Wolf pack – Walk Into the Future

Why Black Lives Matter (BLM) matters today!

BLM

“Human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights recognized by all nations on earth. And any time anyone violates your human rights, you can take them to court”.

(Malcolm X.)

Dictionary.com defines human rights as a right that is believed to belong justifiably to every person.

Interesting to hear politicians, everyday Americans and TV news programs talk about the Constitution but most only cite the Amendments that fit a small segment of society. A lot of folks will scream for their Second Amendment rights even though it was written when the country did not have an Army and militias were needed to defend the country. These same folks do not make a peep when the Fourteenth Amendment is brought up.

14^th Amendment cliff notes version: No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person in its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The Fourteenth amendment seems clearer to me in today’s climate than arming a militia we do not need because we have professional armed services (Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Guard and Reserves). Imagine if all Americans were treated equally as described in the Fourteenth amendment. The world would be a better place right now.

Had a fantastic conversation with an older gentleman last week about all the things (protests, marches, etc.) going on after the death of George Floyd. The gentleman is a retiree and he drives the customer shuttle part time for a local car dealership. He was giving me a ride home after I dropped my vehicle off for repairs and wanted to discuss current events. He let me know he wanted to talk with someone but did not know how to start. He asked if I would be willing to talk with him so he would have a better understanding of current events. Guess I made him feel comfortable because I had only been around him 10 minutes before he decided I was the chosen one to enlighten him.

He asked me two questions:

Why are people saying Black Lives Matter (BLM), shouldn’t all live matter?
Why are the confederate statues coming down so important today?

Explained to him the BLM movement is needed to highlight the injustices black people continue to face with no end in sight. No one ever said all lives do not matter but BLM is a way to focus on people who have been marginalized, forgotten, abused, and brutalized since being brought to America. The BLM movement keeps the continued injustices against black people in America at the forefront and signals we will not be quiet anymore. Anyone who says All Lives Matter, White Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter have not been subjected to the same level of systemic racism, policing, sentencing, violence, government oversight and oppression as the people who need you to understand Black Live Matter!

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

I let my new friend know the confederate statues were routinely placed as racial dog whistles to a past that honored men who fought to continue slavery. Most people do not know but a lot of these statues were put in place throughout the 1900’s. The state of Arizona built a confederate monument in 2010. Let me repeat that—the state of Arizona commissioned and placed a confederate monument in 2010!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Confederate_monuments_and_memorials

Placing these monuments in public places is a slap in the face of all Americans but is reprehensible for anyone who was subjected to slavery, cruelty and death at the hands of the men others are trying to honor with a heritage claim. Does Germany or Japan have statues of American Generals who fought against their countries? What would they think having to walk by statues of these people daily?

The confederates who are depicted by the statues fought against America! They would be considered enemies if they were from a different country or race. They were traitors against the American government and fought to keep black people as slaves, but some people want to hide behind a heritage claim for why these statues should remain. They are a part of history but should not be given a higher regard than true American heroes who did not become traitors against their country. Confederate generals, soldiers, sympathizers, and apologists are traitors to the American way of life. Who would claim being a traitor as a heritage to be proud of?

My new friend and I departed after having a great conversation. I am happy he felt comfortable enough to want to talk with me. He let me know he would talk with his grand kids later that day to help them understand everything happening around them and become a better BLM ally. Smalls steps on this journey!

Who can you help understand the BLM movement? What support do you need to keep the conversation moving forward?

“It’s a privilege to educate yourself about racism instead of experiencing it”.

(Sir John)

Walking into the Future and making money moves!

Money moves

(Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay)

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”.

(Benjamin Franklin)

Urban Dictionary defines money moves as: a term used to describe a bad individual on the grind. This person works hard to make moves to elevate their financial success, fame, or status. Simple enough, huh?

It is normally associated with financial success but does not have to be limited to obtaining a financial payout to be considered a money move.

I have referred to several opportunities associated with my Walk into the Future as money moves. Never attempted to associate them with a financial outlook but always saw them as leading to future goals and outcomes. Money moves came up again in a conversation with a friend and we agreed I should detail how I am making money moves.

Mentoring and people building daily is the money move with the most impact for me. Enjoy sharing wisdom and helping my tree branches grow in their daily endeavors. Making a difference daily remains a goal for me and I look for additional ways to make this happen. Turns out helping others allows me to stretch my skills and continue to grow right along with them. I get to increase my knowledge while researching topics to leverage during my mentoring sessions. The money move centers around limitless growth for me and the tree branch and keeps us both moving forward.

Blogging weekly is the money move that provides me with a creative outlet. Never shared my thoughts or aspirations in a public platform before but turns out writing my ideas for others to read forces me to act. Sounds simple but there is not a way for me to back out of a process once I have written it down and shared on the Walk into the Future blog. My tree branches hold me accountable for the things I write, and I want to make positive things happen. A lot of things I have accomplished over the past two years are related to me generating content for the blog. Amazing how the written word bounds you to commit to the things you write. Turns out I had a lot to say but never really said anything—now you cannot get me to be quiet! 😊

Participating as a guest on multiple podcasts has been an unexpected money move but enjoy the process now. I am not a huge follower of podcasts but know the format continues to grow and is extremely popular. View my time on podcasts as another way to inspire people and grow new tree branches. People reach out to me on LinkedIn to let me know they enjoyed my work on the Mastering College to Career and Intern Whisperer podcasts. I have done multiple episodes with both podcast partners and look forward to shooting more soon. My friend, Daniel Botero keeps pushing me to start my own podcast. Never say never but I have not committed to this as a new money move project yet. It may be something I seriously consider for a 2021 project—we will see.

Being a running tourist is the money move with the most transformational impact for me. Never set out to lose a specific amount of weight but running more and longer distances has allowed me to shed pounds and keep them off. I sleep better and have a ton of energy to tackle my daily activities. Running also provides me with a platform to clear my mind and generate content for the Walk into the Future blog. A lot of blog topic ideas are generated during one of my weekly runs—I should take a voice recorder with me but luckily, I am able to remember most of the ideas that pop into my head while out running. Running also provides me a mechanism to remain competitive as I compete with myself to beat a previous race or training time. I also compete with my tree branches as we share personal best race times. I am chasing one of you (Kume) right now to improve my 10k time—getting closer! 😊

My speaking platform is the final money move for me to highlight. I find this to be an effective way for me to reach new tree branches. Always looking for additional speaking opportunities (pre COVID-19) to share my knowledge with others. I have been able to adjust speaking topics into blog articles and vice versa. The spoken and written word remains a powerful combination and will continue to leverage them moving forward. Plan to get back into the lab and generate new speaking topics because I anticipate being back on the speaking circuit once the COVID-19 outlook gets better. May look for ways to leverage the virtual platforms like Zoom to engage people with technology. Got a lot of new ideas to try out just need to remain patient and then unleash on the world.

So, as you can see, money moves can be anything you want them to be. You do not have to receive a financial windfall to get fulfillment and make a difference. Think Biggie says it well! (see below).

“Don’t chase the paper, chase the dream”.

(Biggie Smalls)

What money moves are you making right now?

The Wolf of Networking

(Image by InspiredImages from Pixabay)

“Networking is an enrichment program, not an entitlement program”.

(Susan RoAne)

My Walk into the Future continues to provide me with opportunities to make a difference daily. It helps that I have opened my eyes and mind to all possibilities and the opportunities keep presenting themselves to me. The journey moves forward!

The title of this blog article references the Wolf of Networking. I have identified myself as a People Builder, running tourist and Inspiration Man in multiple posts. Well, say hello to my next moniker, Wolf of Networking! 😊

I selected this new moniker to have fun with a project that has been years in the making. My past roles in university career services allowed me to build and maintain a network with recruiters who primarily hire recent college graduates. I was responsible to find, network and recruit these recruiters to come on-campus to hire students. My unit put on career fairs, networking events, professional development workshops and scheduled on-campus interviews to connect students and recruiters. So, this put me in a prime position to learn inside information on how different organizations created their on-campus recruiting programs.

The Wolf of Networking had to compete with other schools for recruiters’ attention and resources to ensure our students got opportunities. Happy to say we won more battles than we lost and maintained a robust on-campus recruiting program at multiple schools (UCF and FSU). Shared tricks of the trade with other wolf packs (UF, USF, FAU, FIU) to help them become more successful getting employers on their campuses. Found it was easier to keep employers in Florida if other schools were viewed as attractive options—I am competitive but also practical.

I leveraged the Wolf of Networking status to build my handpicked wolf pack and I am happy to see the great things they are doing around the country at prestigious institutions. We stay in contact to ensure the pack continues to grow.

Went back to my wolf pack mentality recently to help a tree branch network with recruiters for future employment. This tree branch had heard about my contacts but did not fully understand how connected I still am in the college recruiting world. Happy to say they get it now! 😊

I was presented with a list of 9 organizations of interest for future employment. I had professional contacts with 8 of the 9 organizations on the list. Some of these contacts are also personal friends so it was a bit easier to get them to respond to my requests. My tree branch now had people inside the organizations they wanted to work for looking out for them. Nothing was promised but my network was looking out for my tree branch just as I would.

I tell people I work with you are always networking even when you do not know it. Look for ways to benefit others and then when you need a helping hand people will respond to you. Think my tree branch will look at the Wolf of Networking from a different perspective now. The wolf makes positive things happen! 😊

Who can you help reach their goals? What action steps are needed for a successful outcome?

“Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives”.

(Michelle Obama)