#39 Your voice makes you immortal

During the mid-90s, renowned Tamil writer Sujata Rangarajan wrote an article talking about how the way we work will change with the advancement of computers and other forms of technology. He said that in a couple of years we can work from home.

We can redirect all our office mail to our home letterbox, send and receive emails from our home computers, copy essential files onto a CD or a Floppy drive, and attend important meetings through video conferencing. He even said that everything from scheduling meetings to managing essential client information will be available at our fingertips with handheld devices (Apple launched Newton in the 90s). I was surprised to read that piece which was way ahead of its time.

I’m sure someone else in the 90s, before or after Sujata had written this article, would’ve had a similar prediction and would’ve told their friends about this over a cup of tea or beer. But, the difference between that random person and a writer like Sujata is one has worked hard and made a name for himself. People heard him. Resonated with him. The other person on the other hand would’ve moved on with their life. His friends would’ve remembered the conversation when they read Sujata’s piece.

But, times have changed. The internet and social media have decentralized the whole writer-reader relationship. You don’t have to wait for years to get published. Whatever you have to say, you can say it now. You can say it in different media forms - a blog, a tweet, an ebook, a course, or a YouTube video and you can get more readers and subscribers than you can imagine.

Social media has given everyone a voice. It has become a portal for everyone to tell the world their views on a variety of topics. But, many of us have seemed to lost the one thing that is needed to make a lasting impact in our world - our voice. We drown ourselves in distractions. Wherever we go, someone is trying to sell us something. We’re always hustling. Always learning. Always running aimlessly to win some imaginary race. Stop. Disconnect. Spend a lot of time thinking. Find your voice and put it out there. You never know! Someone could be quoting you 30 years from now.