Motivation

What is it about people who are successful?

MOTIVATION!

But how does one achieve the motivation they need to get where they want to go? At what age does this self-motivation come? And as a parent, what can I do to foster the dream instead of killing it?

I had a conversation with my step son today about what his goals are as an adult. He said he wants to play basketball. Well, he's a good player, improves every season, very open to coaching. Problem is...he doesn't practice outside of when he has to! So, as a parent, I wonder how he'll get better?!!

I encourage him to dream...I want him to think that the world is larger than Phoenix...that he can attain whatever he'd like in life. But I need for him to understand that the key to achieving a goal is passion and dedication to being the best. Where I need help is trying to find a way to nurture the dream and drill the desire to want to self-improve rather than waiting for a practice day. To be honest...I don't know how.

What can I do as a parent to get him motivated to practice on his own? To do well in school because he will need to be prepared to go to college? How can I show him that a dream deserves 100% of his attention?? I am really stumped.

Marsha Ambrousis - MJ Tribute @ Jazz Cafe

Wooooowwwww!!!

I Hate BET Man....They're Garbage!

BET...Why?!

This comes after viewing the 106 and Park show before the awards with my 8 year old son tonight...So, I'm watching these performances...Hurricane Chris (money doesn't make you cuter), Letoya Luckett (da hell was happening behind her?), Diddy's boys...and in between they're asking people about Michael. Now, maybe I wasn't paying attention, but I swore I heard Debra Lee mention that she was WELL AWARE that the world would be watching what was about to enfold.

What enfolded was shucking and jiving 2009. The best of the best coonery this side of the Atlantic! I need for the host of the tribute to be sober, for the acts that actually honored MJ to have even a little bit of his talent (with the exception of Ne-Yo) and that Joe Jackson be somewhere other than on TV. And BET provided the outlet for all of this...

I realize that Aaron McGruder was probably being a little sarcastic with his imagery of Debra Lee as Cruella Duville out to kill black folks with horrific programming...but upon further inspection I have to say I think he may be right on point! I really think that an afternoon spent watching BET not only dumbs you down, but also desensitizes folks to real issues in our society.

Another point that became obvious to me is that I, as a Black 34 year old woman is no longer their target audience. I'm a grown woman, intelligent that enjoys a "grown" type of entertainment splashed with news (because umm...in case no one at BET knew...change is happening...like...right now!). We are in hard economic times; it is documented that African-American unemployment is the highest, we have the highest number of young, black male suicides. There are just bigger fish to fry than all this dancing and singing...I need facts. My son needs to see reality, not fantasy in the form of College Hill or Hell Date.

STOP FUCKIN SINGING AND DANCING LIKE SHIT IS COOL RIGHT NOW...ITS NOT!

In closing, thanks BET for reiterating that we really are our own worst enemy. And we'll tape it and show it to the world just in case someone wasn't paying attention. We are responsible for the images we portray...and again...we failed.

A Hustler's Hustle...

I am a Finance Counselor and I talk to adult learners everyday trying to figure out how they can afford school. For the most part, most are looking for the best way to self-promote or maintain their jobs. And than there is a whole other group of "students" who are going to school for the financial aid they can recieve while attending.

Now, I'm not one to knock a hustle...do you boo boo...do you. However, why not actually attend classes? Why not actually finish with a degree?! Why hop from school to school when you could stay put, collect the check and get a degree out of it?! And actually position yourself to make some bread instead of creating a huge bill?! This has fascinated me to no end...the hustle of financial aid without really getting the best benefit...A FREE EDUCATION! So what do you get in the end? $18,000 and the bill and bad credit to prove it:(

Why is the okey doke ok?

Very simple question...difficult to answer for so many. Why are we ok with less than? Why do people accept abuse? Why do we work a job we hate? Why do we just "go through the motions" of our lives? This is all we have...yet so many, myself included just kind of get by. What can I/we do today right now to make our day better than ok? When people ask how I am...I say fantastic...and I mean it. But I want to be able to say that daily, weekly, monthly and yearly!

The Art of Discovering My Passion

I have never been the type of person who came out the womb knowing what I wanted to do as a career. I have passing interests, but nothing so concrete that I've enjoyed any work that I've done. Now that I'm going into my 34 year of life however...I feel the pressure to figure something out for myself. What do I hope to accomplish for my 34 year? What goal am I going to set for myself and how easily will I either attain or let it go?! So my current interest is all things interactive on the computer...here are the goals I am setting for myself:
1. Go back to school for marketing and writing
2. Continue to network online
3. Explore topics that are really of interest to me
4. Believe that whatever I dream is nothing compared to what I could really ever have!

Actively Participating...

So one of my New Year resolutions is to more actively participate in my life. I feel that there are times when I'm way more reactive than proactive and this has got to stop! :) I want to be able when someone asks me about my hobbies to thoroughly answer the question. With actual hobby's!

I love interacting with people, but that sometimes is more to my detriment than any benefit. I'm looking for benefits in 2009. For example, I want to exercise more. It is a solo activity, but gives me a lot of me time to really think and come up with a game plan. I'm going to be 34 this year...40's not that far off. What am I waiting for?!!

So my question to u is...what are U waiting for? What will make u disconnect electronically and connect realistically?