On June 9, 2017, I was invited to speak to the graduating class of 2017 at University of California, San Diego's Sixth College, where I graduated from six years ago.
This is that speech...
(and this is me giving that speech, video will be on Launchora's Facebook page soon!)
Thank you, and good evening to you all.
My name is Lakshya, I’m 27, and I write stories.
I spent all of Thursday on planes, traveled 10,000 miles, to talk to you for 10 minutes. I did that willingly because I love this campus, and also because it's really hot in india right now and I missed this weather.
This campus has been a big part of my journey as a storyteller. The first short story I ever wrote was because of a CAT 2 class (CAT stands for Culture, Art, Technology). I didn't want to give the final exam, so I asked my professor if I could write a short story instead of an essay and he surprisingly said okay. He also said it better be good. I got a B+. I didn't complain.
I taught my first class here. I was a lecturer at San Diego State University for a while, but before that, I taught my first class here while I was still in my senior year.
And one of my stories - called She v/s Him, which is an interactive read and choice based game where you control the character's four year journey through college. I set the story on this campus, because I missed this place.
I've published 48 stories, that have been read over half a million people.
I also run a company called Launchora - which is a community for storytellers from all over the world. A home for creativity, and a safe haven for people who want to share their stories and be heard. We’re free to use, but we also have a premium subscription for readers, $9 a year, really affordable, even for recent graduates like you.
Okay, end of self promotion.
I don't like telling people i'm a writer, but somefimes I have to say that to make introductions easier.
When people ask me what I write about - I give them a part truth and part lie. I tell people that I write about life and love. That makes them happy. That makes them curious. That doesn't make them uncomfortable.
But today, in front you new graduates, I want to tell you the whole truth. What I really write about is fear.
So, because I’m used to giving everything I write a title, the title for this speech is ‘Love & Fear’. Because I feel that when you look at your life with a broader view, you can classify everything in two columns - what I love. and what I fear.
We’ll come back to that in a few.
Here’s a hypothesis: Your life is a multiple-choice story. Whether it’s your love life or your professional life, you’re always making choices. When you’re young, there’s less questions, and the options have less consequences. As you grow older, you think the choices are only increasing, and you take longer and longer to identify them, to decide which path to take. Because the stakes keep getting higher. And then there comes a point where you start feeling like the choices are disappearing, so you try to hold on to them, and they still keep on floating away. And that’s when you realize that you’re not making these choices. These choices are making you.
So, here’s a proposition: Choose the right questions. And when you get to the part where you see A, B, C, D, and E, dig deeper. There’s always option F: none of the above. So choose none of the above. BE none of the above. BE none as before.
Because if you try doing something that hasn't been done before, and the worst case scenario is that you'll learn something new.
When I was asked to come to speak here - my first thought was ‘have I accomplished enough?’
Because that is my fear. Not achieving enough. Not doing enough. See, if I wasn’t afraid, I would have been pretty happy with myself. But my fear stops me from basking in the spotlight. Because my fear asks me, what will you do next? Where will you go next?
My parents named me ‘Lakshya’, which means ‘aim’ or ‘purpose’. So I adjusted quite early in my life to having a lot of self-created pressure.
And that pressure led me to creativity.
Creativity is about finding what you’re afraid of, and turning it into something you love.
Here is a quote from an episode of Doctor who about fear -
'Fear is a super power. Fear can make you faster and cleverer and stronger. Because if you're very wise and very strong, fear doesn't have to make you cruel or cowardly. Fear can make you kind.'
I think that your fear is your fuel. And in order to understand it, you have to find out where it comes from.
And if you search for an answer, one of them will probably be this: fear is about uncertainty.
So fall in love with uncertainty. Fall in love with your fears.
I need to write. It’s how I fix myself when I break. It’s the glue that binds me together. Find your glue. Fall in love with it. Give it your heart, your gut, and most importantly, your mind.
Now. Because I overwrote this thing, here are some quick pieces of advice --
15 second Startup advice: Try to get as far as you can with your idea or product without needing other people’s money. Because if someone else’s hard earned money is a requirement for you to even start your product, then you don’t deserve their money yet.
15 second Writing advice: Write down every single weird thought you have. You know how sometimes your brain just thinks something and you’re like ‘where did that darkness come from?’ Write that down. Someday that voice will become a character. Someday that voice could help people.
But look, you don’t have to listen to me. You're going to graduate, you don't have to listen to anyone anymore. But these speeches are supposed to be about inspirational and motivational takeaways.
So here are some things I’ve said through my characters that you might want to takeaway with you. They are smarter than me, and more accomplished than me, because I wrote them to be so.
#1: Problems are like milestones on a highway. You can see them coming, and getting bigger and bigger, and at one point they are right there in your face. But then you pass them. You leave them in the rear view mirror. Then they are small again, until there are gone. And that’s when you see the next milestone coming closer. This is a cycle. It will never stop. So don’t live your life milestone to milestone.
#2: Time is like the airport. It is like a means of transportation. Taking you from where you were, to where you want to go. You can be early, or delayed, or just stuck, not knowing when you’re going to get there. But as long as you know where you’re going, it’ll get you there eventually.
#3: There are two kinds of people in this world - those who want someone’s phone number, and those whose number everyone wants.
Here are a couple quotes in progress. What that means is that I don't really know what they mean, I haven't published them, so I'm trying them out here.
#4: Life is like a malfunctioning escalator.
#5: We're the Jon snow generation. Everybody keeps telling us we know nothing, but we're full of surprises.
#6: Life is like juggling. Somedays you're the juggler, somedays you're the ball.
These quotes are still in progress because I'm still in progress. I don’t have everything figured out. I wake up. I make goals. And then I improvise because nothing ever goes the way you expect it to.
So as you start your careers, think less about what you want to do, and more about why you want to do it. And then ask yourself, how can I achieve that goal in the least amount of steps possible?
So after graduation, I want you to open up your laptop or phone and make a list. You can do it on Launchora.com too, if you’d like.
Two columns.
What I love. What I fear.
Because this list is your future.
Everything in that fear column is who you are today, and everything in that love column is what you want, and who you will become tomorrow.
And your job is to find out how you’re going to move everything from the fear column to the love column, one by one.
So go out there and fall in love with your fears. Because if fear is your superpower, then love must be the force that keeps you away from the dark side so that you use these powers for good.
Thank you,
congratulations,
and may the force be with you.