Malice of the Clipse

I was surfing the internet and found this I think everyone should look at this. It's important that we remember rappers can inspire us too.

Malice's Book Excerpt #1 from Malice of the Clipse on Vimeo.

Click this to be Inspired

Can you hear me now?

        Over the past weeks I have been taking in a lot of good information about life. From things about fatherhood to how hip hop has affected it’s listeners in general. “Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”(Buddha) Over this time this quote has directly related to what I’ve learned.

           
        As young men and women many of the things we heard growing up have affected us. These things are the cause for many of the problems that elders see within our generation. If you think about your life growing up and what type of music you listened to you will in some way get a sense of your current personality. You can also look at the things you heard growing up and relate them to what you currently believe in.

          
        Dr. Gregory Carr a professor at Howard University said “I feel bad for the young individual who’s going through their right of passage and has to hear … you can hear me fo you see me I got king kong in the trunk…king kong ki ki king ka king kong.” Little do we know it these songs directly influence what we will grow to deem as acceptable as adults. Older individuals had respect because they were taught this through music, books, and also in the household. Our current society however teaches us to rebel and although change is necessary it must be done in the most sensible of ways. The things that young men and women are taking in currently create a void in old values being passed to younger generation. The perfect example of this is “Make it Rain” by Travis Porter being sang at every chance. Although this song may be catchy the fact that women glorify these songs show how far we have come.

           
      My advice to my fellow young men and women is that we intake much more good than bad. I am not telling you to not listen to the current music; however, you must learn to respect your level of intellect by not feeding it garbage. Read empowering books, listen to the music that the artist today have copied. Many of the messages from old music have been “dumbed” down by new artist in an attempt to sell records. Your personal advancement in what you listen to will take you far in life. Although you will not see the immediate effects of these changes they will change your views while also broadening your knowledge. Remember that knowing everything about everything is the key to knowledge. How can you learn anything new if you listen to same things? Become an individual…

Why not 5?

   It has been a long time since I’ve sat down and written something for this blog. As I brained stormed of messages to spread one very important reoccurring theme began to replay over and over again in my head. Let me paint you a picture, imagine that you’re in a major that could get you anywhere from $30,000 to $65,000 dollars as a bottom level worker out of school. Your grades are above a 3.0 but there is something missing in your life. Extracurricular activity and I’m not talking about partying. I mean organizations, community service and activities that will keep you whole.

                This picture I painted for you is one that affects many individuals both on college campuses and can alter entire lives. Many people have a hunger to be “the man” but forget the idea that school is your main focus. Many people say “time management” but have not fully learned how to master time or use it efficiently.

                This in turn leads to a lot of 5th year seniors who wish they would have done something different on campus besides being active only in extracurricular. Many students do not mature as rapidly as others and in turn cannot be blamed solely for their misfortune. Others will argue that you are a grown man/woman so any decision you made is strictly your own and you must live with it.

                I wrote this with the intent to motivate you to put school first. Even if you have the money to go to school for 10 years I’m sure your parents would rather spend it on something more constructive.  The philosopher Albert Camus once said “Life is the sum of all your decisions.” When you decide to do anything in life make sure you weigh out who you are affecting and what you are affecting. Remember to put yourself first also, college is the time for YOU to worry about YOUR future. Be successful both on campus and after campus. 

J-Cole Mixtape

Below is J-Cole's third mixtape enjoy

Click Here to download

Quote of the Day

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment"-Jim Rohn

Quote of the Day

“First we make our habits, then our habits make us.” - Charles C. Noble

Young Guru's Take on Enslavement in Hip Hop

Watch this video and think about how the same contracts in Hip-Hop can relate to real life.

Meth Lab?

Who: Two Georgetown Students and an outside guest

What: Found with what was supposed to be a Meth Lab in their dorm room. The Lab turned out to be a DMT lab (DMT stands for Dimethyltryptamine). This drug is a hallucinogenic.

When: The suspects were arrested Sat. October 23rd.

Where: Georgetown's Harbin Hall

Why: The students were apprehended mainly because a foul smell was reported within the dorm.

Feel to leave your comments on this and any of our other posts.

Influential Person of the Week

        Malcolm X was a great leader, speaker, and member of the Nation of Islam. As a person Malcolm X strive for success in everything he did. Many people know him only as a civil rights activist and have yet to truly learn about who Malcolm X is. I suggest you read "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" as told to Alex Haley. This will let you know exactly who Malcolm X is and what he has done for the world. Many of the people whom you look up to have emulated his ability to be forceful but still calm and intellectual.

Poem of the Week

Waiting to Be Saved

Today I woke up, I'm happy to be blessed

because last night I had a deeper dream than Martin

but now I've become enraged on a mission, Malcolm X

but before someone shoots me I wondered what's next

I see slaves running around in nikes now

and Gucci bags suddenly change life around

You see my generation is lost, with no urgency

They say don't fret "I'm no worried B"

As we watch from the sidelines like coaches

Willie Lynch laughs in his grave also

No more GUTS!, Since when have my people lost their torsos

Lynching yourself and no one has to force you

I remember when we as a people

were resourceful and free thinking

Guess Obama will have to save the slaves again right?

The New Age Abraham Lincoln

by Geoffrey Allison

Quote of the Day

“The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.”- Martin Luther King Jr.

Quote of the Day

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” - Unknown

WERE BACK

  

                 

       Hey, this is the A.O.M. staff just letting you know that updates will definitely be coming soon. We've been getting alot of questions about why we haven't been updating the site. We are students first, so we've been working and doing interviews for summer internships but  we plan to revamp this site completely in the near future with a new name and more writers than ever. Be on the lookout for that, but for the meantime we will remain dedicated to bringing our followers insight. So that being said...

WERE BACK 

P.S. Everyone could use a little laughter in there life...

Find A Mentor

     During a conversation with my fellow writer Von Cunningham we discussed the importance of a mentor. I know it's been a long time since Von or myself  has updated but we ourselves are attempting to grow as we teach.This should be exactly what you look for in a mentor. Someone who exemplifies hard-work and effort  although they have reached a certain status they realize that working hard is still important.

      There is a lot about life that no one will ever know but in your pursuit to learn everything you can while alive finding a mentor is one of the most important things. Nothing you are trying to do has no been contemplated or attempted. Your job in trying to accomplish your goals should be to find someone who has done what you have done or is somewhere you want to be.

        A mentor can open doors while also reaching you your faults. The overall goal of a mentor is to help you whether it be for personal gratification or as an investment. You will be able to feel out the difference based on your relationship with your mentor. 

       For men who grew up with no male role models a mentor is especially important in their growth. I found this out myself during my freshman year at Howard University. Although I was raised by my father until I was 14 (R.I.P. Dad) and my grandfather. I only learned their mental opinions towards life and not towards professionalism.
         Having multiple mentors is also a good idea because they can offer varying opinions on life situations as well as school decisions and work. To gain a mentor all you simply have to do is ask. It isn't as difficult as it may seem to get someone older than you to help you. Often times they want to more than you think.

        I do not condone following someones shadow but I also do not condone disrespect to a person who spent there time helping to mold you as a man. Know that one day your time will come to shine but it is not now. "We have arrived but we have not yet made it"-Michael Stewart Jr.

Willie Lynch Theory

http://richbroke2.ning.com/forum/topics/the-willie-lynch-theory

PLEASE READ Pay little attention to the generation of original breaking, but CONCENTRATE ON FUTURE GENERATION. Therefore, if you break theFEMALE mother, she will BREAK the offspring in its early years of development; and when the offspring is old enough to work, she will deliver it up to you, for her normal female protective tendencies will have been lost in the original breaking process. For example, take the case of the wild stud horse, a female horse and an already infant horse and compare the breaking process with two captured nigger males in their natural state, a pregnant nigger woman with her infant offspring. Take the stud horse, break him for limited containment. Completely break the female horse until she becomes very gentle, whereas you or anybody can ride her in her comfort. Breed the mare and the stud until you have the desired offspring. Then, you can turn the stud to freedom until you need him again. Train the female horse whereby she will eat out of your hand, and she will in turn train the infant horse to eat out of your hand, also. When it comes to breaking the uncivilized nigger, use the same process, but vary the degree and step up the pressure, so as to do a complete reversal of the mind. Take the meanest and most restless nigger, strip him of his clothes in front of the remaining male niggers, the female, and the nigger infant, tar and feather him, tie each leg to a different horse faced in opposite directions, set him afire and beat both horses to pull him apart in front of the remaining niggers. The next step is to take a bullwhip and beat the remaining nigger males to the point of death, in front of the female and the infant. Don’t kill him, but PUT THE FEAR OF GOD IN HIM, for he can be useful for future breeding.

THE BREAKING PROCESS OF THE AFRICAN WOMAN

Take the female and run a series of tests on her to see if she will submit to your desires willingly. Test her in every way, because she is the most important factor for good economics. If she shows any sign of resistance in submitting completely to your will, do not hesitate to use the bullwhip on her to extract that last bit of [b----] out of her. Take care not to kill her, for in doing so, you spoil good economics. When in complete submission, she will train her offsprings in the early years to submit to labor when they become of age. Understanding is the best thing. Therefore, we shall go deeper into this area of the subject matter concerning what we have produced here in this breaking process of the female nigger. We have reversed the relationship; in her natural uncivilized state, she would have a strong dependency on the uncivilized nigger male, and she would have a limited protective tendency toward her independent male offspring and would raise male offsprings to be dependent like her. Nature had provided for this type of balance. We reversed nature by burning and pulling a civilized nigger apart and bullwhipping the other to the point of death, all in her presence. By her being left alone, unprotected, with the MALE IMAGE DESTROYED, the ordeal caused her to move from her psychologically dependent state to a frozen, independent state. In this frozen, psychological state of independence, she will raise her MALE and female offspring in reversed roles. For FEAR of the young male’s life, she will psychologically train him to be MENTALLY WEAK and DEPENDENT, butPHYSICALLY STRONG. Because she has become psychologically independent, she will train her FEMALE offsprings to be psychologically independent. What have you got? You’ve got the nigger WOMAN OUT FRONT AND THE nigger MAN BEHIND AND SCARED. This is a perfect situation of sound sleep and economics. Before the breaking process, we had to be alertly on guard at all times. Now, we can sleep soundly, for out of frozen fear his woman stands guard for us. He cannot get past her early slave-molding process. He is a good tool, now ready to be tied to the horse at a tender age. By the time a nigger boy reaches the age of sixteen, he is soundly broken in and ready for a long life of sound and efficient work and the reproduction of a unit of good labor force. Continually through the breaking of uncivilized savage niggers, by throwing the nigger female savage into a frozen psychological state of independence, by killing the protective male image, and by creating a submissive dependent mind of the nigger male slave, we have created an orbiting cycle that turns on its own axis forever, unless a phenomenon occurs and re-shifts the position of the male and female slaves. We show what we mean by example. Take the case of the two economic slave units and examine them close.

This was posted as food for thought... Read and comment with your opinions 

Images of The Gulf Coast Disaster

The worst oil disaster in U.S. History, many argue that America is finally paying for their oil addiction, We shouldn't have to pay with the lives of animals and even people. maybe the destruction of the Gulf of Mexico will finally "Awaken" America from its oil dependency

                                                                                                                   -Von C.

Goals and Having a Plan

The first thing ANY grown man needs is an objective. There has to be something you are working towards in all aspects of your life. Your finances, your physique, your dating choices for a potential team OR a wife if that is where you are in life. If you cannot honestly answer the question; "Where do I wanna be 3-5-10 years from now?" You need to get a plan together ASAP. This starts the groundwork for making you into a REAL MAN.

Alpha Males know what they want to do and they do it...or at least attempt it regardless of who or what is going on. Beta Males know what they want to do but allow things to interfere that change the course of their plans or kills them all-together. Taking over your hood, having 10,000 girls on your Facebook or having all the girls checking for you in the club IS NOT A PLAN. That is the stuff that keeps young guys from focusing on real goals. If you are doing things in your life for anyone else other than yourself you are losing...period.

Don't be afraid of criticism. This is your fuel. When people critique your ideas or your work you should use this to re-tool your game plan and make your plans better.

Get with people who are doing well or at least trying to do big things. This is discussed below in detail in the TEAM topic but this is important. "Your NETWORTH is equivalent to your NETWORK"

Have multiple plans for hustles/income streams. Any good hustler knows you cannot be a "one trick pony". Being One-Dimensional is killing the IT dudes in my field because they got certified to do ONE THING and technology is ever-changing so now they are looking for work. You also find this with older cats in most fields that have been in a position for 20+ years trying to retire with a small amount....that is not smart. If you are not moving and shaking you are stagnant and will be passed up and passed over...every time. Be multi-dimensional. Learn how to do other things to make money....legally of course. This economy is not friendly to the one-dimensional....as CNN has shown you.

Mind of A Child

As men we face these same problems within society. Young children raised are not taught that color barriers do not affect a persons capabilities. I'm posting this video only to raise awareness to social problems that still exist within society.

7 Steps to Success

1. Realize that you can do better then what you are doing now.
You should always be making moves, striving to do better then yesterday. NEVER stop changing, or diversifying yourself. always be striving for excellence

2. Remove yourself from the problem/person.
People stay in situations, or relationships because they feel that they can do any better then what they are doing now, but that is very far from the truth. in order to be better, you must remove yourself from the person, place, or thing that is hindering your success

3. Associate with LIKE MINDED people.
Too often we have friends, or associates who aren't on the same page as we are. That creates friction in our lives, we must learn to walk with like minded people, For the Christians on the board the bible even says so...

"How can two walk together except they agree!!!"

4. Always strive to be better.
Never settle for where you are at right now, you must have a mindset of i can do better then where i am now or you will end up in step 5

5. Don't fall into the comfort zone.
The comfort zone is our greatest enemy, because with comfort comes defeat. the quickest way to fail is to be comfortable in your current situation. So what if you are doing well, and? when people are comfortable the FEAR CHANGE, when you fear change you get complacent. always be un-comfortable!

6. Cut off dead branches.
How can a tree grow if its not pruned!!! the people, things in your life must go if they dont fall under step 3. In order to reach your full potential, dead branches have to go. Or you too may become a dead branch.

7. Its lonely at the top, but jam packed at the bottom.
People know this all too well, on your journey you will find that not everyone will walk with you to the top. Some will, others will walk but then quit, others will try to block your path. But to achieve true success you must internalize this very true statement. 

                                                                                                                   -Von C.

Me Time

           

     I chose the title for this blog after pondering life. You see people always talk about how life goes so quickly and to cherish it. One thing they forget to tell you is to you’re your time off as me time.

            One day on the shuttle at Howard University my friend said something to me that in a way affected my life principles. He said “You know Geoff theirs one thing people forget about life… They always talk about their goals but never remember to have fun.” You see life is a serious thing but at the same time you will never live it again.

            The very thing you are doing now will never be the same a second from now. My friend also compared life to a shuttle ride. We get on the shuttle worried about where were going but we never stop to look out the windows. You see those who stopped to think will always benefit.

            The most influential men to ever live in this world have learned this. Although they were focused on change they remembered to be alert and pay attention to the things around them. So in ending this post I want you to remember that being goal oriented is fine but without fun you will tire yourself out. Find your balance or look out the window every once in a while it’s your choice.

-Geoffrey Allison

Quote of the Day

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.-Henry J. Kaiser (1882 - 1967)

The Evaporation of Masculinity

We're in a sad situation in society today. Most men suppress their basic masculinity. In many cases men do not even know how to act in a masculine way. True masculinity, assertive, aggressive, disciplined and protective. These traits are lacking in far too many men. Most women want these traits in their men despite what they may say publicly.

Women want the warrior in a man. Now please understand what I'm saying. A woman does not want a man who fight all the time or abuse her. A woman wants a man who will fight to protect her and their family and who will have the character and principles to fight for what he believes in. Think about the warrior for a second. The true warrior is the person who has the ability to fight for his beliefs but will also have the ability to know when to fight...

...a man's inner masculinity starts with a man taking control over the one thing he is able to exercise 100 percent control over: HIMSELF. Far too many men are followers. They are part of the herd. Many "go along to get along" They refuse to step outside the box. They will take a stand that goes against the majority. The reason they do this is because of fear.

Going against the majority can bring pain, criticism, condemnation and ridicule. Most men will go against their own principles to avoid these consequences (change mine). The main issue with the Nice Guy is that they will suppress themselves just to be with the women of their desires. I have talked with both Nice Guys and the women who have been in relationships with them. Nice Guys generally put up with poor treatment just to be with the women. On the other side of the coin, women have complained about the passive nature of the Nice Guys. The Nice Guy is really operating out of fear, generally the fear that women will not respond to him if he is more assertive. The bad thing is that the average Nice Guy is not consciously aware of this. Fear is also a factor with the Masked Men. It is fear keeps the mask on. Masked Men fear that if women see past their status, their possessions and their money, they will be rejected.

To develop his inner masculine the man must first become a warrior and confront himself and who he has become. He must then take FULL responsibility for his life.
  
Adam was man who blamed everyone but himself for his problems. When he loses job he blames his employers. When women reject him, he calls them stupid and says that they can't handle a "strong man". He blames everyone for his problems, but he will not look in the one place he should to correct his issues: himself. The same energy he uses on the athletic field or in a bar room fight must be channeled to confronting his issues…

I strongly recommend for ALL men to take economic control of their life. Too many men are totally dependent on others for economic survival. Not to say that working for someone is bad but every single man should have some type of way to legally make money that he can control. For example, Ben is a man with a steady job working for a government agency. The job pays well with great benefits. Despite this, Ben has a side business doing home improvements. If anything were to happen with his government job he would still have something to fall back on…

 "A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him"


                                                                                                                                             -Von. C

Women: More Important than We Realize

Women really do rule the world.  They just haven't figured it out yet.  When they do, and they will, we're all in big big trouble. (“Doctor Leon,") Yesterday I was thinking to myself where would I be without my mother. The answer being I wouldn’t be here today. Men often take advantage of women in life and neglect the fact that women are the second biggest influences upon most of our lives after us.

On my journey to being a man the world taught me that women would hinder me more than help me in life. As I grow older I learn that women just as men as misguided by things such as the media and without them men are nothing. A lot of the things we did as men growing up associated directly with women. Getting good grades (to please mom), wanting all the new jordans (to please the girls), and playing sports (we loved it but we all know about groupies).

You see our mother is the first person we learn to love. Upon birth we cannot see and things are blurry but the first person to feed us is our mom. You learn to love women and care for them. The bible tells us that women come from man and to many men this is a sense of being above them.

I ask this again, “What would we be without women?” and to be honest I have no real answer to this. Just imagine this picture, No reproduction so the world would not have lasted this long, no one to nurture children, no reason to be “the man” because all you would surrounded by is other men.

Without my mother my purpose in life would not be as fulfilling. I was reading one of my twitter followers blogs (http://planetlover-treehugger.tumblr.com/) and in one of the posts she talked about a conversation she had with her dad. She basically spoke on how her father said that his job was to provide for her and that it was not her job to repay him. After reading this I thought to myself about my mother.

Personally my father died when I was 14 so I’ve been on my journey to manhood since then. She guided me through this and this was not something she had to do. As I get older I realize this and this pushes me to work harder.

You see women do not choose to be emotional creatures. Yet they know how to love and how to teach a man to endure. A big part of manhood is the women which you come from. Men learn many things from women that men cannot teach. So the next time you see your mother tell her you love her and that her influence on your life is just as important as any other. Don’t wait until mother’s day because one day she will be gone.

-Geoffrey Allison

Dear Mom...

Dear Mama,       

I contemplated what to get you

I thought about clothes but I remembered

Nothing in life can describe, let alone fit you

Then came electronics, for these you have a fondness

However little did you know your brain is far beyond this

You see you know things computers don’t

And tell me things the world wont

So what was left was this

A poem

Something less affordable

But never the less a gift

Something to conjure up thought in your mind

Because as I become man I realize

Material things pass with time

Knowledge, the greatest gift you gave me

Something for which there is no repayment

You freed my mind from the world’s enslavement

While keeping us off the pavement

So I work hard daily

Like you did for your baby

Cause I probably wouldn’t carry you for 9 months

That’s crazy

Just know I appreciate it

Because I could have been in a garbage can

Cut up, hung from a ceiling fan

So since I’m not let’s leave the world astounded

Just know I have the key to success

Yes I found it, It’s you mom

So I’ll use old school slang and say

“you’re the bomb”

Thank you mom

Because the present you gave me is life long

So I write this hoping you’ll remember it

Keep it bye your bedside

And I’ll work hard

Immigrant state of mind

Because this dream you started

I’ll finish it

And one day I’ll look over and say

Mama we made it

Dead or alive

Geoffrey Allison-

P.S. I love you mom even though we may not say it often

Quote of the Day

“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”- Nietzche

"Show no love,Love will get you killed"

       

        Love, a popular word often used and abused. Some see love as a beautiful thing while others take this word and throw it to the ground within a negative light. Recently my own thoughts began to make me wonder about this very word.

            This very word is powerful in many of ways. It is used for negative reasons and positive all in the same. In the movie “Get Rich or Die Trying” 50 Cent’s character Curtis said “Show no love, love will get you killed”. Now these very words can translate to the bible, the story of Jesus before his death.

            For those who don’t know Jesus was betrayed by someone he “loved”. His friend Judas sold him for money and in the end Jesus still loved him. These quotes and sayings transition over to life. You see many of us want to be loved and claim we are in love. To be completely honest, I will be the first to say there is nothing wrong with that. Being in love and loving someone (or something) is fine.

            Recently however, a friend of mine posed the question to me “What do you feel about love?” All my life I have answered this question but now after finding out who I am as an individual my answer has changed. You see in my opinion love is something that can either hurt you or greatly hinder you.

            Love can help you in many ways but the biggest thing I see in loving anything or anyone is that it must bring peace to your life. Loving something must make you happy but it must not take the place of your personal happiness. This is where many of the cons with love come in.

            Love must not be your source of confidence and self-determination. I feel as though many men and women in this day search for something/someone to love in order to fill a personal void. This should not be the case regardless of the situation you are in. Have you ever heard of someone successful with no loves? Whether they be physical or not is not the point.

            The overall point to love is to find things that help you to maintain your sanity on earth. Single mothers often love their children and doing everything for them makes them happy. The same can be said for a man who does things for his woman that are viewed as outrageous. If that man and that single mother truly love themselves they know what they are doing. They choose to do the things they do because it puts them at peace but they also must remember that the day that peace stops their actions must stop.

Even though you are in love there are some things that you just can’t tell anyone or discuss. If you’re in love with yourself, then you will know your likes and dislikes. Remember that I’m not saying love is bad. Just remember to love yourself because when everything you love is gone you will be the only one/thing left to please. If you don’t learn to please yourself while pleasing others then Love is unimportant right now in your life. 

-Geoffrey Allison

What a Suit Tells People......The Importance of You

"A Man is defined by what he wears"


Whether you are heading in for a job interview, to church, or to a banquet a man should always be well dressed. Knowing what to wear is very important, and knowing how to wear it is just as vital. They key to a good suit is knowing your size and colors. Here are some key tips to wearing a suit properly.

1. Know your size: It is very important that you know your measurements when buying a suit.
The most important of those measurements is your chest. Those measurements typically range from 34-62 and most average sized males fall in the 40 range. You also need to know what length you need. Off the rack, the lengths will read short, regular, long, and extra long. You need to know this because you don’t want your jacket to be too short on your arms, or too long either. Typically these sizes are correlated to your height; shorter men will wear a short suit and taller guys will wear long or extra long suits. If your suit is custom made your tailor will be able to take those measurements and cut the perfect size.
The next most important measurement is your waist. This gives you the fitted look and reduces the bulk in your pants. Your inseam, which is measured from the top of your inner thigh to your ankle, is crucial as well. Pants should fall at the top of your ankles; you do not want a lot of extra material around your ankles as it looks too bulky and sometimes can get caught under your shoe causing your pants to get dirtier faster than normal or even rip.

2. Color: Stick to the basics. Grays, navy blues, blacks, olive greens, dark browns, tans/khakis, and off whites are acceptable, though the lighter colors should be saved for the warmer seasons, mainly spring and summer. Pinstripes are a good choice especially in the darker shades like charcoal gray and navy blue. The brighter colors like reds, purples, royal blues, are a no-no. They tend to make you look like a pimp, and you can definitely lose some credibility walking into anyone’s office or meeting wearing the brightest suit you can find.

3. Materials: Most suits are made of wool or khaki. When buying off-the-rack stick to that, 100% wool or khaki. Denim and silks are a DON’T. Period. You can also do linens but reserve those for the warmer seasons as well.

4. Styles: Right now two buttons are in. Three buttons are still acceptable but if you are trying to make a fashion statement, two buttons are the way to go.
Vent’s are in as well, you can go with either the side vent, which is two slits at the bottom of your jacket on the outside edge of your back, or you can go with the center vent which is self explanatory.
A new trend, or renaissance if you may, is the re-emergence of the double breasted suit which was popular during the days of the Harlem Renaissance. If you are looking to make a bold statement this is the way to go.
There is also the good old three piece suit which includes the jacket, pants, and vest. When wearing a three piece keep the jacket buttons to a minimum; two are adequate.
As far as pants are concerned you want to stick to the basics, nothing fancy. Go with a plain front, no cuffs. Pleats, which are those folds you see on the front of pants at the belt line, are passé. They were popular in the early 90’s and chances are our dad’s still love them. Cuffs were popular in the late 90’s and early 2000’s but are fading away.
5. Shirts: Knowing your size here is very important.
The two most important measurements here are you neck size and arm length. Your neck size is the distance around your neck, they start at 14 and are measured in halves all the way up to 22. Arm length is measured from the top of your shoulder to a point just ½ an inch below your wrist. These measurements range from 32 to 39.
When picking a color go with the simpler colors, usually white and pastels. Bolder colors like red, royal blue, and black, should be reserved for evening events. Also know what kind of collar you like. There are many different styles. You have the traditional, tab, button down, pin collar, and spread. The spread collar varies in size they are wider depending on what you are more comfortable with.

6. Tie: You can choose pretty much any kind of tie you like. Stay away from very flashy designs, they tend to make you look like an aspiring pimp  just like those bright suits mentioned before. Solid colors, stripes, and paisley are good choices. However, when wearing a striped shirt, stick to a non striped tie you don’t want lines going in different directions it can make you look too busy.
Knowing how to tie a tie is very important. There are several different types of knots; Windsor, half Windsor, four-in-hand, Prince Albert and small knots. Wider knots work better with spread collars. If you are really looking to make a splash you can do a bow-tie.
To learn how to tie any of these visit Brooks Brothers website; there you can find step by step directions on each knot.
7. Shoes: If you can find a good pair of wingtips you’re headed in the right direction. You can never go wrong with a good pair of wing tips. They were out of style for a while but they are certainly back. If you can’t find a pair of wing tips just a simple pointed dress shoe will do just fine. Square toes are not as fashionable as they were in the early 2000’s, so if you have a pair it is time for an upgrade. Wooden soles are also a preferred; it’s nice for people to hear you coming. As for colors stick to black and brown it is that simple.

8. Accessories: As far as accessories go you can add a pocket square, also known as a handkerchief to your suit. Also wear cufflinks, a tie clip or tie pin, suspenders (if need be), and of course a belt.
Your belt should always match your shoes. If you have no choice wear what you have but if you can match them up, it is a great asset.
Pocket squares are a nice addition. You can never go wrong with a plain white pocket square but to add a little more flare to your outfit you can match your pocket square to your tie. There are times when your pocket square and tie do not have to match but make sure you know what you’re doing, don’t do a tie and pocket square with two different colors and two different patterns.
Cuff links are strictly worn with French cuff shirts. Tie clips or tie pins are worn to keep your tie in place so if you take your jacket off and lean forward your tie does not fall in your food or drink. For cuff links, tie clips and tie pins, less is more. You do not want too many designs it can be distracting. So when in doubt, “KISS”, Keep it simple stupid.
So let’s recap

• Know your size
• Simple colors
• Know which style you prefer and which suits suit you best
• Wool, kaki and linen are the materials to stick with
• Two button double breasted and three pieces suits are in style
• Know your shirt size – neck and arms and which kind of collar you prefer
• Know how to tie a tie
• Pointed toe shoes in brown or black
• If you accessorize you have several options but keep it simple on each one

The most important thing is to be confident in what you are wearing; don’t slouch it doesn’t make the suit look good; and remember you wouldn’t have worn it if you didn’t think it suited you well, pun intended.

Examples:

Greatness Opens Doors

Download Southside Chicago's and #NT's Very own G.o.D Jewels new mixtape "Greatness Opens Doors"

Link: GreatnessOpensDoors

The Abundance Mindset

Abundance and prosperity is really all there is.

There’s no such thing as lack or shortage. In the mind of God, it does not exist. Look around you: abundance is ALL there is! If poverty, lack and shortage were real, then nature would reflect it. And it doesn’t. Yeah, we have the occasional drought or famine here and there; but those are rare occurrences and not the norm.

When you get a chance, go home and look at your lawn. Find some grass somewhere and observe what you see. Really look, and see individual blades of grass. Try to count how many blades of grass you see. I bet you can’t! If you cannot realistically count each blade of grass that makes up a patch of ground, then you can’t convince me that lack or shortage exists. If anything, nature is profuse, almost to the point of waste, with her lavish opulence. They say there’s enough fruit that falls from the trees in the forests, and rots on the ground, that if harvested could feed the entire population of the world.

I believe in an opulent Universe. I believe in a universe of superfluous abundance; wealth that’s truly unfathomable. There’s more than enough money out here for every man, woman and child to individually be billionaires. We are all born billionaires. No one is born truly poor. Our surroundings may demonstrate poverty; your environment may be filled with the apparent evidence of widespread lack. But that’s your environment; its not YOU. YOU are born wealthy; I don’t care what your surroundings may seem to say to the contrary. Inside of you are a wealth of ideas, thoughts, potential and abilities.

You just haven’t been taught to think of yourselves in this light. So you’ve been grinding away in poverty, struggling for your daily bread; aware that life should be better than this, but not knowing how to legally get yourself into that better position.

It starts in your mind, with your thoughts and beliefs. We are either trapped, or liberated by the use of our minds. Change your thinking, change your life. It’s really that simple. Your perspective has to change before you’ll be able to see the opportunities all around you that exist for you to come up. You must come to understand that the world does not exist to serve you; you exist to serve the world.

Your mindset has to change. Success happens when you are passionately engaged in serving the world, in the way that excites and energizes you the greatest, doing what you love to do. The fact that you were either born here or currently live in America is proof alone that you were intended to prosper. There’s no excuse for staying poor, when poverty only exists as a frame of mind. It’s a belief system, one based on a stingy, lack-filled universe. To stay poor when you can do better is an insult to your Creator.

People are poor because they have not yet discovered that the purpose of their lives is to serve others with their gifts and talents. They are stuck in a stingy, 'me first' mindset. The world is hostile towards you as long as you are selfish towards it. But the moment you begin to cooperate with the Universe, by being of a selfless, giving spirit, the world around you will reflect that giving attitude right back to you. It’s very metaphysical how this happens, but its very true: you can’t beat God giving!

Everyone has something that can be used to bless someone else. Without exception. You won’t know prosperity until you stop thinking about YOU, and start thinking about others. When you feel the needs of someone other than yourself, and focus on their needs and desires by using what you have that they don’t have, and serving it to them, then you will know prosperity.
It’s a simple formula:

You have a gift, a natural talent: maybe some life experiences or whatever…

There are many people all around you who would gladly pay for the knowledge, wisdom, talent and gift that you have…

Find who they are, and sell them your gift.

Whitney Houston did this,before her cracked out years, and made over a hundred million dollars! She optimized her gift through many years of practice, to get it near perfection. Then, she made it available to the public in the form of recorded music: tapes, records and cd’s. By selling (serving) her gift to an audience that wanted what she had, she gave us what we wanted (good music), and we gave her her reward (our appreciation and money).

Realize that there’s a market out there for what you have too. Everybody has something that somebody else wants or needs. See your gift as a business opportunity. Your passion is your prosperity. Get into the game of life, and really start living!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        -Von C.

Quote of the Day

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”-Aristotle

Adult?

What is an adult?

A person who's older than you

Someone who is more mature

An individual with responsibilities

What is a child?

Someone immature

A dependent

A person without responsibilities

Thats what they would say

But I say it varies 

and adults can be just like kids

Just think about it

So the next time you use the word childish

Please explain why

because the "adult"

Just looks and sounds better to an untrained eye

-G.Allison

Quote of the Day

The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.
Chinese Proverb

The Power of an Adversary

Your true calling in life will always be revealed in times of great challenge. The real You hidden within you will always rise to a particular type of challenge, revealing to you who you truly are, as well as what problem you were put on this earth to help solve. Its when faced with your greatest opposition that the genius within you awakens.

My father used to say that adversity makes a boy into a man....We all face challenges and adversity. It's within an adversarial environment that the greatness within you comes to life. When you are so moved by a particular challenge that you cannot keep still about it, that is the challenge you must face. And I said MUST! You must, like David in the Bible, move confidently in the direction of the challenge you hear; relying on the superior force of spirit within yourself to overcome it. Behind that challenge awaits a great reward. A reward so great that you'll live off of it in some form or fashion for the rest of your life.

Mike Murdock says, when Evander Holyfield see's Mike Tyson coming, he doesn't grab his ear; he grabs his checkbook! No friend of Holyfield ever gave him the type of paycheck he got from fighting Tyson. Only a great enemy; an imposing adversary can do that for you. When ignorance is faced head on, it usually gives way to wisdom. Challenging man's greatest illnesses has given us amazing cures for the longevity of health. Trying to solve our greatest issues has given us our greatest discoveries.

What adversary stands in the way of where you're trying to go? Truly, Goliath was never a match for David. David had no real adversary. Goliath was just an inflated balloon, full of hot air. Only David could see him as he really was. That's why at the end of the day, he walked away with the girl, the wealth, and eventually the kingdom.

Handicap people are actually a lot better off than most normal people. They have the opportunity to rely on their true human power: the power of the spirit. We non-handicapped people rely too much on fleshly physical things. That's why we struggle to achieve worthwhile things in life, while many who are so-called handicapped accomplish the seeming impossible. All great things are born of the human spirit, in conjunction with the divine. Nothing great has ever come from flesh alone.

In actuality, its not the 'handicapped' who are actually always the handicapped. Most of the time, its us; the people with full use of their physical faculties, but little knowledge on how to use our inner faculties. Its us; the so-called whole and healthy ones, who have little appreciation for what we do have. We're the ones who can usually be found complaining about what we can't do; while somewhere not far is a person far more physically restricted than we are, who's busy doing that very thing we say can't be done.

Sometimes, I think God allowed handicaps to happen to us to illustrate where our true power lays. Here's a hint: it's not in our physical limbs. Neither is it found in our bank accounts. The truest, purest Source of your power is within you. by use of this power you can take hold of this world, and any physical handicap the worlds hands you, and reshape it into whatever you want it to be. That curse life handed you was given to you for you to shape it into a blessing. You are the master craftsman, the chief sculptor of the happenstances of your life. All adversity, all unfavorable conditions are really just the raw material of far greater blessings and benefits. But it takes your discerning eye and creative insight to see this for yourself.

Someone asked why does God allow bad things to happen to us, if He loves us so much? Maybe this question is best answered by looking at things from a different perspective. His relaxed hand of prevention could well be itself a blessing in disguise. Think about it: if God prevented everything bad from happening, would we ever discover our own powers to do amazing things?

If he never allowed others to do us harm, would we ever know the ability to forgive, or the power of healing and release it brings?
If He didn't allow sickness, could we ever know the pleasure of healing?
If He didn't allow the existence of ignorance, could we ever know the joy of discovering knowledge?

Troubles and trials serve to make us stronger and better. Its the immature child who gets angry when they don't get their way. The adult accepts that life is simply raw material for him/her to shape into whatever is desired or needed. That's the pioneering spirit. Using your adversities as tools for creating a new life.

We need the pioneering attitude towards life again.
                                                                                                                      -Von C.