"And if you could determine what a man shall think,
you never have to concern yourself with what he will do."
"If you can make a man feel inferior,
you never have to compel him to seek an inferior status, for he will seek it himself."
"And if you could make a man feel justly an outcast,
you never have to order him to go to the back door. He'll go without being told,
and if there's no door, his very nature will demand one."
Mr Leroy Washington. And I walked into his class looking for a friend,
it was really a God moment.
And he said, "young man, go to the board and work this problem out for me."
I said, "Sir, I can't do that." He said, "why not?"
I said, "I'm not one of these students." He said, "do it anyhow!"
I said, "I can't, Sir..." And the other students started laughing,
saying "he's Leslie!"
"He's got a twin brother, Wesley. Wesley's smart, he's DT.
And he asked, "what's DT?!"
And they said, "he's the dumb twin." And they erupted in laughter.
And I said, "I am Sir."
And he came from around his desk, he looked at me,
he said, "don't you ever say that again!"
"Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. Do you hear me?"
I said, "yes, Sir."
He interrupted the story that I believed about myself.
My mother said, "sticks and stones can break your bones,
but words can never hurt you." But words do hurt deeply.
But on that day... Denzel was in a movie called Touch, and he said,
"there are moments in life there's before this and there's after this.
And after this, nothing will ever be the same again."
And my life was interrupted
because he interrupted this vision that had been planted in my mind by words.
Words affect behaviour.
He said, "you have to work on your mind."
He was a person who believed in Earl Nightingale, who said,
"you don't get in life what you want, you get in life what you are."
Dr Carter G Woodson, "And if you could determine what a man shall think,
you never have to concern yourself with what he will do."
"If you can make a man feel inferior,
you never have to compel him to seek an inferior status, for he will seek it himself."
"And if you could make a man feel justly an outcast,
you never have to order him to go to the back door. He'll go without being told,
and if there's no door, his very nature will demand one."
He said, "develop your mind!"
Next thing he said, "practice the principle of OQP..." only quality people.
Today, in order for us to make it, even before the coronavirus,
the suicide rate in America had increased by 32%.
Today, in order for us to make it, we have to create what we're doing now,
collaborative, achievement-driven, supportive relationships.
One of the major issues we're facing right now is loneliness.
And one of the major determinants of a long life,
I thought it would be plant-based diet
or becoming a vegetarian or a vegan or exercise...
it's positive social relationships. That's the main factor.
And the third thing that he said,
he said, "Mr Brown, develop your communication skills, young man."
"Because once you open your mouth you tell the world who you are."
Your ability to communicate humanises you.
When you talk to people about the number one skill that they need,
if they're negotiating, if they want to advance their careers,
if they want to create a movement, they want to promote their business
or promote themselves, that skill, had I not had that skill
when I was fired from working for the Miami Sanitation Department,
if I didn't have the ability to communicate, I would not have been able to be
a salesman at Sears, or to do door-to-door sales,
I would not have been able to become a disc jockey,
I would not have been able to become a state legislator
in Columbus, Ohio and then pass 14 bills my first term.
And I was elected the third term, 3 terms.
And then my sister called me and said, "Leslie, are you sitting down?"
"What's wrong with Mama?"
"Mama has breast cancer."
I said, "I'll be right there."
She said, "Leslie, you don't have to come, we found a good nursing home for her..."
I said, "listen to me! No!
She adopted seven, seven will be there when she takes her last breath."
And I left that day.
And I'll never forget when I rang the doorbell, a friend of hers, name is Mildred,
she came to the door, she said, "oh my God, Mamie, Leslie's here!"
And I heard my mother's voice said, "I knew my boy would come."
"Knew my boy would come."
And I came in and her things were packed.
I said, "unpack everything."
I said, "mom, I'm here. I'm here."