Here’s to the crazy ones
The misfits.
The nerds.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They are not fond of rules,
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glory or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can
change the world, are the ones who do.
Think differently.
-Steve Jobs
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Just My Thoughts
America needs to get off the pacifier. We have been pampered and babied for so long, we don't realize what we have here in opportunities and possibilities. We have created a generation that believes every one deserves a medal. Everybody is a winner. And the government, credit repair specialists, Betty Ford, your parents and everyone else for that matter are here to fix your problems when you mess up.
We have a bail out generation that wants handouts, welfare, tax cuts, universal health care and help paying their over-priced mortgages, but no one wants to pay for it. As sad as it may seem, everybody can't own a home and everybody is not a winner. It sucks sometimes, but it is true. And while everyone screams about universal health care, I don't hear to many volunteering to be the first in line to help foot the bill so that the single mother doesn't have to uses the ER as her kid's general practitioner.
This economic meltdown may very well have been what the doctor ordered. Since 1982, we have experienced some of the greatest economic prosperity that the world has ever seen. We have a ME ME ME, NOW NOW NOW attitude that puts no value on the ability to delay gratification or a desire to conserve. While there is a pill for every problem; somewhere along the line we lost our way, our ability to deal with problems and put more value in things than we each other. We have leveraged our future by gambling with what we speculated we would have left over after we spent most of what we made today.
I don't have all the answers, but if someone yells at the top of their lungs, "your basement is flooded, your toilets are overflowing and their are rats in your living room," maybe someone will realize that we have problems and need take a serious look at ourselves.
We have a bail out generation that wants handouts, welfare, tax cuts, universal health care and help paying their over-priced mortgages, but no one wants to pay for it. As sad as it may seem, everybody can't own a home and everybody is not a winner. It sucks sometimes, but it is true. And while everyone screams about universal health care, I don't hear to many volunteering to be the first in line to help foot the bill so that the single mother doesn't have to uses the ER as her kid's general practitioner.
This economic meltdown may very well have been what the doctor ordered. Since 1982, we have experienced some of the greatest economic prosperity that the world has ever seen. We have a ME ME ME, NOW NOW NOW attitude that puts no value on the ability to delay gratification or a desire to conserve. While there is a pill for every problem; somewhere along the line we lost our way, our ability to deal with problems and put more value in things than we each other. We have leveraged our future by gambling with what we speculated we would have left over after we spent most of what we made today.
I don't have all the answers, but if someone yells at the top of their lungs, "your basement is flooded, your toilets are overflowing and their are rats in your living room," maybe someone will realize that we have problems and need take a serious look at ourselves.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sell Your Dreams
Sell your dreams! Sell your dreams! Sell your dreams! And as odd as that may sound, I besiege you to sell you dreams.
We have all dreamed of doing something great or grandiose, even bigger than life; but usually somewhere along the way someone or something happened that made you think that dream was unattainable. When you were a child you never said, "I want to make $100,000 a year." You said, "I want to be the richest man in the world." Along the way you compromised and decided that you just needed to get to a respectable tax bracket. I beg you, even plead with you to recall those childhood dreams that for so long you thought were unrealistic.
After you remember that dream and take ownership of it, I then ask you to then sell it to whoever will listen, whoever will help facilitate it, whoever you come in contact with. And I realize at this point you may be perplexed and utterly confused about what the hell I'm asking you to do. What I have come to realie is "that all we have is us," and "no man is an island." In layman's terms, we all need each other and to make those aforementioned dreams a reality, you must sell them to others and turn them into full fledged believers, card carrying Kool Aid drinking members.
Everyone who has ever done anything great, or of any magnitude sold their dream to others. Without this act you are dead because a man who has nothing to look forward to has nothing to live for. What do Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther, Bill Gates, Oprah, Cornell Sanders and the list go on and on have in common? They all started with a dream, that may have seemed a bit overly ambitious to everyone else, and they all sold that dream to start a movement and turn their belief structure into a reality. It is time to become better salesman.
So your mission today is to:
1. Remember and take ownership of those dreams that you forgot about from childhood.
2. Figure out who can help in your pursuit to turn that dream into a reality and sell it to them.
We have all dreamed of doing something great or grandiose, even bigger than life; but usually somewhere along the way someone or something happened that made you think that dream was unattainable. When you were a child you never said, "I want to make $100,000 a year." You said, "I want to be the richest man in the world." Along the way you compromised and decided that you just needed to get to a respectable tax bracket. I beg you, even plead with you to recall those childhood dreams that for so long you thought were unrealistic.
After you remember that dream and take ownership of it, I then ask you to then sell it to whoever will listen, whoever will help facilitate it, whoever you come in contact with. And I realize at this point you may be perplexed and utterly confused about what the hell I'm asking you to do. What I have come to realie is "that all we have is us," and "no man is an island." In layman's terms, we all need each other and to make those aforementioned dreams a reality, you must sell them to others and turn them into full fledged believers, card carrying Kool Aid drinking members.
Everyone who has ever done anything great, or of any magnitude sold their dream to others. Without this act you are dead because a man who has nothing to look forward to has nothing to live for. What do Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther, Bill Gates, Oprah, Cornell Sanders and the list go on and on have in common? They all started with a dream, that may have seemed a bit overly ambitious to everyone else, and they all sold that dream to start a movement and turn their belief structure into a reality. It is time to become better salesman.
So your mission today is to:
1. Remember and take ownership of those dreams that you forgot about from childhood.
2. Figure out who can help in your pursuit to turn that dream into a reality and sell it to them.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
It is Bigger than Us
It's bigger than us. And by us I mean the 21-35 generation x kids who grew up watching 106 and Park and TRL and barely can remember when rap music wasn't on MTV. It's bigger than us. Because we didn't have to walk on Washington and we sat in the back of the bus because that's where we wanted to sit, not because we were forced to or have to riot because one of our leaders was assassinated. Since we had no political leaders that related to us, we turned Tupac into our revolutionary and rappers became the voice of a misguided generation that had nothing to hold on to or nothing to look forward to. A man is a dangerous animal when he has nothing to live for.
And with that came the rise of American Gangsters and dope boyz in the trap and drug dealers became local legends and later in their careers music moguls. While single mothers in the hood told little boys and girls you can be anything you want to be, you don't have to be like the rest of them. Drugs and basketball aren't they only way out. And some replied yeah I'm going to be a rapper. And she told you that's not what she meant, you can be president. And I myself was one of those children and looked at her and thought this lady is on that shit, because my name isn't Bill or William, or George or any other presidential name and then I thought; if she wanted me to be president she should have started by giving me the right name to start. Then I also realized none of the presidents looked like me and she was just pumping my head with noise because it sounded good.
But as I said when I started it is bigger than us. This moment in time, while we pivot role in it was not really for us. It is bigger than us. It is for our grandparents that day dream and have nightmares when you mention things like Selma, Willie Lynch, a young Atlanta preacher named after a catholic revolutionary Martin Luther, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Malcom Little aka Malcolm X aka Malik Shabazz. This moment is for then for everything that we took for granted, that they indured. This is their time to rejoice and praise God for the dream that has come to fruition. More importantly this moment is for the next generation, for my two year old son Davin that will never question me when I tell him that he can be anything he wants to be including president and he doesn't have to have a presidential name or presidential background to win. This moment is for my son who is to young to get it yet, because 2am is way past his bed time. This is for our kids that we must realize have far fewer obstacles in front of them than our parents did. Kids who not only play football and basketball, but golf and tennis as well. This is for those who will grow up believing YES WE CAN.
And with that came the rise of American Gangsters and dope boyz in the trap and drug dealers became local legends and later in their careers music moguls. While single mothers in the hood told little boys and girls you can be anything you want to be, you don't have to be like the rest of them. Drugs and basketball aren't they only way out. And some replied yeah I'm going to be a rapper. And she told you that's not what she meant, you can be president. And I myself was one of those children and looked at her and thought this lady is on that shit, because my name isn't Bill or William, or George or any other presidential name and then I thought; if she wanted me to be president she should have started by giving me the right name to start. Then I also realized none of the presidents looked like me and she was just pumping my head with noise because it sounded good.
But as I said when I started it is bigger than us. This moment in time, while we pivot role in it was not really for us. It is bigger than us. It is for our grandparents that day dream and have nightmares when you mention things like Selma, Willie Lynch, a young Atlanta preacher named after a catholic revolutionary Martin Luther, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Malcom Little aka Malcolm X aka Malik Shabazz. This moment is for then for everything that we took for granted, that they indured. This is their time to rejoice and praise God for the dream that has come to fruition. More importantly this moment is for the next generation, for my two year old son Davin that will never question me when I tell him that he can be anything he wants to be including president and he doesn't have to have a presidential name or presidential background to win. This moment is for my son who is to young to get it yet, because 2am is way past his bed time. This is for our kids that we must realize have far fewer obstacles in front of them than our parents did. Kids who not only play football and basketball, but golf and tennis as well. This is for those who will grow up believing YES WE CAN.
This is A Love Poem
One day you asked me to write you a poem
And it took me a while to find something to say.
I wanted to convey something, but I really wasn't sure what.
Remember this is a love poem.
When you need inspiration because you can't find yourself in the person and the life you have created for yourself.
Or when you feel your emotions are on trial and the world is the plaintiff.
Or even when you're tired of going through trials and tribulations
and asking God, "why me" and receiving the same answer, "why not".
Remember this is a love poem.
I wrote this for the times when you question mankind.
And you are left with the realization that everybody except you is out of his or her minds.
Or those situations where you may start to believe, "maybe it's not them, maybe it is me".
Especially when you feel God can’t hear your cries or when you feel trapped in a valley of lost souls
Those are the times that I want you to read this.
Remember this is a love poem.
Even though it may not speak of roses or violets.
And pays no mention to long summer days.
It makes s no comparison of your eyes to oceans or your beauty to a goddess.
While this may not be filled with flights of fancy.
Or promises of bliss and splendor.
Remember this is a love poem.
It is accepting and understanding.
It is not overbearing or hurtful.
But, it is altruistic and open to interpretation.
It can be taken at face value or as deep as you would like.
The words have been written for you and no one else.
They will not change or leave you.
They will be there as long as you want them.
Love is as love does and God is love.
So it is quite obvious there is no greater gift than love.
For God so loved the world that he gave.
As I have give this to you.
Remember this is a love poem.
And it took me a while to find something to say.
I wanted to convey something, but I really wasn't sure what.
Remember this is a love poem.
When you need inspiration because you can't find yourself in the person and the life you have created for yourself.
Or when you feel your emotions are on trial and the world is the plaintiff.
Or even when you're tired of going through trials and tribulations
and asking God, "why me" and receiving the same answer, "why not".
Remember this is a love poem.
I wrote this for the times when you question mankind.
And you are left with the realization that everybody except you is out of his or her minds.
Or those situations where you may start to believe, "maybe it's not them, maybe it is me".
Especially when you feel God can’t hear your cries or when you feel trapped in a valley of lost souls
Those are the times that I want you to read this.
Remember this is a love poem.
Even though it may not speak of roses or violets.
And pays no mention to long summer days.
It makes s no comparison of your eyes to oceans or your beauty to a goddess.
While this may not be filled with flights of fancy.
Or promises of bliss and splendor.
Remember this is a love poem.
It is accepting and understanding.
It is not overbearing or hurtful.
But, it is altruistic and open to interpretation.
It can be taken at face value or as deep as you would like.
The words have been written for you and no one else.
They will not change or leave you.
They will be there as long as you want them.
Love is as love does and God is love.
So it is quite obvious there is no greater gift than love.
For God so loved the world that he gave.
As I have give this to you.
Remember this is a love poem.
Somewhere in the middle of Everywhere
Nestled between the dreams and screams of adolescent teens who yearn to grow older and alcoholics who yearn to grow sober.
There is a place where heaven and hell meets, where angels and demons take seats and discuss the problems of the day and put them in a way that small children can understand.
Where the inner child meets the man and confronts him with such issues as, where did we go wrong and why do you keep singing the same song, talking about I could have been somebody; if it wasn't for this, that and the other.
And single mothers and fathers are really the same person. Or at least that's what she told you, but she didn't tell you that when she met him she knew he wasn't shit and even though he had a girl she still let him hit. And she sure ain't tell you that she had you to keep a man that wasn't her's anyway.
Where night meets day; and dusk and dawn are really the same thing. At the intersection where peasants meets kings and genesis and revelation are really the same thing. Because the beginning is the end and the end is something a little bit more than a fairy tale. Where human souls are being put up for sale. While God and the Devil are merely the brokers.
And speaking of broker, while the powers that be get richer, the middle class is getting broker and broker and broker. Because in reality there is no middle. As we blindly follow the Pide Piper's fiddle down the road of damnation. And we are surrounded by a nation, full of kids who do not know any better. Who would as quickly pull a trigger as they would write a suicide letter.
And the media would like us to believe that we are further apart than we are. As is the distance were measured by stars. You can find us on the connection between hip-hop tracks and gospel hymns and stand firmly on the idea that to be saved you must first realize that you have sinned. And we can be found somewhere between partying late Saturday night and praising God early Sunday morn. By no means are we the norm, bazaar, outkast in all forms.
There is a place where heaven and hell meets, where angels and demons take seats and discuss the problems of the day and put them in a way that small children can understand.
Where the inner child meets the man and confronts him with such issues as, where did we go wrong and why do you keep singing the same song, talking about I could have been somebody; if it wasn't for this, that and the other.
And single mothers and fathers are really the same person. Or at least that's what she told you, but she didn't tell you that when she met him she knew he wasn't shit and even though he had a girl she still let him hit. And she sure ain't tell you that she had you to keep a man that wasn't her's anyway.
Where night meets day; and dusk and dawn are really the same thing. At the intersection where peasants meets kings and genesis and revelation are really the same thing. Because the beginning is the end and the end is something a little bit more than a fairy tale. Where human souls are being put up for sale. While God and the Devil are merely the brokers.
And speaking of broker, while the powers that be get richer, the middle class is getting broker and broker and broker. Because in reality there is no middle. As we blindly follow the Pide Piper's fiddle down the road of damnation. And we are surrounded by a nation, full of kids who do not know any better. Who would as quickly pull a trigger as they would write a suicide letter.
And the media would like us to believe that we are further apart than we are. As is the distance were measured by stars. You can find us on the connection between hip-hop tracks and gospel hymns and stand firmly on the idea that to be saved you must first realize that you have sinned. And we can be found somewhere between partying late Saturday night and praising God early Sunday morn. By no means are we the norm, bazaar, outkast in all forms.
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