How Did Liz Murray Go From Homeless to Harvard? What Lessons Can We Learn?
Liz Murray is an American inspirational speaker who went from homeless to Harvard University. She is the founder and director of Manifest Living and one of the most highly sought-after motivational speakers in the world. She is the author of the International Bestseller titled Breaking Night: My Journey from Homeless to Harvard, and a movie has been made about her life, titled, Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. Liz was born and raised in the Bronx. She had loving parents, but they were poor and addicted to drugs. This meant that as Liz grew up she would often go without food and was regularly absent from school. As a result, she found it a challenge to connect education to a future that was possible and unlike her present and past. A friend of the family named Arthur would step into Liz’s life and not only mentor her but change the course of her life. As he was a neighbour he was always available to help her with her schoolwork. He began to take her out on day trips and show her places and a life that was different from what she had experienced up to that point. He helped her to see that she could be more and do more and that if she had dreams for a better life they were not out of her reach. Her parents would eventually contract HIV/AIDS leading to the demise of her mother when Liz was only 15 years old. Following the death of her mother, her father moved to a homeless shelter. Arthur, who was her mentor and guide, died suddenly from a heart condition, and Liz was left all alone to face life and the challenges it would throw at her. She became homeless when she was only 15 and in high school. She would sleep in stairwells and shoplift food to eat. But as she navigated life’s problems going forward, Arthur’s voice remained in her head and helped her make the right choices. She would go on to be accepted into Harvard University after graduating from Humanities Preparatory Academy in Manhattan, and she was awarded a New York Times scholarship for needy students. She took a break from Harvard to care for her sick father but returned to complete her studies graduating in 2009. In 2013, she was awarded an honorary doctorate of public service and gave the commencement speech at Merrimack College, Massachusetts. Liz Murray is currently a passionate advocate for underserved youth. She is married and has two children (Wikipedia).
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Liz Murray
- Leaders are optimistic and able to see the good in adverse situations. In the book, Hero, by Rhonda Byrne, Liz Murray stated that when her life changed very quickly at the age of 15, with the deaths of her mother and Arthur, the loss of their home and her father becoming estranged, she felt that if life could change for the worse possibly it could also change for the better. Leaders are people with hope. Are you optimistic? Are you able to see the good in negative people and situations?
- Every leader begins their leadership journey by being a good follower. We all need a guide, someone who has been where we want to go either physically or mentally. Liz needed Arthur to guide her, to change the trajectory of her life, to show her what was possible, and to challenge her to seek things that were different from what she was accustomed to. Who is guiding you? Who are you following? Where are they leading you?
- Great leaders will step outside their comfort zone and continuously operate outside their comfort zone. We do not grow if we remain inside our comfort zone. No dream is achieved within our comfort zone. The things that we desire to achieve are outside our comfort zone, and to attain them we must step out of the familiar and away from what is comfortable. When Arthur took Liz on day trips and showed her a better life, he was challenging her not just to desire it but to want it so badly that she would be willing to step outside of her comfort zone to obtain it. Have you ever stepped outside your comfort zone? Have you been afraid to do something and did it anyway?
- Great leaders reach back to help others. Liz shares her story all around the world, primarily to motivate others. She is a passionate advocate for underserved youth. When great leaders achieve their dreams, they reach back to help others achieve theirs. Who are you helping? How are you using your experiences to enrich the lives of others?
- High achievers are people with lofty dreams. They are dreamers; they dream of a better life; they dream of contributing to humanity. They are constantly dreaming. Every achievement starts with a dream. Until you dream it, you can’t achieve it. In the book, Hero, Liz shares how she would sleep in stairwells using her book bag as a pillow. She states that as she lay her head on that book bag she would dream of a better life. The life she has today began with a dream. What you dream, you will become. Are you dreaming? Are your dreams big enough? Do they excite you and move you to take action?
- High achievers follow through on their dreams. They understand that an idea in and of itself has no power to produce unless it is compelled to deliver by the dreamer. What separates high achievers from failures is their ability to pursue their dream until it materialises. The vision you do not pursue will not emerge. Still in the book, Hero, Liz talks about how her mother would share her dreams with her when she was a child. Yes, her mother had goals. We all have goals. But her mother never followed through on her dreams. All she did was talk and talk is cheap. Liz says that when she was done talking, her mother would declare that she would do get around to doing it. Some day she would make it happen. Well, that day never came for her as it never comes for many. She died without seeing her dreams materialise because she never took steps to make them happen. Dreams do not fulfil themselves. What steps are you taking daily towards fulfilling your goals? What steps can you take daily towards fulfilling your dreams?
- Great leaders strive for excellence. They abhor mediocrity, and for this reason they stand out from the crowd and rise to the top in business and career. While Liz Murray was a student she desired straight A’s and so got a copy of her transcript while it was still blank –she was a new student and had no results – and she wrote in the empty transcript the grades that she wanted and then began to work towards those grades. Every time she wrote her homework, she set the transcript before her as a reminder of her goals. Making straight A’s was crucial to her; she wanted the best and was willing to pay the price for it. With an attitude like that is it any wonder she went from homeless to Harvard? Do you strive for excellence?
- Nobody owes you anything! The day you learn this fundamental truth that all great leaders know is the day you will be unleashed into your greatness. If it is to be, it is up to you, and don’t expect anyone to pull you out of a pit you are not making a conscious effort to climb out of. Liz Murray says that she grew up thinking that nobody owed her anything. See where that line of thinking has taken her over the years. Small-minded people go through life with an entitlement mentality, and as such, are always ungrateful. But great leaders are people of gratitude because they understand that nobody owes them anything. Are you still playing victim? Have you come to the realisation that if it is to be it is up to you?
- You are going to have to do it afraid because, as Liz Murray says, you can never get rid of fear. Fear is a part of the journey to success, and great leaders know this. Therefore, they do not allow fear dictate to them the terms in pursuit of their dreams. Do you know that great leaders often do it afraid?
- You are enough. Great leaders realise this. They know that they are enough to bring their dream to fruition. Many think that they need something which they do not have, and it becomes a significant reason that they procrastinate and die and never see their dreams materialise. According to Liz, if you think you are not enough and that you are missing something or waiting for the right time, there is no right time. Get up and go just as you are. God said to Gideon, go in this thy might and Nike says, just do it! What would you do today if you knew you were enough?
- Successful people know that things will not always go as planned. If you have tried to pursue a dream and failed woefully, you are in good company. If you wanted to quit, you are also in good company. Many great people have had these experiences. Liz says she got rejected to the point of almost depression. Life will test you before it allows you to have your dreams. Greatness is not for the feeble-minded. Yes, it is okay to cry, and yes, it is okay to throw in the towel, but it is never okay to leave the towel where you threw it. At some point, you must pick up the towel wipe your tears, and dare to dream again. And say to life, you are going to see what stuff I am made of. I will not be defeated! Will you dare to dream again? What dream would you have if you knew you couldn’t fail?
