Rising Stars: Meet Jamil Massey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamil Massey.

Hi Jamil, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
If I told people my journey was easy, I’d be lying. I’ve had to overcome plenty of setbacks along the way. I was raised on farm in Monroe, North Carolina. My mom had my brother when she was in the night grade and then had me right after she graduated high school. We did not have very much money and because of that, we were on Government Assistance. I can remember going to the grocery store and mama picking out mainly the stuff that was on the government program called W.I.C., which stood for Women, Infants & Children. We were in church every Sunday as my mom and grandma were heavily involved, volunteering in the church. Unfortunately, my father was not in my life. When I was just baby, he was tragically killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. This left a void in my life that grew overtime. In school, I was a nice kid and very social in elementary school. Like many kids, I struggled during the middle school years. Identifying a safe and positive friend group was a challenge. I floated from click to click but never truly found my place. I survived being bullied and tried to lash out in anger and frustration by trying to be the bully myself.

By the time I got to my freshman year in high school, my focus was so much on increasing my friend network and to be noticed, I ended up failing the 9th grade. The shame and embarrassment of going to summer school was a wakeup call. Once I graduated high school, I went to college briefly. I didn’t go because I wanted to but, because other people told me I should go. I didn’t apply myself and after about six months, I flunked out of college. A few years later, I tried college again but once again, I failed. I floated from one low-paying job to another until I eventually took a maintenance job at Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company. By this time, I had gotten married and started a family. The maintenance job stretched me. It started out with basic responsibilities and the more I showed my ability to learn and grow, my responsibility my competencies grew and so did my income! I was fortunate enough to have a boss who believed in me even before I believed in myself. I had to make some major mindset changes and shift the way I saw my ability to perform. I had to swallow my pride my times and listen to how my boss was training me. This was super tough for me because I was “hard headed”.

However, after ten years of sacrifice, trying, failing, long days and nights, I was able to take over my boss’s position as Facility Manager. I handle everything from lights, air, food, parking, furniture, clean and even working closely with security. After landing this corporate position, it gave me more confidence in my abilities but, I felt like God had put more in me. I’ve always wanted to encourage and inspire people but I didn’t know what was the best platform for me to do this. This is where mentors come in. I began to seek out mentors who could help me go to the next level. I had a thought “I may be able to get into Public Speaking to tell my story.” One mentor in particular was able to give me the idea of publishing my autobiography “High School No Fool”. I wasn’t sure about this idea, especially since I struggled in school and dropped out of college twice. I was doubting my ability as we often do when we have a few failures in life. My mentor was able to help me focus on my victories instead of my struggles. Many of them were limiting beliefs anyway…

In order to achieve this goal, I had to sacrifice again. This time, it was giving up watching tv and movies for the next two years. It took me a year to write the book and a year to get the speaking business off the ground. I wrote at night after work and after helping my wife with the kid’s activities. Writing on weekends was also very common for me. I would even record parts of the book on my phone to be added into the manuscript. The second year has been used for trademarking, starting a merch line and marketing. I’m now partnering with Destined For Greatness Management, LLC and Serve Unity Outreach to spread a message of hope and possibility in schools, nonprofits and corporate settings. I’m living proof that where you and your family start out has nothing to do with where you can go! What you DIDN’T HAVE has nothing to do with what you CAN HAVE! If you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone, stop blaming people and stop making excuses, seek out mentors or coaches and be teachable. Your possibilities are endless!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely wasn’t a smooth road along the way. We grew up poor and didn’t have access to a lot of resources. Being bullied in school, having a low self-image and seeking acceptance and approval anywhere I could find it which, left me looking for answers in all the wrong places. I was a slow reader, so I thought I was stupid and never really gave much effort in school. I ended up failing the 9th grade and flunked out of college twice. These are some of the challenges that caused me to have a slow start to life but each one of them were only temporary setback.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a Facility Manager, I am responsible for make sure over 1,000 employees in the Charlotte campus are able to come into the office buildings and work effectively. I manage almost 300,000 square feet between two buildings. Our facilities team focuses on customer service and helping people have collaborative and safe work environment.

I’m also an author, speaker and small business owner. One of the things that I am most proud of is actually getting my autobiography published. Our five kids( 21, 18, 17, 13 & 10 years old) have been able to witness me getting this done, so now they have no excuse not to accomplish their goals or dreams. Many people talk about writing books. Very often, it doesn’t go any further than talking.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Most people don’t know how silly I really am. I’m really a big kid in an adult’s body!

• Email: info@highschoolnofool.com
  
• Website: www.highschoolnofool.com
  
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highschoolnofool/
  
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/highschoolnofool
  
• Youtube: JMasseySpeaks

Image Credits

Pictures by https://www.thebeautifulmess.com/
Pictures also by https://www.instagram.com/realnlindsey/?hl=en