Lily Raya
@lilyraya.bsky.social
✦ Addicted to the sun, coffee, and ambitious to-do lists
✦ Here for books & big ideas
✦ Sharing my experiments in business and entrepreneurship
✦ INTJ A-7w8-783-Scorpio-Ace-Chaotic Good
✦ Here for books & big ideas
✦ Sharing my experiments in business and entrepreneurship
✦ INTJ A-7w8-783-Scorpio-Ace-Chaotic Good
Books I hope to finish… eventually:
www.goodreads.com/lilyraya
So realistically, I need to reincarnate three times just to catch up.
www.goodreads.com/lilyraya
So realistically, I need to reincarnate three times just to catch up.
October 27, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Books I hope to finish… eventually:
www.goodreads.com/lilyraya
So realistically, I need to reincarnate three times just to catch up.
www.goodreads.com/lilyraya
So realistically, I need to reincarnate three times just to catch up.
pov: your friends are scattered across the globe 🌍
• you have to google “what time is it in Tokyo” before sending a meme
• you hesitate before texting like: “too early?” “too late?” “am I a bad person for not knowing?”
• you open your world clock app like a stock trader checking the market
• you have to google “what time is it in Tokyo” before sending a meme
• you hesitate before texting like: “too early?” “too late?” “am I a bad person for not knowing?”
• you open your world clock app like a stock trader checking the market
October 25, 2025 at 9:43 AM
pov: your friends are scattered across the globe 🌍
• you have to google “what time is it in Tokyo” before sending a meme
• you hesitate before texting like: “too early?” “too late?” “am I a bad person for not knowing?”
• you open your world clock app like a stock trader checking the market
• you have to google “what time is it in Tokyo” before sending a meme
• you hesitate before texting like: “too early?” “too late?” “am I a bad person for not knowing?”
• you open your world clock app like a stock trader checking the market
Sometimes I think people go to college just to avoid having to explain their learning process.
College gives you a clean sentence like
“I went to MIT.”
Try saying “I self-educated through 300+ books, 114 certificates, and 2 existential crises” people think you’re lying until you pull out charts. 😂
College gives you a clean sentence like
“I went to MIT.”
Try saying “I self-educated through 300+ books, 114 certificates, and 2 existential crises” people think you’re lying until you pull out charts. 😂
October 22, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Sometimes I think people go to college just to avoid having to explain their learning process.
College gives you a clean sentence like
“I went to MIT.”
Try saying “I self-educated through 300+ books, 114 certificates, and 2 existential crises” people think you’re lying until you pull out charts. 😂
College gives you a clean sentence like
“I went to MIT.”
Try saying “I self-educated through 300+ books, 114 certificates, and 2 existential crises” people think you’re lying until you pull out charts. 😂
Imagine a city where every rooftop is a garden.
Children run between tomato plants, bees drift through lavender, neighbors trade cucumbers for mint.
That single act—turning gray roofs green—touches hunger, health, climate, and community.
Children run between tomato plants, bees drift through lavender, neighbors trade cucumbers for mint.
That single act—turning gray roofs green—touches hunger, health, climate, and community.
October 6, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Imagine a city where every rooftop is a garden.
Children run between tomato plants, bees drift through lavender, neighbors trade cucumbers for mint.
That single act—turning gray roofs green—touches hunger, health, climate, and community.
Children run between tomato plants, bees drift through lavender, neighbors trade cucumbers for mint.
That single act—turning gray roofs green—touches hunger, health, climate, and community.
When I applied through UCAS (the UK’s university application portal), I got this error:
“Your login has been denied due to attempted access from a country or region in which this service is not available.”
Translation: You’re Iranian. You’re locked out.
“Your login has been denied due to attempted access from a country or region in which this service is not available.”
Translation: You’re Iranian. You’re locked out.
October 4, 2025 at 2:32 AM
When I applied through UCAS (the UK’s university application portal), I got this error:
“Your login has been denied due to attempted access from a country or region in which this service is not available.”
Translation: You’re Iranian. You’re locked out.
“Your login has been denied due to attempted access from a country or region in which this service is not available.”
Translation: You’re Iranian. You’re locked out.
I’ve read hundreds of business books. Only a handful truly matter.
I curated the best ones for entrepreneurs, creatives & polymaths.
Hosted on @Bookshop.org → https://bookshop.org/shop/lilyraya
I curated the best ones for entrepreneurs, creatives & polymaths.
Hosted on @Bookshop.org → https://bookshop.org/shop/lilyraya
October 2, 2025 at 6:30 AM
I’ve read hundreds of business books. Only a handful truly matter.
I curated the best ones for entrepreneurs, creatives & polymaths.
Hosted on @Bookshop.org → https://bookshop.org/shop/lilyraya
I curated the best ones for entrepreneurs, creatives & polymaths.
Hosted on @Bookshop.org → https://bookshop.org/shop/lilyraya
Books changed how I think, build, and live.
So I made my own curated bookshop.
The best business books I’ve found → https://bookshop.org/shop/lilyraya
So I made my own curated bookshop.
The best business books I’ve found → https://bookshop.org/shop/lilyraya
September 23, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Books changed how I think, build, and live.
So I made my own curated bookshop.
The best business books I’ve found → https://bookshop.org/shop/lilyraya
So I made my own curated bookshop.
The best business books I’ve found → https://bookshop.org/shop/lilyraya
Sometimes I wonder: is being multi-skilled a strength… or just proof I get bored too easily?
September 23, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Sometimes I wonder: is being multi-skilled a strength… or just proof I get bored too easily?
Despite that, most of my education happened online. In the past 5 years, I read 300+ books, completed 110+ professional certifications, and taught myself programming, design, and languages. But every step of that journey, I had to fight through firewalls!
September 22, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Despite that, most of my education happened online. In the past 5 years, I read 300+ books, completed 110+ professional certifications, and taught myself programming, design, and languages. But every step of that journey, I had to fight through firewalls!
In 2023, dozens of Afghan women were expelled from universities.
In 2024, Iranian students faced increased visa denials in the U.S.
Now in 2025, I can’t even access application portals without a VPN.
In 2024, Iranian students faced increased visa denials in the U.S.
Now in 2025, I can’t even access application portals without a VPN.
September 21, 2025 at 7:31 AM
In 2023, dozens of Afghan women were expelled from universities.
In 2024, Iranian students faced increased visa denials in the U.S.
Now in 2025, I can’t even access application portals without a VPN.
In 2024, Iranian students faced increased visa denials in the U.S.
Now in 2025, I can’t even access application portals without a VPN.
Tried to register on UCAS (the UK’s university application portal). Got denied just because I’m in Iran.
Education is supposed to be global. Why are students blocked from opportunities because of politics?
Education is supposed to be global. Why are students blocked from opportunities because of politics?
September 21, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Tried to register on UCAS (the UK’s university application portal). Got denied just because I’m in Iran.
Education is supposed to be global. Why are students blocked from opportunities because of politics?
Education is supposed to be global. Why are students blocked from opportunities because of politics?
When your LinkedIn has 114 licenses & certifications… does that make you credible or just addicted to the “Enroll” button? 👀
September 21, 2025 at 3:03 AM
When your LinkedIn has 114 licenses & certifications… does that make you credible or just addicted to the “Enroll” button? 👀
I may not have all the answers yet, but asking better questions—and building tools and stories around them—is how I plan to contribute to a better future.
https://lilyraya.framer.media/my-book
https://lilyraya.framer.media/my-book
September 20, 2025 at 2:44 PM
I may not have all the answers yet, but asking better questions—and building tools and stories around them—is how I plan to contribute to a better future.
https://lilyraya.framer.media/my-book
https://lilyraya.framer.media/my-book
Sometimes my mind feels like a hurricane.
a thousand thoughts crashing, colliding, scattering.
But the moment I sit down to write, they fall into place.
When I write… they line up. They find rhythm.
Words bring order.
I think writing is peace.
a thousand thoughts crashing, colliding, scattering.
But the moment I sit down to write, they fall into place.
When I write… they line up. They find rhythm.
Words bring order.
I think writing is peace.
September 17, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Sometimes my mind feels like a hurricane.
a thousand thoughts crashing, colliding, scattering.
But the moment I sit down to write, they fall into place.
When I write… they line up. They find rhythm.
Words bring order.
I think writing is peace.
a thousand thoughts crashing, colliding, scattering.
But the moment I sit down to write, they fall into place.
When I write… they line up. They find rhythm.
Words bring order.
I think writing is peace.
Leaders, entrepreneurs, students — we all make thousands of micro-decisions each day. If even 1% of those shifted toward clarity, the world would already look different.
That’s why I’m writing Perception and Decision.
👉 https://lilyraya.framer.media/my-book
That’s why I’m writing Perception and Decision.
👉 https://lilyraya.framer.media/my-book
September 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Leaders, entrepreneurs, students — we all make thousands of micro-decisions each day. If even 1% of those shifted toward clarity, the world would already look different.
That’s why I’m writing Perception and Decision.
👉 https://lilyraya.framer.media/my-book
That’s why I’m writing Perception and Decision.
👉 https://lilyraya.framer.media/my-book
My name is going to orbit the Moon with NASA’s Artemis II mission.
Not kidding. I even got a boarding pass. 😂🚀
You can sign up too. Get yours here:
www3.nasa.gov/send-your-na...
Not kidding. I even got a boarding pass. 😂🚀
You can sign up too. Get yours here:
www3.nasa.gov/send-your-na...
September 14, 2025 at 1:22 PM
My name is going to orbit the Moon with NASA’s Artemis II mission.
Not kidding. I even got a boarding pass. 😂🚀
You can sign up too. Get yours here:
www3.nasa.gov/send-your-na...
Not kidding. I even got a boarding pass. 😂🚀
You can sign up too. Get yours here:
www3.nasa.gov/send-your-na...
I think the future isn’t flying cars.
It’s clean air, walkable neighborhoods, and never having to choose between health and productivity.
It’s clean air, walkable neighborhoods, and never having to choose between health and productivity.
August 26, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I think the future isn’t flying cars.
It’s clean air, walkable neighborhoods, and never having to choose between health and productivity.
It’s clean air, walkable neighborhoods, and never having to choose between health and productivity.
"Imagination should be used not to escape reality, but to create it."
— Colin Wilson.
— Colin Wilson.
August 25, 2025 at 12:02 PM
"Imagination should be used not to escape reality, but to create it."
— Colin Wilson.
— Colin Wilson.
Human: studies 16 years, gets degree, applies for job
AI: exists
Boss: lol bye.
AI: exists
Boss: lol bye.
August 21, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Human: studies 16 years, gets degree, applies for job
AI: exists
Boss: lol bye.
AI: exists
Boss: lol bye.
Ideas are like seeds. They need a system to grow. I made a Notion template to help plant, track, and nurture them until they’re ready to bloom.
Sharing it here in case it’s useful, and I’d be grateful for any thoughts.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
Sharing it here in case it’s useful, and I’d be grateful for any thoughts.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
August 21, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Ideas are like seeds. They need a system to grow. I made a Notion template to help plant, track, and nurture them until they’re ready to bloom.
Sharing it here in case it’s useful, and I’d be grateful for any thoughts.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
Sharing it here in case it’s useful, and I’d be grateful for any thoughts.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
Me at 3am contemplating if i should go to college or disappear to china for 10 years to become a kung fu master
August 20, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Me at 3am contemplating if i should go to college or disappear to china for 10 years to become a kung fu master
In business, the difference between a missed opportunity and a breakthrough is often just whether you captured the idea in time. My new Notion template helps keep that door open.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
August 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
In business, the difference between a missed opportunity and a breakthrough is often just whether you captured the idea in time. My new Notion template helps keep that door open.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
I exposed one of my own business ideas inside my new template.
Not just to show you how I think—
but to prove that big ideas can be engineered, not just “found.”
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
Not just to show you how I think—
but to prove that big ideas can be engineered, not just “found.”
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
August 19, 2025 at 10:27 AM
I exposed one of my own business ideas inside my new template.
Not just to show you how I think—
but to prove that big ideas can be engineered, not just “found.”
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
Not just to show you how I think—
but to prove that big ideas can be engineered, not just “found.”
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
Ideas are easy to have, hard to keep track of. So I built a Notion template to organize them better.
I’d love to hear what you think — feedback is always welcome.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
I’d love to hear what you think — feedback is always welcome.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
August 19, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Ideas are easy to have, hard to keep track of. So I built a Notion template to organize them better.
I’d love to hear what you think — feedback is always welcome.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
I’d love to hear what you think — feedback is always welcome.
https://elevaventures.gumroad.com/l/IdeaManager
Grinding like crazy because in my country, a bachelor’s degree only gives you a title, not money.
August 18, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Grinding like crazy because in my country, a bachelor’s degree only gives you a title, not money.