At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some of the meaningful and powerful stories from around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. This week, we invited passionate author and entrepreneur Kuldeep Sharma to know more about his interesting journey so far and the way forward. He is a Keynote Speaker, Author of 3 Books, Digital Media Writer and IELTS & PTE Trainer. Let’s learn more about his background and his journey!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him;
Talk us through your background and your journey so far and also share a little bit about your books, please;
I belong to a small city named ‘Gwalior’ in the state of Madhya Pradesh and I have spent many years of my life over there.
I come from a family of business background where no one had a formal education. I am the only one in my family who has got formal education.
Furthermore, I remember I was not a bright and meritorious student until my 7th grade. But, one turning point changed the course of life and thereby I started paying heed on my studies. I always had a fascination towards English subjects but like many, I have always disliked Mathematics.
In addition, I was an adamant reader. Leaving it aside, I was an active child, I was good at giving speeches and always loved the competitions. I was a keen observer and I have learned immensely by observing people. When it comes to games then Cricket and Badminton were my favourites.
I always believe in the power of these words, “Everything is possible in this world, all you need to work hard.”
My journey as an author started by seeing the needs of students. My first book ‘Treasure Of IELTS Academic’ was released in the Year 2019, the second book ‘Treasure Of IELTS Academic Task 1 and Speaking’ and the third book ‘Threshold Of Task 2’ were released in the same year 2020. I have a presence on various websites where I write Poetry, Stories, Articles, and Micro Tales on the subjects of life, love, relationships, young people, family, abuse, depression, women empowerment and such themes.
Why did you choose to be an Author over taking up a regular job?
Writing is the way by which I bring my experiences and emotions into words. My writing journey started during my graduation which is around 5 years ago. To be honest, I never really aspired or thought that one day I would become an author. But, I always had a passion for writing as a result around 3 years ago, I found an online platform to read and write well written articles and amazing stories. This gave me an opportunity to convert my real life experiences into words and to publish my articles instantly which were available to a wide and varied audience from all around the world.
The votes and comments came flooding every time I published my poems and stories on various websites. I’d never experienced anything like it before.”
Each day, I wake up to messages of encouragement from readers wanting to know ‘what I’m writing next’ & saying ‘how inspiring my books are’ so, that’s how my writing journey has been started.”
In addition, being an IELTS & PTE trainer, I always received very warm responses from many people for my writing which again pushed and motivated me to work deeply on my passion i.e. writing.
As days and months passed, I started getting many opportunities to showcase my writing on various digital platforms. I started contributing to many academic books. The most exciting part was the response from my reader, it made me feel so happy and then, finally I decided to write and publish my first solo book for an IELTS exam.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
My writing is based on real life events and experiences and it mostly depicts human emotions and feelings. Although, my parents are the biggest source of motivation for me but my life, lives of people around me always provide me motivation.
I reckon every person we meet, every story we hear, everything that happens to me & around me has a deep purpose.”
Everything I go through in my life, each experience I’ve had until now helped me to write more. I always have something to take from everything. I learn, from the falling of a leaf to death of a person. All the little things happening in this world gives me a new story to write.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
Challenges are the inevitable part of life. Same I faced throughout my writing career, I had tough times, extremely good days, lonely nights, depressive months but, it’s all part of the process. Many times, I have got rejection of my articles as well as I approached many book publishers but they were not ready to publish my book on the topic International English Language Testing System (IELTS), which sometimes made me feel sad. However, I dearly admire every experience that helped me to be a better writer.
Tell our audience more about your failures? How should one bounce back?
I am a very optimistic person and always take failure in a positive way. I never felt bad owing to failure because I have learned from each failure of my life.
However, there were times when I confronted many lowest points in my life innumerable times. I was extremely depressed for months; I developed an inferiority complex for myself and didn’t get proper sleep almost every night. I had no motivation and nothing felt fun for me.
I was always in a bad mood with no energy and on such days, I was a boy who constantly had the thoughts of depression scenes running in mind. Even on such days, I tried my best to act as everything is going well in my life. I pushed myself a little harder, I started reading and writing, I joined various writing communities online and, I must say I was the only person who helped me in all those months and years. I never really had anyone with whom I could share my feelings and who could listen, understand and help me without judging.”
Going through deep dark days changes us completely, from being depressed to being a happy person took time for me. Overcoming the pain, the loss, and the tears are tough. There were times when I just wanted to disappear and never see the world again but one day, I decided that I would help myself and then, not only did I help myself, but I helped everyone who reached out to me. I motivated myself by reading books, and I went through lots of encouraging talks and motivational stories to heal myself. Now, when I look back at my life, I truly feel that paying attention and doing the little things as such is very important when we are down and suffering.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Whenever I am in pressure or any kind of stress then I always like to listen to motivational music as well as videos. Sometimes, I like to sing alone to release all my emotions as well as remind myself of all the struggles which my parents have faced, and it really helps me feel relaxed and gives me energy to achieve more in life. To be honest, I am a workaholic person and being sitting ideally & not involving in any kind of work gives me more pressure and stress!
What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring author?
Don’t underestimate yourself and your potential. You are more capable than you think, all you need to just work hard. If you want to become an author or writer then work on your skills and develop thoughts which can be entirely possible by reading. If you want to write then read, you must read, read as much as you can, consequently you will not only learn various ways of writing but also get many new thoughts. In the process of creating your own book, trust yourself, support yourself and go for it, it’s important that you focus on giving your hundred percent and lastly, try whatever you want, explore different genres, you don’t have to think about publishing your work and to make it big instantly! It doesn’t work that way for many people thus, Just sit down and start writing, learning and begin to explore.
Which mantra would you like to give today’s young people for success?
My mantra for success is just to, “Have patience, love your parents, isolate yourself and work hard.”
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
