What does it take to move and build a life in the mountains?

No.101 — Read old posts on Tinyfarmlab.com
Reading Time 5 minutes

We’ve all dreamed of it at some point.
Packing up.
Moving to a village in the mountains.
Building a quaint cottage and living a slower life.

Instagram reels make it look magical.
A rosy picture.
A fairy tale.

But what does it take to build a life?
To build a house in the mountains?
It’s not just about land or money.
Those are the tangible things.
The real work lies in the intangible.

Recently, Raaghav was invited to the “An Audacious Creator” podcast, hosted by the multi-passionate, multi-talented Manya Cherabuddi.

Our conversation reminded me of the two ingredients that helped us build our cob house in a remote mountain forest near Rishikesh, a place where life is uncertain every single day.

1. Audacity

What is audacity?

It’s boldness.
It’s courage.
It’s that daring spirit to take a step when everything inside you says, “Wait until you’re ready.”

Audacity is acting on your dream.
Now!
And not postponing that dream to retirement.
It’s jumping without a plan B.
It’s choosing the pathless path.
The road less traveled.

You are never ready.
No one is coming to save you.
The timing will never be perfect.

So you start.
Start ugly.
Start scared.
Start confused.

All we had was a dream of building with mud.
And stubbornness.
When we began, everything was messy.
Nothing was certain.

The inertia of starting is the heaviest.
Like a rocket that needs escape velocity to break free from gravity,
you need audacity to break free from the pull of doubt,
the weight of society’s expectations,
the voices of well-wishers who want you to play safe.

2. Tenacity

But audacity alone is not enough.
Audacity helps you dream.
It helps you begin.

Then reality sets in.
You realize you’ve signed up for something you had no way of preparing for.
And this is where most people stop.
We quit after a setback.
Dreams stay half-baked.

What takes you further is tenacity.

Tenacity means persistence.
Grit.
The refusal to give up,
even when everything pushes you to.

There will be days when you want to quit.
When every possible thing goes wrong.
When all odds are stacked against you.
When you don’t even feel like showing up.

That’s when tenacity kicks in.
It’s the quiet decision to keep moving forward.
To keep walking forward.
Even when the path is unclear.
To keep showing up one more day.

Audacity gets you off the ground.
Tenacity keeps you flying.

In the end, it’s not just about building a mud house in the mountains.
It’s about building any dream that feels bigger than you.

Whether it’s starting a business,
writing a book,
changing careers,
or moving to a new place,
the formula is the same.

You need audacity to begin.
And you need tenacity to continue.

Every dream will test you.
Every path will feel uncertain.
But if you can be both audacious and tenacious,
you can create a life that feels true.

So whatever dream you’ve been postponing —
start.
Start small.
Start scared.
And then hold on with everything you’ve got.

Love,
Raghav and Ansh

P.S.: If you are on LinkedIn, let’s connect. You can read our latest post here.


What you can watch - We pulled a boat over the mountain.

What you can listen to - Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance | Angela Duckworth | Talks at Google

What You Can Read - Grit

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