Approaching Ipala, Mexico
As we cruise down the west coast of Mexico my mind is partly elsewhere, on a very different kind of ocean adventure. I am writing about the early days of the Atlantic Rowing Race – events that were taking place exactly 12 months ago. And I have a quandary.
The publishers that have expressed an interest so far want it to be a personal development book (formerly known as self-help) based on my adventure. This is fine with me – my ‘I am what I am’ guest column for the Sunday Times got a good enough response for me to know that the lessons I learned on the Atlantic have broader applications.
But how far to go in that direction? On the spectrum between Adventure at one end and Personal Devevlopment at the other, where should I position my story?
I don’t want to preach – I know a few things that worked for me and they might work for others too – lessons about tackling big challenges, the value of perseverance, how to make difficult decisions, the importance of realistic expectations, and overcoming obstacles. But readers are smart. I don’t have to bludgeon you over the head with my home-spun philosophies. So do I just tell my story and leave you to draw your own conclusions?
My current plan is to tell the story and add a few short bullet points at the end of each chapter summarizing what I learned. Let me know what you think!
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