Pay Before You Build

Build your empire after paying your bills.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) June 25, 2015

I'm about building my empire as much as the next person, but I'm not building anything until most, if not all my bills are taken care of. Think about it, it doesn't make sense to build when you're in debt. I understand some folks are ambitious and want to make their dreams come true as fast as possible, but sometimes you have to be practical in your approach. It's better to hold off on building until you stack your money and eliminate debt, then to build & have to contend with business & personal debt. Unless your money is long to where you can eliminate both at the same time, I don't think it's smart to build while you're in debt. I like to read about self-made multi-millionaires and you know what they all have in common? Most, if not all of them are debt free. Because they're debt free, they're able to enjoy their wealth. They have no worries about being late on payments because they were disciplined with their finances. Going further, they sacrificed the now for later. That's what I mean by building your empire after paying bills. The sacrifice is paying your bills first, the empire is being debt free so you have more money to build your dream. In my opinion, you don't have an empire if you have equal debt. Think about it, what profits you're making quickly go out because if you're smart, you'll use your profits to get rid of debt. I'm into building just like everyone else, but I'm strategic in my building because at the end of the day, I want to leave something to pass on; give those following me a blueprint on how to build their own empire. 

Where's Our Flag? By Babette Glenn

She's telling the truth with this one.

Babette Glenn

4 hrs · 

It is said and proven the Confederate flag is a sign lots of white people use to express hate towards most, if not all black people. Well, where is the flag to express hate for most blacks towards other blacks? I ask because there sure is as much hate amongst them as it seems to be coming from the whites towards the blacks as said and proven about lots of white people. There isn't one, yet, there's lots of blacks trying to have that flag taken down, but very few working to have hate taken out of most black people's hearts for their fellow people.

Getting Out What You Put In

Everyone has heard the statement "You get out what you put in" many times over. That statement applies to all walks of life: Trying to get promoted on your job, wanting a successful marriage, debt freedom, making A's in school, etc. You get out what you put in, right? In a perfect world, that would be true, but sometimes you can put in with the best intentions and hard work, and things still go south. Why is that? Because we live in a fallen world, and because of that..things will happen that are out of our control. In a way, training & planning can go so far. Sometimes, it irks me when some people say "you get out what you put in" as if that's supposed to be a cure-all. They mean well, but I think sometimes some people are a little clueless. You have people born into good fortune that are well-connected; these people have never known struggle, and you have those who were dealt a bad hand from Day 1. These people have known struggle all their lives, and they fight & fight to get ahead, but always manage to come up short, through no fault of their own. These people become bitter because they see others getting ahead with ease, and wonder why they can't have the same advantage, even though they're doing equal the amount of work, or greater. Take marriage for example: There are couples on the brink of divorce RIGHT NOW that are fighting to save their marriage, but one person doesn't want to stay, even though the other spouse wants to make it work. These couples have gotten married with the best intentions, but trials have come against their marriage with such force, that one spouse has checked out in the relationship because (s)he can't take it anymore. The moral of this blog: Sometimes, you won't always get what you put in due to circumstances out of your control. Nothing wrong with that; maybe, it wasn't supposed to work in your favor. 

Misconceptions About Friendship: Jamora Lei Rogers

Repost from Jamora Lei Rogers (Facebook friend)

People have a misconception of friendship around here. We're all grown-ups, so act like it. If you are friends with someone and they do something or say something that you don't like or don't agree on then talk about it. Settle it. Move on. Life is too short to play peoples games, tell a bunch of lies to, and read minds. Keep it real, say what's on your mind, and don't sugar coat anything. 

Just because you talk every now and again doesn't mean you're friends yet. Just because you confide in someone you don't exactly know... again, this doesn't make you friends. Those are acquaintances. To actually make time to get to know an individual, spend time with, care for, make a bond, etc. should be continuous when becoming a friend. I take my friendships very serious. I can smell bullshit a mile away, so don't play with me. You don't want me in your life? That's fine boo, because I'm going to keep on keepin' on like the fabulous "me" I'm meant to be. 

All I have to say is...she said that!

Kekeing With The Wrong One(s)

Foolishness can end your life quick, and death will be ready to embrace you.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) July 2, 2015

As usual, I was on Facebook the other day watching prank videos. Some prank videos were in good fun, others were dangerous because they could endanger the jokester, and the victim. This one Facebook page was titled Hood Pranks Gone Wrong, where a jokester pranked several inner-city residents. So this prankster goes into a ghetto to prank someone, and he ends up shooting at him. The jokester was like "It's a prank bro, it's a prank!" He was fearing for his life because he said it fast. The shooter didn't think so because he fired on the joker. In a way, the prankster got what was coming to him because some people don't have a sense of humor, so you can't joke with everybody. Nothing wrong with that, it's how some people are. You can joke with some people, others not so much because you don't know how your pranks will be received. The shooter could have been in a bad mood, and wanted a reason to fire on somebody, or he could have been into it with an enemy thug, you don't know. All I know is the jokester escaped with his life, and I bet he learned yesterday. He learned who (not) to joke with. Foolishness can end your life quick, and death will be ready to embrace you. Look at these high-risk videos on social media. One video showed a man in a swamp provoking an alligator, and the gator almost ate him. That's the thing, some people are asking for death messing with crocodiles, gators, or any dangerous animal. I salute the man's bravery because he has the guts to do what most people wouldn't, but I value my life too much to engage in anything detrimental to my well-being. 

Strawberry Letter: Pregnant By My Best Friend

Strawberry Letter | Steve Harvey in the Morning on WDAS

This letter is about two best friends who grew up together. They did everything together from going to the same schools to sexing. The issue is he's become distant since she let him hit. Should she be surprised? Not really, because even though they're close, once some men get what they want sexually from their lady friend, some men want nothing to do with her. You have a few decent fellas who will stay in her life for two reasons: 1. They appreciate the "friends with benefits" relationship, and 2. They want to see if there's anything more between them. How I know there's more between them is she gets in her feelings when he dates. Why would she be furious that he's going with other woman? Because she gave him the cookie, and now she's in her feelings. He's no better because he's livid when she dates as well. I'm just saying it's a dead giveaway they have feelings for each other because they can't stand seeing each other with other people, especially since they sexed. She better go ahead and tell him because it's not like she'll be able to hide the baby bump much longer; at some point, he will notice. The only potential issue is he could assume any one of the other guys is the father since she's dated around, but that can't be true since according to this letter, she and him had sex so by default, he's the only one she's been with sexually. I just think she should tell him and get it over with, because the longer she tries to hide, the worse it's going to be for her when the baby arrives.

Kissing The Frog

Sometimes you kiss the frog, other times you are the frog.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) July 1, 2015

I'm sure everyone has heard the phrase, "You have to kiss several frogs to find your prince(ss)." That comes from a childhood Disney fairy tale where the princess was looking for her prince, so she went through several guys before she finally met her match. In other words, she had to kiss a bunch of frogs before she met that one man who knocked her socks off. How is this relevant in 2015? It's simple. In a perfect world, everyone would find their mate on the first go, and some of them do. The ones who find their prince(ss) are the ones who aren't moved by the first (wo)man that shows them interest. They start off as friends, and if the relationship goes right, that "frog" (meaning, she may write him off at first glance, but in the end she's glad she gave him a chance because he turned out to be the best thing that happened to her) may turn out to be a great (wo)man after all. What I mean by "Sometimes you kiss the frog, other times you are the frog" is this: Most of the time, a person swears up and down that the other person isn't right for them, but some people don't realize that THEY could be the frog all along. It's not until years later that both parties come to the conclusion that they're wasting each other's time, and it would be best if they went their separate ways. The moral of this message is this: It's easy to assume that other people are always the frog, hard to admit that maybe..just maybe..YOU could be the frog all along, but your pride won't let you see it.