Category: Uncategorized

“There is always room in your life for thinking bigger, pushing limits and imagining the impossible.” – Tony Robbins

It’s your time to shine! Everybody has their definition of living but I think the common root of all our thoughts is we want to be happy and fulfilled.

I have a natural fear of being stuck. Others would probably call it commitment issues, I thought that but then I finished college (huge time commitment) I’ve been with my fiance for 7years (huge mental & emotional commitment) and I had my son (The biggest commitment ever he never goes away LOL).

My conclusion is I don’t like doing things or entertaining people that aren’t worth my time. If I’m not interested I’m not going to make myself interested because I believe that’s cheating myself. I’m sure some of you can relate to taking a job just for the money and you hated every minute of it.

Your happiness is important so take it seriously. You should smile and live worth wild every day. Don’t let another day pass without you taking a small step towards you dream, before you know it you’ll be walking in your purpose.

Success is all about steady progression.

Never stop dreaming.

-Chanel

We all know people concerned with stuntin on chicks/dudes but what are they bringing to the table. Whose life is being improved by your existence.
We all NEED to do more,I’m pretty sure we were’nt born to let shiny things cloud our judgement.

Maybe these young ladies will encourage you to get it moving or to reach out and inspire someone else.

Check out Black Enterprises list of 10 business mavens under 40. You can catch them live at this year’s summit or via BlackEnterprise.com’s up-to-the-minute coverage. —Janel Martinez

(Image: Thinkstock; all other images courtesy of subject)

AJILLI HARDY

As the first African American female to get a PhD in mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hardy is in a class of her own. She joined General Electric in 2008 and is an energy systems engineer at GE Global Research, where she’s working on projects to lower green house gas emissions and energy consumption as part of the company’s overall ecomagination initiative. Hardy was listed on Black Enterprise’s 40 Next list in 2010.

JULIA FELIZ SESSOMS

Sessoms is director of Global Public Policy and Government Affairs at PepsiCo Inc. She’s responsible for establishing and advancing the company’s global public policy positions on health, wellness, and environmental issues; developing and applying universal stakeholder engagement tactics; and backing PepsiCo’s global Performance with Purpose agenda—an initiative aimed at delivering sustainable growth both on a local and corporate level. Sessoms was featured on BE’s 40 Next list last year.

TINA WELLS

The CEO and founder of Buzz Marketing Group knows exactly what works for the teen demographic. With the help of her nearly 10,000 teen consultants (donned “buzzSpotters”), Wells shares cogent marketing and research strategies concerning beauty, fashion, entertainment and lifestyle with big-name clients, including, Nike, Time, Inc. and Procter & Gamble. The 30-year-old trend spotter penned a tween series, Mackenzie Blue, and is preparing for the release of her latest book: Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right, set to be released in April 2011.

SAGE STEELE

In a male-dominated field like sports, the ESPN SportsCenter anchor is one of the few females standing—let alone African American women breaking down play-by-plays on-air. Steele joined the ESPN family in 2007. Prior to ESPN, she reported on regional markets as the beat reporter for the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a reporter at Fox Sports Net and anchor for Comcast SportsNet.

NIKKI BETHEL

Bethel began her career at Home Box Office (HBO) as a recruiting manager, in 2003, and quickly worked her way up to human resources director only three later. Now, as vice president of organizational effectiveness, she heads executive and employee development, internal employee communications and programs, as well as integrated business solutions, such as talent appraisal, succession planning and organizational policy. Prior to joining HBO, Bethel worked as a consultant at A-List, where she brainstormed and implemented strategies structured to assist professionals in finding job placement across industries.

AMY ELLIS-SIMON

Simon joined Merrill Lynch as a debt and equity analyst shortly after graduating in 1994. Seventeen years later and the University of Michigan graduate is head of middle market and multi-product sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch—overseeing a group that serves as a single point of contact spanning across debt and equity products, including convertibles, equities, equity derivatives, credit, and credit derivatives. She is the co-founder of the Global Banking & Markets Women’s Leadership Council. The seasoned sales leader was featured on Black Enterprise’s 75 Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street list in 2006, followed by the Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business list in 2010.

TAI BEAUCHAMP

BlackEnterprise.com reader may know her as host of The High Life, but the media industry maven’s decade-long career includes, writer and editor positions at O, Suede, Seventeen, Ebony and Life & Style magazines. In 2006, the social entrepreneur founded the BluePrint Group, LLC, a communications and marketing firm focused on bridging the gap between fashion and philanthropy. Beauchamp has appeared as a style expert and personality on various networks, from ABC and NBC Today to BET and TV One.

KIMBERLY STONE

The founder and chief executive officer of Poshglam.com created a virtual gathering space for fashionistas or those simply in search of the latest trends and brands to get fashion and event news. The site’s diverse body of writers supplies its followers with an extensive scope on fashion brands.

VALORIE BURTON

Burton founded The Coaching and Positive Psychology (CAPP) Institute, in 2001, which provides coach training, as well as corporate and personal development services to help individuals thrive in the workforce. She’s no stranger to the media, appearing on major networks such as CNN, in addition to local network affiliates. Burton’s passion for the written word has led the certified professional coach to pen six books, including How Did I Get So Busy and What’s Really Holding You Back?, both published by divisions of Random House. Her latest book, Where Will You Go From Here?, will be released in June 2011.

MARION JONES

The Olympic track and field star has rebounded since her steroid controversy, which resulted in a six-month prison sentence plus two years probation and community service. Now, the 35-year-old track retiree is a member of the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock and celebrating the release of her newly released book, On the Right Track.

Only 12% of Black Boys are on Grade Level! – ‘Understanding Black Male Learning Styles Critical to Academic Success’

Provided by PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, national education consultant and bestselling author of the newly released Understanding Black Male Learning Styles, believes that today’s classroom is no place for a growing African American boy. Schools have virtually ignored the fact that boys and girls learn differently and that they mature at different rates. African American male students suffer the most from this neglect.

Kunjufu asks, “Have we designed a female classroom for male students? Are we expecting boys to learn in the same manner as girls?” Since 1985, Kunjufu has advocated for single-gender classrooms and schools to meet the learning, social, cultural, and emotional needs of Black boys.

The Kunjufu Learning Styles Model

The secret, says Kunjufu, is understanding how they learn. “If teachers teach to students’ learning styles, if they create stimulating, culturally relevant learning environments, our boys will excel in school,” he says.

Kunjufu estimates that as many as two-thirds of students and an even larger percentage of African American males are right-brain learners, however, most of the learning activities are oriented toward visual-print learners (left-brain). This has created a disastrous learning environment for right-brain students, and it must be resolved if Black boys are to improve their classroom performance.

“Educating the African American and Hispanic Male Child National Conference,” May 3-4, 2011, Chicago, Illinois.

SCHOOL SETS

Children’s Library 260 books $2,800 * Black History Curriculum 67 books $680 *

President Obama 60 books $750 * Educators’ Library 28 books $300 * Hip Hop Curriculum 80 books $800 * Male In-house Suspension 50 books $400 *

Female In-House Suspension 50 books $400 * Black History Videos 10 Pack $200 * Hispanic History Culture 50 books $420 * Posters (230) $400 *

Biographies 25 books $350 * Parent Set 28 books $300 * Math Set (Elem. or H.S.) 30 books $600 * Respect/Manners/Home Training 25 books $200 * Books for Boys/Girls 20 Books $300 * Character 10 books $130 * Classics 20 books $280 * Maps 10 maps of Africa and the world $300 * Motivation 18 books $210 * Pre-School 60 books $670 * Black History Games (5) and Black History Puzzles (5) $200 * Complete School Set 556 books $20,700

For additional information, contact African American Images 1-800-552-1991, Fax# (708) 672-0466, P.O. Box 1799, Chicago Heights, IL 60412. Email: customersvc@africanamericanimages.com.

What is your opinion on this issue?

It’s been awhile people. Sorry for the lapse in time but time flies when you’re living life. I hope everything in your life circle is progressing nicely. Let me update you on a few things.

Alisha’s Road 2 Recovery

My best friend Alisha is making great progress. She has come far from her bed ridden days and she is in a wheel chair (Praise God). She is currently undergoing rehab at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Children of the Future 

I go through up and downs just like anyone actively pursuing greatness. I’ve encountered a few obstacles but I took those as signs I’m moving in the right direction. Anything worth fighting for is worth having.

I had an opportunity to participate in Umoja Community Connection Event. Each February Umoja coordinates a half-day event in which they invite volunteers who can truly represent the heart and vision of African American History Month to spend a day in the classroom with teachers and students. Volunteers co-facilitate with teachers to enter into dialogue around issues of culture, history, possibilities, and the future. Through reading, writing, and discussion this day helps students examine their own thoughts and opinions about their history, and gives them the chance to articulate those thoughts to their peers and to business and community leaders.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend but my brother Nick was able to fill me in. Nick described the event as powerful, not in the sense that a lot was accomplished but the disparity in the hearts of the young men was revealed. All the young men had absentee fathers; they were not receptive to workshops or subjects presented, over all they were uninterested in all the suited up men wanting to through around their fancy degrees & advice.

I can’t say I’m surprised. I remember myself at 15 & 16 and I surely didn’t want anyone that didn’t look like me telling me what I needed to be doing. We have to try harder; we have to connect with youth on their level. We get so high and mighty with our degrees and expertise we overlook just being down to earth. Do what the President dose when he is talking to blue collar workers, wear blue jeans, roll up your sleeves and talk on their level about things they care about. It WORKS!

Dream Catching

I’m always talking about living your dream, so I’ve been presented with an opportunity to audition for a BET dance show. I’m going all in people! If I make I’m blessed, If I don’t make it I’m blessed and I tried. Life is about taking risk and enjoying the journey to our destiny. I’ll be leaving Friday. I’ll take plenty of pictures & video so you can witness greatness in the making. Wish me luck.

Keep us posted on your Rise2Power
 
     “Success is steady progress toward one’s personal goals” -Jim Rohn

 
email us info@bgrise2power.com

So you’re trying to get signed to a major record company. Is that really what you want. Do you want to work twice as hard for half the money? Watch this video and leave a comment.

Young Guru’s Rise2Power

Born in the tiny US state of Delaware in 1974 as Gimel Keaton, Young Guru acquired his nickname in his teens, when he was teaching African history classes at a community centre. He also used his name when he began working as a DJ while still a teenager. In the early ’90s there were no clubs in Delaware, so Young Guru brought his own amplifiers, lights, microphones, and so on, which sparked his interest in music technology. He began DJ’ing in Washington DC in 1996, where he met singer/rapper Nonchalant, who had a top 20 single at the time, and became her tour DJ. Young Guru, who had taken piano lessons as a child, used the money he received from the tour to fund a six-month music recording course at Omega Recording Studios in Rockville, Maryland, which had a great impact on him. After Omega, Young Guru engineered Nonchalant’s second album, which was never released, but the producer, Chucky Thompson (Mary J Blige, Faith Evans) recognised the young engineer’s potential and invited him to come and work with him in Washington DC. In 1999, Young Guru went independent and moved to New York, where he worked with Deric Angeletti on his Madd Rapper project and with Memphis Bleek. The latter was signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, which led to Young Guru meeting Jay-Z.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec09/articles/it_1209.htm#top

Despite high-profile success stories such as Barack Obama or Oprah Winfrey, the typical black family is poorer by some standards today than it was nearly 30 years ago. In a country where access to capital is everything, most blacks have nothing.



Part of the story of the recession is a story about jobs. The unemployment rate for most demographic groups essentially doubled during the recession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For blacks, the jobless rate rose from 7.7% to 16.5%, while the jobless rate for whites went from 3.9% to 9%.


Those disparities in employment are well known. What’s not fully appreciated is how deeply the recession cut into the incomes of black households, and how the recession devastated the wealth of black families.


Median net worth for black households dropped from $9,300 in 2007 to $2,200 in 2009, far less than the $98,000 owned by the typical white household.


Median household income for blacks fell 7.2% from 2007 to 2009, significantly more than the 4.2% decline for whites or the 4.9% drop in Hispanics’ income, according to the Census Bureau. (The median means half of households had more, half had less.) See the data on median income at the Census Bureau’s website.


It’s not until you look at the figures for net worth — assets minus liabilities — that you can understand just how marginalized blacks are in our capitalist society.


$2,200


Most blacks really don’t have any capital at all. The average black person leaves his or her heirs just enough to pay the undertaker, with the typical black household’s net worth totaling just $2,200, according to the latest data.


Let’s be clear: The vast majority of wealth in this country is owned by a few people, mostly white. It’s estimated that about 80% of all wealth is owned by 20% of the people, while about a third is owned by the top 1%. About 40% have no wealth at all.


What little wealth the typical black family has is mostly tied up in the house. With housing prices falling for the past five years, black wealth has been wiped out.



The typical black family had about three times as much wealth in 1983 than it did in 2009 — $6,300 in inflation-adjusted terms in 1983 compared with just $2,200 in 2009, according to an analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. Read more about the survey on the Fed’s website.


The figures are shocking. In 2001, the median net worth of a white family stood at $124,600. For blacks, the median wealth was $12,500. For every dollar of wealth owned by the typical white family, the typical black family had 10 cents. Remember, these are figures for middle-class families.


By 2007, the median wealth for white families hit $143,600, thanks to the housing bubble and a stock-market rally. But blacks were left behind. They don’t own many financial assets, and they missed out on the housing bubble almost completely. Their net worth fell to $9,300. For every dollar of capital owned by middle-class whites, middle-class blacks had 6 cents.


Then things got even uglier. By 2009, the typical white family had $94,600 in wealth, compared with $2,200 for blacks, according to an analysis by economist Edward Wolff. Blacks had 2 cents on the dollar.


Hold on a minute. How can it be that blacks missed out on the housing bubble? According to conventional conservative wisdom, the housing bubble was inflated specifically to help blacks buy homes through government policies, such as the Community Reinvestment Act that forced banks to lend to blacks and other poor and undeserving folks.



Yet the facts don’t support that theory. The home-ownership rate for blacks actually declined during the housing bubble after rising in the late 1990s. After peaking near 50% in 2004, the ownership rate for blacks fell to 47% by the time the bubble burst in 2006. See home-ownership rates on the Census Bureau’s website.


Black home owners were targeted by predatory lenders in the private sector, though. When it came time to refinance their mortgages to take advantage of lower rates and the opportunity to cash out, blacks with good credit scores were much more likely to be steered into high-cost, high-risk subprime loans than whites with the same credit scores. Once black home owners fell behind, they were nearly twice as likely to be foreclosed on as similarly situated whites. Read more about predatory lending at the Center for Responsible Lending.


Wealth is like sourdough


Around the globe, accumulating capital has been seen as the key to economic development. The nations that have grown the fastest have been those with the most equal distribution of wealth. Asia is growing much faster than Latin America, for example.


But wealth is a bit like sourdough bread — you need a starter to get it going.


Each generation of black youth starts out with a deficit, not a legacy. Parents or grandparents don’t have the capital to pass along to the kids to pay for school, buy a home or start a business. Black college graduates carry a heavier student-loan burden than white graduates. White kids backed up by their parents can better afford to work at the unpaid internships that increasingly are crucial to enter certain professions.



Most black families are caught in a trap, and it’s not any better for millions of working-class families of other races. In a world where wealth begets wealth, upward mobility is a struggle. Poverty is just one layoff or illness away.


Americans like to believe that anyone can make it with hard work. If you are exceptional, hard work and a little luck might be enough. But if you have average talents, like most of us, there’s nothing like a little capital to get you on your way.


Unfortunately for many working-class blacks, whites, Hispanics and Asians, the Great Recession washed much of the wealth they’d managed to gain. It’ll be very hard to build it back up without a steady and good-paying job.


Rex Nutting is Washington columnist and international commentary editor for MarketWatch.

http://www.hulu.com/aol/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashcontrol.com%2Ffree-tv-shows%2Fshark-tank%2F541645946-shoes/embed/nukKSmJ_mZh153_lnYN-_A

Learn More http://www.sensualstepsinc.com/

The job market is getting better but that’s no reason to bust out the party hats. With graduation around the corner for college grads, letting people know who you are and what you’re about is more important then ever. I’m talking about the art of BRANDING!

Image is everything and what people say about you after they know you is even more important. What is your personal brand. Are you the problem solver, life of the party, party promotor, event coordinator, the lazy friend, the slacker. I’m sure you are labled for something, the question is are you controlling your brand.

Let me help you!

Only you know what you want people to think of you. It’s fully up to you to control what people say and do for you. If people like you and what you stand for they are more likely to help you get what you need. If they don’t like you, well they just give you a shady “Good Luck”.

Check out these 3 Articles and begin to apply them to your daily routine.

Let’s Get Branding!

Take yourself from “OK” to “Blazin” with these helpful branding tactics.

Get the job you want by focusing on your best qualities ALL the TIME.

How to Brand Yourself After College

BG Rise2Power Network
“Raising the Bar on Life.”

Be Advised Mature Content.