SPREADING SMILES AND HAPPINESS

Author Interview: Ashutosh Mishra

Ashutosh Mishra is an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and a Mechanical engineer from IIT Delhi. In his corporate career of sixteen years, he has been a senior banker with global banks like Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and is currently working with ANZ Bank. With gruelling work schedule and plenty of business travel, he was fortunate to realise the importance of health and wellbeing early on. Based on his experiences and the tools and techniques practised by him, he has developed a framework for comprehensive wellness with a fresh perspective, which he has detailed in his book “Happiness is all we want!” In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, he discusses about his latest book, his writing journey, his favourite books and authors, and much more.


Please tell us more about Ashutosh Mishra as a person.
I am an ambitious person but try to lead a well-balanced life. I believe in enjoying all aspects of life whether it is family relationships, vacations, my work as well as my well-being activities. I like to interact with people, share my experiences with them and also guide youngsters in all aspects of their lives.

Working in the corporate banking sector, you have come up with a self-help book about being happy. What was the inspiration and idea behind writing this book? Can you tell us more about your writing journey?
While living my hectic professional life, I noticed that many people around me could neither manage the stress nor could they balance all the aspects of their lives. Some of my colleagues were very successful in their job but their personal life was a disaster. Some lost their way due to health reasons. I also observed that I was following certain practices for my own well-being that helped me in leading a fulfilling life. I got inspired to share this framework for happiness and well-being with people around the world and writing a book is the best way to do it. It took me a lot of courage to embark on this journey as an author but I loved every bit of it. Now, I am working on my next book.

Can you give a brief overview of your book “Happiness is all we want”?
‘Happiness is All We Want!’ is a book that you should use as a guide for happy and balanced living. The book is based on three learnings. One, happiness is about getting what you want; happiness is about enjoying what you have. Two, in order to enjoy what you have, you need to have your well-being in order. Three, you need to consciously develop the habit of enjoying life till it becomes a natural process. This book explains a set of well-proven practices for taking care of your mental well-being, physical health and spiritual development. Especially useful for youngsters who are embarking on their independent life, the book aims to help them in keeping their life on track before it becomes too late.

How has the response of readers been to your book?
I am humbled by the overwhelming response to this book. My readers have compared this book to The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and Chicken Soup for Soul. Many reviewers have placed this book in the league of other self-help authors like Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey and Robin Sharma. We are going for the third print soon. My publishers, Bloomsbury are a global publishing house credited with publishing Happy Potter books.

How is this self-help non-fiction book different from other books in its genre on the same theme of finding happiness?
Many readers who are not a big fan of self-help books have appreciated ‘Happiness is All We Want!’ They have stated in their reviews that this book is not dry, boring or instructive like other self-help books. As I stated earlier, this book is not about happiness alone. It is about getting your life in balance and thus leading to peace and happiness. Over-achieving in one sphere of life, while neglecting your health, mental well-being and relationships cannot lead to happiness. In short, happiness is a result of doing everything else right. My emphasis in the book is to learn from all the experiences, stories, tools and techniques.

You have used many simple analogies in the book for better explanation of mental, physical and spiritual well being. Can you share one or two takeaways from the book for the benefit of our esteemed readers?
One of my favourite and original analogies is to compare a modern human being with an overworked donkey. A donkey is used only for getting work done while no one pays attention to it diet or well-being. On the other hand, a healthy human being is like a race-horse, whose value is many times that of the donkey. The race-horse follows a well-set routine, balanced diet and is taken care of very well by its owner and caretakers. You are the owner and caretaker of your life and body. It is up to you, whether you want to live a donkeys wretched life or a race-horse’s exemplary life.

What your favourite books? Can you share with our readers about the genres that you like and your favourite authors?
I read books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction as well as non-fiction. My favourite genre is spiritual books. My favourite non-fiction books are the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran and The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. My favourite fiction books are Kane and Abel by Jeffery Archer, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I am also influenced by classic books on psychology like ‘I am Ok, You are Ok’ by Thomas Harris. You can find a list of reference books as an annexure at the end of my book – Happiness is All We Want!

What are your other interests apart from writing?
In addition to being and author and blogger, I am an avid reader, Yoga and Meditation enthusiast. I like to run and exercise in the gym as well. I like to travel far and wide with my family. Recently, I started my youtube channer as a YouthCoach, helping youngsters in managing their studies, career, mental health and relationships.

Are there any new literary projects that you’re currently working on?
My next work under progress is a fiction book. I liked the challenge posed by an altogether different genre. My next book is for the benefit of corporate professionals as well as the graduate and post-graduate students who will be starting their corporate career soon. It is the story of four corporate professionals navigating their way through corporate politics, ups and downs in the economy. While the going is good, they reap huge financial rewards but when the market crashes, they shape their lives differently. Some come out as winners and others lose miserably. The lessons are for the readers to draw!

There are many new writers there who are aspiring to get their work published. What would you say to them?
My advice to them would to produce their best work possible before worrying about publishing. I completed my manuscript and refined it couple of times before approaching publishers. The publishers are getting lot of submissions and are quick to discard the poor quality work. Once you have produced a manuscript that you are happy with, please approach publishers with a positive mind-set, and submit according to the guidelines given at the publishers’ websites. Keep self-publishing as a backup option in case you don’t find success with mainstream publishers.

Authors can give the best advice regarding literary matters. Can you share with our readers some tips about how to choose a good book for reading?
Books are chosen on the basis of word of mouth and your interests. Browse through online book selling portals, read the book reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Choose books across a variety of subjects. Readers tend to become comfortable with a particular genre but you need to diversify in order to have an all round development. I would place equal emphasis on non-fiction and fiction books. Sometimes, it pays to put some effort into reading a self-help book like Happiness is All We Want and at other times, you can entertain yourself with Da Vinci Code.

Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?
This is my quote from Happiness is All We Want! - “If you don’t take care of your business, someone else will. If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will”. Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean that you should neglect your business. All it means is that you can hire an employee to run your business but you cannot hire someone to take care of yourself!