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Š T. Dwayne Smith, Sr., M.A., CPLC Team Unstoppable, Inc., 2014 444 E. Roosevelt, Rd., Suite #254 Lombard, IL 60148 | 708.218.1104 Self published. Edited by Werner Business Group Layout Design by Daniels Design Group, LLC T. Dwayne Smith, Sr., Team Unstoppable, Inc., 2014 All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author, unless otherwise indicated for stand-alone materials.
Dedications
To my Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ: Thank You for Your Love, Grace, Mercy, and Personal Sacrifice for me!
Special Acknowledgments Tannita…
You are so awesome and I thank God for your strength, love, support, wisdom and prayers. I Love You!
to My Children, Tarvies (TJ) & Timothy Smith…
The Bible says, “A man’s gift will make room for him and bring him before great men.” TJ and Tim, I pray that God will reveal your gifts to you, which will make your names great and bring you before great men. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Never stop dreaming and never let anybody put limits on you! If your Daddy can do it with all the personal challenges I had to face as a young man, YOU CAN DO EVEN BETTER! Always remember, “You can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you.” TJ and Tim, God is with YOU! Love,
Dad
to Mom & Dad…
Thank you both for staying together and fulfilling your covenant vows, “To death do you part.” Your commitment to each other has been our family’s greatest example. Your marriage legacy is summed up in three words; Pray, Say, and Stay! Thank you for your example. Love,
Dwayne to My Family…
Aunt Malinda, Ida, John, Delores, Jeanine, Gradon, Katrice, Little Blessing Johnetta, Seiarra, Gerico, Khalil, and Kaleb…I love you all dearly!
Additional Acknowledgments…
My Pastors, Drs. Bill & Veronica Winston, Pastor Daryl Barnett, Pastor Kironde Hearn, David & Nikki Winston, Ray McElroy, Eric Walker, Obrien Jenkins, Carl & Caulett Lee, Chris (Herbie) Morrow, Shalita, Darnell, Josh, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Mrs. Terry, Mr. Harris, Virgil & Kelly, Debra and Will Simmons, Tasha Sykes(Westside), James Spencer, Rick Applewhite, Mark Holiday, Mike Griffen, Wilonda Cannon, Ebonee Oliver, Walter Norman, Eugene Martin, Alvin J. Pickett Jr., Eric Hendricks, Professor Cookie, Glenn Sevier, Reg Campbell, Terrence Trimuel, Ken McKay, Sherese Johnson, Jennifer Guichard, Steve Hinton, Dirrell Jones,
Demitrius Evans, Jermaine Wilson(Sup),Tamara Irwin, Maria Walker (Gypsygirl), Frank and Linda Cox, Trenton Templeton, The Partee Family, Jermaine Johnson, Tyara Simpson, Terri Young, Shameka Jones, Lorenzo Webber, Kelli Stanley, Marcus Velazeques (J.I.T.A.), Travis Tyler (Thi’sl), Lee & Donna Werner, Jerrold Daniels, Sharon D. Engram, CEO of Parvenu, Inc., Samuel Sentongo & Family, Theresa Byrd-Smith, Charles Talbert (Pops), BBS Radio, Happy Centennial to my Bros in Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Teen-Train Ambassadors and Parents, and my Friend; Mentor, and Brother in Christ- Pastor Lonneil G. Waston (R.I.P.) Thank you for your love, support, and encouragement along this journey.
Special Thank You: Mr. Coleman, j. sterling morton middle school teacher
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Meeting you in Middle School was divinely orchestrated by God Himself. My encounter with you was timely and God-ordained. You would not allow me to fail or accept failure as an option. You placed a demand on my potential and would not allow me to give anything less than my best! Mr. Coleman, I will never forget how much you cared about each and every student in your classroom. You met us where we were and you facilitated and an environment that allowed each student to experience personal success.
After I realized your impact on my life, I have been on a quest to positively impact every person -- young and old -- with the same simple formula: love, acceptance, support, consistency, and accountablity! I don’t know where you are today. However, I know for a fact that every person you have come into contact with has a better life– their lives are all the better as a result of you. (Or However, I know that every person you have come into contact with has a better life as a result of having met you.) If I never see you again, I just want you to know that I appreciate you. You are an example of that ole saying, “it takes a village to raise a child.” You were a leader in my village and I thank God for placing a Strong Positive Black Male-Man in my life at that critical and crucial developmental stage of my life. I was going through a lot with the loss of my mother and the ongoing struggles of being young, black, and male on the Westside of Chicago. You were the Moses sent to bring deliverance to me. I want to take this moment to say Thank You for accepting the teaching assignment at J. Sterling Morton Middle School on Chicago’s Westside. Your decision to work at Morton was the difference-maker in my life. God Bless You!
Tarvies D. Smith, Sr.
To Aunt Malinda & Uncle Frank‌
Thank you for being there for me during some very difficult times in my life. You and Uncle Frank took me into your home and called me son! You provided food, clothing, and shelter. You held me accountable while in high school to be nothing less than my very best. As a result of your diligence and commitment to my success, I not only graduated on time, I graduated in the top 5% of my senior class. You taught me how be a man and to take care of my business...skills that I still use till this day! You have been there for me and all my siblings; I’m forever grateful for your cooking, love, protection, direction, and example of personal sacrifice. Even though Uncle Frank has gone on to be with the Lord, Aunt Malinda you are not alone. You are loved and appreciated! Thank you for being there for me and my siblings. I pray that God will continue to keep you healthy, wealthy, and wise. Enjoy your retirement; YOU deserve it! Love,
Dwayne
Word to the Reader!
Having known Mr. Smith for a couple of years as an extraordinary educator, a careful and conscious business client, and sincere Christian man, I often wondered about the source of his great motivation. I mostly attributed it to his education and environment. However, I soon realized that there was something supernatural about his focus and his desire to impact others. After reading “The Process Equals the Product,” I then understood “Why” Mr. Smith has the passion, commitment, and motivation that he possesses. In the first chapter, I was shocked by the pain and hardship that he experienced as a young man. I felt the pain when his mother died and his father eventually giving up hope to continue with his own life. After reading that part of Mr. Smith’s life, I wondered what perseverance it must have taken to keep going, fighting, and dreaming! Mr. Smith shares with the reader a series of events which continue to shape and mold his thinking, attitude and actions. Through self dialogue and reflection, Mr. Smith keeps the reader aware of his journey and various stages of his process. By the final chapter of the book, the reader is challenged to take a look at his/her own journey/process and answer two very important personal questions; Who am I and What was I born to do? It is then, that we fully understand our process. This book was a powerful change agent in my current situation. We as a family are no longer afraid
of the process because we already understand the final product. Amen! Attorney Demetrius Evans The TEIL Firms Westchester, IL
introduction If you don’t make the choice, the choice will make you! Life is full of surprises; some good, some bad. What I have come to understand through my personal experiences is that life, essentially, is choice driven! God in His infinite wisdom has made provisions for each and every person to experience an abundantly good life. However, when disappointments, obstacles, challenges, and rejection knock at your door…
What will you do?
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Do you choose to quit, or will you choose to keep going? Do you choose to throw in the towel on life, or will you answer the bell for one more round? Do you choose to complain to God or others about how bad things are, or will you choose to declare His promises regarding the victory He has already promised you in His Word? Do you choose to settle with what you have, or will you choose to create what you want? I
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Do you choose to focus on the problem, or will you readjust your lens (your thought process regarding the situation), and see the problem as an opportunity to grow and become a better person?
These are choices and decisions that no one else can make except you!
Life is choice driven! As a youngster, I was told “if life gives you lemons, add some sugar and water to make lemonade!” During my teenage and young adult years, I was told that “success and failure share the same mindset - commitment.” The central theme in both cases is that the choice is clearly yours to make. God, the creator of heaven and earth has given specific directions and instructions in His Word that guarantees success if we would choose to follow Him. “Choose my instructions instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold…” ~Proverbs 8:10 - NIV Bible “I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life that you and your descendants may live.” ~Deut. 30:19 Amp. Bible
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“If you will only obey me, you will eat the good things the land produces.” ~Isaiah 1:19 GN Bible
Failure or Success - YOU make the c hoice! You have the power to choose!
In life, you will make mistakes and bad decisions. In some cases, people continue in this vicious cycle of repeating the same mistakes and making the same bad decisions over, and over, and over again. The point I want to impress upon you is that you have the power to make a choice and make a change. My hope for everyone that reads this book is that you will be encouraged to slow down, consider the cost, pray, listen and wait for God’s leading and instruction. Then, make your decision(s) no matter how big or small. Your life is precious and your time is valuable. Once it’s gone, you can never get it back. So make the choice, then commit to put forth your best effort, work hard, walk in integrity, and seize every opportunity to grow and learn as an individual.
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I once heard someone say, “Life is a cruel teacher. She will give you the test first, then the answers.” In my opinion, this is the worst way to learn because it can be time consuming, damaging to you emotionally, and also very expensive. I highly recommend that you take a contrary approach to the mindset that “experience will be your teacher,” and become proactive, intentional, strategic, and passionate about your future goals and aspirations, choices, personal and professional relationships. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because mistakes are a part of the learning process of life. The only person I know who was perfect and never made a mistake was Jesus Christ. Everyone else in the Bible and in the history of mankind has made mistakes along the journey to achieve personal, relational, and financial success.
What is Success?
In my opinion, success is a personal journey/experience. What may be success for one may not be success for another. We all have dreams, goals, and aspirations. We all have the right to choose and we have to take responsibility for the choices we make. I have personally discovered that the secret to success is that there are NO Short Cuts, Quick Routes, or CookieCutter Templates. Like the great leaders before you and I, we have to make a choice, then a commitment. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Gandhi all had to choose to be “Leaders” and accept the great responsibilities that came along with the choice, even if it meant IV
death! You are born with SUCCESS on the inside of you. It’s your responsibility to work it from the inside-out. Enjoy the journey!
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