Kenya Moore: Clear Skies After The Storm

Just 4 years ago Kenya Moore was reeling from a breakup that at one point she thought was going into a positive direction. Talks of marriage and babies filled the air as the Real Housewives star was planning her future with her then beau James Freeman. With the devastating discovery that the man she met through Millionaire Matchmaker was already married, Ms Moore pushed through and kept hope alive that she would one day find her soulmate. I was all over that story 4 years ago and applauded Kenya for her positive attitude and optimism (Click HERE to read previous post). Fast forward to present day, the former Miss USA is happily married and looking fabulous on the beach 11 weeks after giving birth to her first child and Celebrating her 48th birthday.

This personal triumph did not happen overnight. The now Mrs Daly went through a couple more frogs before finally meeting her prince. But the point is through heartbreak and failure in previous relationships, she never lost hope, she continued building herself and she allowed her heart to be open  to love when it came. We never know what life will have for us while on our journey, but what is important is that we do not settle or give up on any of our dreams or goals that are important to us. This is a real life example of how staying focused on what you desire for your life can bear fruit. And  from the looks of her blessing, her beared fruit is the sweetest.

Love & Light

When opportunity DOESNT Knock

The old adage, "When opportunity knocks, answer". A saying encouraging us to go for it when new, exciting and lucrative fortuity presents itself. But what happens when opportunity doesn't knock? When every road you take leads to a dead end. When no callback comes after submitting hundreds of applications. What do you do then? The me of the past would say that if the opportunity hasn't arrived yet, or if I missed an opportunity or I wasn't chosen, then that must mean something better is on the horizon and will come in it's time. I just would have to keep my eye on the prize and keep pushing. The me now laughs at that form of conflict resolution.

Why should I wait for opportunity to find me. Why should I wait for someone to recognize my talents? If opportunity doesn't knock, create your own opportunities. State what your goal is and take the steps to make it happen. You want to be discovered as an actor? Start your own online series. Singing is your passion? Start writing, recording and promoting your music. You want to get paid to travel? Start a travel blog and write about every place you visit even if it's different cities in your state. You want to be a gourmet chef for a high end restaurant or even own a restaurant? Start cooking those gourmet foods and share photos of them on social media, hold tasting events, cater your friend's small dinner parties or even start selling your gourmet creations at a low cost. And so what if you are starting small. At least you are starting and that small start will lead to big success if it's backed by genuine passion and perseverance.

Whatever you have in your mind to accomplish you don't have to wait for someone to give you a stamp of approval. Your success starts with you. Brainstorm ways to make your dream a reality. Visualize your goal and begin making a list of how you can bring it to fruition. Start to execute the steps on that list. Get creative! Now go make things happen! No more time to waste. No more dreaming without action. No more dead new year's resolutions. Make your existence on this earth one of excitement, joy and satisfaction.

Go forth and be great!

Love & Light

Why I Didn't Join The Cash App Board

If you have social media especially Facebook you have noticed a spark of a new (but not so new) hustle on your timeline. You see a friend that you know post something along the lines of "Want to make $160 out of $20"... or..."I made $800 in one day and all I had to do was give $100". Sounds great right? Everyone is looking to make a little extra around the holidays. So when I first seen these posts it got my attention. I almost even joined one of them. But after learning how it worked, I stepped back in reflection and decided it wasn't for me.

Here's how it works:

Let's break down the $20 investment pot...

You invest $20 to get in via Cashapp and send the money to a specific person running it. Then you are put into a line up on a virtual "money board" and with every round you get pushed closer and closer to the middle without having to invest a penny more. Once you're in the middle titled, the purple circle, all 8 of the new people that are added to the group with their invested $20's go straight to your Cashapp account allowing for your initial investment to flip into $160.00

Still sounds great I know! 

But what's wrong with this model is that it is not designed for everyone to win. In order for you to "cash out" new people have to come in with their money to move you up. In order for the new people to receive their payout they have to get new people to come in. Eventually someone... actually a lot of people are going to completely lose their money.

I could have easily joined this early and received my payout as a lot of my friends did. But something felt wrong about it. Yes I would have gotten my cut but what about the others still trying to climb their way to the top? I've even seen posts of people stating that they are "stuck" and haven't moved up. To those that are stuck, do you understand that in order to get "unstuck" someone has to take your place and then be stuck until someone takes their place? This is an illusion of helping one another when in actuality every person is out for themselves. It's not progressive and it doesn't help us as a collective.

For those who received their payout yes you made it. Now what. What is an extra $160 or $800 if it was at the expense of others who may not win as well? That amount yes it helps your bills but its very temporary. This hustle isn't truly helping us. It isn't solving our financial issues. If we all took our time to truly come together financially, especially in the black community which is suffering the most as a collective, we could have made a long lasting residual economic impression in where everyone that put in would actually win and keep winning. With you getting your payout you may be thinking to yourself, "Oh well! I got my coin!, whoever gave and didn't get theirs, that sucks for them". If that is your mentality, that is very unfortunate and a whole other discussion in itself.

With coming to this realization, I decided not to participate. This is not a post to bash anyone. It is a post of enlightenment and encouragement to strive for true progression as you move forward even if you already cashed out. I am not just my family's keeper, I am my community's keeper as well and climbing to the top without grabbing the hands of my fellow brothers and sisters to climb up with me, is not a success... it's a continued fail.


Food for thought...