Will Smith: Grammy-winning rapper. Accepted at (but did not attend) MIT. Star of a hit television sitcom. Oscar nominee for best actor. The only actor who’s had eight consecutive films gross more than $100 million. Film and television producer. What’s the

secret to his success? Fear.

He can’t run away from it. Whenever he feels it, he faces it. He tells a story about

being in Jamaica as a young adult. He watched as people ran and jumped off a high cliff.

Smith was both mesmerized and terrified; he didn’t know how to swim. But he couldn’t

let that get the best of him. So he walked to the edge of the cliff and, after about three fearfilled minutes of paralysis, Smith jumped. It was the only way past the fear.

When he was younger, he worried that he couldn’t live up to the high esteem in which

his mother and grandmother held him. So all his efforts went into trying to reach the bar

they had set for him. His self-doubt continues even now, especially when it comes to

fulfilling the perception those he loves have of him.

“I’ve learned to use it,” Smith once said during an interview for Parade magazine.

“To flip that negative energy around and make it a challenge. I keep going because I doubt myself. It drives me to do better. I’ve learned that the mastery of self-doubt is the key to success.”

December 2008 Newsletter