Interview with Terry Tucker
Author of Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life
I have been an NCAA Division I college basketball player, a Citadel cadet, a marketing executive, a hospital administrator, an undercover narcotics investigator, a SWAT Team Hostage Negotiator, a high school basketball coach, a business owner, and most recently, a cancer warrior. My wife and I have lived all over the United States and currently reside in Colorado with their daughter and Wheaten Terrier, Maggie. In 2019, Terry started the website, Motivational Check to help others find and lead their uncommon and extraordinary lives (www.motivatioalcheck.com). My new book, Sustainable Excellence is my first book that has been published.
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How would you describe Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life to a new reader?
- Sustainable Excellence is a book about becoming the best person you are capable of becoming. It provides ten principles for finding and living your uncommon and extraordinary life. These principles will reinforce your attitude so that you can overcome whatever obstacles are preventing you from leading your uncommon and extraordinary life.
What was the inspiration behind Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life ?
- Sustainable Excellence was born out of a conversation I had with a former basketball player I coached and a connection with a college basketball player at The Citadel who reached out to me on LinkedIn. This young man wanted to know what I thought were the most important qualities he should learn to be successful in life and his career. I thought about my response for some time because I didn't want to give him the standard: Work hard. Help other. Show up early, etc. Eventually, I came up with ten principles that I had experienced or learned over the course of my life. I was able to use my life experiences, and the examples of others I knew and apply them to the ten principles.
Which authors do you admire? How have they influenced your writing style?
- I enjoy reading non-fiction. I like to know what makes people tick. Two writers that I enjoy are: David McCullough and Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Can you tell us a little about the locations in your book?
- Since the book is non-fiction, there are no specific locations in the book.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Lead with your heart. You aren't in the business of selling books, you are in the business of helping people. Helping people will allow you to sell your books.
What's your writing process?
- My "process" consists of two simple rules. #1. Write at least one page each day. #2. Don't edit anything you write until you have concluded the first draft of the manuscript.
Which character in Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life has had the greatest impact on readers?
- Since the book is non-fiction, there aren't any characters per se. However, of all the stories that I tell in Sustainable Excellence, the one about my friend Kathy, her fight against leukemia, and her willingness to invest her time and energy toward having the first Bone Marrow Donor Drive in Central Ohio, had the most impact on my life.
If Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life were to be adapted for TV or film, who would you see in the lead role? Who did you have in your mind’s eye when you wrote him/her?
- Since Sustainable Excellence is non-fiction, and is about experiences I had during my life or that I observed occurring in the lives of others, I didn't consider the book would ever be made into a movie. If I was going to be vain, I'd suggest Tom Hanks play the lead role.
How have readers responded to Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life?
- Everyone who has read Sustainable Excellence has taken something special away from the book. Many can identify with one or more of the stories or principles discussed in the book.
Where next? What are you working on now?
- I am working on a sequel to Sustainable Excellence. Right now it is entitled: Sustainable Excellence II. It will be ten additional principles for leading a life of significance, as well as success.
