About the author: The author, an electronics and communication engineer specializing in software and business management, has worked in research and development for over three decades in different types of organisations across the globe and has built many award-winning teams, products, and businesses.
Additionally, his passion and practise in theatre, creative design, sports, gardening, yoga, meditation, and giving back to society have also helped him to write this book as a practical guide to success for anyone alive and willing to transform.
Summary of the book: Understanding yourself, knowing what is best for you, doing that with absolute involvement, and being happy and joyful may not come naturally to even ten percent of the human population! Typical motivational workshops, personality development courses, management/leadership training, or spiritual discourses may not be able to help you here. Through this book, the author succinctly articulates the simple and practical steps for success, starting with birth, body, mind, food, sleep, education, love, relationships, marriage, work, excellence, failure, and even death. As a practical guide for you to discover yourself, love what you do, and celebrate your life. The author also conducts a Joyful Living workshop for people from all walks of life to enhance their understanding and gain deeper experience on the seven steps discussed in this book.
1. Can you tell us a little about your book?
Understanding yourself, knowing what is best for you, doing that with absolute involvement, and being happy and joyful may not come naturally to even 10% of the human population! Typical motivational workshops, personality development courses, management and leadership training, or spiritual discourses may not be able to help you here. Through this book, I am providing the simple and practical steps for success, starting with your birth, body, mind, food, sleep, education, love, relationships, marriage, work, excellence, failure, and even death. As a practical guide for you to discover yourself, love what you do, and celebrate your life.
2. Is there a specific event that inspired this story or was this an out-of-the-blue idea?
Since my childhood, one thing that has pained me the most is human suffering. Irrespective of age, gender, skin colour, wealth, social status, knowledge, experience, place of living, or circumstances, human beings continue to suffer, and most of that is self-inflicted. I have spent considerable time supporting others to expand and explore possibilities to lead a life they are proud of. This book is a collection of concepts and practices that worked for me and hundreds of other people from all walks of life.
3. What got you writing in the first place?
I have conducted a Joyful Living workshop for people from all walks of life for the past couple of years, and the workshop has been well received and appreciated. The participants used to ask me to write it down so they could refer to it while practicing it. I started with three pages covering self-discovery, physical fitness, training the mind, food, sleep, and meditation, but they started asking for more, which led to a full-fledged book, “7 Steps to Joyful Living,” as the “User Manual for Human Life.”
4. What was your impression of your first draft when you read it?
I was very happy to share it with all the previous participants of the workshop and with all of you on social media. The feedback from them encouraged me to write more for them as a book covering all the aspects of human life as a holistic approach to being happy and joyful.
5. Which part of your story connects the most with you? Why?
Self-discovery, physical fitness, training your mind, education, relationships, marriage, excellence at work, and failure I have tried various experiments on all of them and figured out what works well, so they are close to my heart.
6. What makes your book the one to read?
Though human life has the highest potential and possibilities compared to any other form of life on the planet, human beings continue to struggle with self-awareness, what, when and how to eat, how to control their mind, fear of failure, love what they do, and be happy and joyful. This book contains the theory of practice to master the art of joyful living. I think this a book everyone alive and want to be happy and joyful will love to read, learn and practice.
7. What was the best advice you got while writing?
Write it for your reader. To benefit them. Not for your fame or money.
8. Who’s your all-time favourite author? Which book of his/hers made you fall in love with them?
Mahabharata
9. What is your evergreen tip to the writers out there?
Learn, think, and write with clarity and to the point in simple language.
10. What was your hardest scene to write?
Death, because I have not experienced it in real life and hence needed to simulate it to write about it.
11. Do you have another plot brewing?
Not one. A couple of them.
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.in/dp/9357762132?ref=myi_title_dp