It’s been a long week. Handling personal issues as well as outside issues and sometimes you just need to step back for a moment and re-focus. At least that’s what I do.

Plus I’ve been doing a ton of writing lately, so next thing I know, I look up and it’s almost time to craft another blog post. Somewhere in-between everything going on, I got off my “clock” (regular schedule). But as always I have some information to share that will spark something in those people seeking it.

As we say in the Game, “Life is a series of problems that must be solved,” and within that saying is the simple truth that no matter how you maneuver, life is always going to bring something to you unexpected that needs to be handled.

Some people may say that’s negative thinking or what have you, but let me ask you a question. When was the last time you went through a whole solid month (30 days) without having to figure out how to handle a situation? This is living life in reality, it’s not being negative.

Moving on…

I wanted to briefly talk about the power of “thinking the right way”. Some may call it positive thinking. The word positive actually means to be sure or certain. Don’t believe me, look the word up in a dictionary.

So if you’re not sure or certain in what you’re thinking, then guess what? You’re not thinking positive. You’re just saying things that sound good.You may not really believe them or feel them as being possible deep inside yourself.

I started writing when I was in the 5th grade. I grew up reading real novels. Some were literally over 700 pages long. This started my fascination with words; mainly how to put them together to convey meanings. Being clear and able to say things in many different ways. In this way, you could always get the listener (or reader) to understand you.

As simple as my writing style may be to some, it does what it’s supposed to do. And that is to break down and simplify complicated concepts and ideas.

Before I published any book I always had the idea I wanted to be an author in the back of my mind. But if I went around telling people I was an author, without having any books published, some of the questions asked would be, “So what’s the name of your books? What do you write about?”

I would then have to explain that I wasn’t actually a published author but I was just working on a book.

In order for me to actually finish a book, I had to keep myself motivated. For any of you that have tried to write a book, you know it’s not an easy task. You lose steam (enthusiasm) quickly!

But what kept me going? Telling myself that, “I am an author”. Sounds simple, I know, but let me break it down.

In order to actually be an author (in the mind's of the public), you have to have a published work. A tangible representation of what you claim to be. So I kept in my mind the end goal; a published book – or in my case, self-published. And currently I have 3 self-published books.

The moment I published my first book, what I was thinking became a reality. I went from a writer working on a book, to an actual author. As soon as that first book was published (and a copy was purchased by a total stranger) I could make the claim out loud that, “I am an author.”

The same exact thing I used to say to myself in my own mind.

My wife loves to take pictures. She enjoys it so much that she purchased a professional grade camera and placed herself in photography school. She hesitated on calling herself a photographer but the moment she sold her first photo she could suddenly make the claim out loud, “I am a photographer!”

Again, the same thing she used to tell herself in her own mind. What she was thinking inside herself became a reality outside of herself.

Even if that first photo sold for one-dollar (which it didn’t), she could still make that claim to anyone. The moment she sold her work, that was it! She was no longer a woman desiring to be a photographer. She became what she thought about.

Of course, there’s always room for improvement. I work on my writing almost everyday. I contemplate word choices and ways to explain things so that I’m not misunderstood. Honestly, some people still misinterpret the topics I write about, but overall the response has been phenomenal.

So, what is your, “I am”? What do you desire to become? And when are you going to push yourself and create a tangible representation of what you claim to be? There is nothing stopping you, but you. Make a firm decision and move on it.

Stop just wishing and hoping. Stop telling yourself, “One day”.  Get in motion and get to that point where you can proudly proclaim, “I am!" There's no feeling quite like it in the World.

And if you’ve already done something and put it out into the World, don’t run from, be proud and claim it! You accomplished a goal, something that only a small percentage of people do. Own it! You're no longer thinking about it, you're no longer trying to do it, you’ve done it. Always be proud of your accomplishments, however great or small. A word to the wise.

The motto, "I think it, I create (or design) it, I move on it, I put it into the World and therefore, I am!" 

Until next time…

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Make no mistake. Street Hustling involves a ton of risk. I was taught a very important lesson during my time Hustling on the streets.

It was a long time ago, I don’t remember what time of year it was but I know the weather wasn’t too hot. I was in Atlanta of course and at this time in my Hustle my Game was slowly expanding. I lost a couple of spots (established territory where I made money), pushed out by police who suspected what I was doing but could never actually catch me. I told you before, a real Hustler moves on a first and not on a second. I moved “in-between” time. I'll let the squares figure that one out.

I was at one of my re-up spots (location where you get product). It was nestled in the basement of a hair salon which had its own outside entrance. You had to park your car in the back which was great because you couldn’t really calculate the foot traffic going in and out just by looking from the street.

The spot was quite when I walked through the door. I was running a little behind schedule that day so I missed the usual Hustlers coming in and going out to get on their grind.

The seller was a young African. Actually I think he was only a year or two older than me, but he had what I didn’t have at the time. Good positioning in his Game and a nice bankroll. He didn’t need to hit the streets anymore; his only exposure was to fellow Hustlers. And this, to be honest, wasn’t too much different than ducking and dodging the eyes of the streets.

Street Hustling can be very stressful. It breeds uncomfortable paranoia – you find it hard to trust people.

I pulled out my list of what I needed and began to gather my products. I was always very organized. I tracked everything – what sold, how many, how much I spent, also how much I grossed and netted per day. I invested my re-up money in the new and hot and scaled back on the old and cold. I also took orders for regular customers and did my best to accommodate them. It was just good business.

The young proprietor, we’ll call him Hasan, sat down in his usual office chair when things were slow and watched his small color television. He had a movie in the DVD player and was eating something which I didn’t recognize.

“How long you been coming here?” Hasan asked with a mouth full of food. And even then, I could still hear his words laced with African accent.

I thought for a moment, “I guess about two years off and on.”

Hasan shook his head and continued, “You know I asked around who was the most beloved,” he chewed a little and continued, “A lot of people said you.”

This was a shock to me. I was cool with a lot of people in the circle I ran in. As far as being the most beloved… I would have never guessed. When I think back I figure it was mainly because I was trustworthy and understood the business from their Perspective. I had to; it was part of my Game.

“What’re the streets like these days?” Hasan asked.

“Not too much different I guess. Fools with no Hustle are driving the price down though. Selling three for tens. But I got a good spot locked down,” I replied.

“Yeah. Heard about the three for tens. People asking me to drop my prices. But I like to sell quality. Quality costs more,” Hasan said.

“Exactly, same here. That’s why I fuck with you,” I said.

Hassan went on to offer me a very tempting opportunity; something that would elevate my Game. More work but more money and more risk as he would soon point out.

“Think of it like this Shai (my hustler name at the time), we both take risks everyday. What’s the point of taking all these risks when you’re just going to live like everyone else? When I take my wife out, I take her to the best. Real Hustler shit. We have our own waiter – he stands right there at the table the whole meal. People don’t live like that, but they don’t take the risks we do either.”

I shook my head in agreement. I had never thought about the Game from that Perspective before. I later learned that Macks used to do similar things quite often. It wasn’t just Hustlers that made moves like that; this was universal Player behavior – and a true Hustler is a Player.

So, here I was, risking my freedom almost every single day. At any moment I could be “knocked” – locked-up and sitting in a jail cell. I was stacking money but I didn’t do anything with it. It wasn’t about spending foolishly; it was about reaching and living above average.

The Game I got that day during that conversation was simple. When you’re reaching for things in life, that reaching involves taking risks. And if you’re taking more risks than the average person, why live like the average person? What’s the point of it all? Why not just have a regular 9-to-5 job?

This isn’t a lesson about the criminal mindset – if you look up the word entrepreneur in the dictionary you will run across the definition where it defines an entrepreneur as a person who takes financial risks. Risks are risks - and no layer of the Game is immune to them. Reaching is a concept that should be embedded in anyone who is on the path to break out of their average shell.

I left the spot that day with a new Perspective swimming around in my mind. After thinking about it for a couple of days I made a decision. If I was going to be a Hustler then I had to live like a Hustler – anything less would be uncivilized.

Keep it moving. Until next time...

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