A Quote by Misty Copeland

I had some really incredible people who mentored me and gave me things I never got from my parents. — © Misty Copeland
I had some really incredible people who mentored me and gave me things I never got from my parents.
When my parents realized that what I liked was fashion, they gave me good advice. I remember my father telling me that I should try to do an internship. They never said, "This is a world we don't know; it might be something strange," or "That is not serious," or things like that. They always said, "Try. We'll help you. We'll send drawings to people if you want. We'll write letters for you." What I'm very thankful for is they never made me think that something was impossible. They were really, really supportive. They are still.
When I was growing up, there was a man who gave me lessons and things. I'm very dyslexic so he used to give me extra reading and writing. And he always knew that I was interested in stuff but he never told me that he was in the Second World War himself. One day he gave me his helmet that he had worn through the North Africa Campaign. It was just before he died. So I've got his helmet. That was pretty special to me.
The camera gave me an incredible freedom. It gave me the ability to parade through the world and look at people and things very, very closely.
We've got enough issues in this country without worrying about some of the things we're worrying about. It's unbelievable to me. And as long as I'm alive, I know what football gave me. It taught me my work ethic. It gave me a sense of discipline.
You didn't have to tell a girl with no legs that she, you know, I knew I was different. I was missing half of my body. But I really had incredible parents who really taught me that, you know, God has always had a special a plan for me.
CrossFit really helped me with mental toughness, which I really appreciate. It also gave me this network of people cheering me on, which is incredible.
I had a good, sound upbringing with sensible people around me. I was brought up by intelligent parents. My mother always said to me, "You've got to work at your career and you've got to be good at it. Okay, you've had a bit of success but that's not longevity. You've got to really work for a long time."
LEGO is universal. So many people enjoy it, from all different walks of life, all different ages, all different cultures. When I was in Africa, I had LEGO bricks with me and I met some people who had never heard of LEGO, they had never seen it before and yet as soon as I gave them a few bricks, they immediately got it.
My parents gave me an incredible foundation and a strong faith in who I am. They loved me in the face of so many unknowns.
I think mentoring is essential in life, both being a mentor to someone and being mentored, and I think that when you are mentored it inspires a generosity in you to mentor others and that I know is what happened with me, so for instance, the people that come through my studio to work for me, it's not good enough for me to just give them a paycheck.
I had my dysfunctions, but music gave me peace and joy. I never felt in tune with the world. My parents always saw me as an artist, and that greatly influenced me. My art was my autonomy.
I never really grasped how big it was when I initially got 'Alexander'; I thought, 'Ooh, this is exciting,' but after I got home, I looked back and thought, 'That was an incredible experience.' I got to work with some massive names in Hollywood, and I learnt so much, and then it really kind of struck me how life-changing it was.
Greg Jackson gave me hope after four losses. After my last loss in the Strikeforce grand prix against Kharitonov, I gave him a call and asked him if he thought I should retire. Some of my trainers, some people told me I had lost it. He said, 'Absolutely not. Just come to Albuquerque,' and gave me that hope.
I never thought I had it in me to be an actor. There is so much more to the job than acting. But my parents gave me confidence.
My father cared a lot about me, but he never gave me the satisfaction of really knowing it. Hitting .390 wasn't enough for him. Nothing seemed to be. He was not trying to be mean. He was just seeing to it that I never got self-satisfied, that I worked hard to get the most out of what I had.
I grew up in a really horrible school system, but my parents did not let that define how we function. They gave me more work at home from them than I ever got from school. To learn about the history of myself and my people, and that armors me.
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