Follow the Leader

The mark of a good leader is loyal followers;
leadership is nothing without a following.
Proverbs 14:28 (The Message)

This week I had the honor and privilege of attending the Sixth Annual Spelman College Leadership Conference. A distinguished panel of women, such as Angela Burt-Murray of Essence Magazine and Arriana Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post, spoke around the theme of 'Building Civil Communities for Change.' While there are far too many take-aways to share, the bottom line for me was that for any change to take place it must first be initiated by someONE. Who is that ONE? That ONE could be me or it could be you depending upon the cause or injustice we loathe. Who that ONE can never be is THEM over there. We cannot continue to sit by and wait for someone else to stand up for the changes we know in our hearts are not just necessary, but mandatory.

This week I learned a list of startling statistics. A few of which I'll share:

• There has been a 800% increase in hate group memberships since the election of President Obama
• 70% of Black households are headed by single women
• 48% of Black children are growing up in homes living well BELOW the poverty line
• Of the Black women that are married, ONLY 30% physically live in the same home as their spouse
• 1 in every 2 Black teenage females will become pregnant between the ages of 12 and 17
• 70% of African American teenage males will not graduate with a high school diploma

Obviously I could go on and on, but I hope the point is clear. While we watch the news, drop our eyes and shake our heads at the headlines and devastating statistics, we continuously stand by and do nothing.

I know that changing the community at large may seem like an overwhelming task, but what about starting with the smallest unit of society: our own families and households. If we all make an effort of personal responsibility for a cause and start on even the smallest level, change can and will truly occur. Atty. Patricia Russell-McCloud, one of the great orators of the conference joked, "If you are leading and look back and noone is following, perhaps you're just on a walk." Today, I challenge you to do whatever you can in your own communities and lead the way until you CAN look back and see someone following the leader!

Until next week . . . .

Seek Wisdom, Find Wealth & Be Blessed

Make a Gratitude List

Psalm 40:5
O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
I would never come to end of them.

There's a phrase I grew up hearing in church that sticks with me to this day: "If He never did another thing for me, God has done enough."

In today's economy, we're constantly reminded of the negative's of life - financial woes, rising healthcare costs, job loss, etc. For people going through their own sad story, turning the news on can make these bitter times seem like a never-ending horror film!

Well, today I was reminded by this scripture of just how much the Divine has done for my family and I. It would be so easy to throw a pity party of one, but instead I choose to just praise today and relish in the things I do have to be thankful for! And you know what? Once I started thinking about it all, my list of what IS working in my life, far out weighs what isn't.

Today I encourage you to take 15 minutes and write a Gratitude List for yourself. List any and everything you can think of just in that moment. I bet, if you're honest, the good will still overtake the bad. I just tried to recite all of God's wonders for me and if I hadn't stop to share this with you, I'd still be writing! Let me know how it goes!

Seek Wisdom, Find Wealth & Be Blessed!

Mo' Money, Mo' Problems?

Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
and he adds no trouble to it.

That's strange. I always heard growing up that having money brought additional drama to your life. For example, folks might be jealous of you; your family members may want to borrow from you all the time, blah, blah, blah. In a nutshell, I was raised to believe that "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems!" Luckily I realized that this type of verbal influence was totally non-supportive of what my personal goals are, so I was able to shift. There are so many of us, however, who don't realize that some of the foolish stuff we heard as a child, still run us today. How can we truly create wealth, if we have a deep rooted belief that being wealthy is too risky? Despite what we say about wanting wealth, we can subconsciously jeopardize our opportunities to create wealth, if we really believe that having money will bring problems.

Take a moment and think back to your childhood. Be careful to recognize any verbal references that adults in your personal sphere would use, ie. "Money doesn't grow on trees," or "Love is more important than money." Now, look at your adult life. How have you seen these type of sayings play themselves out in your relationship to money and wealth creation today? You'll be surprised at what you find!

Seek Wisdom, Find Wealth & Be Blessed!