According to Alan Loy McGinnis in his book, Confidence (Minneapolis: Augsburg), actor Sidney Poitier achieved prominence in his field largely because of self reliance he learned from his parents. “I was the product of a colonial system,” says Poitier, “that was very damaging to the psyche of non-white people. The darker you were, the less opportunities were presented to you.”
He continues, “My parents were terribly, terribly poor, and after a while the psychology of poverty begins to mess with your head. As a result, I cultivated a fierce pride in myself, something that was hammered into me by my parents, Evelyn and Reggie — mostly by Evelyn. She never apologized for the fact she had to make my pants out of flour sacks. I got used to ‘Imperial Flour’ written across my rear. She always used to say, ‘If it’s clean, that’s the important thing.’ So from that woman — and probably for that woman — I always wanted to be extraordinary.”
Whatever his parents “hammered” into him gave him the motivation to rise from poverty to prominence. He cultivated an unwavering belief in himself.
It is often true that we don’t let ourselves have more than we think we deserve. Not that any of us deserves more than anyone else, but perhaps most of us deserve more than we let ourselves have. If we feel trapped in relationships which are destructive or unfulfilling, we deserve more. If we are employed in a job which under-utilizes our true abilities and skills, we deserve more. If we believe our lives are going nowhere, we deserve more. Poitier was taught that he was SOMEBODY, and therefore allowed himself to pursue what many believed to be unattainable goals.
You, too, are SOMEBODY. You are a person of infinite worth. Will you allow yourself to experience what you really deserve?