As I got older and I understood more of the nuance and the history behind the idea of the self-made man, I understood that what people were really trying to do was to compliment me for being hardworking, disciplined, motivated, dedicated—all the things you need to be in order to achieve your goals. And they were right, of course. I was all those things. No one lifted the weights or spoke the lines or signed the bills for me. But that doesn’t mean I was self-made. Who I am, where I am, why I am here, what I have had the opportunity to do—this is all because of the impact of hundreds of special
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