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| Getting
What You Deserve |
According to Alan Loy McGinnis in his book, Confidence
(Minneapolis: Augsburg), actor Sidney Poitier achieved
prominence in his field largely because of self reliance
he learned from his parents. "I was the product of a
colonial system," says Poitier, "that was very damaging
to the psyche of non-white people. The darker you were,
the less opportunities were presented to you."
He continues, "My parents were terribly, terribly poor,
and after a while the psychology of poverty begins to
mess with your head. As a result, I cultivated a fierce
pride in myself, something that was hammered into me by
my parents, Evelyn and Reggie -- mostly by Evelyn. She
never apologized for the fact she had to make my pants
out of flour sacks. I got used to 'Imperial Flour'
written across my rear. She always used to say, 'If
it's clean, that's the important thing.' So from that
woman -- and probably for that woman -- I always wanted
to be extraordinary."
Whatever his parents "hammered" into him gave him the
motivation to rise from poverty to prominence. He
cultivated an unwavering belief in himself.
It is often true that we don't let ourselves have more
than we think we deserve. Not that any of us deserves
more than anyone else, but perhaps most of us deserve
more than we let ourselves have. If we feel trapped in
relationships which are destructive or unfulfilling, we
deserve more. If we are employed in a job which
under-utilizes our true abilities and skills, we deserve
more. If we believe our lives are going nowhere, we deserve
more. Poitier was taught that he was SOMEBODY, and therefore
allowed himself to pursue what many believed to be
unattainable goals.
You, too, are SOMEBODY. You are a person of infinite worth.
Will you allow yourself to experience what you really deserve? |
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