Forge Your Future (Inspiration & Personal Growth)

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It is remarkable that how, APJ Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India, continues to be such a popular public figure even years after demitting office. Much sought, much admired, he is an inspiration for the youth and they turn to him for advice, guidance, solace or just simply to be in touch with him. The mentoring, the directions, the solutions he provides are all based on the wisdom of his experience, as he knows well the trials and tribulations of the hard rocky road of life that he has walked from Rameswaram to the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Reflecting on the challenges of personal growth which each one of us faces in our daily lives to the more complex issues confronting us as a society and as a nation, the book provides a roadmap for living an inspired and purposeful life.

In the last fifteen years I have interacted with 16 million youth, in face-to-face meetings, through email and over Facebook. Wherever I go I am asked questions. There are 1.8 million people following me on Facebook and on an average I receive 300 emails a day and spend about two hours daily reading and answering them.

This book is based on the questions that I have been asked over the years. From the hundreds of thousands of mails in my inbox it was very difficult to decide which should be included in this book and which should be left out. The mails you find here provide a unique insight into the issues which concern and engage the minds of young Indians. The wide spectrum of issues reflected in these are like the colours of the rainbow, each one different from the other, but all emanating from one light. And that one light is the illumination of the soul, the honesty, hope and curiosity radiating through the minds of our young people. Through this book I want to keep alive and shining bright, the light in the minds and souls of our youth, and inspire them to reach great heights of achievement.

Through their mails, the youth are seeking solutions to problems that they are facing in their lives. Answering these questions led to the realisation that what we call problems are probably a result of the way we ‘process’ our lives and all that which happens in our world. 'Process' means the way we perceive and think about the events in our life. If we could change the way we ‘process’ the situations and events, we could possibly change the way we think about our problems and hence also their solutions. Is it possible to learn to process in a different way? I strongly believe it is possible and that is what I have attempted in my answers to the questions.

My replies to the questions are based on my personal life-experiences and all that I have learnt from reading books and my interactions with political and spiritual leaders. The replies are presented in a way that they become generic messages for all those readers who may be facing similar problems or situations in their lives.

As you read, you will realise that most of my replies call for focusing attention on what we intend to manifest at this moment in our life. When we do that, when we put our full attention and concentration on that and act upon it, we attract more of what we want, rather than attracting more of what we do not want. One of the reasons most people are not good at solving problems is because their thoughts are always on the problem instead of being on the solution.

Despite the fact that I spent my childhood in Rameswaram, an isolated island in the south of India, I could get educated, find a job and overcome many obstacles to become the President of my country. If I could overcome the hardships and achieve what I have, so can you or anyone else. Today I spend much of my time communicating with the youth of our country, through my speeches, books and travels across the nation and abroad, talking to them, motivating them to do the same. I always tell them to focus on the solution and not the problem, because you need to focus all your energy on where you want to be and not where you currently are.

Your life should be a manifestation of your dreams. That is why I always call upon the youth to dream lofty dreams and invoke in them a vision of their future. And in achieving your dreams, you are bound to face difficulties and obstacles, but with determination and discipline you can always overcome them, just as I have been able to do.

**Contents and Sample Pages**