IS M.E.T. YOUR Y.U.R? - What's your motivation for a Better Than average life?

I sit in this empty conference room waiting for the final class of my small business boot camp to begin and I come to the full realization the real work of being a business owner hasn't even started yet. 
The 17 hour days I've put in for the past 12 weeks didn't really count. That was only conditioning. 
The agonizing brainstorming sessions spent trying to create effective yet affordable marketing tactics were just warm up drills before the actual game. 
The stressful days spent developing operations and management strategies that maximize output and minimize costs were just a preliminary bouts before the main event: Me, the underdog versus a heavyweight champion called the world. 
All the while, the critics, sceptics and even haters watch with exhilaration, feverishly rooting against me, anxiously waiting, hoping and some even praying for me to fail.  
"Are you not entertained?!?" I yell to them in my head. 

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Funding, awards, recognition, prestige that often goes hand in hand with the human services "industry" can be appealing and alluring. Especially when, often times, you go unrecognized and unappreciated by those closest to you.

It's times like this I'm glad I have clearly defined my Y.U.R.
For those unfamiliar with that acronym, that is a mnemonic device meaning  "Why You Are..." It is my emotionally compelling reason for doing what I do in order to get what I want, defined. In other words; my motivation. 
I've said it before and I'll probably say it another 10,000 times. There was a time when I believed I was destined for failure simply because of my skin color, age and gender. The story that society told me about what was expected out of people who looked me was, we weren't expected to succeed. We weren't expected to even live. 
I learned the truth and changed the trajectory of my life. And now I want to teach others that same truth.
I have worked really hard to build a platform where I can inspire people to be, do and have more than what they believe they is possible. Whether that be the gangbanger, the ex-con, the knucklehead kid still in elementary school or the single mother who wants more for herself and her family. They each deserve to know the truth about what they are capable of achieving and having and being. 

I have worked really hard to build a platform where I can inspire people to be, do and have more than what they believe they is possible. Whether that be the gangbanger, the ex-con, the knucklehead kid still in elementary school or the single mother who wants more for herself and her family. They each deserve to know the truth about what they are capable of achieving and having and being. 

Last week, someone questioned my values when it came to business ownership. They asked me "Do you want to make a lot of money or do you want to help a lot of people." 
It was one of the most asinine question I've ever been asked. I don't believe it has to be "either/or".
I firmly believe I can and will make my purpose profitable. As long as I keep my eye on the prize and stay focused on what my YUR is. 
A mentor of mine likes to say many people involved in this work get caught up in the M.E.T. Money. Ego. Turf. 
I can see how the funding, awards, recognition, prestige that often goes hand in hand with the human services "industry" can be appealing and alluring. Especially when, often times, you go unrecognized and unappreciated by those closest to you.
But again, I have clearly defined my YUR and MET is nowhere in the definition. ​
Of course, I have a desire to be financially healthy, and plan to be reasonably prosperous, however, insane amounts of wealth isn't my chief objective.

As I write this on April 4th, the anniversary of Dr King's death I understand he didn't plan to be an activist, celebrity or rich man. He simply had a goal to make a difference. Money, ego and turf weren't the motivating factors for him.

A few months ago I realized that Dr. Martin Luther King didn't plan to be an activist, celebrity or rich man. He simply had a goal to make a difference. Money, ego and turf weren't the motivating factors for him to live the life he is now remembered for. And while I hold no illusions that I'm the next great Dr. Martin Luther King jr, I want to create and leave a legacy as being a  beacon of inspiration for what is possible when you choose to live a better than average life. Even if I'm not specifically remembered by name, I would like for my ideas to contribute to the restoration hope to our society for generations and generations to come.​​

So, as I write this on April 4th, the anniversary of Dr King's death, I mentally prepare myself for more 17-20 hour days like this one and so many like it over the past four months.
Knowing I will have to wake in less than 4 hours to begin another long day, I commit myself to constant consistent work toward improving myself and my business.
In spite of the snubs, rejections and lack of recognition or support from friends and family, ​I vow to never allow MET to cloud my vision of the possibility of a BTA world. 
Because I believe it is my destiny to make a difference, I am dedicated to doing what is necessary in order to create that legacy through the building and living a better than average life and modeling success as my lifestyle.
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I want to my create and leave a legacy as being a beacon of inspiration for what is possible when you choose to live a better than average life.... I want to restore hope to our society for generations and generations to come.​​