★★★★★ | Memoir | Audio | Borrow | StoryGraph | Goodreads
Fascinating memoir. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Will Smith himself, which was a performance in itself. Some very good life lessons about pushing through adversity to achieve big goals. Some very funny parts, and some sad ones too. I loved it.
Favorite Quotes
“Stop thinking about the damn wall!” he said. “There is no wall. There are only bricks. Your job is to lay this brick perfectly. Then move on to the next brick. Then lay that brick perfectly. Then the next one. Don’t be worrying about no wall. Your only concern is one brick.”
“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.”
“Jus’ remember, Lover Boy,” she said, “be nice to everybody you pass on your way up, coz you just might have to pass them again on your way down.”
“Life is like school, with one key difference—in school you get the lesson, and then you take the test. But in life, you get the test, and it’s your job to take the lesson.”