MARUTHI BHARGAV

Who Is Maruthi Bhargav? The Story You Need to Read

Important: If you are here to know about my professional achievements and portfolio, you can find them here.

If you want to know me personally, keep reading. There is a lot I want to share with you today.

I never planned on being a marketer. Never thought I’d write a book. Never imagined I’d create my debut song “Main Tha Tera”. And starting a blog today? That was never a part of my plan.

But here I am. Figuring it out, trusting the process, and starting where I left off every single day.

Hii, I’m Maruthi Bhargav -a storyteller at heart, a digital marketer by passion, and in my 20's, figuring life out. You’ll usually find me spending time in nature.

I love writing stories that make people feel something. I love crafting marketing strategies that don’t just sell, but build trust, with empathy at the center. And more than anything, I love learning about life, about people, and about what helps us truly connect.

Where do I come from?

I was born in Isuka Darsi, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, but grew up in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India — the city famous for its fiery chillies, rich culture, and a warmth that gets into you. Guntur will always be home to me.

I also spent a good part of my childhood and almost every summer holiday at my grandmother's village, Inagallu, Andhra Pradesh. So two villages, one city — and each one gave me something the other couldn't. Villages taught me slowness, belonging, and roots. And no matter where life takes me, I still go back to both whenever I can.

I am sorry, I can't stop myself from adding this funny image from our farm.

How I Found My Passion as a Student

Maruthi Bhargav exploring digital marketing as a student during his college years

I never planned to become a digital marketer. It's 2019. I went to Lovely Professional University, Punjab, to do my undergraduate degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering. It felt like the right thing to do at that time. But deep down, I never truly loved ECE.

Then COVID happened.

I came back home and was locked inside four walls like everyone else. I had a lot of energy and excitement, but I did not know where to use it. I felt confused and anxious. My mind was running with full of thoughts.

Instead of waiting for things to change, I decided to explore myself, one step at a time. I had a laptop and an internet connection. That was more than enough for me in that phase. I went down a rabbit hole, trying to figure out what actually excited me.

One random night, around 11 p.m., just as I was about to fall asleep, a simple question popped into my head.

How are websites built?

This one question changed the life of Maruthi Bhargav

My curiosity would not let me rest. I picked up my phone and searched on Google right away. The answer I found became the first real step of my journey. It said websites are built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

The very next morning, I enrolled in a free course. I learned HTML and CSS and built a basic Instagram login page. That was my first project. I built it on my own. I felt proud of myself.

That is when I hit a roadblock.

JavaScript.

It is needed for website functions, but I just could not get myself to love it. HTML and CSS felt easy to me. JavaScript did not. I tried pushing myself to learn it, but I struggled. I did not enjoy it. It did not excite me. I was forcing myself. That is when I realised it was not working out for me.

Then I stopped and asked myself a hard question.

"Why am I forcing this?"

That is when I realised something important. If something does not pull you in, it is probably not your thing, at least for now.

A few days later, something happened that changed everything for me. I was scrolling through YouTube, watching random videos. Thanks to the internet and technology, I saw an ad that said: “You can build your own website without coding.” That one line brought my hope back. My energy was back on track.

That is when I discovered WordPress. I built my first website. Then I realized something else. If I had a website, I needed content for people to find it on Google. So I started content writing. For people to read my content, it needed to rank higher on Google. That is when I started learning SEO.

Soon, I realized SEO takes time. It is a long-term game. But I wanted to reach more people faster. I started thinking of other ways. That is when I discovered social media marketing. Then ads, to get even faster traffic.

As people started visiting my website, I learned about lead generation to collect leads. Then email marketing, to nurture those leads and build trust.

Looking back now, I can see it clearly. Before I even knew it, I was already sailing in the world of digital marketing. And I had fallen in love with it.

I spent nights without sleep, working on my own projects. I tested ideas. I failed. I learned. For the first time, I was not getting bored. I could see myself doing this for the rest of my life.

But I started feeling unorganized with everything I was learning. The information on the internet felt scattered. Even YouTube videos back then lacked structure.

That is when I decided to take a digital marketing course. I wanted more practical exposure, not just theory.

"I strongly believe digital marketing is more about doing than just learning."

I enrolled in a free course on Udemy. But it turned out to be mostly theoretical and informational. That is when I came across the Digital Deepak Internship Program. Before joining, I wanted clarity. I reached out to someone already in the program. I connected with a person named Abhishek on Instagram. We got on a call, and he explained everything about the program.

That conversation gave me confidence. That is when I joined the Digital Deepak Internship Program. One of the best decisions of my life. It gave me a strong foundation in digital marketing.

It helped me understand one important thing. Marketing is not always about selling. It made me realize that marketing isn’t just about selling, it’s about understanding people. It’s about trust. And that’s exactly what I specialize in today, helping brands connect with people in a genuine way with empathy at the center. One of my long-term dream projects is to build EmpathyXMedia.

Tip: As a Student, you have time. A lot of it. Use it to test and try different things. That is how you figure out what you love. Stop asking everyone what you should do. Stop doing things just because your parents, relatives, siblings, or neighbours suggest them.

It is your life.

You have to figure it out.

How to figure out:

Personally, for me, this is one of the major factor I considered.

If something excites you every single day, and you can work on it for hours without feeling tired or stressed, that is a strong sign.

Get hands-on with different things. That is the only way to know. You cannot sit and assume.

Go Go do it…

How I Started Writing

Maruthi Bhargav writing stories and working on his debut book She Never Said Goodbye

Before I started writing books, I was writing something else. Movie trailers in my head.

During my undergrad days, I used to imagine movie trailers. I made them dramatic and intense. I would describe them to my friends. They loved listening. I loved creating them.

Then life gave me time.

When I moved to the U.S. for my master’s, I suddenly had a lot of free time. More than ever before. I began working on dreams I had left unfinished.

One of those dreams was to write a short story.

I kept writing. Little by little, the story took shape. Before I knew it, it became a book.

She Never Said Goodbye. This is my debut book and It’s a mix of real-life experiences, emotions I’ve felt, and situations I’ve seen people go through.

I don’t write just for the sake of writing. I write because some stories deserve to be told.

My Love for Books, Cricket, and Nature

Books:

Let me start with books first. They are my guide and saviour.

On my tough days, books were my escape. When I couldn’t figure things out, books gave me clarity. When I needed inspiration, books gave me ideas.

The best part about books is this. You always learn something new. It can be a new way of telling a story. A new point of view. A new way to look at life and a lot more.

And in fact, I would encourage everyone to start reading books, especially non-fiction. then you get a chance to learn one person's life worth of knowledge compressed into 200–250 pages.

With non-fiction, you get a chance to enter into person's mind and get their life's worth of knowledge compressed into 200–250 pages. That is so powerful.

Oh, by the wa,y I need to tell you this. I still remember my first book -Think and Grow Rich. Everyone said it was life-changing, the best seller and a lot more. No hate against the Book. But for me personally? It made me sleep.

I forced myself to read it. I tried hard. But I just couldn’t finish it.

Then I picked up an other book called The One Page Marketing Plan, and something strange happened. I finished it in no time. It excited me every single day to finish it. That’s when I understood something simple.

"You don’t choose books; books choose you."

There is no rule that a best-selling book should be loved by you. Not at all.

It's the job of the book to grab you in and make you read it. That’s it.

If it doesn’t, that’s okay. If you’re not loving a book, skim through it. See if it catches your attention later. If it still doesn’t, close it. Put it aside. Pick another book. Don’t force yourself. Don’t push too hard. Reading should feel light.

Maybe at that point in my life, I couldn’t connect with Think and Grow Rich. Again, No hate towards the book. Maybe I’ll love it when I read it again, who knows. I’ll share my thoughts when I do.

Some of my favourite books that influenced me:

Maruthi Bhargav favorite books that influenced his thinking and writing

Here are some of my favorite Books that came instantly while writing this:

I Will Teach You to Be Rich — Ramit Sethi

Sell Like Crazy — Sabri Suby

Dotcom Secrets — Russell Brunson

One Page Marketing Plan — Allan Dib

I Don’t Want To Grow Up — Scott Stillman

Steal Like an Artist — Austin Kleon

Deep Work — Cal Newport

The Boron Letters — Gary Halbert

$100M Offers/Leads/Models — Alex Hormozi

Start With Why — Simon Sinek

The Compound Effect — Darren Hardy

Eat That Frog! — Brian Tracy

The Lean Startup - Eric Ries

The $100 Startup - Chris Guillebeau

Now, let me share something with you about my love towards cricket.

Cricket:

Cricket is not just a sport for me. It’s where I feel most alive. I grew up playing cricket and watching MS Dhoni. I admired the way he stayed calm and led the team under pressure. On one of his birthdays, I wrote a letter to him to show my gratitude. You can read it here.

I played cricket in the hot sun, in the rain, on the streets, and in open fields.
Wherever I could play.

There were days when I played for so long that my mother and grandmother had to come to the ground to find me, just to take me back home for food. That's how much I love cricket.

Even today, when I step onto the cricket ground, I forget everything else happening in my life, whether it’s good or bad.

And now let me share about nature.

Nature:

Nature feels like my free therapist. The sky, mountains, sea, trees, moon, wind. They do not talk to me. But somehow, they understand me.

Whenever I get some free time, I just go outside. I sit there quietly. I do nothing. I just stay. And after some time, everything starts feeling better.

The world feels lighter. Life feels beautiful again.

My Personal advice:

If you feel lost or you feel worried or you feel any other emotion that's either hurting you or making you feel bad, or anxious or stressed, I would highly recommend you go into nature and talk to it before you visit a therapist.

Go out into trees, mountains, step out of your room. Go walk in the nature and trust me, you will feel better. My pro tip for you is when you are with the nature, never carry or atleast never use your mobile phone.

Why I Write and My Mission

I write to bring change. I want to document my journey, share my thoughts, and inspire people to start where they left off. (There is some hint in this sentence to one of the side hobbies I am working on currently😁)

Many people give up on their dreams because of outside pressure. Family expectations. Society’s rules. Fear of failure. But you do not have to quit.

Everything looks unclear at the start. Growth takes time. What matters is staying honest with yourself and doing what you love, even when the outcome is uncertain.

"Just trust the process and do whatever you love, no matter the result."

Through my book, my writing, and my journey, I want to encourage students and young professionals to take a step towards their passions, even if it’s just a small one.

Let's do it.

I will always be there to help you and support you, even when your own people are not there to support you.

What I Believe in

Maruthi Bharav and his values and ethics

I believe in a few simple things. I believe in being respectful to people, no matter who they are or where they come from. I believe in helping others whenever I can, even in small ways. I value honesty in my work and in my relationships, because trust matters to me. I believe in hard work, patience, and perseverance, because nothing meaningful comes overnight. You have to earn what you want by showing up and putting in the work every day. Things that come too easily often leave just as easily. Empathy is important to me too — understanding how others feel and seeing things from their side. And above all, I believe in gratitude, being thankful for people, opportunities, and even the small things that often go unnoticed.

And I don’t want to take credit for all of this. Some of these values come from my parents and my family. They shaped how I see people and how I carry myself. Also I would like to share this here with you. One of the moments I am especially proud of in recent years is when my supervisor, during my time working at the University of South Florida in Research and Innovation, told me that I was “raised very well by my parents.” That moment felt so special for me.

Maruthi Bhargav at University Of South Florida and Maruthi Bhargav reflecting on values like honesty, hard work, and gratitude

Where am I Heading Next (In Life and Work)

Truth is, I don’t know yet.

I don’t have a 5- or 10-year plan. I’m a student, and I am still figuring things out.

Some days, life feels confusing. Some days, it feels beautiful. But one thing I know for sure is I want to help people in some way. Whether it’s through marketing, writing, inspiring others, or even building my own startup, I want to make an impact.

I am confident that I will do it for sure with the help of my Guiding lights, Hanuman, Lord Shiva, Venkateswara Swamy, Durga Maa and Vaishno Matha.