Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds

by Rich Paul, Jesse Washington (primary_contributor), LeBron James (foreword)

In theory, someone like me was never supposed to get the opportunity to be in my position.
 
I spent the early years of my life sleeping on floors and couches, running the streets as my mother dealt with the challenges of a drug addiction. Now I own what some say is the most influential and culturally relevant sports agency in America and do business with some of the biggest companies and most prominent people in the world. Back on my block, nobody could have predicted this. My trajectory is only supposed to happen to Ivy League types, or gifted athletes or entertainers – not someone who’s five-foot-eight and grew up with a pair of dice in one hand and a pistol in the other.
 
Some people say I’m lucky, and in one sense they’re right. I survived experiences that killed some of my friends. I avoided situations that could have been disastrous. I made choices that I’m still trying to put behind me, and I’m not sure I ever will. 
 
I also believe that you create your own luck. I believe that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Luck is the accumulation of all the decisions I made prior to getting lucky, and how hard I worked after. Everything on both sides of that moment was earned.  
 
A lot of people think they know who I am, but they don’t understand what kind of assembly line I was built on. 
 
I’m finally ready to tell that story.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Sports, Audiobook, Business, Biography Memoir

272 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Brandice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucky Me is Rich Paul’s memoir, where he shares his hustler mentality, his willingness to roll the dice (literally), and the lessons he learned growing up in Cleveland that led him to become the successful man he is today. Though Rich didn’t live with his father, his father’s influence in his life was huge and he helped shape Rich’s education, beyond the traditional format of school. Rich sought opportunities as a way to make money and as a way to survive.

Rich is the founder of Klutch Sports Group, a sports agency, and he is responsible for negotiating more than 4 billion! dollars in athlete contracts (as of October 2023). Lebron may have given Rich an opportunity but in Lebron’s own words, it’s disrespectful to attribute Rich’s success to him. While I would have enjoyed hearing more about Rich’s current work, Lucky Me focuses on his journey more than the destination, and I get that — It’s what shapes us and of course, he’s not done! Rich is a smart guy and his story is inspiring.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

LeBron is the lucky one in their friendship.

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typical memoir but I actually really enjoyed it. I didn’t know anything about Rich Paul but I’m walking away feeling inspired to learn more about him and to take an interior look at some of the life experiences I’ve had. It also made me want to watch more basketball.

[Brooke Kula · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Rich Paul has one fan, it’s me

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Rich Paul was famous for dating Adele but it turns out he had a whole thing with Lebron James before that!

He grew up in a tough neighborhood in east Cleveland (mom was a cocaine addict and dad was a drug dealer but he speaks of them with love, respect, and admiration). He met Lebron by chance in 2002 at the Akron airport and, ten years later, started his own sports agency, Klutch Sports Group. He loves fashion. Most of the book is about his childhood, not his career. I wish he had discussed both.

I liked this part: his business is built upon reading the room and using your careful observations to figure out what people really want. Paying attention is a form of love.

Thanks to United Airlines for a horrendous 7-hour delay that allowed me to finish this book in one day 🙄

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich Paul is best known for being Lebron Jame's sports agent. In Lucky Me he shares his life story and journey towards becoming the super agent he is today. As someone who is not college educated, Paul has had to earn every accolade he has and has also had to deal with retaliation from the NCAA. The NCAA passed a rule saying that a college degree is needed in order to represent players entering the NBA draft because of Paul's success. At the same time, there is no doubt that Paul's success is the direct result of his childhood growing up in the streets of Cleveland and the skills he mastered emotionally, mentally, and psychologically in order to survive street life.

I enjoyed reading about the OGs and elders from his community who taught him about character and street code. These are lessons he powerfully speaks to in the text while also sharing the impact these developmental lessons had on him as a young boy thrust into manhood. He writes vulnerably about his mother's addiction and his loyalty to her throughout her healing journey. He also speaks about his close relationship to his father, a hood entrepreneur and community-minded man of intelligence, who he lost to cancer. If you enjoy reading memoirs and personal success stories where insurmountable odds are beat then you should definitely read Rich Paul's story.

One of my many favorite quotes from the text is this:

"Society can accept that poor Black environments instill a hunger, drive, and savvy that produces great athletes. It's long overdue for them to accept that it can produce just as many great executives, too."

Thank you so much to the publisher and author for the e-arc copy!

[Kelsey]

I’ll say I loved the parts about his dad. Overall, I wish this touched on his career more. I’m sure there is a lot he can’t give away especially with LeBron in the league still, and I didn’t expect anything about Adele. However, I realized I struggle with memoirs that are all about an individual’s childhood, or before they were in the career they are known for.

[ReadnliftwithShar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good memoir that I listened to in one setting. I liked the message and gems.

[Matt Woodward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlikely story of a hustler, gambler, and dealer that made it out of the rough streets of Cleveland and made it to a superstar NBA agent. I wanted there to be more about his relationship with LeBron James but that was barely brought up.

[Jackson Stoller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short answer: Adele is getting a good husband

Longer answer:

There aren’t many elements of Rich Paul’s story of which I can relate. From shooting dice behind the church, to witnessing his father’s convenience store threatened with an uzi, Paul’s story feels many miles away.

We all live under an array of social codes. Of which, others in our community may judge us for our obedience to the unspoken expectations. In my life, that might materialize in choosing whether to repost a politically charged post on my instagram story. But in Paul’s life, those daily, socialized decisions teetered the line of life and death, and the possibility of generational poverty.

He could not have chosen apathy. Paul played against a rigged system, his community rattled by redlining, the influx of crack, and police brutality throughout the 80s and 90s in East Cleveland. Each day he woke up and applied creativity and discipline to maneuver those rigid social codes to build a network of trust amongst his community.

With his budding network, he sought to provide value to his community in innovative ways. From selling orange soda to basketball jerseys out of his trunk, Paul has been a maverick of an entrepreneur since he was a child. Literally a seven years old.

Above all, Paul’s respect and love for his parents is what will stick with me the strongest. His mother, a crack addict. His father, a serial cheater, among other undesirable traits. Yet he still chose to show up and support both of them. Paul attributes their strengths, as well as their flaws as his own, and conveys his genuine gratitude for them both throughout his memoir. A true lesson in unconditional love. I want to be more like Rich.

[Ishonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was a really great read. it was a quick one too. I really enjoyed learning about how and where he grew up. to learn his story and the things he learned while growing up were such great takeaways. I took a lot of notes reading this one. a lot motivation to keep going after it is that you want. anything is possible, but make sure to be smart in the things you’re doing.

[Shabrei · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quit. 11 chapters in and he was still 11 years old.

This story less memoir of a successful businessman, and more autobiography of a childhood.

[Jerod Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guy named Rich gets rich against the odds

[Kerry Crabbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a short memoir and I don’t understand why he didn’t go more into detail about his career as a sports agent.

[Charlie Francuz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Rating

While the story was very interesting and encapsulated the traumatizing events that shaped Rich Paul into who he was today, this memoir was merely a memoir of his childhood, more specifically 90% about him age 10-13.

While I expected to learn about his childhood, I also assumed to learn about his present story or the story that led him to take off as one of the best sports agents in the world. He had a grand total of 10 pages in the epilogue where he briefly mentions Lebron James and his agency story

His story is inspiring and shows the issues that black americans face on the daily. His story shows the depths of what it takes to be a hustler and make it out the mud, but his story was also extremely repetitive and contradicting.

For example, at one point in the memoir he said “people will never know if he’s happy or mad because he’s always stoned face and doesn’t wear emotion on his face.” But then later on said that “he’s not afraid to smile, that’s it’s his god given personality. His friends will try to be serious all the time but he was comfortable smiling and being cheerful.” Rather contradicting

Or, at one point in the novel Rich said “he could have afforded a more expensive car when he was a teenager but that would have brought more attention to him from the cops and people trying to run up on him. But for the entirety of the book he talks about always wanting to look fly and dress to impress with upwards $1000 outfits sometimes. Or, him constantly carrying $5000 of cash on him. Not to mention all the jewelry he started wearing. It seems like the same rule about his “non expensive” car should apply to his clothing and accessory choices. Does not make much sense to me. To add onto this, Rich also states, “wearing the real and keeping it real separates you from the rest of the pack.” Which again, is something I thought he didn’t want to do out of fear.

There were a lot more instances of him contradicting himself and really frustrating his reader by the lack of editorial skills and awareness of what he was actually presenting.

Nonetheless, an inspiring story for an individual that deserves all the success in the world for what he had to go through and overcome. But I am not sure if I would necessarily recommend this book to someone who wants to learn about his life as an agent.

[Angelia Menchan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliance

I had no intention of reading Rich Paul’s story. I knew he was the sports agent and in recent years was dating a famous singer. But on Sunday night I watched Sixty Minutes and his story and his charm, it’s definitely charm, the quick smiles and super cool demeanor but I saw his eyes, the light and the sadness…the conflict. I immediately preordered it and read it to today.

The way he took us through his young life was so familiar. I’m the daughter of a single mother I knew parts of this story. My mom never did drugs but was addicted to alcohol and abusive men. I grew up for three years on the western front and those streets in Cleveland was the same though smaller.

Him admitting he was a gambler, hustler and later drug dealer makes the story…you will understand when you read it.

I gobbled it up, relishing every word and occasionally when Paul would repeat something or overstate it, I would think it’s okay to be vulnerable. I recommend this book to everyone. So honest, bold, real and needed.

[Tyler Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, but with a happier ending.

I like Rich Paul a lot, and love his story. I wish this book covered his life beyond childhood and teenage years navigating the streets, though, because he’s had such an interesting career / life since. I totally understand why he focused on his formative years, but I still would have enjoyed reading about his life as an agent. That’s the rationale for 3/5 stars.

Most memorable tidbits were:
- He described his family as “morally strong and dysfunctional.” His mom was a cocaine addict, his dad was a drug dealer and had relationships/kids with many women, and numerous family members / friends ended up in prison or dead. But honesty and integrity were foundational, school and grades were prioritized, promises were kept, etc… Makes you think about the overly simplified boxes we tend to place people in.
- “Out The Trunk” - this is a life mantra that means “sometimes you need to just hustle and sell stuff out of your trunk.” The most pertinent example of this mantra playing out was Paul’s decision to partner with a sports jersey seller down in Atlanta. Paul wanted to invest in the business, but he didn’t have the opportunity. The owner instead offered him jerseys at a 40% discount, which Paul then sold to his network back in Cleveland. It was a huge success, and more importantly is what led him to Lebron when Lebron stopped him at the airport and said “where’d you get that jersey?”
- Shortly after he met Lebron, Lebron just started paying him $50k a year. He didn’t know what for at the time…he just respected Paul and wanted him to be part of his circle. Good example of hiring for attributes over experience.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing Odds by Richard Paul

A rags to richest memoir. One that can inspire many to come out of poverty or any downtrodden situation and do better.

[LiteraryMarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest; I didn't know who Rich Paul was until I saw him sitting courtside revealed to be Adele's boothang. Who was this handsome Black man dating one of my fave music artists? I headed to the Google streets and discovered he is a highly successful sports agent. He was more than LeBron's friend. I wanted to know more about this successful businessman so I borrowed his memoir from my local library. What I got were valuable rules of life! Early on, Rich Paul's deck of life was stacked against him forcing him to play the hands he was dealt. Through a well-written, detailed, vulnerable view, Rich Paul takes readers from the very beginning moment of when his parents met to his present-day success sharing thoughtful lessons learned from his relationship with his father—the true heart of this memoir. I have so many highlights and take-aways! Bonus points for the title Lucky Me being named after one of his all-time favorite Jay-Z songs. ~LiteraryMarie

[Gina Malanga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because a friend of mine recommended it, but I really did not know much about Rich Paul. I did a quick little research and found out about his connection to LeBron, but this book was so much more than that. It was really interesting to hear about his growing up in Cleveland, and his experiences hustling in the streets, and with a interesting family dynamics. There are some real gems of life advice in this book and I imagine that he is probably an exceptional sports representative because of his charisma and ability to talk to you and reach people. As a teacher, it really reminds me that academics are in everything, and there are lessons to be learned outside of the classroom that really makes kids better individuals than anything I could ever teach them. I really felt like I took away some inspiring, and vision realigning points from this book at a time when I really needed them.

[Jeff Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich Paul is more than just a guy LeBron James met. A powerful window into his journey of struggle and pain, and growth into an executive at the highest level. Not a single bit of sugarcoating, and Paul dives deep into the struggle of black Americans in cities, but never with judgement for life choices. Always a respect for grind, hustle, and survival, and an acknowledgment of the systemic issues at hand.

“Society can accept that poor black environments instill a hunger, drive, and savvy that produces great athletes. It’s long overdue for society to accept we can produce great executives too.”

[Nicholas Mccane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this, but I have to say that I was pretty disappointed. He talked too much about nothing. Fashion, cars, how to shoot dice, and how to iron clothes. Rich comes across as arrogant to me. I’m glad that he had a great father; that was great to read. And I enjoyed when he talked about his mother, who struggled with an addiction to crack cocaine.

I really disliked how he talked as if he was the biggest hustler Cleveland has ever had. I was annoyed.

Apparently, he’s pretty successful representing NBA players. If we want to know more about that, I guess we need to Google it because he doesn’t tell us much. Anyway, I couldn’t wait for it to end. 

[Amy Straus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will start off by saying that I loved what I read in the book, but it feels like an unfinished story to me. Rich Paul details his family life and his upbringing. What he doesn't do, is to explain the transition from selling drugs to becoming an extremely successful sports agent. There was so much detail used when discussing his past. The part when he mets Lebron and his successful business, is around the last 20 pages of the book. I was left craving the same in-depth storytelling of creating and growing his sports agency, Klutch. I am sorry to say that left me wanting so much more that I was disappointed at the end.

[Jmlanier1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great autobiography by Rich Paul. Most people connect his success to Lebron James, but those people are wrong. Rich built his own success and wrote his own story before he ever met Lebron. This is Rich’s story from childhood on the streets of Cleveland until meeting Lebron and charting his path into sports agency. My only complaint is that this book is too short. Mr Paul, please give us a part 2 with more details and insights into your successful sports agency!

[Cam Flemming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book. Amazing story however I was mislead to believe it was the story of him and bron growing up together and starting there business.

If you are reading this for Lebron James content. This is the wrong book for you

[Abbey H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing and the way the story is organized into key lessons he has made into principles for his life. I would get caught up in the story, and then he'd remind us of his age at that time and it continued to shock me! The situations he faced and his strength to stay true to himself was impressive.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Chelsea Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful! Full review is up on http://instagram.com/chelseahudsonreads

[Colten Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people know Rich Paul as the agent for the basketball player LeBron James but in this book we get a behind the scene look into how Paul got that point. Through his troubled beginnings we see how his early understanding of gambling and entrepreneurial strategies in selling drugs led to him being the owner of Klutch Sports Group and representing some of the best sports players in the world. Great book

[Mar Healy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an inspiring story!