Paul Wood (author)

Paul Wood is a New Zealand motivational speaker, author, facilitator, and doctor of psychology.

For other people named Paul Wood, see Paul Wood (disambiguation).

Paul Wood
Born1976/1977 (age 44–46)
NationalityNew Zealand
Alma materMassey University
Known forHow To Escape From Prison, Mental Fitness
Websitehttps://paulwood.com/

Biography

Wood left high school early,[1] associating with a peer group which valued drugs and violence.[2] Wood was dependent on drugs, committing crimes to maintain his habit.[3] At 18 years old, Wood went to prison in Paremoremo Prison for murder. Wood's mother passed away three days before the murder. Wood served 11 years in prison.[4][5] He served part of his sentence in Paremoremo Prison, which he described as "New Zealand’s toughest facility."[6]

From prison, he started a PhD in psychology. Wood completed his undergraduate and master's degrees while imprisioned, and he commenced a PhD. He is the first New Zealander to have achieved both feats.[7][8] More than 10 years after his release, the Parole Board granted Wood a rare discharge.[9][10]

Wood has written a bestselling book How to Escape from Prison, an autobiography on his life, and Mental Fitness, a self-help book on building resilience.[11] He also spoke at TEDxAuckland and other conferences.[12][13]

Personal life and views

Wood is married with children.[3]

Work

Books
  • Wood, Paul (1 August 2019). How to Escape from Prison. HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN 978-1775491507.
  • Wood, Paul (June 2021). Mental Fitness. HarperCollins. ISBN 9781775491989.

Speech

References
  1. Cole, Charles (14 July 2019). "How to Escape from Prison: Kiwi Paul Wood's highly inspiring transformation". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  2. Mitchell, Rob (29 June 2019). "National Portrait: Paul Wood". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. "The remarkable story of how a convicted killer turned life around". NZ Herald. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. Taylor, Phil (25 January 2014). "Killer becomes a coach for transforming lives". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  5. "Life sentence can be life-changing". Otago Daily Times. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  6. Wood, Paul (6 July 2021). "Stress is an energy - harness it". Newsroom. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  7. "Convicted killer gets third degree". Stuff.co.nz. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  8. "How to escape from prison with Dr Paul Wood". Newshub. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  9. "From murder conviction to life without limits, Parole Board grants rare discharge". Stuff.co.nz. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  10. "Parole Board's rare step recognised parolee's 'extraordinary' efforts". Stuff.co.nz. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. "Motivational speaker Dr Paul Wood explores mental resilience in his new book". NewstalkZB. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  12. Mulholland, Tom (3 November 2019). "Why we could all learning something from the inspirational Kiwi Dr Paul Wood". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  13. Houlahan, Mike (5 April 2019). "Path to leadership far from straight". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
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