Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi!
I’m Peter Kos, coming from Ljubljana, Slovenia. I’m a corporate sales leader and a lifelong learner.
As an avid reader, I also love writing. For the past decade, I’ve been writing almost everything in English, despite it being my third language. But I adopted it as my language of learning and it became my thinking language as well.
I’ve written my first book in 2020 and am getting ready to launch the next one for pre-orders – it’s planned to be released by November 2021. I’m writing non-fiction lifestyle and business topics. During the 2020 pandemic, I decided to share more of my writing, so I also started a blog and a weekly newsletter at peterkos.org
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Elements of Lifestyle: Find Your Enough.
This is a story on living a joyous life by:
– applying intentional life design
– following the path of kaizen — small, incremental improvements
– and finding your enough.
Many popular turnaround stories start with hitting bottom — addiction, heart attack, a health scare, loss of something. But The Elements of Lifestyle is a story of taking control without — or before — a complete derailment. It’s a story of personal compound interest, about small things adding up.
Life isn’t made of the significant milestones; it’s made of all the days and weeks in between.
I believe that the secret to experiencing a joyous life is in finding your enough — that middle path between excess and scarcity. You have to journey through your personal walkabout to pursue your enough. The path might be challenging, but it’s worth it — and it’s going to be fun.
Because one day you wake up and you’re forty, sixty, or whatever, and you look in the mirror, and you have to look yourself in the eyes. And then you’ll gaze in the rearview mirror and wonder. —It is up to you if you’ll wonder of joy or wonder what the fuck happened to me. It all starts today.
The backstory: I was an overweight corporate roller in my early thirties, who smoked, ate, and partied too much; I was riding towards the heart-attack-land.
But then I read Nigel Marsh’s book titled Fat, Forty, and Fired – and I decided to change my trajectory.
This book is one of my dreams come true: publishing a creative work while turning forty without being fat (or fired).
I’ve written this for my children, Diana and Peter Jr.
It’s a book that my teenage self would love to find among the shelves of that public library back in Maribor, Slovenia.
I found joy in my life, and I wish for my children – and anyone else reading this book – to find it as well. The secret is in finding your “enough.” –That middle between excess and scarcity.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My most creative writing time is early in the morning. I start the day with a short yoga practice out on the balcony, and then sit with a cup of Turkish coffee by my laptop, with a scented candle lighting my desk. I start by journaling, then take a break and transition to writing articles or book manuscript.
I love to take a so-called “monk week” annual getaway. That’s my version of Bill Gates’s Think Week. I take a vacation, go away, and get offline. I spend the entire days only reading and writing, with long daily walks to stretch. That’s when I write most of my stuff, north of five thousand words per day.
I write raw drafts and let them simmer until a month before the book launch — that’s when I’ll rewrite, run them through grammar checker and add the final polish.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m most influenced by Seth Godin, as I love his voice and the message of change, practice, and of shipping creative work. But The Elements of Lifestyle, and the personal transformation path that started it was inspired by a book titled Fat, Forty, and Fired by Nigel Marsh.
I also find inspiration in Tim Ferriss, James Altucher, Derek Sivers, Malcolm Gladwell, and others.
What are you working on now?
When I’m not running the channel sales teams, I’m outlining my second book, getting ready to announce it, and put it up for pre-orders. It’s going to be a handbook for the first-time (sales) managers. I was inspired by the path that I went through and the challenges I’ve seen every first-time manager facing. I’ve got a few working titles, but it’s going to be something along the lines of Manager to Leader.
There’s a third book in my pipeline inspired by the subtitle from the first one — Find Your Enough. I’ve got some more things to say on the subject.
Otherwise, I’m also working on my site — it’s become a blog with weekly posts about productivity, leadership, and personal growth. I’ve also committed to publishing at least twenty weekly newsletters.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome gang? My personal site — peterkos.org — that’s my platform. I’m also using Facebook and Twitter for promotion, but the best results I got from LinkedIn. That’s where I have the most developed network, and it’s where my target audience hangs out. I’m also using Goodreads and trying all kinds of things. Fortunately, the goal of my writing is to write and build my personal brand, not to live off of book sales. That’s more like allowance right now.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Just write. For yourself, and then gather the courage to publish your first work. I’ve used Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) — it’s completely free and easy to use. Don’t buy any courses about how to publish on KDP. Everything you need is available on the site, including the software to design your manuscript and the cover. I went that way, and I’m super happy with how my kindle and paperback versions look.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Discipline equals freedom. Accepting responsibility means you are in control.
What are you reading now?
The Quest of the Simple Life by William James Dawson. It’s a beautiful gem from the early 1900s.
What’s next for you as a writer?
As mentioned above — the second and the third book. In the meantime, I’d like to do some promotions, do a live author meet at a local library, and my dream is to one day have a book promotion tour in the United States. I’d love to start in New York City.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Seth Godin’s The Practice. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday, Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival, and some first aid handbook.
Author Websites and Profiles
Peter Kos Website
Peter Kos Amazon Profile
Peter Kos’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account