Average is Failure

Vaughn Edmeade

Description

Average Is Failure, is a book filled with above average advice for people of all ages. In it, author Vaughn Coach Edmeade takes us through the intimate details of his life. He bares his soul and shares many life-lessons and experiences. The books vulnerability will help readers identify everyday principles within the context of daily circumstances.You will read about the consequences of mediocrity, complacency, and an average mindset. Vaughn addresses questions about finding a career, passion and purpose. The principles are truly transcendent and are easily applied to other areas of ones life, such as academics, sports, and relationships. This book is necessary for anyone seeking to get out of their comfort zone and experience greater possibilities that an above-average life will offer.

Sujets

• Popular psychology
• Self-help

Informations

• Publié par: Spirit Reign Communication
• Date de parution: 07 novembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781940002637
• Langue: English

Extrait

VAUGHN EDMEADE
AVERAGE IS FAILURE
I LEARNED THE HARD WAY
Copyright © 2014 Vaughn Edmeade.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Front Cover Photo’s By: Justin Edmeade
Back Cover Photo By: Rob J Bankston for Dokk Savage Photography
Cover Design: David Anderson
Interior Page design & layout: OA.Blueprints, LLC
Edited by: Springhawk Publications, LLC
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 978-1-940002-61-3 (PB)
ISBN: 978-1-940002-63-7 (EPUB)
ISBN: 978-1-940002-62-0 (EPDF)
CONTENTS
Praise for Average is Failure
Dedication
Preface
Chapter 1: The Choice is Yours
Chapter 2: When One Door Closes, Another is Opening
Chapter 3: Your Biggest Hater
Chapter 4: Principles
Chapter 5: Tailor-Made
Chapter 6: Fail!
Chapter 7: A Turning Point
Chapter 8: Don’t Settle for Plan B!
Chapter 9: Right Place
Chapter 10: Influences
Chapter 11: What are you feasting on?
Chapter 12: Mini-Lessons
Conclusion
PRAISE FOR AVERAGE IS FAILURE
“Vaughn is truly gifted. Not often do you find someone who can inspire, engage, and connect with an audience of various generations. He is the epitome of a motivational speaker.”
Najaah Daniels, former White House Intern
Vaughn inspires me to never settle for average and to always aspire to greatness. He’s relatable, witty and wise beyond his years. My students and I are blessed to have had the opportunity to hear him speak.
Natalie Munoz, St. John’s University, Administrator over Multicultural Division of Student Affairs
When I started to read Vaughn Edmeade’s book, Average Is Failure: I Learned the Hard Way , I was captivated by his story and intrigued by his experiences as he meandered from childhood to adulthood, from struggling student to scholar. The book, however, took on added meaning when I began to realize that his challenges were not so different from mine, and if he can overcome them so can I, so can anyone. I appreciate his book not only for its inspirational words, but for the lessons it provides in how to use challenges as stepping stones to success.
Shane-Ray Brown, Esq .
“Simply put, Edmeade has raised the bar for motivational speakers and writers. The authenticity of his character really shines through in his writing. This book is a MUST READ for people of all ages who desire to strive for excellence.”
Rev. Byron J. Elliott, Antioch Baptist Church, Hempstead, NY
DEDICATION
This book is first and foremost dedicated to God. This literally would not be possible without Him. Secondly, this book is dedicated to my children, Micah and Sarai. I hope to leave a legacy that makes you proud to call me “Dad.” To my parents, Betty and Dale, you have stood by me and supported me even when I did not deserve it. My wish is to carry on the example of excellence and service that you’ve set for me. To my brothers, Justin and Tyler, thanks for being my right-hand guys. To Aunties Debbie, Mirthlyn, Lyris and Cheryl, and Uncles Lester, Hertli, and Kenley, and all my cousins, thank you for being the greatest family. To my friends, Uche, Kalechi, Vladimir, Leonard, Reuben, Kory, Andrew, Leighton, Clayton, Phil, Jason, Courtney, Paul, Jeff, Darnell, Andre, Sean, Shernett, Samantha, Mabel, Rayan, Kurtis, Madeline, Denise, Carla, Desiree, Marc, Matthias, Ashley, Sheena, Samara, Jennifer, Sean, Terrecia, Candace, Naomi, Sara, Mike O., and the rest of the Stony Brook, Uniondale, and various other crews; thanks for being friends that stick as close as brothers and sisters. Thank you to Christine and the Crayton family. To Pastor Garnett Morris, Shane-Ray, Byron, ET, Karl, Jeremy, Lee Lamb, The Prayer Line, and Bishop Elliot, thank you for being older brothers and mentors. To the SDA Northeastern Conference, Antioch Baptist Church in Hempstead NY, and Progressive Christian Outreach Ministries in Alabama, New Life SDA and Grand Avenue SDA in Missouri, thank you for all the love and support that you have shown. To Gerard St. Hilaire, Nick Baker, Alan Magny, Tim and Ketty Byrd, Alicia, Melody, Ms. Poles and the rest of my Oakwood University/Huntsville family, thank you for keeping me afloat during my short stay. To Mr. Casey and Mr. Frisenda, thank you for being great teachers. Mr. Kornfield, thank you for coaching me to greatness and teaching me lessons for life on the track. To Tia, thank you for giving me my first opportunity to coach alongside of you. Thank you, Ms. Sue, for helping me and keeping me encouraged during difficult times. A special thank you to the late James Edmeade and the late Lucius Williams, my grandfathers, whose legacies continue to impact us even though they are no longer with us. And, to my grandmothers, Veronica Edmeade and Rose Williams, who have held on and fought the good fight. And, a special thank you to Je-Ann who came up with the Average is Failure phrase.
Finally, to all who have remained unnamed, it is impossible for me to list every person but know that I value all of you and I hope that our real life interactions are evidence of my appreciation of you in my life.
PREFACE
Welcome Lifeletes! That is a word I came up with a little while back for people who are athletes in the game of life. Guess what? That means you. Everyone is a lifelete whether they are ready to accept it or not. If you have been waiting for a referee to blow the whistle and tell you that the game has started then you are sadly mistaken. We all have heard from our parents growing up that life is tough and that time waits for no man. To those of you who are still directly under your parent’s wings, here’s my advice…LISTEN TO THEM! Listen to anyone who is older than you, even if they are not very articulate. We all know that it’s not what you say but rather it’s how you say it. I’d like to pose a challenge to you. Start trying to figure out WHAT people are saying to you regardless of HOW they say it. There may be some valuable information you’re missing out on because you felt somewhat unsettled about the way the individual approached you. When you’re conveying information, you should always be mindful of what you are saying and how you are saying it. The sooner you mature to a point where you can look past how somebody says something and decipher the content and the intent of their message, the sooner you will be able to continually take advantage of beneficial information and make better decisions for your life.
I’m sure many of you have wondered “why?” Why am I here on this earth, in this country, in this state? Why was I born to these parents? Why do I have these siblings? Why is my family the way it is? Why am I at this school? And so on. Life is filled with questions. The biggest “why” questions, however, come when you are pondering the reasons for the trying times you go through. I’m sure you have been through some things and don’t understand why. You may have, at some point in your life, wondered why a particular person hurt you, or didn’t seem to give you the attention they should have given you. You may have been involved in some sort of accident that left you physically challenged, paralyzed, partially blind or with any number of other health issues. You may have lost your mother, father, sister, brother or maybe a good friend to a freak accident or to violence. Maybe your mother, father, sister, brother and longtime friends are still alive but you have lost what used to be a good relationship and there doesn’t seem to be any way to mend it. You may be asking why you had to be born into a household where the finances are seriously lacking. You may be a sister or brother who had to learn to be a mother or father to your younger siblings because your parents were addicted to drugs and never home or just plain ol’ neglectful. Maybe you’ve made some bad decisions yourself. You may be a teenage mother asking yourself, “Why did I get pregnant when I haven’t been as promiscuous as the other teenagers in my school, church or youth group?” You may be someone upset at life because you were being raised by a single parent and now that parent has remarried and you don’t particularly care for their new spouse. Why can’t you seem to find a goal to achieve while your friends seem to know exactly what they want to accomplish in life? Why does it seem that you are the only one with problems that appear unbearable, unfair, and unwarranted? Why are you the only one with no distinguishable talent? Life is one big riddle and it seems the joke is on you. I know how you feel. I felt puzzled by life. But, we can clear up some of the confusion if we understand some of the properties of gold!
One thing that has always been valuable is GOLD. Gold is one of those things that people like to wear on their fingers, ankles, necks, ears and even stranger parts of the body (I’ve seen some in people’s cheeks!). Nations want gold in their reserves. Pirates love it. Even leprechauns have it. Of course I’m just kidding about the leprechauns, but you get the point. People have gold teeth; musicians like gold tipped wires to plug their instruments into sound systems; in track and field, and the Olympics, the goal of the whole event is to get the gold medal. So you ask, “Vaughn, what does gold have to do with the question “why?” EVERYTHING! We do like the finer things in life but we have to begin thinking about the road it takes to get there. Do you want to know WHY you go through so much? It is because you are similar to gold. Most gold has impurities, especially if you find it in its raw unrefined condition. These impurities are often referred to as dross. Most people prefer pure gold, whenever possible. This means no dross, no impurities, no oxidation, and no bonding with other metals