Let's talk a little bit about personal development

July 14, 2016

The world better prepare for when I am a millionaire ten times over. All my dreams involve human progress, flourishing relationships, peace, and travel. I have worked tooth and nail for a decade now to make my dreams a reality. 

I gave up the safe life ten years ago when I walked away from a career job with Citibank. At the age of 23, I had held all the responsibilities a young professional could want. I was a manager at the age of 18 running a $1.5 million dollar restaurant. I went from there to managing a $2M retail store in my local mall. Then there was the leap into the full-time world at Citibank where 8:05 could get you fired. I loved the work, the service of being in front of people and helping them solve their problems. What I did not love was the tedious schedule. The side eye for taking an extra 10 minutes for lunch. So I decided to do something.

My greatest talent has always been my ability to communicate my ideas, my beliefs, and get people to see things my way. For me, that meant I would become a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. So I made my way to the National Association of Black Journalist Conference in the summer of 2006. That introduced a new paradigm of thinking. I would never be the same after that experience. My mind was stretched to the idea that I could earn money freelancing. I could have my own enterprise. I did know how I would do it, but I knew I could do it, because I heard Roland Martin and Brenda Wade talk about evolving and taking ownership of who I am.

Finding out who I am is the best thing I ever did for me. We never know who we are until we give ourselves ways to define what we must do. So many times we say what we should be, but many times we live with who we believe we are, and if who we believe we are is not a reflection of what we think we should do, we just let it ride. We accept the 8:05 rule and make sure we are not late. I locked into this new identity. I locked into discovering more of the earth, more of myself. I have since gone to great depths to unmask myself. It is truly a tough thing to do and live the same life.

While discovering new lands, you find new friends, you enjoy new activities, it’s a completely revamped version of yourself. I can’t stop learning. I can’t raising my standards. Now my standards are so high that I have to continue committing, learning, and doing. The secret is simple, you become what you think about. Rather you are Christian or not, there is a force that lives inside of each of us that draws to us what we truly desire. What I have learned is that many of our wants are not congruent with our beliefs. Think about it. We all want wealth. We all want love. But many of us are living a script that will not allow us to align with what is natural to us.