Sunday Reflection: My Worst Critic

Well, well. What’s good Fam? Thought I would make this post a Sunday Reflection post since I haven’t made one of these in awhile. First let me catch you up on what’s been going on and then stand-by for a little ranting LOL.

First off, trying to get some black people to do things they said they were going to do is a pain in the ass. I’ve been pushing to get those black entrepreneur interviews going for you all but as yet, no one has actually sat down to talk with me. I mean WTF?! It’s free advertising and it also gives you a chance to inspire people and possible make a few connections. Granted, my blog isn’t that popular in itself, but they can always link back to the interview on their own website or print them out to add to their portfolio. It’s all good though, I’m still working around a few things so as the saying goes, “Effort always pays off.”

After a couple months of struggling to copy over an old book and lace it with some comments and perspective from yours truly, my second book which I nick-named “The Little Book” is finished and in the polish up phase. This book will be free and downloadable by invite. Of course the Blog-Fam will be able to get it; I will do my best to have this up for you within the next two weeks.

Business wise things are fabulous although this past week was a little slow. You know I often sit and people watch when I’m on those streets and it never ceases to amaze me how depressed a lot of us are. We walk with our heads down and a big frown on our face. Life can beat you down pretty good if you let it; and a lot of us just let it. I am often bombarded with stories from people who just feel comfortable talking to me about their problems; even though they don’t know me all that well. Hearing all of these depressing stories starts to weigh on you after awhile but I do my best to offer sound suggestions. I’m a man of the people, what can I say?

My Hustle partner New York has been in and out this week, I think he’s going through what I’m going through. BURN-OUT LOL! Yeah, it’s catching up to me pretty fast, it’s at times like this I slow down a little and try to just relax and it was during this relaxation that I came to a realization, something I definitely had to reflect on.

Like some people I am my own worst critic. No one can ever beat my down as much as I do myself. I think a lot about areas in my life that just aren’t up to standard and that need improvement; it’s constant, day in and day out. On the other side of that coin is the fact that in order for anyone to move forward, you have to be content (not necessarily happy-but definitely satisfied) with where you are first. Don’t misread me, I’m very grateful with where I’m at in my life now although I can’t help to feel that there are a few huge pieces missing.

A big chunk of that revolves around that fact that for the first time in years I really feel alone. The God, a man who I consider a brother to me is now happily married and no longer in the state of Georgia.

My other “brother” is married now too. We’re not as close was we used to be but if it came down to it, that’s a man I say I can trust and would have no problems doing so. My circle of friends is so small it’s just a dot. I have trust issues, but then again, don’t we all?

Although my Ex and I still live together and are good friends, she has her own life to live so I give her all the space she needs. Since I’ve eased up on the dating (actually going out) I pretty much have settled into a go Hustle and come home routine. I fuck around on the computer, watch movies and hold a few phone conversations with ladies who have sparked my interest. All in all it’s a pretty mundane life right now; which has really killed my inspiration to write.

It's like I'm in a sort of isolation that until recently, I didn't realize I was in. Funny thing is I functional very well in isolation. I've never been one of those people that constantly needs someone around, but (you saw the "but" coming didn't you?) I can't say that if I had to choose this is what I would want.

So no need to complain (won’t change anything anyway), just time to change it up a little bit. After all, what’s life if you don’t LIVE it, right? The more you give to life the more you get out of it. So your Hustleman is lacing up the bootstraps and moving on to doing things that I enjoy more often. I for one hate routines, which is one of the reasons I can’t work for someone else. So my current life routine is just not sitting well with my soul, feel me?

This post turned out to be a little longer than I planned and I know it was all over the place; if you were able to sit through it I give you my thanks. Be good Fam and as always, be blessed and keep your head up out there. You never know what’s around the next corner if you don’t go look.

Real Game, Real Talk #2: Words And Influence

Awhile ago I was pushed, so to speak, to stop bullshittin’ and really break down Hustling. So this new series, “Real Game, Real Talk” was created to do just that. There’s a few of you out there who read my words but are still are hazy on the details. In this post I will break down for you the truth about one of a Hustlers greatest “tools’. This is straight Game right here! No fluff and no beating around the bush. If you get it then you get it, if not, then maybe one day it will “click” for you. Walk with me for a few minutes.

If you missed the first post of this series then please CLICK HERE.

So for those of you out there wondering just what it is I do to make money out here on these streets, I can usually sum it up to being good with ONE main thing (there’s a lot more to it but this is one of the most important parts); and that is using words to get results. The results I’m after are two-fold. 1) I’m trying to get you to spend your money on what I’m selling and 2) I also need to make you feel comfortable and confident enough with me to come back and become a regular customer, i.e. to spend more money. To any type of Hustler (entrepreneur) the mouth-piece (the way you talk and use words) is key. The only thing more important is how you think and your perspective on things, period. Simple.

Without effective communication you can pretty much sew up your chances of being a successful entrepreneur. There’s no nice way to put that. We Hustlers learn to communicate in such a way that we demand to be heard and we also learn to talk our way into and out of things using some pretty easy word choices. Let’s get into this a little deeper shall we?

To even begin to overstand (stand over not under) why we place such an important emphasis on communication you must know that at its very root, communication (both written and oral) is a form of manipulation. Swallow that if you can. Most of us spend over 70% of our time talking trying to communicate our perspective. We constantly talk about what we like, what we don’t like, what bothers and/or irritates us. All of this talking is to make an impression of ourselves to the person we’re speaking with. Are you following me? On some level we want the person we’re speaking with to be able to sympathize with what we’re saying, and possibly agree with our point of view. That’s a form of manipulation; like it or not.

Now for a Hustler we need to get our customers and clients to see the benefit of buying what it is we’re selling. It’s similar to professional selling (car salespeople for example) but it’s much faster paced. We’re not going to try to spend 10 minutes selling something to you when we can talk to 5 other people in that 10 minutes and make money. Hence the word Hustle – it means to shuffle things and move quickly. Our mouth-piece is like a fully automatic weapon. What we spit needs to be clear and straight to the point; it needs to make sense. The best way to sell is to sell by LOGIC but the biggest reason people buy is based on EMOTION (I’ll try to remember to cover that another time). So how the hell do you sell logically and move people emotionally? Let’s play a simple word game.

Grab a piece of paper and something to write with. I’m going to present a word to you and I want you to write down all the words that come to you after you read it. Just write them down, don’t think about them and don’t judge them. Just let it flow. Ready?

First word:
CARROT

Got those written down? Good! Now let’s continue.

Second word:
PLAIN

And one more…

Third word:
FIRE

Now if you noticed all these words are ordinary words; nothing spectacular or unusual about them at all. They’re very “logical” words. Now let’s look at what you wrote down for each. If you’re like most people, what you wrote down were words to DEFINE the words I wrote. For example… most people read the word carrot and write down orange and/or vegetable. These are words to define what a carrot is, feel me?

I just said the word, but your mind tried to define it by using more words. The English language is fucked up in this regard because when you read the word plain you can’t help think, if only for a split second, of the word plane (as airplane or a flat plane) also. You mind is searching for a DEFINITION. It’s unconscious and automatic.

*** SIDE NOTE: Since your mind works like this, I can completely throw you off when I use words and word combinations like “overstand” and in writing, “two incidents” – two is also the prefix “co”, so two incidents is really the word “co”incidence because if you have two similar incidents that’s a coincidence, right?

These were different word combinations with similar meanings in your mind but NOT by the dictionary definition. By the way, a DICTIONary doesn’t give DICTION, it defines, so shouldn’t it be called a definitionary? I got you again LOL.

You have to stop for a moment and break the words down to have it make sense to yourself. And all of this word play will FORCE you to listen (or read) what is said – if you want to overstand it that is. Forcing a person to REALLY listen to you is another trick of the trade but that’s another topic… back on point… ***

So to sell something logically I must speak or write logically but I must move you emotionally. All the greatest motivational speeches throughout history as well as meaningful songs have used this same formula, and it’s what us Hustler’s use to make money. Same principle only much faster. I’ll give you a short example and then I’ll let you go.

Which one moves you more? Line A or Line B?

A) I woke up and looked out the window. It was a beautiful day.

B) I woke up and looked out the window. The sun was bright and the sky was blue and clear.

In Line A, the word beautiful leaves your mind to interpret what’s a beautiful day TO YOU. In Line B, the beauty is defined FOR YOU and moves you more although both lines are saying the same thing. Why? Because it’s more descriptive.

To be even more specific… Line B moves you because it captures your imagination! It creates PICTURES in your mind. Since our minds think in pictures, the mind can clearly accept what is being read. This is a major key to having an effective mouth-piece; properly using words to capture a person’s imagination. This is a subtle manipulation because you are now “seeing” in your mind what I WANT you to see; I didn’t leave room for you to interpret it for yourself! I’ll let you think that over. Peace and blessings Fam!

*** Unparalleled Business Game ~ Home Based and Small Business strategies, techniques and tricks of the trade straight from your Hustleman:

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Tales From The Block: The Last Phone Call

What’s good Fam? Your Hustleman is still here and doing what I do. I sincerely hope all is well with each and every one of you and if not, make some efforts to change it. Everything must change sooner or later, but it works much faster if you put forth some effort.

The block is good. I’m at peace for the most part; still grinding and trying to step up my Game. New York is still New York, playing lotto and talking mad shit. I’m glad he let those two clown niggas he was hanging with go. I guess he realized what I did; they Hustle but they’re not Hustlers, feel me? It amazes me that as hard as New York is, he has a big heart. He’ll help you in a heart beat. I respect that in him.

I haven’t been doing too much dating wise lately. Mainly because I’ve realized that I need to screen and interview these females first. So it’s all phone convo before I commit to spending time or money. So far, no one has really caught my interest so the search continues. Oh, and to Mz Nici Nicole – stop being like that; let me take you out already! Clear your schedule up a bit LOL (jus playin’). Anyway, enjoy your vacation and be safe. Back on point… I’ll give you all more updates in another post but I wanted to pass this story on to you all.

Recently at my spot I ran into one of my long time customers. An older Lady who I’ll call Mz. Dee. She’s a sweetheart really; the type of woman to always have a smile on her face and is quick to engage you in conversation. I haven’t seen her in awhile so it was a pleasure to see her. We exchanged the Happy New Year’s and I asked her what’s been going on with her. She looked down for a moment and then told me about her tragedy. I listened intently because I’ve never known her to have that look on her face that I was seeing.

Her son known as Red was killed on Washington Road in East Point a couple of months ago. I met Red a couple of times. He was a cool brother. Seems he was in an altercation with someone at a club over some money. Apparently that dude didn’t forget. Red was a Hustler, the drug selling type. Nothing big, just green (weed). He felt it coming too because as she put it, he took his daughters picture with him that morning because he wanted to have her close to him that day.

It was all a set up basically. However the killer got his cell phone number remains a mystery but more than likely someone spit that information out freely. I would guess one of his customers. Mz Dee shook her head because she couldn’t understand why he never changed his cell phone number. Side Note: To all my dope boys out there, change your number often – that’s part of the drug game; keep it moving. So the killer called him up and told him he need X amount of such and such and to meet at a corner store. Red slipped here because first of all he didn’t try to find out who was on the other end of the line, and two, you never meet strange people by yourself; it doesn’t matter is it’s in a public place.

So as Red shows up and steps out of the car the bullets begin to fly. He (or they) shot him 13 times just as he got out of the car. The shooter took no green or money; he did what he had to do and got the hell on. He must of planned this out carefully because he still hasn’t been caught although I’m sure someone close to Red might have an idea of who this dude is. I was stunned to hear about all this as I watched the emotion on Mz Dee’s face. She went into her purse and pulled out some pictures of the funeral, including one of her son. He was laying peacefully, the light of life clearly gone from him.

Mz Dee heard the news from a friend who was passing by the corner store. The friend saw Red laid out in the parking lot surrounded by police and made the phone call. Wow, how do tell a mother something like that? Mz. Dee thought it was a joke at first and then the reality set in. She said she was hysterical and rushed to the corner store as fast as she could. Sad, he was in his early twenties and he leaves his daughter behind, she’s three or four if I have my facts straight.

My heart goes out to the Family. Damn these streets are cold. Peace and blessings Fam.

Financial Game And Forecast For 2007

Sorry for the delay Fam, but after a short New Year break it’s back to business. Last month I was drowning myself in work and taking my leisure time to do leisure things which is pretty much just watching movies and messing around on the computer. Although I’m really more of an outside type person, when it’s time to chill I just like to be in the house. I spend a lot of my time interacting with people and sometimes I just get to the point where I need some quiet time to myself. I think everyone is like that to a certain degree. I truly hope that your New Year went well and I have to say I’m grateful for another year. Time flies doesn’t it? Seems like only a year or 2 ago we just hit 2000… it is what it is I suppose. Anyway here’s a financial forecast for the next few months from someone looking at things from a street level with a Hustler’s perspective of course *smile*

On a business perspective it’s going to be busy for me again for the next couple of months. Tax returns mean more people spending more money on things they probably don’t need. Since I try to keep up with what’s going on in the business world, it seems that most retailers did about average this year, no surprise there since our economy is all over the place. The thing that gets me is that without a tax return, many people wouldn’t make it from year to year. That lump sum of money gives some serious breathing room to a lot of people, especially the lower class as they call it. But here’s a head’s up from your Hustleman; hold on to your dollars (if at all possible) and spend it in late March when retailers put their prices back to normal. Now your big ticket items such as houses and cars will carry good deals upfront, but you’ll pay for it in the back end, trust me on that! Don’t fall for the classic bait and hook dance they give you. The business world knows that people will have more money to spend so they want to make sure they get a piece of that, so why not jack up prices a little bit to make up for the Holidays? That’s just good business… at least for the business owner. Make sure you do your thorough investigation and research before you commit yourself to anything like that.

For my fellow Hustlers out there on the grind, a word of wisdom: Now until mid-March is probably the best time to get yourself into your customers minds. Be reasonable with the prices and you can be assured you’ll make a few new year-round customers. And we all know that’s what you want, repeat business. Repeat business equals steady income, but you know that right? Have those discounts or coupons ready to get those new customers or clients in the door and seal the deal from there. Don’t forget to line something up on the back-end, you’ll need those extra dollars for April and May which I predict will be slow (unless of course there’s a major turn-around in the employment rate).

If you don’t have a business yet or are in the beginning stages now is NOT a good time to jump that business off. The exception to that would be unless you have enough money in your budget to last you to the summer; or if you start extremely small like I counsel others to do. You probably won’t see much in profit until then. Sure you’ll catch some tax-return money but that is temporary, things will dry up for a few months until mid to late spring. Do what you do though, just stating my observation.

For my workers out there (those that are employed) I would advise you to do your best to save some of that tax-return money. Anywhere from 10 to 20%. You worked hard for that, pay yourself FIRST before giving that to someone else. And there’s a lot of security in knowing that you have a little extra put away in case of emergency, or even to invest. Also if you’re shopping around for sales try to catch the ones that happen at the beginning of the week (Monday through Wednesday), instead of the weekends. Why you ask? Because the slowest day of the retail week is Tuesday. This usually means (not always) that the prices are slightly lower and that the business is trying to get rid of what ever it didn’t sell over the weekend to make room for the new stuff. If you have it in you, you can probably negotiate even further discounts on certain items or overstocks. Try it, you might be surprised. Always talk with the Store Manager or Business Owner about these things, employees can’t do anything for you in this regard.

Alright enough of the financial talk, before I bore you all to death LOL – just wanted to pass that on to let you see what I see. Hustle, don’t be Hustled; follow me? Take care Fam and I’ll be back at you as soon as possible (I'll be posting regularly again in another week or two). Peace and blessings.

*** Unparalleled Business Game ~ Home Based and Small Business strategies, techniques and tricks of the trade straight from your Hustleman:

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