I believe every parent has their own hopes for what their children might become, often shaped by personal experiences or insecurities. For instance, a janitor may wish for his child to achieve the success of his boss, and so on.
My aspirations for my children stem from my own life and career experiences. There were many things I wanted to pursue but couldn’t, for various reasons. Over the years, I’ve suggested career paths to others based on their talents, and some have succeeded to the extent I anticipated. This gives me confidence in my ability to foresee what might be best for someone.
For a long time, I’ve had ideas about my children’s future, and I want to put them in writing to see how things unfold.
In short, I have a positive view of the freelance economy and royalty-based work. Royalty-based careers are a dream for many—creating something once and earning from it for a lifetime.
I see similarities between Pillai and Heleena in how quickly they pick up new things. Pillai is a natural engineer—able to disassemble and reassemble unfamiliar objects with ease. She can also start a new game and master 80% of it on her first try. Thambi, on the other hand, is more like me. He might only grasp 10% of a new game at first, but with practice and persistence, he reaches 100% after a few days. My hope is that, together, they can complement each other and improve their chances of success.
Freelance and Royalty-Based Work as a Family Business
I think my kids can thrive if they focus on the following royalty models and work together:
- YouTube music and videos
- Developing iOS and Android apps, or even desktop or SaaS businesses
- Writing blogs, creating comics, or publishing books
Individual Career Aspirations
Our family comes from a legacy of white-collar employees, which could be demotivating for those with creative or unconventional ambitions.
Pillai
Like me, Pillai is quiet, and I worry that this might make her susceptible to being exploited or cornered. That’s why I’d like her to become an IPS officer, a role that commands respect and authority. Since she’s a natural engineer, I believe she could excel in engineering while simultaneously preparing for the IPS exam. Pillai is also talented in other areas—she’s achieved Trinity Grade 4 in piano and is skilled in painting. I think she needs time to explore these talents, which is why highly demanding education paths like NEET may not be the best fit for her.
Thambi
In an interview, actor Sivakumar once mentioned how he used to worry about actor Surya because his younger brother was always the smarter one. Similarly, whenever I think of Thambi, I feel a surge of emotion—he’s been innocent from the start. Even when he has to hit his sister, he does it gently, with care. Unlike most parents, Heleena doesn’t interfere when the kids argue; she believes they should resolve conflicts on their own, and I’ve never seen a mother quite like her. As a result, Thambi has developed a submissive nature and rarely complains. Heleena has also noticed his strong language skills. When I encouraged him to write blogs, he did so beautifully, though he often needs a little push. Heleena, however, is against pushing the kids, arguing that it can harm their mental well-being.
When I urged him to learn touch typing, his speed improved significantly. He has another unique trait—he loves learning history through YouTube videos and avoids content that isn’t rated for kids. I’ve often thought he’d make a good lawyer. Recently, I heard about a Justice Swaminathan who humorously reviewed few movies in his legal judgments. It made me think—Thambi, with his innocence, self-discipline, love of history, and fast, articulate writing, could one day excel as a judge.
Disclosure:
The following ChatGPT prompt is used in this blog post:
Please fix the language of the below text and highlight the changes in bold:
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