Prayer for Self

How can I pray for the poor
and still ask for more?
How can I pray for the hungry
and feel hunger at my core?
How can I pray for the world
when my world is in a swirl?
How can I pray for change
when I remain the same?

When I pray for other's health
may I pray for myself
Selfish is only selfish
when I limit my view of self
We all must be whole
if anyone's to reach their goal
we've been separated by birth
but we're all connected at the soul

Ashe. Amen. And so it is.

The Dance of My Life

In high school and college I remember going to some of the hottest parties ever...I'm talking wall-to-wall, soaked-in-sweat, foggy windows, non-stop dancing. As I get older, parties have changed so much that people don't even dance anymore. I thought 30 was the new 20. I've observed that there are typically three types of people at parties nowadays:

1. Wall-Flowers: They talk about how wack the party is, but don't have the courage to get it started. Instead of making the most out of the situation, they complain about the time, energy, and money it costs to get here. They tend to wait for others to ask them to dance when if fact you get asked to dance the most when you start dancing first. Wall-flowers are stuck in their seats because they care too much about what other people think

2. Wait-Watchers: They stand around the dance floor as if they need permission to get on. Most wait-watchers think to themselves "As soon as a few people get out there, I'm on it." Wait-watchers like to play it safe by hiding in the shadows and are willing to risks their whole night on the bravery of a few party-starters or that one song that gets everybody out of their seat.

3. Party-Starters: Even if its only 10pm and they are the only one on the dance floor, they are dancing. Not only did they get in free for arriving early, they are making the most of the evening. A lot of people wait until the club is almost closed to get it cracking, but for party-starters, there is no such thing as early. The party starts when they arrive. Party-Starters liberate others to dance. They dance like nobody is watching. In other words, they are being themselves, which ironically leads everyone to watch them.

Which of these is you?
Which one do you want to be?

Life is nothing more than a dance between you and your authentic self. It's free to get in this party and it only cost you if you don't dance. As we try to find our rhythm on this dance floor we call the world, oftentimes we step on toes. Sometimes we dance to the wrong beat because we have yet to find our own. And sometimes we dance with the wrong partner because we have yet to find our Perfect Partner, which is our authentic self. Our authentic self knows the beat for which we were born and can match every step of the dance that we get to co-choreograph with number one mover and shaker of them all...God. If you have yet to find your Perfect Partner, keep dancing, keep trying new moves, and keep finding new partners for none of us know when this party ends.

We're Jah-men!

Lonely and In Love: Making Time For Myself

As millennials we transition a lot; we change cities, countries, jobs, and partners rather frequently. As we transition from academic environments into the "real world", communities of friends can be harder to find and build because its not just there for you like it is on a college campus, and thus life can get a little lonely. Even those of us who move back home after college come to realize that our childhood friends have also transitioned and the feeling of having to start all over again sets in.

Though our friends tend to spread out all over the world post-college and become consumed by careers, loneliness isn't something that is unique to our generation alone. People in their late 30s and 40s who have yet to find a partner may deal with it. People in their 50s who divorce after their children graduate from high school may deal with it. And people in their 60s and beyond who start losing friends to death may face it as well. And then there are people of all ages who look like they have all of the friends in the world from the outside, but are lonely on the inside.

So how do we deal with loneliness? In most cases my answer would be to build community, but there are times when loneliness has its place. We have a choice to either embrace it or push against it. When we push against it, we tend to invite unhealthy relationships into our lives and pursue social activities that aren't truly fulfilling just so we don't feel lonely. When we learn to embrace it, we have a unique opportunity to find peace and quiet, and time to self-reflect. In fact, many of us avoid loneliness by immersing ourselves in someone or something else so that we don't have to look at ourselves.

If you think about it, there are few chances in our lives to be alone. Instead of using that time to think how wonderful it may be to not be alone, an alternative course of thought would be to explore what's possible alone that isn't (as) possible when others (spouse, children, roommates, parents, etc) are around. Some of the most healing activities are one-player games (ie journaling, reading, meditating, painting, gardening, yoga).

When we breath we exhale and inhale. It's a cycle; Both are essential processes for our existence. In the same way, there will be times for us to exhale (or go without) and inhale (or go within) in our personal growth and development. Even those in a choir must sing solo sometimes to hone their own voice just as we must tune ourselves into the small voice within us. We must embrace change rather than try to change change. And the phases of loneliness that help us discover our only-ness are a type of change that we must cherish in order to excel when we are in community.

Thinking back through my spiritual, emotional, and physical relationships with women, I realized that of my 6 girlfriends since high school and all of my other relationships with women (mother and friends), very few of their biological fathers were present in their lives. That led me to ask myself two questions:

1. What does that say about me?
2. How can I change it?

So here’s my best shot!

1. What does that say about me?

My original question was ‘What does that say about society’? But, I am a direct reflection of society, therefore, the true question is ‘What does that say about me?’ and rather than falsely accuse society, the daughterless fathers, or the fatherless daughters, I must evaluate myself.

Looking for a mom: Looking myself in the mirror, I realized that I was scarred from a turbulent 10 years with my mother. I bought into the mindset that I was looking for a mother as opposed to a spiritual partner, which was unfair to any woman I engaged with. Many of my partners resembled my mother in many ways…both good and bad. I viewed my relationships as mechanisms to fill a familiar void rather than as a mechanism to build something brand new from where I was.

Failing at father: I also realized that in SOME unhealthy cases, I arrogantly thought I was man enough to serve as my partners’ partner and father when I was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually still a boy. Though none of my partners ever called me ‘daddy’, I believed that I could fulfill any fatherly expectations they had financially, physically, and emotionally. That was false.

2. How can I change it?

Balance my friendships: Oftentimes friendships are gender heavy. Men have a crew of men and women have a crew of women. Though brother and sister circles are important, the union of those circles is even more important and I should seek to have a healthy balance of male and female energy in my life.

Mentor younger women: As a mentor, my tendency has been to mentor younger males considering that they have typically been fatherless too, but instead of gravitating toward males, I should seek opportunities to mentor younger women because they need a healthy balance of males energy as well. Positive father figures are good (but not perfect) substitutes for fatherlessness.

Commit to and prepare for fatherhood now: Not too long ago I almost became a father, but since then, I have realized that the commitment and preparation for fatherhood begin now with my own personal growth and preparation for the future. Fatherhood begins with the collective upbringing of the youth (biological and non) in our community, not when our partner gets pregnant.

Cufflinks Don't Mean I'm Cuffed

Dear Corporations,

On my flight to the west coast, I sat between two employees of the same health care company. If I was CEO, after the 5 hour flight, I would have known who to fire, who to promote, what divisions to grow, and which ones to eliminate. If I was CEO of one of your competitors, I would have known how to strategically bury your company within the next 3 years and who on your staff to hire to help me do it.

Your employees know everything!
1. They know who’s creating value and who’s not
2. They know why you’re hot and why you’re not
3. They know your customers and your customers know them

Why don’t you listen to them? The suggestion box in the janitor’s closet doesn’t count.

Where do you create space for employees to be entrepreneurial? Just because you’re in the black this year doesn’t mean that you exploited every opportunity available.

Why can’t you retain your best talent? There are cells of employees getting ready to leave because they feel as if you’re not open to their ideas.

Do you have the courage to facilitate the open honest conversations internally that only take place in the bathroom, at the water cooler, or at happy hour?

Do you want to own your employees or do you want them to own you?

You think the US divorce rates are high? Well...you haven't signed a contract with us. Just because we wear cuff links doesn't mean you've got us cuffed. It's not that we're noncommittal, we just value freedom and the ability to create, whether we're an entrepreneur or intrapreneur. We're nothing like our grandparents and our parents who sought the security of working for one company for their entire life.

It's time to explore new organizational models and accept the fact that the concept of life-time employment no longer exists and see corporations as talent development centers, kind of like colleges...but better. Corporations (and colleges) will no longer be valued for their financial packages. Instead, they will be valued for what their alumni achieve upon leaving. Look at PayPal's former employees that went on to found YouTube, Linked-In, and Yelp.

The answers to your success are within (your own company).

Sincerely,

Millennials

Inspired by Dee Hock, founder of VISA and author of One From Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaoridc Organizations

NOTE: We made a factual error. King was born in 1929, not 1969.

The Art of Interviewing

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Your Passions & Your Profession

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Mother Earth Doesn't Wear Makeup

While riding the train today, I saw a woman spend the entire 20 minute ride "painting" her face. She literally looked like a different person from the time I got on the train to the time I got off....actually a lot less appealing (...to me at least). I know that we all have our own ways to make-up stories about who we are (ie types of clothes, cars, friends, house, etc), but cosmetics (and plastic surgery) perplex me the most. I'm sure I'm not the first guy to say this, but I prefer women who don't wear it.

According to Wikipedia, worldwide cosmetic sales were expected to reach $18B in 2007 in comparison the to the self-improvement market which only totaled $8.5B in 2003. On a global perspective, it is no coincidence that Mother Earth is in the state that she is in. Women are a reflection of Mother Earth. They are the life-giving force of the world, fertilized by the rays of the Father Sun. A woman's true foundation is not made by Mac or L'Oreal; it is made by God. Nothing accents a woman's eyes, lips, or dimples like the aura created by the spirit within her. Until men and women alike learn to appreciate Mother Earth for her natural beauty, she will continue to bathe herself in hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes to open and cleanse her pores.

When I think of Mother Earth all I see is beauty. When Mother Earth has a crack in her skin, we call it a canyon. When she has a oozing pimple on her surface, we call it a volcano. When she has a tear running down her face, we call it a river. We travel to the Grand Canyon, Mississippi River, and other national parks because they are the most pure parts of Earth; They aren't painted with cement cities. In the same way one shouldn't have to travel miles upon miles to replace the unnatural cityscape with a beautiful landscape, one shouldn't have to peel back layers upon layers to see the true beauty of any woman walking on the face of Mother Earth. Like Mother Earth, woman are perfect and whole the way they are and should be acknowledged as the first wonder of the world.

Art: "Mother Earth" by Jenness Cortex Perlmutter

Prayer for Purpose

If I'm to find purpose
can't keep living on the surface
if my body is a temple
then my body's where the church is
I may not always be certain
but as long as I know I'm searching
if we are who we're waiting for
then our search is really urgent

Lost in this matrix
I must find the oracle
in hopes of discovering what I can do
that'd be a pure outpour of soul
purpose is priceless
one can still be poor with gold
help me answer my inner questions
so they don't sound rhetorical

When I think I've gone miles
God says there's more to go
please just help me say yes
when the flesh tells me no
may my inner compass guide me
as I approach my godly goals
one only grows to holy
when they realize that they're whole

Ashe. Amen. And so it is.

PurposeFinders anonymously email me and share their answers to the 8 principles of purpose in hopes that you, the blog readers, will give them advice, ideas, feedback, questions, resources, and contacts that will help them advance in their pursuit of purpose. Please read this PurposeFinders' responses and use your wisdom and experiences to help them on their journey by commenting below. If you would like to participate in this process yourself, please take this anonymous questionnaire. My hope is that a new PurposeFinder will be featured every week. ____________________________________________________________

Stage of Purpose
1. Inquiring 2. Investigating 3. Invoking 4. Investing 5. Inspiring
____________________________________________________________

Part 1: Where am I?

1. Principles:
What do I value? What beliefs govern my life?

I want to make the most relatable, uplifting, and moving movies ever.

2. Passions:
What do I love doing and why?

Getting into writing, storyboarding stories that I create, reading/watching well written stories

3. Problems & Pain:
What social, scientific, technical, and/or personal question or pain do I want to solve?

I'd like to get over my own problems by immersing myself into someone's story, one that I create. In the process I hope others will be able torelate and feel themselves in the situations I create.

4. People & Place:
Who do I want to serve and where?

Any one, any age, that is going through unbearable pain. Everywhere people have a chance to see my films.
____________________________________________________________

Part 2: Where am I going?

5. Picture:
What's my vision for myself and the world?

I want my films to be rich enough such that people don't just watch once, but watch multiple times the way they play a good song over and over.

6. Pioneers:
Who are my models? Mentors? Guides?

Steve Conrad (Weather Man and Pursuit of Happyness writer) and Ki-duk Kim (3-Iron director)

7. Positioning & Potential:
What do I want to master? What do I want to be #1 in the world at? And why do I believe that I can do it? Why am I the one?

I want to be #1 director of uplifting and realistic dramas.

8. Possibility:
How will people experience life differently because of me?

By breaking old barriers of film storytelling (The Matrix, 3-Iron(all silent drama)) and creating the most visually riveting films/TV shows that drive people to tears, I believe I can move people through moving stories and characters that they can relate to and hopefully heal through.
____________________________________________________________

Part 3: How do I get there?

This PurposeFinder is looking for advice, ideas, feedback, questions, resources, and contacts that will help them advance in their pursuit of purpose. Some ways that may help him:

1. Send this to other filmmakers by clicking on the envelope below
2. Recommend some movies that moved you to tears and action
3. Give advice on how to invest in one's own vision instead of always investing in other's

Fantasy is what people want but reality is what they need

If you want the answers, you've got to ask the questions

My world it moves so fast today
The past it seems so far away
And life squeezes so tight that I can't breathe
And every time I try to be, what someone else has thought of me
So caught up, I wasn't able to achieve

But deep in my heart, the answer it was in me
And I made up my mind to define my own destiny
___________________________________
Trace Magazine Interview July/Aug 2005

If I make music now, it will only be to provide information to my own children. If other people benefit from it then so be it.

Honesty is the very thing that protects love.

Computers should be used a a tool to enhance creativity, not to replace it...The whole world has become one big sample.

In order to have one's soul, one has to display their whole vulnerability.

I like people and relationships, but I know now that the spirit of God is the most wonderful experience.

I had to learn through violent, turbulent experiences.

You will find that insecure women have a tendency to attract insecure men.

Niceness should not be prioritized over the truth or honesty.

When you do something [The Mis Education of Lauryn Hill album] good, you expect good to happen...It's like being in a room when a beautiful woman walks in. When you don't notice the beautiful woman, that says something about you.

[These record company people] they crunch numbers because they're not talking about the intangibles which are love, drive, and passion.

That's what happens when creativity comes; there's a gestation period. You can't induce a baby in three months. That's how people get burned out quickly.

Everyone who listens to the voice of God will have conflict. Many times you will find that people who have God's standards prefer to be liked to the detriment of being what they are supposed to be in this world.

I am a real person which means I change my mind and there is the occasional mood swing.

What I want now is to manifest the truth, unapologetically; to remain clear; to maintain integrity; to never take advantage of people.

The world has become one big marketplace, but no one asks where the human compassion has gone. I guess its for sale now.

For an honest opinion people will send you an invoice. That's the sick society we live in. People are sending invoices against God's will.

There are things you tell your friend, when they're not acting right, that you wouldn't tell a business partner, and I guess I didn't treat her like a friend, but rather as a business partner. In retrospect, I believe I failed her as a friend, not as a business partner. In business we were close to infallible and quite successful.

This blog & post have been updated HERE »

"...How you get so fly? From not being afraid to fall out the sky..."
from Beach Chair, Kingdom Come

Insight: The only way to overcome fear is to face it.
_____________
"...I'm not a businessman. I'm a business...maaaannn..."
from Diamonds Are Forever Remix

Insight: Like businesses, individuals need visions, strategies, partnerships, positioning, constant evaluation and accountability, etc. See The C.E.O. of You.
_____________
"...Remind yourself. Nobody built like you, you design yourself..."
from A Dream, Blueprint 2

Insight: We are fully responsible for our being. We are co-creators (with God) of our lives and can be whoever we choose to be.
_____________
"...I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of not trying..."
from Beach Chair, Kingdom Come

Insight: Failure is underrated. To not try is worse than failing.
_____________
"...I'm far from God, but I work god damn hard..."
from Breath Easy, The Blueprint

Insight: To create like the Creator takes hard work.
_____________
"...I spring train in the winter, around early December..."
from Breath Easy, The Blueprint

Insight: He who practices the most is most prepared to win.
_____________
If I don't show the world growth, how are we going to grow?
December 2007 XXL Interview

Insight: Things that stagnate don't last long.
_____________
I love that because that's what I'm supposed to be doing - whether it's accepted b everybody or not. I'm supposed to be pushing that envelope and trying new things. And people are supposed to say, "Hov, you might have went too far".
December 2007 XXL Interview

Insight: If people aren't looking at you funny, then you're not pushing the envelope.
_____________
I love what I'm doing. I love the artist I'm developing. I love the whole thing about it. Once again, I have to really look at it for the next three years and say, "Am I doing it for the right reasons?" 'Cause all I want to do is make history at this point. They got to pay me to make history of course. But that's my goal. I want to sit there with people really into making history. I mean everybody. I don't mean just artists. The interns -if everybody's not committed to making history every time I go into a meeting, and if I can't look into their eyes and I don't see the fire, then I gotta move on. ' Cause, you know, I don't have time. I don't have the luxury of time to just blow off three years. I do, but I don't. But I'm not looking to have a job. That's not hot!
December 2007 XXL Interview

Insight: It's about making history. Music is just to the tool.
_____________
"I'm a person that works off of music. I let the music dictate the direction."

Insight: Let the creative energy guide you. Don't dictate too much.

HipHopDX Interview
_____________

If you know of other worthwhile Jay-Z quotes for personal growth, please comment below.

Here's what my readers added:

"Treat my first like my last and the last like my first and my thirst is the same as- when I came."
from My 1st Song, The Black Album
_____________
"I will not lose for even in defeat, there's a valuable lesson learned so it evens up for me."
from Blueprint 2, The Blueprint 2
_____________
"what tomorrow has in store we could never be sure so all we can do is pray"
from Pray, American Gangster

Related Posts:
* Lil' Wayne Quotes for Personal Growth

Related Articles:
* Jay-Z on Personal Success in Best Life Magazine

Visit me at JullienGordon.com

Prayer for Birthdays

Oh Great Spirit
Everyday we’re reborn
Though we die every night
No one really mourns
When resurrection’s expected
Death gets neglected
But life has many cycles
May we never forget this

I pray that another day
Does not fade and I don’t change
May I grow with every moment
And not measure life with age
This year help me see
The tree inside the seed
And realize the potential
That you have planted in me

Ashe. Amen. And so it is.

Grocery List Goals

Have you ever gone grocery shopping, spent over $150 on a basket full of stuff with a receipt down to your ankles, got home, unpacked the food, and then looked in the refrigeration and felt like there was absolutely nothing to eat? This is what happens when we don’t go grocery shopping with meals in mind. Instead, many of us go the grocery store with a meaningless list. Though we buy everything on our list, they are mere ingredients and side dishes to the main course. As a result, our stomachs end up growling and unfulfilled.

Many of us live life in a similar fashion. We have to do lists without visions. We browse through the aisles of life and fill our baskets to the brim with canned good experiences that are supposed to satisfy our spirits and fulfill us. Oftentimes, our lists looks exactly like our parents’ list because we’ve bought into their definition of success. It is not until we start to hunger for life ourselves after years of pizza, ramen, and cereal, that we enter the cupboard of our own consciousness and realize that nothing we bought was purely our choice or purchased with a meal in mind. As a result, our spirits are left unfulfilled, growling for a healthy meal that will energize instead of enervate.

When grocery shopping, our main course should guide what we put on our grocery list and ultimately what we choose to buy. In life, our vision should influence our daily, weekly, and long-term goals and ultimately every choice we make. Don't go through life with grocery list goals; Have meals in mind. Begin with the end in mind…or else don’t mind the end.

Manage (Your) Time. Make Money.Whoever said “Time is money” has significantly impacted the consciousness of American and world culture for better or for worse. Unfortunately they were wrong...time is not money. Money is just one way to store value created with time. Yes…you can spend, save, invest, and waste both time and money, but you can’t save time for later like money nor can you buy time with money. The richest person in the world can not buy an additional 100 years of life. When it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go (healthcare or no healthcare...Whole Foods or no Whole Foods).

We talk about time and money management without truly knowing what time and money are. How can we manage something we can’t even define? I define money as a mechanism created by us to measure and store our ability to create value. To me, time is a mechanism created by us to measure our ability to condense the space between two events (event #1: where someone/thing is and event #2: where someone/thing wants to be).

In the same way that we pay a premium for airplanes, trains, and cars according to the velocity (distance/time) in which they can condense physical spaces, other people (ie clients) and organizations (ie employers) will pay you for helping them get from point A to point B financially, organizationally, spiritually, mentally, etc. If you are able to powerfully close space between two events (aka your velocity) for yourself, another person, or another entity, you will create value, which you can store for later use as money. Airplanes use the sky. Trains use tracks. And cars use roads. Therefore, in order for us to create and capture the most value we can and get rich (spiritually, financially, etc), we must become aware of where our personal velocity is the highest and stay on that path.

Prayer for Perfect Health

I pray for those getting ill
as the weather starts to chill
but most colds are mental
so don't depend on that pill
address the root cause
not the symptoms that you feel
before the Tylenol
there were healthy ways to heal

Your body is a temple
so clean it when you spill
cough drops and syrup
can't help you face what's real
dis-ease is oh so real
like weeds it grows and kills
mountains grow from hills
so make prayer a daily drill

Ashe. Amen. And so it is.

The 8Ps of Purpose

The 8 Principles of Purpose have been consolidate from the original 13P of Purpose and grouped into two parts; 1. Where am I? and 2. Where am I going? If I am lost in a major city and I call a friend who lives here, these are the first two questions that they will ask me. If I don't answer BOTH of these questions, no matter how much my friend loves me and wants to see me reach my destination, they can't help me answer the third question...3. How do I get there? Below you will find the 8Ps and my answers to the questions.

Part 1: Where am I?

1. Principles: How do I measure success?
2. Passions: What activities do I love doing?
3. Problems: What social, science, technical, and/or personal question or pain do I want to solve?
4. People & Place: Who do I want to serve and where?

Part 2: Where am I going?

5. Picture: What's my vision for my life?
6. Pioneers: Who are my models? Mentors? Guides?
7. Positioning: What do I want to be #1 in the world at?
8. Possibility: How will people experience life differently because of me?
_____________________________________________________
Jullien's 8Ps

Part 1: Where am I?

1. Principles: What do I value? What beliefs govern my life?

I value love, life, and energy which is Spirit. I believe that these elements are cultivated in the context of community, where people feel free to live on purpose, and seek the Creator within themselves. We all have a purpose. Personal development isn't personal. The purpose of life is to find and fulfill our purpose, love God, love self, and love others. We are all divine expressions of one Creator. Words have power. Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind.

2. Passions: What do I love doing and why?

I love building community, counseling, coaching, developing self, playing soccer, eating with friends, organizing information, planning events, public speaking, writing. They all involve facilitating some sort of conversation between individuals, institutions, and/or information.

3. Problems & Pain: What social, science, technical, and/or personal question or pain do I want to solve?

How do people discover their purpose and reach their full potential? I want to cure wasted potential and purposelessness.

4. People & Place: Who do I want to serve and where?

The millennial generation, anywhere I feel called.

Part 2: Where am I going?

5. Picture: What's my vision for myself and the world?

I envision a world where people have the freedom to live purposefully, love unconditionally, and learn freely. In that world, I envision myself writing books, poetry, and music, speaking, learning, teaching, coaching, consulting, creating organizations, financing ideas, employing people, and developing tools and curriculum.

6. Pioneers: Who are my models? Mentors? Guides?

• Alcoholics Anonymous for its owner-member model and cultivation of 1. community 2. meaning, and 3. spiritual intimacy
  
• Oprah Winfrey for her use of media to empower women of all cultures and backgrounds
  
• Jesus for his conviction and use of simple metaphors to communicate spiritual principles
• Bob Marley for his commitment to spread the universal messages of love, peace, and unity
• Bill Drayton of Ashoka for his vision and commitment to the development of people
• Rick Warren for his work with Purpose Driven Life
• Michael Beckwith for his manifestation of Agape Spiritual Center
• Marcus Buckingham for his work in aligning career with strengths
• Chip Anderson for mentoring me on the importance of strengths based living while at UCLA
  

Background

I wrote this song in 2004 or 2005 when I was 23 for my future partner who I thought I would find and have found when I was 25. You'll see why this is significant as you read the lyrics. Words have power. See the letter she wrote for me in 2006 here. We just joined forces in November of 2007.

Chorus

I love you so
And you don't even know
Can't you see me glow
Whenever you are close
I love you so
And you don't even know
Can't you hear the harp
Forever in my heart

Verse 1

I'm open to change like parking meters
But baby right now, I don't really need ya
I'm glad you showed interest
Cause interest compounds
Will you still be down
When I finally come around
Right now I'm reading the Bible
Tryna touch God like Eiffel
I got big visions I got an eye-full
I'm tryna have the finer things
And that includes a wife
I want my house to have wings
So you gotta call it fly
I got feelings for you too
But nobody knows it
My hearts used to be open
But then somebody closed it
If I don't pay you no notice
Then know that I'm focused
I secretly send you roses
When we part like Moses
From my mother I was stolen
And brought across the sea
From my rib you were molded
So from you I'll never leave
In this game of chess
The king protects the queen
What would Adam be
If he neglected Eve

Verse 2

I've been diggin you for years
I've been shoveling my fears
I did a lot of dirt in my past
Just ask my peers
I ain't perfect
One mistake and I ain't worth it
Baby I'm for certain
I won't hurt you on purpose
The doors to my heart
Are ajar like churches
This window of opportunity
Shines with no curtains
I need to be nurtured
Like that ring I purchased
You the apple in my eye
Now lets grow like orchards
Pushing you away on purpose
Has been like torture
But I had to make sure
I got my life in order
Not tryna downplay the situation
I'm tryna uplift it
Want to wait til at least twenty-five
Like Christmas
I got a lobby full of patience
But they're tired of waiting
And just for your information
I've been stopped dating
As long as this has taken
I know we gonna make it
With God as our first love
We'll never be forsaken

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1199 | people via my blog

1,199 Uniques since January 1st

0195 | people via workshops

The Art of Interviewing for MLT Fellows (140)
Manage Time. Make Money for Girl's Conference (5)
Passions & Professions for MLT Prospects (50)
Feedback 101 for MLT Fellows (April)
The Art of Networking for MLT Fellows (April)
The CEO of You at NSBE Conference (March)

0010 | people via purpose readings

DS, KT, DS, AW, DD, MC, AB, LG, EO, SF

0003 | people via application reading

RP, MP, DD

0002 | people via life coaching

TS & SF

0000 | people via mentorship

None

0014 | people via Potlucks

None

0000 | people via Mylinia

Launching in April

0000 | people via YouTube

None

0000 | people via public speaking

None
_______________________
2792| people reached as of 03.10.08

Love love LOVE getting these little boosts of energy through your newsletter my friend.... needed to hear it today. J caffeine for the soul. definitely gave me a jumpstart just now. THANK YOU!

Proud of who you are, how you live, and the work you do (<-in order of prio!)..

Love and xoxoxox

jessica flannery
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Been missing this bro! Thank you.

Praying for you bro, that you be consistently amazed and blessed by what you do, and that you will see the full fruit of your labor in your life and in the lives of those you encourage.

Ok. Back to work!

-Delonte
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Jullien!
I am reading your blog.. you are such an inspiration, everything you write I relate to. You are GREAT!

Katie Cryer
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Jullien,

I loved your last 2 posts! Thank you, thank you for writing... I know it's hard when you also are balancing a personal life and a career to take the time and reflect and post it in such an eloquent, fun and simple way for us to digest... Now, I'm not affiliated with any religion, but I am trying to be as spiritual as possible. And without notes like yours, it would be much harder to stay grounded.

Much love,

Heidy
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A good friend of mine, Jullien Gordon, is a trailblazer. He has many things up his creative sleeve.

I was having a meal with him one day and I had just finished sending my personal Mission, Vision, and WoManifesto to a friend when he tells me that people need to follow successful models of living/functioning. He used an enterprise or an organization as an example. What SUCCESSFUL organization would go without advisors/board members? What SUCCESSFUL enterprise functions without a vision, mission, or tangible goals? What SUCCESSFUL business doesn't do a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)? What SUCCESSFUL non-profit doesn't examine it's programs and projects and determine how to make it better? What organizational entity goes without a strategic plan or budget? I agreed with him, not because those are things I've already considered and use for myself, but because too many people I know have never been asked what their purpose, mission, or vision is.

So I went to Jullien's Blogspot, and just started reading. I envision this education being as visible in schools as media literacy, visual & performing arts, sports, entrepreneurial education, and music. How do we send our children- hell how did we?!- into the world without having determined themselves "CEO" of their own lives? As Jullien says: "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."

Sallome
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Keep believing in your vision ju. i hate restating cliches but remember that whole 'anything worthwhile takes time to manifest' idea when things get tough. happy new year!

Mia
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