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Jun 8, 2026
05 Rachna Ghiya Honest XD Podcast
05 Rachna Ghiya Honest XD Podcast
00:00
27:05
Transcript
0:00
[gentle music] All right. I spent a little bit of time talking to Rachana, who I met through the Nest Labs community a few weeks ago.
0:09
She runs a bootcamp called A Little Pause, and, um, she uses her passion and, uh, love for illustration and drawing to facilitate a way for people to connect and understand more about themselves and how they process information by using illustration and drawing to do that.
0:24
So, I had a really good time talking to her, and I hope you enjoy it. How has the bootcamp been going?
0:31
Uh, we ended with one of the cohort on Saturday, and the last one is on, uh, the second cohort last session is on this Sat- this Wednesday. Okay.
0:40
So, it's been exciting to see, uh, you know, people having the transformation. So they, most of them joined, uh, with an anxious feeling of, you know, "I can't draw."
0:51
Uh, "I haven't drawn for a lo- um, from, uh, quite a time." And then they have made visuals around it, they have think through the process, and they have made a visual story. So it was good to see this transformation.
1:06
I think it gives me happiness as a person that I could bring such a change in people, uh, you know, changing their beliefs, which could be tough at a time because, uh, it's so ingrained in our mind that we can't do certain things.
1:21
And, uh, taking them, them through this process of, uh, transformation, um, feels like a good thing that I'm doing to this world [chuckles] so. So tell me about how you, how did you come up with the idea?
1:33
Where did the idea come from, and how did you put things in motion to make it happen? Okay.
1:39
Uh, so it was a quite a random idea last, uh, you know, at the end of last year I was just, uh, thinking that I read a lot of books, right?
1:47
I love reading, and I mostly read nonfiction, and I also make visuals around, you know, books that I read.
1:53
Not every book convert, get converted into visuals, but whatever idea strikes me, uh, you know, when I'm reading, I, I try to make them in visuals, and a lot of people connect with these visuals.
2:04
So I've been doing this for three years, and it is like pretty much something that I do for my own, you know, uh, fun, for my own happiness. And, and, and there was nothing monetary l- linked to it.
2:17
And, uh, last year, uh, at the end of last year, I was just thinking somewhere in November like, uh, "Okay, I know this thing.
2:25
I love books, and I also wanna meet people who read more books," and, you know, uh, I also love designing visuals around it. What if I teach about it?
2:35
So I was just discussing this idea with my brother that, you know, these... I, I just wrote it down on a very, you know, on paper, 10 points about, you know, uh, this bootcamp, how do I pla- plan it?
2:47
Do I want to do it in cohorts or, you know, do I wanna record these sessions and do it? So just few pointers on, on paper. Just that was just the idea, like, you know.
2:57
I'm, I've been writing on Substack for almost 15 months or more than that for now, uh, somewhere around one and a half, uh, year.
3:06
And, uh, I love, you know, the kind of conversations that happen in those spaces because I'm also writing more about living a creative, calm, and intentional life.
3:17
And what I write about, uh, mostly comes from my own life, you know, uh, reflecting on my own life and how has been my week and no post, uh, like, you know,
3:29
planned, planned kind of post, but whatever has evolved during that week. And this has made me, uh, also sharing a lot of visuals of mine, uh, dur- on those, on the, on the Substack.
3:41
And, uh, this helped me made, uh, you know, build a community of people who read, who, who connect with these feelings of, you know, or these, uh, themes of creativity, calm life and, you know, not, uh, engaging in a hustle kind of culture.
3:57
And I just rolled out these, uh, you know, uh, this, uh, uh, telling to them that this is my first bootcamp and this is what I'm telling, you know.
4:05
I've been a lo- I think, uh, what also helped me is being m- vulnerable in that space, telling them that this is my first bootcamp and I'm expecting you to join, uh, trusting, uh, by whatever I have, you know, built here, like, you know.
4:21
I'm just sharing my life. It is like a kind of journal for me. You know, the notes section of it is more like, you know, what are the ideas coming to me, I will share it people, like, you know- Mm-hmm...
4:30
on how I'm living my life is, uh, how I share. So it's more of a journal for me rather than, you know, uh, something that I have to do when it comes to Instagram. It has become that feeling for me.
4:41
And when I rolled, uh, it on a Substack community, many people from there joined me, like, you know.
4:48
And, uh, just like any pro- any product goes, uh, obviously you will have tough time for the very first launch, like, you know.
4:56
And I too had it, so I won't deny that it was like, you know, I rolled it and people came and then it all happened.
5:02
Uh, but it took its own time, like, you know, in the first cohort, uh, I, I, on the very last day, I got almost four to five registrations, you know, from a community space again that I was part of.
5:16
I think it was from Les- Nest Labs only. I, I, uh, yeah- Mm-hmm... it was from Nest Labs. So four or five people registered on the very last date, and that made me run two cohorts.
5:25
So, you know, US, according to one, to the US zone and one, uh, to the UK, according to the UK zone. But do you really want to build in that?
5:34
And does that effort really makes, you know, uh, really feel like an effort when you are actually so passionate about it? And, uh, there will be bot- bottlenecks for sure, like, you know.
5:44
You will be questioning your own self, like, "Who am I to teach this?" You know, because I also don't come from a design or an art background.
5:53
I never actually, you know, went for any, you know, very structured course on visual design. So who am I to teach them? Like, you know, this, that question will come from your, uh, uh, your inner critic a lot.
6:06
Like, even if it is not coming directly from you, it will come from your inner critic who will be, you know, "You have never drawn yourself. Like, how will you te- teach people what to do?
6:15
If I can learn, you can also learn."
6:17
So I use all these pointers that my inner critic is say- was saying to me to actually build on my bootcamp.Uh, somebody said that, uh, "I have never actually used a pencil to, you know, put anything on paper.
6:32
Can I still learn?" And, uh, "I don't know how to sketch." Like, you know, these questions were very general.
6:38
And some people were saying like, you know, "I have never done anything creative in my life, and I don't think I'm creative enough to actually do all these things. Can I do this thing? Can I join your bootcamp?"
6:48
And I said, "Please come. Please experience yourself- Yeah... and please experience what you are capable of doing." Um, and you know, so my bootcamp is Book to Visual. Okay. Mm-hmm.
7:01
So what we do basically in this is we learn about visual thinking, how to think visually. But, uh, uh, all these visual thinking come from a basic idea like, you know, what do you actually want to represent in visuals?
7:15
And many a times for the starters, uh, you know, it could be difficult for them to think of an idea that they want to convert into visuals, okay? So what I'm u- what I do is I use book as that prop, okay?
7:27
Read that book, you will get a lot of ideas. Pick any one idea that you want to, you know, express as visual and then, you know, apply whatever we are learning.
7:35
So I'm using book as a prop, but they can, once they get done with this bootcamp, they can use this process in, you know, uh, expressing their life experience, in expressing, you know, uh, maybe they have article they have written, the book they are writing, anything and everything like, you know, they...
7:54
conveying a br- brand story. So, um, so the books I pick, I, I actually make sure that these are books that talk about alternate ways of living, you know, creative confidence. Mm.
8:07
So this, this, uh, this, in this cohort, in this bootcamp, in this week, uh, month's cohort, uh, I use this book, Creative Confidence, okay?
8:16
So it is again a book about, you know, uh, that talks about design thinking and you know, how anyone can draw. A lot of these aspect of, you know, how everyone is creative.
8:27
I am been designing visuals for three years, but I have never put any kind of paid offering in front of my, you know, people who like my visuals, so there was nothing associated, uh, that, with those visuals.
8:40
I was just expressing my idea and people were connecting and they were generally connected to me. And that's, I think, also forms the core of why they subscribe to my bootcamp, paid bootcamp when I released it.
8:52
Like, you know? Mm-hmm. Because they knew me as a person, so they were- Mm...
8:56
they just didn't know the product that I'm offering, but they knew me as a person, like, you know, how, um, how, how I've been sharing visuals for a long time and how I personally know this process.
9:07
And I've, how I've lived this process as a, as a creator, like, you know, because not coming from an art or design background and still being able to design these visuals using basic shapes.
9:19
So they have witnessed me doing it, and they said that, "Okay, if she's doing by herself, might be she knows something about it that can help us in, you know, following this process and, uh, thinking visually."
9:32
So I think, um, just showing up for myself helped me. And then just being vulnerable enough to tell the people that, uh, "This is who I am. This is where I stand.
9:44
If you feel like joining me this journey, I will give my 100% to make sure that you get the best out of it." And I, I think I did that.
9:52
[laughs] This, uh, uh, in this, uh, bootcamp, there is one lady who joined me, uh, joined this bootcamp just because, uh, she wanted to share her learnings with, with her kid, like, you know, with a- Mm...
10:05
with a very young, uh, you know, uh, a toddler maybe, or maybe just, you know, someone who is a, a kid that is growing. So she said, "I don't want to tell about my learnings.
10:15
I want to express them visually so that they can easily understand."
10:19
And that's beautiful way to see how do you, uh, you know, how can you possibly use this skill, like, you know, just sharing your learnings with your kid, right? Did you... Was there a time when you almost,
10:32
when you almost gave up on it or almost decided not to do it because you were worried about, like, are people gonna register? Are people gonna get something out of it? Tell me what that was like.
10:42
So I think initially when I rolled it out, I got one registration, okay? And, uh, I was like, "Okay, I got my first registration." I was very happy about it.
10:52
[laughs] But then what about the next, uh, you know, few, right? Mm-hmm.
10:55
You know, because, uh, I also wanted to, uh, run it for at least, at least there would be, uh, you know, six to seven people who would be there in the bootcamp so that the group energy is there, the sharing is there.
11:08
I wasn't actually thinking of giving, giving up, but I had these questions coming up to me like, you know, for example, you know, who are you to teach, right? This question was often coming to me.
11:19
And then I tried it, addressing this question, and I never actually stopped working on this bootcamp. So, um, I remember then when I was starting up with this bootcamp, I had this fear of how do I start?
11:32
Like, you know, now I have to make my presentation of it. People have registering, you know, started registering. I have rolled it out. Uh,
11:39
I have things in my mind, but they were not on the, you know, again, they were not in the presentation format, again, not in the framework.
11:46
So I have just written everything on paper, and I still need to put the structure, uh, in place, right? So I gave myself a challenge, okay? So I will just do it for five minutes, you know, again.
11:59
So kind of treating, uh, you know, this big thing that I want to do into a very small, small experiment. Okay, I'll just make one slide. Okay, I'll just work on these five, uh, things that I want to tell, okay?
12:11
Has there been a moment where you have taken the, taken the time to be like, "Okay, I, I pushed through that uncertainty, that fear, and I got to experience this as a result.
12:20
Like, I wouldn't have gotten here if I didn't commit to doing it." Have you had a few of those moments?For sure. Like, you know, uh, every time I see people, uh, come, you know...
12:31
So I start, uh, you know, my bootcamp with asking people, "How do you feel about drawing?" Like, you know, and m- many... Most of the responses are, are, are anxious. "I feel, you know...
12:41
Uh, I feel that, uh, I can't do it," right? Most of the, these were res- responses as that are not very positive. And then within that first ses- ses- session, I make them draw.
12:54
I make them, you know, realize that they have these capabilities inside themselves, and they feel, "Oh, you know, this is I, I have done."
13:01
Like, so anytime I see them, you know, uh, doing something that they, uh, they, they, they thought that they will never be able to do it, I think it, it... I feel like a person hap- happy person for them.
13:16
In the last, uh, you know, when we ended the, the last cohort, so, uh, people really said that, that, uh, they never knew that they can, they could do it. Like, you know, they always doubted themselves in the process.
13:31
But the way they can see their portfolio, so every week they design at least five visuals. So n- at the end of it they can see, you know, their work, uh, actually being done.
13:42
Like, you know, they can see their 10 visuals being developed, their visual story. So they have a lot of proof to, you know, uh, kind of answer their inner critic if they ever, [laughs] you know.
13:52
Uh, we, we met each other not that long ago, you know, and I've been following your stuff on LinkedIn.
13:56
And what I enjoy seeing, and one of, one of the ones that I, one of the illustrations that you did that I remember is, like, you- you're, you're at this point in time, and the thing that you're wanting to go after is at this other point in time.
14:07
But like, all the stuff in between can either be anxiety or it can be this time that you're working towards what you want to do. And so I think it was one of the ones that I saw that you had put out there.
14:18
I was like, "Oh, that's a really helpful way of looking at it," is like, I'm, I'm here, but the thing I'm worried about is all the way down here, and I have all this time in between to, like, do what I want to work towards this.
14:29
Yeah. Um, so that was, like, that's, that's just a small example of something that you've, like, done yourself and put out there that has stuck with me almost daily.
14:38
And I just, I love that the, there's that power, you know, to, to create something and put it out there, and you don't even know how it's gonna land with someone. Yeah. Um, what's the kind of stuff that you get your...
14:47
Like, how do you, how do you get and keep energy to do your best work? Okay. Uh, so I as a human do, uh, you know, [laughs] have this, uh... S- so I'm, I'm, I'm like, I love, uh, you know, slow life.
15:05
I don't want to live in a very hustle culture. I don't want to keep, uh, you know, keep, uh, seeing screens all the time.
15:12
And it also comes, uh, because when you're running an online bootcamp, a lot of it means that, and also when you're doing it alone, it means a lot of time on screen and, you know. Uh,
15:25
but I think what helped me is, uh, these transformation stories for sure. So- Hmm... when, uh, uh, when, you know...
15:34
I have been working as a freelancer for last 13 years, and I have worked for, in a different, different roles, starting from content writing to animated video producer and then, you know, uh, working on learn- in learning and development.
15:49
And all these roles, uh, I did, you know, work for a client and they were happy about it, but I could not see, you know, a kind of transformation as a, in a person, like, you know, that I'm experiencing in these bootcamps.
16:01
Like, you know, uh, they, when they tell that they are able to now do something that they actually wanted to do and they, you know, they now, uh, feel that they can draw.
16:12
You know, all these things, very small things that we somehow used to love in our childhood, but just, you know, these things, m- m- you know, kind of get lost, uh, in our day w- work culture.
16:27
We, we, we lose, uh, the ways we wanna express ourselves because either we are n- we don't have the time to reflect on it or we don't know how to express it, like, you know. So I think,
16:40
uh, these transformation stories really helped me in...
16:44
And, uh, when whenever I see someone who has joined the bootcamp and now, you know, whenever they share anything on Substack, they are also putting a small visual, even that are made, if that is made during just pen, pen and paper, I feel, I feel like, oh, this is where I can witness these, you know, success, uh, uh, you know, stories wherein they're just using whatever they learned.
17:06
So it is not just about reading or understanding something, it is also about doing and implementing in their life. So, uh, I think those, uh, things helped me in just keeping, uh, the momentum forward.
17:21
Uh, it's inspirational. I, I love hearing the story. I love seeing somebody that's out there going and building it and doing it themselves.
17:28
Um, so tell, so anybody that sees this that wants to learn more about you and your work or, like, do the, do the cohort? So, um, mm, yeah.
17:36
Uh, I, for now, I, I have not actually released the kind of bootcamp page, but what I do is I've r- I have placed a, uh, you know, uh, a page on Substack to talk about my bootcamp.
17:49
So this is something that I can share with you in a later case and, you know, you can just share it with if you want. Uh- Yeah... but the bootcamp name is Book to Visuals.
17:57
It is a four-week, uh, uh, you know, learning cohort wherein, uh, in every cohort there are 10 plus people and, uh, um, we, the all, all the four sessions are live. And, um, uh, people from any background can join it.
18:13
It is not limited to, uh, any specific criteria. The only thing is that we will be reading a book, right? So, uh, if you're okay reading a book, you are welcome to join it.
18:24
And if you feel like, no, the book is something that I don't read, but, uh, I still wanna learn the skill, the, then come with your ideas that you want to visualize and you're good to go.That's awesome.
18:34
Where do you wanna be, like, where do you wanna be three years from now, five years from now? What are you, what are you working toward? All right.
18:43
So this is a question [laughs] that I find very, uh, you know, uh, a bit frightening and this, uh, that, uh, this, uh, scenario where everything is so quickly changing that, um, you know, uh, it's very difficult to witness, uh, or, you know, just think about what you would be doing next.
19:01
But, uh, if I talk about, uh, myself, I think I will, uh, want to land at a place where I'm, I'm spending, uh, less time on screens and more time building something with my hands. Uh, I wanna read more.
19:17
I want to, uh, uh, you know, engage myself in more creative stuffs, and it could be building something from my hands.
19:26
Uh, I wanna work with authors, you know, who are also talking about living an intentional life, personal growth, uh, mental health, or just holistic wellbeing, and working in those spaces, writing in those spaces.
19:40
I wanna work with those kind of people who are working in these spaces. And, you know, collaborate and make something together with them. Uh, for authors, I would like to illustrate their books, for sure.
19:52
[laughs] Mm-hmm. So I'm not sure that is a five-year horizon that I'm taking, but maybe in this year itself I wanna illustrate at least two books, uh, you know, for authors who are writing in this domain.
20:05
I also want to write a book, f- uh, you know, uh, on my life journey as personal- Hmm... memoir kind of thing, uh, illustrated one. So that's what I'm working towards for this year.
20:15
I'm potentially saying that, you know, uh, that's what I'm working is. Uh, I would love to explore career as a, as a book illustrator, right?
20:25
So a person who is illustrating about emotions, uh, feelings, and, you know, living life and all those kind of feelings like, you know, uh, very humanly things that we experience as a human.
20:38
So maybe writing, uh, you know, books for adults on these things. Like, you know, how to, you know, feel yourself, how to express yourself.
20:48
Because, uh, I see a lot of books coming for children nowadays, and I [laughs] mostly go to this, you know, section in the bookstore where I can read those books and, uh, it feels so inspiring.
21:00
And I say, "Why don't these, these things exist for, you know, adults?" So maybe, you know, you, you may see me illustrating books around these feelings, emotions, human condition, uh, in, in maybe the next years.
21:15
But I think I'm getting, keeping it pretty open. I never thought that I will explore a career as a visual facilitator, like, you know, visual thinking facilitator.
21:23
It is something that I thought of trying, exploring, and I saw, you know, that it is something that people want. So, uh, I think I ke- I will keep it pretty open. I see what my, you know, how things evolve.
21:39
But for sure I wanna work on my writing. You know, I, I wanna write more. I want to read more. I want to, uh, design a life that is slow, healthy, and not rushed, like, you know.
21:53
I want to desi- I want to, uh, build a life that wherein, you know, uh, I'm building more from my hands and, uh, keeping a limited time on screen. So this is where I'm heading towards in, you know,
22:06
if you see the broader aspect. Mm-hmm.
22:08
I wanna see, uh, this community growing in such a way that, um, in every country I will say that I have someone known in that country [laughs] who can, you know, who I can just trust on that they will be there for me.
22:22
So seeing this as- I love that... uh, as a community, like, that I'm building, that, you know, I have someone in every country that I'm going to or every city that I'm going to, I would love to see it evolving to that.
22:33
[laughs] Uh, but yeah, professionally I will see, like, you know, how this whole of thing grows up. One other question that I kinda wanna ask you now, I wasn't planning on, but, um,
22:43
everything that's happening with AI, of course, makes everybody think they're a designer. Everybody feels like they can have, have the design tools. So there's that one path that a lot of people are adopting.
22:53
Does that give you... Is there some sort of fear that comes with that for you? Like, is my, is my innate human value as a designer going to be jeopardized by these tools that are getting better?
23:05
How have you processed that? Thought about it in that way. I don't know for what reason.
23:11
I never thought that any AI tool can replace how I'm creatively thinking about something and, uh, you know, how can I come up with those ideas.
23:21
And, uh, even what is built by AI can be so easily detected that it is built by AI. But when it is m- m- m- you know, uh, done by a human, you will still, you know, kind of see the nuances in it, right?
23:39
Uh, I think AI can, a- maybe in the future it can build on that emotions, but, uh, I never feel frightened with it, like, you know. Uh, and I also don't teach people to use AI in the first go in my boot camp.
23:53
I tell people that you start with your idea. Maybe, you know, you're, if you're not able to come up with caption for your visual, this is where you can, you know, you know, have a conversation with AI.
24:04
But don't start with AI. Let your creative process, you know, evolve and then, you know, you can do anything, uh, later with AI. But I never feel frightened.
24:15
It is, I, I just, you know, do my work and let the work speak for myself, like, you know.
24:21
And I think, uh, just like it, you know, you connected with one of my visual, a lot of people whom I don't know who, you know, they're just coming across my visuals and they're able to connect with it and-They,
24:35
they, they know that it is my work. Like, you know, uh, they know it is not done by AI. Like, you know, they can, they, they can witness that it is thought about.
24:45
It is like, you know, uh, uh, it is something that has that shared human connection that we look for in, you know, pieces that we write or that, you know, in anything creative that we make in part as paintings that we are making.
24:59
So I don't feel frightened. I think we'll adjust to it just like when IT, you know, that dot-com burst happened. Like, you know, we evolved, um- Mm-hmm... you know, according to that.
25:11
I think this is also part of the evolution, and there will come a stage wherein people will be so bored with the AI stuff that they will start looking for human connection.
25:21
So they will start going to, you know, uh, not seeking these ideas on AI, but they will seek a real human to, you know, whom they can see. I suspect- Yeah. Something real to release... I suspect you might be right. Yeah.
25:35
Yeah. We are also... We are currently also bored with AI, right? Every... I think I, I have not explored all the tools, like, you know? I'm still stick to a few of the things, right? And I don't want to do it.
25:46
Like, you know, I don't want to focus my energy there. I know it is important, and I, I will learn it, you know, at a minimum thing that is required for me to, you know, just be in this world.
25:58
But I won't go all over, gaga over it, like, you know, like this is what, uh, it is now. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a pretty healthy perspective. Yeah. I like that. [laughs] Rashna, it's been a pleasure talking to you.
26:13
Yeah. It's been- Thank you so much. I really enjoy it. I really enjoy just getting together, hearing your, hearing your optimism and enthusiasm and energy for what you do. And so- Thank you. Yeah.
26:23
Thank you for considering for me, um, for this honest conversation.
26:27
I think, um, you are doing 100 calls, so I am sure you will be witnessing a lot of, you know, different aspect of creativity and, you know, how people are exploring, uh, their true self.
26:39
And, uh, I will love to see what happens, you know, what get evolved after these 100 conversation. And I wish you good luck for this. Thank you for considering me. Absolutely. Thanks for being a part of it early on.
26:51
It was really good talking to you. I'll stay in touch as I go. Sure, sure. I will. Oh, bye-bye. Take care. All right. Thanks, Rashna. Take care. [outro music]
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