The book Success in a Challenging World by Corey Crowder (former NBA player) and myself interviewed 24 African American leaders about the challenges they have overcome to succeed. You can get a copy of this book in ebook form at The Executive Think Tank. Following are some common principles about success that many of the interviewees suggested.

One: Find your calling. The people we interviewed almost unanimously advised the need to find your passion or — as Ruth Williams-Brinkley defines it — calling. As Ron Johnson says, “Be driven by love and a passion for what you are doing.” Don Gibson turned a passion for baseball into a legal career focused on sports. Dr. Anita Davis-Defoe asks, “Are we going to answer the call to our passions or are we going to just kind of settle? That becomes, I think, a decision that confronts everybody at some point in time.” Michael Brown notes that to develop your unique brand you have to start by finding something that you are passionate about. Dr. Farrah Gray challenges us to answer a key question related to passion: “What would you do for work for years and years and never have to get paid for? So many people are caught up in jobs that they hate. What is it that you could work for 12 hours, lose yourself in, and not even realize you spent 12 hours doing?” All of the participants in this book have found a passion, whether it is education (Randall Dunn), motivational speaking and coaching (Susan Summons), customer service (Michael Brown), coaching and writing (Anita Davis-Defoe), public service (Tameika Isaac Devine), training athletes (Michael Douglas), physics (Peter Delfyett), medicine (Dina Strachan) or working in media (Brian Offutt).

Two: Know yourself, respect yourself and be authentic. The motto at Milton Academy, Randall Dunn’s high school, is “Dare to be true.” Successful people seem to follow that motto. Brian Offutt chose to find a career and company where he could be openly gay. Ruth Williams-Brinkley acknowledges that she “lost herself” during her college days, and had to find herself to discover her love and talent for healthcare administration. Michael Douglas made a decision to stop “dumbing himself down” to make his bosses feel more secure. In his words, “I’m just going to be who I am and let the chips fall where they may. If you’re going to face your demise anyway, you might as well face it being who you are. So be authentic.” Many other interviewees for this book faced temptations to deviate from their path and do something that went against who they really are; they stood their ground and have not looked back. Additionally, part of knowing yourself and being authentic is respecting yourself, which is one of Don Gibson’s core pieces of advice to readers.

Three: Dream. Leon Pitts noted in his interview, “For many of us, the flames have been stamped out of our lives.” He dreamed of traveling the world as a child, and had no idea that this dream would actually come true. Michael Douglas advises, “I encourage those who come behind me, and those who are with me now, to hang on to your dreams. Don’t be discouraged. Be dedicated to them. There are so many bumps that come in the road. Man, I found myself out on the street unemployed for a couple of years, looking for new opportunity. From there I had to remain dedicated, and it was tough…” Physicist Peter Delfyett virtually started his graduate studies over again in order to achieve his dreams — all despite advice from colleagues to stay on a path that wasn’t making him happy. Yvonne Davis has been a daydreamer since she was a child, and still dreams today: “I’m an adult, but I do the same kind of dreaming that I did as a child. I visualize. I daydream, but I’ve learned how to make these dreams become reality…. Dare to dream and never stop dreaming. Daydream during the day. Dream in the night. Always dream about what your potential can be. And let the dreams be in color. A lot of times when we go through bad times, we kind of give up on our dreams. But it’s the dreams that keep us alive. Share those dreams with people who love you and care for you, and they will help you achieve those dreams.” Susan Summons also encourages people to dream – both kids and their parents.

Four: Have a positive attitude and see possibilities. Successful people are positive people. Peter Delfyett exemplifies this attitude: “You’ve got to be positive….Even if the glass is empty, think about how much water can go into it.” He further explained why the A+ student with the poor attitude won’t be as good a problem solver as the B student with the good attitude: “I tell kids that I was not smart enough to know whether a problem was hard or not. All I knew is that I was going to work hard. So, if the job was to dig a big tunnel through an iceberg and my only tool was a toothpick, the A+ student with the attitude would say, ‘Oh, that just can’t be done.’ But I’m not that smart. I’m going to say, ‘Wow. Take a look at this. I’ve got a toothpick. I’ve got a tool and my project is to dig a hole in the tunnel. Well, let me get started.’” Even in the face of discouragement from others and challenging circumstances, successful people are able to “flip the switch” as Delfyett says, and find possibilities.

Five: Keep going; commit and have what Susan Summons calls “unlimited perseverance.” The people we interviewed do not give up. When Tameika Isaac Devine failed her bar exam, she kept trying. When no nursing school would accept Ruth Williams-Brinkley, she found a way to keep going and get back into school. When Michael Douglas experienced three family deaths in less than two years, he still managed to finish his studies (this is the same person who also talked his way into a pro football training camp so he could shadow the trainers there). When Curtis Gregory had to move to a new city for work, he commuted on weekends for four and a half hours to complete his MBA in his old city – even while going through a very difficult divorce and while his mother had a stroke. Alonzo Williams overcame significant police pressure to keep his passion for hip hop parties alive. At six years of age Dr. Farrah Gray sold rocks in order to help his mother pay her hospital bills after she suffered a heart attack. You can always turn around a difficult situation, if you keep going and have a positive attitude.

Six: We can always find reasons why we won’t succeed; make those reasons background noise. Everyone has a reason why they won’t succeed: too old, too young, wrong sex, wrong sexual orientation, tough economy, not enough education, difficult corporate culture, lousy boss, challenging personal circumstances, the perceptions of others, politics, and so many more. Successful people treat these reasons as distractions and keep moving forward. In Dr. Delfyett’s words, “There’s a part of me that likes to say, ‘You know, that’s background noise. I’m just going to ignore that.’” Similarly, Farrah Gray noted, “I had people in my family who told me, ‘You can’t do it. You won’t be anything.’ I mean, I heard it all, but I distanced myself from those people because I couldn’t allow the negative thoughts and the noise of people’s negative opinions to crowd my vision and to deter me.” And in the words of Tameika Isaac Devine, “There are always going to be outside things, whether it’s racism, sexism, ageism, or classism—there are always going to be outside factors that will push in on you and that you can’t control. You have to realize that those things that don’t break you make you stronger. You learn lessons from encountering those things. Apply those lessons to moving yourself forward.”

Seven: Understand your history and then transcend it. Gwen Richardson has researched and written extensively about the African-American experience and why there are so few African-American entrepreneurs. Michael Pittman’s newspapers provide a forum to discuss key issues in the African-American history and culture. Similarly, Susan Summons talks about the need to know where you came from. Looking back in our individual and collective past is important to understand who we are. However, successful people do not let themselves be limited by their past. They look to the future and – per the previous advice – dream about new possibilities.

Eight: Develop a brand that shows your unique value to others. We loved Michael Brown’s advice that each individual creates his or her own brand to communicate value to others. What is your brand? What is your unique talent and value that sets you apart and makes others want to hire or pay you? The interview participants in this book would probably all agree that they do not want to be branded first and foremost as a minority. Dr. Farrah Gray notes, “I don’t use the term ‘minority’ much, because I think minority no longer describes a group of people. I think it of it, more or less, from a negative perspective. I think some people have twisted the meaning to be small-minded….Some people believe that the non-minority ice is colder than your ice and their sugar is sweeter than your sugar. Sugar is sugar and ice is ice.” It is more effective to identify your passions and talents and build a brand around yourself.

Nine: Education, education, education. One way or another, the participants in this book found ways to get as much education as they possibly could. Dr. Bradshaw was most emphatic about this subject: “The common denominator is education. I think that if you are not going to invest in education, if you don’t get well beyond the twelfth grade, then you are destined to be living at or around the poverty line. You won’t be hearing or seeing too many of those ‘rags to riches’ kind of stories anymore in this country because the skills that are necessary to be a productive, contributing person in this society, those skills go beyond what you get in twelfth grade. I would certainly say, ‘Golly, get the education.’ That is foundational to moving anywhere.” Also, if you have the opportunity, consider Randall Dunn’s advice to look for name brand educational institutions that will enhance your résumé and give you added status.

Ten: Build your network by respecting other people and giving before you take. Every single successful person we know has a network that helps them succeed. Your network of relationships is the only currency you have that, unlike the dollar, won’t devalue. We hope you noticed how different people in this book built their network to extend up, down, across, and outside their organizations. They do this by being givers, not takers, and by offering as much if not more value than they take from others. Michael Brown created his own advisory board, with rotating members who constantly give him advice and support – and he does the same for them. Dr. Farrah Gray launched business clubs so that groups of like-minded entrepreneurs could support one another. Leon Pitts piggy-backed off the network of his mentor to develop customer relationships nationwide. Ruth Williams-Brinkley knows the top recruiters at the major healthcare recruiting firms. Randall Dunn found his first opportunity as a school administrator through his former headmaster in high school, and has continued to network every since. Michael Douglas became skilled at making contacts in professional sports leagues. Curtis Gregory figured out how to build relationships with and find champions in people above him in his organization. Don Gibson networked his way into Major League Baseball within five months of discovering his passion. Constantly build and strengthen relationships!

Eleven: Find mentors. The interviewees also were almost unanimous in pointing to the importance of mentors in their lives: parents, friends’ parents, a local librarian, college alumni, bosses and former bosses, entrepreneurs, and teachers. Some success stories, such as George Tinsley and Michael Douglas, even turned negative role models into mentors, by focusing on what they didn’t want to become. George Tinsley identified the pimp, alcoholic, and prostitutes in his neighborhood as mentors. Michael Douglas focused on the people working at his local car wash, and used them as examples of what he didn’t want to end up doing for a living. Yvonne Davis found mentors in people with conservative, even implicitly racist views, because these people could help her learn how she was perceived and deal with it. Mentors are everywhere, if you know how to look. Interestingly, formally assigned mentors were often the least effective mentors of all. For instance, Curtis Gregory described the way that his bank assigned a black executive to mentor him. This person turned out to be a poor fit and a worse role model. Meanwhile, Curtis developed much more helpful informal mentor relationships.

Twelve: Master the “game” of getting ahead. Getting ahead is like a game. There are rules, some of them subtle. It is important to learn those rules. They can be as simple as not wearing argyle socks, as Curtis Gregory learned at one bank. More significantly, you have to know how to manage up, for instance by making your boss look good, not overshadowing him or her, and giving him or her credit. There are some battles worth fighting, and some battles that you can’t do anything about (and that will hurt your reputation if you try). It is important to identify and find champions above you if you want to be chosen for select opportunities, including those that might not be posted. You have to – as Brian Offutt and Ron Johnson discussed – learn to fit in, even in social settings that might be awkward or uncomfortable (like a Texas square dance). It is not enough to just get results; you also have to play the game so that people know you are part of the team.

Thirteen: Pay your dues and be ready to make personal sacrifices in order to achieve your aspirations. None of the people you have read about are overnight success stories. You have to pay your dues. Pay your dues. Don’t be like the people that Michael Brown worries about: “What I’m seeing with minorities is that we ask for dessert before we eat our vegetables.”

Even multi-millionaire Farrah Gray started in business at six years old – and thus had ten to 15 years of experience before breaking through. During this time, he mastered every aspect of his businesses as the OOO (Only Operating Officer). The entrepreneurs interviewed made it clear that running a business is not a nine-to-five job, not even close. The executives profiled in this book worked their way up the corporate ladder, and have invested many long days and nights to get there. Peter Delfyett almost reached the point of tears trying to solve a mathematical problem required to get his doctorate. Dr. Dina Strachan spent years in medical school, fellowships, and clinics before opening her own practice. Michael Pittman began with one house, then moved into apartments after a while, then offered windows, then offered roofs, then got into construction, and kept growing from there.

Paying your dues often requires personal sacrifices. Curtis Gregory noted an executive panel he served on in which the majority of participants were divorced, and for good reason.

In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell defines a point at which momentum change becomes unstoppable. In his book Outliers, he states that truly extraordinary people typically need 10,000 hours of practice and experience before they can truly master their field. The participants in this book worked and worked until they reached a tipping point beyond which their success was more or less assured. Go back and read some of the interviews. You can identify where in each person’s life they reach that tipping point. Dr. William Mays worked for many years before ending up at Procter & Gamble and getting his master’s in business before he had the skills and confidence needed to start his own chemical company; even then, he started his first company with partners who had the required capital. Ruth Williams-Brinkley had a long career in healthcare administration and consulting before she took a position as a CEO of a hospital system. Don Gibson spent many years as a lawyer before becoming a leader in sports law and marketing.

Fourteen: Have a spiritual relationship and faith. In writing this book, I was most surprised about the importance of faith to the people we interviewed. As a secular person, I didn’t consider the impact that faith has had on so many people. But there is no denying it: Spirituality and faith can provide a strong grounding and sense of strength to people as they overcome obstacles and strive for success. In some cases, faith can turn one’s life around, as it did for Leon Pitts.

Fifteen: Make smart personal decisions. If you have lots of distractions in your life, you are less likely to be successful in your career. For instance, many of the people we interviewed – especially women — advised against marrying and having children too young. Gwen Richardson emphasized the importance of having a spouse who supports one’s aspirations, especially if you intend to start a business and have to deal with the ups and downs of cash flow. Similarly, Yvonne Davis advised that people take good care of their bodies, in order to have maximum energy and mental focus. Finally, Gary Carpenter talked about the need to make wise financial decisions, by living frugally and saving as much as possible for retirement.

Sixteen: Give back. Successful people recognize their good fortune and give back. They do this with money, time, advice, and by mentoring up and coming people. Farrah Gray has a foundation that is making a huge difference to people. Susan Summons has a non-profit organization that provides coaching and athletic opportunities for youth. Ron Johnson is delighted to help others find their passion and success as he has. Ruth Williams-Brinkley and Bellandra Foster take time to mentor others. Giving back can become challenging at some point, as Dr. Mays has discovered in trying to balance his business, family life, and commitment to the community. However, the people in this book feel a sense of obligation to make things better, beyond their own careers.