Afterword By Stephen R. Covey

I have tremendous admiration for Stedman Graham and for the mission he has chosen. He personifies the message he has presented in this book and is a powerful example of someone who has actually defined his identity and created an enduringly successful life that is a gift to the world. I also know how genuine, deeply genuine, Stedman is about helping people discover who they are and achieve their highest potential for success.

Stedman Graham cares about the individual. He understands how someone’s vision can have greater impact than their baggage, for Stedman has not allowed the challenges of his past circumstances to dictate his future. This book’s important message is to live out of your imagination and not your history—to hold a vision of the possibility of a better life for you and the people you care about—and to exercise the faith and power you have within you to create that better life. Stedman is an important spokesperson for this message because, in addition to the traditional credentials of advanced educational degrees and significant national leadership positions, he brings the “street” credibility of having faced and conquered the challenges of which he speaks firsthand. Men and women, boys and girls, of all cultures and circumstances throughout the world can take heart in his example. He is a rare mentor who walks his talk.

Stedman, like many, was born into a host of troubling circumstances and emotional hardships that could have easily left him a bitter and resentful victim. How many of us would be able to sing a similar tune when uncontrollable conditions threaten to kill our hopes and dreams? It becomes easy to excuse our failures and get into a blaming mode, using our past as a hitching post, and condemning most everything around us. We may seek out friends, or even “experts,” who would agree and give us more ammunition to justify our plight as we proceed to attribute every mistake and misfortune in our lives to poor environment, disturbed upbringing, or genetics. We then sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of self-pity and victimization. Some of us might have had a father who deserted us when we were young, or an uncle who viciously abused us. Perhaps we continually had to scratch and scrape together whatever we could to survive in the face of grinding poverty. Each one of us has a story to tell—a story that is very real. In fact, such injustices and dehumanizing experiences do take their toll, sometimes a tremendous toll, in our lives. Yet, the difference between being influenced by and determined by is 180 degrees. The point becomes whether or not you will allow yourself to remain victimized for the rest of your life. As Stedman so eloquently teaches, “It matters not how other people define you, it matters how you define yourself.”

By doing the work that only you can do for you, learning who you really are and following Stedman’s “Nine-Step Success Process” for a better life, you will learn how to create a vision for your future that will, in return, produce the needed antidote for conquering the difficulties of life.

The best way to predict your future is to create it. As you apply the powerful principles Stedman has shared in this insightful book, you will create the future of your dreams. May we each follow Stedman’s lead and define our identity, and in so doing create a personal passport to success.

Stephen R. Covey
Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People