When I Woke Up by Paul Evans: Why the right relationships can save your life

About the Book

The True Story of Paul Evans written by Carolyn Coe – is one man’s inspiring story of starting rough, making mistakes, personal suffering and the raw grit it takes to get back up when life deals the heaviest blows. Told with his authentic humour and frank wit, this is an upfront and personal account of a life of full of jaw-dropping, gut-wrenching and heartwarming events that will leave you reeling in disbelief and full of admiration for one man’s spirit to survive and live life to the full.

Source: https://www.wheniwokeup.com/my-book/

About the Author

A passionate, ambitious go-getter, Paul began his career in the financial services sector. Recognised as GE Capital’s “Golden Boy” of sales, a coincidental meeting with club entrepreneur Freek Teusink on a Hurghada beach saw him make the bold decision to move to Egypt permanently in 2001. 

It was here the two formed the pioneering, multi-award-winning Solutions Leisure group. Re-inventing Egypt’s nightlife scene through the introduction of house music and European bands to the region, Paul and Freek Teusink developed and grew the Hurghada Marina Boulevard to become the number one destination in the Red Sea.

Following the violence and disruption of the Arab Spring and the Egyptian revolution, Paul re-established Solutions Leisure in Dubai, UAE in 2011. Today, the group is the most heavily-awarded in the region, having owned and operated over 34 venues internationally.

Having created a multi-million-dollar business, Paul’s perseverance to his vision, dedication and loyalty to his goals and objectives have significantly set him apart from the fierce competition he faces daily.

Source: http://www.wheniwokeup.com/my-story/

Buy the book from The Book Depository - https://www.bookdepository.com/When-I-Woke-Up/9781076135599/?a_aid=stephsbookshelf

Would you like to take better notes from the books you read?  Get your copy of Archley's beautiful book journal, the Book of Books here: https://www.archleys.com/?ref=JamVyS-U4mVR

BIG IDEA 1 (4:01) – Find opportunity

Paul had an eye for seeing and seizing the emerging trends and gaps in the market. This trend and gap spotting started early in his life, as a teenager in college in the UK. Him and his friends started a stall at the back of one of their cars selling clothes to other students. The opportunity for selling to his college friends who couldn’t afford the top labels but could afford the (potentially knock off) clothes that Paul was selling. So it started young and small started to big size of things to multi-million dollars – when he saw what the nightlife of Egypt could be like from what he’d seen in other countries and seized the opportunity.

He knows what the people want because he stays very close to people or clients coming to his resorts. He talks about observation and connection being critical skills to find more opportunities, knowing the trends, speaking to people on a regular basis and understanding what the people want.

His method of education was getting out there, trying things, making mistakes and learning along the way. There’s a quote in the book that says, “Opportunity is everywhere when you open your eyes”, but you have to have the right action oriented mindset when you see that opportunity arrive.

BIG IDEA 2 (6:47) – It’s meant to be hard

Paul said that life, work, success are meant to be hard and hard is what makes it great. He had two close calls to death, two stints in prison, a fire in one of his clubs, legal issues (including him having to go into hiding for a period of time), relationship breakdowns and he was close to being caught up in a terrorist attack in Egypt.

Despite all of these incredible challenges, his attitude was that everything can be overcome. And noone can come out of of the hardships that he experienced without having that mindset. 

BIG IDEA 3 (9:02) – Relationships can save your life

His parents, one of his teachers, and friends in Egypt all helped him overcome challenges and literally saved his life at various points of his life.

All of his relationships are built on reciprocity and trust. And even when he was making some questionable decisions or trying to outrun his problems, it was always the people around him who made him come to his senses, made him realise what he was doing or came to his rescue.  They helped him stand back up again and make things a bit better, fix things up and helped him move forward.

Music: Anthem of a Quirky Hipster by Rex Banner (via Artlist)

Support my book habit: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/stephsbookshelf

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, have you subscribed to the bookmark newsletter? If you liked this, you might like my twice-monthly email with book reviews and ideas of what you should be reading, and listening to, next. Click here to subscribe.

Let’s connect
LinkedIn
Instagram