Dr. Cleamon Moorer: Character Analysis

Failure is perhaps one of the most influential things in people’s lives because it can alter the course of our actions, by teaching us persistence or leading us the opposite way. Through his book, Dr. Cleamon Moorer guides the readers through an intimate journey about his progression from failure to promise. Cleamon is from a small town of Detroit with parents, who love him and enforce discipline, but most importantly, they nurture his faith in Jesus Christ. He excelled in academics during both elementary and middle school, however, his mischievousness throughout those years earns him many disciplinary sessions. In high school, misbehavior becomes history, yet, his GPA suffers in the low C’s. But with his father’s tough discipline and his own

Cleamon Moorer demonstrates God’s unique work in his life by segmenting his story into five tracks: Off Track, New Track, Fast track, Tenure track, and Back Track. All of these segmented tracks reiterate important lessons, but the Off Track and Backtrack segments present the most valuable life lessons to me because during these tracks, the author reveals deeply of his humility, gratitude, and compassion. After his exit from DMI because of failure, Cleamon Moorer returns home downtrodden and has a conversation with his father about the future plans. His father advises him, “Life is hard, ain’t nobody giving away anything. If you really want something wort having, you have to sacrifice for it. It may require bleeding, sweating, and even crying to get it. Just ask the Lord to help you out along the way. Take breaks, but don’t break away from it. Everything is going to be alright if you don’t break down like a sissy every time things don’t go your way” (48). Taking his father’s words to heart, Cleamon enrolls to a community college, (OCC), and studies diligently. He admits, “Attending OCC and working at the shoe store was different from what I set out for…. It wasn’t humiliating, it was humbling” (60). Dr. Cleamon Moore’s off track segment affects me abundantly. His father’s wise words assure me a few facts of life: all things are hard to come by, but with sacrifice and prayer, everything that seems improbable will become less impossible. Cleamon Moore does not have an

C. Moorer continues to educate and motivate millions, he designs the “7 Spheres of Influence and Integration Model” to inspire with a clear “call to action.” (124) He presents this model with seven spheres each representing an individual’s influences and provides a diagram listing the key influences and tools needed to integrate in order to inspire epiphanies that can benefit many people. After researching Dr. C. Moorer’s work and understanding the significance of the model, I believe it is vital for everyone to be informed and stay involved about their community, state, nation, and global issues. It is imperative that people collaborate in order to make the world a less violent place to live. This world is filled with issues and millions of people are the victims of these issues. We not only have responsibility to our family and our community, but we also have a duty to help and care for each other in the world despite the racial and status differences. In the community setting, it is important to take part of organizations that establish rules beneficial to the public. We have a commitment on this earth, as global citizens to be beneficial and decrease the poverty, the shootings, and the plagues to make this world a better place for the present and the