Almost: The Real Story of Building, Failing, and Starting Again, One Skill Short of Success

And still, at almost thirty, the mountain never arrived.

Almost is the honest, page-turning story of Kabir Rathod — a builder who could start anything, and who spent nearly two decades discovering the one skill that was quietly missing every single time. It is not a story about luck, or talent, or working harder. Kabir had all three, in abundance. It is a story about the invisible “restart tax” that resets to zero every time a builder moves on to the next exciting thing — and about the two-part skill, patience and visibility, that finally lets the compounding begin.

Told with the warmth of a memoir and the clarity of a field guide, Almost follows Kabir from a childhood fair stall to a pandemic-era delivery brand to a present-day education venture — through failed jobs, family expectations, quiet shame, and one honest phone call that finally named the pattern out loud.

If you have ever built something real and still felt like you were starting over, again, this book was written for you.

What readers will take away:

• Why early success can be more dangerous than early failure

• The hidden cost of restarting — the “restart tax” — and how to spot it in your own history

• The real difference between builders who go wide and builders who go deep

• A practical, honest self-assessment to find your own missing piece

• A story that stays with you — built for readers in India, the US, the UK, and anywhere else people are quietly building something

How to read this book: Almost is written as a single, continuous narrative rather than a workbook. Each chapter closes with a short “Field Notes” section that turns the chapter's idea into two or three honest questions for your own life. Read the story straight through in a few sittings, or pause at each Field Notes section and journal before continuing.

Written by Darpan Keshore, an Assistant Professor, algorithmic trader and educator from Indore, India, and the author of The 88% Trap. Read the free sample first, then decide.