‘Eventually, you have to jump’
January 16, 2017 by Las Vegas Black Image Magazine
Filed under Cover Story, Feature, Photos
In his latest book, Steve Harvey challenges us to take a leap of faith.
BY KIMBERLY BAILEY-TUREAUD
Remembering the first time I heard Steve Harvey perform was reminiscent of the legendary Richard Pryor: he not only physically resembled the great Pryor, but he made me and friends laugh uncontrollably. Harvey is a film and television star, producer, radio personality, and bestselling author.
Along with authoring such bestsellers such as: “Act Like a Lady, Think like a Man” and “Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find and Keep a Man,” Harvey’s latest book is “Jump: Take the Leap of Faith to Achieve Your Life of Abundance.”
In the new book, the three-time Emmy winner and 13-time NAACP Image Award winner offers his formula for success. “Every successful person has jumped,” Harvey said off-camera recently, speaking to the studio audience for his daytime talk show. “Eventually, you will have to jump. You cannot just exist in life. You have to live. If you wake up and think there is more to your life, then there is. Believe that it is.”
Harvey began performing stand-up comedy in the mid 1980s, which led to the hit sitcom “The Steve Harvey Show” on The WB. Today, Harvey hosts his daily talk show on NBC along with “Family Feud.” Success in the entertainment industry seems to find Harvey at every turn, and his book explores opening doors for prosperity.
“To get to a better life, you are going to have to jump,” said Harvey. “I will tell you why I call it ‘Jump.’ See, when God created us, he gave every last one of us a gift at birth. He never created a soul without endowing it with a gift. You have to stop looking at gifts as running, singing, and dancing. It’s more than that. You have to network and connect the dots. Identify your gifts. When you see people soaring, those people have identified their gifts. The Bible says, ‘Your gifts will make room for you.’ But, the only way you can use your gift is to soar. You have to jump off that cliff and pull that cord on your gift — and it will open up and provide the soar.”
Harvey realizes that pulling the cord does not always produce immediate results. “When you jump off that cliff to expose your gift, it will not open up right away,” he said. “You are going to hit some rocks and tear some skin that might cause some really bad bleeding. But, eventually, the parachute has to open. That is the promise from God — not a theory, but a promise. His promise is true because you cannot name one single thing God has not gotten you through. If he didn’t get you through it, he is currently pulling you through it.”