Today, I want to discuss something I have been getting asked about recently by other medical students who are trying to venture out of medicine.

Two of the most common messages I encounter whilst talking to all of these students are, ‘I am worried no one is going to x my work,’ or along the lines of ‘I will try it for 2 weeks, and if I don’t see anything happening, it will be a waste of time.’

Herein lies the issue because:

• When you get started on this journey - sure, we ALL have this fear, but it’s an obstacle we must overcome. We all worry about the Spotlight Effect and get consumed by it to some extent. I used to worry a lot at the start, too, and I want to believe that I have improved over time. However, I still worry about my newsletter open rates and whether my subscriber count is increasing. I think these are fears that you will learn to manage over time - while you are ‘on the job’. I would never have imagined that when I started this newsletter 7 months ago, I would now be hitting send to 85+ readers. You need to believe in yourself.
  
  What I believed when I started and still do is ‘I will make it’. I don’t necessarily know what that will look like or completely mean, but I have this innate drive. I am a massive believer in putting out positive energy and receiving positive energy back. So, for anyone who’s still on the fence or has this fear - believe in yourself and give it your best shot.
  I think Alex Hormozi sums it up beautifully here:
  

  

  
  You have to be your own biggest fan whilst getting started and even when you get to wherever you want to be. No one will fight in your corner harder than yourself. 

• Rome wasn’t built in a day. And sometimes, we all need to hear the truth. When I hear from someone that they will only try it for a few weeks - I tell them, ‘Please don’t give up on it too soon or give up ever’, to be honest. You never know when things might click. It takes time for things to work and for results to show. Take applying to medical school as an easy and relatable example. None of us did it overnight. It took years of hard work through GCSEs, A-Levels, personal statements, UKCAT/BMAT, and interviews, which finally resulted in us landing a spot to be able to study medicine. If you apply the same patience, hard work and consistency to your side hustle etc., it will pay off. That is the path I am following, and I urge everyone else to keep going. Don’t give up.

To put things into perspective a bit more, when I started off…

Some of my peers said to me: ‘Who’s going to read your newsletter?’

Well, today, 85+ of you will be receiving it.

Some of my peers said to me: ‘You don’t suit videos or podcasts.’

I have started part-time podcasting over at ‘What Medical School Doesn’t Teach Us.’

Some of my peers said to me: ‘You are wasting your time.’

I guess this one is subjective, but I have had the opportunity and pleasure of meeting and connecting with people I would never have otherwise. I have also managed to turn this into some sort of valuable side hustle.

So, if you still find it hard to believe in yourself - tell someone what you want to do. There’s nothing more motivating than a chip on your shoulder and a will to prove them wrong 😂

Before I sign off, I am going to leave you all with this Karan Rajan post, which I think sums up this entire email perfectly: