Featured Interview With Ubong Ekpo
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on the shores of West Africa and many childhood memories are from the “National Residency Museum”, a colonial building overlooking the Cross River in Old Calabar where the British governed colonial Nigeria from. I have been living in Europe for over 15 years now and am an author, speaker, consultant and learning consultant. My work with people spills into and drives my writing as one of my main life goals is to help others discover their own life goals.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always dreamt of writing and publishing books. From comics I created as a child to my first fiction novelettes created around nine years of age on my sister’s typewriter. Being on stage and inspiring people through writing has driven me continuously. My parents had a rich home library and a pile of gramophone records which sat opposite the library shelves in our study.
I think this created a powerful connection in my childhood mind of how knowledge and the beauty of music seemed tied.
On occasion, I do compose my own music and at points where ideas flow, it feels like a piece of music being arranged in my mind. It’s a wonderful experience.
When I conceived the idea of my first book, “The A.R.T of Motivation: Rediscovering Your Core Design”,I had been playing with ideas on how I could get to a global audience. I had led several training sessions on ecommerce in which I had simulated ordering a kindle from Amazon’s website.
When I was ready to find a publisher, I thought to myself: “Why don’t I publish on Amazon’s KDP?”
Throughout 2012, I researched the Amazon platform and publishing capabilities learning a lot from internet marketer Ryan Deiss. In September 2012, I began helping a friend get his book ready for Kindle and in October last year, my wife asked me point-blank:”Why don’t you start writing books?” Yeah I said, I should and I will. A few weeks later as I pondered in this direction, the idea for “The A.R.T of Motivation” sprang to my mind as I commuted and on getting to the office I began writing like crazy. Getting it on Amazon Kindle followed during Christmas holidays of 2012. It’s been on Amazon Kindle for about a month now and is helping a lot of people out there.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read quite widely. From history and archeaology (thanks to my mother’s influence) to christian topics,business and personal development topics. I would say that my favorite genre is non-fiction.
John Maxwell, Mike Murdock, Seth Godin, Michael Hyatt, Jack Canfield have authored some of my favourite books.
The passion for living, how to live a good life and taking your unique message to the world breathes through their work.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called : “If I can Just Focus: 5 Keys to Sanity & Success”.
It was inspired while writing a blog post on the topic during a time when I felt overwhelmed by a lot of things going on. Discussions with friends and trainees from my courses also pointed to the same problem. A lot of people try to apply time management and efectiveness principles without having determined the course of their lives or at least an idea of what they really want. The truly focused life begins with life goals or long-term goals.
The second problem I address in the book is the question of how to connect daily activities with those life goals. Your focus is your life philosophy. Plain and simple.
In “In If I can Just Focus… 5 Keys to Success and Sanity”, I give practical how-tos on achieving a life of balance and success, drawing on up-to-date research and years of coaching experience helping others to find the vital link between their daily activities and their life goals.
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