Skip to content

David R Hamilton PhD

Using Science to Inspire

Skip to content
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Bio
  • Books
  • YouTube
  • Contact
  • Business Talks
  • Courses

writing

How to write a book

Published on March 4, 2021March 4, 2021 by David R. Hamilton PhD

There’s no correct way to write a book. I’ve been asked dozens of times about how to best write a book. If you ask 10 authors how they do it, you’ll get several different answers. In terms of planning, some people meticulously plan out the book – chapter by chapter – before they put pen […]

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011

Twitter

Dr David R HamiltonFollow

Dr David R Hamilton
DrDRHamiltonDr David R Hamilton@DrDRHamilton·
15 Apr

Here’s the recording on my flagship seminar for the @bankofengland the other day. Andy Haldane interviewed me, and took questions from the audience, on the subject of the mental and physical health benefits of kindness.😊

Twitter 1382692013615763464
Retweet on TwitterDr David R Hamilton Retweeted
drchatterjeeukDr Rangan Chatterjee@drchatterjeeuk·
14 Apr

NEW PODCAST ALL ABOUT CHATTER.

But what exactly is chatter? My guest this week Dr @ethan_kross explains all in this clip.

Listen here 👉🏾 https://apple.co/2TWWr1p

Twitter 1382355615494848514
Retweet on TwitterDr David R Hamilton Retweeted
andrew_muirAndy Muir@andrew_muir·
12 Apr

Great conversation between @DrDRHamilton and @simonmundie on this #DTMS episode about kindness.
Would highly recommend listening and then we can all help get the R Number above 5...😉

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dont-tell-me-the-score/id1440729436?i=1000508551385

Twitter 1381671932962164745
Retweet on TwitterDr David R Hamilton Retweeted
meg_coachMeg Moore@meg_coach·
12 Apr

"We are genetically wired for kindness" - @DrDRHamilton I love this 🙏 #KindnessMatters #bekind #bekindjustbecause #kindness

Twitter 1381570340212641794
DrDRHamiltonDr David R Hamilton@DrDRHamilton·
6 Apr

I love this podcast with @dunblane_sc head tennis coach, Mark Walker - @tennis_walker - and Kris Soutar, two of the UK’s top tennis coaches. Fascinating insights into performance and was like listening to two pals in a bar. 🎾
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/kris-soutars-tennis-journal/id1305908744?i=1000508172311

Twitter 1379521387790995460
Load More...

Instagram

davidrhamiltonphd

Dr David R Hamilton
I’m doing a free online talk on 12th April. It’s the Bank of England Flagship seminar, where I’ll be interviewed by BoE chief economist, Andy Haldane, and the subject is kindness. 

I’m so pleased to be invited. To be honest, when the invite came through on email from Andy’s office, I sheepishly responded with, “Are you sure you have the right person?” 😂😂 

It’s because it’s usually famous people or people very well known in the public eye who do this seminar. For example, @judymurray_ has done one, as has Prue Leith, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Billy Bragg, Sir Cary Cooper, and others. 

It turned out that Andy had heard me on a BBC Radio 4 podcast, ‘Don’t tell me the score’ hosted by @simonmundie and loved it and immediately decided that the seminar should focus on kindness. It’s funny how things work.

It’s interview style, but it’s just me answering so it’ll be a lot like a talk. 

As I said, it’s free to the public. There’s only 1,000 spaces available and it’s expected to fill up, so you need to register. It’s April 12th at 12 noon. The link is in my bio. 😊
Just thought I’d post a wee reminder that today Just thought I’d post a wee reminder that today (31st March) is the last day that my book is available on Kindle for 71p (99 cents).

In case you’d thought about it and forgot. That’s the sort of thing I do all the time.😂

It covers different strategies for building self esteem, including how posture and body language can ‘wire’ better feelings into the brain, as well as exercises for self compassion and self forgiveness.

It’s the book that took me longest to write and also the one I still have to dip into the most, to remind myself to put into practice some of the strategies.🙃😅
.
.
.
#iheartme #selflove #selfcare #selfcompassion #begentlewithyourself
After I posted a video a few days ago about Covid After I posted a video a few days ago about Covid vaccines and that I had just had mine, I received a large amount of abuse and personal attacks.

Some friends had been worried because they thought the vaccine would give them Covid, or because they were just a bit uncertain how vaccines work.

So the video was to help people with concerns of this nature. My motivation was to help. That’s all.

I didn’t imagine the post would descend into increasingly more personal and abusive comments and assaults on my character and integrity. 

I found the judgement, harshness, and personal attacks increasingly hard to take. Despite the work I do on myself, I am only human. I felt increasingly anxious as the day went on. It brought up memories of being bullied at school. Once one person posted something nasty or personal, others seemed to think they could too, and it gradually descended into a landslide of attacks and abuse.

Some were shocking. I got RIP in capital letters. One claimed my page is full of lies and deceit and the video is ‘proof’ that I’m building it so I can push an ‘agenda’ onto innocent people.

The words, ‘proof that’ and ‘clearly’, were aplenty as some made false assumption after false assumption.

I was accused of only replying to people who agreed with me. Actually, I mostly chose to respond to comments made with respect and kindness, but not ones that made aggressive demands of me!

As an act of self care, to protect my own mental health, I took the decision to block a significant number of people from my page, the worst offenders, which also thankfully erased their comments. I do not wish to have such nasty, abusive and aggressive content on my page.

Differing in opinion is fine, but we don’t need to be aggressive and abusive about it. 

And for those still labouring under the belief that I’m pushing a dark agenda, no I’m not working for Nike or secretly being paid by any ‘big corporates’. I just happen to have a Nike t-shirt, like millions of other people around the world. I got it online for about £20 and like to wear it when I play sports, which I plan to do later.
Today is #internationaldayofhappiness The theme t Today is #internationaldayofhappiness 
The theme this year (it’s the 8th annual one since it was founded by the United Nations General Assembly) is, “keep calm, stay wise, and be kind.”

Happiness is actually one of the side effects of being kind. I think most people have had the experience that helping others feels nice. When done consistently, it’s been shown to boost happiness. 

Some countries have cultures and ways that naturally lend themselves to happiness. In Southern Africa, Ubuntu basically translates to, “I am because you are.” It recognises a deep interconnectedness between us all, and that part of life is about helping others to live and be happy. 

In Japan, there’s Omotenashi. It doesn’t really have an English translation, but it promotes thoughtfulness, politeness and generosity. It is embedded in the culture, in the way many behave and live their daily lives. 

I hope you have a lovely day wherever you are. And if you can contribute to helping someone else to be happy today, then all the more to celebrate on this day. 💛💫🙏😊
.
.
.
#bekind #kindnessquotes #behappy #benice #begentle #love
Did you know that it’s #worldbookday today? To c Did you know that it’s #worldbookday today? To celebrate, my publisher @hayhouseuk have arranged for the e-book (Kindle) version of my book, ‘I Heart Me’ to be on sale for 71p in the UK and 99 cents around the world! Yes, 71p (£0.71) ... I had to check the email twice myself.😂

I think it’s going to be that price for the whole of March.

It’s the book that teaches different techniques and strategies for self love, like the 3 stages of self love, use of visualisation, posture, self compassion, self forgiveness, and how to make practical, positive changes. ✨😊
I’m pleased to say that there’s a new way you I’m pleased to say that there’s a new way you can listen to my books on audio. Hay House recently launched their new ‘Hay House Unlimited Audio’ app.

The link to the app is in my bio.

I have audiobooks there of ‘How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body’, ‘I Heart Me’, ‘The Five Side Effects of Kindness’, plus my ‘Quantum Field Healing’ meditation. 

The app is free for 14 days, then it’s £9.99 a month, so you can take it for a spin, so to speak, and see if you think it’s worth it, keep it if you do or just cancel it if you don’t want it. 

All Wayne Dyer’s stuff is on there, books, old lectures, etc, plus Louise Hay’s, Joe Dispenza’s, Anita Moorjani’s, Kyle Gray’s, Robert Holden’s, and all other Hay House authors. I occasionally dip into a Louise Hay meditation or listen to Wayne. 🙂

Anyway, just thought I’d give the app a wee shout out.😊
Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day. I created th Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day. I created the above image a while ago. It took me over an hour using Powerpoint. lol.

But it shows how contagious kindness is. When we think of random acts of kindness day, most of us might intentionally do one or two kind things, but we don’t see what happens next.

Every act of kindness is like dropping a wee stone in a pond. It creates waves that move outwards in a circle, soon lifting lily pads all around the pond. The lily pads are lifted by the waves, but the waves were created by the stone.

In the same way, each time you show even a little kindness, it generates a ripple effect. Kindness is circularly contagious, like the wave created by the stone. And research suggests that its R-number is somewhere between 4 and 5, which, like sars-CoV2, depends on where you live. But with such a high R number, it means that kindness is highly exponentially contagious. 

The diagram is based on some research at Harvard and Yale, combined with a few other pieces of research demonstrating the contagion effect, and I’ve shown an R-number of 5. It shows that the kindness wave goes outwards to at least ‘3 degrees of separation’. That’s what researchers call it.

It means that when you’re kind to one person, what you don’t tend to see, mainly because you’re not following the person around all day, is that they will most likely be kind or kinder to 5 people over the next day or so because of how you made them feel. That’s one degree. 

But each of those 5 will likely be kind or kinder to 5 people. That’s now 25 people at 2 degrees. 

And each of those 25 will likely be kind or kinder to 5 people. That’s 125 people at 3 degrees of separation from you. 

You’ll probably never meet those 125 people, yet their day is a little sweeter because of that single thing you did for one person.

This is how kindness works. That’s how much you can affect the world! You never need to feel small. You make a much bigger difference than you think. 💛🙏✨
.
.
.
#bekind #kindnessquotes #rippleeffect #rakday #kindnessday
Did you know that it’s random acts of kindness w Did you know that it’s random acts of kindness week? Random acts of kindness ‘Day’ is on Wednesday (the 17th), but the whole week is celebrated as reminder to be kind.

I thought I’d share the 5 side effects of kindness on Day 1.

1) Kindness is good for mental health
2) Kindness is good for the heart
3) Kindness slows ageing
4) Kindness improves relationships
5) Kindness is contagious

Of course, we don’t do kindness to receive a benefit. These are simply natural side effects, things that happen alongside, as a result of, being kind.

Nature’s catch 22 actually ensures that we don’t benefit when the goal is to benefit. The health benefits of kindness come due to how kindness FEELS and the then physiological (and psychological) effects of that. The warm feeling of connection, for example, produces kindness hormones, which act on the cardiovascular and immune system. 

And the only way to get the feeling is to MEAN what you do. So, technically speaking, the only way to actually gain from an act of kindness is to not try to gain from it. Bit of a paradox. 

The point is - be kind because it’s the right thing to do.

If you know someone who is struggling, lend a hand, even a supportive word. Something seemingly small to you could be big for them. Practice patience and compassion, gentleness and forgiveness where you can. Listen to people. Give them your undivided attention. Smile at people as you pass them and privately think a kind thought about them or say a prayer for them. And I hope, sometime this week, that you also receive some kindness.🙏💛
.
.
.
#kindnessweek2021 #rakweek2021 #bekind #kindness #kindnessweek #kindnessiscool
Did you know that today, 13th Feb, is Internationa Did you know that today, 13th Feb, is International Self Love Day?

The idea is that since Valentine’s day on the 14th is about celebrating love for another, the day before is about loving yourself so that you have more love to give others. 

Self love isn’t a narcissistic, ‘Aren’t I wonderful’ kind of love, but a sense of self regard, self care, self compassion.

It can mean different things to different people, and this often depends on the context of their life. For some, it is about self care - looking after your needs; for others it’s about self compassion - understanding and having compassion for yourself, knowing that it’s ok to not get it right sometimes, knowing it’s ok to fail or have a bad day, and even forgiving yourself. 

For others self love is about cultivating a sense of ‘I am enough’, an inner sense of their own worthiness and value. 

It can even be about a feeling that, ‘I’m ok ... just as I am. No matter what’s gone before, no matter what is now, and no matter what’s to come, I’m ok ... just as I am’. 

For some, self love is about saying no, or ‘no more’.

I wrote ‘I Heart Me’ (shown in the photo), because I had very low self love at the time. Despite outward appearances at the time, I did not feel an inner sense of worthiness or value. The book was born out of my attempt to learn to love myself more. 

It was published on 13th Feb 2015. Neither myself nor @hayhouseuk knew it was International self love day. The pub date was an accident. It had been delayed because my dog, Oscar, had passed away and he had played such a key role in my life, and the book - arriving in my life 2 days before I began the book and passing away 2 days before I finished it - at the age of 2 years, 2 months. There’s a lot of 2s there! I feel he came into my life to help me to be who I needed to be. 

It’s now exactly 6 years since it was published and it’s reaching more people now than ever, which I’m so pleased about. 

Love yourself! Not instead of others, but as well as others! You deserve it. ❤️
.
.
.
#selflove #selfcare #selfloveday #bekindtoyourself #loveyourself
Load More... Follow on Instagram

“David Hamilton is an expert on how our thoughts and minds can physically change our bodies.” Daily Express

“David Hamilton displays natural communication skills and adaptability in successfully engaging with business audiences.”  Drew Pryde, Chairman of the Scottish Institute of Business Leaders

“Very Impressive!” Red Magazine

Kindred Spirit Magazine, “Best MBS Writer Award 2016”

Banner photo by Shambhala Wolfhaart
Copyright © 2021 Your Name. All rights reserved.