Lakeview School principal Tim Nelson with his new book. PHOTO/EMILY IRELAND
Take small steps to be happy
Lakeview School principal Tim Nelson is the king of positivity.
And this Friday, he will be launching his first book, Small Steps for a Happy and Purposeful Life, published by the Wairarapa Times-Age.
Nelson has been a weekly contributor to the Wairarapa Midweek since February last year, sharing with readers inspirational ideas in his column Midweek Musings each week.
His new book is a selection of 365 inspirational thoughts and ideas aimed to encourage readers to think about ways to live a happy and purposeful life.
“We can all get better, we just need to take the small steps to get to where we want to be.”
Nelson said writing a book was never his intention when he began penning his inspirational ideas.
He originally posted one thing he had learned from books, podcasts, and real life experiences each day online via LinkenIn.
“It was getting a lot of views, which I thought was pretty cool,” he said.
“The rule was, it needed to be nice and positive.”
Nelson then pitched an idea to former Wairarapa Times-Age editor Seamus Boyer to publish the writing in the newspaper.
Boyer ran the idea past Midweek editor Emily Ireland who was enthusiastic to share Tim’s positivity to readers in a weekly column.
“When I first took on the role of Midweek editor, I wanted to do three things: involve, inform, and inspire readers,” Ireland said.
“Tim’s columns never fail to inspire, and through them, people can learn to become the best versions of themselves that they can be.”
From being published in the Midweek, Nelson then approached David Hedley at Hedleys Books in Masterton and asked how he could become a published author.
“He said, why don’t you go see the Times-Age? – so that’s what I did.”
Staff at the Times-Age have been busy over the past few months collating the 365 inspirational ideas and designing the book, which will be launched on Friday night at the Lakeview School hall.
The process of writing his inspirational ideas each day has had a massive impact on how Nelson sees the world.
“I’m pretty positive anyway – I nearly always look on the bright side, which is really important when you are a school principal.
“There’s a lot of talk that the world is the most difficult it’s ever been, but that’s actually completely wrong.
“The world is the safest it’s ever been.
“The chances of something terrible happening to you are far less than they have ever been before in human history.
“It’s important to understand that the world is an extremely positive place.
“As a principal, I really like the interactions I’ve learned to have with all of our community.
“You have to see the goodness in people and give people opportunities to be good.”
Nelson said if anything was to be taken away from his book, it would be to practise gratitude every day.
“Every single day, I write down one thing I’m grateful for, one thing I’m looking forward to, and one thing I’ve enjoyed today.”
Publisher Andrew Denholm said, “if everyone read the book, the world would be a better place”.
Tim Nelson’s book launch will be at the Lakeview School hall at 5.30pm on Friday.
The event is open for anyone to attend.
RSVP by emailing [email protected] by 3pm on Thursday.
Special thanks goes to Times-Age operations manager Bevan Wills who collated and designed Small Steps for a Happy and Purposeful Life, and Times-Age production editor Christine Dornan who proofread it.
The book, which was printed by Printcraft, will be sold at Paper Plus, Hedleys Books, Almo’s Books, Take Note Carterton, and the Wairarapa Times-Age.
The Midweek Musings column is on hold until after the local body elections.
Congratulations Tim you are one of the very good guys. Wish i had been there for your book launch.