Empowered looks like a great book on wisdom and
inspirational quotes. Any plans to
release similar books or make it part of a series?
Thank
you. Empowered is the first book in a
series. I would really like to make it
into a series of inspirational books but that depends on my inspiration over
the next few months and beyond. The book
contains 120 quotes and I already written 60 more since then so it looks
positive for next year.
How
did you come up with the ideas and quotes in Empowered?
The
quotes originated from my interactions with people, my observations of the
world and personal experiences. I feel that they came "through" me
and not "from" me, that I am simply a medium through which these
messages are relayed. In the last few
years I have felt compelled to write inspirational blogs and quotes. I did not
plan to write a book but the quotes became so many, and I received such good
feedback that I decided to compile them into a book.
"Empowered"
stimulates creative thinking and encourages energetic debate. It presents life truths in thought-provoking
ways and enables readers to use the quotes as a starting point for
self-exploration and introspection and soul-searching. The book is a platform
that revitalises the mind and presents an alternative means of making sense of
the world.
The
nomenclature: Empowered denotes a sense of courage, self-belief, energy,
resolve, in my view. I want those who
choose this book to feel all of those sentiments and to enjoy and share the
quotes with others.
What
will readers get out of your book?
Modern
life throws up a range of challenges to people.
The ability to appreciate and use the power of words to explore issues and
find solutions is beneficial to all. The book presents a creative way to
examine issues and boosts understanding in a fun and novel way. This is not a book to read and put away; it
is meant to be shared one quote at a time and will help readers make sense of
the many challenges and situations we experience in our daily lives.
In
the book I demonstrated, using a few quotes, how they may be applied, but for
the most part the quotes are presented without explanations as to what they
could mean because I did not want to influence the thought processes readers. I
anticipate that those who embark on this journey will enjoy it, gain insight,
apply the quotes to life, and gain wisdom for their decision-making and life
choices.
Readers will find that Empowered is different from
other books in its genre. It can be used by individuals as well as groups -
from the boardroom to the classroom; the family room to the place of worship. The
inspirational utterings can be used as a starting point for discussion,
exploration, critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving, analysis and ultimately self actualisation. It is relatable to a wide range of
audiences and can be used by individuals from varying generations and
backgrounds as well as by business, religious, and social groups.
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What
inspired you when writing Empowered?
The
inspiration for this book came from many years of interacting with local and
global communities, working with people, running social enterprises, raising a
child with special educational needs and juggling the different roles of
parent, business-woman, writer, linguist and inventor. I find inspiration in a number of unexpected
places; it emerges from good situations as well as from challenging ones. It is
unpredictable, random, spontaneous and natural.
I found inspiration when I was not looking, when no one was looking and
where the rest of the world was looking.
When
did you decide to become a writer?
My
first book: Practical Business ABC – a
Guide for Budding Entrepreneurs was written in 2010. As in the case of “Empowered”, I did not plan
to write a book but felt compelled to document my experience in business versus
my education in business. I had
completed a Master’s in Business Administration and I was surprised to see how
my experience in business was different from what I had learnt at
university. I realized that some things
had to be experienced, no theory existed for certain lessons that business
people needed to learn. My second book:
“Jamaican Proverbs, People and Places” was published in the same year. Both books were written simultaneously over a
period of three years from beginning to publish date.
I
did not make a conscious decision to become a writer. My habit of documenting my experiences led me
to compile materials which later became books.
When
writing Empowered did anything stand out as particularly challenging?
To
be totally honest I did not have any challenges in writing the book. As I
mentioned, I was simply documenting my thoughts which occurred to me as
inspirational quotes. I had no deadline, no stress. There were times when I had the thought but
had to coin the words in a way that would be more appropriate for a quote but
in each case the fundamentals were already there.
What
do you like to do when not writing?
When
I am not writing I am working on my Pocket Learner educational development
system. It is an award-winning
innovative programme geared at empowering parents of children deemed slow
learners or diagnosed with learning difficulties. My daughter has special educational needs and
I developed this programme based on my work with her. We are sharing the system with other parents
and aim to impact children across the globe.
That takes a lot of time, as you can well imagine. When I have a moment
I like to go online to listen to good speakers and I attend personal
development seminars when possible.
Where
can readers find out more about your work?
My work can be found on my personal website: andreacampbell.co.uk
and on pocketlearner.net where readers can find details about my Pocket
Learner educational resource.
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