It was very easy for me to get a library card and I used it to the max. There is not a combination lock on the doors to knowledge with a sign that says, “Reserved to the privileged.”

The difference is that some of us take advantage of the opportunities in America and others take them for granted. We all have the same access. Whether it’s the libraries, the bookstores, or the Internet, no one can stop us from feeding our minds. Fortunately, you don’t have to struggle to learn English.

Leaders Don’t Blame, They Take Responsibility

In order for anything outside of us to change, we have to change. When we get better, things get better. The condition of our lives today is a reflection of who we are inside. Or as I always say in my speeches, “The level of our purses rises up to meet the level of our minds.”

Many of us go through life trying to find things and people to blame our circumstances on. We moan and bemoan about how unfair life is when all we have to do is to be fair with life. I am uphold by the powerful words of the late president John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, fellow Americans; ask what you can do for your country.”

When I decided to become a motivational speaker, I knew I needed a lot of preparation. At first, like anybody else, I had many doubts. And also there were those who didn’t think I had the potential. I went around with a voice in my head talking me out of pursuing my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I joined the Toastmasters International. I attended lots of seminars and bought many books on public speaking. I would stay up late into the middle of the night reading books and surfing the Internet. There were times when I would drive twelve hours just to attend a seminar.