As a young boy， I grew up with my eight siblings in a tin-roofed shack in Summerfield， Louisiana. I didnt see my circumstance as an obstacle， even though we didnt even have a real toilet in the house. I saw my life more as a card that had been dealt to me and I tried to make the most of it.

I was the youngest of five boys and also had four sisters who had to pull together and take care of each other. Dad wasnt around， so I never knew him well. He committed suicide when I was three years old， leaving mom with the job of raising and providing for nine kids. She worked at a sawmill running a forklift for fifty dollars a week and had another job at a poultry plant. She was a very hard worker， and in order to make ends meet， she hardly ever rested.

My mom believed in doing all she could do to take care of her responsibilities. So no matter what happened， she never asked for a handout. You can imagine： we kids didnt get what we wanted， but we always got the things we needed. With my mom as my example， I learned that hard work is the best way to get what you want.

While growing up， I was surrounded with temptations to do negative things like drugs， alcohol and all that. I chose not to go there. Even as a little boy， I knew I was going to be successful. Some people take that to be cocky or conceited， but I wasnt going to let anybody tell me that I couldnt do whatever I set out to do.

Of course， I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up. At first， I would be a state trooper， then I wanted to be in the Special Forces. After a while， I decided that I wanted to drive eighteen-wheelers. There was even a period of time that I wanted to be in construction. I wanted to play football in high school； in fact， I still do. But regardless of what I chose， I wanted to make my brothers， sisters and mom proud of me—not only by being successful in what I chose to do， but also a person who could be looked up to for the right reasons.

Surprising as it might seem， basketball wasnt in my plans. One day， my mom cut a rim off an old water barrel and then held it up for me to throw an old rubber ball through. By junior high， I started playing basketball on a team. I loved to compete. There was a positive high I got by going out and playing against other people and working hard to win. For me， it paid off. I just let my success in basketball take its course， but I always put the effort in， every day.

No matter what Ive done， some people wait for my downfall， saying， “Karl Malone cant do it.”Instead of letting people like that get to me， they are actually my motivation and I continue to prove them wrong every single day. I try to do the best job I can in a positive way on and off the court.

I am grateful for the life Ive enjoyed as a basketball star. But when I see those shirts that say “Basketball is life”， I think Yeah， right！ It is not life. It can be exciting. But the important thing about basketball is that gives me a way to do good things for others as I move through this journey called life.

Success is really about choosing right from wrong， making a positive contribution to the world around you and valuing the things that are really important—like family and friends.

While everyone was looking to popular athletes， actors and musicians as positive role models， my mom was my inspiration， and she continues to be all these years later. She taught me that hard work never killed anybody. My mom is my hero. She， my family and friends bring me more joy than anything else in life does.

童年時(shí)代的我住在路易斯安那州薩默菲爾德的一間簡陋的以鐵皮為屋頂?shù)姆孔永?，?個(gè)兄弟姐妹，連一個(gè)像樣的廁所都沒有。但是，我并沒有把這樣的家庭環(huán)境看成是一個(gè)障礙，而是把它當(dāng)作發(fā)到自己手里的一張牌。我所做的努力是要讓這張牌發(fā)揮出它最大的用處。

我是家里5兄弟中最小的男孩子，還有4個(gè)相依為命的姐妹。父親已經(jīng)不在人世。他在我3歲的時(shí)候就自殺了，我對他幾乎沒有什么印象。父親死后，撫養(yǎng)9個(gè)孩子的重?fù)?dān)就落在了母親的肩上。她在一家鋸木廠開叉車，周薪50美元。此外，她在家禽加工廠還有一份差事。我母親是一個(gè)非常吃苦耐勞的女人，為了養(yǎng)家糊口，她拼命工作，幾乎從不休息。

母親堅(jiān)信只要自己努力就一定能夠養(yǎng)活全家。因此無論發(fā)生了什么情況，她從來沒有乞求過施舍。你可以想象我們姊妹兄弟的生活狀況：盡管從來買不起自己想要的東西，但是日常生活的必需品總是能夠得到滿足。從母親身上，我懂得了勤奮是獲得一切的最佳途徑。

在成長的過程中，我的周圍總是充斥著各種消極事物的誘惑，如毒品、烈性酒等。我從不選擇和這類事情沾邊。甚至當(dāng)我還是個(gè)小孩子時(shí)，我就知道有一天我會成功。有些人將我的這種想法視為驕傲或自負(fù)，但我不這么認(rèn)為。只要我確定了自己想做的事情，就不允許別人說我做不到。

當(dāng)然，我也夢想過長大以后想做什么。起初我想當(dāng)個(gè)州警察，后來想進(jìn)入特種部隊(duì)，不久，我決定了要去駕駛18輪的大卡車，甚至還有一段時(shí)間我想進(jìn)建筑業(yè)發(fā)展。上高中的時(shí)候，我喜愛美式足球，直到現(xiàn)在我還時(shí)常玩玩。但不管我選擇做什么，我的最終目的是要讓母親和兄弟姐妹們?yōu)槲因湴痢粌H要為我在事業(yè)上獲得成功而驕傲，更要為我成為一個(gè)受人尊重的人而驕傲。

聽起來也許令人詫異——籃球當(dāng)時(shí)并沒有被列在我的人生計(jì)劃中。記得有一天，母親把一只舊水桶沿邊剪下一個(gè)圈來，為我舉著，讓我投橡皮球玩。到了初中，我開始在籃球隊(duì)里打球。我喜愛打比賽。與人比拼，給我?guī)硪环N快感。為了獲勝，我吃苦耐勞，常代表學(xué)校出去比賽。對我來說，這叫作“天道酬勤”。我并不刻意去爭搶成功和榮譽(yù)，但是我的的確確每天都在為此付出努力。

不管我怎么做，有些人卻并不希望看到我成功。他們說：“卡爾·馬龍不行?！?我一點(diǎn)兒也不計(jì)較那些不中聽的話，相反，它們倒成了我拼搏的動力。不論賽場內(nèi)外，我總是努力做到最好，每一天以自己的實(shí)際行動證明他們的話是錯(cuò)誤的。

作為一個(gè)籃球明星，我很感謝生活賜予我的一切?？僧?dāng)我看到那些T恤上寫著“籃球就是生命”時(shí)，我想是啊，是這樣的！但其實(shí)籃球并不等于生命，盡管它很刺激。籃球能夠讓我在這段所謂“生命”的旅程中為別人做一些好事，我認(rèn)為這才是最重要的。

成功其實(shí)意味著棄惡揚(yáng)善，為你周圍的世界做積極的貢獻(xiàn)，以及珍視那些真正重要的東西——比如家人和朋友。

當(dāng)人人都將目光聚焦到運(yùn)動明星、演員和音樂家上，并將其視為典范時(shí)，我的母親卻成了鼓舞我力量之人，這些年來一直如此。她教導(dǎo)我說，勤奮工作從來不會累死人。她是我心目中的英雄。母親、我的家庭，以及朋友所給予我的快樂是生活中其他任何事物所不能及的。