Action alone is thy province, never the fruits thereof;
let not thy motive be the fruit of action,
nor shouldst thou desire to avoid action
~ M.K. Gandhi's translation of Lord Krishna's teachings, narrated to Arjuna and immortalized in the Bhagavad Gita
Intense. More so, for a goal-oriented and success-driven person that I am. The Gita teaches you about the virtue of karma - the intention behind your actions is all that really matters. The motivation behind your efforts should not be the desire for success. The Gita calls on you to denounce the anxiety of success and avoid the pitfalls of success-oriented thinking. Only when you are unmoved by the chaos of ideas and are in harmony with your actions, without the desire of success, do you attain real satisfaction.
Within a few days, my first book, Black, White and the Grays in Between, will become available for sale all over the world. Like most other debut authors, I am incredibly excited. Many years and many thousands of words have gone into this book. Many dreams have tickled my imagination. Many outcomes have played out in my subconscious mind. Like most other debut authors, I also feel anxious. I do worry about the outcome of those many years and those many thousands of words that have gone into this book. I do worry about my dreams for my work and its interpretation by those who will read it. I do worry about the not so favorable outcomes that have also played out in my subconscious mind.
My product manager brain would like to make this an experiment that is designed with a fail fast approach. I could then spin the outcome to my benefit and in the process actually iterate and learn and validate my hypothesis. However, unlike product strategy or product-feature development, the actual book is not a series of ideas that can fail and still work as a pivot for the next version. The left-brained me, who is optimized for success and biased towards action, is eager to see new innovations come to publishing - data-driven progressive disclosure and modulation of ideas that are optimized for the individual reader's perspective and preference. Maybe then, a debut author wouldn't worry as much. Maybe then, the whole process wouldn't seem as daunting.
In many ways, this book has been a vast undertaking. In many ways, this has also been the most humbling and enriching experience of my life. It may never amount to too much or it just might, but this book has already made me realize the infinite limits of my true potential. If I manage to enjoy it for the experience of writing a book and for the joy of becoming a published author, I am already a success. If I manage to inspire someone to write a book someday, I will also be satisfied.
Very well written. This is absolutely true in all aspects. You are already successful. The outcome of the release of the book, which in my opinion has already reached its success will be a perspective sharing for others. Thanks for sharing!
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