Conversation with Joe Massengale

What do you hope the book will do to help other people?
I hope Six Lessons will help everybody, especially young people, have faith in themselves and in what they can accomplish in life. I hope it will help parents find ways to pass along their own best qualities to their kids, and to talk plainly about the kinds of values and ideas that will help them lead good lives.

What good do you hope it will do for young people?
My life is an American Dream come true, and it can be the same for anyone who wants to succeed here by working hard and living a good life. I hope they'll see that we live in a place where doing the right thing day after day, honestly, makes for a good career and a good life.

What do you feel the book has to say to other fathers?
I hope other fathers will sit down with their kids and talk about confidence and persistence and focus and the other lessons in here, and about what they really mean, about what they can do for a person. No matter where you start, values like these can help you do the right thing now and plan for success in the future. That's what a father ought to do: help his kids plan to lead good lives, and show them how to execute on those ideas every day.

What do you feel you have in common with the other contributors?
This isn't just my story or my sons’ stories. Its not a black story or a white story. It’s about the values we all have in common as we strive to achieve our goals. It doesn't matter whether you want to win the Kentucky Derby or fly in space or win an Oscar, and it doesn't matter where you were born or what race you are. What matters is who you are inside. If you're someone who wants to lead a good life and achieve great things, the lessons in this book can help you.