Paul Boakye

Writer and Editor

…The University of Life.

Private schools as a child from a band of strict Catholic nuns; then the local mixed secondary comprehensive in Beckingham; followed by a brief spell on an English degree course at Birmingham University before leaving to set up and run The BetterDay Company.

...one of the most boring things I’ve ever done.

I was a US-dollar Currency Disposal Clerk at Midland Bank International Division in the city. And I still hate banks! If I’d known then how big a role a mortgage would play in my life, I might have stayed. A peppercorn mortgage rate was about the only real attraction the job had going for it in my estimation. Some of my colleagues at the time would agree to disagree, however, and are now managers of their departments earning small fortunes. I was never the stick around and sit it out type, preferring adventure and a challenge to humdrum monotony. But we’re all different, aren’t we?

…I get the job done.

Call me a project manager, if you want, but I’ve also been called a writer, editor, businessman and health promotion specialist. I’m the guy you call in when you want to plan, coordinate and control a project from start to finish, and all on time to specification and budget. In my own mind, I don’t have a title, unless it’s something like ‘Renaissance’ man.

…very simple. “Do your best.”

…without a doubt, the old man. Without dad, I wouldn’t have the foundations and the values I hold dear in life. Dad taught me to be independent and self-sufficient.

In the public eye, there are also the examples set by people like Kwame Nkrumah, Bob Marley, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Richard Branson, and Oprah Winfrey, all of whom I admire. It might no longer be politically correct, but I also have a soft spot for the sacrifices of Winnie Mandela.

…a collection of memorable gems from my late mother.

Mum taught us the beauty and importance of words and left me a suitcase full of her diaries to publish. “Walk as if you know where you’re going” is a particular favourite, as is, “gentlemen wear shoes.” She should know, dad was a cobbler, and mum loved her shoes handmade. “People always need good loving, housing, food and shoes,” he would say. Not far wrong in my judgement.