I have learned success is to be measured not so much by the position I have reached in life but rather by the obstacles I have overcome while trying to succeed.
Born in Maryland to a slave woman early in the 19TH century, Fredrick Bailey never knew his father’s identity. As a baby he was taken from his mother and saw briefly until her death when he was about seven. Even at this age he was forced to work as a slave, suffered frequent beatings and endured long hours without food or sleep. Later, he would write: “I was broken in body, soul and spirit.” The one bright spot in his bleak existence came when his owner’s wife taught him to read and write. This act of kindness would become the catalyst eventually allowing Fredrick to overcome the enormous obstacles placed in his path and bring him success and fame. As a young man, he escaped, and made his way to New York and then to New England. He became active in the abolitionist movement and was encouraged to publicly share the story of his life as a slave. He was a brilliant speaker, and the publication of his autobiography, while still in his thirties, made him world famous. He later spent two years on a lecture tour of Great Britain and Ireland. After returning to the U.S., he met with President Abraham Lincoln to discuss plans to free the slaves. He became a successful newspaper publisher, editor, author and public speaker. In 1880, at the Republican National Convention, he became the first African-American to receive a vote for President of the United States. At the time of his death in 1895, Fredrick, who as a young man had changed his last name to Douglas, had overcome obstacles few of us would ever have to face and became one of the most prominent and successful figures in U.S. and African-American history.
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AuthorMusings from Gammon Irons. To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind - this is a choice which is possible for us all; and surely a good haven to sail. Archives
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