by Bernie Mac
But don’t you listen. They just naysayers, and they talkin’ about their own fool selves. You stay away from negativity, hear? You go for it, and go for it with passion. Want it with all your heart. Fight with the heart of a lion.
Nobody’s going to do it for you, Beanie.
Be your own man. Stand on your own two feet.
Meet all the challenges, big and small.
Failure is life’s way of preparing you for success.
You know why people succeed? People succeed because they outlast you. It’s that simple. I ain’t lyin’. They’re just like you, with one big difference: They don’t quit; they don’t give up.
Try again, son.
All those Mac-isms:
Don’t nobody owe you nothin’. You got no one to blame but yourself. No one’s tying you down except your own self. Ain’t nobody gonna change your life but you. Rely on others and they will soon enough let you down.
It’s on account of those Mac-isms that I’m here today.
My mama taught me that life is what you make it.
She taught me to be thankful for the things I had, and to work for those I didn’t. Hard work. Honest work.
She taught me that every day is about becoming a better person. About bettering myself. That I had to take responsibility for my own life and that I had to work on becoming the person I wanted to be.
Like my grandma said: Beautiful morning, isn’t it, son? Got another crack at it this morning. Another chance to improve myself.
For those of you who have kids, remember one thing above all others: You’ve got to prepare that kid for the world. He’s looking to you for answers.
So love that kid up good, hear? And be strong when you have to be. Rules and regulations and love. Remember to tell that kid how much he matters. Let him know that life can be anything he damn well wants it to be. Easy, ain’t it? You teach a kid to believe in himself, well—that’s half the battle. A kid that believes in himself doesn’t self-limit. That kid knows in his heart of hearts that he can do anything.
He will fall, stumble, despair—because that’s life; there’s no escaping it. But he knows inside that he’s bigger than his problems. Bigger than all of them combined. He knows he’s going to make it. He knows there’s no problem so big it can’t be beat.
Why does he know this?
Because you taught it to him.
You taught him the Secret of Life. Yes, you did. And the Secret of Life is this:
You fall down, you get up.
That’s it. Honest. That’s all there is to it.
You fall down, you get up. You keep movin’.
Thank you, Mama. I love you with all my heart.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my friends, A. V. and Big Nigger: A. V., because he taught me that it’s possible to love someone despite their fucked-up ways; and Big Nigger, because he knew me and loved me when I was just Bernie McCullough, and because he loves me still.
A special thanks to my team: Steven Greener, a real manager; the crew at United Talent Agency—David Schiff, Ruthanne Secunda, Josh Pollack, and Marty Bowen; and my attorney, Barry Hirsch.
I would also like to thank Judith Regan, Aliza Fogelson, and everyone at ReganBooks for their support and guidance, and to Pablo Fenjves for all of his hard work.
Finally, my thanks to Geri Bleavings. For ten years you’ve been giving it to me straight, woman. That’s a rare thing in this world, but that’s the way I like it.
—Bernie Mac
About the Author
BERNIE MAC is the Emmy Award–winning star and cocreator of The Bernie Mac Show. He has appeared in Russell Simmons’s Def Comedy Jam, HBO’s Midnight Mac, Mo’ Money, Ocean’s Eleven, Head of State, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, and the upcoming Mr. 3000. He divides his time between Los Angeles and his hometown, Chicago.
www.fox.com/berniemac/
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Copyright
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MAYBE YOU NEVER CRY AGAIN. Copyright © 2003 by Bernie Mac. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition AUGUST 2008 ISBN: 9780061980602
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