One sure way to be happy, loved, and remembered is to write a book.
I am talking to my graphic designer this morning and he tells me that he has been admitted to the hospital for about a week. Besides the usual malaria and typhoid fever, he tells me, he has “BP.” He is about 36 years old.
A few days ago a friend told me that she lost her older sister last December to “BP.” He was 35 years old. He had lost his job at the bank five years earlier and suffered a mild stroke three years later due to a high “BP.” He died five years from the day he lost his job.
What does this “BP” have to do with the book? I must say a lot. “BP” by the way, is blood pressure. High blood pressure is deadly.
Writing a book is one of the most satisfying endeavors, nothing compares. Not even making love. Keeps high “PA” away.
During one of his visits to the White House during the Reagan era, John H. Johnson sat at the same table with Maureen Reagan.
After telling young Maureen what she did for a living, Maureen said, “write a book.”
Emily Dickinson said, “There is no frigate like the book.”
An unknown author wrote: “If you drop a book and three pounds of gold, choose the book first before the gold.”
“Tremendous” Charlie Jones once said, “Of all the things in this world, only two will have the greatest impact on your life, the books you read and the people you meet.”
According to Uthman Dan Fodio, “The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr.”
Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “If you don’t want to be forgotten, as soon as you’re dead and rotten, write things worth reading or do things worth writing.”
The people we most admire are those with chains of books behind their names, whether they are fiction or non-fiction. Names like William Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Agatha Christie, Maya Angelou, Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, Susan Cain, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Adichie, JK Rowling, and Stephen King come to mind easily.
In fact, there’s no more exciting feeling than stumbling across the world’s most iconic airports, libraries, shops, and websites and finding your book alongside those of the planet’s most revered authors and icons.
There are many reasons why you should write a book. John Kremer has listed 30 strong reasons, including:
• Seal of credibility
• Support for
• Share a message
• Become a consultant
• Become a speaker
• Become a celebrity
• Get to Buckingham Palace
• Earn money
I always tell my friends, if you don’t like the money part, please donate the money to your beloved charity.
Writing a book, like any other serious project, seems intimidating at first glance when you look at all the moving parts at the same time: writing, designing, proofing, editing, publishing, pricing, distributing, marketing, and selling. But when you break the project down into bite-sized pieces, you find it’s an effort that you can easily tackle with a little guidance.
As complex as it may seem to write a book and put it in the hands of your readers, there are actually 8 easy steps you can take:
• Step 1: Decide what you want to write in
• Step 2: decide on the title and subtitle of your book
• Step 3: decide the content
• Step 4: Decide who will write the book
• Step 5: Write, review, read and edit your book
• Step 6: publish your book
• Step 7: launch your book into the world
• Step 8: Market and sell your book
Actually, there is a ninth step, write more books.
The end of a book should be the beginning of your next book, as Stephen King, author of more than 60 books, has emphasized.
The world’s most revered authors have dozens of books to their name, most of them best sellers. In order for you to join their ranks, you must write more than one book, with seven being the magic number.
The easiest way to write a book is to get started. Thats the secret. Get started, and your brain and subconscious mind will take over from there and take you to the final destination.
This piece would not be complete if I did not mention that Amazon has greatly simplified the publication of your book in the world. Amazon will even give you a book cover design if you don’t have one.
Don’t wait, if you want to be happy, loved, remembered, and even immortal, write your first, second, or third book today.
Remember, the best time to have written your first book was yesterday, the next best time is now.