Imagine living in one of the deadliest cities in America with no home and as a dropout of high school with no certain future. Eric Thomas speaks on how anyone can succeed just as he did. In this book, Mr. Thomas changes from his normal in-person speeches to writing down his wisdom that inspires people to complete their dreams while giving them tools on how to get there from his own life experiences. He uses tools of argument to get his message across that will deeply affect your own life in a positive way. Eric Thomas is now a well-known motivational speaker that had a very depressed youth. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan and never knew his real father until later in life. He would get beaten growing up by the man his mother married. This …show more content…
He then travelled to college at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. Twelve years later he would finally succeed in earning an undergraduate degree. In the novel, Mr. Thomas uses his character very wisely to bring the main message across to the reader. He was a low-life individual with no home and no future. His prospect career was a drug dealer that would eventually end up shot or in jail. (53) He uses this to show the most deprived place anyone can possibly go. This sets up the rest of the book so the difference between the past and the present is enormous. Additionally, he teaches the path to success with steps by changing character through the environment you’re in. After becoming homeless, Eric knew he had to change friends. He knew he only needed people around him that would stay to their beliefs and would be able to help him. This is how he found Bob. (33) Bob had many family members so Eric could not stay in his house but Bob let him sleep in an old car they had. (37) Eventually Bob got him to start going to church. This change of environment, from the streets to a church, would make an even better atmosphere for Eric to be able to succeed. By showing what changed him, he urges the reader to do something similar in their life to better who they
In 2005, David Wallace Foster delivered a memorable commencement speech to the graduating class of Kenyon College. It was not the standard US commencement speech with “the deployment of didactic little parable-ish stories” which then turn out to be “one of the better, less bullshitty conventions of the genre”. By using pathos , Foster created an intelligent argument that wasn't overpowering but thoughtful and understanding. The argument made by Foster in his speech is about the capital-T Truth. And to Foster, the capital-T Truth is about life before death. The point of Fosters speech is to expose the importance of education, the value it possesses and the awareness it brings. Its modest amount parables, proverbs and cliches revealed the honesty behind his words and ugly truths that caused a stir the audience. Wallace Foster stripped away the standardness of such monotone and basic writing of commencement speeches to his advantage. By using pathos he builds bridges, sustains his arguments and emotionally influences his audience.
As Chris McCandless once said, “I now walk into the wild,” a phrase that not only represents a future with unknown mysteries, but a phrase that finishes the puzzle of his and Martin Luther King, Jr’s life. When looking at a historical or inspirational person, you may notice they operated outside the usual bounds of society to achieve a particular purpose. Such is the case for McCandless and King. Although Chris McCandless and Martin Luther King, Jr both shared a fatal death, these men had many similarities and differences between how they reached success, encountered obstacles, and left an impact towards people's lives. Generally speaking, success isn’t just about what you accomplish in life, it’s how you accomplished it and the impact you leave behind.
Wes Moore Paper Richelle Goodrich once said, “To encourage me is to believe in me, which gives me the power to defeat dragons.” In a world submerged in diversity, racism and prejudice it is hard for minorities to get ahead. The novel “The Other Wes Moore” is a depiction of the differences that encouragement and support can make in the life of a child. This novel is about two men, with the same name, from the same neighborhood, that endured very similar adversities in their lives, but their paths were vastly different. In the following paragraphs, their lives will be compared, and analyzed from a sociological perspective.
He delivers his message to the students he is talking to in a very bold, stern manner so one cannot lose focus for a single second. At no point is he reading from a piece of paper, which allows the audience to engage in a more natural and conversational feel. This keeps the audience interested and attentive because his tone of voice is not boring in any way at all. Right from the get go the audience is hooked because what do teens want the most in life? Money. Thomas opens the speech by saying, “So if you want to make six figures, you can't just be talking’ about you want to be makin’ six figures.” He is passionate the entire time, using his body language to portray the emotions of the speech. Thomas makes the audience want to hear more and more of what he has to say and makes them become on the edge of their chairs to get ready to hear the next string of brilliant words spill from his
Individuals who are involved in self improvement ask themselves what the key to success may be. The key to success in life is, by far, self-reliance. Although there is nothing wrong with asking for or receiving help, the support of friends and family will only benefit us ephemerally. People go through their own personal journey of reaching the best version of themselves. That journey is best achieved with self-reliance. Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, is symbolic of the theme survival through self-reliance.
“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” This quote is by Booker T. Washington. In the book “Up from Slavery” Mr. Washington was a poor African American man who wanted an education. He was able to peruse an education, through hard work and perseverance. Then he wanted to help others also receive an education, by building a school.
Words can make a great difference in people and how they face their challenges in lonely and desperate times of their life. An inspiration can be the simplest speech but when said at the right time and in the right place, it can have a massive impact. I experienced this feeling of lonesomeness in my life and with the help of a mentor I was able to put it behind me and most importantly learn a lesson from it, that may have never even crossed my mind. These experiences are the ones that build a person’s character and helps them grow in life. In order to be able to understand other people and build good connections, you have to be able to under-stand and connect with someone about what they are going through, and sometimes give them the help they need.
Bryan labeled himself as a “Tiger-Son” pushing himself to succeed in every aspect throughout his life. What his parents did impart onto him though is the ability to exhibit resilience in overcoming any endeavor. Growing up, Bryan was deeply cognizant that he lived in very poor conditions. Having much disdain for it, so he saw education as an instrument to improve his and his family’s socioeconomic status. A story he had imparted to me was that when he was a child, his mother had bought him a toy laptop which had various random fun facts and also served as Bryan’s favorite toy growing up. He believes that this was the very reason why he became so engaged with learning and
The adversity that was displayed through racial inequalities became a platform for me to trust myself even more along with advocating an example for future young students to neglect any doubt previously conceived of them. It inspired the drive to exhibit triumph and became an ultimate fuel that leads me to the aspiration of love, hope, and success for the years to come. The configuration of a vision of fulfilling my own destiny shaped my undying dream. A dream to say, "I have a
One major factor that decides how successful someone will be is determined by race. Although by law, discrimination due to race is illegal, this does not completely deter racial discrimination. This is especially true concerning the American dream, as it proves the chance for success is not the same for everyone. Studs Turkel records Stephen Cruz’s oral retelling of his story of discrimination. Stephen Cruz is a Mexican-American who is discriminated against due to that fact. Although he does receive a well paying job, he knows he only received t...
More than just an essay on positive thinking, Allen walks the reader through applications for personal growth, putting thought into action, using personal gifts to achieve right purposes, persevering to develop character, sacrificing and putting forth your full effort.
As I started to look around me and who I was surrounded by, I realized that in my neighborhood I was surrounded by lower middle class and poor people. All of which who did not have motivation or ambition to carry on throughout life themselves, so they settled for what was in front of them instead of reaching for what was above them but was possible to reach with motivation and determination. When I also saw how my family struggled to pay bills, buy toiletries, or even sometimes struggle with buying food that made me check my own reality and come to my senses to know there has to be more to life then struggling. Another factor that motivates me is I never want to relive my past or let my own history repeat itself. I live by this quote to simply remind myself that I can do better than what I came from. I want to achieve success so that my children can have someone who leaves the impression of triumph in their mind. I want my children to realize that there is more to life than the eye meets and I never want them to have to beg or ask for anything the way I did as a child. Furthermore, I also learned about myself in the process of finding my motivation, and I learned that when I am rejected, I am driven to achieve more. The encounter that made me very obsessive over achieving success was when one day I stayed at church later than expected and I was in need of a ride home because my parents were at work. I asked someone to take me home, they agreed at first but then when it was time to go, they asked me if I had a bus card and told me I should get on the bus because they didn’t feel like taking me. At that moment, I picked up my dignity and pride, walked away from the car, went to the bathroom and cried. I cried because that day I realized if you have just enough to barely survive, people won’t really help you as long as they know you’re still living.
The lack of understanding in our society is what keeps us from accomplishing greater things in life. Encouragement is a great tool to help one reach its goals. A career would be considered an accomplishment under the “American dream”. Everyone has its own purpose in life, goals, and ambitions that makes everyone unique. The tasks that are presented before us may sometimes be thought as insignificant, but our source of encouragement is what helps one deal with it.
In a world like today, one must stay true to their own beliefs, even if they are standing alone. A person must have a mode for motivation and a positive outlook. One of the things that keep me going in today’s world is, doing me and what makes me happy, and wanting to leave an impact on the world, no matter what people think. I realize I have done wrong in my life, but I can accept it. I’ve been lost, now I’m found. I want to leave my mark somewhere, I don’t really care where, just somewhere that it will make a difference. I’m ready to show people who I am and what I’ve done. 8) I’m proud of myself and doing what my mom has always wanted for me.
In a person’s life, they learn from everything around them, and take in everything that they see, and learn from all of it. Hopefully, they get a good result so that they may be able to make a difference in the world around them. I feel that I have to tools to make the changes that I want, and the knowledge to know how to make these changes. I look toward the future with a bright outlook, and know that to keep learning is the key to making my bright outlook the truth. For my future and the future of people younger and older than me, education will always be the key.