Booker T. Washington a Motivator for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow's Society

There are so many nights I go to bed crying with disappointment because of my belief that I will not be able to make it next day. I am constantly tired from work, school, and home. But at the end of the night, during the early hours of the morning, I get my every day miracle: the sun comes up, my girls are ready for school, and I am alive and well and ready to start again.

Motivation is a constant struggle. You must want something so intensely that sleepless nights, hard work, and discipline is a small price to pay to obtain your goals. Jim Rohn is one of my favorite business philosophers of this time, he said “when you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.” This was the case of Booker T. Washington. “There was never a time in my youth, no matter how dark and discouraging the day might be, when one resolve did not continually remain with me, and that was a determination to secure an education at any cost” (Booker T. Washington 585). His book: Up From Slavery is the most inspiring book I have ever read.

There is not one single human being who can be constantly motivated. As humans we need to feed from positive energy that we can emulate ourself or absorb from others. This energy might come from people who are close to us, from inspirational books that we read, or learning about the lives of other successful people. The ability to see negative situations with optimism is a gift that is clearly seen throughout Up From Slavery. When Washington called the institution of slavery “the school of American slavery,” (577) he took an inhumane situation and positioned it as an opportunity to become better.

The motivation philosophers I have studied share a common thread and that is the ability to focus on the final goal or destination thoughout their journey. Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle were seekers of knowledge, Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu researched most of his life the outside forces that inspire humans, Napoleon Hill studied the capacity to create success. Washington spent all his energy in acquiring an education and later sharing his tools for success with others. These analogies position Washington as a motivator, a philosopher, and a professor for life.

Leadership can be learned but also be part of the fabric of the individual, and at a very small age, Washington set his first goal, “if I ever got free, the height of my ambition would be reached if I could get to the point where I could secure and eat ginger-cakes in the way I saw those ladies doing” (575). This goal includes all the main components of writing personal goals and objectives. The goal is specific, the reward is attainable and the most important element of setting goals is that he included a time line to achieve it.

Although I believe that slavery is one of the most shameful legacies we share in history, I can try to understand how Washington looked at slavery as an opportunity to give and take between the white and black communities. “The black man got nearly as much out of slavery as the white man did” (578). This philosophy shows how great Washington was. He did not condemn the white people for the creation of slavery but rather chose to spend his time in looking at a terrible situation as a learning opportunity and a way to increment knowledge with the every day live situations.

Washington was very focused on his goal to get an education and he saw every obstacle as simple barriers that needed to be conquered or removed. His book describes the situation that while he was working in the salt-furnace, a small school opened close to his community. His stepfather mentioned to him that he could not go to the school because his income was necessary for the survival of the family; Washington was very disappointed with this directive but instead of giving up his dream he describes in his book the following: “I determined that I would learn something, anyway. I applied myself with greater earnestness than ever to the mastering of what was in the ‘blue back’ speller” (583). He knew what he wanted the most and he was determined in succeeding this dream no matter the situation or challenges.

As a born leader he also demonstrated appreciation for the community that supported him in achieving his goals:

“Perhaps the thing that touched and please me most in connection with my starting for Hampton was the interest that many of the older coloured people took in the matter. They had spent the best days of their lives in slavery and hardly expected to live to see the time when they would see a member of their race leave home to attend a boarding school. Some of these older people would give me a nickel, others a quarter, or a handkerchief” (588).

Appreciation is an important lesson for anyone because we tend to believe that we have succeeded thanks to our own efforts, and although “our own efforts” are necessary, not one person can succeed alone.

He also understood at an early age that black people needed to do a much better job than the whites to demonstrate their ability to succeed “when a white boy undertakes a task it is taken for granted that he will succeed. On the other hand. people are usually surprised if the Negro boy does not fail. In other words, the Negro youth starts out with the presumption against him” (584). This philosophy stills applies today at school as well as at the work place. Our society expects people of color to fail in school by dropping out and therefore ending up in the judicial system or in the business community; the Anglo businessman gives a handout project to a minority-owned business as a point of negotiation for a large project from the government.

Washington was also proud of who he was “from any point of view, I had rather be what I am, a member of the Negro race, than be able to claim membership with the most favored of any other race” (586). To be proud of who we are is an important lesson at any age.

He also sacrificed himself for the better of others. While he was at Hampton, he slept many nights outside the dorms in tents to provide space to the younger students at the school. “The winter that we spent in those tents was an intensely cold one, and we suffered severely” (592). Giving back to the community is a key role and expectation for leaders.

But perhaps the biggest characteristic of a strong motivator was the demonstration of Washington’s capacity to evaluate and to measure his successes against himself and no others. “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed” (586).

Washington was admired and criticized in his time, but his lessons are still intact: motivate others to do better, appreciate other people’s gift, share your own gifts, focus on your goals, and always measure your success against your own past successes. These are values that were true in the late 1800’s and these are values that are still valid today. To me, the most important lesson from Up From Slavery, is that motivation is something that needs to be fed every day but if we are really ready there is no obstacle that can be in between our desire to succeed and the success itself.

Works Cited

"Jim Rohn Quotes." Think Exist.com. 2006. ThinkExist.com. 26 Feb. 2009 <http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/jim_rohn/>.

Washington, Booker T. “Up From Slavery.” The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004. 572-94.