No one ever laid out the sequence of events that led to my mother being prosecuted and imprisoned for alleged welfare fraud.
People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you that you can’t do it. You want something? Go get it.
Strong people stand up for themselves. Stronger people stand up for others. The irony is that while sleep sometimes brings nightmares, it’s the reality of my waking hours that can cause me the greater fear.
I just wanted to make a million dollars. But I couldn’t sing and I couldn’t play ball, so I said to my mother, ‘How am I going to make a million dollars?’ And she said to me, ‘Son, if you believe you can do it, you will.’
We all understand genetics. You get your eyes from your dad, your mom’s nose, there’s nothing you can do about that. But your spiritual genetics you can choose, pick, embrace and commit to. That’s what I did.
Then again, what seems like nothing in the eyes of the world, when properly valued and put to use, can be among the greatest riches.
But if you don’t take the necessary steps to make them happen, dreams are just mirages that mess with your head!
Well, I really don’t want to be a high-powered corporate lawyer. I’m really passionate about painting.
One of the things young people always ask me about is what is the secret to success. The secret is there is no secret. It’s the basics. Blocking and tackling.
As busy as I am wherever I am, I...
I hold one thing dearer than all else: my commitment to my son.
This is a work of nonfiction. I have rendered the events faithfully and truthfully just as I have recalled them. Some names and descriptions of individuals have been changed in order to respect their privacy. To anyone whose name I did not.
Every time he came back, apologetic, contrite, he’d start off being real nice. But he was as predictable as rain. No body knew when he’d go off, but at some point everybody knew he would.
If you have a dream and a desire to pursue it with every fiber of your being, but can’t move past excuses or circumstances that seem to be standing in your way, there is a life lesson ahead with your name on it. If you are tired of the status quo and are dying to shake up your life, reinvent yourself, and find a pursuit you love doing so much that you can’t wait for the sun to come up in the morning, you’ve come to the right place. If.
Mr. Gardner, why people gotta keep you down when you have your dream?” Again, I was having a long overdue conversation with myself. “Well,” I said, “people who can’t do something themselves, they’re jealous, so they wanna tell you that you can’t do it. But you know what? You got a dream, it’s yours and you gotta protect it. So, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t. If you want something, go get it. Period.
You won’t find magic potions here. No matter how enticing they may seem, promises of quick fixes mostly set us up for failure and do more to deter us than empower us.
Don’t listen to them,” I said. “In fact, don’t ever let anybody tell you that you can’t do something. Not your parents, your teachers. Nobody.
The irony is that while sleep sometimes brings nightmares, it’s the reality of my waking hours that can cause me the greater fear.
What I do know in the hours and days that follow is that nothing puts more stress on a relationship between a man and a woman than if the man has no job. At least, in the world I come from and inhabit, that’s so. A man without a job, as far as my upbringing taught me, is no man at all. Any man that was a man had to take care of and provide for his family.
All that travel is inevitably exhausting, but it never gets old. Arriving in the next city for the next opportunity is always a thrill. As busy as I am, wherever I am, I try to get out and walk the streets, to check out the sidewalks for cracks, to remember how far I’ve come and appreciate every baby step of the way, to stand in amazement and joy that the pursuit never ends.