Stand Firm

I haven’t written a blog in about a month and honestly it’s been due to laziness. I can’t even lie to y’all, but I’m back so don’t fret. I have been working my ass off, but my energy has been focused on the wrong things. I’ve been working long hours at my 9-5 and just trying to be the best that I can be there…but as you know I really want to run my own corporation. And I have been neglecting my business and my other endeavors. So it’s time to regain focus. And that’s the purpose of this blog. Finding your purpose and staying focused.

How do you find your purpose? That’s not an easy question, first ask yourself, “what does success look like to me?” Success to me was waking up and checking my work email from home somewhere near the old market. It was my girlfriend asking me to do something and not having to enter a PTO request a month in advance to guarantee that I had it off. Success also meant having my own building and employing 10-15 people. So sit there and ask yourself, “what does success look like to me?” Then the next question you should ask is “how do I get there?” and that question ties in to “finding your purpose”. You can make a list of things that you like/love to do. I am not going to tell you to make a list of things that you’re good at. Why? Because you could be good at scooping up dog sh*t with your left hand while your eyes are closed hopping on one foot, but would you want to do that for a living? Iggzackly. And you don’t have to be good at the things that you love to do, but you can outwork the competition while you continue to get better.

How did I find my purpose? Well, I had local artist hit me up on twitter, email, and FB asking for ideas on how to promote their album/mixtape or ways to shoot their videos and I would give out that info for free. I even went as far as creating storyboards for artists, but a lot of the times my views were too HypeWilliams for that $300 video shoot budget. I also love helping people reach their goals. So I figured why not start a consulting firm on top of doing marketing and promo? There aren’t too many firms that offer all of that under one umbrella. 

Enough about me, back to you…so did you find your purpose? If so, don’t let it sit on your mind. You have to act on it and act fast. There will never be the right time to do something. Think about when that alarm clock goes off for you to go to work or when Sunday night hits and all you think about is Monday morning. You know it’s not the right time for you, but you have bills and you need to pay them so you make it the right time to go and get that bread. You have to strike while the iron is still hot so to speak or when the idea is still fresh in your mind and you’re still very excited about the possibilities of your dream becoming a reality. You have to be solid as a rock when you decide on what you want to do or who you want to be. The universe will maneuver around you, of course there will be obstacles, nothing comes easy in this life. But once you stand firm and stay focused, your vision will become reality. 

I have so many talented friends that are not putting that work in, so I hope it reaches them and inspires them. Do not let your talent and gifts to the world go to the grave with you. Share them! The American Dream is doing what you love and being able to make a living off of that. Quit settling. Thrive.

We Working.

Twitter: @OmahaHostage

If you all you got is time then you ain't got $$$...

 Something told me to keep blogging. I don’t know what, but it was a feeling that I had deep down inside me. I could’ve blogged about a million things by now…but school and work are taking up all of my time. And that’s when it hit me…time. We are always searching for more time. You feel as if your weekend has just been blowing by you or there isn’t enough time to do what you need to do to earn your freedom and live the life that you know you are capable of living? So here are a few tips to get ya time back, fam.

  First things first turn off the damn TV. You can get sucked in to a marathon at the drop of dime. You’re flipping through the channels and you see Spike TV is playing Rambo First Blood at 11am and next thing you know it’s 9:45pm and you’re still watching the Stallone marathon. Turn that damn idiot box off some times and just enjoy life or work towards your financial freedom, bruh.

  The other major distraction is your phone, these phones can do everything that a damn desktop can do. You check your email and all of a sudden your multitasking between candy crush saga and a twitter rant about the state of Beyonce and what she means to the feminist movement. You’ve lost 4hours right there, fam’ron. Put ya phone on do not disturb or airplane mode and put it in another room.

  The internet is a huge distraction, you find yourself trying to build ad revenue and step ya blog game up and bam! You’re sucked in to vine compilations and researching how Kim Kardashian built an empire by bussin’ it wide open for Brandy’s lil brother. 6hours wasted. I know I sound like a hypocrite because this is a blog and your reading it online, but this is a helpful blog, bruh man.

  The last time killer is…dun dun dun…SLEEP! We have all had those lazy days where we have had so much to do and decide to nap. Well that nap turns in to a full-fledged 5-6hr slumber! You wake up like, “What time is it?” Look over at ya clock and it’s now 7:58pm. If you’re gonna nap set an alarm and there are 24 hrs in a day roughly 10hrs goes towards work, with commute and getting ready and staying a little late. That leaves 14hrs, set aside 6hours for sleep and you have 8hrs of freedom or extra work time. You just have to be more disciplined with your time. Why? Because it is YOUR TIME. Stop living for that 9-5, sure it pays your bills, but if you follow the “whole work til I’m retired then enjoy my freedom” you’re going to realize what’s important to you…TIME. If you love what you do for a living then keep on keeping on, I’m speaking to my people that hate their job and want financial freedom.

  All I’m saying that if you want to be financially free and work on your own terms then you have to sacrifice entertainment and sleep. I don’t believe in the whole “no sleep” bs that you see on all of these inspirational memes, nah you need sleep to recuperate. Just don’t sleep so much that it gets in the way of achieving your goals. We Working.

S/N if you need help getting your business in order contact the good folks over at Down North Digital. Hit em up via twitter @DNDTT or DownNorthDigital@gmail.com

As always follow me on Twitter @OmahaHostage

Two Faced Kings

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                Being a black male in the workforce is very challenging, we always have to wear two faces. One face is the work face aka the plantation face aka “If I wasn’t on the clock I’d fuck you up, I’m doing just enough to not get fired” face. And we have our normal face when we are with family and friends. It grinds my f*ckin’ gears to the point that I am not functional when I think about my two faces. My work face has gotten me promotions and better enslavement opportunities, but it’s so damn fake. I cannot stand being fake and playing a game designed by someone that makes it too difficult for brothas like me to win.

                The work face is stressful, you always have to be on point and a few steps ahead of your coworkers. There’s a lot of planning that goes in to the work face. You have to always be smiling and be a ray of sunshine for people. That way they won’t feel threatened and they know that you’re so thankful for having that bullshit gig. If you don’t smile brotha, you’re going to have a sit down with HR about workplace conduct and threats to fellow coworkers. So stay smiling, brotha.

                The next part of the work face is the ability to laugh at bullshit jokes from coworkers. You know that shit aint funny but you laugh and say, “That’s a good one, Tim.” Again you don’t want your coworkers over at HR whispering, “I think something is wrong with A.B. He doesn’t laugh or joke at all. He’s always serious at work. I think he’s going to erupt and hurt someone.” So your black ass is back sitting down with HR and this time they brought in a specialist to help you cope with your “anger issues”. Not to mention the loss prevention team has every incident logged where you didn’t display your normal house slave character, oops I mean you didn’t act in an ethical manner that supported the company’s strategic initiatives. You should’ve laughed at Tim’s joke, fam.

                The next part of the work face is becoming the token black guy. Use cool phrases from the late 80’s and mid 90’s. And greet them with cliché handshakes that they saw on sports center. “Gimme some skin, my man!” This makes your coworkers feel a lot cooler and gives them a sense of what it’s like to be black. Don’t take offense to them when they greet each other with “Hello, how’s blah blah blah?” and they greet you with, “Yo, (insert some 90’s slang for friend like home skillet or playa) What’s up man?” followed by weird handshake and hug embrace. You gotta go with the flow, joe. Cause if not, your black ass is right back in HR not only with the anger issues specialist/therapist, but they’ve also brought in actors that will teach you tolerance in the work place and your stuck acting out scenarios for the next 3 weekends of some “showing others respect” workshop. Should’ve shucked harder and jived with intensity.

                The last part of the work face is to hinder your star. Brotha they don’t want to hear about your accomplishments unless it’s how many baby mamas you got or if you put rims on the Civic coupe. Don’t threaten them with your outstanding GPA from college, show them your black fraternity dance moves. Make sure you bring that candy cane staff also, to twirl around and do tricks with on your lunch break. If they are speaking about something you know great detail about, shut the fuck up and let them explain it to you like you’ve never heard of it. A series of “wow” “oh, that’s fantastic” “really? Tell me more.” “I didn’t know that.” “that’s amazing” will always suffice. If you don’t do that, then your black ass is right back sitting down with HR signing your resignation papers. Why? Because someone went to the EEOC and the local police and complained about your black panther exploits. They also got wind that you were stealing cleaning supplies to make a deadly concoction of chemicals and kool-aid and serve it during lunch while you were twirling that candy cane staff.

                Oh, I forgot about the fellow negro bashing. That is huge if you want to move up in the workplace and get that .16₵  raise, fam’ron. If you work in a department that has a fellow negro-sapien, that is your competition. Do not work with that brotha or sista, you work against them and make them look bad at all cost.

                All jokes aside being a black male in the corporate white male world is like being in “job interview” mode for 8+hrs a day. I am working towards my freedom. What about you, brotha?

Twitter: @OmahaHostage

Amerikkkan Me.

  I am at a crossroads with this new position that I am in at my plantation. I am making damn good money, but how much is my soul worth? That’s the question I keep asking myself. I know that I deserve this promotion, but I’m not about hindering who I am to keep these paychecks coming in. “Domino, domino, only spot a few blacks the higher I go…”

  Others see me in this position of power and it gives them hope. It gives them reason to keep striving towards the top, but I’m at “the top” and I see a reflection when I look higher. The glass ceiling. Is this what it’s all about: making $40k a year, skinning and grinning, while the pressure builds in your life outside of work to the point that all you have is the glass ceiling? This can’t be life. I’m 30, I told my mom and grandma that I would be my own boss by 35, my grandma laughed at me, but my mom believed in me. I believe in me. I have two ventures that I am working on, DND and Black Omaha. I am letting this new job get the best of me and take up so much of my time outside of work. I know that I am salaried, but I need to just donate 8hrs to that plantation and nothing more. I am using the excess money to fund DND and Black Omaha. I am growing impatient because I see how this story ends, I’m just not a fan of rough beginnings. 

  Back to this 9 to 5…I thought I wanted the stuffy clothes, the power meetings, the work email attached to my iPhone…I don’t. I want my tattoos to show, I want to be able to spend more time with those that I love. I never thought that I would say that I value freedom over money. You would think that not having money for so long and finally getting it you would do anything to keep it…wrong. Freedom > $$$. Cash doesn’t rule everything around me. I honestly believe that you can do what you love and get paid for it. You don’t have to suffer to succeed. You just need an amazing work ethic and positive outlook on life. 

  The Amerikkkan dream wants you to work hard at a job you hate and then retire at 65. Only then can you enjoy your freedom. After you have wasted 40+ years of waking up early, taking sh*t from your boss, stressing over deadlines etc. I don’t want to wait until I’m retired to enjoy my life and those around me. Why can’t I enjoy the retirement lifestyle at age 38? Who says that I can’t? The tv? The newspaper? The blogs? Politicians? Fuck em. Some people are fine working for others and waiting on the good to come to them, that’s fine. For them. Not me. This is Amerikkka, the country that once loved and cherished the self-made man/woman. They still do, but in this era you don’t see the hardwork that they put in, you just see the final product and the media spins it like it’s some sort of overnight success story.

  I know I can do it. It’s just overwhelming at times being the first to do it. I gotta regain focus and turn this 9 to 5 money into buy money. I will only be happy once I am my own boss.

Keep Fighting The Good Fight.
Twitter: @OmahaHostage and @Black_Omaha

 

Lookin Past The Ave.

Hey what’s good it’s ya boy, A.B. I haven’t blogged from this page in a hot minute, just because I have been so busy with other ventures and trying to get my ducks in a row. Even though I am running the Black Omaha blog, I will still continue to bless y’all with gems on this page. So don’t sleep on me. 

The end of last year I came up with an idea for a company so I am making the necessary behind the scenes moves to make the idea come to fruition. I am taking the time out to address what’s been going on with this Thug Toddler fiasco. I spoke on the police department’s agenda, but now it’s time to address the mentality of some of my folks down north.

Life is much more than Sorenson Pkwy to Lake St. I really need for y’all to expand your horizons. Quit making city blocks your world. I feel as if there is an invisible fence around parts of northeast Omaha  and folks are scared to leave that area to do their business or to handle their business. Step outside of your comfort zone, we are too damn comfortable with bullsh*t. We need to tap in to our potential and be all that we can be. Self confidence will get you very far when you dive in to unfamiliar territory. I see a lot of folks that speak on being uncomfortable if they have to go in to a suburb of Omaha. They feel as if the whites there have never seen a black person before and it’s true I have suffered from that same feeling. But as I have gotten older I enter in that area with my head held high because inside I know that I have just as much right as they do to be there. Why can’t we have our spot at the table instead of settling for the scraps? Don’t lose your sense of self in those uneasy situations. And do not hinder your star to make those in power feel more comfortable in your presence. Do not become a domesticated animal. Learn the game that the infrastructure has put in place so that you can master it and break the rules the right way. 

Let’s face it, it’s hard being a person of color, even with the president being a minority. Stop and Frisk out east, every night some brotha is being portrayed as the boogeyman, our women are fighting not only racism but sexism as well.  I could go on and on about the problems that minorities face, but the simple fact is this, turn off the tv, educate yourselves, and make your dreams come true. My favorite quote is from Chris Rock and it goes like this, “See the black man gotta fly to get to something that the white man can walk to.” Let that sink in for a bit…Once you realize that you have to work twice as hard as someone who resembles those in power, you then understand how important it is to learn the game and break those rules. You can take artists like Jay-Z and his wife Beyonce, they really did step out of the box with their respective albums. Not musically, but how they sold the album. Jay went to Samsung and had them purchase 1 million copies before even hearing the album. His wife just dropped her album out the blue with no marketing and she let her fans do the marketing for her, good ol fashioned word of mouth via the web. Those are examples of infiltrating a system, learning it, mastering the game, and changing the game. Those are extreme examples, but examples to say the least. Another example is becoming an entrepreneur; do you really need a business degree to open up your own? No. You do need to take some business classes to learn trade laws and such, but a degree isn’t required. College is the new hustle for the federal government, decades before you could work your way up through a company, today you have to have a piece of paper that proves you know how to take tests. And this is coming from a full time college student so keep that in mind.  If you don’t want to go to college to take those business classes to become an entrepreneur due to costs, a library card is free. Self educate. Learn all that you can in that library and pick the brains of the higher ups at your 9-5pm, soak up that game. Note that being an entrepreneur is not easy, the concept is: provide a need to consumers. I feel like I’m rambling but I hope I am motivating at the same time.

I know only my FB friends and twitter followers read my blogs, but maybe just maybe if this is shared by you, then it could reach that little boy or little girl who can see past Ames Avenue. And it will fuel their dreams just that much more.

Follow me: @OmahaHostage

#BlackOmaha Beanies coming soon...