Hey There! 

This is Harsh Patel, the host of the podcast, Within 5 Minutes. The is a follow-up episode talking about the year that was. 

This year, you met yourself as a person who could not make decisions by yourself and chose to go with the flow. But even river currents lose control in a waterfall and end up crashing into those sharp, jagged rocks.

One domino fell on top of another one, which pushed another one, and bam before you knew it, you started a chain of events that caused a shift in your thought process and behavior. What was unacceptable once may now seem acceptable and what was once your personal ecstasy may now be a distant past.

A 100 bad days make 100 good stories. What did not work out this year, is a story to learn from.

365 days in a year. Out of which, you only remember the ones that made you either very happy or very sad. But to tell you the truth, the most important days are the ones in between, where you are just figuring it out and trying to push yourself to keep going.

Your life is not what it seems, because you’re full of starry magical dreams. Day in and day out, you continue moving your limbs, digging deeper towards the treasure, while the world spins. You might not have several hands by your side, but know that even one hand can change the tide. Pursuing you will be shortcomings untold, but hold on, because fortune favors the bold.

If life were a game, you would probably have unlocked an achievement for making it through one of the hardest parts of the game.

Hey there! This is the host, Harsh Patel, bringing you the 7th episode of the podcast, Within 5 Minutes. 

In my opinion, December is the best month :) And I had to create an episode on one of the reasons why I feel it's such an important month.

You just feel this sense of excitement and nostalgia for everything you’ve been through in the last 12 months. Excitement for a brand new chapter in your life. Excitement for a clean slate.

Some of us found our first jobs despite all the negative voices while some of us found ourselves stuck in the crossroads of career choices. Some of us left our homes to pursue our dreams while some of us found new homes in situations extreme.

2021 has changed our lives in a very physiological way. We have seen how vulnerable we are as humans and how life is so precious. Billions of people shut inside four walls both physically and mentally.

Who you were then and who you are now are poles apart from each other. This might have been the year you decided to take it slow and enclose yourself in the warmth of your cocoon. Or this might have been the year when you finally decided to emerge out of the cocoon and spread your wings with bright colors. Whatever your path was, you metamorphosized. You evolved.

Not every year is supposed to be your best year. Things go wrong all the time. Friends part company and we fall in proverbial holes. Recognizing what isn’t working for you is actually a big positive. And letting go of these things is vital to create new space for new experiences.

So take some time now and ponder the year that was. Once you’ve taken the time to sit and reflect, you can finally close the doors to 2021.

2022 is the beginning of a new chapter in the book you call Life. And soon, you will be writing the first page out of the 365 pages in this chapter.

I wish you all the very best and may this next year bring you closer to all the things you’ve dreamt for yourself. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

See you in the next episode. Ciao.

Hey There!

This is Harsh Patel, the host of the podcast, Within 5 Minutes with the 6th episode, Chain of Excuses.

When was the last time you made an excuse?

Who is the first person that comes to mind when you think of the word, excuse?

To what extent do you continue covering up an excuse with other excuses?

While some excuses might appear harmless, the truth is that every excuse you make takes you further away from reaching your full potential. What’s more, you’ll end up missing opportunities that you might never get back. You may fail to build up talents and skills that could contribute to your growth and progress.

There is this little trick I try to use to cut down my excuses: instead of saying “I’d really like to, but…”, cut yourself off and say “I’d really like to.” This triggers your mind to focus on the plans you need to make to reach your goals.

So the next time you find yourself in a situation where you have to take an action, be it small or life-changing, try to own it up. Because excuses will make you regret “the road not taken”.

Don’t let your “later” become “never”, or your “maybe” to become a “no”.

Hey There! 

This is Harsh, Patel, the host of this podcast. Episode 5 is an attempt to motivate you to turn your one day into day one's.  

Truth is, we are all dreamers. We dream about things that we do not have. But do you always want to be a dreamer or do you want to be a chaser? One day, you will pursue it. And if it’s going to happen one day, it might as well be today.

Every day that you wake up and do what it is that you need to do, is a win. Everyday you decide to act on your dreams is a win. And these wins will pile up with small increments every day until it becomes evident that you’ve become what you set out to be.

Getting better is a constant tug of war. You need to keep pulling the rope every day without fail. It’s a daily, weekly, and hourly fight. If you let go of the rope, you’ll be sitting on the floor with your hands on your head. And even then, if you really believe in yourself, you will get back on your legs and start pulling the rope like it’s day one.

It may sound like blind motivation, but this is just a reminder. Everything is built on bricks. Unless you start placing them together, you won’t be able to build your palace. It could take years of hard work with no results, but in the fifth year, it could all fall in place and your life could be completely different.

You can reach out to me on my Instagram @hacchuu for any suggestions or ideas. An honest critic is the best one.

Hi There! This is Harsh Patel, the host of this podcast, Within 5 Minutes. 

The third episode talks about how much celebrity culture affects us. 

 Today, we scroll through the photos of the rich, famous people who spend thousands of dollars on their plastic surgeries, skincare products, nutritionists, and trainers. 

All this is not visible to us because their social media is so perfectly curated to show you only what they want you to see. That’s a very powerful statement. 

You see only what they want you to see. 

There is a subconscious desire in humans to idolize anything that is stronger, better, richer, more beautiful, and powerful than the rest. But you need to remember that celebrities are like you and me. They eat, drink, sleep, think and feel like everybody else. This is not to say that you should unfollow celebrities completely, but being armed with the knowledge of how social media celebrity culture affects you, consciously and unconsciously, is key.

 I would like you to do something that I will do myself as well. Filter out all the celebrities that do not have a positive influence and cut them out.  You might finally shed that underlying feeling of not being good enough once you stop comparing and caring so deeply about them. 

Hi There, This is Harsh Patel, your host for the podcast, Within 5 minutes, with the second episode

"You become what you surround yourself with"

If you are friends with criminals, you not only run the risk of getting on the wrong side of the law, but as you get familiar with them, you begin to feel that their life is more and more normal. Your moral compass gets tilted in the wrong direction because their activities don’t seem as bad as they used to be.

You are an average of the top 5 people in your life. The people you surround yourself with will shape who you are. This is passive growth. The only choice you have here is to choose and filter your friends wisely.  

The dream in your heart may be bigger than the environment you are in, but sometimes you just need to get out of that environment to see those dreams come true.

I want you to ask yourself. Who do you spend the most time with? Who are some of the people you admire? Are those two groups the same? Why not?

I hope to see you all in the next episode. Have a good day! 

Hi There, I am Harsh Patel.

The first episode is based on the very common quote, "You reap what you sow". 

Think of your mind as a garden and yourself as a gardener. Whatever you plant in your garden, is exactly what you shall get. Nothing more, nothing less. There’s no way for you to plant tomato seeds and expect them to grow into strawberries. If you don’t like your crop, dig the damn soil up and plant something else. It’s that simple.

Hope to see you at the next one!