By Esha Chaudhuri
“You’re not a speck of dust. You can be anything you want to be, you are born brilliant.” says the author of the newly launched book, The Winning Formula: 52 Ways to Change Your Life, KJ Alphons, at the launch event. Held at India International Centre (IIC), on November 22, 2024, former bureaucrat and ex union minister, Alphons pens down thoughts and lessons from his own life and anecdotes to motivate those who need it. In an informal conversation with Sunday Shillong, the author says, “It took me 75 years to write this book, since I’m 71”, and laughs. “I want to convey to the readers that whatever I have done in my life, anyone can do it, and perhaps, even better than me because everyone is born unique.”
On asking him why the number 52 and not 50 or 53, the author answers “As there are 52 weeks in a year, the intention is to read a chapter a week. Think. Internalise. Act.”
Advising against the rat-race culture, in the chapter, ‘Don’t be a Photocopy’ Alphons aims to encourage children to explore the world and be what they want to be rather than trying to be someone else. He adds, “Nobody is a second or third, everybody is an achiever.”
Shedding some light on how he handles failure, Alphons explains, “You are bound to fail and it is part of life but you can’t be weighed down. Everybody who has succeeded has failed. Failure is a great teacher but you need to learn from others’ stories, not your own.”
Arriving at a crucial junction, the author was asked about the constant pressure that achievers live with of proving themselves time and again. To which he answers, “One can’t rest on their laurels. With social media and the number of likes and views, the youth believes that to be a benchmark for success. One has to win against themselves. Hardwork is the way of life and my contention is that it can be done without big brains too. Common sense is enough.”
Often described as an incidental achiever, the author was asked about his recipe for success. To which he answers, “I am able to make unusual decisions. I am able to think beyond possibilities. My backbone is in the right place and I have the courage to take my dreams forward.”
Categorised as a motivational book, Alphons doesn’t believe in advising anyone. The intention of the book is to set people’s hearts and minds on fire to act and not be slaves to their phones. He further adds, “It’s easy to be happy easily. Don’t fall prey.”
The launch event had Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, Former Foreign Secretary of India, Shyam Saran, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice Manmohan, and founder of India’s International Movement to United Nations, Rishabh Shah, on the dais to unveil the book.
The book’s foreword has been written by Shashi Tharoor, and published by Bloomsbury. It entails additional stories of people, who through their small acts make a difference in the lives of others, they were also congratulated during the event.
Alphons, who is described as a coincidental achiever himself, scored 42% in his board examinations, lived among 11 siblings in a small village in the Kottayam district of Kerala. Therefore, going by rudimentary standards of success, he had many odds going against him. However, Alphons went on to become of the toppers in the IAS academy, later a bureaucrat, MLA, and then a union minister.
Therefore, Jitendra Singh, at the launch emphasised that Alphons is the most likely candidate for success. He attributes this to his strength, grit and overcoming personal challenges. The stories that Alphons has written are models to emulate.
Shyam Saran added, “He (Alphons) is one who makes things happen and not ask what happened?”
Out of 52, 13 chapters are on himself and remaining are stories of people the author has met during his lifetime and have touched a chord by what they do and the difference they make in people’s lives.
With a crowded hall infused with tangible energy, this book couldn’t have arrived at a better time and can definitely prove to be a beacon of light for those that seek direction.