Nihar Suthar's Blog

Last week, I was leading a workshop with a group of high school students. At the end of the event, one of the students asked me:“Nihar, do you consider yourself successful?”Usually, I am able to answer questions I receive without much thought. This time, however, I had to take a minute to reflect.After some contemplation, I responded: “Yes, now I would say that I’m successful. If you asked me eight months ago, though, I probably would have said no.”I believe being successful equates to being able to accomplish what you want to do, not what other people want you to do. It means being able to live life by your own terms.Most of you know that I studied economics in college. Well, upon graduation, most of the students in my program typically go on to become distinguished bankers or consultants in the world of business. Thinking this was the expectation that I had to live up to, I also followed their same established path into consulting (put simply, I helped businesses solve the problems they faced).It became clear within six months that this occupation was not for me. Yet, because of what people around me said, I felt like I had to stay. Some of them told me I could not leave my first job for at least two years because “nobody ever did that.” Others questioned why I would want to leave such a prestigious job. I ignored my own terms and instead submitted to the terms of people around me.I stayed in this occupation for a year and a half, even though I knew it was not for me. What ultimately made me act upon my desire to try something else was talking with many of my friends and forming my own view of success that I had not considered before.Personally, I believe being able to live on your own terms is much harder than it seems, especially given the conventional definitions of success today. I have some friends who make $30,000 per year, are married with a family, and coach local town sports. Most people would not consider them highly successful. Yet, these friends are happy, and they consider themselves extremely prosperous. Why? Because they have accomplished everything they wanted to.Meanwhile, I have friends on the complete opposite end of the spectrum who have started large companies and make millions of dollars per year. Yet, they still complain to me about how unhappy they are and how they wish they had the extra time to volunteer at community events. Nothing is stopping them from volunteering at these community events.You control your own decisions. This is why I feel like I only became successful eight months ago; I now completely live life on my own terms.Recently, I was asked by a Hollywood producer if I wanted to take on a new writing project in Brazil. He offered to pay for all my travel expenses and host me at a resort for several months, in addition to paying me quite well for my writing work. Normally, I would have taken up such a glamorous offer without hesitation.However, the story was not what I was interested in writing. Instead, I had the desire to write about Chumbana, an inspiring 13-year old girl skater in Kenya. So I turned down the Hollywood producer and went to Africa instead. Some people thought I was crazy – but now I’m writing what I want to, even though it is not endorsed by a Hollywood producer. And I undoubtedly consider that being successful. What is your definition of success?

Nihar recently spent three weeks in Korogocho, Kenya for research as he seeks to begin work on a new book about Chumbana Omari, a 13-year old girl who has become one of the best skaters across all of Africa. Through her skating, she is inspiring young girls in her slum to stand up for their dreams. Stay tuned for additional updates!

As a writer, it is vital to read. Reading others’ works helps me explore different writing styles as well as understand new ideas. One book I just recently finished was Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. I have been getting more and more interested in these sorts of books recently – books that shed light on the complex puzzle of how we as humans function. After all, our thought process is incredibly complicated from other species in existence.Researchers believe that humans have between 50,000 – 70,000 thoughts every single day. To put that into perspective, that is as many as 49 thoughts per minute. Some of these thoughts are irrelevant while some of them weigh on us for days. So, how do these thousands of thoughts impact the actions we take? This is what Malcolm Gladwell’s book is ultimately about.Gladwell starts off with the fundamental concept that humans make almost all decisions instantaneously. The only problem, though, is that they make those decisions based on their “gut instincts” rather than any justification. In today’s world, we always demand to understand the logic behind thoughts and choices. Gladwell says that in almost all of these cases where people make instantaneous decisions, there just may not be any logic that exists.He provides many examples to prove this point, but the one I enjoyed most was that of the kouros – a sculpture of a nude male youth standing with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides. In 1983, an art dealer by the name of Gianfranco Becchina approached the J. Paul Getty Museum in California with a flawless kouros from the sixth century BC. There are only about 200 of these statues in existence, and most of them are badly damaged. Becchina’s statue was in pristine condition – as a result, he was asking for $10 million. The Getty Museum directors were excited at the opportunity…but, they also wanted to proceed with caution, given the atypical condition of Becchina’s statue.The directors engaged a professional geologist, who spent two days examining the entire surface of the statue with a high-resolution stereomicroscope, as well as a core sample of the statue itself with an electron microscope, electron microprobe, mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence. After all these tests, the geologist concluded that the statue was definitely old. It was not some shoddy fake. The Getty was satisfied with the results of the tests.However, when directors of the museum brought in experts on Greek culture to look at the statue, they immediately had negative reactions. Evelyn Harrison, one of the world’s foremost experts on Greek sculptures, saw the statue while she was in Los Angeles and blurted on first glance, “Sorry to hear this is yours.” She could not explain why she had that reaction, but she could just feel in her gut that something was wrong.The directors of the Getty Museum decided to trust the scientific examinations of the statue (because they were backed by evidence) rather than the negative reactions of the Greek culture experts (because they had no evidence) and went forward with the purchase of the statue. Unfortunately, they found out later that the statue was indeed a fake. This was just one real case provided by Gladwell in his book that showed how humans make quick decisions on their instincts. All the Greek culture experts immediately knew that the statue was a fake – they just could not explain why.Gladwell explains that these scenarios where we make instantaneous decisions are known as “thin-slicing.” Even though we may not know all the information required to make a decision, our brain is able to process enough of it to make the decision. We do have to be careful, though, as our decisions may not always end up being correct through thin-slicing. Gladwell illustrates this through examples such as the election of Warren Harding, the new “Coke,” and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police.Overall, I thought Gladwell was able to provide a unique perspective on how humans think and act. It was a perspective presented through many different concrete examples that were simple enough for common readers to understand. While people in the field of psychology might not be impressed with his simplified examples, I thought they were fairly interesting.The only downside of the examples he presented (and perhaps the greatest downfall of the book as a whole) was that there was no flow between any of them. It felt like Gladwell jumped around between various examples without any theme or concept to tie them all together. Thus, while the cases were interesting, it made some of the reading confusing in the moment.Nonetheless, for common readers interested in how humans think and act, I recommend Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking as it will certainly provide a very different, thought-provoking perspective.

It is impossible to make a difference in this world I would also be completely lying if I said that Every person is capable of reaching his or her dreams and Harnessing the power of purpose Not only that, but by Spreading something as simple as a smile Others turn weak It is a lie that Nothing is impossible and Humans can do anything they put their minds to This is in fact the truthSurprised? Don’t be. Life is simply a matter of perspective. Try reading the above paragraph from the bottom up to see how dramatically it changes.

Recently, I had an opportunity to attend theSouthern Kentucky Book Festin Bowling Green, Kentucky and sign copies ofThe Corridor of Uncertainty. Hundreds of readers lined up to meet their favorite writers; it was an unforgettable experience for everybody involved. My personal adventure, however, began the very moment I stepped off the plane in Nashville, Tennessee. I was greeted there by dark, ominous skies and a torrential downpour of rain. 'This is a promising start,' I thought to myself.As I strolled past the baggage claim, tangled in my massive web of gloomy thoughts, I spotted my chauffeur. He had a huge grin plastered across his face...one that looked like it was not going to fade anytime soon. Had I missed some funny news?"Are you Nihar? It's great to meet you!" he bellowed as I walked towards him. "My name is Bill Powell. I'll be driving you to Bowling Green; it's about a one-hour drive." Bill was probably at least 60 or 70 years old, yet he was somehow full of infectious energy.I assumed Bill was trying to be like any other chauffeur – an amicable and professional driver. But, I quickly found out how much more there was to him. On the drive towards Bowling Green, we opened up about everything…life, athletics, writing, music, and who knows what else. I found out that Bill was a formerlegendary swimming coach at Western Kentucky University.Even the natatorium had been named in his honor."When I retired from coaching swimming, I told myself that I wouldn't sit around and do nothing…so, I applied for a chauffeur job where I can meet people from all over the world. I still teach a few classes at the university as well," he explained to me.I was overcome with respect. Bill was not even 60 or 70 like I had originally guessed. He was 80! At his age, when he should have been content with his lifelong success, he still had a desire to continue leaving his legacy on society. This was a man who I later found out was the second-winningest swimming coach in the United States. He was a man who positively impacted thousands of student lives over a span of 40 years. He was a man who held the fastest swimming mile time for his age group in the United States. Yet, he was pushing to do more, even at an age where most people would not botherMeeting Bill was a humbling moment. He showed me that every single person has a unique and inspiring story. Oftentimes, though, we get so swept away in the wave of making ours seem more superior to the others that we completely forget to stop and hear what additional stories even exist in the world.The next day, while I was signing books and speaking to readers at the Book Fest, I approached many fellow authors armed with the lesson I took away from my encounter with Bill. One author I met was Kim Dinan. At first glance, I just assumed Kim was another writer who was a part of the Book Fest. But, again, as we spoke, I found out there was so much more to her. She was a dream chaser. Kim had worked in a corporate job until she realized it was not her true calling. Inside, her heart kept screaming at her to become a full-time writer.For many years, Kim suppressed that dream inside her heart. One day, though, she found that she no longer could. Rather than letting the dream slowly die, she built up the courage to let go of what society thought about her. Making her story seem superior to others through unfulfilling "success" in the corporate world was no longer important. Kim quit her job.In a matter of months, she left to travel the world and write about her experiences as she had always wanted to do. Along the way, she changed peoples' lives through her volunteering efforts and special yellow envelope contributions. You can read about her full story inThe Yellow Envelope: One Gift, Three Rules, and a Life-Changing Journey Around the World.If anything, after reflecting on my full trip to the Southern Kentucky Book Fest, I realize how important it is to take more time to speak to the people around us. Life is not always about being better than others. It is about uplifting others.Amazing people with unique and inspiring stories surround us every day. This is what makes the world such a beautiful place. It is also what made my experience in Kentucky so remarkable. Thank you to everybody involved who made the event possible. It will certainly have a lasting impact on my life, and I hope it will change the way you think as well.

I often receive questions from friends, family, and fans about how I approach the book publishing process. Honestly, I can admit that there is no clear-cut method on how to traditionally publish your work; every author has his or her own "secret sauce." Today, I would like to share the recipe for my secret sauce with you. It has worked 100% of the time in helping me get my books traditionally published. I want to pass this success onwards.Before going any further, however, I think it is important to point out that there are two main strategies around how authors can traditionally publish books. The first strategy, which is the most selective and hardest to execute, is working with an agent. Agents receive 10,000 to 15,000 manuscript submissions every year…and on average, they only choose to represent four or five new authors from all those submissions. This translates into an acceptance rate of approximately .04%, which is 135x lower than the acceptance rate for Harvard University. An agent is quite valuable, though, because he or she will leverage existing connections to pitch your manuscript to some of the largest and most prestigious publishing houses in the world.The second strategy for publishing a book is to cut out the agent altogether. Contrary to what most authors believe, agents are not required in the process. There may even be some value in avoiding them, as they usually expect at least 15% royalties from all book sales. This strategy is the road that I have taken with all my books to date.So, what is my secret recipe on traditionally publishing a book without an agent? Simple. Instead of having an agent represent you and reach out to publishing houses on your behalf, you reach out yourself (once you have a completed manuscript). It is true that some of the larger publishing houses will only accept manuscript submissions from agents. But, many of the smaller to mid-size publishing houses will in fact accept queries directly from authors. My advice to uncover these publishers is to do a search on Amazon by the same genre of book as you have written. Go through at least the first 20 pages of results, and make a list of which publishing house each book is published by.For example, if you are aiming to publish a nonfiction cookbook, search for cookbooks on Amazon and make a list of which publishers have published each cookbook. Doing this will allow you to target only the most relevant publishers for your future book. Once you have compiled a list of 30 to 40 publishers, research each one and look on their websites to see if the publishing house editors accept unsolicited manuscripts directly from authors. If so, then send a pitch email (I will write an upcoming blog post on the perfect pitch email) with the first three chapters of your manuscript attached. It is extremely important that your manuscript is edited and in final-draft form. The publishing house editors will decide whether they want to read your entire manuscript based on just those three chapters. If they are interested, they will reach out to you within a month (or a little longer) asking you for your entire manuscript. Finally, if they like your entire manuscript, they will offer you a publishing deal!Negotiating the publishing deal is another tricky part of the process, which I will also write a future blog post on. For now, if you are looking to break into the world of traditional book publishing, start by finishing your manuscript and compiling a list of publishing houses that have published books in a similar genre to the one you hope to release. I can promise you that with some perseverance, this strategy is guaranteed to land you a traditional book publishing deal. If you have any comments or questions on my process, feel free to post them below!

Congratulations to Nihar Suthar, author ofThe Corridor of Uncertainty, which has scooped the accolade of Debut Cricket Book of the Year in Cricketweb’s annual awards.“A superb book and one that deserves to be widely read.” That’s what Cricketweb’s Martin Chandler said about Corridor in his review earlier this year. “There is absolutely no reason why it would not appeal to every single one of the millions of readers who madeThe Kite Runnera best seller, as well as the rather more modest forty thousand or so who buy Wisden every April. It has the potential to be the biggest selling book about the game of cricket ever written. The most thought provoking book on any subject I have read in years.”ClickHEREto find out which book won the cricket website’s overall Cricket Book of the Year – and to read an exclusive interview with both the winning author and Nihar. Or click below to download a free sample chapter of The Corridor of Uncertainty – try before you buy!Just as every batsman struggles to hit deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty, the Afghan cricket team faced similar doubts, problems and extreme danger in its quest to mend a war-torn nation.The Corridor of Uncertainty is an inspirational story, which will be of interest to every fan of the international game.Be part of the Afghan cricket team’s incredible journey, rising from the worst cricket team in the world to a top-ten ODI powerhouse.Nihar Suthar’s treatment of a great cricketing story is creative and multi-dimensional, seamlessly blending in other aspects of everyday life in Afghanistan, such as politics, religion and culture.Offers a vivid experience of the conditions in Kacha Garhi refugee camp where many Afghan cricketers grew up.The book features never-before heard stories from Afghan cricketers including Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Nabi and Karim Sadiq Khan.ClickHEREfor more information, or to read a sample from The Corridor of Uncertainty: How Cricket Mended a Torn Nation.

This story is from my recent journey to Japan with my travel companions Ian, Sachin, and Joy. Follow Ian and Sachin'sblogfor deep adventure stories and insights into life.We were lost, somewhere in the heart of the largest city in the world. Everybody around us seemed to know exactly where they were going, as they weaved their ways through the bustling station like seasoned navigators. ‘How could we not know where to go? Everybody else knows. It’s not like we’re idiots,’ I scoffed. We had come equipped with smartphones and a portable WiFi unit; and yet, we still somehow managed to lose our way.Ian, all of a sudden, interrupted my solemn river of thoughts. “What if we go down to platform 4? That train may go in the direction we need to go.”“Sure,” I mumbled. What did we have to lose? At this point, we were just four foreign strangers astray in a city of 15 million people. Nobody was going to notice us, so we had to do the best we could to at least try helping ourselves.We jumped on the escalator that led down into what seemed like a mysterious underworld of railroad tracks. Everybody on the escalator formed a perfect single file line to the left-hand side, making space for anybody who wished to pass by on the right. Ian, meanwhile, decided to opt for the stairs because he wanted the “exercise.” As soon as I got on the escalator, I pulled into the passing lane and raced Ian down to platform 4. To this moment, we have not been able to agree on who exactly won (I like to think I did), but honestly, what happened after that, made me realize that there is something greater in life to worry about than winning or losing.As the next train on platform 4 blared its shrill horn while arriving to a complete stop, we weighed whether it would take us where we needed to go. I ran inside one of the cars, scanning the map (it felt more like scanning hieroglyphics) for some sort of positive confirmation. Ian, Joy, and Sachin debated furiously out on the platform whether we should risk taking the train or not. We had less than 30 seconds to decide before the doors closed and the opportunity walked out on us forever. I must have looked like I was really struggling, because out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a man smile at me. He calmly approached, and asked:“Where are you trying to go?”“Sasazuka station. Do you know if this train stops there?” I was more focused on mentally approximating how much time we had left before the train departed.“Hmm.” The man studied the map. “Yes, this train does seem to go there.”I motioned frantically to the others to get inside before our only mode of transportation disappeared into the darkness. “Thank you very much. Arigatou!”I figured adding the “arigatou” would make my exchange a bit more “authentic.” It was also the only word I knew in Japanese. The doors closed with a loud beep, and the train lurched forward with a loud hiss. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least we were finally headed in the right direction.“Where are you all from? India?” the man inquired.“We are all from the United States, but my parents are originally from India.”“Is it true that Kumar is a popular name there?”‘What a very strange question,’ I thought. “A lot of people add Kumar to the end of a first name or use it as a middle name. Kumar shows respect, because it means prince,” I explained. “My name is Nihar. So, in India, some people could call me Nihar kumar.”The man flashed a smile of admiration. “I see. Here, we also believe respect is important. We add ‘san’ to the end of everybody’s name. So, your name here in Japan is Nihar san.”I returned his smile of admiration. What a simple, but meaningful concept. No matter who the Japanese speak to, they often add a ‘san’ to the end of his or her name to show respect. The man and I talked for many more minutes about the importance of respect in today’s world, and it got me thinking about how this same quality is slowly dying out in Western culture. People are often too concerned with their own well-being to respect the well-being of others. They do not even respect their superiors and elders, let alone their peers.In Japan, however, respect is of the utmost importance at every corner. Even when emergency service providers need to tend to urgent situations, they turn their vehicle sirens on and announce through a loudspeaker, “we’re going through the red light so please wait a moment” or “an emergency vehicle is approaching so please make your way slowly and carefully to the left. Thank you!” as they drive through the never-ending Tokyo traffic. It is this type of seemingly trivial respect that we desperately need around the world. We need to look after each other and care for the well-being of each other. Until we can do that, each and every one of us will continue being lost on some level.Just then, the conductor announced on the loudspeaker, “This station is Sasazuka.” I felt content as I stepped off the train that night. I had found myself again, in more ways than just one.

Imagine that you have toiled incredibly hard for months, or even years, to publish your book. Now that it’s finally released, you’re basking in all the glory. Little do you know that the real journey is only beginning. Once your book is live, you have to market it and make sure readers know it even exists. There are countless ways to promote your book (social media, press releases, etc.), one of which is going on a book tour. Many people in the publishing industry may tell you that the days of the classic book tour are over. However, I’m here to tell you that they are still alive and well. If you plan and execute it all properly, you can derive several benefits from a book tour.So, how do you go about actually planning one? My tactics are a bit different. Rather than targeting the traditional bookstores like most authors do, I instead go where I know I will always have an audience. For example, I recently wrote a book titledThe Corridor of Uncertainty. When I went on tour to promote it, I could have easily arranged visits at every bookstore in North America, South America, and Asia where I planned to go. However, since I’m still a relatively new and unknown author, it’s unlikely that anybody would have actually showed up at my “book signing events.” One breakthrough that I had about my book, though, is that it is a perfect educational read for high school students. It blends together sports, politics, religion, history, and culture in the Middle East region, topics that are sometimes covered in classes.I started compiling a list of high schools in the countries where I wanted to tour (based on where cricket was a popular sport), and then sent the teachers there quick emails with a few compelling reasons about why supplementing their curriculum with my book would be beneficial. I also offered to visit the schools and speak to the students about my inspirations, so they could all personally connect with the author. For every 20 or 30 emails I sent out, I got one or two responses. This may not seem too impressive, but what happened in those one or two responses was magical. The teachers not only asked me to supply 40-50 books for their students to purchase, but they also fully covered the expenses of my travel so I could go visit the schools.Effectively, my tour was free. I had an unforgettable experience going into schools and inspiring hundreds of students. At every event, I had a guaranteed audience that I could engage right in front of me. What did I take away from the entire tour? Sometimes, you just have to think outside the box. Don’t believe that you have to visit only bookstores on a tour. If you are an unknown author, build your brand by thinking of other relevant audiences that you can easily engage. Arrange your book tour around those channels. I promise that you will have more success.

Earlier this week, I got the chance to interview Georgie Badiel, a model, philanthropist, and recipient of the 2004 Miss Africa award. The reason I wanted to talk to her is because she has been able to do something amazing: make time to help others by founding a nonprofit organization, despite being young and in the midst of her modeling career. Georgie has taken on the challenge of bringing potable drinking water to Burkina Faso, her homeland in western Africa. In Burkina Faso, 80% of the population does not have access to clean water.Why is this particular story so important? Because hundreds of peers I have interacted with in the past few years are torn; like Georgie, they want to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems. The roadblock, however, is that being young, we are all under pressure to advance in our careers, take steps in the direction of financial security, and potentially start planning to have a family one day…and as everybody has discovered by now, there is little room to accomplish any of this in the nonprofit sector. There are also virtually no resources or training opportunities available. So, the big dilemma remains in our mind, beginning to eat away at us:How can I help solve major problems in the world when I have to worry about personal issues, like pursuing my career, supporting a family, etc.?Luckily, Georgie has an answer. She faced a similar predicament from an early age. Growing up in the poor town of Réo (Burkina Faso, Africa), her grandmother used to wake her up at 6am every day to go fetch water. She hated it, and thought about how to make an improvement. Georgie endlessly swamped her grandmother with questions.“Why do we have to walk so many miles to get water? Why is it not closer? Why is the water not clear? Where is our water?”Her grandmother did not know how to explain the situation. She simply responded, “I hope you will understand one day and change it.”Unfortunately, before Georgie got an opportunity to do so, she fell victim to personal complications (as many of us do). When she was just 14 years old, her father told her that he could no longer afford to pay her school tuition. Georgie had to get creative and find a side job. She hustled and hustled. Eventually, she settled on modeling regionally. She built up some contacts in Burkina Faso (while making money to pay for school), and within two years, she gained enough popularity to win the Miss Africa title. Fashion designers noticed her, and from there, she began a modeling career in France and New York.In 2009, after jetting around the world, Georgie returned for a visit back home. At the time, her sister was close to nine months pregnant. What stunned Georgie, though, was the discovery that her nine-month pregnant sister woke up between 2am and 4am every day to go collect water. Nothing in the town had changed. Georgie thought back to her childhood desires of wanting to fix the water difficulty in her area. According to her, this is the first part of the answer to our problematic question.We need to find a cause or topic that we are 100% passionate about.How do we know when we have discovered something we are energetic about? I have found that there are two distinct signs:1. You will constantly feel like you can do more. When you love a cause or topic, you will never settle, and always think of new ways to do more than you already are.2. Nobody will have to tell you to work on your cause or nonprofit. For example, if you love playing the piano, nobody will have to force you to practice. You will make time to practice on your own. On the other hand, if you hate something, like history, you will never study it unless someone pushes you to do so.Armed with her own compelling cause, Georgie dove into fixing the lack of water in underdeveloped African regions. She planned to build wells in various cities, but quickly ran into the big dilemma we all face. Georgie already had a career as a model. There was no money for her to make by exclusively building wells in Africa. So, she again had to get creative. Georgie made modeling a side career (just to ensure she had income) and focused the rest of her time on founding a nonprofit organization that would bring water to Africa. This is the second part of the answer to our question.We need to find a flexible job on the side to create income, which we can use to support ourselves and also use in our journey to solve the world’s problems (by founding nonprofits, etc.). Eventually, we should also branch out into every single income-generating activity related to our mission.For example, Georgie raised additional money for her nonprofit by working with two authors to create a unique children’s book on water access. She also is in the process of establishing her own for-profit water company. Thus, she is still staying on the general topic of water, but is finding creative ways to make money while simultaneously building up expertise that pertains to her life mission. We should strive to do the same.Through these two strategies, Georgie has been able to help solve a major problem in the world. In fact, up to this day, her nonprofit organization staff has built five wells and provided clean drinking water access to more than 25,000 people. She believes it is just as possible for all of us to lend a helping hand to humanity and overcome the fundamental dilemma we discussed earlier. What do you think?Learn more about Georgie Badiel and her nonprofit organizationHERE.