S.M.A.R.T. Goals!

As we approach a new year, many people engage in an annual ritual to improve their lives by making ” New Year’s Resolutions”. Many people tend to lose steam by February. Why is that? Mainly because the purpose was not strong enough, nor was there a blueprint designed to measure progress and see where adjustments need to be made.

In order to become successful at setting and achieving goals, one must make S.M.A.R.T. goals. What exactly are S.M.A.R.T. goals? S.M.A.R.T. goals are:

S = Specific: Goals must be specific and clear. For example, most people say, “I want to lose weight.” A S.M.A.R.T. goal would be stated as, “I will lose 55 lbs. over the next 12 months.” When you state goals that are clear and specific, you have a greater chance to stay the course.

M = Measurable: Goals must be measured. The way to measure your goals is through establishing milestones. If I wanted to take a road trip from New York City to Washington, DC, I must be able to establish milestones that let me know I’m on the right track. As I leave NYC, I should see signs to let me know how close I am to my goals.

A = Attainable: Goals must be attainable. Your goals should force you to slightly stretch beyond your comfort zone, yet be reachable. You want to create goals that encourages you to grow and evolve. It’s not so much about achieving the goal, but it’s who you have to become in order to achieve these goals.

R = Reachable: Your goals should be reachable. For example, if your goal is to earn $50,000 over the next 12 months, where are you now? If you are presently earning $35,000, the goal is reachable. However, if you are presently earning $15,000, the goal may not be as reachable. Your mind must be able to accept the goal as one that can be achieved.

T = Timely: Goals are dreams with a deadline. You must create a sense of urgency by creating a deadline to meet those goals. Deadlines also create a level of accountability to make sure that each day, you are doing something to bring yourself one step closer to your goals.

By following this formula, you should be able to be more effective in achieving your goals.

For further information about goal setting, I recommend the book GOALS! by Brian Tracy.

How to Get Your Man Off the (Wage Slave) Plantation!

 

To the women:

I was sitting in BARNES & NOBLE one day. As I was making notes on an index card, a thought came to me, and I immediately wrote it down. The thought became this quote:

“If another man controls the earning capacity of your man, then he’s NOT your man!”

Sisters have to ask themselves how free they really are when their men receive a paycheck from other men to feed, clothe and shelter their families. In my conversations with young brothers, they want to start their own businesses to gain economic freedom to meet their parental duties, child support payments, or just provide a better way of life for their families without having to answer to someone else’s time clock. Yet, they feel the weight of providing “security” through a “job” is preventing them from launching.

My message to the sisters is this:

If your man wants to create financial independence through enterprise, hear him out. Then, I would ask him what his motive is. What you should hear from him is that he wants to create financial independence for his family and make a contribution to his community and people. That should be the measuring stick for why your man wants to seek financial independence through entrepreneurship. There is NO such thing as a “selfish entrepreneur“.

Also, sisters must ask themselves if they’re prepared for the mental shift from “security” to “freedom”. Thomas Jefferson states that a person who chooses security over freedom deserves neither. Sure, one may be receiving “benefits” like health/dental care and bonuses. However, these “benefits” are being minimized by companies in order to reduce expenses and be competitive. Therefore, “security” is an illusion.

What I recommend for brothers (and sisters) is to be a “straddler”. If you are working a job, launch your “side hustle” and develop it until its revenue can replace your paycheck. The straddling time frame can be anywhere from 3-5 years. This will allow time to choose an industry, conduct research, develop a product or deliver a service and develop a marketing and distribution method of getting that product/service to market.

Hopefully, this blog will encourage sisters to support and encourage the men in their lives to “RUN!”, as Harriet Tubman instructed. In the movie SANKOFA, the character Nunu made it clear to Noble Ali that she would not marry nor mate with a brother who continued to “be a head man for the white man”. Her real message to Noble was, “I want us to be together, but you have to get up and get free!”

Maybe more sisters should take Nunu’s position so that we can ALL get free!

 

 

NO Friends in Business?

I was recently talking with a friend about negotiations in business. There’s a cat in NYC that stated one of his primary business rules:

“In business, there are NO friends.”

On one level, it may sound harsh, cold and cutthroat. However, it ultimately makes sense because in business, everyone is ultimately responsible for his or her own welfare and the welfare of the team s/he represents.

If I’m the CEO or owner of a sports team in a negotiating deal with a player or executive I want to hire, I have to keep the interests of my team first. Everyone wants to have a win-win situation, but not at the expense of neglecting the fiduciary responsibility to my team.

The one thing that helps is to be emotionally detached from the outcome. By doing that, you won’t get too high or too low. Emotions have a tendency to cloud your judgement if you lack emotional intelligence.

Friendship in business is like the first rule in foreign policy:

“There are NO permanent allies; only permanent interests.”

Entrepreneur vs. Businessperson: What’s the Difference?

In business, people assume that entrepreneurs and businesspeople are the same. Well, there are those that argue differently. One happens to be an entrepreneur, professor and the recipient of an MBA from the University of Michigan. Fernando Trias de Bes, author of THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, states that the difference between entrepreneurs and businesspeople is an issue of creating vs. managing. Entrepreneurs are creators, while businesspeople manage and grow companies. Bill Gates is celebrated as an entrepreneur, but it was Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen that were the businessmen behind Microsoft’s growth.

Entrepreneurs usually have “creative control” over the product line and services of a company, while businesspeople are in charge of a company’s infrastructure and business model. Now, there are some that can do both, but usually most entrepreneurs either focus on being entrepreneurial or involve themselves in the daily operations of a company.

The one that starts a company may not be the best one that maintains it or even grows it. The great entrepreneurs know who they are and know if and/or when to “leave” and bring in a person or team to operate the business. Part of the decision depends on what your end game is. Do you want to create a business that serves your lifestyle? Or, do you want to create a business that can be ultimately sold to a larger conglomerate?

A perfect example is Col. Sanders. Sanders sold KFC to his first two franchisees for $2,000,000. The owners grew KFC into a publicly traded company and sold it to the Heublein Corporation for approximately $300 million. This is what we would call a high potential business, which requires businesspeople. A lifestyle-oriented business allows an entrepreneur to maintain control of his business without having to relinquish a significant amount of control.

When considering starting a business, know who you are and know what your endgame is. Answering those questions will give you an indicator as to who you are and what you will be in the business world.

Japan: An Industrial Economic Model for Black America?

I discussed the need for African people to engage more in the manufacturing and distribution areas of business. In order to become a major economic force on a global level, African people must begin to own, control and produce.

Both Dr. Claud Anderson and Dr. John Henrik Clarke stated that we should use Japan as a model of how industrialization and vertical integration can be used to become a major political and economic power.

For example, if African people chose to own and control the coffee and cocoa industries, they would control the farming, the processing of the coffee and cocoa nuts, the shipping, distribution and retail. They would have a single corporation (or cartel of corporations) controlling all aspects of those respective industries. What strengthens their grip on the industry is linking vertical integration with their cultural value systems as their competitive edge and creating a barrier of entry to prevent competitors from easy entry.

Now, what industries can we choose to dominate on a vertical integration level? Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu gives 5 areas to consider:

1. Food
2. Clothing
3. Music
4. Sports
5. Movies

Claud Anderson states that African people should dominate as producers where they are the primary consumers. Since these 5 industries find us as the primary consumers, then we should find a niche within those industries to control as our own. The American Sports Empire is a $262 billion industry, yet we’re satisfied with being the labor force and raw material.

In closing, I think we need to look towards what we can produce. Nations are not built on barber shops, hair salons and network marketing. Service and sales cannot generate the type of wealth needed to become self-sufficient on a collective level. With a purchasing power of $1.2 trillion, the time is now to shift our minds from being consumers to producers. We’ve never been a poor people; we just make poor decisions with our resources.

Nature rewards the producer and punishes the consumer. At some point, African people should grow tired of economic ass-whippings. Unless they’re into S & M…

Black Economic Globalism

Recently, I’ve been watching specials about the rise of China, India and Dubai as global economic players. The fact that these areas have become fertile ground for American businesses to get in on the ground floor of these booming economies should be a signal to us as a people about embarking on investing in Africa and its $12 trillion opportunity. Quiet as kept, Africa has served as the breadbasket to empires like Greece, Rome, Arabia, and modern nations such as Japan, China, UK and America. The common thread is that if these empires had NO access to Africa and her various forms of wealth, we would be looking at a radically different global economy.

Therefore, I wonder if we need to begin thinking, speaking and behaving more as “black globalists” as opposed to “black nationalists”, especially in economics. Geography is becoming history as American companies are operating across political borders and (to some extent) beyond government regulations.

In Maulana Karenga’s INTRODUCTION TO BLACK STUDIES, he spoke of two types of pan-Africanists. One is the continental pan-Africanist, where the focus is on Africa and repatriation is a significant part of continental pan-Africanism. The other is global pan-Africanism, where Africa is still the focal point. However, everywhere Africans go, they build enclaves or “quilombos” to represent their culture, politics, economics and history. They bring Africa with them where ever they go.

As this global economy takes on a new form, we need to re-valuate how we will define and position ourselves economically. Borders are no longer the obstacle they once were to conduct commerce. We must also begin to initiate and strengthen our connections with the African World Community if we are to be an economic global force in the 21st century.

We’ve been spectators at the feast, begging for crumbs from the table for far too long. Now is the time to grow our own food, bake our own bread, construct our own tables and cook our own meals.

The Fatal Concept of a “Job” Psychology

“Nature rewards producers and punishes consumers.”

When I stated this sentence to a Christian gentleman, he immediately got the point. Even though we were coming from different perspectives, we were able to reach the same conclusion about humanity and economic development. He even stated that if one were to study the Old Testament teachings, one would conclude that the “job” concept as we know it was not meant for humanity.

When the children of Israel were in the desert, the Universe had to destroy the slave psychology of the people in order for them to be “right” to enter the Promised Land. It took 2 generations to eradicate the behavior. Once they became truly free, they had to enter and conquer the present inhabitants to establish themselves. Then, the Universe taught them skill sets that made them producers of their daily bread, milk and honey.

As we witness what Alan Greenspan calls “The Age of Turbulence“, we must prepare for the world to come. We must be prepared to produce for ourselves again. How should we interpret this “age of turbulence”? Is this our opportunity to cross the Red Sea while Pharaoh’s armies are drowned? Are we ready for “life without Pharaoh”?

Part of the reason why I’ve pushed for the aggressive pursuit of entrepreneurship (especially children) is to become masters of our own economic fate. The fatal concept of the “job psychology” reminds me of the child that refuses to evolve into adulthood. When the mother eagle begins kicking her eaglets out of the nest, she knows that they will have to learn to “do for self” or die in the wilderness. Animals use game theory to teach their children life lessons and skill sets that will serve them as adults in the wild. In the human world, we have violated those laws by conditioning ourselves and our children to look for some “sugar daddy” (corporation) to take care of them for 30-40 years and pay for our medical assistance in our “golden years” (which doesn’t even provide a lot of gold to make our elderly feel social or secure).

If you are working now, begin to treat it as an apprenticeship. You should NEVER look to stay on someone’s plantation for ALL your adult years. Most apprenticeships usually last 4-5 years. Once that learning experience is completed, the apprentice should be equipped with everything s/he needs to go and do for self and take on her own apprentice. That is how certain skill sets are kept within families and societies. If I’m a master woodworker, I should take on an apprentice or small group of students to teach them not only the woodworking craft, but the business side of woodworking as well. This is the natural order of creating “producers” as opposed to the modern “consumer conditioning” that is taught in the “American FOOL System“.

So, as we witness the economic changing of the guard on this planet, let us focus on enhancing our business and financial literacy. When we seek an education, let it be one that will teach us how to produce our own daily bread, milk and honey. Instead of trying to make the world play checkers, we should focus on learning chess and join the ranks of those business and financial grandmasters that create opportunities for others.

Let Nature reward your production as you bring products and services of value to the marketplace and let Nature continue to punish those who choose to consume like swine and offer little to nothing in return.

How to Be an Expert Under $50

If I told you that you can become an expert in a particular field for under $50, would you believe me?

Before you answer the question, here are two things to consider:

1. The average American citizen reads an average of one book per year!

2. In order to achieve expert status, one must read a minimum of 3 books.

Craig Valentine, author of WORLD CLASS SPEAKING, stated that he didn’t want to learn about marketing and avoided the topic for six years. When he could no longer avoid the topic, he decided to invest one year into learning and mastering marketing to boost his speaking business. In one year, he read 62 books. Larry Winget, known as the “pit bull” of personal development, stated that he read over 4000 books in a 20-year period on areas of self-improvement, sales & marketing, business and entrepreneurship.

If you seek to boost your expertise in your field, you should work to read ideally one book per week on your field. You should also read newspapers, magazines and other periodicals to keep your knowledge base in “real time”. Positioning yourself as the leading authority requires study and application of the knowledge.

As for the $50 thing, if you go to Barnes & Noble or BORDERS, most books average $15 in price. If I want to enhance my expertise in math, all I would need is to purchase 3-4 books for $50 and achieve the minimum of expert status.

So, get reading…

Paycheck Junkies

People who take the path of entrepreneurship come from different walks of life. Some never had a job, while others are making the shift from the “secure” world of employment to the freedom of entrepreneurship. One of the biggest challenges that a former employee must face is breaking the addiction of a paycheck. Many of us have been conditioned to work for money as opposed to create wealth from the inside by thinking of new ideas and processes to deliver goods and services. We begin to trade hours for dollars, not realizing that we’re sacrificing our own freedom for the sake of the illusion called security.

Breaking the addiction of a paycheck is not an easy task, especially when the people who surround you possess that same mentality of pursuing and maintaining a “safe, secure job”. The sad part is that what can be given can be taken away by forces beyond the employee’s control. Downsizing, outsourcing and globalization are leading America to what it once was before the Industrial revolution: a predominantly self-employed nation.

Now, I’m not down on people who presently have a 9-5 job. What I am saying is that a new economic reality has emerged. What people have been taught about money no longer applies. You can no longer rely on a job, a 401k or a company pension to take care of you and your family. Your skill sets will have to emerge where you can produce for yourself without a job. Your mindset will have to be that of an entrepreneur, even if you are working for someone. The future workforce will consist of independent contractors that will be brought in for specific projects.

My concern is for the parents that are investing thousands of dollars into their child’s tuition in charter schools, military schools and parochial schools. Are they hoping to get their child into a good school and get a good job? If that’s the case, they would be better off taking that same money and pouring it into getting their children a real estate license. Jobs as we know them are a thing of the past.

I’m not a religious man, but I will use a biblical story to conclude. When Noah got word that the Earth was about to be cleansed through a flood, he began constructing an ark to withstand the 40 day, 40 night “transition”. As the economic flood comes to your door, make sure you and your family are on the right of the boat.

Producers vs. Consumers

I have a new saying:

“Nature rewards producers and punishes consumers.”

Regardless of the economic system, Nature has always rewarded the producer and punished the consumer. For African people, have we lost the psychology, behavior and language of a producer and adopted the psychology, behavior and language of a consumer?

I was recently given a book entitled BECOMING A MILLIONAIRE GOD’S WAY by Dr. C. Thomas Anderson. In the introduction, he tells his tale of discovering prosperity and quotes two biblical verses that changed how he viewed prosperity:

” He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” (Proverbs 10:4)

“The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent makes rich.” (Proverbs 13:4)

He further speaks of not just having a strong work ethic, but also developing the understanding of the wealth building process and experiencing total abundance.

As America experiences this economic “Age of Turbulence”, could it be a sign for African people that true salvation is in our own hands? If African people in America are engaged in the resurrection of  “Black Wall Street”, then we must understand the importance of production and distribution of our goods and services to other “nations”. Nations cannot survive if everyone focuses on the consumption of goods and services. That’s not a nation; that’s a colony!

The first thing that must take place is that we change the mindset of the people from consumers to producers. When the children of Israel entered the wilderness, they spent 40 years in the desert to rid themselves of the slave and poverty mentality that plagued them in Egypt. They were forced to learn to rely on the Universe (God) as the source of their supply. They were never given more than what they needed for that period of time. Once the “slave” was destroyed, they entered the Promised Land and ate of the produce of the land. They still looked to the Universe as their source, but now they were taught how to work for themselves to produce wealth, collectively and individually.

As African people, I see us in the desert right now. I see us spending our 40 years in the desert in order to kill the slave mind and the poverty spirit that has plagued us. How many of us will survive the detoxification period? How many of us will beg to be re-colonized into Egypt, even though Egypt itself is sinking in financial quicksand?

In Bob Marley’s “Rat Race”, he sings:

“In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty.”

In its simplicity, this verse reflects the present mindset of African people in America in terms of perceiving economic opportunities. Our first test in regaining our freedom is to survive the detoxification period and shift our psychology from “consumer” to “producer”. When you produce, you must then develop and control a distribution method to get your products and services to the marketplace and its end users.

As for our children, we need to teach words like “produce”, “distribute”,”invest”, “leverage”, “reciprocity”, “opportunity” and “innovation” to our youth and live those words daily. Elon Bomani stated in an interview that parents must lead the way in teaching their children to become producers. You cannot preach prosperity and practice poverty anymore and expect the youth to respect you.

As they say in the street:

Show and Prove.