Dear Zoomers,
I hope this letter finds you buzzing with hope and ambition. I want to talk about the future—our future—through the lens of innovation, courage, and relentless hard work. Looking back on my journey, I’ve collected invaluable lessons, safely stored in what I call my ‘memory box.’ Today, I want to share two of them with you.

LESSON 1: SUCCESS AND FAILURES ARE THE SAME COIN
Success and failure aren’t opposites; they’re both experiences, and experience is everything. Success won’t teach you resilience the way failure will, and failure won’t show you how to handle triumph. The real lesson? You have to dive in—no waiting on the sidelines. The world will make you believe the spotlight belongs to someone else, but it’s yours for the taking if you’re bold enough. When I think back to my biggest moments—being cast overnight in Rockstar, winning a gold medal at Delhi University—it’s not the applause I remember most, but the journey leading up to them. The moments of uncertainty, excitement, and grit shaped me more than the final outcomes ever did.

LESSON 2: HARDWORK  IS THE ONLY SUPERPOWER
Nothing—not talent, not luck, not connections—can replace the power of showing up every day and putting in the work. Whether you choose to work hard or smart is up to you, but waiting for a magic shortcut is a losing game. Innovation thrives on effort, discipline, and curiosity. It’s about consistently building a unique reservoir of knowledge, skill, and experience. We don’t need validation from a fancy institution or a prestigious job; we need relentless drive to create change—personal, societal, or professional. And that choice? It’s entirely ours.

As a UNDP Youth Champion, I’ve spent years advocating for innovation and entrepreneurship among young changemakers. I’ve met visionaries like Gepo Aali in Arunachal Pradesh, working to revive indigenous millet farming, and Sputnik Brain in Karnataka, developing non-invasive brain modulation technology for happiness. I’ve seen startups tackle disability inclusion, waste management, and sustainable energy. What fuels these pioneers? Not just ambition, but the deep desire to make a real difference. They exemplify both lessons.

Since childhood, I’ve carried both big dreams and deep fears. Today, those dreams are bigger, 
and those fears? They still exist. We all battle inner demons—love, money, family, self-worth. 
We navigate climate change, inequality, conflict. But what if we unboxed those fears together? 
What if we transformed them into fuel?

So, let’s keep building our memory boxes. Let’s innovate, take risks, and heal—ourselves and the world.

Yours always,
Sanjana Sanghi
Youth Champion,
UNDP India

Discover more in the third edition of UNDP India's flagship magazine Inspiring India