Interview: Samuel Blankson

Samuel Blankson has authored over twenty books (How to Destroy Your Debts, Living the Ultimate Truth, Taking Action, Developing Personal Integrity, The Practical Guide to Total Financial Freedom volumes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and Attitude are some of these works). He has written over 100 songs, sixty of which are featured in Sixty Original Song Lyrics, and works daily to express his creativity in many other ways. He is an advocate of self-empowerment and an individual's ability to control their destiny through the achievement of personal freedom from economic, financial, spiritual, social, mental, and interrelationship restrictions. Samuel is constantly working to push the boundaries of personal achievements to their limits, recognizing that these limits are only self-imposed.


Where did you grow up, and have reading and writing always been a part of your life?
I grew up in Ghana, West Africa. I remember my first real memory of ever reading a book. I was seven years old and playing truant from school. Fortunately, for me, I got bored because of no other children to play with and I wondered into a library. That was the turning point in my life. In that library that day, I discovered books. I started with Enid Blyton and literally read every book she ever wrote in a very short period. After exhausting that source, I moved on to many other authors and writing styles. I have always been a voracious reader since I was seven.

What made you decide to begin writing?
I was asked by a colleague for some financial advice, this led to me drafting a rather lengthy email explaining and advising him on debt management. A few weeks later, another associate asked for the same advice. As I looked over the email before sending, I was struck by the quality and depth of the advice. I realized that this could become a very good book. That was when "How to destroy your debts" was born. Once I started, I did not want to stop.

Who and/or what have been your biggest influences with regard to your writing and why?
Hmmm, I guess that would be my father. He is also an author. The countless thousands of books, I have read have also played a role in influencing me, but I guess my greatest influence has been the support from my wife through the years. She has always believed in me and voiced this regularly.

In "Living the Ultimate Truth", you talk about all the virtues and universal principles that we need to return to a balanced, harmonious, and happy life. What are some of these? And how are they applied to life?
I think the fundamental and most important one is Love. Without this, all the others will amount to nothing. Second, to love is belief. Without belief, you will not take any action and thus share your love. Everything that we do or not do stems from our belief system. Without a positive belief system, you will become a failure and possibly a menace to yourself and to society. Many people think that having material possessions is the way to happiness; with time, they will discover that Gratitude is the key to happiness. Gratitude is an Attitude, another one of these universal fundamentals. This book is my wife's favorite book. She cried whilst reading it because it touched her so deeply.

In "Taking Action", you address to two types of action: Planned Action and Unplanned Action. What is the difference? And in which situations do each type of action apply?
That is a good question. Planned action and unplanned action are exactly what they sound like. In certain situations, you have the luxury of planning first before acting whilst in others, you do not. The problem here is that sometimes, we can develop the habit of not planning our actions first. This can happen when we are under a lot pressure, busy or feeling lazy. We may think by not taking the time to plan our actions, we are saving time and "getting on with it", but in reality, not planning your actions is the quickest way to developing a life out of synch with your dreams and goals. You will constantly be fire fighting and wondering aimlessly until you bring focus to your life by planning your actions.
In situations where you literally do not have the time to think clearly and plan, such as in an emergency, accident or where you are required to make a quick "on the spot decision", you can only but use unplanned action. In the vast majority of situations however, you will be able to use planned action and efficiently and effectively move your life, action by action towards your dreams and goals.

In your book "Taking Action," one item you talk about is procrastination. So many of us get into the trap of procrastinating. Can you give us some simple advice to avoid procrastination?
The root of procrastination is indecision. To cure yourself of procrastination, simply decide. In fact, if you suffer from procrastination, taking any positive action will be more important than taking the perfect action.

"How to Destroy Your Debts" is a wonderful resource! What inspired you to write this book?
I touched on this earlier; a colleague inquired of me some debt management advice. This book came out of that email I sent to him. I truly believe that this book came from a higher source. This is because whenever I read it, I am struck by how resourceful and wise the advice is. I remember placing my hands on the computer keyboard and the words just flowing from my mind. It was awesome writing this one.

Most people are in some form of debt, particularly credit card debt, it seems. Can you give us some quick advice or techniques for lowering and destroying your credit card debts and loans?

I tend to always keep advice simple, as you will find in my books. The best way I have found to minimizing your debts is to simply avoid using credit for luxury purchases and day-to-day grocery shopping. First stop using the credit cards, secondly replace them with debit cards, these cards use money you already have in your bank account. Third is to spend less than you earn, and fourth is to acquire this book to learn how to rearrange your debts to maximize on the interest rates of your various debts.

You have authored over twenty books! Is there one that is more special to you? And why?
Yes, the five volume series, "Practical Guide to Total Financial Freedom". That book almost drove me out of my mind to write and nearly succeeded in doing the same to my wife during its editing. You name it, everything that could go wrong did during the writing of this series. Several of my computers died during the writing of this series and the amount of crashes and rewrites I had to do, was too much. However, out of this chaos arose this great set of books that I will always be proud of. The series is exactly what the title suggests, The Practical Guide to Total Financial Freedom.

What do you enjoy most about being an author?
Writing and seeing the printed book for the first time.

What do you hope readers walk away with after reading your books?
I hope they get life changing answers to their questions and I hope in some small way to touch them for the better.

Are you a daily disciplined writer? Do you have certain tricks you use so that you don't stray from your writing?
I am more of a project writer than a daily disciplined writer. I start a book and live the book until its completion. Sometimes I write for three days straight, without sleep or leaving the computer. Once I start writing, I almost do not stop until the book is completed. This concentrated energy and focus, gives my books that special feel that readers will experience.

Who are your favorite authors, and why do they inspire you?
I love the Biblical writers especially King Solomon. Proverbs is my favorite book of the Bible and I read it often. I have learnt a lot from reading this book daily. The great religious books are all very inspiring, educational and always have a way of opening my mind to different possibilities. Apart from these, I love reading PMA books, inspirational and positive books like Think and Grow Rich, Positive Personality Profiles, Men are From Mars Women are from Venus, The Magic of thinking big, Man of steel and velvet, Ordinary Men Extra Ordinary Heroes, See you at the top, TNT and all Og Mandino's books etc.
I like to walk away from a book, inspired, motivated, and with my mind expanded irrevocably. I hope my own books do this to its readers.

When you're not working, what are your favorite ways to relax?
When I am not working, I like to do things I always wanted to experience. As an example in between book projects in the last two years, I have had the pleasure of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mt Elbrus, in the Caucasus, Bungee jumped from 300 feet, Rolled down a hill in a see through plastic ball, Run the London and Paris Marathons, Run the Siberian Half Marathon, started taking helicopter flight lessons, started taking parachute jumping lessons, stood 4 meters from a family of wild lions in the Serengeti amongst many other adventures and travels.

Any final thoughts to share with us?
Life is not too short; it is just long enough for achieving all that you could achieve. The only problem is that most people do not get started at working for their dreams. I hope my books will help in some way get you up and running towards your dreams TODAY.

Interview Date: September 1, 2005
http://www.thebookinsider.com/Interviews/SBlankson.htm