The book “Your Next Self: Repaint Your Canvas. Design a New Identity. Transform Yourself.” by Swapnil Pawar is a motivational self-help book.
The incidents, events, and real-life experiences of the author shared in this book shall bring forth a realisation and offer readers a new perspective to tread on a different path of living life by discarding the unnecessary baggage that they carry of the past, create a formidable transformation in the present, and alter the course of their future to live a life full of enthusiasm, fulfilment, and abundance.
The purpose of this book is to create that metamorphosis within readers, so that they discard the different personas they play in the drama of their life and reach a level of immense success and happiness.
Read an excerpt from the book below.
When I was completing my graduation, I used to visit my father’s office in the evenings. I used to spend some time there in his personal cabin. Sit on his chair when he was not around and visualise myself taking important decisions, asserting authority, and living my dream of becoming an entrepreneur. As I used to sit on his chair, right across on the wall was a small painting of a vintage Mercedes car standing in its majestic, beautiful, open convertible body. I can vividly remember that it had large, round, silver headlights and had a shiny coat of paint. On the painting below this vintage car was a quote written, “My Tastes Are Simple. I Like To Have The Best.” Somehow, I used to continuously stare at the painting and especially the quote which was written on it. The entire painting had a magical effect on me and I used to read that quote over and over again. That amazing piece of oil on canvas is glued to my memory and even after thirty years of doing business, I still remember it in intrinsic detail.
The whole painting somehow has been like a blueprint for my entire life. It has not only inspired me to conduct my life with simplicity and humility, but also to dream, desire, and possess things which are of the best quality and value. I have taken business decisions, acquired premium real estate spaces, and invested in the best rated companies in the stock market, based on the same principle of acquiring the best of products in its class without any compromise on the quality. As Aldo Gucci puts it so perfectly, “Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.” These simple lines on the painting have influenced me immensely. My insistence on buying only quality products is ingrained deep inside my core in everything I do in my world of business and personal life. Somehow, it has become my way of doing things in my life which are of the highest quality and there is simply no room for mediocre stuff. I have always been propelled to acquire things only of the best quality, which has added more value to the way I conduct my business, the real estate investments I make, my home front, and also the vacations I take to faraway places and choosing to stay at some of the finest properties worldwide.
The point I am trying to make over here is to walk through life with an abundant mindset. I have observed that many people live with a scarcity mindset. A scarcity mindset is developed due to a constant fear that whatever they have in their lives is not enough and someone may take away all that they have. So, they live in constant misery and distrust. You can immediately recognise people with a scarcity mindset as they are always pessimistic about their current existence with a belief ingrained within them that times would always be tough. They are pessimistic in nature and always project a very bleak future. These people are constantly in a blame game mode and they would not trust anyone else other than themselves. They are very fearful of competition and challenges as they absolutely fear change and are ready to live a mediocre life.
I urge you to make the shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundant mindset. As Wayne Dyer has rightfully said, “Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.” So, a person with an abundant mindset has consciously allowed himself to raise his frequency to the level of abundance. Raising your frequency and tuning into abundance is an opportunity available to everyone. You have to simply embrace opportunities which life presents you and create possibilities along the way. Having an abundant mindset is an attitude with which you conduct your life. When you develop this kind of a mindset, you are ready to take on fears which have stopped you earlier and accept more challenges in your life. People with this kind of mindset have the courage to take greater risks and move outside their comfort zones to create success and fulfilment. I encourage you to carry your BYOB, and don’t get me wrong here, my definition of BYOB is to Bring Your Own Brilliance to your home, your workplace, or anywhere you decide to be. A person with an abundant mindset exudes a lot of self-confidence and he carries with him a very contagious attitude. We immediately recognise such a person by the way they conduct themselves, in the way they communicate, and we can see a positive body language whenever they are around.
Of course, all these things can be learnt and developed into your routine and you would realise the immense difference it makes in your work sphere and dealing with the people around you. I read an awesome line in a book which says, ‘Self-confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have. How can anyone see how awesome you are, if you can’t see it yourself.’ I have seen and met many successful people and the one quality I have observed and learned from them is that they live life very simple with a mindset of abundance. They are very humble and their feet are firmly affixed on the ground. They live life on absolutely their terms, and they neither flaunt their wealth nor are they overtly flamboyant about the things that they own.
But, living life simply doesn’t mean not availing the best of things. Rather, I am of the opinion that you should buy those material things if you desire them and have an inner conviction that you really deserve them. Then, absolutely go and avail the best things of value and of the highest quality. So what I am getting at is, ‘Live simple, but go for the best.’ It shall be a game-changer.
Excerpted with permission from Your Next Self, Swapnil Pawar, Notion Press. Read more about the book here and buy it here.
