Well, well, well… here I am returning to this blog after 6.5 years. What on Earth happened?! Let me give you the abbreviated version.
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by John Lee Dumas of Entrepenuer On Fire (EOFire), an inspirational podcast that highlights entrepenures all around the world. It was an awesome experience, and I'm grateful to have had it!
“M-Mama?! Maaaamaaaa?!” The feeling of dread started to rise within Booker. He swiveled his head from side to side, looking throughout the crowded department store. Mama was supposed to be right outside of the changing room, but she was nowhere to be seen. In his hands, Booker held a bright red shirt and dark blue pants that were perfectly suited for his first day of kindergarten. He pulled them closer to his body, trying to find some comfort in the soft fabric.
I stared at the paper before me, red marks covering its many pages. The comments were long and accompanied by many words being crossed out. Grammatical errors were pervasive, though they didn't seem to be at the time of the paper's writing. Finally, I reached the end of what seemed like an endless commentary on me to find the biggest whammy of them all.
There we sat during both of our breaks. The classroom was cool, and no children were around. Only the sound of conversation could be heard. I tried to block out the nagging thought that the chair I was sitting in was covered in kid germs so I could better listen to Mister B.
As many of you know, this past weekend marked the deadliest mass shooting in American history. In the same state, a toddler was dragged underwater by an alligator at Disney World. Chicago continues to see victims of violence everyday, and I find it almost routine to check the news and see how many people died while I was sleeping. Reading about such events can be numbing, and I find myself sometimes questioning the meaning of it all. Why do bad things happen?
"Fear success. You don't deserve to be happy. You shouldn't have any of the stuff that you earned."
These sentiments seem to be pervasive in the minds of many. Despite whole industries rising and profiting off encouraging others to achieve their dreams, doubt still remains in many people's minds. There are lots of facets that relate to why people doubt themselves, but for today, I would like to focus on the rewards that come after successfully completing a project. The rewards that people deserve don't always come, but what may be worse still is when the spoils are voluntarily turned down.
