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Author Easwaran Rajappan is hoping to spread positive messages through the kingdom and beyond after publishing his first book, which he believes will inspire those struggling to cope in times of stress and misfortune.
The 52-year-old, who prefers to be called Eashwar, faced crippling pain, financial loss over a failed property venture, as well as growing debt before literary inspiration helped turn his life around.
Despite suicidal thoughts, he managed to make changes, which he has helpfully outlined in Proven Technique to Achieve Goals in Any Field.
The native Indian, who has lived in Bahrain for 13 years, said: “Proven Technique is entirely based on what I have learned from overcoming various hardships and by teaching these ideas to others. There are also inputs from various books that I read on motivation and self-development.”
The release comes as concern grows in the kingdom over a recorded 30 cases of desperate expats taking their own lives so far this year.
Eashwar had forged a successful career in sales management, having worked for various companies around the globe, and is currently a consultant and trainer. However, he has spent most of his adult life furthering his passion for writing, contributing to several blogs and magazines.
Despite this, becoming a writer was not in the plan during his formative years. He explained: “It seems strange to say now, but I never intended to become an author. My life was relatively easy for a while, with a decent salary and nice holidays. However, in early 2005, my life changed forever.
“I started experiencing severe aches in my lower spine but after X-rays and laboratory tests, I was given painkillers which gave me some relief. As I moved up in my career, stress levels came along with the package and that seemed to aggravate the pain. Ultimately, I dismissed it as occupational sickness and convinced myself that I could get over it.
“At the same time, I was informed that my two dream homes were being stopped by the government because the builder had violated certain approvals. It was a huge apartment complex under construction and I owned two of the planned apartments. Then, the builder died and construction came to a halt. In the severe stress resulting from this situation my health just went from bad to worse.”
Eashwar travelled home to India, where he was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, an incurable disease that results in the fusion of the spine.
When he returned to Bahrain, the crippling pain and mounting debts would not go away, and were in fact worsening. During what he calls ‘the darkest moments of my life’, he even considered ending it all.
Determined Eashwar, however, decided to take back control. He started to avidly read and search for motivational messages.
One book in particular, A Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor E Frankl, about a survivor of a concentration camp, strengthened his spirits and he began to mentally condition himself back on the right track.
He held down a job and cleared 70 per cent of his debt within two years. He swam every day, despite the initial pain, to a point where his physical ailment, although not gone, appeared to be under control.
“I had an introspection and began to write down points one-by-one,” Eashwar explained. “In the space of a year, I had written down 55 points about life, hardships, money problems, health, human will, and more.
“One of the discoveries was finding out more about my own inner-strength when it came to facing up to adversities.”
He set out to record a list of key reasons to keep going and understanding what needed to be done to carry on in the ‘game of life’ and achieve goals set out in advance.
“From this learning came my technique I like to call GARA (Goals / Action Plans / Reasons / Affirmations). Proven Technique is all about achieving this through the real stories of ordinary people. So ultimately, make a GARA sheet and read it often and the goals become a part of living.”
The idea of writing the book stemmed from a chance encounter. After a speech about his coping technique at a toastmaster meeting, of which Eashwar is a regular attender, another guest speaker asked him to bring his notes to her office. She turned out to be an editor and, inspired by his speech, encouraged him to immediately assemble his thoughts into one solid text.
Proven Technique to Achieve Goals in Any Field is now being snapped up for $6.99 (BD2.640) from international online retail giant Amazon.
The feedback from the book of inspiration has been so positive, Eashwar hopes to become a prolific author now. He is already planning to release his second book before the end of the year, with the text and title being finalised, which will be about ‘winning in life’.
Meanwhile, he will continue his journey as a sought-after professional speaker and trainer, offering consultancy on customer service, leadership and other skills.
Eashwar is also urging prospective writers to take the plunge and put their thoughts or ideas into a structured setting, which he believes will help them personally too.
He said: “For me, writing is cathartic. I find meaning in life by writing. Writing is the only way to bring out the deepest feelings and explain them in detail through words. Whenever I used to get knocked down, I would write. By doing this I was transferring those feelings on to my laptop.
“Most importantly, reading books facilitates writing skills, in my opinion. Read as many books as possible. I used to read one book a week but even more would help!”
For more information on Eashwar and his work, visit www.eashinspires.com, Eash Talk on YouTube, Go Beyond – Leadership on Facebook, or eash_raj on Instagram.
