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BOOK: Errol Lawson

AT THE age of 16 he was homeless, addicted to weed and slowly slipping into gang culture, imprisoned by the postcode mentality that surrounded him.

But gradually Errol Lawson turned his life, and particularly what he calls his “thought life,” around to the point where he is now helping other young people out of the pit of despair he found himself in.

After spending a hour in his company you feel inspired and upbeat – his new-found enthusiasm for life is contagious, especially when you learn where he has come from.

He has put all his thoughts into a book out this month, called From the Postcode to the Globe, which is an inspirational read for anyone wanting to get more out of their life.

Now a minister with Assemblies of God, and also involved in pastoral work at Mount Zion Community Church in Aston, Errol is determined to spread the word about ditching the depressing negative lifestyle pattern.

“The postcode mentality, as I call it, causes such division and destruction within communities across the UK and the world,” the 31-year-old says. “Whether these labels were placed on young people by the authorities or by themselves is now irrelevant.

“For young people to grow up with a mindset that their very existence is limited to a set of streets around their home, with a risk to their life if they cross that boundary, is totally unacceptable.

“This mindset of being confined to a geographically tiny location reflects a negative mentality and attitude to life, with young people believing ‘it’s not possible,’ ‘I don’t expect much from life,’ ‘I’m not good enough.’”

Errol should know, having been trapped in that mindset himself as a teenager growing up in Birmingham. When his parents divorced he diverted his attentions to what he calls a “delinquent lifestyle,” getting involved in drug and gang activity by the age of 13.

“I think I drifted into that kind of lifestyle because my father, who I had been close to, was in prison for most of my teenage years, so I was looking for other male role models.

“I must admit that when I’d finished writing my book, I wish someone could have handed me something like that when I was a teenager. Everyone needs a mentor, a role model to guide them.”

HONEST

In the first chapter Errol is brutally honest about the kind of person he was. He says: “I used my circumstances to justify my criminal behaviour and negative attitude, both of which would take me down a very dark path. I became the master of making excuses, wallowing in my own self-pity.

“We all had excuses, such as ‘we have no positive role models around,’ or ‘most of us have absent fathers, or ‘we are marginalised because of the colour of our skin.’ Although there were elements of truth in all of these, for me they were excuses more than reasons.”

In the book, Errol goes on to explain the importance of accepting who and what you are and how to develop ‘an attitude of gratitude.’

“Everyone has to take responsibility for their own thought,” he adds. “Read books, study, put yourself in an environment that will change the way you think. If you can change your thoughts, you’ll change your world.”