{"id":9732,"date":"2023-02-24T08:23:29","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T13:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=9732"},"modified":"2023-03-16T14:49:26","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T18:49:26","slug":"stephen-a-smith-discusses-the-motivation-behind-his-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2023\/02\/stephen-a-smith-discusses-the-motivation-behind-his-dreams.html","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith Discusses The Motivation Behind His Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"stephen<\/a>
Eugene Powers\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many people don\u2019t know about the challenges that ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith dealt with as a child. Still, he recently opened up about how those adversities molded his ambition to always be at his best. Smith recently released his memoir titled \u201cStraight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes.<\/em>\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s memoir explores how Smith overcame a stressful relationship with his father early on, which he discussed on \u201cJesse Walters Primetime.\u201d Smith said, \u201cAt a very young age, when my father had doubts, I was definitely determined to prove him wrong. But as time grew on and I saw my mother struggling and suffering because of the kind of positions that he put her in, she ultimately became my ultimate source of motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said his father thought he was a \u201clost cause\u201d by the time Smith was in third grade, but that only motivated Smith to go harder and pursue more incredible things. Smith continued, \u201cYour own ambition and everything else kicks in, and you recognize you\u2019ve got two choices. You can lay down and do nothing and just disintegrate, or you can rise and strive to be the best that you can be and enjoy the journey along the way, not just the finish line, but the actual journey. Things that are worth having \u2014 if it\u2019s easy, it ain\u2019t worth having. It\u2019s the tough road that makes you appreciate what you ultimately end up accomplishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith is one of the highest-paid sports journalists at ESPN, but he had challenges reading before he could write. With help from his sisters and mother, Smith conquered dyslexia and put his energy into his passion: sports. Now, Smith wants to pay it forward. He explained that his father\u2019s treatment of his mother affected him at a\u00a0 young age. His mother\u2019s situation inspired him to follow his \u201cresponsibility as a man to provide and protect.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a father of two girls, Smith maintains that responsibility, which all started with his mother. Smith said, \u201cThe ultimate goal was making sure that I was so successful that I would alleviate any concern she ever had in life and that the later part of her life would be much better than the early stages were with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith appears on weekday mornings on the ESPN talk show\u00a0First Take.<\/em>\u00a0He also does commentary for the network on everything from boxing to basketball and has a recurring role on the soap opera\u00a0General Hospital<\/em>.<\/p>\n

However, Smith\u2019s popularity is not simply a consequence of his many hours before television cameras. It reflects how he has combined sports analysis and self-promotion to successfully put on television the kinds of water-cooler arguments about sports that go on across America. Stephen A. Smith might not have had an easy beginning to his life, but now, he has the life he always imagined. The best part of Smith\u2019s story is that he wants to pay it forward so others don\u2019t have to struggle in the ways he did. Smith\u2019s memoir is now available for purchase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many people don\u2019t know about the challenges that ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith dealt with as a child. Still, he recently opened up about how those adversities molded his ambition to always be at his best. Smith recently released his memoir titled \u201cStraight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes.\u201d Smith\u2019s memoir explores…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":9738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111,24,12],"tags":[761,404,1863],"class_list":["post-9732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-inspiring-books","category-inspiring-people","tag-memoir","tag-motivational","tag-stephen-a-smith"],"yoast_head":"\nStephen A. Smith Discusses The Motivation Behind His Dreams<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ESPN analyst Stephen A. 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Smith recently released a new memoir, where he talks about what motivated his dreams and ambitions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2023\/02\/stephen-a-smith-discusses-the-motivation-behind-his-dreams.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inspiration Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-24T13:23:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-16T18:49:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/89\/2023\/02\/stephen-a-smith-credit-eugene-powrers-shutterstock-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lauren McKeithen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stephen A. 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