From Homeless Drug Addict To Motivational Speaker, 24-Yr-Old Reveals How 1 Book Turned His Life Around.

When he obtained “The Last White Parliament” on his 12th birthday, Philani Dladla had no concept concerning the twists and turns his life would take within the ensuing years, or how that e book would not directly save him from a lifetime of homelessness and medicines.

The political memoir was a gift from the person his mom labored for as a caretaker, and appears an odd selection for a pre-teen who had little earlier publicity to books and didn’t even know what a dictionary was. But “he told me it was a very special book, so of course I wanted to find out for myself what it was about the book that made it so special,” mentioned Dladla, who lives in South Africa.

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After struggling by means of the e book, his innate curiosity pushed him to need to learn and study extra; he nonetheless has many of the 500 books that the person who gave him “The Last White Parliament” left him when he handed away.

Dladla’s love of books continued because the years progressed, however when he began ingesting closely and utilizing medication, his life took a darkish flip. He dropped out of faculty and although he grew to become a caregiver like his mom for a time, he finally discovered himself jobless and homeless, dwelling within the streets of Johannesburg.

But whereas his cohorts merely begged for cash, Dladla determined to do one thing completely different: He determined to work for it.

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He supplied passersby critiques of his books, hoping to entice them to purchase a few of them so he might become profitable. Though earnings initially went towards buying medication, he lastly kicked the behavior – because of a whole lot of self-help books – and as a substitute used the cash to enhance his life.

But he additionally wished to assist others who have been dwelling on the streets, so “I started using the money I got from selling books to buy everyone soup and bread every day, instead of spending that money on drugs,” he mentioned. “Seeing their smiles motivated me to keep using the little I had to spread happiness. From that point on, I knew I never wanted to go back to being a drug addict.”

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Dladla gained worldwide consideration in 2013, when South African cinematographer Tebogo Malope posted a video by which he interviewed the then-22-year-old, tagging him with the moniker by which he’s nonetheless recognized: the “Pavement Bookworm.”

In the years since, Dladla launched and continues to steer a e book membership at a Johannesburg park, whose members vary in age from 12 to 28.

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“I give them books on the condition that they come back and tell me what they learnt from reading it,” he defined, and whereas not all of them return, he stays optimistic “because I know there are many more who love to read and who will use books as weapons to fight poverty.”

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He has now develop into a broadcast creator, given TED talks and traveled the world motivating others along with his story of success.

Watch the video beneath to listen to extra of his unbelievable story, and you’ll want to share to unfold inspiration!

The publish From Homeless Drug Addict To Motivational Speaker, 24-Yr-Old Reveals How 1 Book Turned His Life Around. appeared first on InspireMore.