Marcus Rashford - You Can Do It: How to Find Your Voice and Make a Difference

TO EVERY YOUNG PERSON WHO WANTS
TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

FOR MY COMMUNITY AND EVERYONE WHO
HAS PLAYED A ROLE IN MY JOURNEY.

MY NAME IS MARCUS RASHFORD AND IM A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER FOR MANCHESTER UNITED AND THE ENGLAND NATIONAL TEAM. Im also an author now, which feels weird because I only started reading for fun in my late teenage years! I really enjoy working on books you may have read my first book, You Are a Champion, which was all about showing kids (and adults) how to be the best they can be.

For me, a good book can be like a key that unlocks doors in your mind. It can teach you new things and show you new ways to look at the world. So in You Are a Champion, I decided to collect as much of the stuff Ive learned over my years playing football, championing others and doing all sorts of other things, and put it all in one place for someone else like you to enjoy.

An illustration of a silhouette of a man kicking a football.

I really enjoyed writing You Are a Champion, and it was amazing to see the reactions of so many people who read it. And if youve already read that book, Id just like to say thank you one more time. I hope you liked it, and I hope it helps you on your journey through life.

A lot of people have asked me questions about things that I described in that book, particularly the anti-food-poverty project I did across much of 2020. All of these questions, and hearing that people wanted to know more, inspired me to start thinking about what I could write next. I thought that if You Are a Champion was all about showing people that they are filled to the brim with potential, then my next book this book that you are holding right now should be about showing people how they can use their talents to do something amazing. To make a difference in the world around them.

Ive been really fortunate in my life. I get to use my football talents nearly every day for a club and a country that I love. Ive also been able to take some of my skills for working in a team to things away from football, like my anti-food-poverty project.

Football and helping others are two of my biggest passions in life, and with this book I want to show you that your passions can lead you to incredible places, and to meet the most incredible people.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a difficult time for a lot of people. We all had to stay at home under lockdown in early 2020, and it got me thinking about the millions of households in the country who might need some help putting food on the table. As youll learn later in this book, my mum often needed a little help when I was a child, and I started to wonder how I might go about helping the next generation who were having a tough time. That process set me on a journey that led me to work with some inspiring and generous people who all grouped together to help millions of families in the UK. Ill tell you more about all that later on in this book, but what I want you to know right now is this:

Everyone in this world has their own unique journey in life, and your passions will help you navigate your future. They can help you to find something you believe in and to find your voice, and can show you how you can make a real difference both to you, your friends and, ultimately, the community around you.

How someone uses their voice is completely unique to them, and I dont want you to think that Im asking you to go out there and change the world right now, all by yourself. Finding your voice can be as simple as being a bit more confident in sharing something you enjoy, or standing up for a friend who is in need. Making a difference can be as small as recycling a can of cola after youve drunk it. Even the smallest changes can make the biggest difference small steps lead to something amazing. And you dont have to do it all by yourself.

As Ive got older and more and more incredible things have happened in my life, Ive realised that everyone has the potential within them to do brilliant things, but that their brilliance has much more impact when they use it to work together with other people.

This book is called You Can Do It. It follows on from my book You Are a Champion, but in this book when I say YOU, I mean not just one person but LOADS of people at the same time. Loads of different champions, all working together to take care of each other and of causes they find are important to them.

The book you are holding is going to be full of advice about how you can look after yourself and find your place in the world. Its also going to show you that the best place for you in the world is working as part of a team.

Within you right now is the most incredible energy that could one day make a huge difference in this world, but in order to do that, youre going to need to get a little help from others.

Youre also going to have to help other people.

This book is my way of helping you on your journey to finding your voice and the things that are important to you. Its a big wide world out there, and the things that you like and that inspire you may not be the same as for everyone else.

Thats ok. I dont want you to worry. Theres no such thing as normal, and whats important is that you feel confident, cared for, and are happy on whatever journey you might be on.

I also want you to know that because theres no such thing as normal, you dont need to be scared or weirded out by seeing anyone doing anything a bit different from what you do. Part of working in a group and living in a community is realising that everyone is a bit different, and you will learn to embrace that difference and use it for the greater good of everyone.

BECAUSE THATS WHO I WOULD REALLY
LIKE YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHEN
READING THIS BOOK: EVERYONE.

Another thing I really like about books is how there is nearly always someone else who has read the same book as you. Take a moment and think about that. There is someone out there in the world who has read the exact same sentence that you are reading right now. You might meet them one day. Or you might not. But I would like you to think about that other person from time to time. Think about what their hopes might be, what their dreams are, and the community they might be a part of.