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Me: Hello there, God! How’s it going?

God: Same as you!

Me: Scratching my head, thinking something… I want to ask why “same as me,” but I’ll skip that for now — I have a more pressing question.

God: Shoot.

Me: Shoot? Seriously? You too?

God: Smiles. Go ahead.

Me: I want to start a YouTube channel — one where I teach children coding.

God: Brilliant! How will it be different from others? What’s your USP?

Me: I plan to teach coding in kids’ native language, something they can easily understand and relate to.

God: Sounds good. So what’s the issue?

Me: See, here’s the thing — I know I want to do it. I know a few others already exist. But a part of me believes I’m different… that I can create a niche for myself.

God: I still don’t hear a problem. If you’ve thought this through, why bother me?

Me: Because there is a problem — a big one. What if I go wrong in execution? What if I can’t carry it for long, or I run out of time or money?
Bottom line — what if I fail?

God: Then you fail. And then you start again.

Me: But failure is tough. It’s mean. It’s demoralising.
People start looking at you differently… sometimes even make fun of you.
Those who trusted you lose confidence in you — and worse, you lose confidence in yourself.

God: Tell me this — who are you making this YouTube channel for?
Who are you putting all this Herculean effort for?

Me: For people who want to learn coding but can’t because of the language barrier.
And maybe… for myself too. To show the world that I can create something on my own.
But not in a chest-thumping, arrogant way, I added sheepishly.

God: Chuckles. You caught yourself there just in time, son.

Me: Smiles, embarrassed. But you still haven’t answered my question. What if I fail?

God: I already did. If you fail, then you fail. There’s no more to it.

But let me tell you something that can ease the pain of failure — or even keep success from going to your head:
Whatever you do — however long it takes, whatever effort, time, or money you invest — don’t do it for your audience or yourself.

Do it for me.

Me: What do you mean, do it for you? You don’t need a regional-language coding YouTube channel. Or do you? I laughed.

God: Let me put it this way — everything you do in your life, dedicate it to me. Don’t think about the good, the bad, or the ugly. Don’t worry about success or failure.
Just do your work — with me in your mind — and offer it to me every single day, every single minute.

Then your success will be my success, and your failures will be my failures.
And to me, son, success or failure means nothing at all.

Dedicating your work to me takes away the pressure.
You’ll work with confidence, honesty, and devotion.
Then questions like “What if I fail?” will stop haunting you — and you’ll finally do your best work, freely and fearlessly.

Me: Thinking deeply… processing every word.
But, God, isn’t a failure, still a failure?

God: Takes a deep breath.
Son, who do you think is the best judge of success or failure?

I froze. The words sank in — slowly, completely.
And for the first time, I truly understood.
A tiny smile bloomed on my face.

Me: You got me there, Prabhu. Thank you.

God: Smiles… and disintegrates into the air.

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✨ Reflection

That night, I understood something simple yet profound —
Success and failure are human labels.
The only true failure is not doing what your heart calls you to do.
The rest… is all learning.