Listen Live
92Q Listen Live
92Q Jams Featured Video
CLOSE

Today’s words of wisdom comes from Sidney Poitier, he is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.

Pictured above: Sidney Poitier receiving the “Medal of Freedom” from President Obama 2009

I never had an occasion to question color, therefore, I only saw myself as what I was… a human being.

I’ll always be chasing you… Glory.

I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.

I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father’s life.

But my dad also was a remarkable man, a good person, a principled individual, a man of integrity.

I always had the ability to say no. That’s how I called my own shots.

A good deed here, a good deed there, a good thought here, a good comment there, all added up to my career in one way or another.

As a man, I’ve been representative of the values I hold dear. And the values I hold dear are carryovers from the lives of my parents.

History passes the final judgment.

I come from a great family. I’ve seen family life and I know how wonderful, how nurturing, and how wonderful it can be.

I am an ordinary person who has had an extraordinary life.

I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.

In my case, the body of work stands for itself… I think my work has been representative of me as a man.

So I had to be careful. I recognized the responsibility that, whether I liked it or not, I had to accept whatever the obligation was. That was to behave in a manner, to carry myself in such a professional way, as if there ever is a reflection, it’s a positive one.

So I’m OK with myself, with history, my work, who I am and who I was.

So it’s been kind of a long road, but it was a good journey altogether.

To simply wake up every morning a better person than when I went to bed.

We all suffer from the preoccupation that there exists… in the loved one, perfection.

Sidney Poitier

Related articles

Sidney Poitier Tribute To Tony Curtis

Words Of Wisdom: Malcolm X

Words of Wisdom: Oprah Winfrey