The One

The storm is on the horizon

I’m standing here alone

Got a pistol on my hip

And it's gon' be some sh*t

If you want it then bring it on

See I'm a motherfu**in' soldier

And I’mma be here till it’s done

And when they asking who I'm is, sh*t

You just tell them that I’m the one.

-Kanye West ft. 2 Chainz, Big Sean & Marsha Ambrosius “The One”

Greetings folks! It’s been two weeks since my last post and boy am I glad to be back. My two week hiatus was spent moving, packing, unpacking, cleaning and praying that it’ll be all over soon. Well it’s over now. Not really. I’ve just cleared a path through the boxes to my desk so that I can sit down and write this post. But you have got to know that the separation was killing me.

Over the course of the past few weeks, I have noticed that inspiration is everywhere. It’s not relegated to sermons, motivational speeches and Oprah quotes. You can find inspiration in a conversation with a friend, from a television show or movie, or in a song. The inspiration for today’s post comes from Kanye West’s song, “The One.” I was on the treadmill running when the song came on and it spoke to me and said, “Stay confident.”

At some point or another we all get down on ourselves. Whether it’s because of a bad grade, love troubles, or money lost betting on the Seahawks vs. Packers game, it happens. It’s inevitable. It’s ok to be down sometimes. It’s a reminder that we aren’t perfect and that we still have work to do in our continual quest to grow and be better than we once were. However, the key is not to stay down because there is no way we can ever reach the top if we are lying down on our backs.

Lately, it’s been a struggle maintaining the happiness needed to live life abundantly. Let me clarify. I haven’t thought about committing suicide, turning to drugs or alcohol, or doing harm to myself. What I mean is that in order to live a good life, most of our time must be spent enjoying it. No amount of money or material things will ever satisfy you if you aren’t happy with yourself. While “stuff” may make you happy for a period of time, that happiness is fleeting. The happiness material things bring us is temporal. You have to be happy with yourself and your life so that regardless of whether you live in a mansion or a 1 bedroom apartment, you live your life like it’s golden.

I’d be lying to you if I told you that things as of late have been going according to my master plan and there is a logical explanation for this. In my master plan, I never took into account adversity, hardships, or obstacles. And my master plan didn’t fit God’s. I know what you’re thinking, “you’re an idiot” and you’re entitled to your opinion. I didn’t take these things into account because they’ve never been issues for me.

By no means has my life been easy up to now. I’ve struggled. However, because I’ve rarely ever been one to doubt my ability to overcome any and everything, most of my trials in life appeared to be open book quizzes as opposed to year-end make or break exams. So in some respects, my success gave me a false sense of invincibility. It’s funny when I read it on the screen that my success helped make me unable to cope with the hardships, but it’s true.

To some degree, I understand what Tiger Woods feels like; minus the women, hundreds of millions of dollars and a golf game most people would kill for. I mean I understand how he feels to be so successful at nearly everything you do then all of sudden not so much. Except mine is on a smaller scale; a much smaller scale. In as much as he had to learn a new golf swing, adjust to a new caddy, process the divorce and live with not being with his children as much, Tiger had to adjust to not winning, which is a HUGE adjustment. In his long climb back towards the top, I believe he’s learning how to win again and as a byproduct, to be more appreciative of it.

I’ve learned a lot of things over the past few months and I’m still learning. I’m learning to be appreciative of every opportunity that comes across my desk and not to take anything for granted. I’m learning humility, perseverance, patience, to put more faith in God than I do in myself and a million and one ways to cook chicken. Initially, I lamented my situation and prayed for a quick resolution. However, I realize that there was no way else to learn these lessons except by this trial period I’m enduring. I welcome the pain, the adversity and the test because I know the only way to be successful tomorrow is to learn the hard lessons today.

One thing that keeps me going is remembering that “I’m the one.” I’m the leader, the attorney, the motivational speaker, the teacher, the brother, the friend, the servant and so long as I continue to believe in myself, when the darkness fades and the sun shines I can just say “bring it on.” So when you’re down, questioning your existence, your purpose and your calling, never lose sight of the fact that adversity builds character and that this moment will pass just like all the others. When the world knocks you down, and believe me it will, have the strength, the courage and conviction to get back up. When you get up and the people ask “who are you?” tell them that “you’re the one!”

Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!