Interview with writer Mo Issa

Writer Mo Issa helps me wrap up the week by chatting about his new personal development book, The Shift: How to Awaken to the Aliveness Within.

Bio:

Mo Issa is an entrepreneur who has started a second career as a writer. He has also finally realized that he is indeed a spiritual being having an earthly experience, and that understanding has changed his life.

Mo awakens every day at six, and he writes for at least an hour. This discipline has made him very productive and alive. This spiritual discipline has resulted in his self-help guide, The Shift; his book of poetry, The Dense Mistiness of the Ordinary; his many blog posts at mo-issa.com; and other publications.

When he isn’t writing, Mo enjoys meditating and running in the rain.

Welcome, Mo. Please tell us about your current release.

I used to feel emotionally and spiritually lost—I felt that within me something was missing and things didn’t feel right. I then started a self-discovery journey that helped me first understand that I was a spiritual being having a human experience. The Shift follows the journey that marked the beginning of how this shift in my thinking changed my life for the better. I discuss how I sought my passion and purpose and how I am using it to impact the lives of people. I believe and hope that this guide will make a change in the lives of others as my experiences transformed mine.

What inspired you to write this book?

The Shift is a book inspired by six crucial things I refer to as gifts; Leo Tolstoy’s Ivan Ilyich, A seminar on Personal Growth, Running and Brené Brown’s landmark TED Talk The Power of Vulnerability, Public Speaking, Getting Published and Giving Back. These were catalysts that I experienced at various points of my life. Sharing my story through these events was the beginning of a transformation that led me to get closer to my soul, shed my ego and seek to be authentic. This book for me is an evidence that there is no adversity in life that can hit me and I will fail to find a silver lining or lesson within it.

What exciting story are you working on next?

During my self-discovery journey I realized that many people were also living listless lives and needed to be aware that they could live fearless authentic lives while following their passion and their purpose. I therefore started an initiative The Authenticity Project for this reason. For my next book I will be sharing stories of people from all walks of life; those who found their passion and fueled it with hard work despite challenges and those who were in other fields and made the conscious effort to shift to where their heart lies. I believe many people need to be inspired to courageously rise and pursue their passion; enabling people to truly light up the world with their skills, creativity and grit.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

My interest in writing emerged almost five years ago when I began writing “Morning Pages” as heralded by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I write part-time as I am entrepreneur and I manage my company. I write for an hour a day, usually after coming home from work in the early evening. This daily hour of writing adds up after a week, and if I add some extra ones on the weekend, I can total 10 hours a week.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I put an unlit cigar in my mouth and rarely light up during my writing. Until the end then I sometimes do actually smoke.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to become a lawyer.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thank you for joining me today, Mo.