THE BEST YOU!

I got in the financial services/stock game many years ago. The job was to call people and sell investment ideas/strategies over the telephone. I got in the game with a bunch of young black entrepreneurial spirited, determined, driven focused men who were either from or lived or existed in the "hood" at one time or another. We were making our way in a business that was made up of mostly white men. The clients we dealt with were mostly white men, the majority of the brokers I have ever worked with were white men etc. There was this ideology that we seemed to have that if these rich millionaire white men knew that we were young black men from the "hood" calling them about stocks and doing big business, they wouldn't want to deal with us since this was a "white mans business". So we did everything in our power to make sure that we sounded like what we thought polished young white men sounded like. Eventually the group that I started with split and went separate ways. I ended up going to other firms and even in other places I was the only black broker in the building. So I carried on trying to maintain my "Whitest" voice possible. It was a terrible feeling that I walked around with. I walked around thinking that in order to be successful, I had to speak like and pretend to be someone other than myself. What kind of business am I in where in order to be successful, I have to pretend to be something that I am not. But, I kept on pretending and kept on moving forward In the business. I was 22 years old, I was just a kid and hadn't realized that there was a difference between sounding like a professional black man and a white man.

Until, one day I applied for a job at a bigger more well named firm and I was called for an interview. I was going in to interview with the branch manager of the firm. When I got into the interview, lo and behold the branch manager was a young black man. Finally I could be myself (I think, unless he was also one of the black guys who thought he needed to be "white" too). We begin the interview and this guy is speaking to me like a professional black man and not a "white man". We interview, and I get the job and I begin work. This is great but, small problem, this was my first job in the brokerage industry where I will be meeting clients face to face. How can I pretend to be something other than myself now? There is no way I can convince these clients on the other side of my desk who are looking right at me and shaking my hand that I am white. Now, what do I do? Since I was in the habit already whenever I made calls I had my "white" voice on and everyone in the office would laugh at me and ask why I'm talking like that. My manager explained to me that you cant run from yourself anymore, he told me that I just have to be myself. But in being yourself you have to be the best you. You have to know your business, know your product, know your customer and offer extraordinary service. He asked me HOW LONG DO YOU THINK YOU CAN YOU KEEP UP THE ACT OF BEING SOMEONE ELSE? There is nothing wrong with you being yourself, YOU JUST NEED TO BE THE BEST YOU, THAT YOU CAN BE!   I took my managers advice and I learned the game, learned the business, learned the products and tools and solutions that I would need to sell, I learned the customers. I learned how to create value etc. Some time went by and suddenly these millionaire clients that I was once concerned about finding out who I really was started asking to take me to lunch and dinner and wanted to hang out with me and stuff. These same people that I was so concerned about hiding from and these same customers who once made me doubt myself were now telling me how great I was. They acted like they even wanted to be my friend. I would ask them all for tips and advice on becoming a millionaire and secrets to their success and they would tell me and even mentor me.  I learned that the race issue that I had made such a big deal of and that I was so concerned with was more so in my head than anything else. Along the way I have encountered some blatant and overt racism from customers who were overtly and blatantly racist who made no apologies for being racist, who didn't care how good I was or how well I knew my stuff, they just didn't want anything to do with me, but they were very few and far between. The majority of the people were more concerned with how competent I was, they were more concerned with how good I was at my job, they were more concerned with my ability to help them and my ability to represent some sort of value to them, than they were the color of my skin or what city or neighborhood I was from. I HAVE LEARNED THAT TO BE THE BEST, ALL I HAVE TO DO IS BE MYSELF! I WOULD RATHER BE BAD AT BEING MYSELF THAN I WOULD BEING GOOD AT PLAYING SOMEONE ELSE!

I guess my point is that whatever line of work you may be in, or looking to get into, be it Real Estate, financial services or you want to be a teacher, lawyer, chef, nurse, barber, beautician, writer, actor, dancer, singer, rapper, poet, photographer, personal trainer etc. Whatever you are looking to do, if you have any doubts about yourself, if you feel like something about you just isn't good enough to become what you want to become and accomplish what you want to accomplish and achieve what you want to achieve YOU ARE WRONG! If you feel like you need to be someone other than yourself to succeed, YOU ARE WRONG! You do not have to be anything other than yourself to succeed. YOU JUST HAVE TO BE THE BEST YOU THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY BE. YOU must learn YOUR business and study and master YOUR craft, learn how to create value. Instead of focusing on the little things that might be wrong, focus on and utilize and sharpen the hundred things that you do well.  The little thing that you are self conscious about is most likely all in your head and you are most likely making a bigger deal of it than anyone else will. Please don't let mental hurdles stop you from pursuing your dreams or accomplishing and achieving your goals. YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH AND YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO TURN YOUR DREAMS INTO REALITY.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.
-Steve Jobs

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not.
-Andre Gide

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
-Kurt Vonnegut

I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
-Henry D. Thoreau

BE YOUR(BEST)SELF! I promise you that YOU are good enough!

PEACE!