Kristina Mand-Lakhiani is an international speaker, entrepreneur, artist, philanthropist, and mother of two kids. As a co-founder of Mindvalley, a leading publisher in the personal growth industry, Kristina dedicated the last 20 years of her career from teachers like Michael Beckwith, Bob Proctor, Lisa Nichols, and many more.
Kristina talks to NZ Booklovers.
Tell us a little about your book.
My book aims to help you get reacquainted with yourself. It was inspired by a curious episode I experienced a few years ago. I ran into a friend whom I had not seen for a while, and she told me that she had missed me, to which I responded without thinking, "I missed me too!"
How many modern people live their lives like that? They have outwardly good lives, they may be successful and have a lot of boxes ticked - good job, good money, family, partner, children, hobbies, travelling, and friends - but they are missing one important ingredient in the mix - themselves.
In my book, I help you go through the process of finding your way back to You. From waking up from the delusion of chasing success, giving up perfectionism, to finding the courage to be completely honest with yourself, and finally, finding kindness in your heart to love and accept yourself unconditionally.
This book is multilayered - it has deep philosophy, academic research and empirical evidence, practical examples from real life, simple exercises, and reflection points to help the reader integrate new concepts. It uses episodes of my own life as illustrations to the underlying story of finding my way back to myself.
This book is on a mission to find the main character of your life's story and reinstate it back into your life, which you will henceforth live on your own terms.
What inspired you to write this book?
The book was naturally inspired by my own journey and experience, so there's no question about that. But partially, there was also the understanding that, having been in personal growth for 20 years and being a speaker and author, it is rather natural to write a book sooner or later. So the practical inspiration was just the idea that authors usually have books, and the long COVID confinement provided a lot of time. On the business side, it was inspired by my own experience.
What research was involved?
I'm a little bit of a geek in that aspect, so there was a lot of research involved. I didn't conduct my own research, but I researched other papers out there. So pretty much any statement in the book is verified to a degree. The book includes references to scientific papers, other authors, literature, and life experiences with some people mentioned in the book. The majority of research is from the field of psychology, understanding that field, as well as research on success, happiness, and the position of females in the world.
What was your routine or process when writing this book?
In fact, I write about this process in my book as well because it has changed, particularly in the part about how habits and patterns shape our lives. The process of writing the book obviously changed and evolved. I wrote it to be self-published, so I was completely self-disciplined and had no deadlines or anything. I adjusted the process because it wasn't moving very fast initially. The process that worked best was waking up early in the morning, usually around six or seven. My mom bought me coffee while it was still quiet, as it was during the COVID pandemic and we were waking up later. I had about two hours of quiet writing time in my bedroom by the window, while everyone else was still asleep. I did research during the day as it was easier to do in between other tasks. Writing took place in a cafe when I was more focused on polishing the structure, cross-referencing, and other tasks. The creative process and the actual writing happened from seven to nine in the morning.
If a soundtrack was made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.
I'm incredibly versatile when it comes to music, and I love all sorts of music. However, when I work, I usually prefer instrumental music without lyrics because lyrics can distract me. In that case, I would include songs by two composers. One is Akin Sevgör, a Turkish electronic music composer, and the other is René Aubry, who is known for his soundtracks. These two would probably be a nice choice for the soundtrack.
If your book was made into a movie, who would you like to see playing the lead characters?
When it comes to the question of who would play the main part in the movie based on the book, it's a little hard for me to answer because I don't know the actors well enough. Of course, I see them in cinema and they portray different characters, being versatile in their expressions. So it's really hard for me to pick someone. But I would imagine that if the movie was made, I would prefer it to be a movie with different stories intertwining throughout, featuring a whole bunch of different characters. Instead of one main character, it would showcase a variety of actors. I would lean towards actors with a theatrical background, who are deep in their approach and sophisticated. So, that would be my answer to that question.
What did you enjoy the most about writing this book?
I enjoyed writing the book because I'm a writer, and I just enjoy putting my thoughts together, stringing words, and creating this music or dance with words, sentences, and ideas. The process of writing is what I really enjoyed. The process of publicizing it, marketing, and creating a lot of content around it has been a bit more challenging and demanding for me. So, I can't wait to be done with publishing this one and maybe take a long holiday to my countryside home to just write. That's the thing I enjoyed the most.
What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?
I think I'm still celebrating the book because it's not like you write a book, publish it, and that's it. The whole process is like a whole life on its own. For example, with children, we celebrate their birthdays, celebrate them going to school, and graduating from school. So, for me, it's a series of celebrations, and I keep celebrating the little things. For example, recently, hitting the number one new release on Amazon in self-esteem was a reason to celebrate. Celebration is continuous, and I believe in celebrating the little things that come along.
What is the favorite book you have read so far this year, and why?
This year, I did not have time to read other books as I was too busy with my own. I thought the writing part was the most difficult, but it turns out it was the easiest one. The most time-consuming part is the marketing of the book. I was busy with various interviews on various platforms, talking about my book, creating different marketing assets, planning the book launch, and so on. However, I am an avid reader, and I mostly enjoy fiction. Some of my favorites are "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov.
What's next on the agenda for you?
Next on the agenda for me is to utilize all the opportunities available to give my book the best possible future.