Ray Lewis and Gladwellian Success
10,000 hours, Meaningful Work, and Grit.
By Stephen Powell | Business Marketing Major and Biblical and Theological Studies Minor at Bethel University (St. Paul, Minnesota)
NFL Hall of Fame Linebacker, Ray Lewis, answers the phone at his charity event in April 2012 with the man on the other side, who knows his most profound pain. The voice was from the man who influenced Ray Lewis like no other, even before his successes. It was hard to miss the big smile Ray Lewis had on his face picking up this call.
Typically, He has an intense face like a CEO who is in a conference with the president of the United States of America. However, Ray Lewis’s shoulders were at ease, and the tone of his voice had peace and joy behind it (John Skipper). Led most to wonder, who is the man that can set Ray Lewis the most passionate and vocal player in the game of football at ease?
Ray Lewis, a two time Super Bowl with 13 Pro Bowl selections, and 2000, 2003 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year and 7 All — pro selections, was doing it all to cope with his pain of being tossed aside. Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, “…If you work hard enough and assert yourself and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desire” (151). As pointed out by Gladwell Ray Lewis’s incredible life story is defined as an Outlier, he exemplifies Gladwell’s theories about 10,000 hours, Meaningful Work, and Grit leading to success.
Ray Lewis, a young boy, would hear a cry that pierced his ears and a loud sound of impact consistently that brought chills down his spine. The sound was from his mother’s intense suffering as blood dripped from her eyes. His stepfather would brutally beat her right in front of him. He wanted to make it stop, but he was too weak to protect his mother, which casted a wound in his heart. Therefore, he got a deck of cards, whatever card he flipped he would do push-ups to it. Once he went through the whole deck, he would start to do the same thing but with sit-ups rather than push-ups. While it would translate to athletics at a very young age Ray lewis would continue until his career was over. “You know that if you want to become a master, you have to spend hours every day working on the same movements.” (Prem Jagyasi). He would do this until he felt no more pain and he could make sure no man ever lays hands on his mother again.
Therefore Ray Lewis built a work ethic and habit like no other. He would use it towards the game of football and wrestling. While his teammates would waste their free time, Ray lewis would be going through his deck of cards getting better. “Practice is not the thing you do once you are good. It is the thing you do that makes you good.” (Gladwell 42). Suddenly from a powerless kid doing push-ups in an old garage fueled by rage, to a 6'1 250 pounds pure muscle linebacker who was unstoppable.
Ray Lewis would take on every challenge and exceed every expectation. He did this by not quitting when he failed but by seeing the problem and working to fix it every time. “You learn more from failing then succeeding.” (Kelly Hinseth). Ray Lewis was able to get his 10,000 hours by starting to workout out at the age of ten and never looked back since.
Ray Lewis, full of testosterone, in the middle of his sophomore year, was handed a yearbook from his coach. His coach handed him a yearbook from 1975 and said: “you will know what to do with this.” Ray Lewis, filled with confusion, opened the records and instantly was filled with more passion than ever before. His heart became fueled by bitterness and face filled with rage. It was the yearbook of the man who knows Ray Lewis’s greatest pain, Elbert Ray Jackson. Elbert Ray Jackson had every football and wrestling record for Kathleen high school. Ray Lewis said, “I am going to get every record to erase the name of my father.” (John Skipper). “…If you work hard enough and assert yourself and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires.” (Gladwell). Ray Lewis ended being an all-state linebacker and his high school’s first state wrestler while destroying every record his dad had.
At the beginning of every Ravens game, there would be an anxious tension within the crowd. They were waiting for a 6’1 250 pounds of pure muscle and passionate individual to do his signature dance. A dance that seemed as if there was no meaning behind it besides joy. “When I went to the right, it was for the father, and when I came to the left, it was for the son, when I came back to the middle it was for the holy father, son all in one. (NFL). Ray Lewis did this dance every time he came out onto the field to glorify God before he played the game.
Ray Lewis won many awards and all types of titles, but that is not the reason he was playing sports. The idea was to numb the pain he had towards his father and somehow make him proud and restore that relationship. He did it in a way he could provide safety for his mother while honoring God; that is what Ray Lewis wanted. Therefore Ray Lewis would work harder than everyone and would stop at nothing to make it happen. “It’s who you are and maybe who
you want to be. If you die trying for something important, then you have both honor and courage, and that is pretty good.” (Michael Lewis).
On a hot day in spring within the year of 2008, Ray Lewis took a business trip to charlotte. His Dad came up to him and asked him to take a ride with him. Ray Lewis sat in the passenger seat and for the first time, he did not say a word for 6 straight hours numb to his words. His Dad explaining the tragic story of excuses about why he was not there. Ray Lewis’ Dad then stopped the truck in front of a house in New Bern, North Carolina. This is where and when Ray Lewis met his grandfather Shadie Ray Whitehead for the first time. Ray comes to the knowledge that there is a five-generation cycle of not having a father within his family.
A cycle within a family usually is never stopped, and for it to be is reversed by an insane amount of grit. “Cultural legacies are powerful forces. They have deep roots and long lives. They persist, generation after generation, virtually intact, even as the economic and social and demographic conditions that spawned them have vanished, and they play such a role in directing attitudes and behavior that we cannot make sense of our world without them.” (Gladwell).
Ray Lewis not only having his father there but also not knowing why he was not there took a significant toll on him. “Children consistently report feeling abandoned when their fathers are not involved in their lives, struggling with their emotions and episodic bouts of self-loathing.” (Edward Kruk). However, after a fully developed mind and going through almost the same amount of times of one’s life. Ray Lewis turned the tables within his family and stopped the endless cycle and forgave his Dad. Through God, Ray Lewis and cut off the Cultural legacy of his family’s curse.
Which brings us back to that phone call after Ray Lewis’ charity event in the spring of 2012. You hear a voice sing a song with a smile, a gospel called I Feel Like Going On. The voice singing on the other end of the phone was Elbery Ray Jackson, Ray Lewis’ Dad. The man who knew Ray Lewis’ greatest pain, the pain that is finally gone. When Ray was hanging up the phone laughter came upon him and a smile that was as big as one could be. You could see that he had peace and joy within his heart towards his relationship with his dad.
The gospel song, I Feel Like Going On, is a song to keep moving forward and that they don’t have to go back anymore. (John Skipper). Ray Lewis never gave up on anything that was important to him. His ability to restore his relationship with his dad and fight for that while not looking back at the past now. Shows who Ray Lewis truly is and how you define your own future. Not your circumstances.
How do we change our circumstances? According to Gladwell, “Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.” (246). We are the only ones who see and believe our dreams, and if we don’t give up we will accomplish them.
WORK CITED
Skipper, John 60, Espn, director. Ray Lewis (2012). E:60 — Ray Lewis ESPN Archive, 2012. Web.
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Penguin Books, 2009.
Jagyasi, Prem. Carve Your Life: Live a Great Life with Carvism. Times Group Books, a Division of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., 2019.
Nacnac, Michael Productions , Nacnac, director. Ray Lewis: The Movie — “RISE” || HD. 7 Dec. 2017. Web.
Lewis, Ray. “Ray Lewis Hall of Fame Speech. 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame, NFL.com. Ray Lewis Speech, 4 Aug. 2018. Web.
Wentworth, Patricia. The Blind Side. Dean Street Press, 2016.
Kruk, Edward “Father Absence, Father Deficit, Father Hunger.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 23 May 2012,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Powell, a freshman from Newnan, Georgia, seeks a Business Marketing degree from Bethel University to someday help churches be known around the world for spreading the gospel. Powell enjoys photography and learning how to cook new meals off YouTube.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
Life gives you a story and nobody will ever understand your story unless you know how to tell it.
Scott Winter taught me how to have a structure with my passionate speech through FlipGrid during a pandemic.
Put the reader or audience in the situation and circumstance.
COVID-19 taught me everything one can know about Google Hangout.
Stephen Powell: “Hey I’m sorry but I forgot to put my name on my discussion card. Do I need to redo them?” Scott Winter: “What? Are we in 3rd grade? You’re fine. Emma will find them.” I learned to not overthink and just do.
Scott winter taught me to finish where you started while giving hints throughout to keep the reader or viewer locked in for the whole story.
Find what you truly are passionate about and attack it no matter what anyone says.
Make sure the people I do a speech with are just as passionate as I am about the subject.
Don't apologize with words; apologize with action.
