Being Better: Being version 2.0 of yourself

“You may have to lose who you were to find out who you are! As inside every person there’s a person you don’t know !!”

I Mimansa Shekhar ,am Copy Editor at Indian Express Online and have been working with the entertainment section since 2016, my work includes articles, features and opinions, along with doing celebrity interviews in both text and video formats. Being an editor does require the ability to work in isolation, your work life will vary depending on which field of publishing you enter. It’s very essential to have a flexible schedule as a publication deadline might mean an all-nighter in the office at a book publishing house or a magazine.

“Traveling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” — Ibn Battuta

So let me explain how I came up or jumped with this conclusion. As I was tired of my busy schedule so thought of taking a travel break and refreshing myself. Booked a flight ticket for San Francisco(California, United States). And guess what, almost after a decade, accidentally I met my junior (Neha Sahay), I knew her from my school days,lastly I have met her in our school alumna. She was sitting next to me and I was really impressed by her first look and personality as she has changed a lot over the time. Later we exchanged our ten years of journey history.

“The law of work seems unfair, but nothing can change it; the more enjoyment you get out of your work, the more money you will make.” The editor in me started pinching me and  forced me to start documenting her life lessons & teachings, hard work, achievements, and contribution in my notebook.

Now you must be wondering– Who is Neha Sahay?

Well ! Let me introduce you with her- Neha is a former sales expert with her early 10+yrs proven track record spent in the fin-tech domain, later who turned into a social media strategist, Entrepreneur and one of the most wanted freelancers of India.

Her specific skills lie in her ability to organize a mass amount of information in a short period, synthesize it, present it clearly, and facilitate/mediate large, diverse groups of sophisticated and passionate stakeholders. She displays a tireless work ethic, models impartiality, has boundless energy, and gets the job done.

She never viewed her challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, she believed it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.

She is the founder of *** *Media, a boutique social media agency founded in the year 2022, that has worked with over 1500+ top clients ranging from startups to large enterprises to help them build and grow their social media presence.

Neha is an influencer herself with over 95K followers on Instagram and over 45K monthly views on her Intro to fin-tech terminologies for starters, E-commerce blogs, and fashion blog. She has worked with big brands such as Armani, Club Monaco, Nyx, Delta, Dyson, Being Human, HRX, Tanyugg etc. She specializes in helping brands create a powerful online presence through social media, content, influencer marketing, paid social, etc.

She is also the Co-founder of “Start-up Network Club(SNC)”, an invite-only group which empowers entrepreneurs and enthusiasts with digital marketing knowledge and connections through high-touch networking events and workshops. SNC as of 2025, is the largest social media marketing meetup in India with over 100 million subscribers. SNC has hosted over 400 events and workshops since it started in mid-2023

Stay tuned for her upcoming project in the upcoming year 2026- foundation for the same has already begun. To elaborate more on this the love for kids has always motivated her to get associated with NGO work. She wanted to build shelters for orphan kids since her college days.

Neha has appeared on various panels including Tech Fashion Week, Inc42, BlogIt, etc and has been featured in Newsweek, Forbes, Thrive Global & HuffPost.

Her Life Changing lessons in her own words:-

Neha says:- There are so many lessons that I have learned throughout my journey, some of which are shared in this article. But if I were to summarize and congregate everything down to the number 1 life lesson, it would be: you cannot change yourself to be a different person, but you can be a better version of yourself. Everyone is already aware of his or her strengths and weaknesses, but only at a superficial interview level. We all have our scripted answer to the weakness question and how it’s an opportunity in disguise and how we would overcome it. We generally like to hide behind our success and only show the best side of ourselves to others. I know I have weaknesses to improve, but never devoted energy and time to doing so. And truthfully, I’ve also accepted these weaknesses as just part of who I am. I guess I’ve used the excuse “well that’s just me. Take it or leave it.” And I know many people use this same excuse to “stay true to myself” and resist personal change. However, I learned that the “truest” version of myself may not be the “best” version of myself.

This doesn’t mean I don’t stay true to my values and myself or I should do what everyone else thinks is right. Too often, I got forced into things that are socially perceived to be “right” and changed myself to fit that social norm. But after enrolling for the Digital Deepak internship programme in the year 2020- his first lesson on Success Mindset was the turning point, there I learned that I would only change because I want that change for myself. I won’t be a different person. Instead, I am a better person by being a better version of myself. I know I have flaws and I know these flaws are part of me. But instead of thinking “well this is just who I am and deal with it,” I know I want to be my best possible self so I’m slowing improving these parts of me. Even though they are not going to be completely eradicated am trying hard to train my lizard brain, I know I am a better person for it. And I’m doing it for the right reasons — not to please other people but to please myself.

Lastly, she has a message for the young generations and others too, which she strongly believes says: Don’t change yourself because other people are telling you to. You can be a better person without being a different person. Be yourself. But constantly be a better version of yourself.

-Written by Mimansa Shekhar | Bangalore | Published: July 13, 2026 00:18:26 am