The Secret to Success

In retrospect, it made sense why she started the whole conversation with, “Eric, do you love me?” “Of course I love you boo.” “Then why won’t you get serious about our future together?” In the short time we dated, she came to know a few things about me. One, I had absolutely no interest in school. Two, she knew it would be hard pressed for me to up and leave Bob, and she also knew it was going to be equally challenging for me to walk away from the block. She also knew that the church had a major impact on changing my life, but somehow it did not have the power to penetrate all aspects of my life. Her last chance of convincing me to take school serious was to use her influence on me.

I played it off as if I wasn’t fazed, but her words hit home. I knew De cared for me, but to hear her say to my face how much I meant to her blew me away. And I knew how much I loved her, and I was willing to do whatever it took to prove my love. Wanting to prove my love and actually passing the G.E.D. were two different things. Talk is cheap; actually walking the walk requires Blood, Sweat and Tears. If I passed the test, I could leave the D, start all over again, and take my relationship with De to another level.

I will be your Motivation.

In some cases, Success is less about hard work, resources, and skill, and more about motivation. Sometimes you have to find the right incentives that push you and drive you before you can reach your dreams.

By the time I was 18 I had screwed up so much that I started doubting myself and started believing all the venom people were spiting. The worst part was that it seemed like my mother was one of my biggest haters. She was so disappointed in my previous actions that she did not even get excited when I told her I was going to college. I guess I cried wolf one too many times for her to believe that this one was legitimate. I think she cut me off emotionally when I was about 14, because I remember her smacking me in my face and screaming, “You are going to be just like your father!” That was the first time I had ever heard her mention his name. Well, she did not actually say his name, but I knew exactly to whom she was referring. Even though she did not explain what she meant by, “You are going to be just like your daddy,” I knew it was not meant as a compliment.

Then there was De De’s mother, Glenda. Her hatred for me was unparalleled! In her eyes I was another thug with no future and nothing but trouble for her little princess... I wasn’t mad at them though, they were entitled to their opinion, but I was on a mission to prove my mother, her mother, and the rest of my haters wrong.

No teacher, counselor, not even my parents could get me to see the value of school. Somehow De was the only one who could convince me that school was my ticket out of Detroit. Even though I was afraid I would fail and I was petrified of going to college and leaving the D, I was not going to let that stop me from keeping my word to De. I promised her that when she started school in the fall, she would not be there alone. We were going to school together and if I had it my way, we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.

When you make a decision to change, the Universe will do all in its power to make sure you have everything you need to make that change. All you have to do is be cooperative.