Tyler Perry on the little steps that lead to a "higher place"

"Boo 2! A Madea Halloween" is the 10th movie in Tyler Perry's highly successful Madea franchise. The entertainment mogul is the mastermind behind 19 theatrical releases, 20 plays and seven TV shows. He's also a best-selling author, and he's out with his second book, "Higher Is Waiting," a collection of inspirational stories and teachings. 

Perry joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss what he's learned from his mother's faith, his father's mistakes and the "soul GPS" that guides him through life.

Back in 2013, Perry wrote a note to his younger self as part of the "CBS This Morning" series, "Note to Self." In it, he tells a younger Perry that every experience – even the really ugly ones – are shaping the man he will become. Perry said the experience of writing that note was a "catharsis."

"It wasn't just an exercise, it was talking to my younger self and letting him know it would be OK. Part of it was very healing. I've since passed it on to a lot of people and friends who are going through something, saying you should try this," Perry said.

"Higher Is Waiting" is a collection of very personal stories. It details some of the "unthinkable" abuse he endured as a child at the hands of his father.  

Perry said of his father, "For him, having a third-grade education and the difficulties that he went through as a child growing up, he had no references to be a father. He was a wounded man trying to raise a wounded child."

Yet Perry said he's been able to find forgiveness for him through understanding his father's own experience and a focus on faith. He credits his mother for giving him that faith.  

"She believed in God, she believed in Jesus, she would take me to church and I'm grateful for it because what I know this day is that if you don't give your children something to turn to, they're going to turn to something in hard times. So for me, the gift she gave me was the gift of God," he said.  

In his book, he urges people to trust their "soul GPS."

"Just like when you get in a car, you put your navigation in to where you want to go. There's a satellite above you that's guiding you. You don't know how you're gonna get there," he said. "It's the same way with prayer and faith and for your dreams. You put that into what is your soul's navigation and let God be the guide."

Despite an ever-growing empire that includes his own massive movie studio, Perry recalls having spent time living out of his car, paycheck to paycheck.

"I'm the kind of person who wants to see major changes, big broad steps all at once. But sometimes it's one little step at a time that will advance you further," he said. "You have to always applaud and pat yourself on the back every time you make one step forward because it is leading you to a higher place."

Perry is also featured in a new animated film out Friday called "The Star," along with Oprah Winfrey and Tracy Morgan. He voices a camel named Cyrus in a tale about the very first Christmas.