Dare to want more

There’s a half-moon circle, where cars line up, and it extends, snaking on a two-way street. Parents, nannies, and Uber drivers patiently wait their turn to get to the elementary school’s front entrance. Slowly, one by one, cars pull up, the door opens, and flying outcomes a kid, as if someone shot her from a cannon, filled with unbounded energy eager to get into school.

Somewhere along the line that zest and thirst knowledge evaporates in some children, you can see the brightness in their eyes dim. I can look at my public school pictures and know exactly when the…

Death to Chit Chat Podcasts

Podcasts are at an inflection point. Because anyone with a phone and Anchor can start a podcast. Does that mean they should create a podcast? I’ve had this argument with myself for a while, and I crack myself up, so I figured I’d share those thoughts with you. I love audio, but I’m not too fond of idle chitchat. Nah, let me stop. That was Grammarly’s suggestion for me to sound more diplomatic-I hate idle chitchat.

Podcasters are flooding the market with what amounts to mumble rap. Now I sound like an old rapper taking a dump on new artists…

On December 22, 2020, I logged into Instagram, and there is a clip of someone vigorously applying what appears to be body butter in preparation to brave the elements. Black doesn’t crack, but it gets ashy. I needed some light-hearted humor, so my eyes stayed fixed on the screen. There are no audible words yet, just the sound of hands rubbing together. …

In August 2020, the most extended year in history, Prince Harry wrote a well-intentioned op-ed for Fast Company. In it, Harry said: “Our message was clear: The digital landscape is unwell and companies like yours have the chance to reconsider your role in funding and supporting online platforms that have contributed to, stoked, and created the conditions for a crisis of hate, a crisis of health, and a crisis of truth.”

Harry’s response was a typical knee-jerk reaction to a worldwide crisis, treat the symptom and not address the problem at its core. Racism and White Supremacy are at the…

Stacey Abrams provides a case study on leadership and how to respond after a setback. Abrams said: “I sat shiva for ten days. Then I started plotting.” After narrowly losing to Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp in 2018, Abrams led a mission to register 800k voters in Georgia — 45% of those new voters are under 30, and 49% are people of color.

Dubose Porter, the former Georgia Democratic Party chairman said: “Stacey had the vision for getting to new voters, registering them, talking to them — and then giving them a reason to vote.”

“This is not a…

The ruthless art of eliminating excess in your life in order to find and maintain your peace

A young immigrant boy from Barbados growing up in Brooklyn didn’t own name brand clothes. He spoke with an accent, and it drove his landlord crazy, who oddly enough came from the same country.

Plagued by inadequacy, it pushed him to discard his accent to fit in. Because he didn’t have the right clothes, it meant (in his mind) he was still outside. All of his efforts were for naught. Are you confused? …

Nicky Saunders is not your average content creator. She is not the type that will hit you in your DM with offers of creating unique cartoons, promises of instantly grow your account, or my most annoying inquiry DM me, let’s collaborate contact my main account. Nope, that’s not her style or strategy. And yes, there is a clear strategy with proven results.

Nicky adds ridiculous value consistently. A few months back, I was flipping through IG and came across her reel (A 30sec commercial, IG’s answer to TikTok) and immediately recognized her brilliance. …

Companies are infamous for saying their people are their greatest assets out of one side of their mouth and yet not pay you what you’re worth. Empty words, but it makes for a great value statement.

You are a brand! You are a company. Whether you agree with that statement or not, play along. With that in mind, what would be your greatest asset? What product would you produce? Please give it some thought, and this is not a rhetorical question.

Consuming content is not a business unless you can take it and flip it into a medium that will…