjoying with friends or eating things I wanted to. 

Sometimes I think of quitting all this but then you need to have a thick skin and can't leave a dream because some people are not aligned with your future goals. The Life's Way was not created for someone but it was my dream passion project and despite all the good and the bad times it will continue. I have lived my life with a lot of internal and external struggles and have accepted that this is part of the same coin. You have to continue living the life and my life has been the Life of Pi as I was born on 22/7 i.e. 22nd July and Pi as a number has infinite potential and never ending or fully divisible and so is my life. 

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 10.5 Years!

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 #vivoY765G: Stellar Performance Stunning Images, Style And More @Vivomobile_SA

Hi Friends, 

vivo’s new Y76 5G smartphone raises the Y-series bar - strong 5G capabilities, advanced performance with supercharged imaging, and sleek design

vivo’s latest device, the Y76 5G, is an evolution in style and technical capabilities. With a 7.79mm super-slender body weighing in at only 175g, this phone is ultra-light and comes with advanced camera technology, a fast-charging mechanism, extended storage and RAM, plus superior 5G technology.

5G technology

5G ensures a faster and better connection, especially with the vivo Y76 5G’s low-power consumption on a 7nm process 5G chip and a CPU speed of 2.2GHz; this device picks up signals every time with SA6 & NSA dual-mode 5G that works across mainstream frequencies and an antenna that wraps around the phone.

FlashCharge

All these capabilities are supported by a mega fast and efficient charging system, with an energy guardian technique. The 44W FlashCharge has a charging rate of 70% in just 32 minutes meaning users can take photos, stream series or play an endless assortment of games without.

Storage

The vivo Y76 5G’s RAM of 8GB + 4GB is ultra-fast. This extended RAM technology draws an extra 4GB from ROM to add to the generous 8GB of RAM, providing an amazing 12GB RAM experience. This system supports a variety of apps that run in the background with no lag and seamless ease for switching.

Camera Technology

Front and centre for vivo is the evolution of camera technology. The Y76 5G packs a superlative system that allows for expert photos day and night, plus features to ensure the best vlogs and pics on the go.

The Y76 5G comprises a main rear camera with an AI triple camera system, a 50MP main camera, 2MP bokeh camera and 2MP macro camera. The 50MP main camera has an innovative sensor that naturally adjusts bright or dark scenes to shoot ultra-sharp images in infinite detail.

A 16MP front-facing camera is packed with positive features to show users in their best light. The AI Extreme Night Selfie mode captures more details, dials down noises, and delivers richer contrasts. This feature ensures users look even more stunning against the darkest of nights, plus, when the AI Face Beauty algorithm and Smart Softlight Band kick in, perfect portraits are guaranteed. In the Y76 5G, this Super Night Mode comes on both front and rear cameras.

Additionally, the front-facing camera offers an updated Face Beauty feature with personalization options to refine selfies down to the smallest detail. Users can optimise skin tone, face shape and facial features through vivo’s upgraded multidimensional algorithms.

Double Exposure combines two exposures in one image, merging different scenes, two layers of exposures or even two pictures together. It is a simple-to-use tool that sparks creativity and delivers professional-like imaging. The Dual-Video view allows simultaneous recording on front and back cameras, so users can create expert vlogs and videos with a personal touch. This is aided by the Ultra-Stable Video feature that cancels hand movement and aids recording on the go.

These imaging specifications are amplified by the 6.58-inch FHD + LCD waterdrop screen that offers a clear, higher-resolution display for a stunning and more immersive viewing experience. Plus there’s the Eye Protection Mode to protect against blue light, a must for gamers and streaming.

Style solutions

A 7.79mm super-slender body weighing in at only 175g is supported by a 20:9 aspect ratio and 90.6% screen-body ratio.

Add to this the aesthetics of the phone. Available in two colours: Cosmic Aura and Midnight Space, these tones elevate the vivo Y76 5G into a covetable style accessory.

Cosmic Aura is a custom colour formed from a unique blend of blue and orange, finished with a crystal coating to create a shimmering, light-reflecting shine. Midnight Space is a sophisticated black with a glitter lustrous sheen. Both these options come with an AG frosted rear surface cover that helps avoid fingerprint smudges. Plus, the rear cameras are framed with sleek CD grooves that crown the visual display of our professional imaging system.

Funtouch OS 12

Bringing a further improved user experience with the Funtouch OS12 on Android 11, the vivoY76 5G is a complete package. Here is a well-rounded smartphone packed with excellent performance punches to ensure a well-priced trusty companion for everyday experiences.

Priced at R8,999 the Y76 5G is available nationwide through Vodacom and MTN from April 2, 2022.

https://www.vivo.com/za/en/products/y765g

Cheers!!!

Support me if you like reading this blog post by buying me a cup of tea (so far Infinity) - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheLifesWay Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate and promote your services and products. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for giveaways, product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay #10YearsofTheLifesWay. Namaste!

A Stylish and Sleek #Y33s With An Innovative Camera @Vivomobile_SA #ClearerShotUnlockMoreFun #vivoSA

Hi Friends, 

Complete Camera Package for Photography Enthusiasts and Selfie Lovers

Y33s is Vivo's upcoming and highly-anticipated launch that’s got everyone excited. Let’s start with the obvious reason why - Y33s will feature a camera setup that's perfect for phone photography enthusiasts. The new 50MP main rear camera sensor redefines high-definition photography.

Whether you zoom in or crop, you will be able to capture all of life’s best moments effortlessly. In addition to the 50MP primary camera, the Y33s will feature a 16MP front camera that selfie lovers will rave about. Capture selfies in HD and appears radiant all day long with Vivo's very own portrait algorithm.

Furthermore, when night falls, the Super Night Selfie noise-cancelling technology and Smart Screen Flash will light up your face against a background that’s rich in detail for clear and natural results. The Y33s even sports a 2MP Bokeh camera and a 2MP Super Macro camera for you to take portraits with greater depth.

The Y33s enables you to snap amazing photos of the vivid night scene like an expert thanks to a Super Night Mode with four sets of Stylish Night Filters created by pros. Record all of life's finest moments with ease and flawless clarity on your Y33s. Day or night, you’ll be able to capture all of life’s best moments effortlessly and get pristine clarity on your Y33s. To complete the camera package, the Y33s camera setup includes EIS Ultra Stable Video, Eye Autofocus, and Super HDR.

Powerful Battery and Fast Charging for Endless Entertainment

The Y33s is backed by a large 4GB + 128GB storage and powered by a massive 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging. Users will be able to use the phone for endless movies, games, and fun. If you need to charge your phone throughout the day, you can juice it up in a shorter period of time. The Y33s even enables you to power others with a reverse charging function that transforms your phone into a mobile power bank - another feature that will leave your friends and family in awe.

Ultra Clear Display Packed into a Slim 8mm Body

The phone will come with a 6.58-inch 1080P Ultra Clear Display that delivers a great viewing experience with bright colours and vivid details. For the stylish user, the phone fares extremely well in the looks department. With an 8mm razor-thin body, the Y33s is sleek and fits snugly into any fashionista’s pocket. Standing at a mere 182g, you’ll have the added perk of not having to worry about the Y33s weighing your stylish clothes down.

Trendy Colors for the Fashionista in You

To cater to the preferences and tastes of different consumers, Vivo has made the Y33s available in two distinct (but equally trendy) colours. Midday Dream sees a back cover that adopts the masked AG process to achieve two textures. With a unique orange and blue colour gradient, the Midday Dream colour variant catches the light at every turn and is perfect for dreamers out there looking to add a splash of colours to your outfit. The phone is further coated with a liquid crystal coating that adds smoothness and keeps your phone away from fingerprints.

Those who’d prefer to accessorize their outfit with a more classy and elegant phone could go with the Mirror Black option which sports an elegant shade of black with a premium glossy sheen.

The message here is clear: with the Y33s, you’ll not have to rely on phone cases to make your smartphone look sleek and stylish - it does all that on its own. The Y33s is trendy and exciting. With it, you’ll not only be able to bedazzle your favourite outfit and wow your friends and family - you’ll get a well-rounded phone that’s packed with a great camera and performance punches that will leave you greatly impressed.

The article is provided by Vivo Mobile South Africa

Cheers!!!

Support me if you like reading this blog post by buying me a cup of tea or coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheLifesWay Contact at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate and promote your services and products. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for giveaways, product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay #9YearsofTheLifesWay. Namaste!

Vivo V21 5G Delivers A Strong Performance In All Areas #VivoV215G @Vivomobile_SA #DelightEveryMoment #ProductReview

Hi Friends,

Vivo Mobile South Africa sent me their latest launched smartphone along with a snacks box the video for the unboxing is already on my youtube channel and liked by many people. If you have not checked out my youtube channel please have a look and subscribe to the same if you want to see the experience of unboxing the mystery goodies as and when received. Let's get right to the smartphone in Sunset Dazzle colour variant which I received from the Vivo Mobiles South Africa. The first thing to notice is the back panel which really reflects the lights in various sunset like colours and how thin the phone is and its comfortability in your hands is just perfect. I totally fell in love with this amazing smartphone.

Secondly, the configuration of this smartphone is amazing with 8GB of RAM and 256 GB of ROM. The MTK Dimensity 800U processor (2.4 GHz Octa-Core) never feels like lagging behind in any regard from the equivalent Kirin or Snapdragon processors. I have used this phone extensively as my day to day device since I have received the same. I am totally in amazement with what an R9999 smartphone is capable of. The Funtouch OS 11.1 is fluid and makes the whole experience really nice of using this smartphone from Vivo mobiles. The power is efficiently used by the processor and never ever the smartphone felt hot while playing games or clicking photos or videos. Above all, it's a 5G enabled smartphone so if you want to use any 5G SIM card, then you can make it an internet powerhouse.

The Vivo V21 5G is a smartphone for people who love Selfies a lot. It has a lot of features built around making you look the good, better and the best version of yourself. 44MP ultra definition front camera offers enough clarity and Optical image stabilization to capture all the details of your hairs to eyelashes to teeth and above all your smile. The photo that comes out is sized around from 7 to 14MB so you can think of all the details that will be there. I was a fan of Vivo V50 which I reviewed last year even to the point that my wife wanted to have that smartphone forever. But this new version of V21 5G has beaten the front camera on Vivo V50 too which was of course a premium device and way above the V21 price range.

The design of the Vivo V21 5G will amaze you as to how thin this phone is - 7.29mm thin and weighs only 176 grams which makes it really suit your hands. The design has been kept as minimal as possible which makes it look extremely stylish and expensive. There is a notch on the front screen for the camera. The right side is without any buttons or openings. The top side only has a microphone, the left side has a volume up and down button along with a power button. The bottom side has Type-C charging port along with a microphone point and speakers slot. It also hosts the SIM card which duals as a SIM and a TF card reader to expand the memory further. The speaker is loud enough to enjoy the movie or music on the go. An earphone jack adapter is provided so that Type-C USB charging port doubles as a 3.5mm headphones jack.

To make you look good at night, the Vivo Mobiles has inserted a dual selfie spotlight instead of making the screen go white and flash as seen in other smartphones. Dual Selfie spotlight works like a charm and gives constant light from both ends of the smartphone front camera covering both sides of your face easily even if you are shooting videos. There are several other features like aura light, many kinds of filters, portrait light effects to up your Instagram game instantly using this smartphone. When you are in portrait mode in the camera, you get offered more features to play around with Style, Beauty and Bokeh (f1.0 to f16) settings. You can spend an unlimited amount of time playing with the perfection you want to achieve and the smartphone will be able to provide you that with its hardware and software built into this little nifty superpowerful gadget. Also to add fun to your selfies AR stickers are available in various categories and more can be downloaded too.

The rear camera has 3 AI camera setups including a 64MP OIS camera, 8MP multi-function camera (120 degrees wide-angle coverage) and 2MP super macro camera. These can be accessed via the Lens option that pops up on the screen when you are in photo mode. The Pro mode opens up a lot of professional options to manually control the camera on the smartphone. It gives you the power to enable histograms, take RAW images along with jpeg too. The shutter can be controlled via touch, voice and palm and all can be enabled. You can watermark your photograph with your own content or time or model of the smartphone. It will always be TheLife'sWay for me as I sometimes think how Universe granted me this name 9 years back when I was trying out different combinations of names possible for my blog.

The next thing to notice is the 33W flash charge 2.0 technology which charges the 4000mAh up to 63% in just 30 minutes of plugging into the power adapter. All the accessories form part of the package which is not the case for flagship devices as you will receive a wired earphones, power adapter, silicon case, sim ejector tool, Type-C charging cable and an earphone jack adapter. With a price range of around R9999 for the whole package, this smartphone offers something unique in the market. It offers a great replacement device if you want to up your game of photography with a battery that can easily last for more than a day, an operating system that is intuitive, a sunset dazzle coloured body that will make others jealous, fast charging to make it go an extra mile in case of loadshedding, 90hz display to attack those who want to kill you from the side during the shooting games online, fingerprint sensor to keep it all safe and secure, 128 GB ROM to never feel the space being full after all the 4K videos and photos, 8GB ROM to keep providing enough space to always go and install a new app to perform multi-tasking and so much more.

I never felt that I am not using a flagship device as I totally fell in love with this one named Vivo V21 5G and would recommend each and everyone who wants to buy a new device in this price range. The after-sales service of Vivo Mobiles is offering some of the best services in the South Africa market. You can register online directly from the smartphone pre-installed app called Vivo.com which makes it really great.

I received these amazing Snacks goodies at the virtual launch event of Vivo V21 5G which I shared on my Youtube channel. Also, I did one unboxing video of the smartphone too which you can check out here on this link below - 

I hope you must have liked my review as much as I loved using the Vivo V21 5G smartphone. It's really a great device with so many features which are not available in any of the flagship devices from various other brands. Thanks again Vivo Mobiles South Africa for sending the same across and looking forward to the next launch events. 

Cheers!!!

Support me if you like reading this blog post by buying me a cup of tea or coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheLifesWay Contact at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate and promote your services and products. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for giveaways, product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay #9YearsofTheLifesWay. Namaste!