As you know, we aren't always in front of the video camera bringing you the latest on what's happening. Sometimes we have to get up close and personal, out and about to get the story first-hand. Here is the interview with actor and now author Hill Harper while in Chicago recently promoting his new book Letters to a Young Brother.

AAC: Hill, your book is titled Letters to a Young Brother. You look around here and it's mostly young Sisters; how do we get the Brothers out?

HH: Well the key is gifting. With the tour scene, it's not just Black women, but women across the board are your primary book purchasers right now. And part of the lesson we have to teach publishers is that men read, and young men read. And how you teach them that is by buying the book and gifting it, so that it convinces the publishers to publish more books that men are interested in reading; that's the problem. Publishers aren't publishing books that young men are interested in reading, so therefore young men don't read.

AAC: What's your primary message?

HH: My message is that we are all brilliant and significant and can do huge things. But in many cases we've been told we are limited, lack the ability, that we need jewelry and cars to make our self-worth real. But we are already perfect and magnificent without all those things. And to commit to the journey of life rather than the result-oriented life.

AAC: I noticed that you say that you get up every day committing yourself by getting on your knees and thanking God for all the blessings. Who instilled that in you?

HH: That's a combination of a lot of people in my life. Particularly those individuals who made me go to the church and made me go to Sunday school even if I didn't want to. But you start to realize that when you teach people about God and a relationship with God and the universe and a higher power then you start to open them up to things that are outside of themselves and they get to think more expansively and bigger. And when you can walk a bigger walk than your own self walk, then that is when you are really living truly and that is what this is about.

AAC: What's your personal message that you would like to give to the Brothers before we rap up?

HH: My personal message is that you are a genius in training already and you can be great in so many things. So don't live someone else's life. Don't live someone else's expectations. Live your life, create your own expectations and never settle! Be brilliant be better than the best because you already are!

AAC: Thank you! We appreciate your time and look forward to helping to spread the word about your book and the things you are doing with your career

A.J. and actor/author Hill Harper