Author, Lamell McMorris releases new book and hosts book signing at Alta Adams, Los Angleles, CA

Los Angeles, CA — When Dr. Lamell J. McMorris wrote The Power to Persist, he set out to explain the mindset and habits that had sustained him through both triumphs and adversity. The book blends personal narrative with a practical resilience framework built around eight habits—attitude, work ethic, agility, vulnerability, network, focus, dogged determination, and faith.

McMorris’s path—from the South Side of Chicago to earning 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—mirrors the very persistence he writes about.  His story begins in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood and extends into decades of public service, advocacy, and leadership shaped by faith, community, and an unwavering commitment to purpose.

Speaking with Inland Valley News, McMorris reflected on the moments and mentors that shaped him and how those lessons became the foundation of his resilience code.

McMorris grew up in Woodlawn during a time marked by hardship as well as a strong political and faith tradition. He described his upbringing as “very much steeped and rooted in the Kingian (MLK), Jesse Jackson form of advocacy, both engaging public policy, but with the foundation of faith in the church.” At the same time, he said his “resilient journey… started as a latchkey kid,” navigating “the maze of… gang activity, drug-infested, violent crime.”

He was “deeply moved by Harold Washington becoming the first Black mayor of Chicago,” a moment he described as “tantamount to what many witnessed of Barack Obama becoming president” decades later. Washington’s election signaled a new sense of possibility—leadership grounded in community and purpose—and helped shape McMorris’s understanding that resilience is not only survival, but transformation.

Before it became a framework for resilience, the book started with a question he heard again and again: “People kept asking me, ‘How do you keep going and why do you keep going?’” At first, McMorris tried to answer without going deeply into his personal life, but the writing process demanded more transparency. “I thought I could get away with just writing eight habits,” he said. “But my editor pushed it back and said, ‘Unless people can see and feel and hear your authentic resilient journey, it won’t resonate.’”

Each of the eight habits in The Power to Persist emerged from lived experience. McMorris now sees the order as intentional, noting that “everything of significant importance piggybacks off of the other, especially the first habit of attitude.” Resilience, he explained, lives “between attitude and faith.” Without the right mindset, he said, “it would be very difficult to embrace the habit of focus,” or to practice vulnerability, which is central to meaningful leadership.

One of the book’s most vivid moments recounts the sudden collapse of a business partnership that forced him, without warning, to vacate his office in 24 hours. “My business partner… no longer wanted to be in business with me,” McMorris said. “I had less than 24 hours to clear out my office.” He and his assistant moved furniture in the middle of the night, found a temporary workspace in the building, and rebuilt immediately. “These are things not just that I read about,” he said. “These are habits that I actually had to live in sometimes, a moment and an instant.” Agility, focus, and dogged determination became survival tools.

While dramatic moments reveal character, McMorris believes resilience grows through small, repeatable habits. He shared one simple routine from his own life: beginning the day with gratitude. He learned the practice from a global business leader who started each morning with a “walk of gratitude.” McMorris said that routine “can be replicated,” and that beginning the day grounded in gratitude shapes mindset—and mindset shapes outcomes.

McMorris also stresses that resilience is not only personal. It is collective, relational, and organizational. “I’m literally inviting everyone to go on a resilient journey with me,” he said. He is developing a resilience framework for companies, rooted in how teams communicate, how leaders demonstrate vulnerability, and how organizations build cultures that support both accountability and humanity. “In order to get the best innovation… you have to demonstrate humanity,” he said.

When readers finish The Power to Persist, McMorris said he hopes they walk away with a stronger belief that persistence is a learned practice, not an innate gift — and that anyone can build the habits needed to move forward, even in difficult times. Persistence, he believes, does not require extraordinary strength—just consistent habits, a willingness to stretch, and faith in what is possible.

He continues exploring those themes on his podcast, also titled The Power to Persist, where he speaks with leaders and changemakers about how resilience shapes purpose, leadership, and community.

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By: Joe W. Bowers Jr., Inland Valley News