It seems some stories will always maintain their place in the public consciousness; Michael Oher’s is one of them. Even though his NFL career is over and the film version of his childhood, The Blind Side, captured the nation’s heart, the man on whom this Academy Award-winning film was based is continuing to write his story. The next chapter will cover his efforts to positively impact young people who are like he was before the world ever heard of this warm-hearted giant of a man.
The author of two books, I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to The Blind Side and Beyond (2011) and, very recently, When Your Back’s Against the Wall: Fame, Football, and Lessons Learned through a Lifetime of Adversity (2023), Oher’s life has had a lot of unexpected highs: a college degree, a happy marriage, two beautiful children, selection in the first round of the NFL draft and a Super Bowl victory.
He’s also run up against quite a few significant walls including poverty, hunger, homelessness, struggles in school, bullying, concussions, anxiety and depression. In his latest book, he uses stories and lessons from his own life to offer encouragement and instruction on how to get back up—again, and again, and again.
Today, Oher has dedicated himself to changing the lives of young people through scholarships and school-based mentoring programs offered by the Oher Foundation. Oher enjoyed being “different from other kids,” not only because of his physical attributes but also his drive and determination. “At some point, I decided I wanted to chase greatness,” he said in a recent interview. “I wish I had someone who understood what I was going through sitting across the table and reassuring me I was on the right path.”
Now, thanks to Oher’s foundation, many young people will have what Oher didn’t have: a mentor who encourages them to chase greatness and lets them know how you do it. If you want to chase greatness, Oher contends, consider doing the following, whether you’re aiming at distinguishing yourself in athletics, education, business, medicine or any other field:
- Look long and hard in the mirror: What do you see? “If you’re not accomplishing things you want to, all the answers are there for you in that mirror,” he said. “How much time and effort are you putting in? Are you getting there early? Are you leaving on time? Are you doing the extra things to move up that ladder? I can guarantee you that the people who aren’t reaching their goals or getting the accolades they want are not putting in the right amount of effort to get those things.”
- Make yourself… uncomfortable: It’s hard to challenge yourself on a consistent basis because doing so requires struggle and no small amount of discomfort, which none of us likes. “It’s easy to play the blame game rather than be uncomfortable,” observed Oher. “It’s hard to hold ourselves to doing the right thing every day. But when you’re chasing something bigger than you, when you’re chasing greatness, that’s not comfortable at all.”
- Stand for something: Whether your purpose is helping to feed your family or providing life skills learning opportunities to young people, Oher has always found motivation and guidance through aligning his actions with the larger questions of who he wanted to be and the kind of legacy he wanted to leave. That’s where the idea of mentoring comes into play. Said Oher, “We all need someone who can continue to remind us that, ‘Hey, you’re doing the right thing. Just keep this going and eventually you’re going to get to where you want to be.”
There are many ways in which ex-Super Bowl champions can use their celebrity as a platform for success later in life. Oher has decided to use his platform to make an impact on a generation of young people who don’t have anyone to turn to for wisdom borne of experience. And he’s not just thinking of the future Super Bowl winning athletes like him.
“Not everyone is going to be able to play sports or become famous entertainers,” he said. “Most of the people who will benefit from mentoring just need the opportunity to be able to use their brains for bigger and better things. That’s the platform I want to stand on.”
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