In class on January 23rd, 2020, we watched Tyler Perry’s speech from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in class. Throughout Tyler Perry’s speech, they not only mentioned his triumphs, but they mentioned how he struggled on his way to fame. I found it inspiring how in the beginning, Tyler would have such a low audience turnout, but he continued working towards his goal until he blew up. Tyler Perry expressed how he built his brand trying to elevate and be above the other plays he was seeing that were out. Therefore, Perry worked to make sure he had good sets, costumes, etc., in contrast to a lot of plays that he observed at the time with very minimal sets, costumes, etc.
Tyler Perry attributes most of his success to being focused. Therefore, he was determined to make it, and he did just that by using high-risk endurance. Perry defined high-risk endurance as being able to do things that are out of the ordinary. Another tool that he says was key to him in his journey was having an emotional tolerance, an ability to push through despite negative comments. However, despite any adversity that came his way, Perry has been in the game for over 25 years now, and he was able to create a multi-million dollar production studio. I was inspired by the journey that he went through in order to achieve that studio. In the video, they showed how Tyler Perry started off with a small studio, and how as his business kept expanding, he had to keep upgrading his studio size until he eventually ended up with the studio he has now.
“While you’re over there fighting for a seat at the table, I’ll be over here building my own.”
Tyler Perry, National Association of Black Journalists Master Class (2018)
NCCU Student Blog 