Welcome to The Deliberate Pause

Hello,

This is for you—the leader who's convinced that if you're not suffering, you're not working hard enough.

I built CreditVidya. Sold it to CRED. Everyone said I'd made it. But two years before that deal, I was falling apart. I had a stroke. A slipped disc. My back hurt every single morning, but I still showed up to those 7 AM calls, those never-ending brainstorming sessions, those late-night "urgent" discussions that could have waited until tomorrow.

I felt guilty every time I thought about taking a break. What would my team think? What would investors say? I'd internalized this idea that sacrifice was the price of success. Every founder I knew believed the same thing.

Then COVID happened. My health got worse. Business stopped. I literally had no choice but to pause—and honestly, I'm grateful the universe forced my hand.During those months, I came across Wim Hof's breathing stuff. Sounds weird, I know. But I tried it, and for the first time in years, I felt... calm. Like all that stress I'd been carrying just melted away. That got me curious about other things—ancient Indian practices that my grandmother probably knew but I'd completely ignored.

Something shifted. I started saying no to things. I stopped making decisions when I was stressed or tired. When someone demanded an instant answer, I'd actually say, "Let me think about this and get back to you tomorrow."

My team didn't revolt. Investors didn't pull out. In fact, things got better.Here's what I learned: My job as a CEO isn't to have all the answers right now. It's to make the best decisions I can with a clear head. And that means taking care of myself first

This newsletter is me pushing back against the idea that founders have to destroy themselves to build something worthwhile. Our ancestors figured out thousands of years ago what researchers are just now proving: you can't make good decisions when your nervous system is fried.We only get about 4,000 weeks on this planet. The cost of burning out and making bad decisions is too damn high.

So every Wednesday, I'll share what's actually working for me—old wisdom, new science, and the systems I've built to stay sane while building something meaningful.

Because you don't just run your business. You are the business.

Let's figure this out together.