Hi, my name is Himanshu. This story starts with me running away from home at the age of 18. I did my schooling at a good school in Delhi, but things didn't go as well as anticipated, and I moved to Bengaluru with one handbag, two sets of clothes, and some books inside. The moment I stepped into Bengaluru, I thought about what to do. I was a skinny, underconfident guy who had nothing with him. I enrolled myself in a tier-100 college, and started doing door-to-door sales to support my education and living (1st semester).

In 2nd semester, I became a recruiter on the night shift (7 pm to 4:30 am). With this, I used to manage college in the morning. At this point, I was living in a PG with a roommate who hardly knew English. I remember I used to sleep in class, and people used to think I was weird as I used to score well because my majors were Physics and CS. I used to rawdog job and college together; on weekdays I used to sleep at 5, wake up at 8, go to college at 9, and then again work as a recruiter at 7, and study on weekends. This experience taught me a lot of things, but I was compromising my health. It continued until the 4th semester.

In 5th semester, I started doing lead generation, on the night shift again, but within 3 months the company got dissolved. The rent was due, and I didn't know what to do. I joined as an SDR again in a good company and met some good people. By now, I had so much confidence that passing an interview was easy for me; the recruiter experience finally paid off, and I became competent in communication. In the 6th semester, I cleared my backlogs from the 3rd and 4th semesters that were eating me inside, as I tasted failure for the first time. In 6th sem, I started doing bartending on weekends. It was paying well, so I just focused on getting good marks in Quantum Mechanics, as it was too difficult along with Nuclear Physics. I finally graduated with an 8.15 CGPA, as it was a 4-year degree (NEP).

In 7th sem, I joined an upskilling firm for web developers (it was funded by the college itself). I felt stifled there, and after 4 months, I dropped it. I felt my power is to close deals, as it includes a lot of communication skills, creative ways to use words, and storytelling, which is my forte. I joined a YC startup; for the initial 6 months I did an internship, which turned into a full-time role, but after 3 months in full - time , I left because my ideals were not aligning. After that, I did operations in a blockchain company, learned Rust, and did some programming. With the advent of vibe coding, things became easy too.

All this time, I only worked with fintechs and got a lot of ideas about finance and how tech enhances aspects of life everywhere. I did a lot of FAFO. I sometimes regret that I suffered this much for no reason, but anyone who is in the same condition should not fear it; in fact, it makes you stronger. With time, the dots start connecting. In between, I also failed two startups. Sometimes I didn't even have money to buy a Maggi packet, but I feel grateful for everything right now. Life is stable; I do bartending on weekends, modeling, play house music as a DJ, and am now working in a Founder's Office (Generalist role).

For the past few years, the truth has been staring me right in the face. We spend our whole lives running, chasing answers, trying to reach some destination that doesn't really exist. We try to do everything, yet we end up feeling like we're doing nothing. I don't have it all figured out, but I know my intention. Beyond the struggles, beyond the milestones, what I really want is to look up. To understand the sky, the moon, and everything in between.

When I ran away from home at 18, I wanted to put a dent in the universe. I wanted to be everything, know everyone, build a palace of dreams in my own mind. Then the world tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You have to pick just one path." It's a sad reality, isn't it? The dogma of society demanding your conformity. I saw it coming, and I flat-out refused. I might fail, but I am not going to follow the herd. People tell you the market needs specialists, people who are exceptionally good at one narrow thing. That might be true. But I am not going to oblige.

I don't call myself a polymath, but maybe that's where I'm heading. From mixing drinks behind a bar and spinning house music to writing Rust code and closing deals—how could I possibly compress all of that into one box? I am not my job. I am not my degree. I'm just me.

Creativity is just connecting things. And you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. For the longest time, I thought I had to force all my passions into a single point. I tried forcing it, jumping between startups and fintechs, hitting a wall every time. I thought something was wrong with me. But looking back, it all makes sense. You don't have to choose. You can be no one, and you can be everyone.

I've always had a profound respect for the crazy ones—the misfits, the rebels, the people who actually built things. The ones who changed the way we live. The people who made it weren't just smart; they were willing to pour an insane, unrealistic amount of time into their craft. That is true intelligence. It's the act of creation. The resilience of a soul. There is a deep, profound satisfaction in making something insanely great, something durable.

The people I look up to—the ones who shaped my worldview—they weren't normal. You can't just be normal, but you can't fake being unique either. Life is a canvas, a beautiful, continuous piece of art where every single thing you do contributes to the final picture.

So the question is: Who are you? Who am I?

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. Be authentic to yourself. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Per Aspera, Ad Astra!!!