Monday Morning Motivation (2/7/11)

This is your morning!

Ok, it won't be easy but it is definitely your morning. You must do one thing: Live in the Moment. Living in the moment isn't easy when you haven't a clue of what is distracting you from doing so.

Distractions have grown into a way of life for many of us, unknowingly. Whether it's social networking, mainly social networking, texts, emails, BBM, Skype, relationships, etc. distractions are the gate keepers to us living in the moment.

The old adage of stopping to smell the roses has become, "At least don't crush the rose as you speed by."

This morning, take a moment to think about your everyday life; your everyday distractions. What can you do to ease off or simply calm your mindstate to lessen these distractions; to focus on the here and now. We tend to build better futures for ourselves when we plan for those moments now. We must afford paying attention. Live in the moment.

Have an excellent Monday Morning, and you'll have an excellent week.

An Open Letter to Bill Cosby

I woke up this morning, angry. I can’t remember that last time this happened. I sat at the edge of my bed for five minutes, not wondering where this feeling came from, but why. The answer was slow moving. So I got on with my morning until it hit me. The thought of our people crossed my mind.

Mr. Cosby, everyday I walk with the responsibilities and hope of our people on my shoulders. I’ve never dreaded it. I embrace it. But I can’t help but to get angry at the lack of fellowship and vision we exhibit. I think about how much strength it took for you to stand in front of your peers and tell them the raw and uncensored truth about our future if we didn’t take care of our dirty laundry. I think about how every one turned on you… how could they turn on you?

Mr. Cosby, it was you, and your vision for a stronger people that gave us “The Cosby Show.” You gave us a well-rounded, intelligent and loving African-American family to believe in at a time when our hoods were being ravaged by the Cocaine era. I’d hate to see what our people would be like today without the added boost of confidence and self worth that your show delivered. Michael Jordan wasn’t enough; Run-DMC wasn’t enough.

Speaking of those examples, who needs “Affirmative Action” when a majority of our youth recognizes success as playing a professional sport or rapping; not to mention modeling and music production. People are in an uproar about education in Urban areas. Yet in Urban areas, the unemployment rates are high, teenaged pregnancy are high, incarcerations are high; where are the tax dollars? And it’s not because of the school systems, it’s because of our home systems. An urban city can’t survive on State funds alone. Libraries are closing, Boys & Girls Clubs are cutting back, after-school programs cancelled. And people are blaming the government, when it is us that aren’t cleaning are laundry and being responsible for what we bring into this world.

I am angry and disappointed… how many more times will I have to read a rumor of your demise. Why you… why four times? The ingrate that starts these rumors can’t see the pain that it causes?! The nonsense you’ve endured over the past ten years has been nothing short of a tragedy. And through it all, you’ve smiled… through it all, you smile.
To me, you are walking, talking, and game changing Black History in motion. You were at one point “America’s Favorite Dad” on television; a national treasure. And I believe that I’ll be angry until our people come together, apologize to you, defend you, and treat you with the respect that you’ve earned over the past 50+ years.

I hope that this letter reaches you in clear mind and spirit. Mr. Cosby, your life inspired me to be better, to live better, and most important, to deliver discomfort to the masses if it is the only way to change the status quo. I am proud to say that I am a Cosby kid. Continued success to you, sir.

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Stigma Killer: "Wifey's Never Become Wives"

A "wifey" for all extensive purporses isn't even the shell of a WIFE. A "wifey" is a Rap term to describe another Rap term, the "Ride or Die Chick". Both terms spoke of a woman that would stand by her man, nomatter what. Too bad these women didn't pick up on the fact that 'nomatter what' consisted of being in threesomes, being disrespected in public, being called out of your name, being one of many women in this mans life, etc.

Being the "wifey" often stands for having the title of "his main woman". This is the woman who for example, knows that her man is doing her wrong, putting her mental and physical health at danger, however she brags about the fact that he comes home to her at night; she brags about the fact of using his credit and debit cards; she would even confront his other women and call then "Reebok broads" while she is the one wearing the heels.

I would like you to notice a common denominator. Every statement being made on this subject is Rap music influenced... A male dominated industry that uses it's influence to mold women to their choosing. "I was just f*cking those girls, I was going to get right back," familiar lines from Jay-Z on the Blueprint that over time, became acceptable over time. He was telling his story and someone decided to live it.

The perfect example for the life of the Wifey is the song called, 'It Kills Me' by Melanie Fiona. This is a song that places the wifey on center stage where she questions if she should be a lady, because she wants to have his babies. In neither example that I have given, a woman is placed in a strong, powerful light.

Truth be told, a wifey could never become a WIFE, because the mentalities and responsibilities are night and day. A WIFE would never stoop as low as to share her husband and to be proud of the fact that she is #1. A healthy relationship has no number, no rankings, no perks over another. A WIFE wouldn't dare put her business, especially sexual, out into the street and neither would her husband. I am talking about a MATURE relationship here, and not mature in the context of sexual content; this maturity is between two adults. So yes, I am saying that being a wifey is immature and any man that wants a wifey is immature and selling the worth of a woman short.

Please, I ask of you to share this information with the people you love, by hitting the Retweet button at the beginning of this post or the Social Media buttons below. Leave comments no matter how short. This is Success in Training.

Happy Holidays!

I'd like to thank every person that has followed and supported my Life's mission since I began this blog. I will be back in the New Year with a sharper perspective and focus. Happy Holidays!

The Race to Nowhere: Humble Yourself...

Think of your everyday life as winning an Academy Award. It would be rude to thank yourself first, even at all. So show your appreciation to your family, your friends, your mentors, and those that inspire you. Saying thank you, is often, thanks enough.