Will, by Will Smith
An insightful memoir from an iconic star
If you’d like to learn how a kid from West Philadelphia rose to become an entertainment icon, told with compelling stories, and relatable life lessons, I recommend reading the memoir ”Will” by Will Smith (co-written with Mark Manson). Oprah Winfrey called this New York Times #1 bestseller “the best memoir I’ve ever read.”
What I love about this book is the vivid story telling, the laugh-out-loud humor, and Smith’s down-to-earth insights on his sacrifices and emotional turmoil. This book also educates — Smith details the early hip-hop movement, how “break dancing” arose, and how an A-list Hollywood celebrity has to travel and protect themselves.
Here are some quotes that resonated with me:
If you think about any movie you’ve ever liked, any character you’ve ever rooted for, it’s because they wanted something you could relate to and they struggled, risking life and limb, to achieve it. What’s true about movies is also true about life: You tell me what you want, and I’ll tell you who you are.
Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.
For my entire career, I have been absolutely relentless. I’ve been committed to a work ethic of uncompromising intensity. And the secret to my success is 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.
Life isn't how many breaths you take, but it's the moments that take your breath away.
Life is learning. Period. Overcoming ignorance is the whole point of the journey. You’re not supposed to know at the beginning. The whole point of venturing into uncertainty is to bring light to the darkness of our ignorance. I heard a great saying once: ‘Life is like school, with one key difference — in school you get the lesson, then you take the test. But in life, you get the test, and it’s your job to take the lesson.
It’s respectable to lose to the universe. It’s a tragedy to lose to yourself.
Change can be scary, but it’s utterly unavoidable. In fact, impermanence is the only thing you can truly rely on. 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 playing the hand they’ve been dealt. The capacity to adjust and improvise is arguably the single most critical human ability.
Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.
The thing about money, sex, and success is that when you don’t have them, you can justify your misery—shit, if I had money, sex, and success, I’d feel great! However misguided that may be, it psychologically permeates as hope. But once you are rich, famous, successful—and you’re still insecure and unhappy—the terrifying thought begins to lurk: Maybe the problem is me.
Money & success don't change people; they merely amplify what is already there.
