Interview with Rajat Khatri, The author of 10 Keys to Attain Happiness

Rajat Khatri is a Certified Happiness Coach and Founder of Happy Life Architecture. A company that he started to coach people how to be Happier in life by making minor changes in daily routine. Till date, he has already coached 500+ people and made their life happier.

Based on his experience by coaching others and guidance he received from his mentors (famous Int’l Happiness Gurus, Professors and Researchers), he wrote this book named “10 Keys to Attain Happiness – backed by data-based research)”

Ravi: What’s your favorite short story?

Rajat: A fisherman went for fishing and caught his 2 fishes in an hour. The rest of the day he just lied under the sun, prepared his food and did whatever he wanted to. A business approached him, looking at his skill to catch fishes so quickly and advised him to catch more fishes throughout the day.

The fisherman asked, “What will happen then”. The businessman replied that he’ll be able to earn more, buy a boat, bigger net, new house and will have a lavish lifestyle. The fisherman asked again, “What will happen then”. The businessman said, “You’ll be able to enjoy life and be Happy”. The fisherman smiled and asked, “What do you think I’m doing now”

The story is close to my heart as it conveys the message to enjoy life in every moment and circumstances rather than worrying about uncertain goals.

Ravi: The Best piece of writing advice?

Rajat: No advice as such but do write. Do write anything every day. Your wishes, your goals, your experiences, your pains, your happier moments. Pen down your feeling in a journal and the Journal will become your best friend.

Ravi: Where do you write?

Rajat: I have my study room in my home and that’s the best place to sit and write. I usually write and work for my business from 10 PM – 1 AM, that’s when the family and kids sleep, and I have time for myself. That is the time when I write.

Ravi: Where do you get your ideas?

Rajat: I’m usually very mindful when I’m talking, listening or reading and therefore I get ideas and stories from experiences of others. Since, I write about “Happiness” in life so every person I meet gives me some story, incident which I convert into a story.

Ravi: Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Rajat: Haha, that’s a great question. Actually it depends on what you are writing. Writing an examination or an email for work definitely exhausts me, just kidding. But yes, if you are writing something that you want to write eg. I want to write about the stories, I just love them and get energized however when I have to write something that I don’t like, then definitely I get exhausted.

Ravi: How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Rajat: I have just written one book so far but when I started, I thought anan it might take 3-4 months to write though I had the plan and flow in my mind but then my mentor asked me to write an ending date on your desk and write accordingly. That way I was able to write my first version within almost 45 days.

Ravi: If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

Rajat: I would have definitely become a good reader. Reading was something that I never enjoyed. I would have hardly read books during my school or college days. But in the brings last brings 3-4 years, is when I started reading and that’s when I realized the power of a writer and that brings out the writer in me.

Ravi: What is your favorite childhood book?

Rajat: As I said, I was never a good reader. The first book that I loved reading and have read many times after that is “The Secret”

Ravi: What are your favorite literary journals?

Rajat: I don’t read literature. I usually read some motivational and inspirational articles whether uploaded online or in newspapers. Recently I started listening to these stories and books on YouTube as I am a better listener than the,reader. Audible is a great product for me. And there are so many videos, stories on positivity, happiness and law of attraction that I listen to.

Ravi: What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

Rajat: I usually have to be on my desk and during the “me-time” schedule (10 PM – 1 AM) to write. I think this is something I would like to give up to be in my own space. I should try to write when I feel like irrespective of the place or time.

Ravi: What was your hardest scene to write?

Rajat: That’s a tough one but yes while writing sometimes you need to connect the dots which means while writing a chapter you have a story but probably not the action steps or assignments to follow. That is when I had to do a lot of research to connect the story and one chapter with the other.

Ravi: Do you Google yourself?

Rajat: Let me do that just after the interview. Ha, but yes I did sometimes and all before becoming the author

Ravi: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Rajat: Not really. The book that I have written is in very simple language for people to read and understand in one go. Moreover, I wrote about practical steps to follow to live a happier life therefore, these shouldn’t be the secrets but the facts which readers can easily implement. Let this world be a happier place to live in.

Ravi: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Rajat: Yes, that is something I follow thoroughly. Among the 40+ reviews so far in my book, most of them are 5 stars which means readers are liking it.

Ravi: Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

Rajat: Nothing that I could recall

Ravi: What did you edit out of this book?

Rajat: Nothing, this book is all about real-life solutions for a happier living so there is nothing to edit but everything to be implemented in life.

Ravi: How many hours a day do you write?

Rajat: I usually write for an hour on normal days but while writing this book, I used to spend 3-4 hours per day.

Ravi: How long were you a part-time writer before you became a full-time one?

Rajat: I am a part-time writer. Not sure if ever I’ll become a full-time writer. I write because I think there is a clear message for the readers that Happiness is a Science and there are things that are proved to impact Happiness and Well-being.

Ravi: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Rajat: For my book, I spent 2-3 months in designing my Happiness coaching session which also gave me an idea to write a book and put everything for readers to read and understand.

Ravi: What’s the best way to market your books?

Rajat: I’m still exploring it. I have been to workshops and seminars where I see people interested to know about Happiness but they probably are not good readers (like me) and thus haven’t bought the book, but these people engaged with me on Social media and understand my posts well.

So I feel, the best way to market yourself is either by being a brand yourself or impacting life of others.

Ravi: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Rajat: every day I get a new idea now to write a book. But now I have started getting content for my next book which is around “Happiness at Workplace”

Ravi: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

Rajat: After my book was published, I started feeling that my writing has suddenly improved. As it has become more professional and now I started enjoying writing even more. I can articulate small stories into a better storyline and thus use them during my workshops or for writing in the book.

Ravi: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Rajat: I would tell my younger self, that being a Writer is not tough. It’s all about your commitment to yourself and what new you want to do in life. Once that is clear, anyone can be a writer.

Ravi: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Rajat: We were a group of 4-5 friends who are Life and Happiness Coaches too. So we all attended one workshop about being an Author. Since that Workshop, it was more of that we became competitors to see who can write the book first and get this published. Only one of my friends could also publish his book, but after mine, other’s are still in process of writing.

But even then, they helped me in finalizing the name of the book, in reading the manuscript and providing feedback and even in finalizing the book cover.

Ravi: Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Rajat: I try to be Original. Actually, when you are original, you can write or speak in a flow and that’s when the emotions come out very well. That’s when you can connect with the audience in one go.

Ravi: What advice do you have for writers?

Rajat: Start writing, complete your first draft before making any changes to your existing manuscript.

Ravi: What are the most important magazines for writers to subscribe to?

Rajat: Not that I’m aware of but would like to know.

Ravi: Tell me about your recent book to our Ravi Reads Blog Readers?

Rajat: This book is all about what needs to be done to be Happier in life. In this book, I have talked about 10 such principles that are backed by Research that they impact our happiness and well-being. To get connected to the topics, there are stories, real cases and even some activities to be done to be Happier in life.

95%+ readers on Amazon have rated me 5 stars and have commented about the availability of exercises and cases which they can resonate with. Do read and share your thoughts.

To Know more about Rajat's 10 KEYS TO ATTAIN HAPPINESS check out this link

Thanks to Rajat for agreeing to this interview! If you know of an author who’d like to be featured in an interview (or you are an author who would like to be featured), feel free to email me at the address on my contact page.