Tag Archives: Change and Personal Empowerment

My March Health Chronicles: 6th Floor Please!

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Stranger: “6th Floor Please!”

Me: “No problem, that’s our floor too.”

Stranger: “That’s a tough floor to have someone on.”

Me: “Who do you have here?”

Stranger: “My husband.”

Me: “What’s he here for?”

Stranger: “He’s having both his legs amputated tomorrow.”

Me: “I’m sorry.  I hope he recovers soon.”

Stranger: “He won’t recover.”

Me: “What do you mean?”

Stranger: “The doctors have already said that he will not recover.”

Me: “Then, why are you putting him through the surgery?”

Stranger: “That’s what I said to the doctors.”

“Yall Take Care of Me”

We got off the elevator and went our separate ways without exchanging names, only heartfelt sympathy and empathy.  Later that weekend as my sister and I stood vigil in my stepmom’s hospital room, I could hear a man moaning and groaning loudly.  It was an eerily depressing sound like none I’d ever heard before.  I couldn’t help but wonder if this were the husband of the woman I’d met on the elevator.   I turned my thoughts back to my stepmom who looked so small, weak, and fragile.  At times we were not sure if she would make it.  She would come in and out of consciousness, but would seem to perk up a little when she saw my sister and I.

She could barely talk, except to whisper, “Yall take care of me,” in her soft southern voice.   I assured her that we would make sure she was taken care of and to just rest.  She’d been admitted initially for dehydration.  Little did we know that her waning energy and spirit was due to her kidney’s failing.  Before she was admitted to the hospital, she was slowly slipping away.  All she wanted to do was sleep.  Thankfully we got help in time.  In the last four months, she has pulled through high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, diverticulitis, kidney failure, and now dialysis.  She’ll be 84 in a couple of months and has to have dialysis three times a week.  Still, she gets up every day now full of hope and faith and tells all of her family and friends that she loves them.

To continue to Part 2:  Health Is One of the Greatest Gifts, click here http://wp.me/ppImQ-jQ

Barbara Talley is a workshop leader, keynote speaker, author, and publisher who speaks and writes on value-based living themes. www.thepoetspeaks.com

35 Wealth Secrets from Six Black Millionaires and Billionaires

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A woman born in 1867 in the Louisiana Delta would go from working the cotton fields and a simple wash woman to become America’s first American self-made female millionaire.

Another woman also born in 1867 in Richmond Virginia, would go from helping her mother, a former slave, make money doing laundry, to eventually helping to establish the first bank owned and operated by blacks and become its president.

A young man born in Arkansas in 1919 would repeat the 8th grade because there was no high school for blacks in his town and he wanted to continue to learn. His mother would work for 2 years as a cook on a levy to earn enough money to buy tickets to Chicago. His mother felt that the Jim Crow South was not a place to raise a black child from whom she expected greatness.  In Chicago,  he would get an education and build a publishing Empire.

Two special children would be born in Mississippi, a male child in 1946, and a young female, nine years later in 1954.  Both would end up in Illinois where they would become the first black male and female billionaires in America.

A young boy in Chicago starts selling lotion and painted rocks door to door and becomes the youngest self-made millionaire at age 14.

Who are these people?  Black people are making history every single month of the year. Don’t wait until Black History month to remember and remind others of the tremendous yet largely forgotten contributions of African Americans.  It is a chance to counter the negative media portrayals of people of color that have become firmly entrenched in the minds of both black and white people. It is a formal and nationally accepted time of year to challenge the inferiority myth of black Americans by positively focusing the spotlight on their “superior qualifications” without too much opposition from those unwilling to share the spotlight.

Answers:

  • The Louisiana wash woman was Madam C. J. Walker.  She created a line of black haircare products and became the first to earn a million.  Her wealth secrets:
  1. Work hard.
  2. Promote yourself.
  3. Don’t sacrifice quality, offer only the best.
  4. Find a need and fill it.
  5. Have honest business dealings.
  6. Serve others.
  7. Have faith in yourself and God.
  • The Bank President was Maggie Lena Walker. Her wealth secrets:
  1. Dream bigger.
  2. Have hope, have faith and carry on.
  3. Blacks should pool their money and help each other.
  4. Save your money.
  5. Serve those in need.
  1. Dream big, “Long shots do come in”.
  2. Work hard.
  3. Show dedication to your vision.
  4. Persevere- don’t give up.
  5. Refuse to take no for an answer.
  • The first of the two Mississippi children that became billionaires is Bob Johnson (he sold BET for 3 billion dollars). Bob Johnson’s wealth secrets:
  1. Fear failure and don’t fail.
  2. Don’t get angry- wait for an opportunity to change things.
  3. Be fearless in pursuing your vision.
  4. Strategize.
  5. Dream big.
  • The other Mississippi child that became a billionaire was Oprah Winfrey.  Oprah is reported to be worth 2.7 billion dollars.  Oprah Winfrey’s wealth secrets:
  1. Focus on Significance and not success.
  2. Have the courage to ask for what you want.
  3. Listen to your inner voice.
  4. Support each others dreams.
  5. Take responsibility for your life.
  6. Stay spiritually centered.
  7. Love what you do.
  8. Dream BIG; set big goals then surpass them
  • The young boy who sold rocks and went on to become the youngest black billionaire is Farrah Gray. Farra, author of a best selling book, Reallionnaire:  ‘Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out‘ shares the following wealth secrets in some of his live presentations.
  1. Believe in your dreams
  2. Wake up every morning and ask yourself, “Why not me?”
  3. Clarity of Vision: “The two most important times in life are when you were born and when you realize why you were born?”
  4. Do something you can lose yourself in.
  5. Find your area of excellence.  Ask yourself three questions:
    • What comes easy to me, but harder to others?
    • What work could I do for years and years and would still do it, even if I didn’t get paid ?
    • How can I be of service?

Part 4: Seven Steps To Keep You from Getting Stuck in the Wrong Pot

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There is No Magical Age To Stop Growing

Continued Part 3: http://wp.me/ppImQ-h7

There is no magical age in which we should stop growing.  You never outgrow your usefulness, some just choose to stop being useful and of service to others.  After all, our true reality is our mind.  Our ultimate goal is to be of service to our Creator, so we should never cease being of service.  The mind must continually be nurtured in the same way that the body requires nutrients throughout its entire life. So what’s the first step to getting back on track? In my book I talk about three things, vision, values, and virtues.  You master these three and you can master your life.  The key is to just get started.  Newton’s law of motion states that “a body in motion stays in motion unless acted on by an outside force.”  Death should be the only outside force that stops us from growing, seeking meaning and purpose, and being excited about being alive.

Seven Steps To Keep You from Getting Stuck in the Wrong Pot

I’ll conclude with seven steps for you to keep in mind so that you will continue to grow and never get stuck in a pot that you’ve outgrown.

  1. Always have a clear vision, meaningful goals and values, and life enhancing virtues.
  2. Stay in the light! Have a regular diet of healthy encouragement, inspiration, and love.
  3. Make sure your environment is nurturing, inspiring, clean, and orderly.
  4. Change your pot or the location of your pot when it is clear you are not growing anymore.
  5. Stay in motion. While physical motion is of course equally important, I’m talking now about mental motion.  Prayer and meditation can help to shift your mind into high gear and in the right direction. But, remember, you are always in motion.  If you are alive, you are going forward or going backward; you are either progressing or regressing.
  6. Be alert to the outside forces that might be holding you back and pull weeds when necessary.
  7. Enjoy the journey.   Happiness is your thermometer. Test yourself regularly to make sure you are on the right course and in the right pot or the right spot.   And, if no spots or pots are working for you, perhaps you are one of those that don’t work as well when confined.  Have the faith to spread your wings and get out of the pot altogether and follow your dreams.

Barbara Talley is a workshop leader, keynote speaker, author, and publisher who speaks and writes on value-based living themes. www.thepoetspeaks.com


Part 3: Seven Steps to Keep from Getting Stuck in the Wrong Pot

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Are You in the Right Pot or Is Your Pot in the Right Spot?

Continued from Part 2: http://wp.me/ppImQ-gS

Are you growing and surrounding yourself with light? Do you have an inspiring vision that makes life meaningful and joyful?  Are you getting a healthy diet of inspiration, encouragement, and stimulation regularly?  Are you surrounding yourself with creative and positive people, a clean harmonious environment, and love?  Remember, love is the most powerful light.  Give more love and you will receive more of it.  Also, are you willing to pull those stifling weeds or toxic people from your life once you’ve identified them?

Are You Challenged?

In order to get the right answers in life, we must ask the right questions.  So, are you challenged?  Are you doing something meaningful that gets your creative juices going?  How do you feel, just blah or energized? Are you excited about your life?  Are you growing or are you stuck?  Do you have opportunity?  Are you waiting for it to knock on your door or are you creating it?   Energy comes from exciting and meaningful pursuits.

Can You Grow in Your Current Pot?

And finally are you making sure that you are in a pot that allows you to continue to grow?  Do you need a new pot or different pot?  Do you need  a bigger pot or perhaps a smaller pot?  Maybe your pot is too big and its hard to feel secure and plant your roots and you need a smaller space.  Or, perhaps the opposite is true, your pot is  too small and you can’t move or grow so you need a bigger pot?

Some People Won’t Feel Comfortable in Any Pot!

We are all different. Our talents are different; our capacities are different.  Some people won’t feel comfortable in any pot,  no matter what the size, location, or  how fancy, expensive, or beautiful it may be.  These type of people thrive on being able to move and grow freely without limitations.  Perhaps that’s you.  Maybe, you’ve been switching pots trying to find the right one, when in reality, you don’t need a pot at all.  Maybe you need to plant your dreams in the open fields where the Creator provides the natural sustenance and the possibilities are endless.

I Needed a Major Overhaul, New Pot, Different Pot, and New Spot

Are you in an environment that allows you to spread your wings and fly?   Happiness is your thermometer.  Years ago, it was apparent to me that the pot I was in was too small.  I wrote the book, ‘On Track On Fire On Purpose’ to chronicle my journey of moving from a small pot to a bigger pot.  You can get a copy of book if you like from my website or Amazon.  I share the lessons I learned to get from the Projects to become the poet and publisher today, from the teenage mom to the happily married wife for over 30 years.  I personally needed a major overhaul.  I not only needed a new pot, but a different pot, and a new spot to pull off my remarkable transformation.  And, I found out that I was one of those pot-less people.

To continue reading Part4 of Seven Steps to Keep From Outgrowing Your Pot, Seven Steps To Keep You from Getting Stuck in the Wrong Pot , click here http://wp.me/ppImQ-hl

Barbara Talley is a workshop leader, keynote speaker, author, and publisher who speaks and writes on value-based living themes.

Part 2: Seven Steps to Keep from Getting Stuck in the Wrong Pot

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Continued from Part 1: http://wp.me/ppImQ-gL

The natural order of things is that things are either growing (progressing) or dying (regressing).  I’ve learned a lot about growth by watching my plants grow, which lately, have been thriving.  As long as I water them and give them the appropriate amount of sunlight, protect them from stifling weeds, and put them in a pot that will allow them to grow, they flourish.  But, if I forget to water them, leave them without light, don’t pull the weeds, or don’t replace their pots when necessary, they slowly die.

We Are All Works In Progress

As I watch my young grandchildren grow, I am reminded that we are all works in progress.  Given the right tools, each divine creation will progress naturally.  Watch the grass, a plant, a tree, or the physical human body, they don’t strain to grow, they just grow.  But the human mind must be consciously, consistently, and carefully nurtured.  My youngest grandchild, just six months old and unable to speak but a few words, listens intently to every sound, carefully studies every face, knows who is familiar and unfamiliar, who to trust and who not to, and how to get his needs met.  The point is he started out a few months ago helpless and knowing very little but has been steadily growing stronger and smarter every day because he has the right environment.  He is in the right pot; he knows he is loved and his environment is stimulating (brightly colored educational toys, loving parents and family, healthy mother’s milk,  beautiful home, etc.)

To continue reading Part3 of Seven Steps to Keep From Outgrowing Your Pot, Are You in the Right Pot or Is Your Pot in the Right Spot? , click here  http://wp.me/ppImQ-h7

Barbara Talley is a workshop leader, keynote speaker, author, and publisher who speaks and writes on value-based living themes.