Thursday 24 January 2013

Brit Writers speaks with Paul Templer, author of What’s Left of Me


Who is Paul Templer?
Despite growing up in Africa in the midst of a vicious civil war, I look back fondly upon my childhood. I found it easy to get along and played well with others and for the most part, life was a grand adventure.
After school, I travelled the world seeking the meaning of life – translation: I toured extensively, held a lot of odd jobs, drank a lot of beer, met some fascinating people, made a lot of mistakes and laughed a lot. I proudly served with the British Army before returning to Africa and a life of safaris and extreme expeditions . . . until a bad day at the office when I ended up headfirst and waist-deep down the throat of a hippopotamus who was having a temper tantrum.
Nowadays, I live as a naturalized American citizen in the U.S.A., largely due to Cupid having no respect for geography. My wife is an American, as are my three children. Most of my days are filled with writing, speaking, working with my Foundation and leading a handful of businesses – as a serial entrepreneur, the only way I’ve been able to hold down a steady job has been to own the companies I work for. My passion is spending time with my family.
Why have you written ‘What’s Left of Me’?
There were times during the writing process when I wondered the same thing. The flip answer when I asked myself that question was so that people would stop bugging me to do so and I could make some money.
When I look a little deeper, I found the writing process to be therapeutic and at some point during the process, I bought into the notion that sharing my entertaining misadventures and the ways I’ve dealt with my lot in life has the potential to inspire and help people.
Who should read this book and why?
There are a variety of readers who have let me know that they enjoyed reading What’s Left of Me. I’ve received some great reviews from people who were simply looking for an entertaining page-turner or a human interest adventure story.
I’ve also been quite moved by some of the feedback I’ve received from people who find themselves navigating adversity and change in their lives and are looking for inspiration.  They’ve let me know that, though my experiences range from the exotic to the mundane, they’re easy to identify with, which makes my responses to my challenges universally applicable. I’m humbled that my story has evoked both inspiration and motivation and helped people.
Tell us more about you – How long have you been writing for and what are your plans for the future as an author?
After reading one of my blogs, Anne-Marie (my children’s baby-sitter) commented that I wrote pretty well for someone who wasn’t a writer. It got me to thinking about how I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I started writing What’s Left of Me in 1996 and it took until 2012 for me to get my act together and let it be published. Anne-Marie and I discussed that, considering my blogs, a few books I’ve contributed to, writing my Keynote speeches and writing the intellectual property we produce at our consulting company, I write quite a lot for someone who, as she says, is not really a writer.
A passion project that I’m currently working on is a young reader’s version of What’s Left of Me. I love exploring topics like gratitude, kindness, accountability and the opportunities and consequences associated with the choices we make. My three young children and their friends are my research assistants and critics on this project and writing this book is a lot of fun.
What would you like to say to whoever is reading this right now?
If you’re looking for a delightfully entertaining romp that has you question how you show up in your life and at the same time inspires you to move forward more powerfully, peacefully and joyfully, then I’m confident that you’ll be delighted with What’s Left of Me – go buy it now.
If you know someone who’s going through a tough time at the moment and could use a pick-me-up – something entertaining that reveals new ways of looking at and responding to what’s going on in his or her life  – then go buy a copy of What’s Left of Me and give it to the person.  I’m confident that he or she will be grateful to you.
Thank you Paul.
Buy ‘What’s Left of Me’ today HERE

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