Will | Will Smith, Mark Manson

One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of music and film that anyone has ever had.

Will Smith’s transformation from a fearful child in a tense West Philadelphia home to one of the biggest rap stars of his era and then one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood history, with a string of box office successes that will likely never be broken, is an epic tale of inner transformation and outer triumph, and Will tells it astonishingly well. But it's only half the story.

Let me share the quotes I highlighted when I was reading Will. By the way, I started reading this book before Will's terrible action in Oscar and just after that event, I did not want to finalize the book. Thus my quotes do not include the whole potential text to be highlighted. Yes, that's a personal choice and I hope my readers will respect to this decision.

The Wall

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. . . .

As the weeks passed, the bricks mounted, and the hole got just a little bit smaller. I started to see that 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?

No matter what you’re going through, there is always another brick sitting right there in front of you, waiting to be laid. The only question is, are you going to get up and lay it?

I’ve heard Harry and I set and leveled the final brick, then silence. Harry kinda shrugged—What now? Do we jump, do we cheer, do we celebrate? We gingerly stepped back and stood on each side of Daddio.

The three of us surveyed our family’s new wall.

Daddio plucked his cigarette to the ground, twisting his boot to put it out, exhaled the final drag of smoke, and, never taking his eyes off the wall, he said, “Now, don’t y’all ever tell me there’s something you can’t do.”

Then he walked into the shop and got back to work.

Fear

Something bad happens to us, and we decide we’re never going to let that happen again. But in order to prevent it, we have to be a certain way. We choose the behaviors that we believe will deliver safety, stability, and love. And we repeat them, over and over again. In the movies, we call it a character; in real life, we call it personality.

How we decide to respond to our fears, that is the person we become.

Fantasy

My imagination is my gift, and when it merges with my work ethic, I can make money rain from the heavens.

Never argue with a fool, because from a distance, people can’t tell who’s who.

Comedy is an extension of intelligence. It’s hard to be really funny if you’re not really smart.

The problem is one man’s fantasy is another man’s lie.

The more eccentric you are, the less mercy you will be shown.

The bigger the fantasy you live, the more painful the inevitable collision with reality. If you cultivate the fantasy that your marriage will be forever joyful and effortless, then reality is going to pay you back in equal proportion to your delusion.

When we can joke about something—our pains, our problems, our tragedies—it makes them just a little bit more bearable.

Power

And then I asked myself, If I have this much power, shouldn’t I use it for good? Words can affect how people view themselves, how they treat each other, how they navigate the world. Words can build people up, or they can tear them down. I decided that night that I wanted to use my words to empower others, to help rather than hurt.

Internal power and confidence are born of insight and proficiency. When you understand something, or you’re good at something, you feel strong, and it makes you feel like you have something to offer. When you have adequately cultivated your yet every day you train us to fight. How do you reconcile these conflicting ideas?” And Bruce Lee responded, “It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.”

Ignorance

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.”

when my mind locks onto an idea—when I commit to a system of beliefs—there are only two options: one, I complete my mission. Or two, I’m dead.

Living is the journey from not knowing to knowing. From not understanding to understanding. From confusion to clarity. By universal design you are born into a perplexing situation, bewildered, and you have one job as a human: figure this shit out.

Life is learning. Period. Overcoming ignorance is the whole point of the journey. You’re not supposed to know at the beginning. The whole point of venturing into uncertainty is to bring light to the darkness of our ignorance. I heard a great saying once: 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.

We’re all waiting until we have deep knowledge, wisdom, and a sense of certainty before we venture forth. But we’ve got it backward—venturing forth is how we gain the knowledge.

It’s better to die than to walk around scared.

Adventure

What God ordains, no man contains.

Pain

Scared money can’t make no money.

Choosing the city you live in is as important as choosing your life partner.

The thing about money, sex, and success is that when you don’t have them, you can justify your misery—shit, if I had money, sex, and success, I’d feel great! However misguided that may be, it psychologically permeates as hope. But once you are rich, famous, successful—and you’re still insecure and unhappy—the terrifying thought begins to lurk: Maybe the problem is me.

Of course, I dismissed that foolishness quickly. I just needed more money, more women, more Grammys.

Destruction

You can stop a homicide, but you can’t stop no suicide.

It’s respectable to lose to the universe. It’s a tragedy to lose to yourself.

Hopefully none of you will ever need this information, but if you can at all avoid it, do not get arrested on a Friday.