The Sky is the Limit
I am motivated to see how far I can push my life from this point forward. Not with my physical ability but with my mind. I am inspired to live my life in a first class fashion. The vision I have for my family’s life has no limitations but it does have direction. The borders of the United States can’t hold this spirit. Through education, I’ve come to realize that the world is a lot smaller than I once believed it to be. Understanding that inspires me to want to learn other languages so I can appreciate, operate, and function in different cultures. I am unsure of how quickly one can become fluent in another language but I would like to learn enough to operate like a local. I am interested in learning Spanish, Hebrew, and Mandarin.
I have the spirit to live. Prison has allowed me to realize how much time I was wasting, wasting time. Life is too precious to occupy my time with trivial matters and petty worries. So many were right about me when they say I lost my mind. They are absolutely right. I lost my mind when I believed that all I could be was a professional football player in the past. I have the capacity, ability, and the potential to be that and so much more. It comes down to intelligently investing my energy. I am going to pursue my vision with all the energy floating through this body. I refuse to allow my family to recognize me as a loser or a quitter. This time away has made me more intelligent yet more aggressive in my attempts to improve me and my family’s life. If you have ever set out to do something great or substantial with your life then you will definitely be able to identify with this post. If you haven’t, I hope these few words inspire you to be more tomorrow than what you are today. Aim a little higher; pursue your aspirations aggressively and with a lot more intelligence.
If someone doubts your mental or physical ability to accomplish your dreams say nothing to the nay-sayer or critic. Let them live in their own misery. They are just mad they can’t find the energy to change their miserable life and they find joy in discouraging you. Real men and women encourage and support people who are attempting to change their life. I don’t respect all the down talk. I hate it when people tell others what they can or cannot do. I hate it when losers tell people they cannot be what they want to be simply because they are a piece of crap themselves. I hate it when people don’t help others tap into their potential. I hate when people hold back correct information or give incorrect information for the sole purpose of discouraging someone from maximizing their life. I hope this encourages anyone attempting to change their life that has gotten discouraged along the way.
April 7, 2009 at 9:46 am
This does inspire me. Thanks for saying that.
April 7, 2009 at 10:57 am
a powerful & positive blog……way to bring it to the masses!!
April 7, 2009 at 11:35 am
Maurice,
Wow, your posts are great. They’re really inspiring and I hope they’re completely legit and that you feel the way you say you do. I’ve been referring a lot of people to your blog and a lot of them are always a little skeptical about you saying this stuff and they think you’re not actually feeling this way. They think you’re just trying to sound like you’ve changed so that maybe they’ll let you out early. I don’t believe that though, I find a lot of similarities between your growth in prison and just a lot of other peoples growth in life. That’s awesome that you want to learn all those languages and become more cultured and create a great life for your family. I have many of the same aspirations. By the way, I’m in a Journalism class right now at College and one of the assignments was to write about an unsung or forgotten hero. I chose you, not because of your time at Ohio State, but because of this blog. I told them about how you were huge back when you were at Ohio State, and how the day after the Fiesta Bowl all anyone could talk about at my high school was that defensive play you made to strip Sean Taylor (R.I.P.), and how some unfortunate things happened and now you’re in prison, but you’re making the most of it by showing people that although you are imprisoned physically you sure as heck aren’t mentally. It was very well recieved by the class. Best wishes man and continue your growth,
MK
April 7, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Maurice,
nice post,is good to see that you are interested in other cultures…i experiencied my self living in the USA and i know that americans dont care much about other cultures….to ilustrated that: when i was in my junior year in high school ,the first question that my History teacher asked me was: You guys in Brazil speak spanish ,dont you??i said: NO,we speak Portuguese….lol
Looking forward for another inspiring posts.
Peace,
Felipe
April 7, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Hey Maurice, I’m Jareth I live in toledo and I was at work bored and me and my friend were playing on our phones. He showed me a picture and said do you know who this is? I looked at it, I was like damn where do I know this face… I know it from somewhere than I was like damn that’s Maurice Clarett!! It was your photo on the ohio corrections website. He was on there looking for his friend. For some reason that photo made me wonder why you did it and how you were doing. So it brought me to this site and to read what you wrote made me feel at peace in a way. I’m glad to hear the things you had to say. It seems you are growing and learning what life is really about. You make me sit here and think wow do I take this life I have forgranted? I have freedom yet I just go to work I’m 26 I need to go to school and get more out of life.
April 8, 2009 at 11:20 pm
I guess the thing that I think of most when I read your blog and comments about getting back on track in life. Not too many people with felony convictions get a second chance in life from and employment standpoint because most employers are afraid to hire them. I was wondering how you would go about trying to overcome the prejudice of people that don’t want to hire first time felons or felons in general?
April 9, 2009 at 3:33 am
Maurice,
I’m not sure how this works and if you can even read this comment.
I think it’s amazing that you’ve taken advantage of your time in jail to become more reflective and to try and be a better person. I wish you the best of luck both in getting out soon and in finding something productive once you do get out.