“With or without”

A recommendation for a deep inward look by readers is the prime message in this slim debut volume from Minocher Patel, founder director of Ecole Soltaire, India’s first residential finishing school. As introduced in the book, Patel has "trained more than a lakh of individuals all over the world.” He believes that if one is successful but not happy, then one is not truly successful. The book claims to provide a road map for "aspiring generations through the obstacles and struggles of life.”
The volume is written in an easy to read manner. The roadblocks to success and happiness that the motivational speaker lists serve as a reiteration to working professionals who have ‘been there, done that.’ While the tips the book offers may appear elementary to experienced managers, they could be of value to young people starting out in their professions or businesses.
Included in the barriers to success are lack of ownership, fear of failure, lack of passion and unplanned effort. Procrastination of happiness, a negative attitude and emotional baggage are listed as some obstacles to happiness. The volume is liberally peppered with quotes from well-known personalities, psychologists and writers and even from Zoroastrian scriptures and the Dalai Lama. The author provides equally comprehensive lists with tips on how to achieve happiness and success.
Introducing the concept of a "WOW attitude,” Patel informs readers that WOW refers to "with or without” just about anything: with finances or without, with opportunities or without. Patel alludes to the renowned motivational speaker Nick Vujicic who was born without arms and legs and became one of the first disabled students to be admitted to a regular school in Australia. "Assume a simple and effective attitude,” Patel recommends. While reiterating the importance of self acceptance as one of the first steps to success, he quotes Clark Moustakas, the American psychologist as saying "you are you, and that is the beginning and the end. No apologies, no regrets.”

Minocher Patel: trainer and debut writer

"Guru mantras,” the last section in the book offers five "tried and tested mantras (tips) of happy living,” developed by Patel and propagated by him in his workshops. "An imbalance anywhere,” he says is a cause for trouble, be it lack of sleep, stress or lack of exercise. Let go, says the author, referring to bad memories, emotional baggage and losses of the past. One mantra states that one should practice detached attachment and attached detachment towards things and people. The last mantra recommends high acceptance and low expectations. When we expect less, it becomes easier to be delighted about what others do for us, he states.
A foreword by Lord Meghnad Desai, economist and author calls the volume a "brilliant guide book” and reiterates that "the key to success lies within and not without.”