Posts Tagged ‘Corey B.’

A young entrepreneur is on a mission; you have a drive for something…whatever that may be may not be where you truly end up…and that’s okay. This is always a difficult topic to broach as it is important that people take away the correct message. I don’t want you to feel as though you need to walk away from your dreams or your goals. They are YOUR dreams and goals for a reason, and that reason is important. I also don’t want you to feel as though there is anything truly out of the realm of your reach. I am firm believer that all things are within your grasp. If you truly want them, go get them.

The thing is that many times, what you think you want may not be exactly what is true in your heart; don’t fight it.

My homeboy, whom I spoke about in my previous post about the soldiers that have your back, was a mere few credits away from graduating with his Associates Degree when he realized that he was on the wrong path. His passion had changed. What he had thought for so long was where he should be…just wasn’t. He fought hard to make up the credits and double major only for so many of his credits to be lost. He never sat back and looked at them as lost. He simply saw it as a learning experience. HE is very happy and proud of his station as of now. He knows he made the right choices by changing and fighting for where his heart was driving him to be.

I know when I was in school, I was working on getting my degree in psychology and had spoken with counselors and people who worked in both the psych department as well as the social work department. Social work offered me opportunities for experience which was going to be harder to gain in psych. I took those opportunities and thought I was planning to double major until I realized social work just wasn’t where my heart was. I knew quick it wasn’t for me. I learned a lot of great things but was glad I did not opt for the double major because that would have been so many other classes that I just have a passion for. I was only going to do it to potentially further my career…but not the career I wanted…. I was settling.

Did you know….
Kanye West had a desire to design video games. He was hard at work when he was a young teenager pounding the keys trying to develop games believing that this was his future. After putting much time and effort into a game, he sat at the computer trying to develop the score and work in how the music was going to flow through the game, he realized that this was the best part of designing a game. He always had a passion for music but thought gaming was his future. Little did he know…He was a natural producer and rapper. I am aware of the mixed feelings that many have about Kanye…none of that is relevant here…. The point is that he thought he knew where he was going…. even though he was young…he had a plan, he was wrong. Had he not been flexible then and been willing to change and adapt to his new passion, he wouldn’t be the man he is today. Again, you may be a fan and love that he made these choices… or you may have been just fine had Kanye never spit a rhyme. I, myself, am a Kanye fan…I truly respect Kanye on many levels…I do not agree with many things he does and says but that is what makes us human…we are all different and will never agree on everything. But all in all, I have respect for him as an artist and his unmatched passion for his work. …Kanye isn’t the point….

Kanye, my homeboy Garrett, and myself all found ourselves working hard towards something that was not where we were meant to be. Our heart nor our passion wasn’t in it. We had to take stock and pursue where our passion was leading us.

You must be willing to do the same. Be willing to change and adapt. A key aspect to this is to never look at the choices you’ve made and the steps you’ve taken in which you need to redirect your path as lost time or lost efforts… You have lost nothing… the willingness to change is a new gain. If you chose to stubbornly stay where you know you have no place because you are unwilling to “lose” the time you have put in, you are only hurting your future and losing those next steps to stubbornness. Be strong and get where you’re going. Don’t allow anything to get in your way… Not even your own head.

My homeboy is an extremely brilliant man and ambitious on levels I have rarely ever seen the likes of…We went to school together for a few years. We went to Austin Community College before I transferred to the University of Texas at Austin and he eventually went on the University of Texas at Dallas. I watched him fight for every inch he got in school. He fought to maintain a good work ethic while trying to work multiple jobs getting himself through school and fought for every A he could wrap his hands around. For him, unlike many students I encountered while in school, was never satisfied with passing or even getting a great grade…He wanted the best…He was not only a perfectionist at times, but he was extremely competitive…which is what many might have thought is what drew us together in the first place…none of our friends or fellow students knew of anyone more competitive than the two of us. The lengths that we had found ourselves going to at times to win, was well…. let’s move on from that.

But you know, it wasn’t his competitive nature that got me…there was just something about this guy…I just knew…That was my homeboy from the first time we met. I knew that there was something special. We were in Phi Theta Kappa together which for those who don’t know, is the International Honor Society for the two-year colleges…Apparently, someone told them that I was smart…We studied together…we worked on many projects together. Together, we came up with some of the most innovative fund raisers that our chapter had seen to that date. We were determined when we became officers of the chapter that we would leave our mark. He even wrote the essay that got me recognized internationally as a Distinguished Officer.

This man had my back when I was a single Dad trying to figure out how to care for my daughter whom I had just gained custody of. Dropped everything to drive four hours when I told him I have found the woman I love, and I am getting married in four days…. He was there. He took that same drive when I lost my Mom and needed him by my side for the services.

He has had my back during the rise and fall of several business ventures I have had… and every time, he has vowed to do whatever he could to help me rise to success.

What is the relevance to all of this?? Well, truth is…You will probably never find yourself with such fighter in your corner…They truly don’t make many people like him. But I will tell you this…although this is the story I have chosen to share tonight, there are so many people who have come and gone throughout the years…the key here is not those who have gone…. but rather those have stayed. They may not all be brilliant…. but are they fighters? Do they have that killer instinct? Are they willing to fight with you? Will they fight for you?

I would love to quote a piece of a speech….It is one of the most beautiful speeches in my opinions:

You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game
life or football
the margin for error is so small.
I mean
one half step too late or to early
you don’t quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don’t quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know
when we add up all those inches
that’s going to make the fu**ing difference
between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.

I’ll tell you this
in any fight
it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know
if I am going to have any life anymore
it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch
because that is what LIVING is.

Now, in the context of such a beautiful speech…not nearly as beautiful read off a page rather than spouted from the passion Al Pacino…but still…
Life as is football…and works the same in business is a game of inches…Who is on your team? Who has your back? Do they have that killer instinct? I have a team that has my back and I know they will claw for every inch right along with me. They are willing to fight and die for that inch… Does your team back you?

Thank you Garrett, David, Z, Poncho…. Much love and respect to my squad

Boys, we’ve got a lot happening…2019 is our year! I hope you laced your J’s and ate your Wheaties… It is time to Get Cocky!

When it comes to your dreams and ambitions, you shouldn’t have limits. It is unfortunate that this is something that must be said. Take a moment to truly take stock of what you are doing…what you want to be doing…where you are and where you want to be. These are the things that far too often are not contemplated fully. Take a moment…pffff…take longer…

This is a critical thing to think about and it needs ample time and attention. If you’re not going to give it the proper attention, no one else will either.

You are the one who holds the key to your own future and your own fate in your hands. If you are unhappy in your station, it is because you have allowed yourself to be pinned there. Whether it be by your own need to pay bills, need for a sense of security, or feelings of guilt or obligation to your job or station.

First and foremost, your obligation is to your spouse and children…. if you are single, then your obligation is to yourself. No matter how nice or friendly your boss or coworkers are, at the end of the day, their obligation is to their families or to themselves. You owe no one to stay in your station. You have every right to purse whatever station is going to make you the happiest. We spend far too much time at our jobs, for it to not be the passion that drives us to be there. If you are driven by passion or conviction of purpose, then embrace your job and love what you do. If not, seek happiness elsewhere.

Secondly, money can always be made, and it can be made in so many ways. You need not feel obligated to stay in a spot in which you find no joy simply because of a need to earn a paycheck; this is not the way things were intended to be for us.

What it boils down to is you finding what it is you want out of life. You only get one chance to live it, let’s not waste it. Figure out what it is you want to be doing and let’s get there already…or at the very least, let’s take some steps to get there. Don’t waste another minute not seeking what you want. And be sure to go big…why settle?…that’s what you’ve already been doing. It is time now to go get it.

If we are to find ourselves in conflict over thought; allow it to be your thought not someone else’s. When you spend your time in conflict fighting for what you believe in, that is noble and should be respected. When you spend your time in conflict over someone else’s right to appreciate some else, your breathe and words fall on deaf ears, and you make no progress. Spend more time on the idea and less time on the man.
All men are flawed — ideas are where progress is made.

Just stimulating thought…