Paul Templer

Paul Templer grew up in war-torn Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe) living an exotic life fraught with adventure, danger and fun. A young entrepreneur, he started a business running safaris on Africa's mighty Zambezi River. Then came the attack. In one horrible moment, as the enraged hippopotamus ripped Paul's body apart, it also destroyed his hopes, dreams and livelihood. His life would never again be quite the same.

After two years of rehabilitation, Paul made the choice to live life again - to live the life he wanted to live, the life of his dreams. Outfitted with a special one-armed paddle, he returned to his beloved Zambezi River - the same river where the hippo had tried to kill him - and led a nine-man crew of expert river guides on the historic three-month, 1,600-mile Zambezi Kayak Expedition. The expedition launched the Make-A-Difference Foundation, which supports disabled and terminally ill children.

Today Paul lives in Michigan with his wife and three young children. In addition to continuing the philanthropic work of his nonprofit, the Make-A-Difference Foundation, he continues to lead expeditions in Africa and has been the subject of documentaries produced by the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and the BBC.

With this background, Paul has successfully applied his experience and insights about people and their cultures to a wide range of business environments. An experienced coach with a broad background in fast-paced, highly competitive industries, Paul specializes in high-performance team development.

An internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, Paul inspires audiences from all walks of life with his riveting, dramatic, and uniquely humorous story of how we create the life we want, one decision at a time.