Garbage Music

Today's music has no substance. All you have to do is listen to some of these artists in order to come to that conclusion. Today's music artists are all saying the same thing: The stuff I'm smoking, the stuff I'm drinking, my house, my car, I ball out in the club, drop $50K in the mall, etc. That's not life! Many old-school rappers talked about real life; they spoke on the condition of their neighborhoods, what they've seen and experienced. Many people could relate to what they were saying because they also went through hard times. Because I got sick of the constant thuggery and materialistic nature of some artists, I've found myself reverting back to old-school soul and R&B. What happened to good music? Back in the day, you had artists like Bobby Womack, Curtis Mayfield, Teddy Pendergrass, Four Tops, Temptations, Smokey Robinson, etc. who put out GOOD music. You felt the passion in their music. Old school funk with a church groove, you can't beat that. Why do you think many of today's artists are sampling old-school joints? They know that without the legends, they wouldn't have gotten into the music business. Today's artists will tell you that they were influenced by those who came before them. Old-school music has a way of taking you back to what life was like growing up in the 50's to early to mid/late 70's. The best musical decade was from the 50's to 70's because people were sporting afros, bell bottoms, men were looking fresh with their suits and hats. The elders have a point when they say "today's young people don't know nothing about good music" And from what I can see, they are absolutely right. You have to go back 40-50 years to capture the essence of what good music is/was. How many of us are going to remember most of these artists 20-50 years from now? This song is for grown folks, y'all don't know about this old-school funk jam.

Hurt People Hurt People

 We've all heard this phrase uttered throughout our lives. Whether we've hurt someone, have been hurt or are hurting now, this statement always comes to light. The premise behind the phrase is simple: When someone has been hurt, they hurt others. Unless you're rotten to the core (which I believe many people are), a very small percentage of humans take pride in hurting others. Just because someone's been hurt, doesn't give them the green light to hurt somebody else. If anything, the wounded person should know how it feels to be hurt. I was having a conversation on this subject when someone shed valuable light on this subject: The world is full of damaged people, some so severely wounded because of the hurt they've experienced that they feel like inflicting pain on others will bring joy to their miserable existence. It's quite the contrary because you reap what you sow. If you sow drama and misery, you will reap it & in most cases 10x worse.

Dreams Don't Work, You Do

It's one thing to have a dream, it's another to put that dream into action. A vision is the 1st step in being successful. It shows a burning desire to see something come to pass in your life. In order to accomplish your dreams, you have to get off your butt and make it happen. Nothing in life is handed to you. So if nothing in life is handed to you, why do people talk all this rah-rah about how they're going to do this, that and the third and don't make any moves towards accomplishing their goals? People think success is going to fall in their laps. If that was the case, all of us would be successful. God has blessed me with a hustler mindset and right now, I've taken that ball and am running with it. You can run with me or get ran over, period. Setting up this blog website was a big step of faith because as stated before, I used to write blogs everyday for years on MySpace and when I left MySpace to join FB, blogging fell by the wayside. Now that I've picked up blogging again, I have a boatload of material to work with. Much of my blogs will be written from my perspective: stuff I've seen & been through, stuff my loved ones have seen or been through, etc. Writing has been a talent of mine for a while and with my vision, I'm looking to make big money as a writer someday, while having a successful career in the business world. I said all that to say this: If you want a better life, you have to make it happen by any means necessary (within reason, of course). Success is yours, go out and get it. That's what I intend to do.

Content With Mediocrity

My contentment level is different than most people's. For me, contentment comes from having achieved all I set out to accomplish. Many others would share this contentment level. Mediocrity should never be an option for ANYONE, it's definitely not an option for me and why should it be? Why should I or anyone settle for less than what they deserve or are capable of? "It's better than nothing" No, if it's not what I want then I will hold out until I get what I want, even if it may take a little longer. That's the problem I have with many people, a lot of people are content with mediocrity and that's sad. These same people are jealous of your ambition because unlike them, you want to get all life has to offer. You have the "come hell or high water, I will make it" mentality. I equate being content with mediocrity as being lazy; you do just the bare minimum and say "that's enough". There are times where the bare minimum will suffice and there are times where you have to go above and beyond. You never know how much you have in you until you are pushed/stretched to and beyond your limit. People that live life to the fullest end up with fewer regrets because they came, saw and conquered. People that are content with mediocrity are regretful because they didn't take risks; they were scared to step out on faith because of the risk of failure. I've been developing the mindset that mediocrity is not an option, success is my only choice. I distance myself from mediocre folks not because I'm too good for them, but because I don't want anyone holding me back from going after all I want in life.

I'm So Tired Of Being Alone

All of us desire to find love, whether we want to admit it or not. This is because humans were created for companionship. Relationships are at the essence of human existence. Relationships can be wonderful if you find Mr. or Ms.Right, but they can suck if you are with Mr. or Ms.Wrong. When you're single, you can do what, when and how you want with no one to answer to. Most people like the freedom that singleness brings, others are on the fence; they like being solo but they want someone to share their life with. I venture to think most of us are a mixture of being on the fence and contentment with being solo. I'm more of a mixture because while I hope to find Ms.Right someday, I also appreciate having the freedom to do what I want without having to consider another person's thoughts or feelings. At the same time, I've always said that if God sees fit for me to be in a relationship, he will send Ms.Right my way and it will be a love story far better than I can imagine. If he doesn't, it wasn't meant to be and I'm ok with that. Many single people are so lonely that they are willing to take any and everyone at their word without REALLY getting to know someone. They haven't learned how to be alone because if they have, they would realize that in order to be happy with someone, you must learn how to be alone. If you can't be happy by yourself, you cannot expect to be happy with another person. Besides, as long as you have a good support system (friends & family, your ambition) then you're good. A relationship should compliment your life, not be a crutch. It's easy to understand why many people are lonely because there's so much emphasis on getting married and having a family that if someone deviates from the norm, it's like they have something wrong with them. It boils down to self-esteem because many people are dependent on another for happiness when that shouldn't be the case. You shouldn't need another person to make you happy, you should be happy within yourself. Once you are happy within, being happy with another person will surely follow. This is like people who say "you complete me." So you're saying you were incomplete in some way before you met him/her? People should already be complete within themselves. It's when you're complete within yourself, that another person can truly...truly compliment your life.

You know I have to do it....

Monogamy

Monogamy seems to be a lost art in relationships, many people rip and run from one person to the next in hopes of finding "The One". I'm all for finding Mr(s) Right, but you shouldn't have to date a bunch of people in order to find the right person. Use discernment. If you don't get good vibes about a person, cut them loose and move on. No sense in forcing something to work when some relationships just aren't meant to be. Nowadays, it's common for people to be in a relationship and have someone on the side. Wowwww....so you're that greedy to where you want your cake and eat it too? The game must have changed over the years. Relationships must be like sports, have your star players and if they slack in their game, call for a substitution. Call me crazy, but if (or when) I get with a woman, I'm in it for LIFE. It's me and her and I'll expect the same committment in return from her. No other woman will have my eye but the Misses. We need to go back to the old school where a man and woman got together and it was real love. No creeping, just one man and woman for life. Many people aren't willing to settle down so they want to see what else is out there. For them, being tied down to one person is not a good look. To flip the script, why get into a relationship without the intent of staying with the same man or woman til death do you part? Nowadays, you have married couples that have another man or woman on the side. Shakes Head at the sorry state of relationships.

Welcome To The Chill Zone

Welcome To The Chill Zone. The Chill Zone is going to shut the blogging world down one blog at a time. It's where people can engage in lively (and sometimes heated) discussions about various issues & topics. Blogging is a powerful tool that can encourage someone & inspire thought so if I can change someone's outlook or give them hope, I've done my job because in this world, most people need all the encouragement they can get so what better way to inspire hope & change than through something simple as writing? What got me into blogging is when I was on myspace, I always wrote. I would write 2 times a day because ideas would just flow out of my head and onto the screen. Many readers felt what I said and one viewer even messaged me as to say that a topic I wrote changed their whole appearance on life. That right there, is what it's all about. The Chill Zone will be a relaxed atmosphere where people can come to do just what the title says: Chill. I'm going to enact a lil twist because while the title is catchy, I will discuss topics of a serious nature so viewers will be able to relate because a critical component of blogging is being able to relate to your fans. It's one thing to blog, but it's another when you write and the viewers are able to relate. They're saying "I feel what he's saying. I've been through/am going through the same thing." I will never run out of topics because in society, there's always, ALWAYS stuff going on to inspire thought and conversation. Why do you think talk shows (including internet talk shows) are so popular now? Because they allow people their 15 minutes of fame. All my topics are not only going to be about general life but I'll also cover other areas including sports & entertainment. My e-mail addresses are greatone6785@yahoo.com and eightball583@hotmail.com so you guys can e-mail topic suggestions that I can blog on. Be forewarned that I will ONLY accept the best of the best so if I choose your topic, you will be credited. Better than that, if you're an entrepreneur; I'll get you right. Inbox me on FB or e-mail me a little about your business and I will showcase it on my website (link is required for those who want to check you out.) I'm going to blow up to the point where I will market my blog to the appropriate parties and get paid big $$$ for my material. Eventually I will move into the internet talk radio realm. I'm open to any advice/suggestions & constructive criticism you'all may have that will help me do better. Better yet, if you know anybody that's doing what I hope to do, inbox me their contact info so I can get ideas on how to best showcase The Chill Zone. Think It's A Game? Press Play & See What Happens.