Can i tell you i’ve been on my grizzly? The time is coming soon and there’s a lot to be done. Oh, but it will most definitely get done.
What about you? Have you been working? Here goes a little inspiration:
Haaaa-ppy New Year!
Well, i know we’re still a few hours shy, but it’s the new year somewhere in the world and i wanted to holla at you.
Yo, May is 5 months away and i’m feeling very confident about the fulfillment of my mission. Of course, it’s not a destination, but a journey, and i’ve received plenty of re-enforcements this year. A quick re-cap, shall we?
There were a few other things, but i don’t want to bore you. i do, however, want to thank you for walking with me. For real. And i’m so grateful to have ya’ll as i move forward into forever. As a sign of my gratitude, i would like to offer you a discount on Spring Chicken’s Revenge. 35% with the promo code thatgoodgood from now until January 7. Just click here.
Lastly, i leave you with this video. Thank you, i love you, and i’ll see you on the flip side.
Mad love to you and yours in the New Year and beyond.
-amari
i wanted to share this with you. And by “you,” i really mean me.
i’m less than six months out from the date i set for the fulfillment of my mission of being self-sustaining and prosperous. Scared? No. But certainly not cool as the fan i’d love to be.
They say that you make the path by walking and i get that. i comprehend that. But yo, it be hard sometimes. It becomes difficult to plan a life that includes other people when there are so many unknowns. i was terrible at geometry.
This is the time where principles meet practicality. Are you really bout what you say you bout? Do you really believe these real things in real life?
And could you live a life where, in every second, in every task that you undertook, you’d know you were wasting your existence?
Are you ok with a buster lifestyle?
::sigh::
Listen, i’ve got a few months left. And then the rest of my life. i’m going on. i’d love for you to come with me.
But i’m prepared to go it alone.
-amari
Remember: you are
only as great as you allow
yourself to be.
i have to tell you something extremely important, something that we often forget:
You were put on this planet for a purpose. And your most sincere commitment, your truest responsibility is to its fulfillment. Everything else is a distraction.
My grandfather grew up a sharecropper. His grandfather was enslaved. My father, well into his sixties, continues to work graveyard shifts. They’ve done their work and did it well. My purpose is to continue their legacy using my particular skills and talents, yes, but not to repeat what they’ve done. It is my duty to advance it.
We are so much greater than we allow ourselves to be. The work ethic of our fathers and mothers seems to have been lost. And, in some respects, rightfully so: why put so much effort into somebody else’s thing? We’ve been doing that for generations.
To the unconnected eye, it would appear that way. But my great-great-grandfather’s work was to put me right where i am at this exact moment. He wasn’t doing somebody else’s thing. He was doing ours.
It would be spit on his grave were i, were we, to not do the same.
There are no excuses. There is only truth: success or failure is entirely upon us, and, in the end, we will get exactly what we give.
-amari
BlackStar Books and Caffe, a wonderful institution i was involved in founding, needs some funds to get back up and running. Check this video and contribute as you see fit.
-amari
Last night i was checking the amazon sample version of this book, Music Success in Nine Weeks.
The author begins with an important move: a chapter dedicated to getting your mind right. In it, she discusses a series of mental preparations that will have you on your way to success–whether it be in music, business, finance, love, or whatever.
One gem i caught before the sample cut off was about goal setting/achieving. She encourages readers to write down 5 successes at the end of each day. Simple, right? Go ahead and try it. Write down five things you’ve accomplished today.
The exercise is pretty straightforward, but its far-reaching effects are quite profound. We are generally very quick to tell ourselves what we are doing wrong and don’t spend enough time on what we do right. “i didn’t do this. i took too much time doing that.” Eventually, it piles up to a mountain that dwarfs our self-esteem and we get even less done.
Right, we need to be self-critical. But we don’t need to be self-degrading. It’s a process that requires work, persistence, and dedication. And the fact that you are still engaged in it means you must be bout something.
So go ahead. Write down your daily success and, in time, you will realize that you truly are making progress.
You’re not so bad after all, huh?
-amari
Walk With Me 