Will Smith

An edited version of an old post written 22nd June 2013:

My celebrity hero growing up (and seeing as how I'm still growing, still is) is Will Smith. Not only is he a great actor, but he is a great role model. The things he says are not only clever but are motivational for all those seeking a better life for themselves, which is the reason why I look up to him, not to mention the fact that he is absolutely hilarious.

First of all we have his incredible talent not only as an actor but as a rapper and all round entertainer. We have 'The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air' a show about a boy from the hood in West Philadelphia moving to live with his aunt and uncle in the rich and glamorous part of Los Angeles. The show not only was funny beyond comparison, but had real issues intertwined, such as black rights, family loyalty, young marriage, maturing, and school and Will was at the forefront of all of these. After that success we had amazing films such as Bad Boys, Enemy of the State, Ali, Men in Black, The Pursuit of Happyness, 7 Pounds and many more. His talents have been rewarded as an actor with two Best Actor Oscars, so there is no denying his talent.

All that is well, but my favourite thing about Will Smith are his ideologies and ways he lives his life. Here are a few of my favourite Will Smith quotes which sum these up:

“Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings & emotions” 

This is basically saying stop worrying about what those few people say that don't matter. This is a very important message because so many people change themselves because of what one person says about them.

“We spend money that we do not have, on things we do not need, to impress people who do not care.” 

This is all about the effect that money has on people. People become reckless with money and it is used to earn the acceptance of others. However money is not central to life and it should not be able to consume us. Money is an aspect of life, but there is more out there to experience.

“If you're absent during my struggle, don't expect to be present during my success” 

This is one of my favourites because it is about not allowing those negative people into your life once you have made it because when you were down they didn't support you. This is important, especially if you become high profile as people will try to use you. When you have nothing you see the true side to people, but when you have everything you see the falseness of the person.

Our Deepest Fear

Here is another of my old posts, written on Friday 21st June 2013:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

This means that the thing we fear is the ability of doing something because we fear that by being successful we will make those around us feel bad, but in actual fact we do the opposite because by being the best we can be people are inspired to do the same. The line "your playing small does not serve the world" I my favourite line because of its hard hitting truth; what it means is that nothing will come from holding back.

This quote was originally by Marianne Williamson but some of you may have heard of it when it was adapted for Coach Carter as Timo Cruz, and the message is an important one for our lives as it is teaching is to never hold back and fear being vulnerable due to success. I have read many a motivational speech and quote, but I feel that none really tell the truth as well as this one. It captures a different side to people and grasps the true thoughts of people. Some do hold back because of what others feel, some are scared of becoming successful because of all the pressure placed on them and that is the reason why I love this quote

Robert Frost

I'm going to be reposting some of my favourite posts from my old blog and I thought I'd start with this post about Robert Frost that I wrote on Saturday 20th July 2013:

Robert Frost was an American poet. Most of you will probably have heard of him, despite having been dead 50 years. The reason; he was an influential character and his poems depicted the realistic manner of the world. He had works such as 'A Soldier' which is talking about the soldiers that fight for us and 'The Oven Bird' which is telling us, through a woodpecker's perspective, that life is too short.

However my favourite thing that Robert Frost has ever written was “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.” The reason why this is amazing to me is because it really captures, in my mind, the main message of life. No matter what life throws at us and no matter how many time we are knocked down, it doesn't matter because life will carry on despite our troubles. This message for me is something that all people should live by, because if they do then they worry less about what went wrong and are more likely to focus on the positives, that life carries on.

Robert Frost, Poet and Legend

1874-1963