Be You, Be Great! - Unleash Your Unique Gift Of Greatness Within You. Antonio Edwards

      “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”

      – William Shakespeare

      When I was 16 years old, I found my first job delivering boating parts and photocopying machines. I got out of school at 2:30pm and had to be at work by 3:00pm. My parents weren’t rich nor were they wealthy by any means. They were hardworking people who chose, everyday, to stay together, raise me, and break their backs for very little money. My parents aspired to have steady, 9-5 jobs, with regular hours. In the neighborhood of Virginia Beach, Virginia, where I grew up, slow and steady wins the race. In fact, it still does.

      My parents’ goal was to move us all out of the hood from a small city called Norfolk, Virginia and earn about $35,000 a year. That was a solid goal and a bigger goal than many of the people who grew up with them. They dreamed as big as they knew to dream.

      Because I did not know any better, I desired to earn a solid living just as my parents had. I delivered copiers for 7 years until I was 23 years old, and then my back broke, literally, from the strain of such heavy lifting. I started having intense back pain and went to the doctor that told me that my scrawny 5’7”, 140 lb. frame could no longer lift heavy copiers. Now, I was unsure what to do next.

      After 7 years busting my back delivering copiers, and despite small annual pay increases, I was still earning only just $6.50 an hour, up to $8.00 per hour when I left that job. In retrospect, my injury did me a favor because it forced me to find another way to make a living.

      I had a young son to support, and as all parents do, I viewed each decision I made with him in mind as well. If I could no longer support us by delivering copiers, what did I want to do?

      Shortly before I stopped delivering copy machines, when I was about 22 years old, my mother gave me the book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. She knew, even if I did not, that there was more out there for me, so she tried to acquaint me with someone else’s perspective on how to succeed in life. The book introduced me to concepts that I had never thought about, including real estate investing. Although I did nothing to pursue it at the time, the real estate seed was planted for me.

      I had always loved music. I was constantly pounding out a beat on any available surface, much to my parents’ annoyance and with them frequently telling me to stop. I decided to enter the music business to pursue something that I loved and hoped that the money would follow.

      Timberland and Pharrell (singers/writers/producers) were from my area, although they left the area to get their break into music. Despite all of the talent, I always believed Virginia wasn’t exactly a music mecca.

      I had no way of knowing at the time that producing music would be the door that leads to a door. In other words, the music industry would not be my final stop career-wise, but it would put me on a path to understanding that there were plenty of other avenues of income, many of which I had no knowledge of.

      Through my music, I began hanging around with people who had bigger dreams than I did at the time. I would later learn that this was a key to success. The sky was the limit now.

      Of the people I grew up with, some of them are still in the same place and are unhappy with their lives, but they don’t know how to grow. They don’t know, yet, how to dream bigger than a steady paycheck.

      You might not know today how you are going to change your life. You may not even be sure if your life needs changing. Many times, we don’t know what we don’t know. That's okay. I have been there. I was able to put together bits and pieces of my business with the help of many people whose influence I now recognize as life changing for me. At the time, I only knew that I wanted more than what I had in front of me.

      My goal with this book is to show you how much more there is out there for you that you probably have no idea even exists. Let me inspire you to see the possibilities. Then, I want to give you the clearly defined steps to take to change your own life, as I have changed mine to be not just good, but great!

      With each chapter, you will be given the opportunity to reflect on the ideas presented so that you can digest them at your own pace. My goal is for you to strive for greatness because I know you are great, whether you know it or not.