Failure. A lot of us probably wouldn't want to ever admit this, and it is probably somewhere in the box of embarrassing things that you don't want anyone to ever see, you don’t even want to remember it yourself. The thing is no one has never told us that there nothing wrong with failure. In fact, failure is sometimes the platform for your future success. What people don't tell you is, many of them have failed before they got to the place where they are now. Did they give up? I am sure on some occasions they did or wanted to but, as you see the got back in the game. For me, I can think of a few times that I attempted different ventures and I literally gave up. I gave up because the mission to me back then was harder than I had anticipated. Looking back at it now, it wasn't that it was hard but, I wasn't willing to put in the hard work that it required. When you are starting a new journey, you should always take into account the challenges you will face. In my upcoming book I talk about a group called "the resistance." It is the resistance that is always in place waiting to try to keep you from everything that you have set out to accomplish. The tactics from the resistance can only be successful if you allow it to be. The tactics will sometimes be very challenging because it will sometimes use people who are extremely close to you. That is where I once faced my biggest defeat, because I gave in to the words that were being said. You have to understand that the resistance can come through many forms, it will not always be another person and it will not be the same tactic. In fact, sometimes it will use you against you! Now, to read more about the resistance group you will have to purchase my book, just head over to the store to purchase it now (well after you finish reading this lol). We have to learn to channel our energy and thoughts. For every time that you feel you cannot do something and you want to give up, you do the opposite of what you feel! Instead of giving up on the goal you are trying to accomplish, give up on the negative thoughts that is trying to accomplish you. This is why I developed the #BeRelentless mindset, too many times we allow our own thoughts to defeat us and cause us to quit. There are times we allow our own thoughts to cause us to quit before we even get started! We let our negative thoughts talk us out of something. I will never forget when I was invited to participate in a honors class in college, at first glance I was talking myself out of it because in my mind I felt that I wasn’t good enough to be in the class. Thank God for two significant people who talked me into doing it! One of them taught me to never turn down an opportunity when it is presented to you. Now did I face challenges in that class? Heck yeah! The thing is, I never gave up, and I took on every challenge I faced in that class and I did not back down from it. That is what being relentless is all about! When you see a challenge, you face it head on and you knock its head off. Never back down from the challenge but gladly accept it. When you develop the relentless mindset, you will quit on everything that says you can't! With a relentless mindset you will never let the negative thoughts tell you what you can’t do but you will tell it what you can do! When it is all said and done, you will quit on the negativity and you will press on knowing that you can. #BeRelentless

In life we will face many setbacks. Sometimes it is just a matter of revamping some things, you are on the right path but there are just a few things that need to be tweaked. Then there are times that you just have to do away with the entire thing and go back to the drawing boards. Just because you faced a setback does not mean that it is the end. You have to realize that the setback is a part of your development. How bad do you really want to achieve that goal? Now that you have answered that to yourself constantly remind yourself of that and keep digging. Athletes don't quit just because they lose a game. Why? Because, that is a part of the process and if you quit every time you get a "L" then you never really wanted it bad enough. What you have to look at is what caused the "L." Remember I said there are some things you will have to tweak and there are some you have to go back to the drawing boards all together. So, ask yourself "what could I have done better or differently?" In order to achieve true success and great results you have to be completely honest with yourself. Being in denial will never get you anywhere. Lying to yourself about your bad attitude will never help you with customer service because you will always think something is wrong with the customer and not you. Then the result of you lying to yourself will end with you failing completely. And that is ok! Sometimes we need to fail completely so that it can be a wake up call because, nothing else had caught our attention before that. We like to look at others when it comes to sabotaging our dreams and goals but we never take an assessment to see how we are self-sabotaging it ourselves. You can be better if you choose to be but again, you have to want to be better. It is very empowering when you can see your setbacks and correct them for a major comeback. At the end of the day it is all up to you and if you truly desire to win. God sets the path for you, but it is up to you to follow it and make those corrections as needed in order for you to be prepared for your place of destiny. So at the end of the day, you got to strive to survive! If you want to achieve, you will do what you have to do get that with nothing stopping you. You will be RELENTLESS.

This past Friday, I had made the plans to turn off my phone some this weekend to spend time with my wife and focus. Not knowing what would also come along with this. I am sure we are all shocked over the news of of Chadwick Boseman. If you didn't know this, a NBA player, Cliff Robinson passed away as well. These two are the two that we all know who has passed away this weekend. I am sure there are many others who has passed away this weekend as well. I sat around on Saturday and thought about how many people we have lost in the year 2020; and a large amount of deaths doesn't even include the COVID deaths; COVID just makes the number even larger. With all of the things that has happened this year it is really unbearable and is almost like a scary movie. We have faced one heartache after another. One frustration after another. One anger that then leads on to another moment of anger. You get the point right? I was left to wonder when does this all end? Should we all just scream JUMANJI now in unison in hopes that it will come to a cease? I began wondering what is God and this year trying to show us? One thing that I want to share with you all that I think is a top priority is, it is OK to grieve! I know we think we have to always be strong and be there for everyone because we think we have to help save the world. But please hear me out, you cannot save anyone else if you can't save yourself first. Learn to take the time to get away from the noise and grieve! I have had to learn that for myself as well. I'll never forget when I had got to the point that I had a massive shut down. I shut everyone out of my life but my wife and even still in some ways I shut her out too. No, it wasn't right but I had gotten to a place mentally where I had a mental overload. I do believe that had I gotten away for a moment I could have restrengthened myself to be able to be there for people the way I normally do. Now, 2020 has been much different because we have faced one thing after another literally. So how do we deal with all that we have dealt with in the year 2020. You cry, scream or whatever it is that you have to do; you just let it out! 2020 has gotten to the point that it is trying to break down even some of the strongest people. Please know this, it is totally OK to have a weak moment. Don't try to hold yourself to the standard that you have to be tough 24/7. It is in our weakness that we gain more strength. How else can you learn or develop a new level of strength unless you get weak for a moment. We have also got to learn to take a media break both social and television outlets. Take some time to enjoy life. Spend time with your loved ones, make those phone calls to let others know you are thinking about them, read a book. Do something outside of your normal day to day activities. Just live! Learn to cherish the small things in life and don't take them for granted. Create more memories because when we are gone, that is all our loved ones will have. Don't let your memories be arguments and fights. There is more to life than arguments and fights. We have to realize that there are times when no response is sometimes the better option. There is no need to run your blood pressure up over someone who will never even try to understand what you are saying. With all that we are experiencing in the year 2020 it is very overwhelming. We leave out one door of trauma only to enter another door filled with trauma. In between exiting and entering these doors of life or even while we are in the place that the door led us to, learn to enjoy life. Even if the good things are small or big, learn to enjoy them. Though there are somethings that occur in life that are beyond your control, you still can find the good somewhere in it. Learn the lesson that is in the bad thing that occurred. I promise you there is a lesson in it that you can gain and if you look hard enough you will find more than one. There are many lessons that 2020 is trying to teach us. I see a lot of the lessons that this year is speaking and maybe as we progress in this blogging, I will share those things. We will get through this year, it maybe with a lot of battle scars but we will make it through. Keep your head up my friend. I know it's hard right now but we will do our best to make it through together, that's all we can do. Maybe, just maybe instead of making lemonade with the lemons we can create something new. Maybe that's why the lemonade is so tart. Maybe we need to do things differently from what we have normally done. That's just a thought. I know I have wrote a lot in this blog but, I have just that much on my mind right now. The last thing I will say is, we need to learn the lessons from the lives we have lost this year. The way they lived, led and the messages they left. Just because they are gone doesn't mean that the message their lives spoke while they were with us has to stop, they can continue through you. Allow their message to make you a better version of you and that is how the message can continue through you! I am signing off now but I want to remind and encourage you to remember that, "all things motivate."