Stop Front’n and Start Work’n!
Working with youth is certainly a passion that burns deep in my soul. There’s something that I appreciate about sharing my personal childhood experiences and playing the “compare and contrast” game to learn about the very people who I attempt to encourage.
I simply enjoy helping those who remind me of myself. The ones who are directly or indirectly facing poverty or belonging to a household with a single parent because mom or dad are incarcerated, or simply not handling parenting duties. The ones who have family members and/or close friends who lives have been shortened due to senseless acts of violence. The list can go on forever about the various situations that young people face. The most important thing is encouraging young people to get over those obstacles and start working towards their goals immediately.
A friend called me up last night and asked me if I would be willing to speak to teenagers within the Teen Media Academy Summer of Opportunity program. Without hesitation, I said yes, (My comfort level of randomly speaking to large crowds is quite phenomenal)! I am always willing to accept opportunities to work with the future of the world! When I arrived, I was pleased to present myself to a group of students who expressed great interest in the topic, “Stop Front’n and Start Work’n”.
Utilizing two great books in Hip Hop culture, “Guaranteed Success: When You Never Give Up” by Percy “Master P” Miller AND “Do You: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success” by Russell Simmons with Chris Morrow, created a sense of pride amongst the young people as they heard stories from the superstars’ past. Similar stories to their current situations!
The dialogue centered several topics:
- How Our Attitude Determines Our Success
(Analyzing the 7 Attitudes of Success by Percy Miller)
- How Will I Determine What MY Success Will Be?
(Turning Passion into A Career and Becoming Successful)
- Striving to Accomplish My Goals by Working Hard
( Analyzing the poem, “I’ll Reach My Goals Without A Doubt by R. Smith)
-Overcoming Obstacles and Controlling my Surroundings So MY Future Wont Be In Jeopardy
( Familiarizing yourself with your past and present and how to overcome negativities)
During the end of the discussion one student, who I referred to as the M.V.P. (she asked tons of questions and answered almost every question asked) said, “I wish there were more people like you” as she refereed to my style of instruction and how sincere I was about talking of the realities young people in urban communities face and the encouraging words and facts that can help young people overcome. M.V.P.’s comment was truly an inspiration and the interest amongst the students gave me a sense of hope that there’s still chance to beat the brutal statistics!
Thanks to several poems and books, I was able to convey a positive message to the ones who matter the most, the Youngins!
Today was a good day I’m happy that u came BOOM!!!!!!!!!
July 13, 2012 at 3:12 AM
I agreed 100% on everything you said about success and attituude. You kept us up, active and engaged while you spoke. Thank you for coming in and can’t wait for you to come back.
July 14, 2012 at 3:37 PM
You were my favorite speaker because everything you said was true and it got me thinking more about my future and how attitude is a huge part of success. And you had the whole group engaged because you were enthusiastic and interesting and i enjoyed listening to you.
BOOM!!
July 15, 2012 at 1:43 PM
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it”, by far one of my favorite quotes in life so far. By engaging and interacting with us at a level in which we can relate your lecture was defiantly successful. I am grateful that you took time out of our day to speak to us and caused me to look at life in a different perspective. I can’t wait until you visit again!!!!
July 15, 2012 at 10:21 PM
I’m excited that you all are feeling empowered from the presentation. Thanks for your kind words! Tell your colleagues to keep the posts coming!
-R. Smith
July 16, 2012 at 12:50 PM
This reminds me of the quote “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”.
July 24, 2012 at 9:37 PM
I Am Success… And “The best is yet to come”. I learned to strive and work hard for what it is i am trying to suceed. Im going to clain what it is i want to become and be proud of myself.
July 25, 2012 at 5:43 PM
^*Succeed*
July 25, 2012 at 5:44 PM
My first time on this site and I like it…
I feel anyone and every one can connect to what you speak !!!!!!!!!!
July 25, 2012 at 5:51 PM
I appreciated you coming in and talking to my group. Your words and your expressions are powerful to which I can understand you more. You have inspired me to always keep moving foward and to focus on my future and to make something good out of it, as I want. Attitude is the key because its truly shows the person that you are.
July 25, 2012 at 5:57 PM
you gave us a great lesson yesterday
July 25, 2012 at 6:02 PM