Zen Entrepreneurship
By Rizwan Virk

Interview With The Author

Why did you decide to write a book?
I decided to write this book as a way to clear in my own mind what I had learned. I originally wrote it for myself, but then found that others liked reading it and then decided to put it into wider circulation.

What did you learn by writing a book?
I learned that it's OK to write *what* I want to write. Although people who read it liked it, those in the publishing industry were very negative about its chances. I wrote it anyway - and it was a great experience to tap into the energy again of all that I'd learned.

Do you have any suggestions to help others publish their books?
Write what you want to write, what comes natural - not what you think "will sell". While it is possible to get an agent or to approach a publishing house, there are plenty of other ways to self-publish your book nowadays.

How do you inspire yourself to write?
I find that I can write much more effectively after a good meditation or after sleeping a little bit. And especially when I travel. Much of the book was written when I took "time off" from my normal life and went and lived in California for a few months. This was a great experience.

Do you have any funny stories about things that happened while you were writing the book?
Here's a funny one that happened recently. Just about a week ago, I had a dream that a friend of mine from New York who was a student of Rama's approached me and said, "We're putting together a reading list of books about Rama's teachings. We'd like to put your book on it". When I woke up, I didn't think much of the dream, and I hadn't heard from this friend in a while. Just a week later, I got this email from Liz saying that they were putting together a page of books about Rama and his teachings and that my book was going to be on this list. With respect to writing, this kind of thing has happened to me a lot.

Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Writing a book is a process of letting things which you have inside of you flow out and onto the printed page. To this end, it's a good idea to find what activities or times of day you are most in this mode. For example, does a walk in the woods help you to get into that state? Is it a good meditation? Or is it a lively discussion with friends over lunch? Don't just take others advice; find out what works for you and then incorporate that into your writing routine.