Meet Yash Halani

We recently connected with Yash Halani and have shared our conversation below.

Yash, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I love making people smile. I love when people around me are happy because of me. Even in everyday life, I go out of my way to make sure people who I am close with, are happy.
Also, I am a very expressive person. I need to and I love to tell stories that would make people laugh.

I used to make short mimics and funny videos way before Instagram reels was a thing. My bestfriend suggested me to open a meme page since I was so passionate about it. I used to post memes often but not aggressively and very inconsistently. This resulted in very low response and of course, appreciation is motivation, hence it did not push me to make extra efforts.

Until very recently, about a couple of years ago I went through very tough times in my personal life. I am an abroad student, so I live far away from my family and friends, and my work location was in a remote place so I had no friends where I used to live back then. I felt extremely lonely and there was a huge void within me. I felt like I was incomplete.

That is when art and creativity helped me. I started creating content on a very regular basis and it blew up. Most of the videos were performing very average, but one of the video boomed and reached more than 5 million people!! The only difference between regular videos and this video was, I was very very honest and realistic in the video. I was cooking, I was frustrated and lonely and tired. So I shot a video describing the problems of an abroad student, and people related to it. I was very vulnerable in the video and thought a lot before posting because I didn’t knew if people would think bad about me, judge me, But that’s when I thought that it an artist’s job to be real, and vulnerable. I uploaded the video and it blew up.

Since then, I’ve consistently kept posting and haven’t stopped since then.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Professionally, I am currently working full time in a construction management firm. I completed my masters from Purdue University and originally I’m from Gujarat, India.

Even though my working schedule is extremely hectic (6:30 am to 5:30 pm everyday) and there’s a lot of physical work, I am highly motivated to create content everyday. Even though it is my side hustle, it feels like I’m working for 2 full time jobs simultaneously. I work on weekends as well.

All I mean is, even though it is extremely stressful at times, I am drained, the only thing that motivates me to keep going is people’s reactions. I love how people react to my content, I read each and every comment, and I am hooked to my phone for the first hour after every post goes live.

My art/content is broadly focused on entertainment with an emphasis on abroad students. It was varies all the way from how they feel, their hustles and everyday life. I try to portray them in a funny and relatable manner. Additionally, I have started creating short vlogs about my experiences as an abroad student/worker. Currently, the most exciting project going on right now is “Changing house in New York”. It is a multiple episode series where I have filmed the real experience of us moving out and how Bachelors move their homes in less than a day. Episode 3 will probably be out until this interview is live.

Currently, I am focused on creating content consistently. My only goal is to create content and grow my audience and genuinely connect with them. Currently I am more active on Instagram with reels, will gradually move to YouTube with long form content.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Purpose
“when the why is clear, the how is easy”. If you do not have a really strong purpose, you will get drained/bored very easily. If you have a clear reason why you are pursuing this, or if it is what you really really love doing, only then you will stay in the game for a longer time.

2. Discipline
Content creation needs to be very consistent. You cannot just post whenever you want, your content won’t reach to people and you will be discouraged. Hence you need discipline to stay consitent.

3. Learn everyday
To create content, there are new trends and methods evryday that you need to keep up with. Also, you can learn a lot from content posted from others similar to your niche.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My best friend who is also an artist in a similar field and also an entrepreneur, he has always been a constant support. He has been a manager, content strategist, a motivator and what not. At times, he has been more excited and happy for my success than I was. He pushed me into getting into this and creating art, so he has literally been there from the start and never left since.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

NA. I reserve the rights to all the images.

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