I speak to my friend and someone whose work I’ve admired for a long time - Lavanya Mohan. Lavanya, who many might know as lavsmohan, used to run one of India’s funniest blogs about a decade ago, called ChutneyCase. Since then, she has transitioned into a very interesting niche - personal finance from a woman’s point of view in India. In between, she has also been a freelance writer for several publications, on topics ranging from culture to humour to finance. 

For me, it was a pleasure to speak to her since it wasn’t just a great conversation with lots of insights, but also a chance to catch up with a Friend.
In this interview, we speak about:

Storytelling and how that was the root of everything that followed in her life
How her writing evolved

How the biggest shift in her life happened quite unexpectedly
How not to be scared of money or finance (especially looking at finance through the lens of something you are already passionate about)

Building niches, but trying whatever you can
Taking advantage of your situation, and not being bummed out you’re not being where the action is

How “explain it like I’m 5” is the ultimate test of whether you’ve understood something
Productivity, routine, setting personal goals, and finding your “creative best time”

How audiences determine the content - direct, even! - that a creator might do
Everything Lavanya Mohan:Her Twitter: http://twitter.com/lavsmohan
Her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lavsmohan
The website on personal finance she runs, Penn Money: http://pennmoney.com/
The articles she wrote for The News Minute under the moniker Rupee Rani: https://www.thenewsminute.com/author-articles/Lavanya-Mohan
References made during the show, not in order:Narendra Shenoy’s old blog: http://narendrashenoy.blogspot.com/
What is Bullet Journaling: https://bulletjournal.com/pages/learn
The case study I wrote about the protein bar brand, The Whole Truth: https://thehardcopy.co/and-nothing-but-the-truth/
Getting Meta links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40Vo30aQilVrxEOkoSmDjx?si=pCOPeJlcR0uN_g2ZZs8iLQ&dl_branch=1
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-meta/id1573882113
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdGF0aWMuYWRvcmlsYWJzLmNvbS9mZWVkL2dldHRpbmctbWV0YS54bWw
IVM website: https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/show/getting-meta-y2rb-RtSzWNdzZ8i99R2Q
Follow your host on:Twitter: twitter.com/chuck_gopalInstagram: instagram.com/chuckofalltradesEmail: chuck@chuckofalltrades.in

<div>I speak to my friend and someone whose work I’ve admired for a long time - Lavanya Mohan. Lavanya, who many might know as lavsmohan, used to run one of India’s funniest blogs about a decade ago, called ChutneyCase. Since then, she has transitioned into a very interesting niche - personal finance from a woman’s point of view in India. In between, she has also been a freelance writer for several publications, on topics ranging from culture to humour to finance. </div><p><span>For me, it was a pleasure to speak to her since it wasn’t just a great conversation with lots of insights, but also a chance to catch up with a Friend.</span><br></p><a href="http://friend.In" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="http://friend.In"><div><a href="http://friend.In" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span data-auto-link="true" data-href="http://friend.In"><div><span>In this interview, we speak about:</span></div></span></a></div><p><span>Storytelling and how that was the root of everything that followed in her life</span><br></p></a><div>How her writing evolved</div><p><span>How the biggest shift in her life happened quite unexpectedly</span><br></p><div>How not to be scared of money or finance (especially looking at finance through the lens of something you are already passionate about)</div><p><span>Building niches, but trying whatever you can</span><br></p><div>Taking advantage of your situation, and not being bummed out you’re not being where the action is</div><p><span>How “explain it like I’m 5” is the ultimate test of whether you’ve understood something</span><br></p><div>Productivity, routine, setting personal goals, and finding your “creative best time”</div><p><span>How audiences determine the content - direct, even! - that a creator might do</span><br></p><div>Everything Lavanya Mohan:</div><div>Her Twitter: </div><a href="http://twitter.com/lavsmohanHer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="http://twitter.com/lavsmohanHer"><div>http://twitter.com/lavsmohan</div><div><br></div></a><div>Her Instagram: </div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/lavsmohanThe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="https://www.instagram.com/lavsmohanThe"><div>https://www.instagram.com/lavsmohan</div><div><br></div></a><div>The website on personal finance she runs, Penn Money: </div><a href="http://pennmoney.com/The" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="http://pennmoney.com/The"><div>http://pennmoney.com/</div><div><br></div></a><div>The articles she wrote for The News Minute under the moniker Rupee Rani: </div><a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/author-articles/Lavanya-MohanReferences" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/author-articles/Lavanya-MohanReferences"><div>https://www.thenewsminute.com/author-articles/Lavanya-Mohan</div><div><br></div></a><div>References made during the show, not in order:</div><div>Narendra Shenoy’s old blog: </div><a href="http://narendrashenoy.blogspot.com/What" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="http://narendrashenoy.blogspot.com/What"><div>http://narendrashenoy.blogspot.com/</div><div><br></div></a><div>What is Bullet Journaling: </div><a href="https://bulletjournal.com/pages/learnThe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="https://bulletjournal.com/pages/learnThe"><div>https://bulletjournal.com/pages/learn</div><div><br></div></a><div>The case study I wrote about the protein bar brand, The Whole Truth: </div><a href="https://thehardcopy.co/and-nothing-but-the-truth/Getting" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="https://thehardcopy.co/and-nothing-but-the-truth/Getting"><div>https://thehardcopy.co/and-nothing-but-the-truth/</div><div><br></div></a><div>Getting Meta links: </div><div>Spotify: </div><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/40Vo30aQilVrxEOkoSmDjx?si=pCOPeJlcR0uN_g2ZZs8iLQ&amp;dl_branch=1Apple" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="https://open.spotify.com/show/40Vo30aQilVrxEOkoSmDjx?si=pCOPeJlcR0uN_g2ZZs8iLQ&amp;dl_branch=1Apple"><div>https://open.spotify.com/show/40Vo30aQilVrxEOkoSmDjx?si=pCOPeJlcR0uN_g2ZZs8iLQ&amp;dl_branch=1</div><div><br></div></a><div>Apple Podcasts: </div><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-meta/id1573882113Google" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-meta/id1573882113Google"><div>https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-meta/id1573882113</div><div><br></div></a><div>Google Podcasts: </div><a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdGF0aWMuYWRvcmlsYWJzLmNvbS9mZWVkL2dldHRpbmctbWV0YS54bWwIVM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdGF0aWMuYWRvcmlsYWJzLmNvbS9mZWVkL2dldHRpbmctbWV0YS54bWwIVM"><div>https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdGF0aWMuYWRvcmlsYWJzLmNvbS9mZWVkL2dldHRpbmctbWV0YS54bWw</div><br></a><div>IVM website: </div><a href="https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/show/getting-meta-y2rb-RtSzWNdzZ8i99R2QFollow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" true"="" data-href="https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/show/getting-meta-y2rb-RtSzWNdzZ8i99R2QFollow"><div>https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/show/getting-meta-y2rb-RtSzWNdzZ8i99R2Q</div><div><br></div></a><div>Follow your host on:</div><div>Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/chuck_gopal" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span data-auto-link="true" data-href="http://twitter.com/chuck_gopal">twitter.com/chuck_gopal</span></a></div><div>Instagram: <a href="http://instagram.com/chuckofalltrades" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span data-auto-link="true" data-href="http://instagram.com/chuckofalltrades">instagram.com/chuckofalltrades</span></a></div><div>Email: chuck@chuckofalltrades.in</div>

Getting Meta is a show where Deepak Gopalakrishnan (or Chuck, as the world calls him) speaks to some very smart people to unravel their habits, thought processes, tools and mental models - which can then be applied by anyone, from any field. Chuck speaks to authors, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and just people who lead that elusive "sorted" life. The show focuses less on their achievements or field, and more on them as a person and their ways of thinking - hence, getting meta with them. Because of the nature of the show, these are questions some of the interviewees have never been asked before - ranging from the personal to the professional. Each episode aims to inspire, entertain and leave you with things to ask yourself, frameworks to apply and good content to check out. 

There will be an initial season of 10 interviews, and this is Chuck's third podcast, following Simblified (comedy + topical) and The Origin of Things (trivia + storytelling). As a freelancer who's constantly looking for ways to hack his own productivity and get more out of life, this is Chuck's new passion project - especially since it gives him the chance to speak to people he admires and dig deeper into how they think.

<p>Getting Meta is a show where Deepak Gopalakrishnan (or Chuck, as the world calls him) speaks to some very smart people to unravel their habits, thought processes, tools and mental models - which can then be applied by anyone, from any field. Chuck speaks to authors, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and just people who lead that elusive "sorted" life. The show focuses less on their achievements or field, and more on them as a person and their ways of thinking - hence, getting meta with them. Because of the nature of the show, these are questions some of the interviewees have never been asked before - ranging from the personal to the professional. Each episode aims to inspire, entertain and leave you with things to ask yourself, frameworks to apply and good content to check out. </p><p>There will be an initial season of 10 interviews, and this is Chuck's third podcast, following Simblified (comedy + topical) and The Origin of Things (trivia + storytelling). As a freelancer who's constantly looking for ways to hack his own productivity and get more out of life, this is Chuck's new passion project - especially since it gives him the chance to speak to people he admires and dig deeper into how they think.</p>

Getting Meta is a show where Deepak Gopalakrishnan (or Chuck, as the world calls him) speaks to some very smart people

Getting Meta

I speak to my friend and someone whose work I’ve admired for a long time - Lavanya Mohan.

Advertisement