The Leap of Your Life

CHAPTER 8Crafting the Vision

Tyler Perry needed cash desperately. He had put on his first play in Birmingham, Alabama and urgently needed to rent a van. So, he did what most audacious and broke 20-year-olds would do: he used his mother’s credit card. His plan was to repay her with what he made during the performance.

The only problem was it didn’t make any money. It was a complete and total disaster. Coming home with his tail between his legs, he had to tell her. He couldn’t afford to pay her back for the rental. She was livid:

“You never gonna make it, Junior,” she said. “You need to stop thinking about those plays. Just go get yourself a job with the phone company. Get those benefits.”¹

At this point, most would have taken her advice.

And yet, he persisted. Coming back to his mother, he said, “That’s not my life,” he told her. “I have dreams. I have more than that inside me.” As she responded, she took a long drag of her cigarette, saying again:

“Well, you’re never going to make it.”

The Voice on the Inside Must Be Loud

Tyler Perry persisted for one reason: the vision on the inside was bolder than any of the opinions on the outside. Including the vision from his own mother and the marketplace. Despite endless failures, he kept his eyes on the prize and nourished all the ingredients he would need during his leap. He is now the creator of 19 released feature films, more than 15 stage plays, nine television shows, and a New York Times bestselling book.

But it almost didn’t ...