Tyler Perry Shares New Year’s Message on Overcoming Adversity

Tyler Perry has a message for anyone facing tough times — “DON’T GIVE UP!!!”

The entertainment mogul took to Instagram on New Year’s day to share an inspirational story about experiencing poverty, hunger and homelessness before finding success.

His post included a picture of an old Geo Metro parked outside Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” he captioned the photo. “We’ve all heard that during weddings, but I want to share my story about it. The something old and something blue is this 1992 Geo Metro.”

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Perry said he bought a car like the one in the picture back in the 1990s, after he left a job and tried to produce his plays. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

“I was so broke and hungry I couldn’t afford rent,” he wrote. “I ended up homeless and sleeping in this kind of car. I was so heartbroken cause I had a dream. I knew that my plays could work, but nothing I did was having any success.”

The writer-producer-director explained that he went back to working a day job, but experienced another setback when his car was repossessed.

“I remember going into work to get my check, coming back out to the parking lot, and my Geo Metro was gone,” he continued. “It had been repossessed. I was devastated. All I owned was in the car.”

 

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Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. We’ve all heard that during weddings, but I want to share my story about it. The something old and something blue is this 1992 Geo Metro. I remember when I bought a car just like this in the 90s. After leaving my job, trying to do my play and it not working out, I had nothing. I was so broke and hungry I couldn’t afford rent. I ended up homeless and sleeping in this kind of car. I was so heartbroken cause I had a dream. I knew that my plays could work, but nothing I did was having any success. After another failed attempt at getting the play off the ground, I got a job. A few weeks later, I remember going into work to get my check, coming back out to the parking lot, and my Geo Metro was gone. It had been repossessed. I was devastated. All I owned was in the car. That day is so burned into my head that I needed to reset that narrative. So, I started searching for one to buy from that same year, and I found this one for sale. I bought it right away. Why was this so important? Let me explain. Because I wanted to buy this car and park it in front of the main office building at my studio. I named that building the Dream Building because it was a dream come true, and I wanted all who enter to know that their dream can come true too. So I parked the car right out front so my dream could overshadow my former nightmare! So that my today could look back at my yesterday with a chuckle. So that my past will know that it only made my future brighter. So that I would know that the prayers I prayed behind were answered that day, but I had to work to get to see it. What if you could go back and find something in your life that didn’t work out and place it near all the things that did?? Think about it, and see if your heart won’t fill with joy. Rewrite your past pains. I don’t care what you have been going though. DON’T GIVE UP!!! Let 2019 be the year you park something borrowed in front of a dream you own!

A post shared by Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) on Jan 1, 2019 at 6:47pm PST

To make sure he doesn’t forget the hard times, he keeps a Geo Metro — like the one he had in the ’90s — parked outside the main office at his studio.

“I named that building the Dream Building because it was a dream come true, and I wanted all who enter to know that their dream can come true too,” he penned. “So I parked the car right out front so my dream could overshadow my former nightmare!”

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Perry is now one of the most successful directors in Hollywood, with his films having grossed more than $939 million at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

He ended his New Year’s message by urging fans to leave the past behind and look toward the future.

“Rewrite your past pains. I don’t care what you have been going through. DON’T GIVE UP!!!” he wrote. “Let 2019 be the year you park something borrowed in front of a dream you own!”