INSPIRING YOUNGSTERS TO LEAD A HAPPY LIFE

Author Interview : Anju Dhawan

Anju Dhawan lives in Delhi with her husband and two lovely children. She is a woman of many achievements. In addition to being the founder-director of SMS Consultants, which is a Delhi based consultant firm, she is also a passionate social worker, an educator, a qualified teacher, a motivator, NLP Practitioner, TedX speaker and an author. She has recently come out with her book- “It’s up to You”. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, she talks about her book, her writing journey, her favourite books and authors, and much more. Read on!


Please tell us more about Anju Dhawan as a person.

As a person I am positive, loving, calm, joyful and compassionate. At work I am prompt and can manage multi-tasking effectively. My mantra of life is to live a balanced life and therefore I devote sufficient time to everything- be it work, family, friends, society and my interests. Regarding my professional life, I started my career as a teacher and then moved on to work with the US-based multinational firm, 3M. I established my own company in 2003. Over the years, my company has provided professional consulting services for over 800 reputed schools in India and abroad. I personally look after crucial performance segments such as manpower planning and top management recruitment. I am also the president of Sashakt, a Delhi based NGO that works towards the education and empowerment of underprivileged and specially-abled children. At Sashakt, I handle spoken English, personality development and skill development.


Has writing always been a part of your life? Or did you chance upon it later on and then instantly fell in love with it?

I wrote fairly well in school as English was my favourite subject but writing became part of my life just a few years ago. I started by writing articles for some leading educational magazines. I also write about my experiences in my journal very often.


Can you tell us more about your book “It’s up to You”?

“It’s up to You” has been written with the objective of making youngsters understand the most important lesson of life: How you live your life is entirely up to you. It’s up to you to write the story of your life. It’s up to you to become the director and the master of your life. It’s up to you to make or break your life. This book will help in the journey of transformation, self-reflection and self-discovery. Each chapter contains easy take-away points, exercises, revision, and case studies. Written in an easy language, with a style that is flowy, the book is quite structured and organized in its content. “It’s Up To You” comes with activity sections where the youngsters can jot down their thoughts to empower themselves. It is a great brainstorming session and this workbook style of noting down ideas makes the book engaging.
Unlike other self-help books, this book explains in detail as to how to bring the required changes in life. The focus is on ‘HOW’. This book will be of immense help to teenagers who are in a very important phase of their lives and who need to understand how to focus their energies in the right direction.


How has the response of readers been to your book?

The response has been amazing. I have received very positive and heartening reviews on Amazon and other sites. Both educators and students have sent me emails and messages to appreciate the book.


What type of research went into writing this book?

I have been doing workshops for teenagers. I have interacted and counselled a lot of adolescents. My experiences with them have been added in the book as case studies in almost every chapter. I also did a lot of research as to what teenagers post on social media, what kind of comments they make, trolling, etc.


What are your favourite books? Can you share with our esteemed readers about the genres that you like and your favourite authors?

My favourite books are so many but if I have to choose few it will be- ‘The Alchemist’, ‘The Monk who sold his Ferrari’, ‘Toto-Chan’, ‘Autobiography of Charles Chaplin, ‘Meditations’ and ‘The Power of your Subconscious Mind’. I generally read non-fiction books which are inspirational and motivational. I love to read autobiographies, biographies and memoirs. My favourite authors are Paulo Coelho, Robin Sharma, Anthony Robbins, Sudha Murthy and many more.


With so many books releasing every year, many new authors coming up, how difficult is it to make your book visible to an average reader?

There are very few avid or passionate book readers and with so many books coming up, it is very difficult to make your book visible. I initially did a lot of email promotions to make the book visible. Fortunately I received invitations for book reading and workshops from some leading schools which helped me promote the book. I received very good reviews on Amazon and other sites which boosted the sales.


What are your other interests apart from writing?

My other interests apart from writing include Nature walks, Fitness, Meditation, Books, and Music.


Are there any other literary projects in the pipeline?

I just got my book translated in Hindi. In Hindi, the book is titled ‘Tum Par He’. I have already started working on my next book which is about parenting.


Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?

My all-time favourite quote is –“The purpose of life is a life of purpose”.