Smiley - 50 for your future: lessons from down the road

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PRAISE FOR TAVIS SMILEY

You have Oprah and you have Tavis they are the king and queen.

The New York Times

Arguably the nations most influential black journalist.

USA Today

Smiley is one of the most important political voices of his generation.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Smiley is a reminder of the days when talk show hosts were conversationalists, not sycophants or joke meters.

The Los Angeles Times

One of the most dynamic, outside-the-lines voices in American journalism.

The Austin American-Statesman

[Tavis Smiley] provides one place that helps promote dialogues that might not otherwise take place before audiences who might not otherwise think that they have anything in common.

The New York Daily News

In the age of high-decibel, in-your-face talk shows, Tavis Smiley keeps the volume low and the content high.

The Plain Dealer

ALSO BY TAVIS SMILEY

My Journey with Maya

Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s Final Year

The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto

Fail Up: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure

Accountable: Making America as Good as Its Promise

On Air: The Best of Tavis Smiley on The Tom Joyner Morning Show

Just a Thought: The Smiley Report

What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America

The Covenant with Black America Edited by Tavis Smiley

THE COVENANT in Action Compiled by Tavis Smiley

The Covenant with Black AmericaTen Years Later Compiled and Edited by Tavis Smiley

Doing Whats Right: How to Fight for What You Believe and Make a Difference

Keeping the Faith: Stories of Love, Courage, Healing, and Hope from Black America

Hard Left

How to Make Black America Better Edited by Tavis Smiley

PLEASE VISIT THE DISTRIBUTOR OF SMILEYBOOKS:

Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com;
Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au;
Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk;
Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in;
Hay House South Africa: www.hayhouse.co.za

Copyright 2016 by Tavis Smiley
Published in the United States by SmileyBooks

Distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast Books: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

DESIGN: Karla Baker
INTERIOR IMAGES: Shutterstock

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Smiley, Tavis, date.
50 for your future : lessons from down the road / Tavis Smiley.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4019-4839-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Conduct of life. I. Title. II. Title: Fifty for your future.
BJ1589.S646 2016
170.44--dc23

2015012761

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4019-4839-9
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1st edition, April 2016
Printed in the United States of America

This book is about trying, failing, and, in the words of the great playwright Samuel Beckett, failing better! Inside youll find 50 lessons that Im grateful to have learned over the years, a multitude of which have found their way into the many commencement addresses Ive had the honor to deliver over the course of my broadcast career.

I thought it might be of some value to put on paper what I hope have served as insights and inspirations to others.

We hear all the time I wish I knew then what I know now. I do as well! But Ive come to understand that theres no way for me to have known then what Ive been able to gain over the years through experiencethrough the process of just living life.

Im not so naive to think that simply sharing these lessons with you is going to magically change your life. All of us have to go through an individual process, of traveling down whatever our road may be, and learn the lessons unique to each of usand by the best means possible.

I do, though, believe in sharing wisdom and knowledge, and that there is power that can be gained through that sharing. I believe that the more you know, the more you grow. And I believe that no good experience ought to be wasted.

In that spirit, then, this book may have a longer shelf life than most. This may be a book that you come back to from time to time. It may be a book that doesnt completely make sense or resonate with you right now, but hopefully will later on.

And arent we all familiar with that? It was funny to me how many of these lessons caused me to flash back to something my parents had tried to tell me, or what other, wiser friends and mentors hoped to impart to me when I was younger.

I still had to learn things in my own way.

My hope is that these lessons will be of help both to those folks just stepping out into the world on their own for the first time, as well as readers who, like me, are a bit more chronologically gifted with more years to look back on!