Rugby with the stunning Fiji team not only gave me the opportunity to experience diversity in the highest form but inspired me to share my experiences living in Fiji a paradise and well known tourist destination once known as the way the world should be also sharing my experiences living in the USA the most prosperous powerful nation on Earth, while having a blast in one of the most vibrant cities of the world, Las Vegas. Growing up as a child on a copra plantations owned by part European families I lived a fun and exciting life with some challenges and was influenced by the European culture and their language and religion A year at high school in an Indian dominated society saw me struggling to adapt to this environment attending high school with students mainly ancestors of the indentured laborers who were very competitive which made me strive for higher standards through discipline. My personality allowed me to connect with people easily and the opportunity to take part in a carnival gave me exposure not only to be in the public eye but to enhance my leadership skills and to meet with prominent people including the governor general of Fiji Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau who later became the president of the country. Anthony Robbins the world known motivator and owner of the exclusive Namale plantation resort who I met personally inspired me to improve the quality of my communication through his book unlimited power which helped me to deal with many sensitive issues like depression, death and suicide and gave me the power to be a great leader by having a great bonding power that helped me to connect with my people to bring the best out of them. The life at an exclusive world known 5 star resort gave me the opportunity to meet the famous world environmentalist Jean Michael Cousteau and to get a taste of luxury and pampering and also to experience the hospitality of the Fijian people who are dedicated to providing outstanding service with a personal touch making Fiji one of the best tourist destinations of the world. Destiny and a true love story brought me to the USA the land of hope exposing me to a quality of life with high standards and gave me an understanding of the American dream which is about owning your own home while learning to adapt to a new environment and family and a career in banking, Recognition which is a key element in this society saw me with a gold medal presented in Hawaii for my outstanding sales and customer service skills giving me a chance to be part of a royal celebration of excellence and then becoming one of the leaders of the bank managing in a dynamic and changing environment. My inspiring management style helped me to overcome many challenges including managing people through so much change in an economy that was constantly declining and a massive lay off and with the so many opportunities out there I am now going to think a big picture, take a different route to break new ground and will find a whole new world to conquer.

Judges report, Montana NZ Book Awards 2000: "This is an excellent story, beautifully written and skillfully mixing the personal with the political."

"Fiji's Natural Heritage" provides an introduction to the flora, fauna and ecology of the Fiji islands. First published in 1988, this new edition has been completely revised, expanded and redesigned. Written for the general reader as well as for the natural history enthusiast, the book provides a comprehensive overview of Fiji's rich biodiversity. The islands have a large number of endemic species. These and the introduced species are illustrated and described with their common, scientific and Fijian names given. Paddy Ryan's text is packed with biological facts and features, as well as many anecdotes detailing encounters with his subjects including the grey reef shark, the crested and the banded iguana, the fiddler crab, the frigate bird, and Fiji's national flower the tagimaucia.

Indigenous Fijians were singularly fortunate in having a colonial administration that halted the alienation of communally owned land to foreign settlers and that, almost for a century, administered their affairs in their own language and through culturally congenial authority structures and institutions. From the outset, the Fijian Administration was criticised as paternalistic and stifling of individualism. But for all its problems it sustained, at least until World War II, a vigorously autonomous and peaceful social and political world in quite affluent subsistence — underpinning the celebrated exuberance of the culture exploited by the travel industry ever since.