BOOK REVIEW OVER WILL SMITHS BOOK "WILL"

Over the past week, I have spent every free second I had reading Will smiths book… “WILL”.

Believe me when I say IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I grew up watching Fresh Prince of Belair and really anything that Will Smith was in. The humor and light-heartedness that you feel when watching him on TV will be felt when you read this book. You will experience laughter, self-reflection, and even shed a few tears, but Will Smith fan or not, it is worth the read.

I want to share with you some of my favorite highlights from the book and what made me love it so much:

1) Will smiths book opens with an epic story about laying bricks. Will smith’s father “Daddio” decided he needed a new wall in front of the store and thought Will and his brother were the right people for the job. Here are some impactful moments in the book surrounding the story of the wall.

· “Some of the most impactful lessons I’ve ever received, I’ve learned in spite of myself. I resisted them, I denied them, but ultimately the weight of their truth became unavoidable. My fathers Brick wall was one of those lessons”

· “When I focused on the wall, the job felt impossible. Never-ending. But when I focused on one brick everything got easy- I knew I could lay one damn brick well…”

· “I started to notice the difference between a task that feels impossible and a task that feels doable is merely a matter of perspective. Are you paying attention to the wall? Or are you paying attention to the brick?”

2) “Knowledge is the only thing that the world can't take away from you”

3) A sad but impactful moment came from will smiths Mother. Wills father Dadio hit his mother mom-mom. Mom-mom looked at Daddio and said words that struck a chord in my heart “You can hit me all you want, but you will never hurt me.”

4) “How we respond to our fears, that is the person we become”

5) “Never argue with a fool because from a distance, people can’t tell who’s who”

6) “When you are unaware that you shouldn’t be able to do something, then you just do it.”

7) “Make everything you touch turn to gold”

8) “Play the cards you are dealt with not the ones you wish you had”

9) “Talent comes from God; you’re born with it. Skill comes from practice and commitment.”

10) “You fight how you train”

11) “It is impossible to build something that is of higher quality than the people around you”

12) This is one of my FAVORITE STORIES IN THE BOOK. With Will Smith’s nice sum of money coming in from his career, he made it a point to send his mother on trips around the world. On this particular trip, Will was sending his mother to TURKEY. While in Turkey, Will’s Mom tripped and fell and hurt her ankle. With her being diabetic, this was a problem and she needed immediate medical attention to get the blood flowing to her ankle right away. After arriving at a hospital that could help, they told her she would have to spend 3 months in the hospital then they could determine if they could save her leg or not. She looked at them and said “so you are telling me that I could lay here for 3 months and STILL may need my leg amputated? Go ahead and cut it off I have a cruise in a few months that I need to go on.” Mom-mom got her leg amputated that day and then flew back home. 3 days later Turkey was hit with a huge earthquake that killed over 20,000 people and the hospital she was in was totally destroyed. Mom-mom heard the news, bowed her head, and said “All I lost was a leg. Thank you, God,”.

13) “When you are a people pleaser you are never able to make a decision that is honest and pure for you”

14) Will smiths Psychologist hit him with a deep question “What would make you happy?”

15) “Use your gifts to fight your demons”

16) “There are no relationships, careers, or houses with a name that can fill that hole. There is nothing that you can receive from the material world that will create inner peace or fulfillment. The truth is, the smile is generated through OUTPUT. It’s not something you get, its something you cultivate through giving. In the end, it will not matter one single bit how well they loved you, you will only gain “the smile” based on how well you loved them”

17) “The smile is a combination of the recognition of the unique treasure within yourself and the realization that the treasure is multiplied through giving it away.”

Now go read this book!!