We were lucky to catch up with Terrence “weasel” Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.
Terrence “Weasel”, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I got my resilience from wanting to make my mother proud and understanding that God made everyone unique and special. I always felt special as a young kid even when no one seen it in me.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Terrence “Weasel” Smith is an individual born and raised in Beaumont, Tx. I grew up in a poverty-stricken environment but always knew it was world outside of what I seen everyday. This pushed me to avoid drugs, violence, and much more as I chased greatness. I graduated High School with all honors and played basketball. I have 3 degrees from Texas A&M University at College Station, Tx (Sociology 2012), Lamar University at Beaumont, Tx (Business Administration/Entrepreneurship 2015), and University of Phoenix (MBA 2019) respectively. I have written three national books (The Highs and Lows of a Young Black Man Journey, Whatever it Takes to Make It, and Fortune 500 Dad), in which all is available on Walmart.com, Amazon.com, Authorhouse.com and almost anywhere online. In 2025, it will make my 9th year organizing my annual backpack drive for the community of Beaumont, Tx and surrounding areas. Also it makes my 4th year doing my annual scholarships in memory of my mother Tracey Rideaux Thompson who passed December 13, 2021. A pivotal moment for me was when I had the pleasure in representing a great childhood friend, Mike Williams for a tryout with two NFL Teams as his business advisor/consultant. I am very grateful to be blessed with the ability to do alot of things with my business acumen I possess.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three most important qualities that I had that was the most impactful in my journey was foresight, my drive, and being a natural leader. Having foresight allow individuals to see what others cannot see and be able to predict the future as well as being consistent with work ethic. This does not mean you will know exactly what’s going to happen, but it helps when you are focused and learn to sacrifice for the things you want. Seeing what others didn’t see, helped me stay focus and avoid negative people that was near me. I had to keep my eyes on the prize of success. Being driven allowed me to not need motivation to do the hard things first, when most people avoided doing hard things altogether. With my drive, I was going to never give up or never allow anyone to tell me I couldn’t do anything in life. From five years old to present time (34), everybody that grew up with me were always impressed that I dared to be different and never stop chasing greatness to make it out the setting I grew up into having a better life. Growing up, being a follower was normal. Being a leader was not on the mind of most kids and adults. As a kid I got teased, ridiculed , and embarrassed for not wanting to conform to societal norms. Avoiding drugs, sex, and tattoos was so hard because it was the norm and represented certain things in the poverty-stricken environment that everybody wanted to participate with. Avoidance made me the person I am today. If you are early in your journey and you want to develop these things or improve it is very simple. Ask yourself: Do you want your goal or something bad enough? Are you willing to pay the price to get it ? If you really want to achieve something, you need to be discipline and do whatever it takes to obtain. Discipline is doing things even when you do not feel like it. If you adopt those 3 qualities and get 1% better with each one everyday you will be great!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes I am currently looking for driven individuals to collaborate with to build something special. The person need to have an open mind and be willing to challenge themselves and perspectives in order to practice continuous improvement. We can design things, shoot a film, build a product that can change society ECT. I just want to be around people who can push me and I can push them to become better and leave our impact on society. If you are reading this and will like to collaborate you can reach me at my email [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Weaselbmt
- Facebook: Terrence “Weasel” Smith
- Youtube: TerrenceWeaselSmith
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