The Inner-Viewing Process (Part 2 of 2)

When a company is assessing whether or not you are a fit for them, what they're really saying is are you a mini version of the company? Does your performance match our performance? Do your values align with our values? Does your background resemble our background? Do your strengths support our strengths?

As stated in Part 1, you have 4 identities in the world. There is a a 99% chance that you will get hired if you are able to wipe the glass mirror clean and show the potential employer that who you truly are and who you truly want to be are in perfect alignment with who they want you to be. I call this perfect employment; it's a state of being where work doesn't feel like work.

During your inner-view, your focus should be on 1. the alignment of your own story which includes your strengths, background, values/culture, and performance, and 2. the alignment of your story with their story. Crafting your own story requires looking into your past and your future. The company's story is told through their website, annual reports, office visits, and strategic decisions made as the industry evolved.

I hope this series helps you carve out a meaningful career path that is financially fruitful and emotionally engaging.

The Inner-Viewing Process (Part 1 of 2)

Before you being inter-viewing, you must first inner-view yourself. Inner-viewing is internal. It is communication between you and your authentic self. It requires knowing who you are, what you want, and why. Inter-viewing is external. It is an exchange where two parties are inter-acting to get to know each other better. It requires that both the company and the individual inner-view to explore what they truly want so that they can determine if there is inter-est.

Everyone talks about the glass ceiling, but that’s once you’re in the organization. Before you get into the organization, there is a glass mirror that you have to wipe clean in order for a potential employer to truly understand who you are and assess your fit.

To my unborn I'm kinda torn
because you weren't expected
its been about three months
that your mom and I've been separate
I feel desperate
but your mother won't talk to me
so I keep texting
hoping you hear the phone beep

It's me
and I want to be part of your life
but I know it wouldn't be right
to make your momma my wife
towards the end of our relationship
you came alive
I guess it's not over
as long as you still survive

In exactly two days
your mommy gets an ultrasound
hoping for a heartbeat
I keep making that gulping sound
this is what happens
when two adults screw around
when you play with nuts and bolts
you're bound to get bolted down

Speaking of screws
I've been building a village for you
the foundation is being laid
I didn't expect you so soon
you get to lead the way
as the village's first youth
all your spiritual siblings
will look up to you

You're not a consequence,
accident, or mistake
your timing was divinely planned
by the one to whom I pray
the morning after pill
used to be my escape
but when God intervenes
probabilities fade

We made sure to use protection
but your strength was so strong
when you've got a purpose to fulfill
you can't wait too long
the world isn't ready
so what...it's got to be
I consider myself creative
but you bring out the God in me

The anointed one
that is why I name you Messiah
and if you are a girl
I'll choose to name you Gaia
I'll be your love supplier
give you energy 'til I'm tired
then you'll reflect my light
and make the whole world brighter

I am honored by the karma
that has made me your father
It's like I've been given a ball of clay
with the power of a potter
I will surely make mistakes
but know I strive to be my best
you may not grow inside my belly
but you're always in my chest

This world is based on cause and effect

So everything you do effects this world

You can be an agent of change for good or for bad

But remember that you reap what you sow

And whatever you fail to deal with

You children will have to deal with

Not trying to undermine God’s blueprint

Like I’m stupid

But this is how the world would be

If I could redo it

We’d all be in love

Struck by cupid

Communication with the nations

Speak every language fluent

We’d all be blind

All be kind, no racism

No prisons full of people

Full of hate in ‘em

We wouldn’t rate women

We’d blind date women

And be more careful how we treat

And what we say to ‘em

No more segregation

Brown vs. Education

Equal representation throughout the nation

Call me God’s kid, optimist, or communist

Cause I redistribute wealth to all impoverished kids

The robin hood of the hood

Take from the rich

Give to the good

Nuclear families

Instead of nuclear madness

No more tears of sadness

Cause there would be no famine

Technological advances

Think we got the answers

The ozone corrodes

Now we got mo’ cancer

Be the change you want to see

Lead by example

Stay the same

Make a change

Hey, life is a gamble

We’ll be on the moon soon

So we need to move quick

We made a house out of straw

And we need to use brick

Love from the heart is the only kind that sticks

Noah quit his arc now he’s building space ships

If I could change the world

This is how it’d be

If I’m gonna change the world

It’s gonna start with me

If I could change the world

This is how it’s be

If I’m gonna change the world

I need a world of change in me

We spend our time tryna pee nuts (It’s like we in traffic)

We always in a jam

Uncle Sam takes our bread

Eatin’ food without a brand

From the fire to the pan

And we wonder why we mad

We carry heavy bags

But they slows us on our paths (but ain’t going nowhere fast)

All this baggage got us laggin’

It won’t disappear like magic

Gotta peal layer by layer

Til we happy with no wrappin’

Rap’s the only business

That we really make a living

When I look at Pac and Biggie

All I really see is killing

The empowerment of our men

Will weed out all the coward men

They’ll have to listen

And adhere to our demands

Bout time we take a stand

Take our live back in our hands

We have to organize all the time

Not just March when we in bands

If want to realize your wished

You gotta have a plan

We sinkin’ like dirty dishes

As we stand in quick sand (foreign land)

With God as my shepherd

My job’s to be a lamb

I don’t know if you can change the world

But like Campbell’s soup I can

Hi,

My name is Jullien Gordon and I am a success-aholic. I am drunk with the desire to succeed and my favorite drink is Security 151. I realize that I've been trying to avoid my fear of not having and being average. I like security because I'm really insecure. I believe in God, but I'd trust God a lot more with a couple million dollars in my bank account! The more money I make, the less I think I need God. I admire the poor for their faith. After trying and trying and failing and failing, I know that security is not the cure for insecurity. God is.

Who the hell am I to think that I'm better than anyone else? In the past, I have falsely attributed all of my success to myself. In all honesty, I was lucky to be born unto the family I was born to, the place and time I was born in, and to have all of the opportunities I had. I had absolutely no control over these things.

I think that that is why I'm addicted to success. I know that I've been blessed with so much more than the average person and therefore there is this never-ending pressure to be above average to myself, to my family, to my peers, and to others. I fear being the one with all the potential in the world that never realized it.

My own desire to succeed is killing me. I haven't even defined what success is for myself so I wouldn't even know if I achieved it or not. I want to stop chasing this distant and elusive thing called success and learn to make daily decisions that are in line with my heart and my purpose. I'm coming to realize that success is a road, not a destination, and that I take a step forward on the road "of" success (not on the road "to" success) every time I make an authentic choice.

Thank you for welcoming me to the Success-aholics group. I look forward to your support in helping me overcome my addiction.

What do you have except what's inside you?
Your material possessions don't define you
To whom much is given much is expected
But if it's taken away can you resurrect it?
Houses, money, and automobiles
Don't outweigh the value that character builds
As I read through history, the story reveals
As co-author all gaps the narrator fills
Family, friends, and faith keep the back straight
The world is on your shoulders, can't let the back brake
A mind made of wisdom can never be imprisoned
A mind with a vision will make the right decisions
Who were you when you were born from the womb?
Rebirth is required for the seed to rebloom
Creation is in me like the tree inside the seed
The visual manifestation was I thought I believed
Cultivate yourself, not material wealth
Cause all that truly matters is your spiritual health

Its rare to find a woman with the strength of men
Most men haven't accomplished what my mom did
Only to lose it all and have to strive to get it again
She defied society regardless of its two cents
A self-developed individual with her own blueprint
She's a deserving black queen and I am her prince
Royalty in her own right
She oiled me to run right
She didn't spoil me with one bite
She soiled me in sun light
From her track locker to a doctor
Then me followed by Crocker
Even if you put a mountain in her way
Nothing was going to stop her
Not divorce, nor depression
Life is just a long lesson
Where you are always tested
But if you stay focused
You can answer any question
Despite every move feeling like regression
And every month feeling like recession
If you count all your blessings
You can appreciate what success is
You're not far from your zenith
You've been there, you've seen it
If I hurt you I didn't mean it
Sky's the limit, so is Venus
The mother of the movement
Sometimes replacing Newton
Two parents in one spirit
I wonder how you do it
I hope you appreciate the speech I make
On June 15^th, Father's Day
Because its you I celebrate
Then and today
Happy Mother's Day

They say Black brothers are uneducated
All they know is the talk
At the barber shop
On the corner of 22^nd and Main
The twirling red, white, and blue
Symbolizes their American dream going down the drain
Those not at shop put in jell
Either getting pressed or doing their curls
You can't split wigs in jail
They look inside through the bars
Realizing that the next nigga ain't far
From where they are
They've long since waved goodbye
To the other side
Shaving time
As brothers at shop trim their lives
Patiently waiting because they know they are next in line
And they know that their turn in the chair will come
Because they know that the sum of dumb and slums equals guns
But they don't know the number of moons and sons
That will come before they are groomed and done
It may cost anywhere from ten to twenty
For a brother just trying to get by that's plenty
Ready to re-present themselves to a society
That fails to represent their point of view
And recognize that it is the reason
That they do the things they do
This is the one place they feel included and loved
But whether inside or out
They will always be judged
If not there yet, they are at the court getting hung
Because leisure is all they can afford
So finally on their own accord
They pick up a book or magazine to read
Because living on the block has opened their eyes to see
The atrocities committed by this country
Against our community for centuries
They begin analyzing the words of W.E.B. DuBois
And formulating their own articulate voice
It is then they realize they have a choice between
Trying to go from guilty to innocence
Or from filthy to cleanliness
Being caught by barbed wire
Or tripping over barber's wires
Being on parole
Or being on a pay roll
Being blackmailed
Or living the like a black male
The barber shop or jail?
Which is home to a black male?

I enjoy your company
But love is not a business
It's intimate, non-secretive
Something you feel deep within
Reciprocity's my philosophy
And it's only a loss to me
When I give lots to you
But I'm never profiting
This is a rare transaction
However you feel, unmask it
I'm not after your assets
Put your fears in a casket
The pain my heart incurs
For us to be partners
Makes me a makeshift martyr
For us to start up
A relationship long term
Where we are both concerned
Where we both can learn
And then share meals (mill.) on the firm
Don't contract this contract
We can go way beyond that
Whatever you need, I'm on that
When you call I call back
Its silly to think getting near me
Is a liability as if you fear me
Do you feel me?
Cause it kills me
To deal hands of romance
Without a chance to slow dance
The greater the risk
The greater the return
I just want one kiss
Money back guaranteed I'll return
You supply my demand
I could be your man
Walking hand in hand
Whether we stand
On land or quick sand
I've approached you valiantly
After auditing your balance sheet
I value how you think
You're worth more than stacks of green
Cause you're more than satisfactory
And can help manufacture me
Currently our currency
Is something we oversee (oversea)
But I'll continue to serve you
As long as you serve me
This foreign exchange of emotion
Carried by the currency of the ocean
Contains a bottle of love potion
More potent than any divisive quotient
Granted there are things we can't account for
Like natural competition
The free market of men and women
May cause some suspicion
But, I want stock in your life
Cause I'm tied in your eyes
And you suit me just fine
I invest in you my time
I invest in you my mind
You can count on me
Like a money machine
You know it's a funny thing
Never thought you'd be the one for me
We communicate, negotiate
Associate and cooperate
We merge our minds together
To efficiently operate
You have no substitute
And I'm a complement to you
You are one of kind
That's why I'm in the market for you
My invisible hands shake
When I reach out to touch you
Because you may either resist or take
What I have to offer you
Support, rapport
And lifetime benefits too
My heart is open
I wonder what is stopping you
I trust you enough
To eat from your plate
And drink from your cup
We're past our first date
I think its time you open up
If everything is so personal
How can I get to know you as a person?
If you're void of anything
I can be your nourishment
If I give you butterflies
I apologize for nervousness
If you're unsure of your potential
I'll be your encouragement
No hidden agendas
We share strategic goals
We can silence all contenders
When the next generation starts to roll
Should I put you on speed dial?
Or should I wait a while?
Our bond's young like a child
I want you to smile long as the Nile
Opportunity knocks
So please let me in
This is the last chance I'm giving
The angel round so get in
I'm going to continue to be me
And this is my terms sheet
I need to tell you one thing
I enjoy your company

Wikipedia defines the quarterlife crisis as a phase between during one's 20s characterized by insecurity, confusion, frustration, and loneliness. The quarterlife crisis is an earlier version of the dreaded midlife crisis. However, according to NationMaster.com, the life expectancy for women in the US is 80 years and the life expectancy for men is 75, therefore the quarter life is really in the early 20s and midlife is around the 40s instead of 50s.

The problem with the terms quarterlife and midlife is the assumption that we are actually going to live the average amount of years. Nobody thinks that they are average! The reality is that there are 10 year olds that have lived 50% of their life already and will die at the age of 20 and there are a few 25 year olds who have only lived 25% of their lives and will die at the ripe age of 100.

Oftentimes we measure the youth of something by the amount of time that has passed since its birth or inception, but I think that that's a false measurement of youth. During the course of my 25 years on Earth, I've seen two of my teenage mentees make their transition to the afterlife before me. Life is not an assembly line where the person who gets on first gets off first. So what is young?

What if youth was measured by the amount of time one had left on this Earth? The more years you have left on Earth, the younger you are. Because we are healthy and energetic now, most 20-somethings assume that they will live to be old, retire, and have all of the time they want to do what they daydream of doing today. But if nobody knows when their time will come, who is really young?

You may have heard the saying, "Time is money". Well it's not! Time is more valuable than any other resource including money because it can't be saved or bought. Most people invest money in hope of a future return, but since tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone, time should be invested to maximize the present moment. They say live every day like it's your last while making creating the world you hope to live forever. In other words, don't wait to retire to live. Go bankrupt everyday, because the unique things about time is that it is the only resource that is replenished every morning (except one) free of charge.