Interview with author Sati Achath.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Sati Achatch is a man of many talents. He is a recognized motivational speaker, author, cartoonist, caricaturist, and hand shadow puppeteer.
Achath captured the hearts and minds of the American public when he made it to the quarter-finals of the 2008 edition of NBC’s ‘America’s got Talent,’ where he astounded crowds with his elegant and imaginative shadow puppetry. His various endeavors have also led to him being featured on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman,’ CNN, ABC, and CBS.
In light of the release of his newest book, ‘Twelve Qualities of Highly Successful People,’ Achath corresponded with The American Bazaar and discussed how the tome came to be and what readers could expect from his latest project.
Besides ‘Twelve Qualities,’ Achath has authored four other books: ’18 Simple Steps for Efficient Time Management,’ ‘Hollywood Celebrities: Basic Things You’ve Always Wanted to Know,’ ‘Fun with Hand Shadows,’ and a children’s book — ‘Danny, Which Wheel Do You Like Best.’
Excerpts from the interview:
In your new book, Twelve Qualities of Highly Successful People, you chose 130 people to feature as models of success. Aside from the obvious, what were the criteria you utilized in making your selection?
First, I chose twelve qualities which I consider to be the most important and valuable qualities for achieving success. After selecting those twelve qualities, I focused my attention on finding people who became highly successful mainly because they possessed one particular quality from this list. For example, Walt Disney’s dream to create an amusement park for both children and adults resulted in the creation of Disneyland. Hollywood actor Jim Carrey was a goal setter who wrote in 1990 a check for himself for $10 million for “acting services rendered” (as he wrote in the memo of the check), and he dated the check, “Thanksgiving 1995”. In 1993 he earned $10 million for his role in the movie, ‘Dumb and Dumber’. Mahatma Gandhi’s commitment to non-violence was instrumental to India winning independence in 1947 from British colonialism. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s highly self-disciplined life made him Mr. Universe when he was 20 and retained this title for six years, and later a highly successful Hollywood actor. President Abraham Lincoln had to undergo series of failures and setbacks in his life but his predominant quality of persistence paved the way finally to become one of the greatest presidents of USA. Similarly, I collected several examples for all the 12 qualities.
How did you go about researching the biographical information in your book? How long did it take?
By reading more than 150 books, including biographies and motivational books, from extensive online research, and suggestions from several friends, I made a list of about 200 successful people who could be categorized under any one of the twelve qualities. After short listing, I chose 130 people to be featured in this book. This process of finalizing the list of 130 people must have taken about six months and the whole time taken to write this book was more than two and half years.
Which of the individuals featured in your book have influenced your life the most?
President Abraham Lincoln’s persistence, Thomas Edison’s positive attitude, Helen Keller’s ability to overcome obstacles, and actor Charlie Chaplin’s pursuit of excellence have influenced me to a great extent.
You conclude each chapter in your book with original advice. Do you ever need to remind yourself to follow your own suggestions?
Yes, sometimes when things don’t go the way I want, I have to remind myself to have a positive attitude rather than getting disappointed with the setbacks. Likewise, I have to remind myself to pursue excellence when I try to finish a job faster, compromising on the quality of work.
What inspired you to write your latest book?
I have always been fascinated by the concept of success. Very often, I ask myself why is that some people are highly successful in life? What are the qualities they possess to achieve success? What are the traits displayed by them under these successful qualities?
While trying to find answers to these questions, I wrote down several qualities that might contribute to achieving success. I narrowed down these qualities and chose twelve of them, which I think are the most important ones. Then I thought it will be a good idea to disseminate these valuable qualities so that many people who are interested in self-development could learn and implement them in their day to day life. This book is the outcome of such an idea.
What was the hardest part of the process?
Condensing information to about one page from plethora of details on each of the 130 examples was the hardest part of writing this book.
What have the biggest challenges of your career been thus far?
Even though I enjoy my work for the World Bank, I have always wanted to be an artist and entertainer making a living from my passions and talents. However, this dream has not yet materialized, but I am optimistic that very soon I will be able to fulfill this dream.
Do you have a muse? Where do you pull your inspiration from?
I don’t think that I have a muse! By nature, my mind is always wandering around, thinking of something or the other. In this process I get many ideas. Also when I talk to some creative friends, during the course of our conversations, many brilliant ideas crop up, many of which are quite inspirational.
What are your future plans and projects?
I am in the process of becoming a full time motivational speaker. Topic of my speeches will be on the twelve qualities explained in my new book.
Your day job is project evaluation specialist at the World Bank headquarters in D.C. However, you’re probably more well known for your efforts in show business and as an author. Furthermore, you’re a family man. How do you balance it all?
I only need about six hours of sleep, and I get up every day around 4 a.m. That gives me lot of spare time to pursue my hobbies, and I am also careful with my time management.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors or artists?
Pursue your passions and work hard to excel at them. By following this approach, you are bound to achieve success in your life.