The Freedom Manifesto

“First, sit in a quiet place. Now, close your eyes and visualize your ideal life ten years from now.” I read this line from Karan Bajaj’s new book, The Freedom Manifesto. A thought crossed my mind, ‘Really! After ten years what should be my ideal life? Can anybody plan a life? ‘

Then I read further, just out of curiosity, what he is going to offer to plan anybody’s life! Then the secret was revealed. Some equations just went bouncer as I am very poor in handling monetary affairs and investments. But I took help from others to understand. I felt somehow that equation will help for sure. The other most hunted question in my life too is how much money should one keep leading a trouble-free life after retirement. In the book, he came up with a very good and quite logical equation, which can enable a
Person to have a figure, an amount. After saving that amount he can pursue his dream, his soul call. Because someway or other I too plan things in a very unconventional way. In the book, he had just quantified it. I can relate to his method. What I liked most about this book is his honest revelation about his ventures and adventures as well as the success and failures related to them. While reading, I just walked through the entire process of making white hat jr. The analysis of the failures will help people who are going to start or into the business of new start-ups. Very nice book. Wish to see it as a bestseller.

Regards
Swayamprava panda
Mumbai

This book has pure gold inside it. Karan's valuable experiences, thoughts , suggestions,and lastly his frameworks are very easy to adopt but definitely bring a lot of value to life.This book is very well structured and is a must read for people who seek wisdom and in and out transformation into their lives.
I'm so glad I read this book !

Self-help books have never been a genre which I am very fond of but once in a while you may come across a book which defies all the cliches associated with this genre. 'The Freedom Manifesto - 7 Rules to Live the Life of Your Calling' by Karan Bajaj is one such book which I started skeptically, expecting a lot of impractical advices replete with plenty of borrowed success stories. The only reason which motivated me to give it a try, was the previous fictional work of Karan Bajaj - 'The Seeker', which struck the right chord with me.

Stimulating, Page-turner, Gripping, Concise - the adjectives are ubiquitously used for describing a fast paced and engaging work of fiction, but I find these apt for this non-fictional work of Karan Bajaj, which not only entertains you with his autobiographical treatment of the content but also give you quite a lot insightful lessons which you can practically apply to live the life of your calling. With personal accounts of all his major successes and failures, Karan Bajaj has bared it all to make the readers know what could work for any venture to be successful with the cautions about the mistakes which can be avoided. Buddhist Dhamma and virtues may have been the underlying influence on Karan's work wherein he has shared all his trade secrets for the benefits of all.

If you are not good in numbers and formulas then figuring out your applicable stats might act as a speed breaker for you in this otherwise engrossing narrative but in a way that also prevents you from becoming passive in this insightful journey. I feel that Karan's successful stint in ed-tech venture has made its way into his writing style which seems to have incorporated the elements of instructional designs or pedagogical/ learning theories giving emphasis on making the readers/ learners active by engaging them in various tasks and activities to maximize the learning.

To conclude, Karan's wisdom has the potential to inspire many. To put it in his words, it has the desired Depth as well as Magnitude, which is going to make a tremendous impact.

It's rare to be able to admit to your failures in public. Karan Bajaj does that and more in his new book 'The Freedom Manifesto'. Using his own life as an example, he tells us about his successes and errors in each step of his journey of writing, yoga and entrepreneurship. If you're considering quitting your job to pursue your passion, Karan can tell you exactly how much you need in the bank and when it's safe to take the plunge. If you decide to give up and search for a job again, you'll find exact figures here as to how many months it will take you find another job and whether your salary will increase or decrease! My key takeaway was the concept of an idea needing both magnitude and depth to succeed.
A must for every entrepreneur, this book is a holistic approach with detailed step by step plans on eating right, meditation, yoga and even investment strategies to develop the perfect body, finances and mindset to take your dreams to reality. The journey to taking the seed of an idea to a mega business with an experienced teacher holding your hand every step of the way, pointing out pitfalls and strategies - this exhaustive book is well worth the time taken to read.

What an outstanding book!!!

Love the way story of author's life is fabricated with the method of starting a successful start-up and finally leading a more purposeful life. This book should be part of school/college curriculum. The content is a powerhouse of life fostering multivitamin. What I enjoyed the most:

1. Connect with the audience
The author connects with the audience at so many levels by elaborating his on emotional and financial struggles.

2. Uniqueness
Even though people struggle with similar issues, what has been missing in our lives was a ready reckoner that connects all the dots and presents solution in the most sorted and precise manner.


3. Timing of book
It couldn't have been better. We are living in extraordinary times. Technology is revolutionizing and fast-forwarding all aspects of our lives. Budding entrepreneurs, college kids, young school / corporate going kids - all will devour the content of this book.

4. What keeps you hooked one
Sheer 24 Carat gold wisdom !!! The honesty with which he shares his challenges, vulnerabilities is commendable. His story makes us believe that to become extraordinary you need to work on yourself on a daily basis.

In conclusion, Karan is a modern-day monk who need not sell his ferrari because he knows, quite early in his life, he does not need one. And this book shall be treated as modern-day Gita/Bible/Quran by millions.

I have been following Karan for few years now. I took his blog help to put a strategy for couple of author friends to promote their books. Last year, I quit my job to travel for 3 months(and take a 5 month break). My next is an year travel in 2027(and planning based on Karan's information from his blogs and youtube videos).

Given I work in SaaS too in a leadership level and love writing and traveling. I am influenced by Karan's journey on - quitting job to travel 1 year for first time to recently building exiting $300 Mn dollar WhiteHat Jr company is almost Surreal.

Given being a follower of his work and journey, He did a great job putting together the mindset of having freedom to do what you want + practical ways to be able to do it so you know your financial run way.

Great thing, which wasn't there before in detail in his videos or blogs but is here is his journey on White Hat Jr. 0 to exit story in detail and nitty-gritties. If you are looking to build value especially through building a great product, this is your best book, especially in India.

In this era of startup’s, this book provides an intricate pathway towards answers to questions that have been in the minds of young entrepreneurs. The journey of the author showcases facts from his life that will bring clarity and perseverance in the reader’s mind.

The solutions or answers that are provided are intricate, data driven and practical at multiple levels so that they can be moulded according to the needs of the reader by following a basic yet proven structure. The book will teach its readers to be extremely passionate with sound financial backing to keep you afloat while you are pursuing the life of your dreams.

Overall, the book equips the reader with quintessential tools and practices that will help the reader to strive and persevere towards their goals more efficiently.

Also, the parallel narrative of the authors life makes it more lively and accessible for the masses as one can witness how each small step can fit together to culminate into the achievement of your dream.

This is a book that literally sums up everything the author, Karan Bajaj has learned from his own life up to now, and his aim with this book is to draw a path to happiness for every one of us, creatives and non-creatives, entrepreneurs, and non.

And what an amazing life experience he’s had so far. Consider that by 2008, he had been recognized by India Today among the Top 35 Under 35 Indians, with his first novel shortlisted for the Indiaplaza Golden Quill, and shortly thereafter nominated as a “Top 40 Under 40 marketer in the US” by Advertising Age. By the time he was over forty, he stunned friends and family by walking away from a successful career in television - and launching his own startup, WhiteHat Jr, an app to teach kids how to code. 18 months later he had sold it for a cool $300 million, and, as Tech Crunch put it, this was “the fastest exit story at this size in the Indian startup ecosystem.”

What Bajaj shares in this book are the lessons he's learned on the way - so it's part memoir, part guidebook, telling you not just how to achieve success, but how to reach a state of peace and happiness. This approach, a mixture of memories with advice, I found very useful and convincing.

As a result, his "seven rules to live the life of your calling" are not your conventional pap, they are practical, no-nonsense advice, clearly the result of experience. They are the “lessons learned” that life taught Bajaj on his way to success - including, and that will be most interesting for those with a business bend, with his startup.

Those seven rules will help you prioritize what matters most, transform your mindset from an employee and a follower to an owner and a leader, and help you to find a daily routine to end self-doubt. As the blurb on his book cover says, “These rules will set you free, not just financially, but also help to reveal your best self.”

I totally buy that - highly recommended.
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Note: The author sent me an ARC for review leaving me entirely free to express my opinion (or not).

The Freedom Manifesto is insightful and gripping in a way that I did not expect. I generally do not read non-fiction and especially books of self-help or self-improvement (not yet anyway!). However, this book is indeed a stepping stone for me, inspiring me to consider reading more books out of my comfort zone ( usually fiction) and to explore new avenues and genres.

The book draws on the author's personal experiences as the basis for explaining several simple steps to transform your life. Karan doesn't just talk to us about his successes but highlights his failures and the lessons he learnt from them. He is open, accepting of his decisions (both the ones that worked and those that did not), precise and clear in his thinking and critical of himself in a way that draws the reader in, igniting sparks of interest in following his journey. Through this journey, we also read about steps that we can follow to help ourselves, questions to ask to help introspect and suggestions on what to do after we have thought of the answers. I found the style of writing and presentation to be quite unique and this is what captured my attention. The book and writing are personal but written in a way that anyone can understand or relate to and this is something I quite enjoyed.

In conclusion, I truly enjoyed reading this book even though some of the formulas went over my head. This is something I would have to truly look into at some point. In general, I realized that a lot of the questions that Karan raises or suggests that we ask ourselves are ones which I have thought of but never focused on specifically. The point which sticks with me is what to do with the answers once have them and how to prioritize things which are important to us. All this makes this book worth reading!

Very direct and to the point. Pleasant reading with the insights explained lucidly. Wish the book and Karan all the success.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Karan's personal anecdotes and experiences make for a gripping story, and as someone who had read many f Personal Growth/Self-help books, this would be amongst my top picks. Some of the main reasons are, 1) your successes & failures add credibility to what you recommend 2) the concepts shared are easy to adopt in practice, 3) the book is written in a no-nonsense kind of way, to the point, not going round and round about a single idea.

In the book, The Freedom Manifesto: 7 Rules To Live the Life of Your Calling, the author Karan Bajaj, shares with you his life journey and experiences that enabled him to manifest a life of his desire,

These are actual steps that he followed to achieve the life he always wanted, along with all the ups and downs of his life and the innermost feelings he went through at that time, which makes the book more relatable and the rules seem doable. An easy read that focuses on what it promises.

This book is for everyone who wants to understand the path to creating the life of their dreams, these lessons are simple, practical, and deployable by everyone. This is one of those books that can truly help you overcome mental barriers, change your thought process, and your ability to take action, and in the process transform your life forever.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to find a way to reach their dream life, the book will help you will understand the path you need to take to get there and once the path is clear all you have to do is walk, it will make it that much easier to manifest a life of your calling.

Most successful people we know give generic advice, with eagle vision. Karan Bajaj is the only successful person I know who does the complete opposite, giving specific advice with the vision of a snake, in the weeds. His advice is unique, algorithmic and actionable. I have been following Karan since 2016 and this book is a collection of all his learnings and experiences from writing, travelling & building a Billion $ company.

while I move on with my newly found interest, of reading ,having a privilege to go through a part of this enlightening Novel ''The Freedom Manifesto: 7 Rules To Live the Life of Your Calling' is something that adds feather to my wings that believe it can make me fly. Well, coming straight to the point it dusts off every hurdle that's already set in mentally on the way to pursue a life that one might have dreamt of and is in his mind.

The 7 rules mentioned would set one mentally prepared for the life that he looks on and has chosen for himself.
An extremely logical set up to pave the way to that life.

A must read for all who dreams and wants it!!

Very practical, many people cannot separate their inner intuition on what to do, from what they must do out or fear...I have followed Karans webpage and listened to his advice often, I found the book to be like an instruction set in how to live life, I took many similar decisions being a seeker, many things people search for are within us as intuition, I loved how at the start of the , you are made to visualise where you want to be in 10 years. This helps us to know how to direct our lives and take the hard decisions

Wisdom of a wise man who knows how to empty his mind and act

Inner strength comes from not bending to the whims of every person but sticking to your guns, only a wise meditator can do that,

I wish there were more separations and bold text to distinguish different parts in the final edit, but I suppose this was a working copy. .

Like I almost missed the start to visualise myself 10 years in the future...i suppose it would be inhanced with the addition of Some kind of image also

The book is Karan Bajaj's manifesto on Financial freedom- that holy grail of existential dilemma, that he conquered with quite an aplomb.
My initial thoughts were, is it another I-made-it, let-me-tell-you-how book.

Yes, the book is that. But more.

There is abounding curiosity and not a small bit of envy about this entrepreneur who goes from 0 to USD 300 million in 1.5 years, all cash! And this human, this journey behind the entrepreneur that he enlivens is the triumph of this book.

If you have been yearning to get out of your corporate misery, but dithering because you don't know where to start, this book attempts to handhold you with that.

Bajaj writes with clarity and conviction. His writing is lucid, and at 260 pages, the book is an easy read. A kind of a step-by-step guide, where each chapter ends with an exercise for the reader, nudging you into into execution.

So it's 2022, and if you are still at your 9-to-5, looking for that first step, this book gives you that. Or if you are curious to know the yogi, wanderer, seeker behind one of India's most successful exits, the book delivers on that too.

PS: I received an advance copy of the book from the author for an honest review.

Karan Bajaj is at it again. His style of jotting out his thoughts is very clean.
As with his novels, this financial planning guide “The Freedom Manifesto” is a step by step template for everyone to read at least once.
As basic education is necessary so is financial education and this book is beautifully presented with the author’s life experiences.
I wish something like this is given out to every student in their nourishing days so they can be better at living freely.

Karan has been intermittently sharing nuggets of his advice on YouTube for a long time. I was just feeling that why can't this be combined into a holistic book to read, reflect and act. And here comes the book. Freedom Manifesto provides well tested, concise and to the point advice that takes years to learn - the hard way. Some readers may not appreciate immediately the worth of the information available immediately but should trust the distilled information available in the book..

Read till - Almost the end of part 1 

Writing: Easy going (No jargon and has a built-up/structural flow that builds up the momentum) 

Insights and Story: Practical insights with deeply rooted examples and stories to back them up. Along with the math, of course. 

Worksheets: Again, doable. I needed some concentrated effort from my end. Have to read this book on a study table :)  

To me, this has been more of an academic course/work-related reading. Not able to find the same flow as 'The Seeker and Johnny Gone Down' but probably that's because of the story element. But it fulfils the purpose of getting into a structured mindset and building the right life with the right intent. With a couple of reads, I am sure I can gain 2-3x more value than I can do it any other way via self-help reads or random LinkedIn articles :) 

Suggestions/Improvement: Probably if you compare this to the likes of 'Deep Work by Carl Newport' or 'Atomic Habits', or 'The Almanack of Naval Ravikant' this one takes the prize. 'The Almanac of Naval Ravikant' is the closest book I can compare it with in terms of providing value to the user. I feel the book fulfil its purpose for me in terms of building the right mindset both in terms of productivity and larger than life aspect. Would definitely put 20-30 hours into finishing this and doing all the exercises in a defined way.   

Hope this helps :) 

ps: I have already pre-ordered the printed version, I think :)

Title for the Review: The book might be the game changer not only for the reader but also for Author (Karan Bajaj)

Language used = English (easy to read, understand and grasp)

Age Group = 16+

Advise = Before starting to read, keep set of pen and paper ready.

What I liked =
This is the book which enrich your understanding towards yourself and your path. The book has several areas where one would find him/her self in the shoes of the author and that is what the author wants. The book is focusing on the battle between the dreams and the hurdles and more importantly it also guides you for the true north pole with its scientifically crafted and tested tools.
The first-time reader of the author will surely be tempted to read prior books from the author.

Stars = 5 (This is the 2nd book from any author which earned my 5star rating.)

PS = I received free access to read this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a practical guide to start your own business following the author’s steps and success.
If you’re thinking of changing your life with a start up business, this book will guide you to it through practical teaching and stories of personal experience.
I wish this book came in my life 20 years ago. Too late for me now to start anything new, but it was an interesting read and added knowledge for my next life :-)

A must-read for those toying with the idea of breaking away from the rote corporate life. Bajaj tells of his struggles and success with a rigid plan along with hard-hitting questions one should pause and contemplate with seriousness. His writing is solid and based alone on his own experience his suggestions are sensibly sound. Suggest this book as the foundation to guide you in making your startup dream a reality with a plan lifting financial stress allowing you to focus on execution. Well crafted and extremely practical. A tool for making your vision that much closer.