17th October 2024 was a very special day for me.
It was the day my first book was released in Swedish and also the day I appeared on national TV for the first time. To say that I had butterflies in my stomach would be an understatement. I did not know what questions they would ask me and this was the most popular news program in Sweden, reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers every day.
In the weeks leading up to it, I recorded many videos on TikTok and some on Instagram to prepare, both to get better at talking about the book and to develop thicker skin. TikTok can be very polarising. On one end people find you inspiring and on the other people do their best to tear you down. As the Navy SEAL saying goes: you do not rise to the occasion, you fall to your training. I had practised so much that I knew I would be able to answer, even if I was nervous. I was so focused on preparing that I did not grasp how far these videos would reach. For example, this past weekend I was in Oman and two members of the hotel staff recognised me from Instagram and TikTok.
At the TV studio, I was sitting on a white sofa with the two presenters across from me, waiting for our turn to go live on air. Before going live, I told myself that I was not going to base the whole book journey on the next 8 minutes. All I could do was my best.
During the interview, I was fully present. The most difficult question was about a traumatic event that happened to me when I was 11 years old. Talking about it on live TV felt surreal, especially after carrying so much shame for many years. I shared how writing the book helped me process these memories and let them go.
One thing I learned is that in TV and radio it is important to answer quickly and not let there be silence. So instead of “think before you speak”, it is “talk first, think later”. Over the course of two days, I had been on national radio, national TV and released my first book.
The interview went really well. Afterwards, I realised something important: life moves on. Even if you are on national TV and national radio, the world continues. Life is short, so make the decision to go for it and do what is meaningful to you.
