In late 2009 I did something I had always wanted to do.
I wrote a book.
Believe it or not, the idea started out, earlier that same year, as a simple joke.
Chicken Soup for the Soul
One beautiful summer’s day, Jenni (my wife) and I were lounging around our pool shooting the breeze and enjoying a few glasses of wine with a very special long-time lady friend of ours called Lourette, who was visiting for the week-end.
Lourette had borrowed our copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and others, and was lazily paging through it while sunning herself on a lounger.
As you might imagine, the three-way banter included quite a bit of serious – and not so serious – discussion about life coaching and personal development in general.
Hot dogs, only better!
I had a braai going in the background (that’s a barbeque, for our non South African readers) and I tossed a big coil of the local favourite, boerewors (traditional farmer’s sausage) onto the grid above the charcoal embers. Leaving it to sizzle away slowly, I headed to the kitchen to prepare a number of bread rolls.
As lovers of the simple things in life, we had decided on a really easy, yet delicious meal of Boerewors Rolls for lunch. For the uninitiated, a ‘boerewors roll’ is somewhat similar to a hot dog but made with the local sausage, usually topped with a generous serving of spicy onion and tomato relish and perhaps some mustard.
Just as I finished my cutting, buttering and garnishing duties, Lourette wandered in to the kitchen to refresh her drink. With book in one hand and empty wine glass in the other, she turned to me with an inquisitive, half serious look.
Collapsed with laughter
“You know Bill,” she started out, “With your background in communication and your passion for life coaching, you should seriously consider writing a book.” “You could put together something like this,” she said, waving the copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul at me, while she raised her eyebrows in anticipation.
“Yeah,” I retorted, while nonchalantly glancing out of the window to check on the braai fire, “I guess I could call it ‘A Boerewors Roll for the Soul’!”
I looked over to check her response only to find her, with her humorous imagination in overdrive, pouring wine all over the floor instead of into her glass.
We both collapsed with laughter for a couple of minutes before Jenni came in to see what she was missing out on.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Lourette said, half jokingly, as she prodded her finger into my chest.
A Boerewors Roll for the Soul
A few months later I chuckled to myself as I recounted the fun we had had that day and then I mused: “Why not?”
And that became the genesis of my quirkily titled book ‘A Boerewors Roll for the Soul’, published in 2010 in the personal development genre, by Authorhouse UK.
Special gifts
On a more serious note, one of the key tenets that I bring up at the start of the book is that when we are born into this world we are bequeathed with two very special gifts: an open mind and a free will.
What we choose to embrace as our beliefs and values, and what we choose to do with our lives and how we go about living our lives, is essentially up to us as individuals.
There are, of course, no lack of strong influencing factors – think about one’s parents, teachers, society and the environment in which one grows up for example – but, when all said and done, we are the only ones who carry the responsibility for choosing what we value, what we believe in and how we will act and behave in living our lives.
Personal responsibility
The concept of personal responsibility can be quite scary to those who find it more comfortable to believe that they hold no real power over the course that their lives take. When things go pear shaped it is easy and convenient to blame their circumstances and the consequences of their actions on someone or something else.
On the other hand, those with the courage to accept that they – and they alone – are responsible for their lives, and that no amount of justifying or blaming is going to improve their situations, it can be intensely liberating to know that they have full personal responsibility for the shape and direction that their lives will take.
Taking full advantage
Once liberated from the misguided belief that you are not solely in control of your life, you can begin to take full advantage of these amazing gifts of an open mind and a free will.
You become a free spirit, unconstrained by beliefs imposed by others and free to explore and experience life any way you wish to.
This is the way life was intended. We are sole the creators of our own destiny in the physical plane.
There is only one important caveat when it comes to the use of these gifts: none of the choices each of us make about how to live and experience life should infringe negatively on the rights and ability of others to do the same.
Live and let live
Simply put, live … and let live.
And, above all, live life to the full!
Thanks Bill iam inspired as well, well iam South Africa, wanted to volunteer with those who are already in the field, so that I can gain those technical skills but iam disadvantaged by the environment iam living in due to work I can’t change it
What a great accomplishment to write and publish a book, Bill! A goal I have always had and am working on. I was blessed with your book and found it inspirational. I recently “paid it forward” and know it will continue to be a blessing. Universal truths never go out f fashion and taking responsibility for one’s own life is surely one of the most powerful decisions and an absolute requirement to reach personal success and goals.
Thank you for your motivation and inspiration at a time of year when most people need a boost to the finish line.
I admire your consistency in writing weekly blogs as it is also a goal I am aspiring to, but have not quite yet attained. Thanking for walking or in your case “writing your talk”.
What a lovely message – thanks Michelle! I used to write weekly posts but after some research on readers’ preferences I changed to fortnightly, which suits me better too. Thanks for continuing to be a loyal reader!
What a wonderful invitation to your readers, Bill, ” to live life to the fullest.” When one begins to live mindfully in the present moment, the pleasure of living life to the fullest becomes real. Your topic is such an inspiration at a time when most people are rushing to meet deadlines and complete projects. Your words are a welcome reminder to find joy in that busyness.
Thanks so much Karen!