We’ve reached the last episode of Chasing Dreams. 250 amazing episodes. 250 stories. So many lessons learned.

When I started this podcast, I never imagined getting to 250 episodes. I thought 50 episodes would be good. Then I thought a hundred would be okay. But I was blessed with amazing guests, listeners, and a team to keep going.  

Today, we reach the final episode of Chasing Dreams. In saying goodbye, I wanted to share with you this journey, how I got here, where I’m going and my fellow dream chasers and guests’ top five pieces of advice. 

ENDLESS GRATITUDE

I definitely can’t end this podcast without saying a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this journey possible. 

Thank you to all the amazing guests who were so honest in sharing their stories. When I started this podcast, I probably had around 13 names on the list and they were all my friends. They were people who were doing something amazing with their life because they were happy for themselves. They were living their life fully. 

But the podcast continuously grew and more and more amazing guests graciously joined me to share their journey and lessons they’ve learned along the way. They definitely inspired me and in each episode, I learned so much. 

So to my guests, thank you so much. Thank you for sharing your time, your journey, your honesty and your difficult stories, and for sharing the lessons you learned along the way.

And of course, this podcast would not have lasted this long without the listeners. I want to thank you guys for always tuning in, learning from our guests, and hopefully inspiring you to chase your own dreams. 

I’d also like to thank my team. The support teams that I’ve had throughout the journey are amazing - Pro Podcast Solutions, Team Podcast, Carry Greene and Team, Leon Flitton and Your Podcast Concierge Team. Thank you so much for the audio editing, show notes, and everything you’ve done. You helped ease the workload and it allowed me to keep going. 

Last but not least, I have to thank God for giving me the courage to do this. Thank You for giving me the courage to take that step to do something uncommon for Indians and women. He has blessed me in so many ways and I am eternally grateful. 

MY PODCASTING JOURNEY

How often do you come across people who are happy with what they’re doing in their lives? Before I started this podcast, I knew a handful of these people. I also knew a lot of people who were miserable with their life and had no passion in what they were doing. 

I started the Chasing Dreams Podcast in hopes of inspiring others to follow their dreams and keep the passion burning because life’s too short to live otherwise. I wanted to speak with people who were truly happy in life. It didn’t necessarily have to be because they were making a lot of money or because of their job title, but because they were doing something that made a difference and put a smile on their face. 

I started with a list of 13 people who were my friends and family to guest on the podcast. It was a good number to start with. But then as I continued, there were some months that I ran low on guests to have on the show. I sometimes ran low on happy people to talk to. But by God’s grace, I would always find someone to talk to and have on the show who was willing to share their story. 

This podcast was such a blessing. It wasn’t something that I was always confident about or knew where it was going. But I knew that I wanted to try. I knew I wanted to share this message with people and show others that there are a lot of people who are genuinely happy in life. 

The podcast began on September 21, 2015 and here we are now on June 23, 2021 on our last episode. These few years were amazing and it did more than I thought it could. 

The past 250 episodes of Chasing Dreams Podcast have taught me so much. I learned so much from each guest and have been inspired by their stories. However, as wonderful a journey as it has been, I don’t see myself doing a Michael Jordan and coming back for more episodes. 

We’ve had over 96,000 downloads and I will be forever grateful to all of you for making this possible. That is mind boggling to me. Through this podcast, I not only got to inspire others through the stories of these amazing guests, but I was also able to discover myself. Through this show, I’ve had time to reflect on my own story. 

TWEET

“When you let someone know that you appreciate something they’ve done, you are making their day. That minute that you take to tell someone you appreciate them will change their day.” #chasingdreams

QUOTE

“It’s okay to say no. It’s okay to change. It’s okay to pivot. It’s important that you not keep going just for the sake of tradition.”

FINDING HAPPINESS IN WHAT YOU DO

Fifteen years ago, I did a master’s thesis in the area of rendering graphics. But it was not something I loved. I wasn’t happy. I should have known that this wasn’t meant for me. But I got the degree and a job after graduating. It was the best. I loved the people I worked with. But after working with NASA for over seven years, I realized one day that I was bored. It didn’t feel right to me. I wasn’t looking forward to going to work. So, I realized at that moment that I was only in the industry doing what I was doing because of my culture, my community, and partly because of myself. 

Growing up as an Indian, the process is, college-job-marriage-kids. Doing all of that before thirty is a bonus. I had a good job. I worked at a government company which gave me enough financial security and stability. But it wasn’t what I wanted to do. It didn’t feed my soul.

Deep down, I always knew that I wanted to serve others and a corporate job was not the way. So, I made the difficult decision to leave. I then became a lawyer. But somehow, it happened again. I still wasn’t happy. But I kept going unhappily until I was 33. 

At 33, I told myself that I would find something that makes me happy. That’s where I found podcasting. In 2013, I became a podcaster and little did I know that that was going to change my life for good. 

In 2013, I did a podcast called Revisiting Haven which is still live. We get a hundred listeners a month (thank you to the listeners). This changed my perspective on things. I learned so much from each guest and most importantly, I found joy. I was happy. 

Podcasting gave me so much joy. I found joy in meeting new people and talking to new people. Podcasting took me to other countries and gave me experiences I never would have had. All because I took a chance. I didn’t wait for the perfect circumstances and I just tried things. All because I took control of my life. 

Podcasting was the first step of me taking control of my life. I started making my own decisions and taking chances on things. I continued to do so by moving to where I wanted to live, getting a job at Comcast, came back to Baltimore and back to Comcast. With all that’s happened in my life, Today I am the happiest I have ever been. 

I am at home taking care of my parents. I am pursuing my passion through this podcast, I have a job I love, but most importantly, I get to serve others the way I’ve always wanted to through podcasting. Here’s why: I’m defining my own life. 

QUOTE:

“When you go down a path that is not intended for you, it is not going to bring you happiness.”

DEFINING YOUR OWN LIFE

When I started making my own choices one step at a time, it became a consistent practice. I’m sure the people who are listening are saying, “You’re not married. You don’t have kids. You’re over 40.”

Here’s what I have to say: I’m on my own timeline. 

People don’t have to fit into a set mold. Each and everyone of us is different. Remember, we all have our own life to define. We all have different circumstances. But we are all exactly where we are meant to be. Being successful for me means being happy with where you are and what you have. And right now, I am the happiest I have ever been. 

It is your life. Not your parents’. Not your siblings’. Not your cultures’. It is your life. Write your own origin story where YOU are the main character.

TOP FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM GUESTS TO CHASING YOUR DREAMS

• NUMBER 5: Self Improvement.

Work on yourself. Always be learning. Always push yourself to be your best self. 

• NUMBER 4: Write it down. 

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