Do what’s in your heart. Be yourself.

We often doubt ourselves and imagine that we have to change so that the world accepts us. We imagine we need to compromise on our dreams, on doing what makes our hearts sing, in order to succeed.

But instead of you bending to meet the world, be yourself, unapologetically, wholeheartedly, and the world often bends to meet you. It’s as if the Universe says, ‘Yes’, well done for being yourself and staying with what feels true for you’.

I remember writing my first book, ‘It’s the Thought that Counts’. I started in 2003 and self-published it two years later after being turned down by every publisher I contacted. Among some advice I received was that I needed to write a more self help-type book, and not just a book about the mind-body and mind-world connection.

It’s useful to take advice at times, of course, but I knew in my heart this was what I needed to write about. It’s what I knew about and I knew in my heart that I had to express what I knew, regardless of whether people would read it or not.

Nine books later and it was absolutely the right thing to do. It set the tone for most of my other books, including ‘How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body’, which was my route into HEAL documentary. My first book wasn’t a blockbuster, but it opened doors and helped me establish myself.

Even now, being myself is crucial. I write and speak a lot about kindness, yet kindness doesn’t sell as much as many other topics. I could easily dial it down, but I don’t. I am also very grateful to @hayhouseuk for supporting me in this way.

Writing and speaking about kindness is in my heart. It’s part of who I am. Regardless of whether any of my kindness books (I’ve written 3) ever becomes a bestseller, I know there’s a purpose in me doing it. I know this because it feels like the right thing to do.

Ultimately, being yourself isn’t about short term results. It’s about being in it for the long term. It’s about being and expressing You.

Seeming negatives in the short term are just part of the path to finding yourself.

Ultimately, if you be yourself, you’re already succeeding, regardless of what the world tells you.