The Power to Persist: 8 Simple Habits to Build Lifelong Resilience

Unlock your inner strength and become unstoppable--no matter the odds.

Are you tired of hitting walls, both in your personal life and career, without knowing how to bounce back stronger? Dr. Lamell McMorris knows what it’s like to rise from adversity. Growing up in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Lamell faced life-threatening violence and roadblocks every day. But through resilience and determination, he turned his hardships into a blueprint for success.

Now, Lamell offers strategic insight to top leaders in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors and uses his success to inspire and impact others. Whether he’s working alongside powerful corporate and business leaders or famous civil rights leaders to help make policy change, personally lending a hand to everyday folks who need it most, or actively developing his childhood neighborhood where his mother still lives, Lamell has built a reputation for high-impact advocacy, entrepreneurial leadership, and unmatched resilience.

In The Power to Persist, Lamell shares the eight powerful and proven habits that fueled his rise: attitude, work ethic, agility, vulnerability, network, focus, dogged determination, and faith. Lamell shows how he used these habits to turn his struggles into powerful lessons for overcoming adversity--and how you can too. Whether you’re navigating personal challenges, scaling your career, reflecting on where you’ve been, or wondering how you can do better moving forward, these habits will give you the tools to bounce back stronger, win big, and transform obstacles into opportunities. No matter what life throws your way, this book will show you how to turn setbacks into victories and achieve lasting success.

Dr. Lamell McMorris grew up on the South Side of Chicago and went on to find phenomenal success as an entrepreneur, a D.C. policymaker, a consultant in the financial and professional sports arenas, a civil and human rights advocate, and in a Fortune 300 securities firm.

Dr. Lamell McMorris is the founder and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based company Phase 2 Consulting. Dr. McMorris offers strategic insight and external affairs services to some of the nation’s leading decision-makers in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Additionally, he manages an in-house team of experienced government and public relations professionals and lawyers, offering a multitude of services to clients in a wide range of disciplines and specialty areas.

​In recent years, through Perennial Sports, Dr. McMorris led a premier, full-service sports agency representing NFL and NBA players and personalities. Collectively, its agents signed multiple first-round picks and negotiated several multimillion-dollar contracts.

Dr. McMorris is an active and effective fundraiser. As a lifelong advocate of civil, economic, and human rights, Dr. McMorris serves as a member of numerous nonprofit and college boards. He volunteers his time with several youth-focused and mentoring organizations. He is frequently recognized for his entrepreneurial leadership and pragmatic, high-impact approach to effective advocacy, and he is often invited to speak at a wide range of conferences and events. Dr. McMorris holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Society from Morehouse College, a Master of Divinity in Social Ethics and Public Policy from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University.