He taught Business Management at Arab Open University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “WHY – Reason of an Action (2020)” is his first book on motivation. His masterly expertise in finance, sourcing, education, marketing, and social psychology amply reflects in the book. He is currently working in the Healthcare Skills Training Institute of GE Healthcare, Saudi Arabia.
He is President of International Board of Social and Education Trust, a social and educational organization and members of many social and educational organization. He has also associated with schools in India as well as International Indian schools in Saudi Arabia.
Questionnaires:
Que: First of all, we at Criticspace wish to congratulate you, Mr. Ghaffar. How does it feel to see your raw manuscript turning into a book?
Abdul Ghaffar: At this moment, I would like to thank GOD when a dream came true. I wish to express my thought in an Urdu couplet:
TaaKhair Jo Hui Thi, Aaney Mein IsQadr
Deedar-e-Kutub Ke Liye, BeTaab Ho Gay
Nazrein Pari To Dil Ney BeSaakhta Kaha
Lo Aaj Ham Bhi Sahab-e-Kitab Ho Gaye
(The delay causes me so excited to see the book. When I saw the book, spontaneously came to my mind, I became an author today).
Que: I have read WHY and as you would find in my review also; I have mentioned the book as thoroughly researched and very well structured. How long did it take for you to write this manuscript?
Abdul Ghaffar: Thank you for reading this book. Rome was not built in a day. It took approximately two years to complete this book due to other engagements but the lockdown of 2020 provided me enough time to complete it.
Que: Usually, authors do not put such a detailed preface. Where did you get this idea from?
Abdul Ghaffar: You are right. I have gone through the preface of many books and found exactly what you are saying except a few. I decided to go with a longer preface. The reason was simple. This was my first book which was explaining about the reason. So, I decided to give the reason for writing this book. ‘Why I wrote this book’ is the subtitle of the preface which I decided purposefully. In which, I have given clear and detailed reason which will help others to maintain their motivation level if they lose due to long period. It has also clarified here that you can change your goal but you can’t change your reason. Your reason should be the same, stable and strong to achieve your goal. You will also find that if you increase the area of the beneficiary of your work, it will be easy for you to achieve your goal.
Que: Tell us a little more about this book.
Abdul Ghaffar: Well. First of all, this book is not based only on the study of hundreds of books but also based on personal life experiences. You will find many energy supplements of facts, concepts and real-life stories to boost your motivation. Language-wise this is a self-explanatory book while content-wise this is a self-help book. My thought behind this book is to make a motivational gift pack rather than a motivational book. I don’t want to make it like other books to read and keep it on the bookshelves. I assure you that you will find the flow of information and lots of interesting and informative things in it. This book consists of eight chapters and a conclusory chapter to explain the purpose of the book. I want everyone to have a copy of this book in his/her travel bag or on the reading table, at the office desk or even on the bed under the pillow. You may give it as a gift to whom you love. This book enables you to start your thinking with WHY. The cover page has been designed uniquely. You will not be able to stop yourself to ask this question why the word WHY has been written upside down? And this is the reason to design the cover page in this way so that people should start thinking in WHY direction. Asking this question will decide who has this WHY instinct in him/her or needs to activate. I can guarantee you that if anyone will see this book at home, in the office, on the bus/train or even Airplane he/she, definitely, will be curious to know about it after seeing the cover page. Second, it is written in very simple English so that a person with little knowledge of English, will also not feel difficulty to understand it and it has also been explained the concept with the support of stories which you find in your day-to-day life. Third, Where you stand about your Why and how to Know Your Why are very interesting information that is rarely available anywhere. This gives a reason in your life and also let you discover hidden Why inside you. At last, a poem on WHY gives you an enzyme to work as a booster to keep your mind active for WHY because the answer of why is the reason for every action.
Que: These days, most of the books are teaching HOW to be this or that. Why and how do you choose to write about WHYs?
Abdul Ghaffar: Thank you for asking this great question. The concept of WHAT-WHY-HOW has been elaborated on the basis of scientific research. Our mind is designed in this way where it starts with WHAT and ends with HOW. WHY occupies the maximum part of the brain. Your action (HOW) to achieve your desire (WHAT) without knowing the reason (WHY) will not bear any fruit if you will not follow the same sequence of WWH. Most people do this mistake and in the end, they lose time and effort.
Que: Your professional profile runs ahead of your name. You are a busy man. How difficult or easy was your writing journey?
Abdul Ghaffar: Of course, if you want to achieve something, you need to come out of your comfort zone. If you want to do something extra then you need to go some extra mile. To give yourself inner satisfaction, you need to sacrifice from your time of rest and enjoyment. I am not an exception, I had to do the same.
Que: You have cited so many examples of famous personalities across the different eras. Who do you think has motivated, or still motivates you the most?
Abdul Ghaffar: Since my childhood, lots of personalities have become the source of my motivation. The first biography which I read in my school age was ‘My experiment with Truth’. So, I can honestly accept that Mahatma Gandhi influenced me with his principles of non-violence and truthfulness. In the business world, I am fully influenced by the thought and personality of Steve Jobs.
Que: There is a big ocean of self-help books out there. What do you think is the key factor to attract readers to this book?
Abdul Ghaffar: You are right that there are millions of self-help books like stars but we love Milkyway. The reason is simple because Milkyway is known to us and unique among all. This book has both qualities – the familiarity of a topic and the uniqueness of style. As you said earlier, there are lots of work on HOW i.e. methodology or process of work but my focus has been on WHY i.e. reason, and there is very little work that has been done to know the reason of desire or dream. So, I am confident that this book will attract a big chunk of readers.
Que: As I see, you chose Notion Press to publish your book. I would like to know your take on this self-publishing world.
Abdul Ghaffar: I would like to thank you for asking this question because my answer will help new writers to publish their book. The publishing industry is not very luring for new authors. The established publishers have their long list of terms and conditions and time taking procedure. These companies are not having time to help and support new authors because of paying much attention to edit the manuscript and marketing for a new author. Due to delay and high rejection of manuscripts, the motivation of new authors are killed and they lose hope. Therefore, I decided to go for self-publishing. During my search for self-publishing, I found many publishing company and by comparing I realised that Nation Press will be the better option to go with. Although, it’s a good emerging publishing house and they are professional too, but there is a scope of improvements for them especially in editing. Self-publishing world is a boon for new authors to publish their hard work.
Que: Your book has a very unique ending. How did you conceive that Innocent Curiosity portion?
Abdul Ghaffar: My youngest son about whom I have mentioned in this poetry, has this nature of asking continuous questions to know about things and this world. Although, I also write poems in Urdu. I thought why should not I try it as per the topic of my book. The purpose of this book is to let the readers stay in a query mode and I didn’t find a better option than Innocent Curiosity.
Que: Lastly, you have described the What-Why-How conundrum in your book so well. After WHY, what should the readers expect from you?
Abdul Ghaffar: Hahaha. Why not should we leave this question to keep our readers curious? But you have asked this question. So, it is my moral responsibility to answer it. Just for information, I am working on a topic to develop confidence among our young generation.
Author Name: Abdul Ghaffar
Book Title: WHY- Reason for every Action
Interviewed By: Atrayee Bhattacharya at Criticspace Journals
I have not known him (Mr. Abdul Ghaffar) much, but his writings gave me an opportunity to dig deep in to the insights of his story telling and his character, he made me his fan. He has a long way to go, trust me motivation is the need of the hour and his piece of work is the icing on the cake during these tough times.
Best of Luck and eagerly waiting for the next.