The name Shiv Khera immediately conjures motivational speeches and books that transform and change lives. The author, educator, business consultant and speaker's latest book, Live While You’re Alive, is published by Bloomsbury and provides clarity and knowledge on ways to handle stress effectively in whatever form it comes. His approach is all about strategies to develop strength and find balance. He speaks to The Free Press Journal about this latest book and more.
Excerpts from the Interview
We would love to know more about what you offer in Live While You’re Alive. Would the book continue your work as an educator, business consultant, speaker, and writer?
Live While You’re Alive is addressing a burning topic which is impacting our health, wealth and relationships all over the world. That topic is handling stress. Why is it a burning topic? In the last few decades, depression and stress-related problems have gone up by 400%. The economic cost globally is over a trillion dollars. The subtitle is “Take a break before you break down”.
Why did I pick this title—Live While You’re Alive? There is a saying that we live only once. I disagree with this statement. We only die once. We live every day provided we know how to live.
Yes, this is part of the continuation of services provided to society through my self-help books. Skill development will help you make a living; self-development help will help you make a fortune.
In a nutshell, what can people take from the book? What should they absorb from it?
Stress is both normal and natural. It is unavoidable and cannot be delegated. If we know how to handle stress, we can live meaningful and fulfilling lives. If not, it is going to be miserable and disastrous. People can take practical solutions to address the problems that we face on a day-to-day basis from the book such as trying to please everybody all the time. It is neither possible nor required, yet people do such things causing stress. Keep in mind a friend to all is a friend to none. Avoid Toxic people and substances. Avoid ligation. It is preventive maintenance. My book talks of a philosophy – "Prepare and prevent rather than repair and repent".
What are the troubles seen and focused on that make us live better while alive?
All problems that cause stress fall into two categories – external and internal. External like weather conditions, the Russian-Ukraine War, death in the family and traffic jams. We need to learn to accept or handle the external situation effectively. Internal is our attitude – how we respond or react to the external situation. E.g. a traffic jam is external – One person could just get aggravated and worked up, and get his blood pressure high, that is called a reaction. A positive person would utilise that time by listening to motivational audio and utilise the time profitably. The response is a proactive way of going through life.
You are one of the most admired motivational speakers, authors and educators. What keeps you going in what you are doing? What are things that make you think you are impacting lives?
What keeps me going is my belief and conviction in what I do. I make every effort to practice what I preach. Have I achieved 100%? The answer is no. Do I strive to achieve 100%? The answer is yes.
The feedback that we get from our participants, clients and book readers reflects the impact of the work that we do. A lot of these are available on our website; please have a look at how people have transformed their lives.
You have been writing motivational books for quite some time. How do you feel books like yours change the readers?
In my book You Can Achieve More, I have given a survey which says that 85% of millionaires and billionaires in this world are first generation. They were asked how they achieved so much financial success in such a short time. Their answer was that we have no time to waste. We only read self-help books. Why? One good idea is worth a million dollars. How many ideas do we need for success? Only one. A god gives you the wisdom of ages in a capsule form.
What next from your pen?
There are four more books in the pipeline. One is on positive parenting. The second is on relationships. Third, they are corrupt and cowards can never build a great nation. The fourth one is on success.
