Run From Negative Thoughts and Conversations

Negative people are a huge drag. All they do is bring you down with their pessimism and lack of motivation. It’s like a disease – before you know it, you’ll be right where they are. If you want to succeed in life, you need to surround yourself with positive people who will inspire you to reach your goals.

If you’re sick and tired of negative people bringing you down, it’s time to cut them out of your life! Negative people are harmful to your success, and it’s important to identify them so you can avoid them. The benefits of surrounding yourself with positive people are huge – you’ll be more motivated, inspired, and optimistic. Here are some tips for cutting negative people out of your life:

1. Recognize the signs of a negative person. They are usually pessimistic, critical, and judgmental.

2. Avoid spending time with them. If you can’t avoid them, limit the amount of time you spend with them.

3. Don’t engage in negative

There are many reasons why negative people are harmful to your success. First, their pessimism and lack of motivation are contagious. Before you know it, you’ll be right where they are – stuck in a rut with no hope of success. Second, negative people will only bring you down. Their negativity will sap your energy and motivation, and make it harder for you to reach your goals. Finally, negative people are often toxic and poisonous – they’re the ones who always seem to be drama queens and gossip mongers. Avoiding these kinds of people is crucial to your success.

One of the key steps in cutting negative people out of your life is being able to identify them. Some common signs of a negative person include pessimism, criticism, judgmental attitudes, and toxic behaviors like drama-seeking or gossiping. To avoid these kinds of people and protect yourself from their harmful influence, pay attention to how they make you feel. If they regularly leave you feeling drained, anxious, or depressed, it’s time to cut them out of your life.

Surrounding yourself with positive people has many benefits. First, you’ll be more motivated and inspired to reach your goals. Second, positive people will lift you and encourage you when things get tough. And finally, being around positive people can help you maintain a more optimistic outlook and develop healthier habits like exercise and healthy eating. So if you want to succeed in life, make it a priority to surround yourself with positive people who will support and inspire you every step of the way.

If you’re ready to cut negative people out of your life, here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Be assertive – let them know that their negativity is not welcome in your life.

2. Set boundaries – let them know what kinds of behavior you will not tolerate.

3. Limit your exposure to them – avoid spending time with them whenever possible.

4. Don’t engage – if you must interact with them, don’t engage in negative conversations or activities.

5. Be positive – focus on the positive people and things in your life, and let go of the negative.

By following these tips, you can rid yourself of negative people and create a more positive and successful life for yourself. So don’t wait – start cutting out the negativity today!

what if you win

 I was having a conversation with a young man, and he was picking my mind about a business that he wanted to start. We talk for a while, and I was telling him the pros and cons of the business from my point of view. I also gave him a few ideas on maybe how he should do things. We went around for a few minutes on maybe what would work, and we were exchanging back and forth. I had to step away for a few minutes. When I was on my way back, I thought to myself: you already have the idea, the ideal person to help you work in the business, and then you want to start this business to give your dad something to do when he retires. He’s still at my desk, I’m thinking to myself, “Man, why are you even thinking about this? Why don’t you just do it? I mean, what do you have to lose?” So, I get back to the desk and I say, man, just do the damn business. And he looked at me and laughed, and I said, what in the fuck you got to lose? Like maybe $10,000? A little bit of time. But what if you win? Everyone in your town will know who you are, you will be making an impact on your community, and may even make some money. You would also do something that you have never done before, and you would make some great family memories. In addition to you having your own business that’s yours. It would give you and your father something that you guys could work on together? Like, what do you have to lose? As I talked to him, and we finished the conversion up… the idea just stuck with me. What do you have to lose? What is it??? Some shame or embarrassment that you might encounter if you happen to not succeed? If you happen to fail, what about, but learn so much? What if you fail? And you can help the next young man or woman with knowledge that can save them time, money, and heartache. What if you fail and it helps you to be better in your next endeavor? It doesn’t even have to be a business. It just could have taught you some life lessons that you can share and can build upon. That means you did not fail; you learned a life lesson. I mean, gosh, we are so stuck on what if we fail that we cannot move forward? What if we win though? Like, why don’t we ever say that? Why don’t we look at life and say, Man, I’m going to try such and such? What if I win? We’re always looking at the negative aspect of it… What if I lose? What if I fail, but dammit, what if I win? What if I do great? What if I grow? What if I flourish? Man, isn’t that magnificent? Isn’t that worth the journey? Isn’t that worth the price of admission? What if I win? Good Lord, what if I win? Have you ever just stopped to think about that? What if I win? That is a wonderful, wonderful concept. This is a wonderful, wonderful idea. That’s just a wonderful thought that’s positive. What if I win? If I looked at life like that all the time, no matter what I do, what if I win? What if I succeed? What if I do great? Wouldn’t it change so many people’s lives? Wouldn’t it make people want to be entrepreneurs or start their businesses? How about thinking we’re always going to win? What if I help this person and they win? Man isn’t that such a wonderful, radical way to look at life and to move forward in life with the notion that I’m probably going to win.

This is not a new concept at all, I’m sure. I think that I have a new appreciation for it now. Appreciation for looking at things in a better way and in a positive way. This makes me smile when thinking about it. What if I win? My god that is so amazing. To just think that if I start this endeavor, if I start this business, if I go shoot hoops in the front yard, if I do anything. What if I win? I think that’s called having a winner’s mentality. No matter what I do. I feel like I’m going to win. And I think that’s rare because most people are always doubting themselves or doubt others. But what if I win? We should just stick to this concept from now on. How about trying it for the next 10 days? Say, I’m going to win at everything that I do, every turn that I make. I am going to win. I am going to succeed and be successful. I think in the next seven days, you might want to adopt this. You will probably feel so great that you will say, I want to keep going with this. You’re going to hit 7 days, 14 days, and 21 days. 21 days is the time that’s stated to form a new habit. How unstoppable would you be in life?  Trying and doing things that you never thought that you would and the massive growth that comes with that. Let the negative thoughts, fears, and afraid go and start today. Now, you have a new positive mindset in life and we’re going to win. Man isn’t that great? Doesn’t it feel great? Why don’t you tell yourself that you’re going to win today? For the rest of the day. Just tell yourself that anything you try, anything you do, is going to be great and you’re going to win. That is a massive change in mindset, a totally different way of looking at life that most people don’t have. I thought I was going to win, I knew I was going to win, but sometimes I just felt like… I’m scared to try, but everything from here on out is a win. Let’s just make sure we say that.  You’re going to succeed; you’re going to overcome any challenges put in front of you. That feels so good man. I hope this feels good to you. Because there is nothing out there that feels as good as knowing that you’re going to win before you even start a task. I hope I brought you positive vibes today… Now, go win!!!!!!!!

Can Men Be Emasculated

I was scrolling through Instagram, and I happen to see a post asking about what could black women do in America to aid or stop the aid, of the emasculation of black men? Now, I saw quite a few posts that said that black men can’t be masculine and that women can’t emasculate men. Or that men need to worry about themselves and women need to worry about their selves. I also saw some posts that said that there are several different layers to this and I saw an interesting one that said that the black girl magic or the black woman’s movement is to blame for the emasculation of black men in this society. I looked at that and I said, this may be a valid point. And this one you know, has some things that could be seen as valid. But, in my humble opinion, the most damaging thing that emasculates black men is a lack of having a father in the home. I come back to this time and time again, several people disagree with me. But, I feel and I always have felt that the most damaging thing to black men is the lack of black male leadership and presence in the household. So, this can go in several different ways, but I am going on a concrete path here. Now, the men who leave the household or who present themselves to a woman as one thing, impregnate them and leave. This is super disheartening to the woman. It is super disheartening to the child that eventually comes. This also is disheartening to the community.

Now, what do I mean? We can look at TV shows, we can read books, we can look online. You will see a large number of white men in the home, you will see a large number of Hispanic men in the household, and you have a lot of Chinese or Asian descent men in the household. But what we don’t see is a large number of black men in the household. Now, I can’t go on here or say whose fault it is that we are at this point right now. That’s not for me to say or judge and I can not tell you that I have the facts to back it up. But what I am going to say is that anyway. We need to find a way to get the black man back in his house to raise the children. If we don’t do that, then we have emasculated ourselves anyway. If you don’t have a presence in your household, then your child will turn out anyway that they’re laid. If that is the LGBTQ movement, if that is the red pill movement, is that if that is the gang banging – gang life movement, if that is just the street Thug Life movement, if that is just laid. All of these lifestyles are going to be impressed and own pressed in the child’s mind. And there’s nothing that you can do about it once it has been pressed and imprinted in the child’s brain.

We need to catch our young people at an early age and keep them close by, providing the best resources for them to make the best choices for themselves. If someone is in a household with two parents and not subject to molestation or some type of trauma, or sexual abuse, then we should not have a problem with the young person, saying that they have these feelings and wants to be gay, bisexual, or trans. Now, let’s pivot this to home. We as black men seem to have the highest absentee households. Proportiontional to the population, black American households lacks a male role model. We can only mimic what we see and are exposed to. So many people think that we can be something that we’ve never seen. That’s why it was so important for Barack Obama. That’s why it was so important for Oprah Winfrey. These people were people who were at the forefront. See you can’t do things that you can’t envision or you have not ever seen before. It is like a fantasy. It is so hard to do something that someone else has never done. You have all the things that push against you on the outside but, also on the inside of your mind.

At this point, black male leadership in the household will start to forge a path with young men and women who have had and seen first-hand leadership in the household. This will lead to children being children again. Finding out the pecking order in the neighborhood, not with guns. But with fistfights and life lessons – to live to fight another day. Also, to see there’s strength in humility and there is strength and being able to get knocked down and get up. See, these are things that our young boys aren’t accustomed to and haven’t been able to accept. They haven’t been able to take any ridicule or shame with social media being a part of our society. They hadn’t been able to endure having a fight and being embarrassed without grabbing a gun, becoming overly emotional, or suicidal. These things are things that we need to have a father in the home. In my opinion not having black fathers in the household is the greatest demasculinization of black children. Now, this is particularly for a young male, but this goes to also the female.

So in conclusion; my view of this is that the black man has caused the emasculation of the black children by not being in the household with them and leading them down the correct path. We all need leadership at some point and time in life, whether it’s at a job at church or any sporting activity, but most importantly, we need our leadership to be at home first. The way you are brought up and lead so then you can therefore go lead. So we as men have caused our greatest emasculation over these years. So now we have to figure out a plan on how to regain our respect. And once we regain our respect and make our presence known, we will not have to worry about being emasculated. The world will see the masculine energy that is out there from us raising strong black men. We will conclude this, but the final point is that it all comes down to black men not being in the home. It is so important for black men to be present in the lives of their children. Without a strong male role model, children will mimic what they see and are exposed to. This can lead to them making poor choices and following a path that is not beneficial to them. Black men need to be leaders in their households!

in search of inspiration

I’ve been a dreamer my whole life, but as you grow older and start to take on more responsibility it becomes harder. You let go of some dreams because they’re too far out there for anything realistic while still holding onto others that seem reasonable enough at first glance yet farther away than ever before-a juggling act which can be difficult when the world feels like its against us all day long! I know how this game works: keep your head down low between waves so nothing hits ya’, don’t get close enough for brokewave rolleyes from flames or knives thrown into crowds (those aren’t just things people say)…but sometimes we need those risks. Stay Sober Dreamers!

The wall in my warehouse/studio.

The above photo is of the work that I started in my warehouse/studio. The photo was sent to my wife and then it sat in my phone. A frozen moment that I captured only to let sit after it was snapped. Most of my life is like that… Maybe we all grow old and lose focus or let the grip of life squeeze us tighter and tighter that we bow to safety and routine. I know some people like the safe life and routine is great to raise a family. But, a bit of chaos is what makes life worth living.

Now, the paint that is in that photo is paint from Lowe’s. I said that I wanted paint and I pulled the truck over from the far left hand lane to get in the turning line to get to Lowe’s. This was a thought and then an action as I was passing the store. I had my mind made up that I was going to find paint that someone had had mixed, but didn’t pick it. That is why you see the color blue, I am not a blue type of person. I miss these moments the most in life. The thought and then the action. Some people would call this impulse, but I call it living life on my own terms.

Now, why in the hell am I here writing at 1:24am in the morning? Kanye West!!! I just watch part two to the documentary and I was inspired to get out of the bed and write. I think that I have to do this more often, I think that I am missing the inspiration that fuels my fire on the inside. I think I need to let this fire rage free and see where it leads me too.