I Beat the Odds_ From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond - Michael Oher [79]
That's the most important lesson I want people to take from this book: You don't have to get adopted by a rich family to make it. You don't have to get adopted by anyone at all. You just have to have it set in your brain that you are going to make a better life for yourself and you have to be committed to making that happen.
You can't sit around and wait for a loving family to show up and help you out because, unfortunately, that might never come. You have to be committed to chasing your dream yourself, and if someone steps up and helps you along the way, that's awesome. But if not, it's still up to you what you do with your life. You can blame circumstances or whatever you want to, but it's your life. You've got to be the one who is determined to make it succeed. No one else can do that for you.
If you're good at writing, you have to commit to keep growing. Read good books, magazines, or newspapers so that you can learn what to do to keep improving. If you're good at art, keep practicing it so that you can get new skills and learn new techniques that will open you up to new opportunities. If you are a talented musician, spend your spare time practicing or join a music club after school at the YMCA or Boys and Girls Club.
Your talents are a gift. Are you just going to drop them, hoping that someone will give you your dream job and a fat salary just for being you? Or are you going to take responsibility for what you've got and really push yourself to do something great with those gifts? You have to believe in yourself enough to know that you've got talent and that you are worth the investment of time and effort. God valued you enough to give you those abilities. Value yourself enough to grow those talents to become great.
SUCCESS IS DETERMINED by a lot more than what is in your bank account, but you do need to learn how to make good decisions about your money once you start earning it. There are a lot of very famous people who have earned a ton of money but don't understand basic things like self-control and discipline. As I mentioned in chapter 17, it amazes me how some pro athletes can sign multimillion-dollar contracts and be broke in six months, but it happens all the time.
Many churches and civic groups offer courses on learning how to make a budget and manage income. I would encourage anyone, but especially young people, to sign up for one. Believe me, I still think, "Wow! This is crazy!" every time I check my bank statement. It's really hard to get used to seeing a lot of zeros when you're used to just seeing one. It's exciting and fun to think you can provide for yourself with your own paycheck, but, unfortunately, a lot of other people think it's exciting and fun for you to provide for them out of your paycheck, too.
I have people hitting me up for money all the time. Sometimes they are people I don't know--a lot of inventors who want someone to invest in their product; a lot of wannabe rappers who want someone to pay for them to put out a record. Those are usually pretty easy to say no to. Sometimes the requests come from people I do know--people from back home in the old neighborhood who think I owe them; members of my father's family who I've never spoken two words to before. Those can be a bit harder to turn down.
I tell you those things because you've got to be prepared that with even the smallest amount of success, there are going to be people who feel like you should be paying their way. You don't have to be famous to get hit up for money--there are a lot of people out there who think they are entitled to anything you've earned just because you used to be neighbors or are family. And