Acharya Prashant clarifies that he did not have an "IIT dream"; it was merely a pathway. He explains that he wasn't carrying huge expectations and therefore did not feel disappointed. For him, IIT was a "breath of fresh air" after having lived a fairly protected life. He describes the environment as very free, liberal, and equally challenging, with a massive pool of talent and bustling energy. There was so much to do that he picked up sports, dramatics, debating, and writing. He was busy all the time and didn't want to miss out on anything, which led to him losing a lot of weight. He also had his first experience with movie theaters there. The competitive environment at IIT was a significant experience. He realized that just when you thought you had aced a particular course, you would discover ten others ahead of you. This taught him what raw talent and hard work could achieve. His journey was an evolving process, not a series of episodic decisions. While he had a background desire to join the civil services, his time at IIT Delhi exposed him to the workings of the world, including private enterprise, and he began to see that there were powerful forces for change beyond the government. He continued with his UPSC preparation, which he found to be an enriching process in itself. By the time he was selected for the civil services, he was already disillusioned with the bureaucracy and had decided not to join, even walking into the interview in jeans. He had also applied for the CAT exam and, despite not having much time to prepare, was fortunate to get into IIM Ahmedabad. He joined IIM with a heavy heart because the civil services offer was still there, and he even took a sabbatical from the service. He describes his time at IIM as a period of "solid rebellion." While he was a "sucker for knowledge" and remained attentive in classes, he did not want to partake in the spirit of careerism that dominated the campus. He found that his IIT batch produced more entrepreneurs than his IIM batch, noting that the high-paying packages from IIMs raise the stakes and lower the risk appetite for students.