Create Yourself: A Millennial’s Antidote to Unhappiness
This is the title of my first book I published in December 2020 (Amazon links at the page bottom).
“We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experiences.”
The Story
I’d have laughed if someone had told me ten years ago that I would be self-publishing a book. However, after reading “What I wish I knew when I was 20” by Tina Seelig and being in my 30s, I thought of sharing some learnings with my younger self emerged.
Whenever a thought popped into my mind, I began taking notes…in the London metro, after going for a run or having an interesting conversation. I didn’t set out to write a book initially, but within two years, this turned into a large spreadsheet. One weekend I looked at it and noticed some patterns. I found out that all entries belong to one of the following three categories: Gratitude (perspective), grit (perseverance) and critical thinking (thinking for yourself).
The Moral Obligation
Over time I also began seeing publishing this book as not a nice thing to do but a moral obligation as I was given many advantages in my life: being born at the right time and the right place, never having to worry about food or shelter, and being encouraged to find my path to name few. All this made me think that I should give something back.
Maybe one person will benefit from the content, and who knows how many will benefit from the money this book will raise. Because:
Fifty per cent of my proceeds from this book will go to Charity: Water.
Because 785 million people in the world live without clean water.
Because I never had to worry about clean water.
Because seeing its founder, Scott Harrison, live on stage was inspiring.
Because clean water changes everything.
The three themes (gratitude, grit and critical thinking) interplay with each other throughout the book. It combines what I have done so far with what I have learned from others in the form of books, podcasts and talks, as well as the wisdom that many smart people generously shared with me.
That’s why I came up with the title: “Create Yourself - A Millennial’s Antidote to Unhappiness”.
“Create yourself” because I believe that we humans do not find ourselves. We create ourselves.
"Antidote to Unhappiness” because I cannot tell you how to be happy. This is your responsibility, however, what I can do is share a few stories that helped me find my happiness.
The Purpose
My goal is to encourage others while helping the less fortunate. I paid 2900 GBP to produce and edit the book, and I receive 5.50 GBP in royalties for every sold copy, hence 2.75 GBP goes to Charity Water.
“You are rewarded in public for what you have intensely practiced & refined in private!”
The Conclusion
What an experience this has been. The moment you hold the first copy of your book in your hands is definitely a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life. And it is not as daunting as many people think. You had to write a thesis meeting certain academic criteria to graduate from university. This time you do not need to defend it in front of professors.
The most significant benefit, though is the journey you will embark on yourself. We, humans, tend to always be in a rush and writing a book is the antidote to this. It forces you to organise your messy thoughts, which helps you reflect on your experiences. This, again, will enable you to rethink your priorities in life. Ultimately, my book was written for others, but it will also help and guide me in my life journey.