Saturday, August 12, 2006

How to Write a Book Without Really Trying

RECENTLY, I suddenly discovered the easiest way to getting my first book published is to NOT think about it too seriously. The idea is to just go out there and write something - anything!
Once your mental wheels begin to grind, there is a sense of motion. Who cares what is being written. Write anything that you fancy. Write something that has caught your interest.
Do you know that there are literally millions of people out there who are thinking of writing their first novel? Only a handful of them actually get down to doing it. Of course the number of successful ones can be numbered in single digits but the important thing is are you one of them?
I have been blogging for God knows how long. There's no monetary reward in doing it other than having the satisfaction of penning my thoughts in mostly random fashion.
My intention is to galvanise my writing apparatus. Writing is like swimming or any activity that may be deemed important to an individual. If you want to be good at poker, you play everyday or practise playing everyday, much like tennis, golf or baseball.
If you practise long enough and hard enough, one day you will be better than average.
Same goes for writing and publishing a book. Many people harbour the wrong intention of trying to impress other people, or worse their book publisher. Nobody wants to be reminded of your ego.
Do you have a story to tell? Even if it is a simple tale but it is well told, it will be well received.
Look at Mark Twain or perhaps further down the road, Ernest Hemingway. Both men wrote simple and yet powerful stories. They didn't bombast their way to success. They just told a good story in the simplest way they knew how.
When a story is well told, in a way that captures the imagination of the reader and holds it there for long minutes, you may just have a winner there. Some of the most successful writers on this planet are not the most intelligent people around. They are just some of the most passionate writers you have come across.
If you ever ask God for one writing gift - ask for the great, insatiable passion to tell a great tale in the grandest manner possible. And you will have publishers breaking down your door to get to you.
Yes, you can begin by blogging. So what if nobody cares a hoot as to what you have to say. You care, that's the most important thing. Once you start writing, don't stop. Just go on and on. Keep lighting that flame. Keep it alive, fuel it, fan it and never let it simmer down to become ashes.
Life is too short and too important to left go of your kite of ambition. Let it fly, let it soar. I recall once reading these inspiring words - A kite flies higher against the winds of adversity!"
Let then this be your credo. If you are an aspiring writer like me, write and throw caution to the wind.
One day when you look back you will be surprised what you will discover. You will be glad to realise that you have trudged many a mile down the road to your first published work.
You will realise that it all began with a simple entry in an ordinary blog. Champions are not born overnight, nor great writers created by a single novel. These are the unnamed people, strangers in fact, who continue to work and toil long after the sun has set and the ordinary blokes have returned to their families.
These super achievers continue to produce, create and invent new things, new works and write great lines so that the many others who follow after them will one day be inspired by the lines they have left behind.
Perhaps you would like to be among such people. Never give up. Don't be discourage. Never let the small people get to you. You are not one of those little people. You are born for great things. You are special. If you not born, then you probably don't need to hear these words.
But you are here. You exist, therefore you are. You are one of God's people. You are indeed entitled to greatness just like all the other great people who have populated the earth before your time.
Remember that always, up till the day you call it a day on earth.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Better Than Ever

Almost every morning when I step into the office, I inadvertently bump into someone or somebody who will ask "hello, how are you?" My reply, standard and sincere is "better than ever".

If that sounds a bit corny, it's because very few people actually say that and mean it. Most of the time, they will say "could be better" or "one day at a time."
I use to say "one day at a time, brother." But I no longer say that. These days, I am more upbeat. One day, I woke up and realised that life can be as good as it gets, if you allow it to be.
Too many people are cautiously optimistic or pessimistic for no reason. Why should we be sad and gloomy. We are not dead. We are not sick. And we are living a good life. The fact that we are not recuperating in a hospital somewhere shows that fate has been kind to us.

I have been working for almost 30 years. There have been good years and there have been sad years. In all those years, I have never been really down. Yes, there were a few instances when I might have commented "it could have been better."
I no longer indulge in that kind of thinking. There are too many people beating me to the door of gloom. Simply put, I am tired of being sad, gloomy and angry. Why waste time on useless emotions?
When you can eat, sleep and walk around unaided, it should be considered a blessing. The trouble with humans is that we are always envying others. We envy Donald Trump. We are slightly jealous of Hugh Hefner and all his Bunny girls. We are unhappy that we are not born with Brad Pitt looks.
Why are we always looking over our neighbour's fences? Aren't we all satisfied with our own things, or physical attributes?
Happiness is a state of mind. It is actually a decision. At this very minute, when you tell yourself, "I am happy" - then you will be. Peace of mind is also reflective of one's own soul.
A life that has 80 years in it may not be such a great life. Chronologically, it is just an accumulation of years. Some people live only 30 years but what a life they had led.
Life must not be sipped but gulped down with great gusto. Life is to be lived to the fullest. A man has not lived to his fullest potential unless he has tried his darnest to be the greatest version of the grandest vision of himself.
What does it profit a man if he makes 10 billion dollars and sits alone in his own mansion wondering if he could go out without telling one of his 20 bodyguards.
What kind of life is it if a man has to walk with 10 bodyguards keeping a close watch on his physical form and his family as well.
Very often, I comment to my friends that if I have to live the life of a recluse because of my enormous wealth, then I don't want it. Freedom is a privilege. Most of us throw that away and opt for wealth.
If a man cannot live free then all the money is the world is meaningless.
Everything that happens to us is of our own making. I wasn't convinced of this until the day I decided that I shall always be "stronger, faster, tougher, kinder and gentler" everyday in everyway.
Never, never, never let anybody get you down. Happiness is your right. Make up your mind to be kind, to be peaceful in every way, be at peace with everybody, not to be impressed by our own ego, and instead of finding love, give it, show it, and bring it to others. Then watch the amazing process of your own life transforming right before your eyes.
Be happy, brothers and sisters. You and I will not live forever but we can choose to be happy all the time, every minute of every hour of everyday for the rest of our lives. Now, isn't that wonderful?