Produced By - The Twix-Fuelled Writer: From Car Parks to Book Deals | 132: Pooja Marwah

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

Pooja Marwah is a content strategist, award-winning author, and founder of Authique, a boutique agency trusted by global leaders, Fortune 500s, and government clients. Known as the ‘Energiser Bunny��� of LinkedIn, she helps high-performing professionals build standout personal brands through done-for-you content, positioning strategies, and profile makeovers. With a storyteller’s instinct and a strategist’s mind, she turns big ideas into bold digital presence.In this episode, Pooja shares the unexpected story of how a Google search and a one-way flight led to a career she never saw coming. From writing in a parked car to publishing a novel, she talks about the moments that shaped her path, and why she shows up with joy, not just strategy. It’s a conversation full of courage, clarity, and the kind of energy that sticks with you.Connect with Pooja:https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepoojamarwah/https://www.instagram.com/thepoojamarwah/https://x.com/PoojaPMarwahhttps://poojapoddarmarwah.com/Timestamps:00:00 – Cold open: 36-hour flight to meet a stranger01:00 – Intro and welcome01:20 – Meet Pooja: strategist, author, drama queen02:30 – Why storytelling still wins even with AI04:08 – Helicopter parenting explained05:18 – Showing up online as your full self07:05 – Why fake personas never work08:30 – Building trust through content10:52 – The DM mistake most creators make12:45 – Relationship-building over cold pitches13:58 – Not now doesn’t mean never15:35 – Stop comparing your starting line17:00 – Tomas vs Pooja: different timelines18:48 – She joined LinkedIn at 4319:28 – The search that started it all21:20 – #1 LinkedIn creator leads to Sarajevo22:13 – A one-way flight that changed her life24:00 – What if it works out25:16 – Meeting Yasmeen in person27:14 – Her first in-person creator meetup28:09 – Waiting a year for her first client29:08 – Start with why, not reach30:05 – What can you talk about at 3am31:08 – Burnout comes from the wrong reasons32:16 – Content, balance, and Twix33:46 – AI overwhelm is real35:32 – Chocolate confessions36:03 – She wrote her first book in a car38:26 – From parked car to publishing deal39:02 – Awards and being called a specialist40:38 – Golf, Greece, and piano dreams42:12 – Her favourite trips43:57 – Her surprising book recommendation45:22 – Books that make you feel46:49 – New book for Indian teens47:50 – How to connect with Pooja49:44 – Final thoughts: fun and kindness50:54 – Outro and subscribe Connect with Tomas:X: https://x.com/TomasLoucky⁠⁠⁠Stan: https://stan.store/TommenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠Unproduced:Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIWMore:Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://producednewsletter.substack.com/⁠The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/Tools & gear that support the show:Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZKRiverside: https://riverside.sjv.io/vDnDodFavikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommenRa Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bfSome links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And I did the next best thing, which is the crazy story, which everybody on LinkedIn now knows, which is I googled LinkedIn number one. Mr. Yasmin showed up. I booked a call with Mr. Yasmin. I spoke to him and then I said, if I come to meet you, would you give me a little bit of your time? And he thought I was absolutely crazy. Nobody's going to fly all the way to meet him. And that's exactly what I did, Thomas.

I booked myself for two days, three days. There is no way to reach Sara Hevo from India. It took me 36 hours. my entire family thought I was bazooka bonkers. How are you going to meet some man that you met online? My children thought they were like, World War I started there

mom, stop it, don't go. It's Bosnia, nobody. I said, you know what? I'm going. So in our language, in Hindi we say, in English if I were to translate, it means that when you overcome your fear, there's always victory, right? So that's what I said, look, when I was on the flight, the immigration officer

also said, who goes to Boston? Before we dive into today's episode, please hit that subscribe button. Your support helps us grow and inspire more people on their journeys. Thank you. Hello, Pujia. Thank you for joining us today and welcome to the show. Thank you, Thomas. I'm really, really excited to be here today. I'm happy to hear that and thank you for joining me. And Pujia, for those who don't know you, can you please introduce yourself? I will introduce my but before I do that I would love for you to introduce me in one line what is your perception of me online I'd love to hear that I would say one word that stood

out to me and it will be energizer bunny yes that is for sure that is what everybody calls me on LinkedIn so in five words if I had to describe myself I would say drama queen storyteller energizer bunny helicopter mom and content strategist because these are five elements of my personality, five, like I always count on my fingers, and they are names that somewhere during the 4.7 decades of my life I have lived, people have given them to me. The only name that is mine is content strategist because I am passionate about words and I have kind of channelized my passion now into my profession. There are some words that definitely surprised me. We'll touch upon the other ones that you

mentioned, but why drama queen? Okay, because like you said, energizer bunny, whenever I'm writing or speak, I have two daughters, right? Now they're grown up. One is 21 and one is 17. And anytime I need them to do something, I need to sort of enact a little sequence for them to do it, right? And it's been ever since they were kids. So that name just stayed with me like, oh my God, you're such a drama queen. You overhype everything. Like, you know, but I've always done that.

Like, I would take a small little incident and just blow it up, make it really big, make it larger than life, because that's who I am. So that's what I try and do. Strangely, I think the audience would find it interesting is what I do in my content too. I try and humanize it as much as I can

because I feel special. today in, you know, with digitization, technology, AI, the human element should not go. So I try and kind of ensure that it's there in content as well. I actually like it. And I think that's something that makes you unique that stands out and perfectly, as you said, I'm sure that you can see it by yourself with the rise and emergence of AI, that actually your personality and being yourself, it's going to be like a competitive advantage, right? Yes.

I would definitely think it is. And another title that you mentioned or description was something related to helicopter. Can you please explain what you meant? Okay. I don't know if it is discussed in your part of the world, but in India, we say, I'm from India. So in India, when we say helicopter mom,

it's like a phrase that we give to parents that are always on top of the child's head. In my defense, Thomas, I'm not that person, but yes, I am a little protective because when you have daughters, I think that little extra protection just comes in somehow. And that's how the name came because I would not let them even cross the street till they were like 11 or 12 years old. So they were like, mom, we've grown up, we can cross the street.

But I was just always paralleled. So I think that's how that name came in. I've honestly never heard of it. So it's going to be one of the things that I will definitely remember. remember from this conversation. I'm so glad to hear that. But you did a really good introduction. And the another one that stood out to me is energizer bunny. I think we need these type of people on LinkedIn because as I always say, you need to have fun on the platform, you know, kind of to stand out, enjoy the journey to actually keep showing up. So I're actually someone who's energetic even

outside of the platform or is it specific to LinkedIn? No, I think I am that person in and out. Like if somebody were to meet me outside of LinkedIn for the ones that have, we'll vouch for the fact that I am who I am. I am always energized because I find that, you know, I always say there's farmers that life is meant to be lived. And we spend so much time on the work we do, the profession, the stress, that, you know, we somehow forget to live.

Yes, you can get out there, make a million dollars a month. Okay, but you don't have time to spend that million dollars. So how important or how relevant is that million dollars going to be when you're on your deathbed? Tell me that. Which is why my vibe has always been very energetic because I'm excited about life. And I think that's how it should be. Because when you're excited, when you wake up in the morning and say, I have so much to do and I'm looking forward to do that versus, oh my God, I have so much to do. there's a difference and that is drama queen what I just did so you know I just do that and I think

that kind of reflects on LinkedIn which is why when people get on calls with me like you know clients they always say but you're the same person that is online I said but isn't that how you should be because honestly exactly it should be automatic right yes but it's not because you know there are a few people that I've met on LinkedIn I've seen their profile you know you're just wanted to have an initial conversation to see where it would go. And then when I got on a call with them, they were just different. And I found that a little strange that you're portraying yourself to be online, something that you're definitely not on screen.

So how much of that would it really be offline? Nothing, right? So I always say, like, you know, there was this one little story. Like I told you, I'm a storyteller also. So everything you asked me, I will have a story. please feel free to interrupt me when you want to. No, I like stories. Please go.

Okay. So there was somebody who called me up a client, prospective client, and he had apparently worked with two Indian creators in the past, and he wasn't very convinced because of the same reason. He said, when I saw them, and I saw their English, I was very impressed, so I got on a call,

but they couldn't have a conversation. And when we spoke about, you know, work, what they said versus what they did was very different. So we don't, I mean, the trust in, you know, Indians kind of have, has gone. I said, look, I appreciate you saying that. A, Indians, we are 140 crore population. Everybody is not the same, right? So I'm sorry you had an unfortunate experience, but that is not going to ride on me.

So I always say that authenticity and genuine, very important part of being online, if you are here for the long haul. If you're just here, get online, make some money, get off. Okay, do what you want. But yeah, I think the ones that are serious, Thomas, would definitely stress on authenticity, would definitely stress on being genuine. I can only agree, and I feel the same because,

firstly, as you said, if you've got some kind of experience with someone, it doesn't mean that the other person is the same, right? I heard it as well. For example, I worked with these people, people, it hasn't worked out, I don't want to do that anymore. But maybe if you're not willing to pay someone, you know, you pay little because you don't want to spend more, but obviously then it might be reflected in a quality. And then it impacts your opinion that the next person is going to be same, but it might be someone completely different. Yeah. And secondly, I like what you said about authenticity and being kind of yourself on a LinkedIn as you show up. I think, It might be similar to when you engage with someone,

you've got some kind of perception about those people, but then they text you in a chat. And it's a completely different person too. Like when engaging, because everyone can see that, they are nice, friendly, supportive, and then they slide in your DMs and they are trying to pitch you something. Or I don't know what else. I'm like, come on, what are you doing?

Yeah, yeah. which is very true, you know, Thomas, because I actually get a little unnerved because of it because you are not the person that you're out in front of people. You're like two different. It's like, you know, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And I'm like, just be you. Everybody else is taken. Have fun being you, you know.

Like, okay, you can't talk in English. That's perfectly fine. Talk in the language that you do. You know, we, I talk with so many creators across the world. Everybody has a very different dialect in English, right? American English is different compared to Indian English compared to, say, British English. Talk in the accent you know, people will find a way to connect. That's my take of it.

Are you struggling to stay consistent on LinkedIn? Pen post helps you create high-quality posts in minutes, so you can write faster, show up more, and stress way less. Built by creators for creators is the easiest way to grow your presents without burning out. Try it free at fanpost.com. So we were talking about, you know, when people come to us in comments and they appear very friendly and, you know, they're generally trying to kind of be seen and be heard. And then slowly they decide into DMs.

And instantly, without really knowing us, it's a straight on pitch. And that is somewhere where, like you said, it just kind of unnerves because it's like you don't even know me. I may be doing the same thing as you. So clearly I don't need your service, right? So at least make that effort. Like a lot of people tell me, a lot of creators out there say automate, you know, your lead gen and automate this. And I feel that you can automate lead gen, but we are not selling groceries.

Everybody doesn't need, you know, say a cauliflower or a cabbage. It's very, very different. You know, everybody has a different requirement. Everybody has a different need. Everybody has a different way to kind of pitch at least know the person before you pitch. you know, and I like to use this analogy with food because I may use cauliflower and cook it very Indian style. You may use cauliflower and maybe make like, you know, chicken strogan off or something. It's very different how you use that product or service.

Understanding who your prospect is is important instead of just going ahead and saying, I'm going to use an automation tool that will automatically send DMs to Thomas Pooja X, Y, Z. Everybody, it will send the same. Hi, Thomas. how are you doing? And the message is going to be the same. And trust me, Thomas, I know people who get that. I have had four people get exactly the same message.

And I'm like, oh my God, you know, on LinkedIn, you're like this big 1,000 like 100,000 follower creator. You're doing the same. So it really doesn't matter. I agree. And I think also that people, I don't know if they're lazy or they want to get it faster. But I feel like often they are not really willing to put the work in. such as to build some kind of relationship before. Of course, it doesn't need to be years of engagement,

but at least show some effort, for example, engage or have some kind of chat, and don't have the first message trying to offer something or sell something. Of course. So this one is going to be very fun, and Thomas is going to definitely take a gun and shoot me, but I'm going to say this anyway. So whenever the audience gets to hear this, I'm going to share a little story between Thomas and me.

I had reached out to Thomas just saying because I knew he does this really cool awesome podcast. And of course I wanted to come up and chat. And at the time, he was really busy and book back to back. But what I realized is that we've been connected on and off on LinkedIn and we kept that connection alive. And today it could have taken us six to eight months, but we are here. So this is what I want the audience to realize that this is the power of a genuinely. connection. Today, whether you come to my country or I come to yours, it's very easy for us to message and pick up the phone and say, hey, I'm coming. I would love to meet you. And I know both

of us would make the effort to say, of course I will, whichever part, whichever city you are in. You know, because you have a genuine connection. You've met. You've engaged with them. You've chatted with them in comments. So something, you've built a community, a relationship of sorts. And that's important. Because see that, we're not here just for 10 days or 15 days. we're using LinkedIn as a global network, professional community building platform, right? So why not give it the person that we are and genuinely build human to human is what I say. Let's go human to human, people to people. That's important.

That is true. And the example that you mentioned, I think it also perfectly comes back to that people don't always know what might be the reason behind it. Because, for example, when we spoke before, I didn't really know you much. So it's not that, for example, you wouldn't be interesting or you didn't have anything interesting to share. I'm sure that you do. But for some reason, or I simply don't know you or I don't know much about you, it's not necessarily me speaking about our example now. But if someone is pitching to someone and they don't know about them. But then over time, as we've been connected, I've been following you, senior conference.

content, maybe read more about yourself, then I can be, oh, wow, Pooja. She's got actually so much interesting content to talk about experiences, stuff. So it might be just right time a bit later. So I think it might be similar to when people pitch to someone, they might not be interested. But you never know what's the context, what's the story and what's the reason behind it. Very rightly said Thomas, this example, because so I recently closed a client who I have been in contact with for the past 1.5 years through comments or DMs or, you know, say it was a birthday or an anniversary. We've never spoken work.

Yes, and initially when we met, he asked what we do. And I told him and he replied very politely and said, it's not the right time, but I'd love for you to be in touch. And let's connect towards the end of the year. I never reached out end of the year. Somehow the follow up got lapsed, but he did. And he says, hey, this is a good time now, like you rightly said. this is the right time for me, can we start now?

So I absolutely 100% agree with what you say that sometimes when you meet or reach out to someone, it may or may not be the right time, but the connection stays. If you grow it genuinely, that connection stays. And when the right time comes, it just falls in place like it did for us, like it did with the client. And I think that's very important for people to understand

that don't get disheartened. Because a lot of people get, you know, you see everybody's success. stories. Nobody talks about failure as much. And I feel we should. We should talk about the times that, you know, we've been through a lot. I'm sure you have in your early days. I'm, I know I have. So those are the stories that we need to talk about so that everything doesn't appear like an Instagram real feed, you know, where everything's perfect and you're living the Lahaida life, because that's not true. That's not your life. So I'm glad that you brought it up because I think

Often when you open LinkedIn, you see posts where people share primarily highs or wins, such as I closed this client, I made this amount of money, I got promoted, but no one tells you that behind it, there were so many, for example, failed attempts, rejections, and I don't know what else. So I think it's important also to be realistic. So whenever there is actually someone who talks about this side of things as well, these people always stand out to me. And I think if you are honest, everyone has like, you know,

these lows and fails and attempts that just don't work out. So my message to people would be see it as a motivation, but don't compare because you rarely see the whole story. Also, we have our own start line and our own finish line. Nobody has the same. I started at 42. No, I started at 43. somebody started at 18

somebody started at 65 everybody has a different start line and everybody has a different end line how are we comparing you know say your journey to my journey to somebody else's journey because we're not we're our own person right

so when we are our own person we need to if we are focused on our path we will reach where we have to but if I am focused on oh Thomas closed a client for 5,000 but I haven't I can't do it what's going on it's going to bother me inside. And I think keeping the mind positive and active and focused on your own arrow, that's important.

I agree. And I like what you said about the time when you started because even I sometimes think. For example, I see someone in their even 18 or younger. And I'm like, wow, what if I started at that age? But then I speak with someone else. for example, like we feel Pujah now, and I'm like, what are you complaining about? Other people start even later, so don't compare yourself to someone else. True.

Very, very true. And as we are discussing this Puja, something that I'm always curious about is actually, how did you discover LinkedIn? Or maybe how did you discover potential of LinkedIn? Okay, very, very interesting question. Thank you for asking me. So I started my content journey as an outsource. as in I used to be outsourced to write to go stride content for one of India's premier PR companies.

So in PR companies, now what happened is when you're representing senior leadership, right? So, however qualified, say the younger generation is, Gen Z, Alpha, whatever they call themselves, somehow to fit into, say, somebody who's 50, 55, they weren't being able to grasp the tone of voice and the language. So they reached out to me saying that your content is very good. The way you write is very different. Would you write this particular article for, he was a leader of a Fortune 500 company in India. He was heading it in India.

I can't name the company because of NDA. But what happened is I said, yes, sure. And I got on one call with the person. After getting on that call, we kind of closed. And the PR agency was very surprised because they were like, in one call, you gave him one edit and it was finalized. I said because I have this kind of innate ability

to hear and understand what is the brief, what is it that they're looking for in their particular article. This was for an article for the national newspaper for the editorial section and it was published. It was his voice, I thought leadership. And they were very happy. So this particular agency used to outsource me

whenever they needed work like that. thereafter this particular gentleman reached out to me early last year and said that I want to get on LinkedIn so can you work on LinkedIn with me and I said look I'd love to but I'll be very honest I don't know LinkedIn and he says okay then take it as a challenge I'm giving you six months figure it out learn it up you're the one that I want to work with and come back to me and for me Thomas that was like somebody is actually

I've never worked today in my life. I was married very early. We'll get to that. I had kids very early. I was pretty much a stay-at-home mom. Yes, I used to write. That's how my first book came out, which we'll get to later.

But to have somebody external puts that belief in me that I want you to do this for me in my life. I was like, oh my God, I have arrived. It was like an insane high. Like, you know, I mean, no amount of alcohol can give you that much high. It was that crazy. And then I did the next best thing, which is the crazy story, which everybody on LinkedIn now knows, which is I googled LinkedIn number one.

Mr. Yasmin showed up. I booked a call with Mr. Yasmin. I spoke to him and then I said, if I come to meet you, would you give me a little bit of your time? And he thought I was absolutely crazy. Nobody's going to fly all the way to meet him. And that's exactly what I did, Thomas. I booked myself for two days, three days. there is no way to reach

Sara Hevo from India. It took me 36 hours. My entire family thought I was bazooka bonkers. How are you going to meet some man that you met online? My children thought they were like World War I started there.

Mom, stop it, don't go. It's Bosnia. Nobody... I said, you know what? I'm going. Like, you know, in India, we have this little thing. Can I say it in Hindi if you don't mind?

Yeah, of course. So in our language in Hindi we say Dairkehya So in English if I were to translate It means that when you overcome your fear There's always victory right So let go of that So that's what I said I said look

When I was on the flight The immigration officer also said Who goes to Bosnia And the strangest thing that happened to me So there were 11 officers on duty that night When I was leaving from New Delhi And he said where are you going and I didn't need a visa for Bosnia, the American visa worked.

So I said, I'm going to say, I have to meet a friend. And Yasmin was very nice, and he gave me his, you know, an invitation letter. So it would be easy at the embassy. And all of them got up and they started clapping because they said in our service, the officers that were on duty that night, none of those 11 had ever sent anybody to Bosnia. I was there first. And I was like, oh, God, I was so scared. Thomas, I was scared like, you cannot imagine how scared.

Then in Turkey I landed, dropped the phone. I mean, everything that could go wrong. It was like, you know, like signs from heaven, like, Pooja, stop it. Pooja, don't go. Pooja, just turn around. And then a little part of me said, but what if it works out? What if he's not this serial killer that you're imagining? What if he's a nice person?

And oh my God, Thomas, everything else is history. I mean, he's like, he's like the best, closest, closest, most awesome person in my life. And he knows that. And I just, I'm absolutely grateful to another level because that is what started my LinkedIn journey. I learned, I met him, came back, I gave it my all. It took me the entire year last year.

I got my first client only this year, Jan. And from Jan to now in November, I've really grown in terms of clients, in terms of building a team in terms of launching my own agency. I've got a co-founder now because I need people to help me scale. And it's only happened because one, that person believed in me who wanted me to write. And two, because I believed in me that I could do it. And three, because obviously I found the right kind of hand to hold.

So I think all three matter in life. I like to ask this question all of my guests, but I can safely say that this one stands out. And it's really unique. It's almost like from a movie. You know, Google a book a ticket and go there no matter what. Yes, I could do a movie on this foreshort. I can, I know. And I think you could also Google like any other big name from LinkedIn, but as you came across Yasmin,

of course, I haven't met him personally, but someone so not. nice, talented, always supportive. And despite being so big, he's still such a nice person. You know what stood out? There was this, the first post of his, I cannot forget it. A kindness cost zero dollars. And I opened LinkedIn and there's this big bulky guy and he's talking about kindness costing. I was like, what or not? Who? I would never imagine such, you know, like a man talking about kindness costing zero dollars. And that is what? There is a so many number one creators on LinkedIn, but something about this guy stood out and I was like this one, I want to go and meet this one. I don't know why, but I guess God has his ways. I had

to meet him, so I met him. And I think also what's important to mention or to highlight is the action that you've taken because you could have maybe just studied online, you could have turn it down or just tried it, but you literally did something that not many people or I don't know if anyone would actually do. So it's impressive from your end as well. Thank you. And he's going to kill me when I say this, but I'm going to say it anyway because you're interviewing me. And I always tell him that he asked me, I was your first, I was the first person who actually flew across the world to meet him. Yeah, now he has everybody who goes and he has his link up community and everybody's going.

But like, you know, we always say this, Thomas said, your first kiss is very special. Your first friend is very special. Your first step is very special. So like that, I said, Yasmin, you can have as many people, but I was the first and I'll always be the first. I wonder what was he thinking? Was he thinking like, oh, is she actually going to travel across the whole world

and ring at my doorbell and actually showed up here, or is he just making fun of me? See, but now that's a question. We must. When we get a little thing out, we will, definitely posted and ask him. Give us your comment. Yeah.

No, it was a very nice story, Pudja. And honestly, I think also based on your presence on LinkedIn or either outside, I would expect that you would be showing up for much longer and building your name there. But as you said, it hasn't been that long. If I remember since January, so you've been doing really well, as I thought that it's been much more longer. No, it was, it's very, very recent. and anybody asks me, I don't say, I have so many.

Yes, I have years of experience in content. I have about 10 years experience of writing content. I'm working with the governor of my state in India. I manage his content end to end, his speeches, his talks, his opeds, everything, which is a huge one, how many people get to sit in one of the highest offices of your country to write. So, content is something I've been doing, but LinkedIn very recent. But I've mastered it now. so now I can tell you how it works what you should do for yours in terms of content.

So then Pujia, with your experience, for people who are listening, I'm sure that you get these DMs all the time and it will be shame not to ask you for some kind of advice. Of course, we've got limited time, but any tips, tricks or maybe what you see that people overlook when it comes to showing up on LinkedIn, building your brand, attracting clients. Okay. So the first step to. building your brand on LinkedIn needs to be your why why are you doing it you can be very

very clear it took me a while to find my why like I said but before I could find it somebody found it for me and said do this I want it right so we have to find why are we building on LinkedIn why not on Instagram why not on Snapchat once we have that why kind of written down it takes a little while to introspect and figure out the reason. Then we get into what is that one thing you can go nonstop talking about? Anything. I can wake you up in the middle of the night and you'll still talk about that, absolutely fresh and excited about it.

For me, that thing was words, it was content. Because I'm passionate about it and I write stories and I do a lot of fiction. So it became the natural choice that I want to be known as a content strategist because that's what I do. I understand words. I understand what to take out of people and how to write for them because I've ghostwritten so much.

So I took that out. So that is the second part. Whereas you have to find that one thing that you can passionately talk about because if there is no passion in what you do and you're only doing it for money, trust me you will burn out faster than you can say burnout. It happens.

The people I started on LinkedIn with this year beginning are not even there. right now. If I started at ground zero and if I have come up to say ground five or seven, they've gone below. They're not even there anymore because it's too overwhelming. It's too stressful and how do you do this every day? I said because I'm having fun. I am having fun in comments. I've got my own equations with different people across the world. I know I may, you know, joke around with Thomas because I know him. He's a friend. I may be serious with somebody else because I don't know them so much but I want to give or leave a value comment. So that is

important. If you have fun in doing something you will never ever burn out. It's something I even tell my kids. It's something I even tell people who come to me to help them out with their LinkedIn that enjoy the process. If you can't do it every day, don't. Do it twice a week. But enjoy that process. Let it grow on you. Only then will you be able to build on LinkedIn. And why am I saying LinkedIn? because in my opinion, it is, as of today, the most intellectual platform to be on. There is so true, Pujia, what you said, because I always try to say that too, enjoy the journey. Because it's not going too easy to show up. You don't have to show up every day.

Find just what works for you, whether it's twice or three times per week. But if you don't enjoy it, if you are honest, it's not always easy. And I remember also many people who've been showing up, and I don't. don't see them anymore. Or maybe I see them, but they engage and post in a different way, which you can say that it's not like before. So find what you enjoy and also the rhythm or kind of consistency that works for you. The best word that you've used right now is rhythm and I think that's very, very important because everybody has to find their own rhythm. I do it Monday to Friday, but Saturday and Sunday I'm absolutely off LinkedIn.

I do not even leave a comment. Because for me, my weekend, I like to spend it whether I'm playing golf or whatever I'm doing, it's my time. Some people say, I like to go all seven days. Some people say, I go alternate days. So I always say, find that rhythm, find the balance. That works for you. Learn from us, but apply what works for you, right?

So everybody has a coach or a mentor, so you learn. But you have to still, you can only. work at your pace, right? I can't do everything at the same time. So, for example, I love tech, but it gets a little overwhelming because every day when I wake up, it's like, oh, there's some new AI. And I'm like, I'm learning one and then suddenly there's another one. And then I learn that and then there's another one. And I'm like, I can't even keep up. There's so much AI. So what did I do? Instead of getting overwhelmed, I sat and I ate like a whole bar of Twix. I love Twix chocolate. And whenever I get like really stressed and overwhelmed, I just need chocolate.

That's like my go-to stress buster buddy, so to speak, twigs chocolate. So I had that and I said, okay, AI is overwhelming. We stay clear. We build slowly. We use the AI that is relevant to us and forget about everything else. We don't want to learn. We don't want to do anything. I'm using nano-bunana.

I learn how to use nano-bunana best. I'm using, for example, say, magic post. I figure out the best way to use that for me. Instead of going to 15 different types of AI, 20 different types of gadgets and tech stacks, it gets overwhelming. So that is my weakness. That is a point where I know I need to work on

because I can't keep up. I won't say I'm tech challenged, but yes, I'm tech overwhelmed. But I've found a way to balance it out, to find my rhythm in that. And that's what I urge people to do that. in whatever aspect you are doing, try, don't get overwhelmed, but try and find your space, try and find the permutation and combination that works for you. That is important. I agree and I relate to being kind of overwhelmed or hard to keep up with AI because I think

it's just impossible. And for me, I just follow the people that post about it. And I think as AI is emerging more and more, I think more and more creators are creating as well. So just find those whose content you like, whom you trust, and that's just my piece of advice. That is how I try to keep up. I like chocolate as well, but I would want... Which one is your favorite chocolate? Oh my God, I like Mars or Snickers. Mars or Snickers? I like, you mentioned Twix? I like it as well, but I like probably all of those. Okay, fair enough. So yeah. So yeah, so whenever I was... somebody sees me eating twigs at my desk in my house they're like oh boy stay away let's just stay away from

her right now and budja we could be discussing lincoln for a long time but i really want to ask you about another very exciting topic that is especially unique to you and i want to find out more about is your experience with writing books i read about your writing experience before on your website or on your LinkedIn and I think it's a really interesting story because before I wanted to ask you how did you get to it but for people who don't know can you say how you were writing in your car and more background behind it because I think it's just interesting thank you so much for your question and this is going to take me right back to how we started our conversation when you asked me what does helicopter mom mean right so to put into perspective when my kids were young they used to

for their activity classes, right? I used to drive my daughter and then I used to wait in the car because she had two classes, three classes, one after the other. And there was not enough time for me to drop her to a class, come back home, then go back, pick her up, you know, take her again. So I used to be sitting in the car and I went for a couple of days. And then I said, hey, I'm just sitting in the car for like, you know, about two hours. Why don't I do something, you know?

So I carried a book. Got bored of that. Then I said, no, I can do something else. I carried laptop, my laptop, and I carried a can of thumbs up. I love thumbs up. That's my favorite, favorite, favorite fizz drink. I'm not sure if you guys get thumbs up there. I actually, when I was reading, I was like, what is it, Thumb Up? What does she mean? Is she like doing this or what is it? So I didn't know, honestly. No, no. So thumbs up is like a Coke, but it's very Indian and it's just got a little bit of fizzes. So it's like a nice, like a cola. If you have Coke and

Pepsi, we have thumbs up here as well. So I used to carry this thumbs up and there was this cop. He used to come to my car every day and he used to knock and he used to say what are you doing in the car every day you come, you're sitting with a laptop you're just typing and you're drinking

this can of thumbs up. I'm sure you have alcohol. I said take it. If you think, I said there's nothing at 10 in the morning there is no alcohol. It's just something because if I'm sitting I need to sip. And Thomas I just again like I said the story teller in me just started writing you know I was just typing typing

typing and it became 45 55000 words it just every day I used to go I used to wait for her in the car and I should just keep writing and I didn't even know where time went and when at the time you know her summer holidays finished and she had to go back to school I looked at the document and I was like oh good Lord this is like 55,000 words and it's all flowing and then a friend of mine said why don't you publish it. And I said, no, I've never thought of writing a book. I don't know who's going to take it, you know? So we published it. Then they wanted a sequel to it. So I wrote a sequel. Then we've taken the book back because now it's being considered for a film or a series. So they said, well,

we need the book back. So we republish it with the sequel as a set when the movie comes out. So it'll take a couple of years, but it's in process. So I'm really excited about that. Yeah, it's such a interesting and cool story behind it and especially what is coming so very impressive and really well done we'll be following of course and we're excited for that thank you thank you and you also won some pretty cool awards right yes yes so i got three in the last year one was by the times of india which was for content specialist i love it when they call me specialist you know it takes me back to that movie i don't know if you've seen it the hollywood movie this special Well, that was about guns and weapons, but this one is about words.

So, yeah, when they say specialist, it just makes me feel like, ooh, I'm so cool. I'm like a specialist. But that was for specialists. Then I got awarded by the governor of my state for a high kind of level in content, a strategy for the state that I kind of live in. And then I got one more, which kind of got me to the national limelight, which was a feature in the femina, which is like a very prestigious magazine, again, as one of India's aspiring women in the field of content. That's impressive.

Thank you. Thank you. As I was going through your website, I was looking at the gallery and so many photos, whether it was you with someone, photos from newspapers, TV, and I don't know what else. So I encourage people to have a look. You know, I stopped updating on the website and I need to do that because we just put it all on Instagram. right and then forget it but i know it needs to go on the site as well yeah of course and puja just to be aware of time of course we could be talking for much longer but by the end i like to ask kind of lighter questions and you mentioned before that you like to do golf but i was about to

ask you what do you like to do in your free time or what are some of your hobbies i'm learning golf i'm really enjoying it because i love being out in the green and you know our work i'm sure you'll look with me when I say is a lot in front of a screen. So on the weekends, when I'm, I try to minimize screen time on weekends, which is why I go to the golf course to learn the game because a couple of hours in the greenery without any screen,

no calls, no nothing. I just love the peace. For me, that is like time well spent. Like when I say, you know, yes, I'm out here to build a business. Yes, I'm out here to, you know, hit my professional goals. But at the end of the day,

I'm also aware of the fact that, you know, I want to live life. I want to travel. I want to meet people. I want to do things that, you know, that this world has to offer. We have 180 plus countries, so many places to go to, so many things to learn. So there's a lot of fire in me for all that. So two things that I'm really passionate about is travel. I love traveling.

I love cultures. Golf is something I'm learning. There's one thing that is still left on my bucket list, which I have. gotten to but perhaps by the time I hit 50 I will which is to learn the piano I really want to learn how to play the piano I don't know music but I like your mindset and approach it's never late to start and to learn it so I hope you do and you mentioned the countries what was your favorite country that you visited and what's the country that you want to visit if you had to pick one for each my dream country is Greece I am done

to go to Greece. Like, no, I'm not dying to go. I'm living so I can go to Greece because I am, I just have to see it. There's something about Greece that just keeps calling. Maybe in my last life, I don't know, but there's something about that country that I want to go to. So far, the one that I've visited and the one that I've loved the most has been Gold Coast in Australia. I went there about 15 years ago, but something very, very energetic, very. very, very vibrant, very alive is what I felt in Gold Coast. And as of now, I've been to a fair

share of countries in the world, but I loved, loved the Gold Coast in Australia. I unfortunately haven't visited any of those, but I will at least research at Google after, and I'm sure those will be beautiful. Yes, please do. And India, you must come to India too. I love India and cuisine. I just cannot handle spicy. And when people say, it's not much spicy. I'm like, for me, it's extremely spicy if you say it's not much spicy. What do you like in Indian cuisine? I'm a big fan of chicken meat. And I like, they're like all kinds of delicious sauces as long as it's not spicy. And I like bread and rice. Oh, nice, nice. Good. So when you come here, I'll take you out for it. That sounds like a good plan. And Pujia, another question

that I'm especially curious about you as author. I always like to ask about books such as what you read and has been impactful to you or any that you would recommend for the audience to read. Which has really changed the way I look at relationships because the first book I wrote was actually about relationships, Thomas, and the reason I talk of this is because I feel in the world today, relationships are most fragmented. Because of technology, because we are so glued on to our phones, to our own lives,

that if you were to walk into a restaurant or a coffee shop and see a couple of friends sitting, I can almost certainly guarantee and say they will be on their phones. At least two or three of them will be on their phones. There is not one conversation that you can have without looking, right? So a relationship between husband and a wife or two people together or children or teachers or friends, I just feel it's getting a little fragmented, which was the core of the book. So I'm a hopeless romantic. That's a confession I make.

I am one and I loved reading Nicholas Parks. But what I take from him is not the love and romance, which is what I would want to share with people, with our audience that is going to see this, is love makes the world go round. Yes, because empathy, kindness and focusing on relationships, on people. coming back to human to human. That is important. That is the core message from the book.

Yes, I can sit here, Thomas, and give you, you know, read the alchemist, you know, read atomic habits, read all these books. They are very good. Let's go down to grassroots level. Let's talk about basic human connection that starts with love. That starts with empathy. Why aren't we reading books like that? Why aren't we reading books that make people feel connected to each other? everybody needs to feel seen and heard, right?

Which is why we are building online. But let's take it a little offline. Let's make humans, the people that we meet out on the street, feel seen and heard. How does that come in by the books that we read? I read Nicholas Parks. It could be anything. But read something that evokes an experience

that makes you want to make a change in the world around you. That's all. It's actually a beautiful message. And I think that we can all agree that it's true that, you know, even I can see myself in that often being on my phone and not enjoying the moment as much. So it's a great reminder. And I'm glad that it's also different kind of recommendations than other books, as you mentioned, all those. Those are helpful, but this is something that definitely stands out. Of course, they're very, very helpful and necessary.

But for me, if you're asking me, I will say first this, everything else will come second. It sounds great to me. And Pooja, we discussed it, but please, can you summarize where people can find you, follow you, and promote any of your services and anything that is upcoming as well? Yes, so let's start on upcoming. My book, I have a graphic book, a graphic novel coming up for young children across the world. It's currently titled Being an Indian Team. And it talks about the little nuances like helicopter mom. Thomas didn't know it.

A lot of other people won't. but it's like done in a story form. It's got me as the drama queen. It's a nice fun take on teenagers, Indian teenagers, the world over, right? So that is something that I'm excited about that is coming up early next year. On LinkedIn, a lot is happening if you're looking to build your personal brand, if you're looking for help with content strategy, if you're looking for help with storytelling, just how to get out the best of you that I'm your go-to person for that,

more than happy to get on a chat. how can you reach me? You can always reach me directly on LinkedIn or Instagram, but don't stress if you can't get in touch with Thomas, he will get you to me. Because Thomas is connected with me. He's a friend. I'm sure he'll find a way to get you to me.

So not worry about how you can find me. Yes, and as always, I will add any links to the show notes and also make sure to check out Pucha's website for those pictures I mentioned, although it's not updated, as he said, and check out her book as well. And then lastly, Pujja, is there anything that you would like to share before we finish, anything that I should have asked you and did not, or just any final piece of advice? My only one piece of advice is I want you to step out here and have fun. Because I've seen way too many.

With Corona coming in, I've lost a lot, a lot of very close people to me. And somewhere that has been a wake-up call for me to say that, we think that we all have life, but we don't know when it comes knocking. So everything is important in life to grow, to build. I know this was supposed to have been advice for LinkedIn, but what I'm trying to get at is LinkedIn is very important for work, yes.

LinkedIn is very important for connections, yes. LinkedIn is very important to grow, you know, globally, yes. But LinkedIn cannot replicate your offline life. You need to find that balance. You need to have fun doing what you're doing. So if I was to summarize and say my one final piece of advice to all our awesome audience that is listening to it, it would be focus on the human-to-human connect because AI can never replace that. And for all those who worry that AI will replace you, trust me, it will not.

It will only replace the ones that know how to use it. Because at the end of the day, you need a human to control AI, right? AI is not working on its own. Somebody has to give that command. So I just want to say, don't fear. Enjoy what you do, enjoy the process, and focus on building connections, people to people, human to human.

That is perfect. Pujia, all I can say is that I wish we recorded this conversation much earlier because I genuinely enjoyed it. I think we could be talking for much longer, so I will be more than happy to catch up any time in the future again. Wow, that just made.

my day Thomas. So now I know that we can have another chat a few maybe weeks or months down the line. When the book comes, never know. I would love for your audience to get a sneak peek too. So that would be fun. But thank you so much for having me on your show because I absolutely love it. It made my day because I know I reached out and I'm so excited to have done this with you. No, Pooja, I've been so nice, so kind and I genuinely had fun. So I think it's actually a perfect example. what you're talking about is to have fun, enjoy the journey and it was just what our conversation was. So I encourage people to follow you, to keep up to date,

whether it's with upcoming book, projects, or even with your content. And one more time, big thank you. I'm very happy that we made it and I will keep following and supporting. So thank you very much. Thank you so much and you have a lovely rest of the day ahead. Thanks for listening to Produce by with Tom.

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