Will the release of my biography change peoples’ perceptions of me?
I have finally achieved one of my lifelong goals of completing my autobiography. I do have an enormous sense of achievement with my autobiography in its final stages. It helped me reflect on my journey in terms of how far I have come.
However, to say that I am feeling a mixture of emotions is an understatement. I am excited about the release of my book, yet at the same time, I am worried about the way in which people will or may start to perceive me.
Those who truly know me, have accepted me. I am now worried about those who do not know the full extent of my background. My son Ren, for example, he did not know my entire life story until the first book draft. Another worry that I have is that people will assume that they know me after reading my book, and therefore assume that I will act a certain way due to my challenging childhood.
For instance, when I first started writing my biography with one my ghost-writers, we ended up falling out. When I was trying to give constructive criticism, to do with their writing style, according to this writer, the reason that I was critical was due to my childhood.
They felt that it had distorted my personality. I was quite taken aback by this at first, but I knew the reason for the criticism was because the writer was not as good as they assumed that they were, and in the end, I had to have the half of the book completely professionally re-written.
Another example was after a person saw my promotional video for my book. They said that they couldn’t believe – yes believe how well-balanced that I am considering the challenges that I have faced. I was baffled, did they expect me to be a raving lunatic?
The two examples are just small instances as to why I am facing my current anxiety. However, I have come to accept the fact that people will pass judgement regardless. The bottom line is that I know that I am a highly motivated and driven individual who believes everything is possible. My views and determination are part of my DNA, and regardless of my background, there are both good and bad sides of my personality. Just like everyone else.