“We are all born with a Best-Selling story within” – Nasreen Variyawa

The miracle and wonder of each life is such,

That we are each born with a predestined story pretty much!

Left to experience or change destinies on paths that are smooth or rough,

Given the power to tell stories through which we bring the human touch!

Born and raised in Durban, South Africa, I can remember being aware of the miracle of writing from an incredibly young age. I was the child who was content to sit aside and read books or write stories. This sometimes worried my parents who felt that I should spend more time playing like the other children did but as I progressed through my academic and work years, it became clear that I had an innate talent that needed exploring.

Then, life unexpectedly took over and survival became a priority, so I began writing academic books for some well-known corporate colleges. It kept me enough busy to keep me aside from nurturing the creative spirit within. At that time, I was also a trainer and motivational speaker, travelling around the country to deliver skills training programs that were aimed at filling the skills gaps, in a post-apartheid country.

When I finally traded stilettos and suits for lab coats and classrooms, the wander-lustre within moved to Turkey to teach English and the burgeoning author finally came out to play. It took a leadership coach to point out that the talent I had could be profitable when I responded to his challenge to write a book within a month.  With renewed spirit, I went on to write and publish two best sellers on Amazon, known as Ignite the champion within and inspire others to begin and Aspire to Inspire: Poems that elevate your speech. After five years of writing my own books and helping others to write their best sellers, I am on the verge of publishing my next book that is aimed at helping authors adopt the correct mindset and lifestyle for authoring books. The tentative title for the book is The Recipe for Authentic Authoring.

What started out as a side hustle, soon became a profitable passion when I began to get calls from authors who required ghostwriting and editing. I lapped it all up, becoming unstoppable thorough uninhibited, passionate work. Earning a reputation for my take on all things with a -tell-it-like-it-is approach, I coined the brand Nasreeniology, derived from my name. I pray that it continues to earn its place in the hearts and minds of my fans. I am also a nominee for one of the Top 25 authors at the Golden Door Awards, happening in Singapore in September 2020.

I am privileged to have learnt some invaluable lessons about the gift of writing. Though we are all not innate writers, we are all storytellers.  All of us are born with the plot to our own stories that are connected to the purpose for which we are born, to help and to serve.  Through storytelling, we have the power to help others through the miracle of ideas. After all, it has always been words that have given the world renewed meaning over and over again.

Yes, the challenges we all live through are sometimes common. Challenges like traumatic accidents, failed marriages, sunken businesses, and abusive bosses are given in the environments we live in today. In the face of a growing number of books being published currently, I see many authors refusing to tell their stories because they feel that their stories are “far too common.” Whilst this is true, I firmly believe that if God created a space for each of us and our personal story plots on earth then he surely created enough space for all of us to have our stories heard and read. In my imagination, we are all pre-connected to a group of people whose lives we are meant to touch through our stories.

With this soulful profession, I have had the privilege of helping authors publish books that help them leverage more clients for business and open doors for opportunities they never thought existed. Sometimes, I have helped them just put their own demons to rest.

Every one of us is born to live to tell the plot of our stories that the Great God himself is the author of. If He brought us to earth to help others, should we not exploit our stories to help others so that we can empower them to tell theirs, and continue the chain until we change the world for the better, one story at a time?