So I’ve been asked to participate in career day this Friday and I have no idea what to say.

I’m in the entrepreneur portion of the presentations and I have to say there’s no sugar-coating what it means to be an entrepreneur.

To me it’s about autonomy, organization, creativity, marketing, and foresight. I think i’ve got a handle on all but one of those characteristics. Organization is my achilles heel and i’m sure i’ve suffered because of it. You have to be able to do do the follow up, make the calls, schedule, and do all the “not fun” stuff that keeps your business afloat.

My birthday just passed and I think i’ll make it a point to be more organized and talk about organization in my presentation to the classes on Friday. People tend to glamorize their jobs when they talk to young people, not me. I can’t afford to lead you down a path you don’t have to go. Shoot, i’m already walking in that direction. Let’s talk about how to be better than me.

When I visited last month as a panelist at their youth conference, I met some kids at Andreis Huddes Junior HIgh School that were ahead of the game. They had dreams and goals that they could actually start work towards. You don’t see that alot.

I want to tell them that being an entrepreneur flies in the face of what they will conventionally encounter. Attitudes from family and friends aren’t always supportive until you reach their idea conventional success. Support will come from the most unlikely places and it will keep you going when you feel like you should quit.

I want to tell them to be better than me and save money. Saving and investing will put you in a better place to make moves. I make moves on credit at the moment because I refuse to be held back. I will find a way. I want the kids to find a better way than me.

I want to tell them it will hurt when their most beloved say the words: “Why don’t you get a real/regular/corporate job?”

I want to tell them it’s okay to work and live your dream at the same time. You have to eat, you have to live. Just don’t get so caught up that you extinguish the fire in your belly. Entrepreneurs keep on. We beats the odds.

I want to tell them to network with grace. Nobody likes a hard sell.

I want to say so much but I don’t know if it’ll come out right.

Wish me luck.

 

 

           Photos from the Youth Empowerment Summit in March.

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After taking a break from my personal blog on societyHAE.com I was welcomed back into blogosphere fold with my recent piece on the Tupac “hologram” that stole the show at Coachella this past weekend. I’d like to shout out travel blogger, Kiratiana, Comedian/tech/politico, Baratunde, and Robert Gorell of the Huffington Post for retweeting and reposting it on facebook.

Click the photo to see my post and let me know what you think.

Disrespectful or not??

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I haven’t been back from SXSW 48 hours and my re-entry into the real world has me jostled to the core. This is a world where you can get killed for being a certain color. Seriously.

I have two younger brothers that I worry about EVERY DAY wondering if some random tragedy like what happened to 17 year old Trayvon Martin. If I physically have not lain eyes on my brothers, I worry until I see them again safe and sound. This is part of the emotional toll of many Black people daily. On top of this, we have to make ourselves appear “less threatening”, LEARN how to take to police, and think about how our mannerisms may make others uncomfortable. This is on top of worrying about all the regular people stuff like bills, school, work, etc.

I can’t do this anymore. I’m exhausted. I code switch (Code-switching is the practice of moving between variations of languages in different contexts) without thinking. I live by a different set of rules and standards. I’m always being careful of…. something. And, I can’t rely on police to do their job: keep me safe.

 

With that being said, I went to the Million Hoodie rally yesterday in NYC’s Union Square park. I wanted to make sure I was counted, to stand with Trayvon’s family, my friends, and complete strangers and remind the world that I matter. I am a person. My brothers are people. Not animals to be hunted and killed in cold blood.

What’s next? Who knows. But if you want to make a difference, you’ll vote, you’ll be present in your community, you’ll spread the word, mentor some youth, seek answers and not accept the first thing you see on facebook.

Start by signing the petition to prosecute George Zimmerman, killer of Trayvon Martin who currently is home without having been drug/alcohol tested and background check within the first 48 hours of the murder.

http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin

 

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