Ep. 7 J.K. ROWLING

"The stories that we love will live in us forever".   In this raw and 'unpolished' episode of the Ten Words Podcast I go on a personal and professional journey with J.K. Rowling to uncover what drove her success, how she coped through the darker days and what inspired her to be a writer. I talk about her commercial success and the demons she's struggled with along the way and look at why she chose to mention the word "failure" thirteen times during her epic Harvard University Commencement speech in 2008.   J.K. Rowling is an incredibly impressive woman who held on to her vision as she turned down by the first twelve publishers who she approached with the Harry Potter manuscripts. And when her book was finally accepted, she was told not to give up her day job and write under the name of J.K. (instead of Joanne) because "boys won't read wizard books that are written by a woman"! But as with all magical fairytales, this one turned out beautifully and has a gorgeous ending that can inspire us all.   This show is also slightly more emotional than usual, given that J.K. Rowling inspired me to write shortly after I became bankrupt and lost my house, car, savings and marriage, and also dealt with failure and depression. I hope the sentiment of this show is OK and my personal feelings don't get in the way of you being inspired by J.K. Rowling yourself. We all have huge challenges and wonderful opportunities which we may or may not choose to chase and embrace.   "You can change the world just by sharing your story".   It is my wish that this podcast, in some small and tiny way, helps people to tell their story a little bit better, by listening to other people tell theirs.    SHOW LINKS Transcript for J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement speech J.K. Rowling Harvard Commencement 2008 Speech analysis tool powered by IBM Watson J.K. Rowling tweeting writing advice Evan Carmichael's 10 Rules of Success for J.K. Rowling J.K. Rowling HATES My Video J.K. Rowling & Oprah "Harry Potter & Me" J.K. Rowling BBC Interview Mind UK The Mental Health Charity for anyone struggling with depression or wanting to help someone else who is.     MY SHOW NOTES