Hi [FORMATTED_SUBSCRIBER_NAME GOES HERE],

Soundarya here, author of 1000 Days of Love. :)

💃 We did it. We crossed 2000+ pre-orders for 1000 Days of Love, within three weeks of launch. None of this would've happened without the support of this community. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 💃

NOTE: We're also closing initial pre-orders in exactly 10 days along with the "gift box" worth $300+. Come join and be the part of the final lap we reach our goal of 3000 pre-orders!

Now, let's go!

A short story

What does it take to do something consistently for a month? Three months? Six months? How about... 1000 days?

For Veeraj Gadda, it was hitting rock bottom during grad school.

Veeraj has been doing a 500 cal workout every day for the past one thousand and ten days now. That's 1010 days. Yep.

Last week, I interviewed Veeraj for our Secret Session (watch recording) and learned the mindset behind this unimaginable discipline:

(One caution before you read: this level of intensity isn't for everyone, and Veeraj said so himself. Take what's useful, leave the rest.)

~~~

Me: Did you ever feel overwhelmed?

Veeraj: It's very natural to feel overwhelmed when you start anything. When I started out, I was overwhelmed. But here's the thing that works for me: Whenever I'm starting something new, I put in more energy, more determination, and I almost bulldoze my way through my emotions.

Me: What do you mean... bulldoze?

Veeraj: If my mind is telling me, "You've slept only five and a half hours, you need rest, do it later in the evening," I say, stop. I'll get up, I'll go to the gym, I'll start. Almost bulldozing everything and just getting it done. When you bulldoze like that, you take action, and you don't let your mind talk you out of it.

Me: And you do this every day?

Veeraj: For at least the first 30 days, it's very important. Whenever you feel that negative thought, just spring into action. Take action immediately, get it done.

At some point - because you've put yourself in an uncomfortable situation, because you've taken action, because you've seen some success - 30 days later your mind realizes: this guy doesn't give me an option! Then, things become easier. You've conquered that initial hurdle, which honestly is 75% of the whole battle.

Me: So how do you not get discouraged when the early results are bad?

Veeraj: In those first 30 days, I don't care about results. All I focus on is execution, each day. When I started posting on LinkedIn, I didn't care how it did. All I focused on was: I am going to post every single day. That's it. Once consistency is no longer the issue, then I collect the data and focus on results.

~~~

Once again, this is NOT for everyone. Even Veeraj said so himself.

But it does make you ask an important question - "Is there more untapped potential inside of me?"

I've seen this time and again in myself when I complete projects that at some point seemed impossible: moving countries, quitting my job, running a half-marathon, writing a book, living on farms, etc.

What about you?

Today's Secret Session

Today, I'm hosting a Secret Session with Vidya Srinivasan.

She's run six half-marathons, worked out every single week for 200 weeks straight, leads safety at Meta, and is a mom of two. If Veeraj's session spoke to you (or if you missed it!), don't miss this one. It's going to be packed... with people and insight!

A question for you

Question: What's the most you've pushed yourself? Are you glad you did it?

Hit reply and tell me. I read and respond to all emails.

Last week, I asked you about the last time you truly felt like a kid. So many of you sent responses. My favorite response came John Vignesh Ponnusamy (paraphrased):

👑 Winner: Prithija Keerthi 👑

Prithija Keerthi won a free copy of 1000 Days of Love (pre-orders opened on August 16. Book comes out early 2027). 🎉

Like before, this week's surprise is NOT hidden in the newsletter. Rather, we're gonna pick one person from everyone who responds to the Question in the newsletter. So go ahead and hit reply 😉

Quote of the week: Many people suffer from the fear of finding themselves alone, and so they don't find themselves at all.

~ Rollo May