Money Monday 5/17/21
A huge portion of maintaining a healthy & positive lifestyle is to maintain a healthy & positive bank account. Money management skills are critical to the lifeline of a surviving operation. As Black Men, we must manage and monitor every dollar that flows in and out of our accounts. We have to obligate ourselves to come up with a plan to treat each dollar of income as if it was an employee of yours and make that bill work for you in return. The secret is out. The key to financial freedom is ensuring that your expenses do not outweigh your earnings. But how can you limit the amount of your expenses? Today we will brush the surface of a few bullet points but will dig deeper in an upcoming Episode.
Car notes & vehicle expenses
Monthly Subscription Services
Cellphones
Dining Out
Sin Tax Items
Bargain Shopping
Limit Utility Usage
Multi Surface Cleaning Supplies
Unnecessary Purchasing & Financing
Impulse Buying
By monitoring a few of these items you will start leaving more money in your account. You can truly maximize what you save stopping the financial bleed. Once we find a way to patch the holes in our finances, we start to sleep a little better at nights and start beginning the race to financial freedom.
Worship Thy Self
As kids we were taught to praise and worship God in all His glory. Even when we put forth all our celestial energy and hardcore effort, we are conditioned to give God all the credit. I was always told that religion causes division. The caveat is that religion can cause that same division within your self. It’s similar to an internal civil war. Is it really a bad thing to take a little credit and celebrate a victory that you accomplish?
God made us in His image and gave us the same powers to imagine something then manifest it into something concrete. Think about some of the world’s greatest creations. They all started off as a thought planted deep into the soils of someone's mind. From there it was nurtured and sprouted into something great. We all know where the energy to put a plan in place comes from but some of us don’t even realize that we have such a power source. Sometimes it takes a being to stop listening to what’s around him to hear what’s truly around him.
Taking a celebratory victory lap after completing an accomplishment builds a Black Man up. Those victories could be big or minute. Cooking a meal that your family raves about or cutting a yard with a barbers precision & having your neighbors compliment you on a deed well done are tiny things to be celebrated and are noteworthy achievements to pat thy self on the back. Composing a master thesis or constructing a house by hand are larger feats to be proud of. Saying, “Yo, I did that!” builds confidence, character and positive energy. (Imagine building positive energy from the energy the universe sent you)
Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team of like minded individuals to create a racing team. We have Danny Driver & Fuel Guy Frank. Frank fills the fuel tank & gives Danny the power he needs to complete his task. Without Frank, Danny wouldn't be able to cross the finish line. Yet and still, Frank’s energy is useless if Danny doesn’t have the knowledge, the skill or effort to work towards the goal. Danny Driver has every right to worship him self for his job well done.
It’s time to apply this to our every day routine. When the universe sends you a power bank, be sure to have your mind crafted enough to know what to do with it. Once your mission is completed and the war is over, I’m pretty sure God would have no issue with your praising and worshiping your self.
Strengthening Your Spiritual Fitness
Theres an old saying that goes, “All black people are going to heaven because we are going through hell right now!” Whether you believe that or not, its still a very comical statement. Despite the saying having a splash of humor, it also comes with a side of seriousness. Are you spiritually fit? What exercises have you been implementing into your every day lifestyle test the strength of your spiritual fitness?
Back in 1958, only 1.6M American suffered from diabetes.In 2015, a whopping 23.4M of us have been diagnosed with the deadly disease. The American Diabetes Association suggest that we combat this with a strict diet, strenuous workouts and tons of medication. All of these thing work you out and strengthen you physically. But what are doing to beef up your spiritual fitness?
We all say “Give me my flowers while I’m here!”. What exactly does this mean? It means give me all things you want me to have and tell me all the things you want to tell me NOW! Don’t wait til I’m dead and gone to try to give me my flowers. But what can you do for yourself to give flowers to self while you are still alive on the 3rd Rock from the Sun? This is where your spiritual fitness becomes super vital.
Here are few starting point to boosting your spiritual fitness. We Will be covering them on my first ILL Episode in a few weeks.
Fasting, Yoga & Meditating
Traveling
Get It Off Your Conscience
Being Positive
Forgiveness Of Self & Others
Vehemently Attacking Your Bucket List
Reading & Opening Your Mind to New Ideas
Making Sure Ducks Are In A Row
Giving Others Their Flowers Too
As Black people, it is very important that we start working out our spiritual muscle. Once we begin to master this, our day to day lives become easier to digest and more enjoyable. You will find new meanings to your favorite songs and movies and you will begin to find peace in knowing that death is longer than life and that you did all you could to make your temporary visit on Earth enjoyable for everyone who enters your realm. I can assure you that your eulogy will hit different once you achieve Spiritual Fitness
A Black Mother’s Magic
There’s this weird correlation between black people and entertainment. Throughout my life, I’ve heard so many comedians, celebrities and common folk joke about their experiences growing up with a black mother like its some sort of entertainment. The majority of it consists of some sort of unorthodox, violent chastisement. I recall a friend of mine saying her mom threw a lamp at her head for rolling her eyes at her. I know a few people who laugh about getting a whipping with an extension cord. The Bible says “Spare the rod & spoil the child” but some of the tales we joke about actually left physical and emotional scars that continue to follow us for the rest of our lives.
What about the stories we never speak of? What happened to all those nurturing memories of A Black Mother’s Magic? The magic a Black Mother carries doesn’t need a magic wand nor any hocus pocus magic words to be activated. This magic is fueled by Black Love and recharged by the sun.
Who else in this universe can instantly heal a wound by kissing it? I smile with amazement remembering how my mother could make a 3 course meal out of mere beans, rice and a box of cornbread. Let’s not forget the disappearing act. A Black Mother can make ever ounce of stress, worry and anguish vanish just by looking you in the eyes. That magical eye contact solidifies and reinforces comfort & plants reassurance that everything will be ok.
I challenge our community to break that stigma that being raised by a Black Mother is abusive. I grew up without a lot of things but I wouldn’t change my childhood experiences for the world. Every day was a magic show and each show was more amazing & impressive than the last. Being raised by a Black Mother is honestly the greatest show on Earth.
Understand Positive Energy
Dear Black Men,
On this very day I need each & every one of you to take this vow with me. On this day, May 9th of the year 2021, I need every black man to know, learn and understand the true definition of POSITIVE. But before we learn the true definition of POSITIVE, we must learn the definition of UNDERSTAND. To understand means to see things CLEARLY for what they are & not what they appear to be. Once we get that engraved into our minds, we can then see the word positive clearly for what it is and not what it appears to be. Positive is defined as constructive, optimistic or confident.
Right now our community needs positive leaders & role models to get our next generation on code. Take an ILL look into the mirror & ask yourself when was the last time you did or said something positive? If you toss a positive aura into the universe, the universe will toss positive energy back into your soul. We possess a power that increases when we acknowledge each other in a positive fashion. If you do not believe me, try it. Next time you see a fellow black man or youth, look him in the eye and speak. Let him know that you see him as a positive entity despite what society sees.
Black Brotherhood is a real thing. The secret is there is strength in numbers. It takes a village to raise a child and it also takes that same village to love & support an adult. We all need each other because together we stand, divided we fall. Once we learn to understand the word positive and start sending positive energy to each other, our presence and value will expand. From there, the world can no longer deny our power. Sending positive vibe into the universe means you will get the same and more in return. Remember FOWARD POSITIVE ENERGY!