Take a walk in my shoes...

Green Grass.

I have been a full-time entrepreneur for almost 8 years.  That fact continues to shock me because it means that for nearly decade, my full-time job has been a job that I’ve created for myself.  I don’t set my alarm clock, I work from home, I start and stop my day when I choose and I don’t have to ask for a day off.  On countless occasions, others have told me how great my life must be and how incredible it is to be your own boss.  There is truth to that; being in control of your own career is very fulfilling and satisfying but this perception of my life is a prime example of the grass on the other side appearing to be greener.  There’s a reason why there’s thousands of motivational quips, mantras and mottos created to encourage business owners; in between all of those awesome moments, being an entrepreneur can really suck… a lot.

My mind's playing tricks on me

Brain Damage.

Above is a picture of Adam Lanza as a young boy.

What isn’t in this picture is what’s most important.  What you don’t see is a gun.  What you don’t see is a murderous rage and a desire to ruin the lives of hundreds.  I don’t know why someone would enter an elementary school and open fire on 5 and 6 year old children but the fact is, something happened between the date this picture was taken and December 14, 2012 that made Adam pick up that gun and make that choice. 

If I was black, I would have sold half...

Justin(s).

I didn’t always like Justin Timberlake.  In fact, for the better part of the last decade, I despised him and his career.  Seeing his name in the paper or his face on television warranted at the very least an eye roll or teeth sucking.  Now don’t get me wrong, I recognized that the man had talent and to some degree, was deserving of all the accolades and attention, but I couldn’t stand him.  I won't lie; the biggest reason for my gripe was race.  If he were black, I wouldn’t be writing this.

Don’t worry, I’ll explain.

Pump, pump, pump it up

Pay at the Pump

How much money do you want?  This seems like a simply question because the most common answer would be some version of “a lot”.  However, “a lot” isn’t a number and because items actually cost numbers you need to know how much you need in order to afford the things that you want.  There’s another reason why you need to have a better answer to that question – depending on your answer, you may have to make a lot of major life changes.  For example, if you want to make $10,000,000 a year then you better get really good at basketball, singing or computer programming.  If only $7.15/hour is your goal, well then your options are far more plentiful (but not nearly as attractive). We as a society get so caught up in chasing the money that we never really take the time out to figure what to do when we finally catch some.  My answer to this question lies at the gas station.

Fresh line up for the Fall

The Lineup: September ‘12

What I can’t live without: Experiences.  Material things come and go but experiences provide memories that last far longer.  Earlier this year I wrote a post inspired by Jay-Z’s historic announcement that he was curating a two-day music festival in Philly and thanks to a surprise by my fiancée, I had the opportunity to experience it.  I’m too young to have gone to the 2^nd iteration of Woodstock and probably too old to go to Coachella, but this was perfect.  I saw some great live performances including the return of Run DMC,  hometown heroine Jill Scott (with a guest spot from Eve), Janelle Monae and many more.  I even got hip to some new artists from different genres including Miike Snow and Passion Pit.  They created a whole community for two days on the Ben Franklin Parkway and with an epic peformance from Jay-Z which included a G.O.O.D. music performance and a “B” sighting, I’ll never forget the experience.

Is Tyler Perry a Coon?

King Coon

The concept of coons and “cooning” has been an issue that I have tried to tackle for the past two years; first analyzing the possible motivations for someone who can be considered a coon and then assessing whether being a coon was exclusive to the black community.  This time, I would like to discuss what actions can lead to the accusation that one is “cooning” and there is no better place to start than with the current "World Coon Champion" – Tyler Perry.  Walk into most rooms and start bashing Tyler Perry and you’ll get a lot of head nods and possibly a round of applause.  He’s been the target of many - from comedic satire on “The Boondocks” to famed director, Spike Lee, telling Tyler that he can, “go to hell.”  In response to such harsh criticism, the question begs to be asked, “What did Tyler do so wrong?”

I don't want to help you die...

Almost Non-Hypocritical

It’s been two years since I made my pledge not to text and drive and I can safely say I have not sent one single text while driving in the past 12 months and no more than a couple of times did I pick up the phone to read something – only to instantly notice it and drop it in my lap.  I’ve conditioned myself to only text when the car isn’t in motion (technically, by law, its considered texting and driving but as long as the car isn’t moving, I don’t see the harm.) and if I am driving, I pull over to the side if I need to send or read a crucial text or email.  It makes me happy to know that I've set a goal and have managed to stick to it; especially when I know I could possibly be saving my life or someone else’s.  Having said that, I still have one major flaw…