An Interview With Edward Sylvan
I want people look at my story and know that it is okay to get help if they are battling with depression. I also want to inspire individuals that may come from backgrounds that have limited resources, I want readers to become inspired and know that they can accomplish anything no matter what their circumstances look like and no matter what life tries to throw at them.
As part of my series about “authors who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Freddie Stevenson.
For Freddie Stevenson, life has been a roller coaster — homelessness, poverty, and antagonists made his childhood a living hell. Stevenson was one of the top football players in the country coming out of high school, he won a National Championship at the collegiate level, and also had an opportunity to play in the National Football League. Stevenson’s journey is inspiring to so many across the country, the obstacles he has overcome is nothing less than amazing. In Trials To Triumph, he shares his breathtaking life story and the demons he fought throughout his journey to becoming a motivational speaker.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Early on in my childhood, my 4 siblings and I had to watch my mother struggle to make ends meet while my father was incarcerated for drug trafficking. We were homeless at times, and food was hard to come by. I remember one day in particular where my mother had to split a cheeseburger between all 5 kids because she only had a dollar, and she was crying because she couldn’t eat with us. My struggle early on motivated me, I was tired of struggling and watching my mom struggle and I wanted to make something out of my life and change my family’s situation.
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story about that?
I don’t think there was a specific book to be honest, I just was tired of struggling and a lot of my struggles were what motivated me. I didn’t really start reading in my free time until a few years ago.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
I remember when I was playing with the Chicago Bears, and they were making rookies perform songs or jokes in front of the team. After a few weeks, almost all of the rookies had performed, and it seemed like they were moving past it to focus on other things. I asked a question in a team meeting and all of a sudden, they started calling out more rookies to perform. If I would have shut up, I’m sure it would have never happened. I ended up telling a few jokes and then performing “buy you a drink” by T-pain, I absolutely killed the performance and the whole team went crazy and celebrated. That moment taught me to never run away from an opportunity to make a mark even if you are nervous. The worst-case scenario is you fail, but you may even succeed but you never know until you try, and it ultimately got me a lot of love and respect from my teammates.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
I want people look at my story and know that it is okay to get help if they are battling with depression. I also want to inspire individuals that may come from backgrounds that have limited resources, I want readers to become inspired and know that they can accomplish anything no matter what their circumstances look like and no matter what life tries to throw at them.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
Accepting situations in your life for what they are and making the most out of them. Some situations are out of your control and are not your fault and some situations are, but the reality is crying and feeling sorry for yourself won’t make things any better. You are in control of how you respond to a situation and that response can often times determine your future.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
A mentor reached out to me to come speak at an event, and it was during a phase of my life that I was confused and uncertain about what I wanted to do since I no longer played football. I remember telling him that I had never spoken in front of a large crowd, and I questioned if he had reached out to me by accident or not. He told me that everything would be fine and just told me to be myself. They paved me way ahead of the event so I just began preparing to do the best that I could. The day of the event I became super nervous and was about to call them and tell them they could have their money back because I was not going to come speak, but something stopped me from turning around. I knew that I couldn’t run anymore so I ended up going still.
When I spoke it was absolutely terrible, I was nervous, I didn’t know how to transition during my speech but one thing I did do is I continued to be myself. After the speech, people were coming up to me pouring their hearts out to me telling me how my message touched them, and I was shocked. It was funny because the event I was about to turn around out of fear, during the speech I was nervous and feeling out of place, and after the event, I felt a feeling that I had never felt before. I felt like this is what I was meant to do with my life, impacting lives gave me a feeling that I’ve never felt a day in my life while playing sports, so I began spreading my message to ultimately impact lives across the world. It is crazy how life works sometimes.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
A person reached out to me after reading my book and told me that I saved their life. The individual was suicidal at the time and was just looking for a reason to keep going and somehow, they came across my book. My testimony of how I battled with depression and suicidal thoughts after losing everything resonated with them and the fact that I was able to overcome my struggle and find purpose gave them hope.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
My goal with my book was to attack depression, inspire people to find purpose, and challenging people to discover who they truly are. Being someone that has faced poverty, I think putting more resources in place in underprivileged communities so that the youth don’t feel locked inside of a box and are able to transition into successful adults in whatever field they choose later on in life. It is hard to discover your true passions when resources are limited so I believe it is important to have more youth centers and mentors in place within the community to help guide the youth. Implementing programs that help the youth learn about different careers and discover their passions in life can be very beneficial. I was faced with depression because I felt like I was in a position where I didn’t know what to do with my life and I wasn’t really prepared for life after sports, so I believe putting resources in place to help prepare the youth for life can have a positive impact. Challenging the youth to discover their true passions will ultimately lead to them finding purpose. It is also important to have more individuals speak out on the importance of taking care of your mental health, oftentimes people think admitting that you struggle with depression means you are weak, but there is actually true strength in admitting that you have a problem and need help.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is when a person or group of people uses their platform/position to empower others. Great leaders not only challenge others to be at their best, but they also challenge themselves as well and never settle for good when greatness is available; they realize that they don’t have all the answers and are humble enough to take pointer from others so that they can become a better leader as well. Great leaders are really just people that go great lengths to serve others.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. There is a purpose behind your pain — life is hard and at times the pain it causes can seem unbearable. I’ve learned that there is always something positive to be gained from any situation.
2. Learn to be patient, you can’t rush the process. — It Is important to fall in love with the process once you have set a goal for yourself. It is human nature for you to want to reach your goal as quickly as possible, but so much wisdom and strength can be gained along the journey, and we can often lose sight of that when we become so focused on the end goal. The process is ultimately what determines how successful you are in the long run. Your process may take longer than others, but it’s the journey that prepares you for the destination.
3. Don’t allow yourself to be locked in a box — You are so much more than your job or occupation. Learn to be comfortable challenging yourself and pushing your limits to find out more about yourself each day. Life is all about evolving so it’s important to discover new limits, you shouldn’t be in the same space mentally at 40 years old that you were at 20 years old.
4. Never be afraid to be you — Growing up as kids we all wanted to make friends in school and be liked, as I grew up, I found out it was more important to be valued. It is important to be yourself without worrying about who likes you and who doesn’t, because there will always be people that value you and appreciate you for who you truly are.
5). Accept blessings as they come — Never turn down genuine help when it presents itself. Sometimes we allow pride to get in the way, but if you are ever in need of help or if someone reaches out to genuinely help you then don’t pass up the opportunity.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Never stop learning because life never stops teaching” Never get to the point where you feel like you have everything figured out and can’t be told anything, because there is always more to learn and always room for growth in life. Life is about constantly evolving, anything that is not growing is dead”.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I have 2 people actually. I would have to say Master P. and The Rock. I admire how Master P was able to come out of the struggle and build an empire. The Rock is also no stranger to struggle, and I admire his journey, I’m also a huge weightlifting guy so I might look forward to a workout with The Rock more than anything just to test my limits. Both of their journeys resonate with me, not many can say they overcame the struggle and played pro sports, and then became a huge entertainer and business mogul.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter at “strugglemade105” to keep up with my positive messages and stay up to date with some of the things that I’m doing to make an impact in the world. My new book ‘Trials To Triumph” is available for download at https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B095PX9CYN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1622826008&sr=8-1
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Freddie Stevenson Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.