We were lucky to catch up with Jamil Massey recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jamil, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

My failures have been some of my best teachers. As I look back over my life and my career, I’ve had many failures. Although they did not feel good while they were happening, they helped me to focus and change my approach to life. One of my earliest failures was when I failed the 9th grade. I wasn’t a dumb kid but unfortunately, I just believed that I wasn’t smart. I also hung around people who didn’t care about grades and who also failed their classes and their grades too. I didn’t realize this while it was happening but be who I was hanging around was pulling me down. The shame and embarrassment of sitting on the Summer School bus was a major wake up call. I began to change my circle of friends and I was able to survive high school.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Years ago, I never would have believed it was possible if you would have told me that I would become an author. Especially, considering the fact that struggled in my English classes and I hated to read. In 2021 I published my autobiography called High School No Fool. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people of all ages. I’ve been able to use this book as a platform and a resource to speak from as I use it to show people how I overcame being raised in a single home on a farm in North Carolina. I didn’t let the fact that I grew up without a father, we were on Government assistance, I was not a good student. I failed the 9th grade and tried to go to college twice but I flunked out on two different occasions.

Through prayer, hard work and determination, I was able to get a job in the janitorial maintenance department and work my way up to Facility Manager without a college degree. I looked for and found mentors who challenged me and pulled greatness out of me at the times when I need it most.

Today, I receive opportunities to speak to different school , corporate and non-profit organizations to tell my story of overcoming, persistence and that it’s possible to find your own path in life. A slow start doesn’t mean that you can finish!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One of the most difficult times in my career was getting the book published. The actual writing process wasn’t hard. It was more of the discipline of using my nights, and weekends that used to be filled with watching sports on tv or just watching movies for entertainment. I had to shift my priorities. Sharing my story of hope and encouragement had to become more important that the final score of my favorite sports team. The challenge was, there were many nights when I didn’t feel like writing. It’s much easier to just grab the remote and start binge watching. I’m not saying that sports are bad. They can be a healthy outlet. However, my problem was I spent more time focused on entertainment and watching other people live their lives and meanwhile, my life was passing by.

I also had to fight through doubts and negative thoughts about people not caring about my story. I had to trust my mentors who encouraged me to focus more on the crowd of people who would be moved and compelled by what I have been able to achieve, not the people who don’t care. It’s amazing that I have give similar advice to my kids and others but it’s was an up hill battle to apply this to my own life.

By listening to my mentors, and the weekly accountability with my publisher, I was able to release High School No Fool and begin motivating others to become more than they currently are.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The lesson that I had to unlearn is one that I continually have to remind myself about. It’s the lesson that I’m capable of way more than I realize, regardless of my failures in the past. Early on when I was in school, the way I saw myself held me back in multiple areas. There’s a quote by Henry Ford that says “whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t” either way you’re right. When I was younger, i didn’t think I could do well in school. Therefore, many times I didn’t. As I stated earlier on, I failed the ninth grade and also flunked out of college on two different occasions. Because of these “failures” I was hesitant to try other things in life. Many times I would only apply for jobs with lower-paying jobs because I thought that was all that I deserved.

What I began to find out is that when I got around the “ smarter” and more experienced people, I realized that they weren’t that much smarter after all. More experience it’s just that, you have more time to try, fail and be exposed to different things. Over time I began to get more exposure and more opportunities to try my hand at things. I realized that I was able to come up with different ways to solve problems and also put my own spin on things and be able to add value and give input. There’s been several occasions that I have surprised myself. Jim Kwik says it best when he says “it’s not how smart are you it’s how are you smart?”

Again, this is a lesson that I continually have to remind myself of as I try new and different things that are unfamiliar to me. I encourage others to believe that you’ve been created for a special purpose on this Earth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.highschoolnofool.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highschoolnofool/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jmasseyspeaks
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamil-massey-7b9aab79/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jmasseyspeaks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSfNgJwRg44n6Gtz0FaVlIQ/videos