The correlation between being the best you can be and Hill Harper

So, I’m reading Hill Harper’s book: “Letters to a Young Brother.” Initially I bought it as I am a fan of Mr Harper and to be honest fancy the pants off the man and embarrassingly didn’t think the book would be as deep as I’ve now come to realise.

A lot of “Hollywood” types write books and I cannot remember many having any substance. I should really apologise for that assumption, because it not only was unfounded, but making assumptions of people is something we shouldn’t do as being on the receiving end of this isn’t usually a nice experience. So I’m sorry Mr Harper, although if you are ever in the UK, I’d love to say that in person.

But back to the book, the following letter written by Curtis Martin had me think for a good while.

Dear Young Brotha,
Be balanced: secure enough to be vulnerable, strong enough to be gentle, wise enough to be humble, and powerful enough to serve others. Only fear God. Have a quiet confidence, faith and belief that you can conquer whatever life may bring. Put God first, family second and yourself third. Respect others, but remain true to yourself. And at the end of the day, know how to have fun and enjoy life!
Sincerely,
Curtis Martin.

Everything Curtis wrote in this letter made a great deal of sense and there is an awful lot in the book that has solidified my thoughts on many things. Raising lil’ man has put an awful lot of fear on my shoulders; wondering if I’m doing the right thing, questioning everything I do – is it the right thing to do etc. Just reading Hill’s thoughts on subjects such as single parenthood, having respect for yourself and of those around you, education etc and how those around him in influential places also cares about today’s generation is inspiring and also enables me to realise my potential, both as a mother and a person.

Although this book is directed at the young Black man growing up with or without parental guidance and have insecurities/fears, I urge anyone that wants to explore aspects of self improvement to read this book. I don’t read self help books, and maybe I should, but I can tell you it’s worth reading. I am willing to lend you the book if you wish although I did get my copy for under £5 on Amazon.

But back to this particular excerpt, as cheesy as it sounds it’s something I have in a way taken on as a mantra (I’m not a fan of the word, but it describes my using it in my life to remind me of where I want my life to go and who I want to be.) This may not be yours, but it could be a point at which you could start thinking about where you want to be and how you’d want to be remembered by those around you. This is the age where we should have gotten over the awkward age of our teens and at that stage of finding ourselves and who we are, and what we want. But this isn’t always the case, and it’s a fact of life. Just be prepared to do something about it before you wake up one day and not know how to you go to where you are – where you aren’t happy in your life and even worse in your own skin. I’m still in that “under construction” thing myself and it’s great to know that I’m better than I was a few months ago, and have improved miles than the stage I was at even two years ago. I still make mistakes and have made poor judgments as well as even recently having issues with someone I thought I could make mistakes with and grow with, but I’m human am willing to accept my faults and improve on them.

Anyway I have to run, I’ve got to finish dinner. I’ll be happy to talk about the book or about anything in regards to any of the matters raised in this blog. It’s nice to hear other points of view so I don’t become close minded about things.