I was thinking about what could happen if I got a chance to time travel back 5 years — right after I graduated.
The plus is that I would still remember and have all the experience of living through these 5 years.
The catch is, whatever I do, I cannot change the present. When those 5 years end, I come back to the present — to where I am today — with the knowledge I gained from the past.
If you were asked this question, what would you have done?
Pause for a moment, and when you finish reading, hit that reply button and let me know.
I would have done two things. First is ..
I would have started sooner.
I would have executed sooner.
I would have taken feedback sooner.
Whatever I have achieved in the 5 years since I graduated, I would have wanted it to happen in 2 years.
A Picture I took During Last week Hackathon, continue reading ….
And the Second thing is,
In the remaining 3 years I would have failed shamelessly, try every possible thing, and find a bigger problem to solve.
Most people, if given 5 years back, would say:
I would avoid that mistake.
I would invest in that stock.
I would fix that relationship.
I would not trust that person.
From the past 5 years of experience since graduating until today, this is what I realized:
Growth is about shortening the distance between attempt and feedback.
So I don’t wish to change the past.
I’m wishing to accelerate the learning curve.
I don’t want to avoid mistakes.
I want to make them earlier.
That being said, this is what my mind asked me after completing the “go back in time” experiment:
“Why aren’t you compressing the next 5 years into 3 years right now?”
So basically, my mind told me to increase the speed of iteration.
And I am going to try my best to do it.
This week, on Feb 28th:
I am launching my book.
I am launching my course.
I am pre-launching my product.
This is going to happen at the Global Freelancers Festival in Chennai. Last year, our company was one of the sponsors. This year, we are launching at this event.
I am also a speaker at the event. If you are there, let’s meet. And if you haven’t registered for the event, register now:
https://makerstribe.in/events/global-freelancers-festival-2026/
Last week was different.
I did something I’ve never done before in my life.
For 24 straight hours, I didn’t sleep.
We conducted a 24-hour hackathon at Error Makes Clever with our alumni students. There were 9 teams. Each team came with their own problem statement and their own solution.
They weren’t just coding.
They were thinking.
They were debating features.
They were prioritizing.
They were building applications from scratch.
They were thinking like CEOs.
And honestly, I just stood there at one point and felt proud.
Students from Error Makes Clever — building real applications, solving real problems, presenting with confidence.
That’s when you realize:
This is not just about teaching tech.
It’s about building thinkers.
In the middle of all this, I also felt something else.
I needed a change of environment.
So last week, I went to Starbucks to work.
Sometimes a small shift in place creates a big shift in focus.
Sitting there with my laptop, coffee on the side, I prepared my talk for the Global Freelancers event.
From a 24-hour hackathon with students building like founders
to sitting alone in a café structuring ideas for a stage talk —
Both reminded me of the same thing:
Execution matters.
Whether it’s students building apps overnight
or me preparing for a stage
or launching something new…
Momentum is everything.
Last week wasn’t glamorous.
It was intense.
It was tiring.
It was fulfilling.
And I wouldn’t trade that feeling for comfort.
More updates soon.
- Agnel John D
