17 Dec 2025 · 3 min
Brian Johnson reflects on Maurice Ashley's mother leaving Jamaica for a decade to secure citizenship so her children could thrive. The episode asks you to identify and thank someone who sacrificed for you.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic one. In our last one, we talked about.
Emerson's commitment to executing his chess training protocol with precision and with integrity. I told you about how much I.
Admired his fierce commitment to doing what.
He said he would do. Then I challenged you and me to not cheat yourself by failing to do what you say you will do.
As we reminded ourselves of the fact that that we're cheating ourselves and our.
Families, communities and world when we allow that gap between who we're capable of.
Being and who we're actually being to show up more often than it should.
Now that's the perfect segue to a.
Great book I just read.
It's called Move by Life Lessons on.
And off the Chessboard. It's by Maurice Ashley. Maurice Ashley is a chess grandmaster, a.
Chess commentator, a national championship coach, and an author. In 1999, at the age of 33, he became the first African American chess.
Grandmaster in the game's history.
And in 2016, he was inducted into the US Chess hall of Fame. His book is packed with wisdom, and both his story and his book are incredibly inspiring.
In a chapter called Sacrifice and Risk.
Maurice tells us about his family and their heroic quests. Here's a very quick ticket. Maurice's mom left Jamaica and went to America when he was only two years.
Old to try to create a better.
Life for her family.
The day after she got to America.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Was assassinated, sparking riots across the country and making her think she made a terrible decision. It took her 10 years to gain US citizenship and finally be able to unite her family. Think about that for a moment.
A young mother leaves her children to seek out a better life for her family.
It takes her 10 years to make that vision a reality that is so incredibly humbling and inspiring for so many reasons. It is so easy for me and.
All of us to take our lives and all the opportunities we have for granted, while countless others would trade their lives with ours in a moment. Pause.
Appreciate the truth of that for a moment. Now, not only did Maurice become a.
Chess grandmaster, his brother was a three.
Time kickboxing champion and his sister won.
Six world titles in boxing.
Each of them has been inducted into their respective fields hall of Fame.
As Maurice says, her sacrifice, made with good intentions and a willingness to endure.
Supreme struggle, paid off beyond her wildest imagination. And that's today's plus one.
What sacrifices and risks have the people.
Who have supported you on your heroic quest taken seriously? If you feel so inspired, pause for a moment. Think about one person in your life who has taken risks and made sacrifices to help you be who you are today. You got it?
Awesome. If they're still alive, go thank them.
If they're no longer with us, beam them some virtual love now.
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