Squadron leader (retired) Manish Kumar (second from left) with others at the book release in Ranchi on Tuesday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

He had been a pilot. Now, he is showing the way to others. Not to steer a plane though, but their lives.

Squadron leader (retired) Manish Kumar, a combat pilot-turned-writer and motivational speaker, released his first book, Be Your Own Pilot, at International Library and Cultural Centre (ILCC) in Ranchi on Tuesday.

Published by Ocean Paperbacks and priced at Rs 150, the 117-page read is an inspirational fiction that speaks about the enormous potential lying within a man, which, when awakened, helps him get off the auto pilot called fate and take control of his own life.

Although Be Your Own Pilot was formally launched on Tuesday, it is already on sale online through Flipkart and Amazon.

The book’s tagline, “Get off life’s auto pilot and take control of your destiny”, is as inspiring as the pep talk that Kumar delivered during the launch ceremony.

“Believe that you can make it and you can surely achieve your goal,” Kumar told the young audience comprising mostly school and college students and youths preparing for various competitive examinations.

According to the motivational speaker, success can be easily achieved if one puts his or her mind completely on the goal.

“Fix your aim in life after considering what, when, why and how. Write it down on a piece of paper, try to believe you can achieve it and then pursue it whole-heartedly,” he advised.

“Not laptop or desktop, you have the most powerful ‘necktop’ computer in your brain and extraordinary source of energy in 150 trillion cells in your body,” he said while explaining the reason behind his belief in success.

He urged the youngsters to concentrate on their goal the same way Arjuna did in The Mahabharata when he couldn’t see anything beyond the bird’s eye and pursued it vigorously.

And how shall one master this single-minded focus and determination? Through meditation.

“Meditation will surely help you all concentrate. Remember another thing, idealisation, visualisation and realisation are three steps towards success that is a measurable progress made within a reasonable timeframe,” the former pilot said.

In the same breath, he also advocated modesty.

“Never forget to carry humility with you. An attitude of gratitude always helps gain altitude,” Kumar stressed.

The students simply lapped up the motivational speech with many claiming that it would help them in the long run. “His talk was very inspiring,” felt Kunal Roy of St Thomas School.

“I had some confusion and now I can surely sort those out after hearing him,” added Ghulam Ali, a young man who is preparing for a bank entrance exam.

A local lad, Kumar is a resident of Harmu Colony and alumnus of Sainik School, Tilaiya, and National Defence Academy.

He had served the Indian Air Force (IAF) as a combat pilot and was awarded Chief of Air Staff Commendation for devotion to duty.

He left the IAF when he was a squadron leader and went to XLRI, Jamshedpur, for studying management.

After serving a private firm for a few years, he now devotes his time to writing and delivering motivational talks.