As we allow ourselves to be influenced more and more by the outside factors around us, our ability to embrace who we are and what we are capable of, becomes ever weaker, especially for young people. Bryan Neely, author of children’s book, Embrace Your Roarrr: The Key to Rising Up in Everything You Do, has written an inspiring story for people of all ages to find their inner strength. Embrace Your Roarrr is the story of Tyler the T-Rex who learns how to overcome his physical challenges, to engage his own strengths and to share encouragement and love with his peers.
Neely, now a resident of middle Tennessee, is not only an author, but he also boasts a stellar resume as a Navy Officer, a Spartan DEKA World Champion athlete, military funeral honors detail, a Krav Maga and kickboxing instructor and the founder of Rise It Up, an organization designed to inspire people to embrace who they are within and to empower others. Bryan told us a little bit about himself and his heartwarming book.
Q: How did your background shape you into becoming the author of Embrace Your Roarrr?
A: I come from a military family that went through a lot as far as the transitions of moving, to my parents splitting up, to my house burning down at one point, to a lot of things in between. Then in the military, I had a lot of difficulties that presented themselves. But recently, one of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced in life, is that my cousin committed suicide as soon as I came out of active duty and moved back to Tennessee. That was something that really shaped who I’ve become today in regard to inspiring other people to become confident in who they are, and my book is all about inspiring and empowering kids to embrace who they were created to be.
Q: What inspired you to write a children’s book?
A: It’s funny because I don’t have any kids, but I had always wanted to write a book and inspire people, and I had always had trouble coming up with something. The moment I knew I wanted to write a children’s book, I was watching my friend’s two-year-old son who has a fascination with dinosaurs. That day, I came home, and it was just a lightbulb moment. I was like, “I know what I’m going to write,” and I wrote the story down, and I thought to myself, “This is going to be a book!”
Q: How do you reflect the themes from your book in your personal life?
A: All the experiences that I’ve had, from self-defense to obstacle course racing, to the military, to the grief that I’ve had to overcome, I’ve used those things to serve other people. As far as who I am and everything I do, I strive to do the best that I can. I believe that’s why I was put here on earth – to shine a light and spread love to other people, and that’s what I try to do through my book, through speaking, through self-defense, through obstacle course racing. That is who I am.
Embrace Your Roarrr: The Key to Rising Up in Everything You Do is available for purchase at Amazon.com and RiseItUp.org.
"I believe that’s why I was put here on earth – to shine a light and spread love to other people."