All throughout life we’ve seen other people fall. On YouTube, some of the top videos are skateboard crashes and accidents. When we see people fall, oftentimes we laugh. We also see people fall spiritually. Nations are at war and oppressing one another. Individuals are suffering from addictions, self-hate, alcoholism, and all of the other isms in the world. The funny thing is that we are just as vulnerable as those we’ve seen and see falling.

The true test of one’s character is not whether or not one laughed. The true test of one’s character is whether or not they picked up the banana peel. We’ve all slipped on banana peels in our own lives or have seen others slip on ones that were in our reach. But have we tried picked them up? By “them” I mean the person and the peel. To only pick up the person and leave the peel means that someone else will likely fall in the same way. There is glory and heroism in picking the person up. It makes us feel good. But eventually guilt sets in because we know that the root cause of the problem still exists.

We are a gifted and talented generation. Let us not be like some who have come before us and rely on charity. Charity is convenient; true change is challenging. May we use our gifts and talents to hack at the root causes, the banana peels of our society, that make our brothers, sisters, and ourselves fall. If each of us simply picked up the peels that we’ve seen, slipped on, or unconsciously threw on the ground, the world would be a better place. There is a reason we all fall; It’s God’s way of saying pick up the peel.

Live purposefully!

We have all had the experience of trying to twist the top off of the jelly jar until our hands turn sore and red. After trying, trying, and trying again, we finally decided to give up. As if planned, the moment we decide to give up, someone enters the kitchen and offers to help. Without saying a word, they reach for the jar and effortlessly twist it open. As the jar top rattles to halt on the kitchen counter, thoughts raced through our minds like:

“That’s not fair. I loosened it up for you.”

“All I needed was one more good twist.”

At some point in our life, each of us has had a world changing idea sealed in the jar of our mind. The challenge lies in releasing the full potential of the idea. Some of us don’t bother to twist and next person sees the opportunity we passed on and opens it to the world. Some of us twist timidly. We value ease and comfort so much that they outweigh the invaluable contents within the jar.

Some of us are still twisting and I encourage you to continue. Hidden inside that jar is your full potential, your golden ticket, your purpose. Stop at nothing to reach it. Twist, twist, twist until the top pops off.

In the midst of our daily struggle with life, progress can be hard to see. As a result, others may laugh, doubt, and dissuade, usually because they’ve given up on finding the treasure inside themselves. Instead of fighting life, be open to it, and your impact will spread. Learn to appreciate life’s challenges because they make the substance of life sweeter. Oftentimes, the difference between being average and great is one more twist.

Live purposefully!

I speak to many young adults about purpose and many say that they believe that they have a purpose, but they don't know what it is. As I contemplated the reason why so many don't know, I came up with my own hypothesis.

In order to receive or hear our purpose (from within), the first question that we must ask ourselves is:

1. Will I fulfill my purpose no matter what it is?

To receive our purpose, we must first commit by saying yes to it. We have to say that we will answer the call no matter what it is. Everything that we've been given in the form of life experiences, knowledge, relationships, and strengths is exactly what we need to fulfill our purpose.


After you've said "Yes, I will fulfill my purpose no matter what it is because I know that only I can fulfill it and that is why I am here", we can move on to the second question:

2. Do you know what your purpose is?

The next thing to do is wait patiently until the path has been lit for you. By saying yes in our heart, mind, and soul, we will become more aware of the things we need to transform ourselves. Our heightened awareness will lead us to signpost that can direct our lives daily. We must trust that life will guide us to our innermost self.

Have you said yes yet?

Live purposefully!

Every time someone else’s hard drive crashes
…that’s a reminder to back up yours

Every time someone else’s family dies
…that’s a reminder to tell yours you love them

Every time someone tells you they forgot their million dollar idea
…that’s a reminder to write down yours

Every time someone is hospitalized for neglecting their health
…that’s a reminder to monitor yours

Inspired by: Nakia, Jake, and Angelo

Yesterday, my best friend’s dad made his transition. I didn’t know what to say or do. As I sat outside eating an apple and contemplating the meaning of this moment, a lesson came to me.

The fruit of the apple I was eating was so enjoyable. It was sweet and juicy. But then I got to the core, the part I never eat. Without ever tasting the core I already knew it to be the opposite of sweet and juicy.

This time, instead of throwing it away, avoiding it, and wasting it…I ate it. I ate the apple whole. I acknowledged that the part of the apple that I loved so much was born out of this core.

Life is similar. We have to swallow life whole. If we avoid life’s bitterness, then we can never fully appreciate its sweetness. What was once sweet becomes bitter and then we set out to find a greater sweetness that doesn’t exist. Enjoy life now, as it is, whole.

What sweet lessons will be born out of your most bitter moments?

Live purposefully!

An economics professor and a student were strolling through the campus.

"Look," the student cried, "there's a $100 bill on the path!"

"No, you are mistaken," the wiser head replied. "That cannot be. If there were actually a $100 bill, someone would have picked it up."

Each of us wears a pair of glasses that are colored by our experiences and knowledge. A person who knows less and experienced less sees less. Train yourself to see the world through the lenses of your passions and your experiences and every day you will see new opportunities. Be aware and keep your eyes open. There are $100 dollar bills floating all around you.

When a musician sees the world…
…they see ideas for songs.

When an entrepreneur sees the world…
….they see ideas for businesses.

When a filmmaker sees the world…
…they see ideas for movies.

When a professor sees the world…
…they see ideas for research.

When an architect sees the world…
…they see ideas for blueprints.

When a fashion designer sees the world…
…they see ideas for clothes.

When a pessimist sees the world…
…they see chronic problems.

When an optimist sees the world…
….they see alternative solutions.

When I see the world…
…I see wisdom to share with you.

What do you see everyday?

Live purposefully!

Inspired by: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour

Can one choose the tools they need to build a building without seeing the blueprint first? Of course there are some standard tools like a hammer and wrench, but what other tools will be needed? Even if we choose 3 random tools just because everyone else has them or they look like they will help, how can we be sure, especially if we don't know how to use them?

We are trying to build our future. Our tools are the skills we can learn from our classes and our classes are like the instruction manuals. The more we learn in each class, the better we can use the tool.

Oftentimes, we skim the instruction manual and don't learn about the true capabilities of the tool. We are restricted to the basics because we didn't put the time and energy necessary to learn how to use the tool properly.

As the quarter began, I was dreading classes. I almost forgot that school is my tool. I chose to be here so that I could develop a customized toolkit that will help me build the future I want to create.

My challenge to you is to set personal outcomes for each class after reading the syllabus (or blueprint) and getting a general overview.

Live (+ learn) purposefully!

If you ask some of today’s professional athletes you will find that the local little leagues like Babe Ruth baseball, Pee Wee football, or YMCA basketball were the places that they began to grow into the people they are today. If you ask many singers, you will find the church choir was where many of them got their debut.

By participating in these activities, the people we see today learned a lot about life in the context of what they were involved in. They lessons about discipline, teamwork, self-motivation, and sportsmanship were the greatest takeaways from those experience for those of who didn’t go on to play or sing professionally.

The traditional way of personal development was to focus on yourself. Grow, develop, get better at being you by yourself. A new way of thinking about personal development is to immerse yourself into your passions and seek to get good at that and in the process of doing so, you will become a better human being.

How can you develop leadership skills alone? Many of the soft skills that we need to grow personally can’t be developed personally. They require being immersed in a context that will indirectly or directly give you those skills.

For some of us, our platform is our campus, our community, an organization, or our job. The clearer you are about what your platform is and the personal growth outcomes you are looking for, the more fulfilled you will be and the more you will grow. What’s your platform?

Live purposefully!

To live is to experience. If we were lucky enough to find the fountain of youth, we could all live indefinitely and thus experience everything there is to experience. Unfortunately, our most valuable resource, time, won’t allow that to happen.

Most people believe in the aphorism “Work now; Play later”, but research has show that having all of the leisure time in the world doesn’t lead to happiness. Dr. Czikszentmihalyi, of the University of Chicago, has show that “free time is more difficult to enjoy than work” because “learning how to use it beneficially turns out to be more difficult than expected” (60, 65). So before you set your eyes on retirement at the age of 65, think again.

If loads of leisure doesn’t lead to happiness, they what does? The answer is flow, or one’s ability to enter into “the zone”. Research shows that “human beings feel best in flow, when they are fully involved in meeting a challenge, solving a problem, discovering something new”. (66). Flow occurs “when goals are clear, feedback relevant, and challenges and skills are in balance, attention becomes ordered and fully invested” (31).

The good news is that you don’t have to wait until the age of 65 to find flow. By actively search for opportunities that lead to flow, you can experience flow everyday. Some good ways to find flow-filled opportunities include:

1. Transform the way you think about existing opportunities
Example: Think about your career differently.
2. Challenge yourself to explore new opportunities
Example: Consider changing your career.
3. Create the opportunities that you want
Example: Create your career.

Live purposefully!

Inspire by: Finding Flow by Czikszentmihalyi

At the seed stage, seeds are not as easy to distinguish from each other as they are when they are full grown. However, when you look at a packaging of the seeds, the package always defines the seed by what it is in its finished form.

We are just like the seeds. We all have a finished form that we are striving to grow into. The first challenge that we face is identifying what to write on our package. I define this as our purpose; it defines who we want to be and what we will do to nurture our growth in that direction.

We are all growing daily whether we know it or not, therefore it is important for us to define our purpose so that we can measure our growth in relation to that desired finished form. Like the seed, we must trust that everything we need to reach that goal is already within us. Whereas a seed needs good soil, water, and sunlight, we need a good environment, resources, and love. With these three things and a clear intent in the form of a purpose statement, you will have the total package to grow into your highest self.

There is a tree inside (the seed of) you. Find it!

Live purposefully!

Inspired by: J.C.

“Remind yourself, nobody build like you, you design yourself” – Jay-Z

Over time and because of Moore’s Law, technology has grown exponentially. We celebrate how easier life has become as a result, but we fail to recognize the accompanying difficulties. The pervasiveness of ATM machines is just one example of how technology is eliminating jobs traditionally done by human. Even surgery is being done by machines! This is great for businesses because they are able to cut costs and thus earn more profits. This is bad for human beings who don’t have people skills or thinking skills that a computer can’t replicate. Today’s average college graduate is ahead of the computer curve, but will that be the case tomorrow?

How will you differentiate yourself? Whereas our parents only had to compete against each other, in this globalized world, we are competing against computers and millions of hard-working highly intelligent people all over the world. The game has officially changed. An academic degree is not enough to differentiate ourselves, especially considering that we are taught from out-dated text as opposed to the future trends. When you study, study to the trend.

We have to identify those 1-3 things that we want to be the top 100 in the world at and weave them together to strategically position ourselves for the future. The person who will survive in this era is the hustler, the person with the entrepreneurial mindset who creates opportunities for themselves using what they have. The 3 rules of hustlin’ are as follows:

1. A hustler knows the game (future industry trends, leaders, latest news, etc)
2. A hustler knows themself (goals, needs, strengths, weaknesses, etc)
3. A hustler knows their resources (friends, networks, finances, etc)

Are you a hustlin’?

Live purposefully!

Inspired by: Thomas Freidman & Jay-Z

Addition Reading: Tough Choices (http://www.skillscommission.org/executive.htm)
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

Love is not about possession of one's heart by another, it is about he sharing of one's heart with another. A person's heart is like the sun, it sends positive energy to many things at once. At various times of the day, the intensity of the sun's energy is higher in some places than it is in others. Likewise, our hearts light the worlds of different people at different times.

When it comes to romantic love, typically, feelings for past lovers never fade completely. The moon still lights those corners of our life while a new sun, in the form of a new person, may begin the share its light with us. The sun is bound by physical size; the heart is not. The heart is not a single-size pizza that must be divided and shared. The heart can grow and develop more capacity to love.

Thus, a person's love for their past love does not have to fade completely to make space for a new love. They can simply increase the love in their heart to share with the new love, which will likely be more intense than the energy they continue to give to their old love. Our hearts will always be shared among family, friends, passions, and causes. We are challenged to grow our hearts' capacity until we can ultimately spread our love to all of humanity. Instead of saying "I'm in love with this person", we should say "I'm in love with all of life, but this person and I share the most intense love."

Inspire by: Nakia Warren

Everyone’s life story is autobiography worthy. Each of our paths has been an adventurous journey of twists and turns, peaks and pits, troughs and triumphs. Ironically, our personal stories get diluted in our own minds simply because we have overcome the challenges that we’ve faced, therefore we think very little of them. We tend to only recognized challenges as such when we fail or struggle to overcome them. It is not until we share our story with others that we really realize how strong we were. Nobody considers their life to be autobiography worthy until others tell them so.

If we believed that everyone’s life story was worthy to be a New York Time’s bestseller, imagine how we would treat one another. We would have the utmost respect for one another and realized that our stories are intertwined and equally challenging. The story of humanity is my story, your story, our story. The story has been incredible thus far, but how will we choose to continue it? We are the co-authors of the future; what will we write? Our every decision alters the course of our collective destiny. Keep writing with ink of your life.

Live purposefully!

If failure didn't exist, many of our life choices would be different. In many cases, our own risk aversion has crippled us. Because of fear, we end up with a lot of "what ifs" and "shoulda, coulda, wouldas". Our careers are a big part of our lives, but our risk-preference may prevent us from choosing the most fulfilling career for us.

Job 1. What you can do:

“I can do that.” This is the type of job that we are “qualified” for according to our resumes. Since we know that we can do it already, this job brings very few challenges, and thus very little personal growth. It’s safe, with the biggest risk being the avoidance of our own dreams.

Job 2. What you will do:

“I don’t want to do it, but I will.” Willingness connotes a compromise between security and our true desires. If we were doing our “vocation”, or true calling, “vacations” would be less important because we would be living in our dream world every day. Sometimes we justify these types of jobs because of money, the challenge of something new, or social status.

Job 3. What you want to do:

“This is what I was born to do.” What you want do is a mixture of what you can do (because you’ve prepared for it), what you will do (without gritting your teeth), and you what you want to do. Oftentimes, what we want to do involves exercising the things that we are passionate about while simultaneously having a positive impact on others’ lives and the world. Doing what we want to do leads to more happiness, fulfillment, and productivity if our motivation is pure (not dependent on money or social status). Nonetheless, doing what we love often leads to money and social status because we naturally become the best at what we love most.

Questions to self:
• What if failure didn’t exist? Would I be doing what I’m doing?
• If what you want to do requires taking some jobs that you are willing to do or can do, how long are you willing to wait to do what you want to do?
• How are you preparing yourself today for the job that you want to do? What skills, relationships, knowledge, or experience do you need to succeed?

Live purposefully!

Inspired by: Daryn Dodson

Happiness = a good life
A good life = many good years
A good year = many good months
A good month = many good days
A good day = many good hours
A good hour = many good minutes
A good minute = many good seconds
A good second = many good moments

Happiness is living in the moment. Our lives are the sum of many moments. The only place is here. The only time is now.

Live purposefully!

Economics is founded on the underlying assumption that resources are scarce. The entire field is essentially about the distribution of scare resources. I’m uncertain that the law of scarcity applies to every resource or that it is the best way to live. Think about it. Of all people, the homeless man opted not to save the sandwich for later. His selflessness allowed us to feed someone else that may not have eaten that night. It is clear that he believes in the law of abundance and that he will eat tomorrow somehow.

How do people behave if they accept the law of scarcity?

* They store up as much as they can
* They share less and only give when they think that they will get something back or know they have way too much
* They fear losing what they have and try to protect it with locks and alarms

How do most animals that don’t believe in scarcity behave?

* They only take what they need
* They share more
* They have lots of faith
* They don’t claim ownership to anything

What do you believe is best?

Challenge: The next time you leave a restaurant with leftovers, offer it to the first homeless person you see instead of taking it home. Have faith that someone will feed you in the near future.

Last night, Daryn and I went out to feed homeless people on University Avenue with leftover Subway sandwiches from an on-campus event earlier that day. As we distributed the platter, some people took two, but most took one. Ironically, there was a man standing in front of the closed Subway and we approached him. When we offered to give him the last two sandwiches, he said “No thanks, I’m full.” Daryn and I looked at each other in surprise and then walked away in silence.

This kind of reminds me of the biblical story about the manna. The key message was “Don’t take more than you need. Have faith.” I began to think about all of the food that I have let spoil in my refrigerator, all of the electronics I bought that are collecting dust, and all the clothes I’ve bought but never wear.

On a deeper level, the man’s faith that another meal would come at the appropriate time is noteworthy. How can a person with so little have so much faith? Or better yet, how can they not? Their entire life of a homeless person is built on faith. As a matter of fact, most animals live just like a homeless person in faith that they will find what they need when they need it.

This experience made me question my faith. Am I living in fear or in faith? I think that a lot of people (myself included) are in the process of seeking security whether it is financial (money), social (status), or intellectual (degrees) in fear of insecurity. It is easy to say that we are faithful when everything is in order, but s/he who is faithful all of the time, good or bad, is truly faithful. I think that we can test our faith by taking the risk of following our dreams. Oftentimes that path is less secure, but it definitely requires more faith and is probably more rewarding.

Inspire by: The homeless man in front of Subway

How has the puzzle industry managed to survive in the midst of Play Station 3s + X-Boxes? Both forms of entertainment require problem solving, but puzzles tap into the visionary within us in that we are fully aware of what we are trying to build towards before the project begins.

Thus, Rule #1 of puzzle building: Look at the box

The process of putting together a puzzle requires patience, discipline, and focus. As we try to finding matching pieces, trial and error are the only way to succeed. Therefore, the best way to start is to identify your limits and just start with what you know.

Thus, Rule #2 of puzzle building: Build the border

Once the border is complete, there are gaps to fill. This is the most challenging part, yet the vision motivates you to continue. You trust that the manufacturer has included every piece that you need to succeed in the box. It's up to you to connect the pieces together, but the only way to make the links is to aggregate pieces that are alike.

Thus, Rule #3 of puzzle building: Group the pieces

It is difficult to just start connecting random pieces together; instead you begin with one section at a time. In order to establish continuity, we build on what we already know and connect sections to the existing border.

Thus, Rule #4 of puzzle building: Work from the outside in

Life is like puzzle building.

The box is like our vision; it gives us something to work toward.

The border is like our limits; it determines our skill sets and focuses our impact.

The groups are like our different developmental areas and supporting experiences that color our life (spiritual, physical, professional, etc); they help us recognize and appreciate our holistic self.

The work inwards is the process; it leads to knowledge of self.

Live purposefully!

According to sources, in the early stages of the game, Bill Gates wrote a 3-page letter to Steve Jobs explaining how Apple could dominate the computer industry. Bill Gates was comfortable doing this because he was positioned to dominate the software industry. Bill Gates is worth $50B more than Steve Jobs.

Visionaries sometime overlook the challenges.
Strategists face the problems head on.

Steve Jobs of Apple is a visionary.
Bill Gates of Microsoft is a strategist.

It is easy to get caught up on vision and overlook the work that must be done to get there. It is just as easy to get caught up on strategy and forget the guiding vision. As we strive to change the world by changing ourselves, it is important to balance both strategy and vision.

Live purposefully!

Social Capital = The extent to which you can mobilize people to support you on a given task or goal

Intellectual Capital = Your ability to think, create, connect ideas, and problem solve

Financial Capital = How much money you can raise via personal accounts, friends, family, or others in a short period of time
_______________________________________
Social + Intellectual = a short-lived idea

Social + Financial = a miscalculation

Intellectual + Financial = a selfish attempt

Social + Intellectual + Financial = a fair chance

Ensure that you are balanced and are developing all three.

Live purposefully!

Many of our friendship aren't as strong as they could be. If they were, there wouldn't always need to be a need to "networking" to find more friends. I would challenge that collectively, our friends can meet most of our needs if we just asked. Imagine how harmonious life could be if your friends knew your goals, needs, and desired destination. Do your closest friends know where you want to go, where you currently are, and how they can support you to get there? For many of us, the answer is no. This is the taxation on friendship.

In economics there is a term called Dead Weight Loss when supply does not equal demand due to a tax or subsidy. We all have demands/needs in life and many of our friends are willing to supply those needs, but the only way that they can effectively support us is if we clearly communicate our needs to them.

At Mylinia.com, we create the space for you and your friends to exchange goods (support, encouragement, inspiration, questions, and advice) and thus create a market for sharing life lessons with friends. How much better could you support your friends if you knew...
...what they loved doing
...what their life vision was
...what their current needs were?

Better yet, how much better could you friends support you?

Live purposefully!

Is school supporting you or is school ruling you? School should revolve around you; you shouldn't revolve around it. Many students allow school to dominate their life when in fact school is supposed to support their life.

Education is merely one part of our whole self. In addition to education, a holistic experience includes emotional, physical, professional, cultural, spiritual, nutritional, and/or financial development. If you ask most students, they will agree that more learning takes place outside of the classroom than within it. Nonetheless, students tend to focus 80% of their energy on strictly academics and then try to squeeze the rest of themselves into the other 20% of their time. That is imbalanced and stressful.

Education is meant to support us, therefore, our life and our vision should be at the center. When we have balance in our lives, we perform better all around. Our majors, minors, classes, extracurricular activities, and academic relationships should support who we are. It's one thing to be focused and it is another thing to be consumed. Focus on your personal development and customize your academic experience to fit you. If school isn't giving you everything you need to grow, then it is up to you to find or create the environment you need to excel. College is not a Miracle-Grow solution; the degree to which you grow is determined by you.

Live purposefully!

A. To seek security and forgo fulfilling your life's greatest ambitions, or

B. To pursue your greatest ambitions and learn to be comfortable with the indefinite uncertainty of life?

Live purposefully!

Businesses have visions.
What is yours?

Businesses have strategies.
What are your goals?

Businesses have competitive advantages.
What are your strengths, talents, and gifts?

Businesses have quarterly and annual reports.
How often do you evaluate yourself?

Businesses have operations divisions.
What are your regular processes and routines?

Businesses have research and development divisions.
How do you innovate and creatively express yourself?

Businesses have human resource divisions.
How well do you know yourself?

Businesses have partnerships.
Who is supporting you?

Businesses position themselves.
Who are you positioning yourself to be?

Instead of focusing so much on complex institutions like Fortune 500 companies, the educational system, and the government, we should direct more of our energy toward developing the institution of the individual. All large institutions are made of individuals, therefore the better the individuals, the better the institution. "Start-up" with yourself.

Live purposefully!

Approximately 10% of the 6.5 billion people in the world have access to the internet. These 650 million people would be considered part of the "developed" world. How developed is the developed world?

At inventory.overture.com, you can type in any word and it will give you the monthly results for the number of times that word was searched on Yahoo’s search engine. Here are some keyword search rankings from September 2005:

September 2005 Searches

Word Searched (# of searches)
Ring tone (4,200,748)
Jobs (3,487,588)
Britney Spears (2,623,616)
XXX (2,300,886)
50 Cents (2,221,350)
Education (1,581,363)
Katrina (1,442,544)
Harry Potter (1,001,483)
Naked (855,285)
Video game (650,052)
Love (636,396)
Beyonce (486,470)
Drugs (365,544)
Guns (106,923)
Gandhi (36,478)
Purpose (20,430)

Thoughts held in mind produce after their own kind. Today’s world is the manifestation of yesterday’s thoughts and aspirations. Thus, we must be careful what we think today for they will become tomorrow's reality.

Live purposefully!

Purpose Finder (PF) & Student (S)

PF: What is the purpose of a cup?

S: To drink from and hold liquids

PF: True. But can’t a cup be used for other things?

S: Like what?

PF: A cup can hold pens and paper clips, trap insects, serve as a small pot for plants, or be used for magic tricks. Would you agree?

S: True!

PF: I would then argue that a cup can be used for many things in many ways. But, in order to find the true purpose of the cup and why it was created, who would you ask?

S: Whoever made the cup!

PF: That is correct. The best person to ask is the potter. In the same way, there are thousands of things that we as human beings can do with our lives. We can be politicians, journalists, secretaries, entrepreneurs, athletes, police officers, painters, teachers, or garbage men. Though there may be 1,000s of career options, there are over 6 billion unique purposes. However, just like the cup, we must get in touch with our creator to find out what each of us was created for. If the cup doesn’t fulfill its original purpose, then the water will never have a place to rest and the world would be out of balance. Therefore, it is essential that you are steadfast on the path to your purpose because there are people in the world waiting for you.

Live purposefully!

Whenever we fill out an application, we define who we are. Typically we are asked about our name, gender, race, age, education, location, and class. We either buy into the definition given to us by society or we define it for ourselves. I have my own thoughts about each of these, but I challenge everyone to think about the following statements on their own:

1. NAME: Society defines family as..., but I believe...

Example: Society defines family as biological, but I believe that famly is based on an unconditional exchange of love. I have 8 last names in addition to Gordon. My last names include Kelly, Ash, Hopkins, Primas, Brown, Ikharo, Shields, and Chambers. All of these people raised me, therefore, to me, family is not biological though that's what society tells me.

2. GENDER: Society defines a man/woman is..., but I believe...
3. RACE: Society defines White/Black/Brown means to be..., but I believe...
4. AGE: Society defines a mature adult by years, but I believe...
5. EDUCATION: Society defines educated as..., but I believe...
6. LOCATION: Society defines community as..., but I believe...
7. CLASS: Society defines rich as..., but I believe...

Live purposefully!

"I get out. I get out of all your boxes." -Lauryn Hill

On my Stanford Business School application, one of the questions they asked was "What matters to you most and why?" That one stopped everyone in their tracks. That was probably the hardest essay any one of us ever had to write. Of course the easy answers are family, life, but we all knew that those would be too generic.

Thinking long and hard about my answer helped me develop my philosophy about life. Ultimately, I just wanted people to reach their full potential so that the world could reach its. I simplified that into the equation Passions + Problems = Purpose.

I looked back at my own life and saw that I had always been using the things that I loved to do to change the things that I didn't like. My passions are the things in the world that I love doing and that love is the strongest positive emotion/energy in the world. My problems are the things in the world that I hate and hate is the strongest negative emotion/energy in the world. You can see my problems and passions in the blog heading. I think that if I can find creative way to use my passions (synonymous with talents, strengths, or gifts) to positively impact my problems, I will maximize my life fulfillment. In a sense, I'm dually motivated by both love and hate and that’s a pretty powerful combination!

When I use the word hate, I am simply using it to draw out what I truely love. Oftentimes, it’s easier for us to say what we don’t like about a situation, a person, or a thing than it is to identify all the things that we love about it. For example, if I say that hate injustice, racism, and poverty, what I'm really saying is that I love justice, culture diversity, and economic equity. When it comes down to it, the PurposeFinder formula is just a framework that I use to direct my life. I try to live it every day and so far it has worked out nicely!

Live purposefully!

1. Family: Our families want the best for us. They are the most risk averse when it comes to our lives. Unconsciously, sometimes this causes them to project thier own life paths on us. They can't help it; it's what they were taught and it's the only path that they know.

2. Friends: Sometimes our friends put is in boxes. Especially wehen we grow up together, sometimes they project via their words or actions that it is impossible for you to be doing more than them. When we follow our purpose, it challenge the comfortable and liberate the constrained.

3. Funding: One of the first things that comes to mind is, where am I going to get the money to pull this off? It's a valid concern, but oftentimes we worry about it prematurely.

4. Finances: This is different than funding because it has to do with survival questions like how am I going to eat? Where am I going to live? How am I going to pay my bills?

5. Failure: They always say that 90% of businesses fail. That's probably true, but at least they tried. Imagine all of the great ideas that people had but what too scared to try. I think that most people have at least one good business idea in their like.

I combat these facades with:
1. Faith
2. Focus
3. Facts

Live purposefully!

When studying the lives of some the world’s greatest change agents such as Gandhi and King and it is so inspiring to know that we have the same power and potential as them to change the world. But what made them so different from the average man? Or better yet, what makes the average human being think that they are incapable of doing what these two leaders have done.

Instead of be enamored by their accomplishments, it would be more beneficial to us to study the ingredients that made them who they were. What were their sources of information? What books did they read? How much did they read? What did their average day look like? Who were their mentors? What were their goals? What organizations were they a part of? What drove them to do what we remembered them for?

They were great, but so are you.

Live purposefully!

Philosopher, Victor Frankl said, “A man who knows his why can bear almost any how”. But where do we go to find our “why”? And how do we find our “how”? As America moves toward a service driven economy, each one of us will have to look ourselves in the mirror and ask “What value do I bring to the world that cannot be replicated by a computer?” What are my gifts and strengths? Who would the best me be? In this age of technological growth, the one thing that a hard drive can’t replace is a soft heart and as we find creative ways to love and serve one another, we become more human.

Mylinia.com is an online platform that will allow us to bypass our social divisions and unite at the heart around the world’s gravest problems and our life’s greatest passions. By creating a safe space for people to find direction in their lives, ultimately, we will change the course of the world for the better. What cause could be more worthwhile than helping people find their purpose? Knowing one’s purpose is the most fundamental ingredient of life. Ask your colleagues, ask you children, ask yourself. Who doesn’t want to know their purpose?

Live purposefully!

As information and technology becomes more accessible to the masses, entrepreneurship is destined to accelerate because the cost of manifesting an idea will be significantly less. Social entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the flattening of the world and positioned themselves in low barrier-to-entry markets with socially-oriented branding which larger companies find hard to replicate. There are a few successful nationwide social entrepreneurial models such as KIPP Schools and Ashoka, and they are merely civil conglomerates of local success stories.

It is the local level that Mylinia strives to impact.
Mylinia.com focuses on helping individuals establish themselves locally by allow them to network with individuals and organizations that are in line with their passions and problems. Local issues can never be outsourced; local issues have to be solved by the locals. Solving social issues requires human interaction and expertise and Mylinia helps its users strengthen their friendships and networks and learn about any combination of issues they care about.

Live purposefully!

Thomas Friedman’s national best selling book, The World Is Flat, is the thesis for why Mylinia.com now. He argues with little opposition that as the world continues to flatten, American jobs will either get outsourced, automated, or digitized. As a result, the next generation will have to find, merge, and create jobs that are specialized and localized in order to protect themselves against worldwide competition that their parents never faced.

Our unique individual purposes will be our only competitive advantage in the 21st century for no one else can do that for which we are called. Mylinia.com prepares the next generation to compete in the burgeoning global market by providing them with the tools (books, orgs/biz, movies, and songs), resources (access to expertise), and opportunities (jobs and events) most relevant to the things that they care about most. Mylinia allows people to integrate their passions and problems into a customized self-development curriculum that is arguably superior to some universities in that the curriculum is specialized for that individual based on their heart’s greatest desires.

Live purposefully!

In the past, social transformation has always been about going against something instead of just trying to create something new. There were anti-war rallies, anti-abortion rallies, stop this, or stop that. It is physically easier to tell someone to stop than it is to create what it is that you truly want. At Mylinia.com, we believe that it is revolutionary to simple do what you love, therefore, we seek to help our users find as many creative ways as possible to exercise their passions on a daily basis. If everyone did what they truly loved, we would have a lot less social issues that we have today. We help users identify their passions, learn about their passions, and them do more of their passions. We sincerely believe that our culture and technology will lead to a better world.

Live purposefully!

We have all heard the saying “Think globally; act locally”. Mylinia.com has a different twist. We say “Impact locally, scale globally.” Imagine being able to take a local success that exists on a college campus in the middle of nowhere and then scale that one idea to hundreds of campuses all over. Successful student-initiated strategies and programs that have campus-wide impact are created and executed every year, but why limit the impact to a single campus? Why even limit the impact to just colleges? Why not share that strategy or idea with anyone in the world who cares about the same cause?

Mylinia.com believes that social change starts with the institution of the individual, not with individuals fighting against institutions. Our goal-setting system will allow people to find creative ways to serve and support the causes they believe in from where they are, with what they have, whenever they can. We make social transformation cool and convenient.

Live purposefully!

There is really no such thing as negative feedback. Though we tend to get defensive about feedback, especially from those that love, it would be in our best interest to just listen. The very thing that we perceive as "negative" is likely the character flaw or point of weakness that will hurt us later on in life. Therefore, not listening can be costly.

As friends, we also have a responsibility to those we love to share how we perceive them and point out potential areas of growth. Your personal perceptions and feelings are valid; they are what you see and feel. The challenge for us is to communicate them in a way that is supportive instead of judgmental. One strategy for doing that is always addressing the behavior and not the individual.

Live purposefully!

Onyx, Vanilla Ice, Baha Men, Skee-Lo…Remember them? How about their songs “Slam”, “Ice Baby”, “Who Let the Dogs Out”, and “I Wish”? Probably so. Nonetheless, these musicians are typically categorized as one-hit wonders. They are victims of the belief in product over process.

They are not alone; this belief transcends many industries. In his book “Built to Last”, Jim Collins compares good versus great companies and argues that great companies focus on developing the process that creates the great products as opposed to hoping for a great product to sprout up. As physic students, we were taught to memorize Newton’s laws of motion, when in fact it would be more fruitful for us to contemplate Newton’s thought processes that eventually lead to these three understandings so that we could find the 4th and 5th laws! As fans, we oftentimes become enamored by the performance of athletes when in fact, their real world performance is simply the product of how they practiced (a process of simulating the real world).

Process over product is no different than teaching a man how to fish rather than giving him a fish. What are your physical and mental processes, habits, routines, and/or rituals? How are they helping you or hurting you on your quest to realize your full potential? No one has a patent on the best process; you have to find or create a sequence of processes that work together to produce the best you.

Live purposefully!

Philosopher, Victor Frankl said, “A man who knows his why can bear almost any how”. I agree with that statement whole-heartedly, but where do we go to find our “why”? And how do we find our “how”? As America moves toward a service driven economy, each one of us will have to look ourselves in the mirror and ask “What value do I bring to the world that cannot be replicated by a computer?” What are my gifts and strengths? Who would the best me be? In this age of technological growth, the one thing that a hard drive can’t replace is a soft heart and as we find creative ways to love and serve one another, we become more human.

Mylinia.com is an online platform that will allow us to bypass our social divisions and unite at the heart around the world’s gravest problems and our life’s greatest passions. By creating a safe space for young people to find direction in their lives, ultimately, we will change the course of the world for the better. I can’t think of any cause more worthwhile than helping people find their purpose. Knowing one’s purpose is the most fundamental ingredient of life. Ask your colleagues, ask your children, ask yourself. Who doesn’t want to know?

Live purposefully!

When I study the lives of “great” people (just like you and I) who are making a difference in the world, I noticed a pattern. I noticed that they were using their passions to address various problems. That’s how I derived the equation:

Passions + Problems = Purpose

Example 1

Passions: Counseling + Broadcasting + Empowering Women
+ Problems: Gender Issues + Sexism
______________________________
= Harpo Productions by Oprah Winfrey (Harpo is Oprah spelled backwards!)

Example 2

Passions: Cycling + Competing
+ Problems: Cancer
______________________________
= Livestrong Foundation by Lance Armstrong

Example 3

Passions: Making Music + Performing + Planning Events
+ Problems: AIDS + Poverty
______________________________
= Live 8 + One Campaign by Bono

Example 4

Passions: Studying Economics
+ Problems: Poverty
______________________________
= Grameen Bank of Microfinance by Muhammad Yunis

Example 5

Passions: Walking + Running
+ Problems: AIDS
______________________________
= AIDS Walk by Craig Miller

Above are 5 recognizable examples of people who used what they love to have a positive impact on the world. Most of their paths were financially rewarding as well. There are countless others doing the same things on a smaller scale. I met an older woman in Visalia, California named Shiela who loves knitting + quilting and she gives her quilts away for free to battered women and their children. Go Shiela!

Live purposefully!

Inspired by: Sheila

Procreation and reproduction are not the same though we often think of them as synonymous. Reproduction is only physical and biological. It is about producing offspring.

Procreation includes, but is not restricted to, producing offspring. Procreation is about living and leaving a legacy and taking responsibility for our world by advancing it to a higher (physical and mental) state than it was when we inherited it. The etymology of the prefix “pro” = on behalf of; in favor of. So lets live in favor of creation; we should all have the freedom to create more good.

Some people leave behind art, music, architecture, and writings

Some people leave behind institutions, endowments, businesses, and organizations

Some people don’t leave anything material

Some people just leave memories of faith, hope, and love.

Live purposefully!

Inspired by: Mike

Have you every considered writing a eulogy on your friend’s facebook wall? Eulogies are often associated with the end of life, but the actual Greek etymology of the word shows that it actually means “Good Word”:

eu-
Greek = good, well, normal; happy, pleasing
Examples: euphemism, euphoria, eugenics

-logy
Greek = talk, speech, speak; word
Examples: biology, psychology, etc

Why wait until our friends are no longer with us to affirm them, uplift them, and build them up by telling them how much they inspire us, how special they are, and how good they make us feel?

Don’t wait until graduation. Eulogize (affirm, appreciate, thank) while they are in front of you in the present moment.

Live purposefully!

Inspired by: Pastor Robert Graham

"Have a beautiful day" is a common phrase we use in passing, however it can be very passive and disempowering. What it conveys is that the goodness of the day is subject to circumstances such as the weather, traffic, other people's attitudes, and other life circumstances beyond our direct control.

How much more powerful and intentional would it be to say "Create a beautiful day". Immediately, the individual bears the responsibility for the outcome of the day ahead. Before the day begins, despite the weather forecast, traffic report, or negative encounter with a colleague the day before, the person claims that day is good and they have a role in creating that goodness for themselves and others. By simply choosing to look at the world ahead with our "glasses of goodness", we can change how we experience our daily lives.

Is it a choice or a helpless result?
Choose wisely.

Live purposefully!

UCLA African Men's Collective Confernce
Spring of 2005

Thank You. First and foremost, I want to thank the entire conference planning committee of the UCLA African Men’s collective. Without them, today’s event would not have been possible, so if they could please stand. Lets give them a round of applause.

I also wanted to make you all aware that the African Men’s Collective is not a nationalistic organization. Nationalism is one step short of world peace. We are not here to express hate or place blame on another racial group. Ultimately, hate hurts the hater more than the recipient. We are here to learn how to love ourselves and take responsibility for our actions. Nationalism, like religion, has a history of hate because it fails to realize that EVERY living being is of one; not just those with similar beliefs, origins, customs, or appearance. Today, we have chosen to begin with Black men because in this highly race-sensative society, our race and gender are the most natural bonds we have. Black men are perhaps the most fragmented and under the most distress. Being a Black man is merely one of many points of unity. As we begin to recognize our interconnectedness and significance to life, we will eventually develop the confidence to make cross-cultural bonds (like hyrdrogen, carbon, oxygen, and other chemical compounds) to form a united world community.

One day a man saw a butterfly shuddering on the sidewalk locked in a seemingly hopeless struggle to free itself from its now useless cocoon. Feeling pity, he took a pocket knife, carefully cut away the cocoon and set the butterfly free. To his dismay it lay on the sidewalk, convulsed weakly for a while, and died. A biologist later told him, “That’s the worst thing you could have done! A butterfly needs that struggle to develop the muscles to fly. By robbing him of the struggle, you made him too weak to live.” I repeat, “By robbing him of the struggle, you made him too weak to live.”

The beautiful struggle. What was Talib Kweli trying to communicate by naming his latest album the Beautiful Struggle? To most people it sounds like a contradictory phrase, but there are others who have grasped the true meaning of this statement. If Talib Kweli happens to be too new school for the older men in the room, the beautiful struggle is reminiscent of Maze and Frankie Beverly’s song, Joy and Pain. And the lyrics read:

Love can be bitter love can be sweet
Sometimes devotion and sometimes deceit
The ones that you care for give you so much pain
Oh but it's alright there both one in the same

Tupac Shakur, the face that graces the cover of our flyer, understood the concept when he wrote his book of poetry “The Rose that Grew from the Concrete”. This is the same understanding that Jesus had when he commanded us to love our enemies. In his book, Strength to Love, Martin Luther King writes “we love every man because God loves him…We love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he does.” We must discard our romanticized television version of love and come to an understanding that love has the potential to be the most painful thing we will ever endure in life, but it also has the potential to be the most joyous feeling.

You see, in this two-word phrase, beautiful is merely the adjective. Struggle is the noun. Struggle is the constant because change is constant. Our mother’s struggled to bring us in this world, we have struggled to live in this world, and ultimately, many of us will struggle as we leave this world. Therefore, our challenge is not to get rid of struggle. We should not spend our time worrying about something we cannot change. Our challenge is to rethink how we define that struggle for ourselves. We must erase the dichotomy that life is either beautiful or it is a struggle. Life is guaranteed to have its up and downs or pleasure and pain. In his book “Maat, the 11 Laws of God”, Ra Un Nefer Amen writes that “Unhappiness is a life that flows from pleasure to pain, pain to pleasure. Happiness, on the hand, is going through life from pleasure to peace, pleasure to peace. Until one understands the concept of the beautiful struggle, life oscillates like a roller coaster ride instead of a boat sailing on a buoyant ocean of peace that always seems to keep the boat afloat.

Sometime over the last 40 years, the progress of Africans in America became regression. Somewhere along that period, we stopped struggling for positive change and we began struggling because of our own resistance to natural change. Struggle can be seen as a choice or struggle can be seen as uncontrollable condition. We can choose to struggle from a standpoint of weakness or we can choose to struggle from a position of strength. Gandhi once said “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. To forgive is not to forget. The merit lies in loving in spite of the vivid knowledge that the one that must be loved is not a friend.” I choose to accept the fact that struggle strengthens. Therefore, I choose to view life’s daily struggles as opportunities for growth. For those of you who have ever weight trained before, you know that in order to see physical development, you must struggle against gravity and counter resistance. In the same way that we work hard to develop our bodies, we must also struggle to expand and cultivate our minds. Like the butterfly, we must struggle to grow and gain strength so that we can eventually fly and be free.

Most scholars would argue that perhaps the greatest struggle facing African men in America today is our detachment from our original culture. But how can you lose something that is within you? Still today, Africans in America are among the worlds most poetic, most social, most open-minded, most forgiving, most family-oriented, most resilient, most ambitious, most creative, most physically inclined, most spiritually inclined, best dressed, best cooks, best musicians, best dancers, best artists, best physicians, best scientist, best engineers, best teachers, and best philosophers. Though our creativity has been commercialized, that just goes to show that the entire world recognizes our creative spirit. On top of that they imitate us and imitation is the highest form of flattery. If God is the creator and we are all created in his image, then each of is a creator as well. We are all individualized expressions of God, however, in a non-malicious effort to validate our own uniqueness, we divide ourselves.

As African men and people in general, we have been deceived to believe that our skin color is what binds. Moreso than anything, the greatest human adhesive is shared experience. Our experiences unite our spirits and when our spirits unite, we learn to have compassion, respect, and understanding for one another. In attendance today, there are fraternity members who can testify about the bond brought about by their rigorous pledge processes. There are athletes in the audience who have experienced Cinderella seasons together. There are also old friends who get nostalgic about their long days at the playground. One of the most unusual things about shared experiences is that the strongest bond usually occurs after the actual event when two or more people are able to relate to one another in the midst of others who were not involved. Today’s conference is about our shared experience as African men in America that goes deeper than our flesh and should naturally unite us as we seek to participate in a pre-dominantly white society. Today is to remind us of our shared experience and dispel the illusion that we are divided or against one another. This conference is about eliminating all of the erroneous and external divisions outlined in the infamous Willie Lynch Letter that we continue to allow divide us today.

When I look out into the audience, I see Africa before me. I see Algeria in the north, Eritrea in the east, Liberia in the west, and Angola in the south. Though we represent different countries, organizations, generations, social-classes, and professions, ultimately, we are one. Our destinies are intertwined. Mine to yours and yours to mine. Our collective vision is merely the sum of our individual visions. Therefore, it is in our best interest that each individual in this auditorium realize their full potential and place in the world. We each have a responsibility to resurrect ourselves and bear our own cross so that we can be an example to those around us.

In closing, I pray that the God within us all is unified by the unbreakable bond of love and that this day go forth as divinely planned. May good seeds be planted in the soil of your soul. May your ears be receptive to the truth. May we learn to love ourselves through the acquisition of wisdom so that we may in turn love one another. And so it is. Thank you.

http://www.inspirationpeak.com

An old man was walking along the beach, when he came upon a part of the sand where thousands of starfish had washed ashore. A little further down the beach he saw a young woman, who was picking up the starfish one at a time and tossing them back into the ocean. "Oh you silly girl," he exclaimed. "You can't possibly save all of these starfish. There's too many." The woman smiled and said, "I know. But I can save this one, " and she tossed another into the ocean, "and this one", toss, "and this one..."

http://www.inspirationpeak.com

A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain:
"AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."
YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

An Uncertain Grace (8)

sIn Andalusio I was once told of a very poor fisherman who went about peddling shellfish in an basket. This poor fisherman refused to sell his shellfish to a young gentleman who wanted all of them. He offered to pay the fisherman whatever price he asked, but the fisherman refused to sell for the simple reason that he took a dislike to the young gentleman. And he simply said to him: “I am the master in my hunger.”

A vacationing American businessman was standing on the pier of a quaint coastal fishing village in southern Mexico when a small boat with just one young fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.

"How long did it take you to catch them?" the American casually asked.

"Oh, a few hours," the Mexican replied.

"Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the American businessman then asked.

The Mexican warmly replied, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The businessman then became serious, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

Responding with a smile, the Mexican fisherman answered, "I sleep late, play with my children, watch ballgames, and take siesta with my wife. Sometimes in the evenings I take a stroll into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, sing a few songs..."

The American businessman impatiently interrupted, "Look, I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you to be more profitable. You can start by fishing several hours longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra money, you can buy a bigger boat. With the additional income that larger boat will bring, you can then buy a second boat, a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of fishing boats.

"Then, instead of selling your catch to a middleman you'll be able to sell your fish directly to the processor, or even open your own cannery. Eventually, you could control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this tiny coastal village and move to Mexico City, or possibly even LA or New York City, where you could even further expand your enterprise."

Having never thought of such things, the Mexican fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?"

After a rapid mental calculation, the businessman pronounced, "Probably about 15-20 years, maybe less if you work really hard."

"And then what, senor?" asked the fisherman.

"Why, that's the best part!" answered the businessman with a laugh. "When the time is right, you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."

"Millions? Really? What could I do with it all?" asked the young fisherman in disbelief.

The businessman boasted, "Then you could happily retire with all the money you've made. You could move to a quaint coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, play with your grandchildren, watch ballgames, take siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play the guitar and sing with your friends all you want."


The moral of the story is: Know what really matters in life, and you may find that it is already much closer than you think.

“Making A Life Making A Living”

How can you tell when night ends and day begins?

The first man responds: “When I can distinguish the olive tress from the fig trees, then I know that night is over and day has begun.”

The second man answers: “When I can see the forms of the animals across the Serengeti, I know that the darkness is leaving and the light of day arriving.”

Finally, a man renowned for his wisdom replies: “When we see a black woman and a white woman and call them both ‘sister’, when we see a poor man and a rich man and call the both ‘brother’, then the darkness of night has lifted and the light of day has come.”

How Deep the Hunger p15

In the town of Lany, twenty-five miles outside the city of Prague, there are four unmarked graves. They are the resting places of the three Masaryks and Eduard Benes. A friend who was there stated that, some months before his death, Dr. Benes visited the cemetery. He expressed a desire to be buried alongside his friends and compatriots. It was also his desire that the grave should go unmarked. “For,” said he, “if the people love me, I shall live in their hearts and they will never forget the place of my grave; hence an identification is unnecessary. If they do not love me, I shall be forgotten in their hearts; and the most elaborate tombstone will make no difference.”

By Jullien Gordon

As technology burgeons, our minds shrivel. Especially in America, we are attracted by the concept of laziness. So called technological advances such as the remote control only foster our laziness and have led to poor physical conditions like obesity. Rather than getting up and turning on the television, we’ll spend more time searching for the lost remote control. Our reliance on technology to manage our minds and memory will inevitably lead us to a matrix-like state in this PDA-era.

A prime example is the cellular phone. We can’t leave home without them. Our cell phones store the telephone numbers of all the most important (and not so important) people in our lives. But the primary reason we can’t leave home without them is because we don’t memorize the telephone numbers stored in their chips. God forbid your battery dies, your LCD cracks, or you lose your phone when you’re in a crisis. As children we used to shoot telephone numbers off our head because all we had was 25 cents and pay phone.

Simply stated, the more we become digitalized, the less we memorize. As we enter February in celebration of Black history month I am afraid to say that many African Americans don’t know their history beyond slavery and the Civil Rights movement. As trite as it may sound, if you don’t know where you’re coming from, you don’t know where you’re going.

The art of story telling has evolved over time. Initially, our history was committed to memory and after that it became song. It used to be the responsibility of the griot, the elder, the keeper of the tales, and tribal memory to communicate and pass on the history to future generation. As a lost people, I question, where is our griot? When did our ongoing story, beginning from the creation of man in African come to an abrupt end and stop being told?

Was it when our history was transcribed to text? Ancient libraries in Egypt such Alexandria, Edfu, Heliopolis, Hermopolis, and Thebes contained documents rich in our history which was originally kept by oral traditions. But libraries like Alexandria were burned, thus leaving us without a manuscript to articulate where we were and how far we have come. African Americans are more undocumented than any illegal immigrant, because our history has been consumed by flames and all we have left to interpret is ashes and one paragraph in the annals American history.

There is an ongoing generational curse being recycled because each generation speaks a different language. Today’s hip hop generation communicates through lyrics, which at the root doesn’t deviate from the oral tradition, however today’s hip hop generation doesn’t address historical issues in their lyrics.

A people without a history become history. Without a sense of history, we will continue to stumble over the same obstacles and make the same mistakes that our ancestors endured. It is like driving without a rear view mirror. If we aren’t occasionally reminded of our history and where we’ve come from, we are aimlessly traveling through life without direction. If we look in our rear view mirror, we will see a 400 year car pile up and hundreds of potholes. We are what we’ve been through and that makes us the most resilient people on the face of this planet.

Each generation is supposed to improve upon the generation before it. But, that can only happen if the previous generation explains, educates, and empowers the generation following it with information they’ve acquired over the course of their life. It doesn’t take two people to burn themselves on the stove for both of them to know that the stove is hot.

According to William Glasser, we remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we discuss with others, 80% of what we experience personally, and 95% of what we teach to someone else. Therefore, in order to complete the learning process elders must teach youth about their personal experience through discussion.

I highly recommend starting to write your own autobiography, taking pictures, making films, and developing your family tree so that future generations can learn from you life’s trials and tribulations. But most importantly, I recommend sharing your life stories orally with others because no form of communication is as intimate, genuine, and memorable as face-to-face dialogue.

By Jullien Gordon

Last Spring, the African community at UCLA was devastated. In May of 2004, 12-year old, Gregory Gabriel, a participant in UCLA African Student Union’s SHAPE after school academic achievement program, was shot and killed on an adolescent adventure to a youth night club in South Central after sneaking out from a sleep over. A few weeks later, Charles Gross, a 3rd year political science major, president of the UCLA Stocks & Bonds financial literacy organization, and NOMMO assistant editor was on track to graduate a year early, when he was unexpectedly shot on the porch of his home in Compton in May of 2004. An individual’s commitment to educational achievement no longer shields them from the evil, the crime, and the hate that infect our community. The stories of these two young Black men serve as a reminder to us all that no man is an island unto himself and that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

UCLA (or Westwood) can be considered a world within itself. On this campus, we still deal with unlawful policies (the end of Affirmative Action), discrimination (no Diversity Requirement), poverty (lack of financial aid), and even police brutality. No microcosm can exist without a macrocosm, thus UCLA is not an escape from reality; reality is merely downsized. It is in this type of environment where an individual is able to realize their potential because they can take risk, trying things they may have never considered trying on the global scale. Giant fears shrink into conquerable challenges. UCLA is a controlled experimental environment that provides time for student like ourselves to practice, evaluate, and refine our ideas and plans for the future. An on-campus community service organization is a microcosm of a non-profit or small business in the same way that our student government is a microcosm of world politics. If one cannot execute their “practice” plan on a college campus, chances are that they will struggle when they try to in the real world. This is also to say that individuals who don’t contribute to their on-campus community are not likely to contribute to their community at large once (and if) they graduate.

Though we as Black Bruins have been isolated by the 405, 10, and 110 freeways, a terrible public transportation system, high parking prices, and heaps of homework, these are just the erroneous factors we use to excuse ourselves from our responsibility to our community. Without ever leaving campus, how can one significantly impact or even know their community? Without ever leaving campus, one becomes disconnected and loses touch with their roots; when our primary reason for begin here is to uplift our people. Regardless of who you are or where you are, one can never detach themselves from the conditions that their people face worldwide. Without a football or basketball jersey, African athletes (and rap artist) are seen as nothing more than criminals and prisoners to most of the world. Thus, if the world doesn’t value our global gladiators outside of the sports arena, then how much more will they honor any individual of color, whose face they don’t even recognize whether they are educated or not. To be blunt, most of us hate being associated with Black and are unconsciously using our education to not only brighten our minds, but also the way the world views us. Thus, the greatest obstacle to the development of the Black community is our own selfishness which is motivated by our internal desire to become white.

We as African college students at UCLA have an obligation to our communities to share the well of wisdom we’ve been given unrestricted access to with the dying seeds (youth and ideas) of our community. There was no escape for Charles or Gregory, and there is no excuse for you or me. This is a warning to our college community, to prevent everyone from becoming the bourgeois that was created by the “system” to oppress its own people by creating class divisions among its own kind. Consider your college degree as a step forward for your people, not as a step up and above those who may not have the opportunity you have in being here.

We must act where we can impact and pray for what we cannot. The sequence of events that lead to a dead end for Gregory Gabriel and an untimely detour for Charles Gross was out of our control. Or were they? Could one of us potentially had the responsibility of mentoring the shooters in both instances, but failed to fulfill our responsibility out of our own selfishness. This inspiring individual could have been anyone of us, however, the guiltiest person is the person who has done the least. Below are various ways you can ways to positively affect your community from campus. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Ultimately, the goal is to share the knowledge and gifts you have been given. What is the purpose of your education if you cannot apply it?

1. Volunteer for an on-campus outreach or community service program
2. Put on some sort of workshop for your very own siblings and family members.
3. Bring a class from you high school up to your college campus for a tour
4. Create some sort of community service program that goes to schools, youth centers, or churches in local urban areas to educate them on various topics, skills, and professions.

I’m not going to lie, I like Kanye West’s music. What I don’t like is the overarching message that his lyrics promote. As UCLA’s African Student Union’s SHAPE (Students Heightening Academic Performance through Education) director, my staff and I spend our lives trying to instill a college-going culture into a community that has put education on the backburner. Granted, Kanye West addresses some deeper issues that other shallow artist do not, in one Rocafella marketing campaign, the work we do daily regresses to square one because having money is prioritized above having peace of mind.

If you know anything about Black history (or even American history at that), I am sure you can recall The Little Rock Nine Incident (September 1957) sparked by Governor Orval Faubus’ intervention regarding the desegregation of Central High in Arkansas. I am confident that you can also remember Alabama Governor George Wallace’s Stand at the Schoolhouse Door (June 1963) when he was confronted by federal authorities at the University of Alabama in Montgomery for trying to prevent two black students from enrolling. If not, them I’m sure your can recall all the lyrics to “Slow Jamz”. I hesitate to call it a celebration, but 50 years after the 1954 Brown vs. Board decision, segregation in public education still exists because legislation without implementation is worthless. History repeats itself and we as Africans in America have to ask ourselves two questions: Is California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger any different than Faubus and Wallace? What are we going to do to open access to higher education for the youth from our communities?

Education was kept from us longer than our freedom. Normally, when things are kept away from a person, it is because it is dangerous to the individual and may result in self-harm. Kanye West CD “The College Dropout” is a prime example of how we have been conditioned to think that our education is “fast food for thought” and unhealthy. In his book To Be Popular or Smart: The Black Peer Group, Jawanza Kunjufu articulates that “The oppressor used all of his tools-books, psychologists, doctors, schools, and later the electronic media—to portray Africans as genetically inferior” (13). To exacerbate the problem, today we portray ourselves as genetically inferior through rap and other forms of media, because our oppressor is willing to pay us chump change in comparison to their profit to do so. We as learners must realize that many of the math, science, and philosophy being taught in schools of all levels are merely boomerang. They were taken from Africa to Europe, translated reaccredited and then given back. Everyone know the intrinsic value of education or the exercising of one’s mind to strengthen it, but the enemy culture is more aware of the Black male’s intellectual potential than the Black male and therefore it will do any and everything it can to suppress what’s already exists inside of us…wisdom, history, and success.

Is a college degree worth it? Many people question the fair market value of a college degree, especially if financial aid is inadequate. It is disappointing to know that my people are the least willing to invest in the development of their minds. Thou shall not steal, but I will rejoice the day Black kids start stealing books from bookstores. According to the chart below (taken from the National Endowment for Financial Education), from a financial standpoint, college is more than worth it:

Education and Earnings: Annual Household Earnings
No High School Diploma: $20,724
High School Diploma: $34,373
Some College: $41,658
Bachelor’s Degree: $62,188
Professional Degree: $95,309

We always hear the about the mystifying “education outside of the classroom”. Those life lessons alone add extra value to the financial benefits of acquiring a college education. When I asked thirty Black Bruins “What are you gaining from college outside of the classroom?”, they had the following responses:

I developed…
independence (4), money management skills(4), responsibility, discipline, my identity (2), social skills (2), my critical thinking skills, political consciousness, a collective community attitude, what I want to do in life (2), as a person (2), my time and self management (5), my work experience and career plans, cultural tolerance (8), an increased hunger for knowledge, friendships (4), spiritually (3), writing skills (3), leadership skills (8), communication skills (2), my own view of the world, into an adult, a life-long network, an appreciation for diversity
I learned …
about who I am (6), how to plan, how to utilize resources, how to be organized, my history (2), why things are the way they are, how to deal with discrimination (2), what kind of person I am (2), my strengths, how to set goals, how to plan, how to be competitive (2), how to work with other people (2), how to value other people’s opinions, how to interact with the opposite sex (2), that success is a journey not a destination, how the real world works (2), my interest, how to share, how to research, how to stand up and articulate myself (3), my person in life, what makes me happy, to try new things, the inter connectedness of life, how to do presentations
I experienced…
studying abroad and traveling internationally (5), great teaching, a real world experience (2), entrepreneurship
I acquired…
public speaking skills, cultural tolerance (2), new ideas and perspectives, a glimpse of the real world, confidence, time to experiment, computer skills, time to prepare for life, a space to be creative, a sense of accomplishment

Even though our grade point averages are not based on these intangible skills, they cannot be discounted when speaking about the college experience. It wouldn’t be fair if I said you couldn’t gain these things from a rap career either, but I think it is fair to say that the chances of graduating from college and getting a record deal are incomparable. Kanye West is right; it does not matter what you major or minor in. All in all, you should double major in yourself. You should graduate college with the ability to say that I have a better understanding of who I am, and why I am. If we never reach that understanding, we will inevitably spend the rest of our lives trying to be someone we are not.

Disregarding the animalistic implication, the Black male has been identified as an “endangered species”. Last year, only a handful of Black males were admitted to UCLA, and of that, only 5 of the ones who enrolled were admitted based on solely academics. The remaining Black males student athletes. This year, only a depressing 167 Black students were admitted. Considering that UCLA has over 26,000 undergraduates, these numbers are below low, they are horrifying. With the exception of perhaps the higher echelons of corporate America, it can be argued that no place in the world parallels the social disposition that the Black male faces at UCLA. As a public land grant institution, it is obligatory that UCLA’s admissions, hiring practices, and curriculum be reflective of the community in which it exist, however the Black male Bruin serves as the prime example and victim of UCLA’s anti-African attitude. Therefore, the retention of the Black male at UCLA becomes just as pertinent as addressing the outreach concern.

If a Black male can’t even obtain a quality education at their local public university, what other alternatives does he have in today’s society if he chooses not to go to college? Rap? Professional sports? Entrepreneurship? Jail? Comedians? Racially-bias laws, gang violence, police brutality, the prison industrial complex, single-parent homes, drugs, alcoholism, and sexually transmitted diseases are some of the pervading social factors that negatively affect the Black male and Black community as a whole. It is essential that our Black women recognize that this is all part of California’s “Master Plan” to divide Black men and women with regards to educational attainment, flip, and destroy the Black family structure. According to the California Postsecondary Education Commission, no other community has as great a disparity between the number of women and men attending college than Blacks. The ratio is almost 2:1 (65% to 35%). Though sheltered by the veil of Westwood, just because the Black male has been extricated from his natural environment and the atmosphere has changed, that does not mean that his values will change. That was the myth that led to the failure of the High Potential Alternative Admissions Program, in which only 1 of its 50 participants actually graduated fro UCLA. To proactively counter these unconstructive vices, the ASU’s African Men’s Collective seeks to build cross-generational mentorship relationships so that Black men can help strengthen one another as opposed to tear each other down. Instead of regressing, by sharing our experiences, life lessons, and mistakes we can begin a cycle of progress that will eventually result in our mental emancipation.

The African Men’s Collective is Black male support group for all Black men at UCLA created to sustain and retain the Black male at UCLA. The organization breaks generational and educational barriers by unifying Black male undergraduates, graduate students, alumni, faculty and staff, and even prospective UCLA students.

Hence, the African Men’s Collective is organizing their first quarterly conference, “The College Dropout” on Saturday, April 17, 2004 from 8am to 5pm at UCLA. As the initiators of social change, we as Black males stand for what’s right or else we will fall for what’s wrong. We will be building bridges and addressing issues that affect the Black male Bruin, such as definition of a Black man, issues pertaining to Black women, the college experience, the importance of mentorship, and how society views the Black male. It is guaranteed to be a day of empowerment, understanding, and change