stamina
the strength
to survive
by Adrianne Mickens
”I never gave up on being the BEST at
whatever I tried to do, or be. I had to
overcome family issues, homelessness, my
environment, and my own personal decisions, but I NEVER STOPPED BELIEVING IN
MYSELF! “
We recently had an inspiring conversation with Derek L.
Anderson about his new book and future ventures. His
many accomplishments include being a NCAA, Olympic &
NBA champion. He won the 1996 NCAA Championship with
the University of Kentucky and the 2006 NBA Championship with the Miami Heat. DA retired after 11 years in the
NBA and is successfully running several businesses. As an
entrepreneur and motivational speaker, he is an advocate for
empowering young men in the Black community.
M
r. Anderson published his riveting autobiography last year entitled, “STAMINA: Don’t Run
Out of Breath Before You Win.” In this book we
learn about a man who overcame being homeless and abandoned by his mother at the age of eleven. During the three months it took him to write his book, Anderson
admitted that revisiting these events in his life brought back the
anger, frustration and sadness he once felt as a child.
What I found even more compelling was his story of forgiveness and perseverance. He discussed with me his three biggest
life accomplishments: graduating from high school, finding his
parents and forgiving the both of them & giving his life to God.
Beginning at the age of eleven, from day to day Anderson did
not know whether he had a place to sleep or food to eat. He
22 TrafficMagazine/ Spring, 2014
was left to do his homework by candlelight and find odd jobs to
buy