JHB North - Nov 2020

CHAPTERS OF RAW HONESTY
For many years, Richard Wright had
wanted to pen a book. And now he has.
Yet the story he ended up telling isn’t
the one he’d expected to write. Life took
a turn. He shares his vulnerability and
how he shifted his mindset in the face of
extreme adversity to overcome all odds.
Text: DANIELLA GRAHAM. Photographer: JAMES PUTTICK.
For Richard Wright, The Power of Purpose is so
much more than a book he wrote. It’s the vessel that
holds his vulnerability.
‘I laid myself bare,’ says the Randpark Ridge resident, and he
did so for his two daughters.
‘I firmly believe that our job as parents is to provide a
platform for our kids that enables them to become better
humans than we could ever be. It’s an account of my
failures, mistakes, shortcomings, struggles, victories and
unbecoming. When they are ready to read it, I hope that
they will resonate deeply and that they will take something
from it that will enrich their lives. We have many profound
and meaningful conversations and always have but having
it in a book is different.’
He explains The Power of Purpose isn’t an autobiography,
nor is it a self-help book. ‘It’s a weird hybrid, which is pretty
apt because I’ve never really fitted into any of the usual
categories either.’
Richard is a renowned international speaker, sales guru
and entrepreneur who believes ‘family time is a joy’. He
has triumphed over what seemed like near-impossible
adversity, and now, with raw honesty, he details his story.
He was first diagnosed with rare pituitary cancer four years
ago, and it was then that he defined the power of his
purpose as, ‘How much it meant to me to survive, for my
girls to have a dad, how badly I wanted it. How much I was
prepared to endure to achieve that. That meaning, burning
desire and tenacity became my purpose which, in turn,
unleashed immeasurable power in mindset changes.
‘We become what we think.’
Over the next few years, Richard’s cancer returned a further
two times – and both times, he beat it. ‘Early in 2016, the
first tumour was discovered and was surgically removed. It
had already spread, and I was told it was terminal. Later that
year I went into remission, only for the cancer to return six
months later. In December 2017, I heard that I had beaten
it again. 2018, bout number three arrived, again terminal.
March 2020 – remission number three! So, spoiler alert, I
made it out the other side of the book [and am] currently
free of cancer.’
On top of the uphill battle to beat cancer, Richard – who
Make sure you grab a copy of Richard Wright’s
The Power of Purpose. Tracey McDonald Publishers, R275.
loves the outdoors and says that cycling out in The Cradle
of Humankind is a treat on any day – took on some of the
world’s toughest endurance races. These included five
full Ironman triathlons – his favourite competition. ‘I was
fortunate to have many years of endurance sport behind
me so my body is accustomed to the load. Mostly it was
a conscious decision to force myself to get out the front
door. Purpose played a massive role. Some days it was
just physically impossible. But every day is a new day and
another opportunity to abandon the past, control our fear
of the uncertain future and live in the moment. Control
the controllable.’
Through writing the chapters of his book, Richard relived
these events, rediscovered the lessons he’d learnt and
found new ways to express them better – which, he says,
was the best part of the process.
Writing a book is something Richard had wanted to do for
many years. Yet, the story he ended up telling isn’t quite
12 Get It Magazine November 20