SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THOSE WHO ARE ON THE SAME MISSION AS YOU!

Many years ago when I was in a training program to be a stock broker, we would make lots and lots of phone calls every day all day with the hopes/intention of getting a potential investor on the phone who could potentially invest in one of our stock ideas or recommendations. We were primarily looking for those who had lots of money so that they could invest with us or hire us as their broker. To be successful it took lots and lots of effort, lots and lots of practice, hours and hours of making hundreds and hundreds of phone calls etc. We would get the names of people to call from services that rated and gathered and sold information on people and businesses and business owners etc. The prospects information would come on a lead card.  The lead cards were color coded so for example if it was a blue card it meant that that person has a net worth of ____ or an orange card meant that they just bought or sold a house, or a red card might mean that their business makes ____ revenue per year. I was just a kid so I wasn't really savvy or yet comfortable speaking to multi millionaires. I was a little intimidated at first. So I go to one of my mentors who brought me into the business and I explained to him that I was a little intimidated by speaking to millionaires so I'm going to practice on the people who had lower net worth and less money and I will get better and work my way up to talking to the high net worth millionaire guys. He explained to me that my theory wouldn't work because a $5,000 $10,000 $25,000 or $50,000 net worth guy doesn't live in the same world or even speak the same language as a $20 $50 $100 $250 million dollar guy. They have different tax laws, different financial concerns, different perspectives and views of business and the future, different views and feelings about risk. A $25 $50 $100,000 guy might not even understand what you are even talking about. They may not understand your story, or your idea. Your ideas wont resonate with them the same way they would a guy who has a few million that he is willing to invest knowing that he could possibly lose it. A $25 $50 $100,000 guy wouldn't even say the right things you would need him to say to be able to practice on him. Because he wouldn't understand

I learned something extremely valuable from that experience. I have learned that you must be very careful about sharing your $20 $50 $100 $250 MILLION DOLLAR ENERGY, THOUGHTS, IDEAS, DREAMS, GOALS AND PLANS, with individuals who have $100 $500 $1000 mentalities. When I say $100 $500 $1000 mentalities it doesn't relate to how much money a person has or their net worth. It refers to their attitudes and the size of their thoughts and dreams and ambitions and often negative mentalities and what they think is possible for themselves. Because of that, $100 $500 $1,000 mentalities wont understand your ideas, plans, your energy, your dreams, goals or ambitions. Because they cant fathom the concept of being a $20 $50 $100 $250  MILLION DOLLAR person themselves, they don't live in that same world so they wont be able to see it for you either. They just wont get it. By sharing your $20 $50 $100 $250 MILLION DOLLAR IDEAS AND PLANS with $100 $500 $1,000 mentalities you run the risk of inviting their mentality into your life. By having them try to tell you how bad your idea is and how you wont succeed and how your dreams and goals and plans will never work or how they are impossible. You run the risk of  them trying to discourage you. You run the risk of adapting to a $100 $500 $1000 mentality yourself.

Be careful who you share your energy with. I'm not suggesting that those who have $100 $500 $1,000 mentalities are bad people. I'm just saying be careful sharing your $20 $50 $100 $250 MILLION ENERGY, PLANS, IDEAS, DREAMS or GOALS with them.

If you have shared what you know in your heart of hearts to be a  $50 $100 $250 Million DREAM, GOAL, PLAN, ASPIRATION, IDEA, GOAL, AMBITION and a person isn't as excited about it as you are, or tries to discourage you, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, DO NOT GIVE UP, you may have shared it with $100 $500 $1,000 mentality. DONT WORRY, KEEP GOING!

IF ANYONE AT ALL NEEDS LIFTING UP AND ENCOURAGEMENT AND HELP AND YOU CAN PROVIDE IT, BY ALL MEANS PROVIDE IT BUT....

I have learned that....

“Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give lifting that person your best shot, but don't hang around long enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround yourself with optimistic people.”

-Zig Ziglar

CONTINUE TO DREAM BIG, CONTINUE TO PLAN, CONTINUE TO WORK, CONTINUE TO BELIEVE, CONTINUE TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE $20 $50 $100 $250 MILLION DOLLAR ATTITUDES, MENTALITIES, DREAMS, GOALS, AMBITIONS, IDEAS AND PLANS, CONTINUE TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THOSE  WHO ARE ON THE SAME MISSION AS YOU AND.....

THE WORLD IS YOURS!

PEACE!

We got everything we need!

I ended up watching this show the other night about animals of the Himalayas. I was fascinated by it because, I happen to know that winds on Mt. Everest and certain parts of the Himalayas can reach and exceed 175 miles per hour and the temperature can drop to less that 50 degrees below freezing. So I was fascinated because I'm wondering as harsh and brutal and as that environment is, how is it even possible for animals to survive and live there, let alone thrive. It caught my attention and I continued to watch. What I discovered about animals in the Himalayas and other animals who survive ridiculously harsh environments is that they have adapted to these environments. Everything they need to survive is encoded in their DNA. These animals already have everything they need to survive and thrive in all kinds of ridiculously rough conditions. On Mount Everest they have big cats called Snow Leopards. Snow Leopards bodies are very stocky, they have extremely thick fur, they have very small ears which are rounded so they don’t lose too much heat, Their paws are wider than most big cats because they are better for walking on snow, and have fur on their undersides to grip on steep and unstable surfaces. Snow leopards have short front limbs and long hind limbs that are used to launch the cat up to 30 feet (6 times its body length) in a single leap! In addition, robust chest muscles aid in steep mountain climbing, and allow the snow leopard to easily keep up with its wild prey. Snow leopards’ tails are long and flexible, helping them to balance, which is very important on the rocky mountain slopes. their tails are also very thick due to storage of fats and are very thickly covered with fur which allows them to be used like a blanket to protect their faces when asleep. I read that in Alaska they have frogs known as Wood Frogs and when the winter hits and the temperature is consistently below freezing, Wood Frogs can freeze themselves solid for months at a time and then thaw out when the season/temperature changes They can do this because they have an over concentration of Glucose in some of their organs (or something like that). I read that Atlantic Cod and Bluefin Tuna have some sort of an antifreeze molecule in their blood which keeps them from freezing to death Etc etc.

I'm not trying to bore you to death with a long drawn out biology lesson. I actually do have a point. I guess my point is that we are no different than these animals. We too have everything that we need to survive and thrive in our environments, circumstances, conditions, predicaments etc however cold and rough and harsh as they may be from time to time. From the loss of a job, if you are having financial difficulties, if your behind on your bills, If you are nervous about starting a new job or going back to school, difficulties with your children, starting your own business, difficulties in your marriage etc. I guess my point is whatever situation or circumstance or environment, no matter how harsh or cold that you may find yourself in, there is no need for fear or worry or questioning how you will make it out. There is no need to question or second guess yourself or your skills, talents, know how or instincts. I'm willing to bet that Snow Leopard never says, "I just don't know what we gon do if it keeps snowing like this". I have a sneaky suspicion that the Snow Leopard doesn't stay in its cave and worry or complain about the weather or the temperature? The Snow Leopard moves about that mountain and hunts with confidence and ease simply because HE KNOWS WHAT HE HAS BEEN BLESSED WITH, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY HE USES IT.

The next time you find yourself in less than favorable circumstances that feel a little harsh, cold, rough, bitter or difficult to manage, DON'T WORRY, DON'T FEAR, DON'T SECOND GUESS OR QUESTION YOURSELF, DON'T LOSE FAITH.  Move about your circumstances like the Snow Leopard with full faith and confidence, knowing that IF YOU HAVE A WORKING BRAIN, A BEATING HEART, AND WORKING LUNGS YOU JUST ABOUT HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE AND MASTER YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES WHATEVER THEY MAY BE. IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO SEE, HEAR, SPEAK, THINK AND WALK THOSE ARE ADDED BONUSES BECAUSE SOME OF US DON'T HAVE ALL OF THOSE ABILITIES BUT STILL MANAGE TO THRIVE!

Just like the Snow Leopard, we already have everything we need, but just like the Snow Leopard in order to survive and thrive WE MUST USE THEM!

RELAX! HAVE FAITH! WE GOT EVERYTHING WE NEED! THE WORLD IS OURS!

“You have within you, right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.”   
-Brian Tracy

PEACE!

"NO" IS NOT A STOP SIGN!

 

I'm from the era of the $100 sneaker. When I came of age Jordan's were first making there debut. Charles Barkley's came out. Reebok Pumps, The David Robinson Nike pumps, Nike Air Flights, L.A. Gear catapults, Gore-Tex Boots, Beef and Broccolis etc.  I came up during the Avirex, Starter Jacket and 8 Ball jacket era. My brother and sister were older than me so certain stuff didn't cost that much at the time. So my mother wasn't used to paying that kind of money for stuff like that and she refused to do it. She would not do it. I remember one time I almost got her to do it and we got to the register and she was almost there and the cashier rang them up and as soon as she saw the tax added she said nah you know what I cant do it. I'm not paying $100 for sneakers unless you can guarantee me that you will run faster or jump higher and land an NBA contract because of these sneakers. If you can guarantee me that these sneakers will get you into the NBA then I will buy them. If not, I'm not buying no kid no $100 sneakers. My obligation is to buy you sneakers, not $100 sneakers. She said I will pay what I would have paid for your brothers sneakers, which is $50 and that's pushing it. She said "Now, I will buy you $50 sneakers OR if you are foolish enough to still want $100+ sneakers I will give you the $50 and you can go EARN the rest of the money yourself and buy yourself $100 sneakers if you want them" Boy was I mad. I was just a kid and my friends had Jordan's and Air Flights and all of the fancy sneakers and coats and I wanted them too. So I wasn't going out with no $50 sneakers. I had to have Jordan's too. This was my first experience with having a BURNING DESIRE for something and setting a personal goal. All I knew was that I just had to have those sneakers. So, I hustled, I raked leaves, I shoveled snow, I babysat, I bought cans of soda from the store for 50 cents and took them to school and sold them for  $1 I took my profits and gambled with them and doubled and tripled and quadrupled my profits. I did whatever I had to do to fulfill my DESIRE and meet my GOAL. But, when I achieved my goal, the most amazing thing happened. Over the years my DESIRE and goal to get some sneakers and clothes and jackets grew bigger and bigger. After I hustled and got the money up for my sneakers and clothes and stuff, my desire and goal to get some clothes and sneakers grew.  Suddenly my desire and my goals were to get a car and I hustled and achieved my goal and got one. Then It grew into a desire and a goal for a better car one and I got it.  My desire for a car grew into a desire and a goal to buy a house and I worked and hustled and got dirty and got one. But then it grew into desire and a goal for a bigger house with a big yard and land. That desire grew into a goal of me wanting to stack a decent amount of cash up, which in turn led to me having a goal of leaving this earth with a bare minimum of a $250,000,000 net worth. Which then morphed into a desire and a goal to motivate and inspire and encourage as many people in the world as I possibly could to set and achieve their own personal goals as well.

 

Ever since the day my mother told me NO, I'M NOT BUYING YOU $100 SNEAKERS, it let me know that as long as someone else is controlling the purse strings and as long as I am depending on someone else, "NO" would always be a possibility. But, more importantly she let me know that IF I WANTED SOMETHING BAD ENOUGH, I ALWAYS HAVE THE OPTION OF GOING OUT AND DOING WHAT IT TOOK TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR MYSELF. SHE DIDN'T SAY NO YOU CANT HAVE $100 SNEAKERS. SHE SAID NO, I'M NOT BUYING THEM FOR YOU. IF YOU ARE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO WANT THEM, YOU WILL NEED TO GO OUT AND GET THEM YOURSELF. That was all I needed to hear was that it was possible!

 

I was pissed off when I was  a little kid, I was like what you mean you wont buy them for me my friends parents are buying them. She said well go ask your friends parents to buy you a pair too, because I'm not. Now that I am older, I am so grateful and happy and thankful that she told me no. Perhaps If she would have given them to me she could have possibly completely killed my desire thereby killing my hunger and drive and determination to GO GET THEM MYSELF. I would have never learned the hustle, I would have never learned about grit, determination, ambition, drive, focus etc. I would have never learned the value of hard work, or strong work ethic. I might have ended up thinking that everything in life is supposed to just come to me. I might have grown up with a sense of entitlement. Without her lesson I might have grown up thinking that I am just entitled to stuff and don't have to work for it. Ironically one of the best things my mother ever did for me was to not do something for me. She forced me to set a goal and when I accomplished it, it gave me the confidence to set a bigger one and a bigger one and a bigger one etc.  I LEARNED THAT "NO" IS NOT A STOP SIGN, IT IS JUST A DETOUR SIGN THAT SAYS YOU MUST GO ABOUT YOUR GOAL ANOTHER WAY!

 

I guess my point or the moral of the story is in looking back over my life, I have learned to be grateful and thankful for the "No's" the rejections the adversities, the foreclosure notices and eviction notices and repossession notices of the past, the past due bills of the past, the jobs I wanted and applied for but didn't get. I have learned to be eternally grateful and appreciative for all of the people in my life who supported and encouraged me and helped and pushed me to pursue my dreams, because they made me who I am. I have also learned to be eternally grateful and appreciate all of the people who discouraged me and laughed at me and told me that my dreams were impossible and everybody who did me dirty over the years because they made me who I am.

 

Whatever your goal or objective is in life, whatever you are looking to accomplish THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN STOP YOU IS YOU. All you have to do is want something bad enough, work and keep a positive attitude and THE WORLD IS YOURS! Set a goal, achieve it and set another one! Just try to keep in mind that......

 

 

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."

 

"The biggest hurdle is rejection. Any business you start, be ready for it. The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is the successful people do all the things the unsuccessful people don't want to do. When 10 doors are slammed in your face, go to door number 11 enthusiastically, with a smile on your face."

-John Paul DeJoria

"My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging."

-Hank Aaron

There is in this world no such force as the force of a person determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained.

-W.E.B. Dubois

 

THE WORLD IS OURS!

 

Thanks ma! I love you!

 

PEACE!

 

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!

LIFETIME WARRANTY

 

I wonder if you took your brand new car which was under warranty and you drove it out into the river because you wanted to see if it would also function as a submarine, and your car sinks to the bottom of the ocean. You get a tow truck to pull it out, you try to start the car and the car no longer starts. You march right to that dealer and you tell the dealer your story and that you tried to use the car as a submarine and drove it into the river, the car wont start now and since the car is still under warranty and you need a new car or your money back now! What do you think the dealer would say? After he busts out laughing he is going to most likely say "I cant help you because the warranty applies to the car WHEN IT IS BEING USED FOR ITS PURPOSE! IF YOU WERE USING IT FOR ITS PURPOSE, THEN THE WARRANTY WOULD APPLY!

I started thinking recently that we as humans come with warranties also. I mean we have heard this stuff all of our lives. Stuff like....

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

-Harriet Beecher Stowe

 

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.
-Og Mandino

Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

-George Herbert

 

I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion

-Muhammad Ali

WHATEVER THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, THE MIND CAN ACHIEVE!" -Napoleon Hill -

I mean we hear and we read all of this stuff, and we go to our jobs and we work hard day in and day out and we sit and we wait for these wonderful and amazing things and we wait for this success stuff to happen for us in our lives, and we sit and we wait and we wait. But, after all of the waiting, we get nothing, no success, none of the promises that we are given under these warranties and we wonder why. I mean we are working and we are struggling and we start to wonder why aren't any of these great things happening for me. Well, I would imagine that just like the warranty on the car, these warranties on our lives will only apply if WE ARE USING OUR LIVES FOR THEIR PURPOSES!

If you are or aspiring to be an entrepreneur, writer, singer, dancer, rapper, poet, fashion designer, poet, athlete, doctor, lawyer, writer, motivational speaker, nurse, graphic designer, barber, beautician pastor etc and you are striving to live out what you believe to be the purpose for your life and you are striving to fulfill what you believe or KNOW to be the purpose of your life DO NOT WORRY, DO NOT FRET OR CONCERN YOURSELF OVER WHETHER YOU WILL SUCCEED OR NOT. AS LONG AS YOU ARE STRIVING TO LIVE OUT YOUR PURPOSE, AS LONG AS YOUR LIFE IS BEING USED FOR ITS PURPOSE, YOUR SUCCESS IS COVERED UNDER YOUR LIFE'S WARRANTY!

KEEP  DREAMING, KEEP BELIEVING, KEEP WORKING, KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE, KEEP MOVING FORWARD AND KEEP ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME, and as clearly stated in paragraph 2, Section 4.6 sub chapter 2.C of our life warranty......

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 David Thoreau

LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

THAT'S AN ORDER!

PEACE!