Inspiring Lessons From America's Most Wanted!

You must be wondering what can America's most wanted teach me! Well, you will be surprised. The story behind this person has far reaching lessons that we can all learn from and use in improving our lives and help in finding our dream jobs and careers.

Well Stanley 'Tookie' Williams did not quite make it to the list of America's Most Wanted, but he was responsible for cofounding one of America's most notorious gangs in South Central Los Angeles, California, USA. He cofounded 'the Crips' gang, the deadly rivals and enemy of the bloods which have both run riot and damage to the communities involved. But would you believe it, this man went from being a gang leader to being nominated for a 'Nobel Peace Prize'! Is that strange or what? How does someone so violent, on death row at San Quentin prison, go from being a gang member to potentially receiving one of the most prestigious prizes known on earth - simply remarkable. A Nobel prize nomination is something very few men and women ever get to achieve in their lives. And that is the story of Stanley Williams, narrated in his book 'Life in Prison' with writer Barbara Becnel.

I thought the lessons from his book were so significant and useful for people in life outside of prison. He talked of the time growing up when he and his mates in the 'hood' were so impressionable and one of his friend's elder brother who had just been released from prison for murder would garther the kids by the porch and reminisce about the 'wonderful times' in prison! Lesson 1: Be careful where you seek your advise. Stanley would constantly hear how wonderful prison was and that it was a place for men to prove themselves and show how really tough they were, they were even shown pictures of inmates showing off their big muscles in the exercise yard working out on weights. Stanley soon became affixed with the idea of going to prison and looking big and buff. He did, Stanley was a guy well over 6ft tall and more than 280 pounds of pure muscle! He was extremely intimidating to look at, and i guess this fitted well with what seemed cool at the time. Now, he regrets it all and has written numerous books to show and help people it certainly is not cool and the dangers of prison.

Lesson 2: Read Read Read. Stanley 'Tookie' Williams whilst in prison developed himself by simply immersing himself in books and literature almost biblical transformations similar to Saul in the bible. Stanley read books on history, art, economics and anything he could get his hands on, so you see this was infact a very intelligent man. So the moral here, is that self-education is absolutely paramount for you in your life if you want to extend yourself and go beyond your current station in life. You need to learn from the successful people. Learn from their mistakes so you do not repeat them. Remember the saying, i have used it in the past. 'A prudent person will learn from personal experience, while a wise one will from others. Dr Jim Rohn also said: 'Formal education will make you a living and self-education will make you a fortune.' If only Stanley 'Tookie' Williams had known of this before being brainwashed as a kid on the tough streets of South Central LA. You know they say, 'it is what you do not know that will make or break you, not what you actually know.'

So in your contuined search for your dream job and career or indeed if you are in business, you could do no wrong by taking heed of these 2 important lessons. Be careful of who you take your advise from (i have written about this in my previous articles) and also read read read. It will make you a better person, and give you the edge over your competitors, enabling you to get closer to your dream job.

See you soon.

Femi Yusoof