Tavis Smiley launches 10-city “Fail Up” Tour
 Award-winning broadcaster releases new book about building success from failure
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New York, NY (BlackNews.com) — In 2009, TIME magazine named Tavis Smiley to their list of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People.” Surely such an overachiever could never be labeled a failure. Successful business owner, notable philanthropist, host of his own national television and radio programs – these aren’t the descriptions we’d normally hear about someone who’d been fired or arrested, who left college degreeless, or said “no” to a dream-come-true opportunity in the profession he longed to break into.
Yet all of these – and more – describe a Tavis Smiley who has embraced his “success scars” in FAIL UP: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure (ISBN: 978-1-4019-3390-6, $19.95, SmileyBooks hardcover, 288 pages, May 1, 2011). After an existential crisis on his 40th birthday left him feeling like he’d never accomplish all he wanted to in this life and thus die a failure, Tavis undertook an unprecedented self-examination. Realizing his own success, like so many others’, was born out of overcoming setbacks and failures, Tavis set about putting his story into words to help others understand the universal truth: There is no success without failure.
FAIL UP is a lesson plan for those confronted by the inevitable letdowns, fall-throughs, and setbacks of life. Broken out into 20 chapters, Tavis’ testimonies are pulled from his life, as well as today’s headlines. The stories in FAIL UP range from the private and personal to the public and professional, inspiring and challenging us to take what looks like an ending and make it a new, better, more true beginning. Whether young or old, student or professional, media mogul or nine-to-fiver, FAIL UP shows how we all can turn a step backward into a surge forward if we seize the opportunities found in failure.
Beginning in Los Angeles, CA on April 21, Tavis’ 10-city FAIL UP Tour is traveling the country, inspiring fans – old and new – to reexamine their approach to life’s challenges and teaching them how to FAIL UP. The remaining tour dates and cities are:
* New York City – April 26-27
* Winston-Salem, NC – April 30
* Washington, DC – May 5
* Philadelphia, PA – May 6
* San Francisco/Oakland, CA – May 10
* Atlanta, GA – May 12
* Houston, TX – May 13
* Chicago, IL – May 19 & 21
If you would like more information about this title please contact: Leshelle V. Sargent at lsargent@tavistalks.com, or call 323-953-5758. Kira Citron at kcitron@hayhouse.com, or call 646-484-4963.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
From his celebrated conversations with world figures, to his work inspiring the next generation of leaders; as a broadcaster, author, advocate, and philanthropist, Tavis Smiley continues to be an outstanding voice for change. Smiley hosts the late night television talk show Tavis Smiley, on PBS; The Tavis Smiley Show, distributed by Public Radio International (PRI); and is a co-host of Smiley & West (PRI). He has authored or edited 14 books, including his New York Times bestselling memoir What I Know for Sure. Smiley is also the presenter and creative force behind America I AM: The African American Imprint – an unprecedented and award-winning traveling museum exhibition celebrating the extraordinary impact of African American contributions to our nation and to the world. In 2009, TIME magazine named him to their list of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People.” This year, 2011, marks his 20th year in broadcasting.
FAIL UP: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure (ISBN: 978-1-4019-3390-6, $19.95, SmileyBooks hardcover, 288 pages, May 1, 2011)
