I finished the new book “Will” (biography of Will Smith) this weekend. I must say it’s by far one of the best autobiography’s I’ve ever read. It was well written and filled with inspiration. It starts out a little slow. He writes about his life as a child but he is really laying the foundation for why he is who he is and how he became the famous and successful Will Smith we know today.
After about five chapters, the stories get really interesting. The book is engaging and he drops so many gems based on his experiences. This book was very timely for me. It really hit home because of some of my personal struggles. I love how transparent Will is, about everything that has happen in his life. I experienced clarity on many of my challenges related to discipline, love, purpose (just to name a few).
There were about 5 book quotes in particular that really had an impact on me.
1) Brick by Brick
In the chapter (The Wall), Will speaks about a time his father had his brother and him, build a brick wall all summer or maybe it was a year. Either way it took a long time and it wasn’t necessarily what a kid would want to do during their spare time. In this passage, he shares how he has been so successful and it correlates to the wall he built with his brother.
“The secret to my success as boring as it is unsurprising: You show up and you lay another brick. Pissed off? Lay another brick. Bad opening weekend? Lay another brick. Album sales dropping? Get up and lay another brick. Marriage failing Lay another brick.”
“No matter what you are going through there is always another brick sitting right there in front of you, waiting to be laid. The only question is are you going to get up and lay it.”
My takeaway: Life is going to happen. It’s inevitable. Sometimes we may have to endure pain or discomfort for a period of time. But you wake up and you keep pushing (lay a brick). There is an opportunity each day to put forth the effort to make changes and improve your life. But there is no way to get to the other side if you don’t try.
2) Change
“Change can be scary but it’s utterly unavoidable” If you are unwilling or unable to pivot and adapt to the incessant, fluctuating tides of life, you will not enjoy being here.”
“Sometimes, people try to play the cards that they wish they had, instead of play the hand they’ve been dealt. The capacity to adjust and improvise is arguably the single most critical human ability.”
My takeaway: Most of what cripples us as people is the fear of the unknown. People don’t like change because they don’t know what the outcome will be. But have we ever known the outcome of anything? No! You just make a decision and you do it. You prepare yourself for what you can and you address anything else on the other side.
When I first started my career, I had a manager tell me to make sure I was adaptable. She told me I should be able to adapt to any situation because change was sure to happen. She was right. Is it always the best situation? No. But I find some good in it or something I can learn from it. I find a solution or an alternative. I always focus on what I can control.
3) Your Circle
“Deep down inside I knew that my dreams would be made or broken by the people I choose to surround myself with. Confucius had it right. It’s nearly impossible for the quality of your life to be higher than the quality of your friends.”
My takeaway: This is the one! Take a look around you. Is your circle uplifting and empowering you to be the best version of you? Do they have integrity? Do they call you out on your B.S.? Will they stop you from doing dumb ish? Do you feel like when you are in a room with them as a unit you can take over the world? I sure do! I noticed the difference in my energy, creativity, and productivity when I’m around or when I talk to certain people. So guess what? Those are the people I make it my business to spend time with and pour right back into.
Also read: 5 Things I Would Tell My Younger Self
4)Discipline
“When I determine a right action for our (his family) survival and prosperity it doesn’t matter to me that I don’t feel like doing it. If it’s obviously an action of supreme benefit then the hell with my feelings. When people are too worried about how the feel they’ll never feel how they want to feel.”
“You fight how you train – you do everything how you do one thing.”
“Dreams are built on discipline, discipline is built on habits, habits are built on training. Training takes place in every single second and every situation of your life. You either do you best all the time or you don’t, if the behavior has not been trained and practiced then the switch will not be there when you need it.”
My takeaway: At this point in the book, I really felt like he was talking directly to me. I struggle with discipline. Many times I don’t feel like doing things and I don’t do them. I didn’t feel like writing this blog but I really wanted to share what I had learned. I love how he breaks down the connection between dreams, habits, and discipline. It is so good. Check out his transformation – Best shape of my life series. It was inspiring!
Imagine if we governed our lives by doing our best all the time and doing what we need to do no matter how we feel. That’s the difference between someone who is doing okay for themselves and someone who is wildly successful like Will Smith.
5) Purpose
“There are no relationships, careers or houses with a name that can fill the hole. There is nothing that you can receive from the matter world that will create inner peace of fulfillment.”
“As long as we are stuck in the need to receive – in the cycle of grasping and cling and demanding that people and the world around us meet our needs- we will be locked into disappointment, anger, and misery.”
My takeaway: Will Smith talks about the passing of his father. In the end, his father just wanted to know his life was valuable. He wanted to know if his life meant something. While we obviously want to be successful and we need money to live (i.e. the kind of life we want), there still has to be more. You have to spend sometime with yourself to understand what really brings you peace. What are you really contributing to the world? Are you focused on getting or giving? I want to live life intentionally. It’s important for me to continue to assess the value I bring to others and my contribution the world. Trust me, I two have not figured it all out.
Final Thoughts
I hope these key takeaways from the book “Will” really gave you pause like it did for me. There were moments where I stopped and thought through how I could relate to some of his struggles, learn from some of his mistakes, and move forward with the advice he gives on how to be successful.
Will shared so much about his childhood and insecurities within this book. It’s really brave. He recently showed us that as humans we are all flawed. We have to continuously look within ourselves to understand how we can be better and do more good in the world.
Smith, W., Manson, M. (2021) Will, Penguin Random House
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