I dont think my story is a secret to anyone who has googled my name. At the outset of the drama and media circus that ensued, I figured my life had come to an end and my dreams were derailed. All hopes of living a successful life were gone. 3 days before I was confined, Staff Sergeant Robert Jordan, a fellow Marine and mentor said something to me that has since carried me back from the brink:

We all make mistakes, and life isnt over for you. No matter what happens, learn from it and use it to make you better. It takes heat and pressure to transform coal into diamond

I had always thought that if someone was suffering (from poverty) it was their own fault, and on the other hand, if you havent been punished then you must be doing things right. Wrong! We all know that good people suffer just as much as the bad. We all know that people who are “guilty by association” are punished just as harshly as hardened criminals.

It is almost a guarantee that misfortune will befall you, but at that moment of despair, it is important to realize that punishment is corrective and can be productive. On the other hand, it is important to realize that if you havent faced adversity, you are in no better position than someone who has.

Reaching sustainable success means accepting the hand that life has dealt you (rather than cursing your fate) and playing the best game you can. See misfortune for what it really is: an opportunity to identify and improve on your weaknesses.

From Failure to Fortune

In 2002, I had the privilege of meeting a man whose story is now well known. After enduring a heartbreaking childhood filled with abuse and the poverty rampant in 1970s New Orleans, Emmitt Perry Jr dropped out of high school at the age of 16, earned a GED, and changed his first name to Tyler (to break his association with his father). He then moved to Atlanta where he took on a series of low paying jobs, until he began to therapeutically write about his painful past. These writings evolved into his first “church basement” play called I Know Ive Been Changed. The first production in 1992 drew only 30 people and proved to be a massive failure. He would have to endure 6 more years of mediocrity and poverty (having to live out of his car at one point) before he would become an “overnight success” in 1998. Had Tyler Perry not endured these crushing circumstances and learned the lessons that failure presented him, would he be the very first African American film producer to own a major television and film studio? Or the 3rd highest earning black entertainer on Forbes’ list?

Oprah Winfrey can be credited with Tyler Perry’s inspiration to write, and came from very similar circumstances herself (grew up in poverty, suffered abuse) before becoming the person we all know her to be today. If it wasn’t for the punishment inflicted on her by her past, would she have come to be the most powerful woman on Earth?

Dave Ramsey is the host of The Dave Ramsey show, author of 3 New York Times bestsellers, and has a ridiculous net worth. His financial advice is the result of what he calls “stupid tax”, the price paid for making dumb decisions. Had Dave Ramsey not suffered through bankruptcy and living off beans and rice, would he be able to enrich himself and financially empower millions of others today? It is doubtful, since the fame and wealth that he has earned comes from teaching other people how to avoid the mistakes that led to his downfall.

Bobbie S. was recently featured on the new TV show How’d You Get So Rich. At the age of 46, her husband left her for a 19 year old with a divorce settlement so low that she had to sleep on friends couches. Facing homelessness, she returned to school for cosmetology, networked, and landed a contract with the U.S. Marines to design and sell camouflage makeup. Today, she is worth $30 Million – money that she would have never seen had she not gone though the pain of divorce or the punishment of destitution.

Application

The heights by great me reached and kept

Were not attained by sudden flight;

But they, while their opponents slept,

Were fighting upward in the night.

Once you hit rock bottom, once you descend into the pits of hell, you know that the only place you can go from there is up. Rather than wallowing in your misery, learn the lessons that pain presents to you. When I first learned to box, getting knocked out was the only way that I learned to keep my guard up, and my gift every since then is a strong defense. Tyler Perry tried and failed at his first production; the only way that he could learn how to market his product. Dave Ramsey worked his way out of bankruptcy and developed a series of techniques and lessons learned as a result.

Adversity can be both uplifting and debilitating at the same time. It can either push you over the edge or up to heights that could have never otherwise been attained. It is said in Christianity that God first gives man a promise, then gives him a problem that he must overcome to reach provision. If you expect to be successful, if the subject of getting from where you are to where you want to be frustrates you, keeps you from falling asleep at night, and fills your dreams, then you possess the seeds of promise. Driven by them, you strike out to make your dreams a reality. Once you embark on your journey towards success, it is then that you will be tested, you will receive your problem(s). How you then respond to those problems will ultimately determine your provision.

Into the Fire

No matter what your circumstances are, redemption and success is possible if you are willing to pay the price. It took jail to turn Malcolm X, Martin Luther King JR, and Rosa Parks into freedom fighters. It takes 13 weeks of hell to turn an immature teenager into a United States Marine. It will take just as much, if not more for you to achieve victory.

Be prepared to be haunted by demons, thoughts of suicide, helplessness, feelings of being overwhelmed. Be prepared for fatigue, frustration, and what seems like fruitlessness. These are the guardians that you must pass to reach your destination.

You are certainly able, but are you ready or willing? Are you willing to go door to door in the rain to make sales? Are you willing to sleep in your car?  Are you ready to be jailed for your beliefs? Leave the comfort of the familiar and strike out into the world alone? If so, no matter what your circumstances, redemption and success is possible.

Fight and endure. Only heat and pressure can transform coal into diamond.

Popularity: 40% [?]

“Not to know is bad; not to wish to know is worse.”
African Proverb

One of the 120 blogs I subscribe to and review daily is the Trump Blog, and recently he reminded me of a book that I skimmed back in 1998 called An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn’t. I thought about this book again while I was writing my post on knowledge as being part of every success model.

An Incomplete Education is an intellectual overview filled with helpful charts and guides. Judy Jones and William Wilson combine humor with fact and gives historical figures character, making this book very effective at transferring knowledge to the reader. Since I re bought it, this book has become a constant reference and to be honest, I remember more form this book than I do from high school altogether.

To give you a more indepth preview, heres a review from Amazon:

“You’ll find everything you forgot from school–as well as plenty you never even learned–in this all-purpose reference book, an instant classic when it first appeared in 1987.  Along the way, Judy Jones and William Wilson provide a plethora of useful information, from the plot of Othello to the difference between fission and fusion. It’s not a shortcut to cultural literacy, but it’s an excellent “way in” to the building blocks of Western civilization: the “books, music, art, philosophy, and discoveries that have, for one reason or another, managed to endure.” Think of it as finishing school for your brain; study up and you’ll gain a lifetime’s worth of cocktail conversation!”

This is the kind of book that you can pick up in your spare time or while you’re using the bathroom and learn something that you didn’t know before, and as I have said before, knowledge is at the foundation of success!

Popularity: 12% [?]

This is gonna be a fun post taken from my personal dream book (you have made your dream book already, right?) Without a compelling reason to trudge on towards success, you will be too tempted to quit. Here are 6 reasons to keep pushing.

Lamborghini Reventon and the SSC Ultimate Aero

Hey, a guy’s gotta get around right? You know you’ve made it as a hustler when people have never heard of the type of car that you drive (or if your car looks like it was designed by NASA!)

This modest chariot is the $1,600,000 Lamborghini Reventon, the most powerful and the most expensive Lamborghini ever built. It takes 3.3 seconds to reach 60 mph and it has a top speed of 211 mph. Its rarity (limited to 20) and slick design are the reasons why it is so expensive and costly to own.

If you havent quite made it to Lambo status, test drive the $654,400 SSC Ultimate Aero. Don’t let the price tag fool you, the 6th most expensive car is actually the fastest street legal car in the world with a top speed of 257 mph+ and reaching 0-60 in 2.7 seconds. This baby cost nearly half as much as the Bugatti Veyron, yet has enough power to top the most expensive car in a speed race. It is estimated that only 25 of this exact model will ever be produced.

Pull up at the club in either of these, and you wont have to say a word to anyone (including the club owner)

The Code X Yacht

Speaking of getting around, try fishing off the back of this. Depending on one’s mood the Code X can either be thrust along at a brisk 80 knots by twin Ilmor formula one engines, delivering a hefty 710hp a piece, or at a more leisurely 9 knots by the twin electric motors. These can provide up to two hours of service when running off the lithium batteries and when they run dry there is also the option of continuing for an unlimited period using power generated by the catamaran’s on-board solar panels.

As if the choice of power sources wasn’t enough the Bond-villain factor is upped even more by details such as touch screen control and a GPS-controlled ‘virtual anchor’ system that utilises the electric motors to maintain a stationary position regardless of wind or currents.

Learjet 45

If you live in Los Angeles and youre interested in hitting the club this weekend, check out Slum Jam or Gas Panic…in Tokyo. Just a few hours away in the $11.15 million Learjet 45. With a top speed of 535 mph and a range of 2,284 miles, you could be landing at Osaka International in no time.

But what good is a private jet if you dont customize it? Give Alex Nakobo a call. He redesigns and customizes the interiors of private jets. With a host of custom designs which are already doing duty in Russian corporate jets, Nakobo can give your jet a lavish luxury interior fit for presidents and royalty. Take a look!

How do custom leather chairs and wide aisles for a very comfortable and an ultra luxurious flying experience sound? You can even have seat warmers installed, and an ornate dining room for elegant dinners in the sky.

Entertainment is covered with HDTV’s and custom lighting for jet theater viewing. Materials used throughout rage from fine woods to fine leathers, and there is nothing that is not possible for the right price.

The Goldvish Illusion

On your way back home, text all the foreign honeys that you met with the impressive GoldVish Illusion. Prices around $488,000 (plan not included), and the cell phones come in yellow, white or rose 18k gold, with exchangeable crocodile leather inlays available in twelve colors.It comes with an MP3 player, GPRS/EDGE Class 10, USB port, bluetooth, and a 2 megapixel camera with 5x zoom

Yea, your iPhone can go to hell.

Updown Court, Windlesham, Surrey, UK.

If you need a couple thousand square feet to hang your hat, the Updown Court is on the market. According to Forbes, the current most expensive house in the world comes complete with heated marble driveway, a 50 seat cinema and a “Panic Room,” whatever that is. Price tag: $138 Million

You can get lost in your own home and never be found.

Heres the crazy thing about all these items; PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO AFFORD THEM! And in the words of a wise man “What one man can do, another can too”. Now enough daydreaming and drueling. GET BACK TO WORK AND GET YOUR HUSTLE ON!

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Popularity: 16% [?]

If you have been around World Domination for awhile, you know that this site is about gaining control of your financial destiny and conquering your world no matter where you are now. Oftentimes, when we are in a position of disadvantage, we see a world of scarcity instead of opportunity, when in reality there are opportunities to “come up” (advance) all around you.

I just Dugg an article that illustrates this idea entitled Ghetto Capitalists. The author (Kerry Howley) examines an insulated and tightly knit web of urban entrepreneurs that keep the ghetto’s underground economy (and ultimately America’s macro – economy) afloat.

Origins of Ghetto Capitalism

I have been quoted with saying that there are only 3 types of people in the ghetto: ignorants, immigrants, and their children. While in many instances that may be true, the ghetto is also full of raw, potential talent and genius. Sean Combs, Michael Lee-Chin, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Justice Sotomayor, and Denzel Washington all came from the ghetto, and behind these names there are thousands of other “hood rich” urban hustlers that understand and practice business process and purchase psychology just as much as any other legitimate professional.

A new book challenges the stereotype of the lazy poor and their supposed silence in America’s market economy. In Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor, Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh suggests that if a transaction occurs in the ghetto and no one writes it down, it still counts as trade. His sprawling study of Chicago’s seedy South Side unearths a lively world of exchange in a supposed economic graveyard.

Profile of Ghetto Capitalists

When the term “ghetto capitalist”, “urban entrepreneur”, or “hustler” is used, people interpret those words to mean “pimp”, “drug dealer”, and “con artist”. In general, ghetto capitalists arent predators (even though it should be mentioned that the very nature of capitalism is predatory…but thats another post for another time) but creative individuals that arent afraid to leverage their environment for financial gain.

Ghetto Capitalists have three characteristics:

• they understand the customers they serve, and communicate to them in a way they can understand

• they understand the importance of a network (if they don’t have what you are looking for, they know someone who does)

• they possess marketable skills (sales, repair, acquisition of goods, dog breeding, hair braiding)

These same characteristics can be said of any mainstream professional. The only difference is the environment that they operate in. The ghetto capitalist can be an individual that was laid off, who doesnt conform with professional settings, or is barred from entry into other career fields (felons, for example). This doesnt make them any less capable of success than any other professional, and often serves as a starting point for advancement into higher echelons.

Ghetto Capitalism in Practice

Unlike many of my readers, I grew up in poverty. I can vividly remember eating meals of ketchup and bread while sitting on our kitchen floor. My single mother did her best to provide most of the essentials for me, my brother, and my sister, but at times her solitary paycheck wasnt enough. With the threat of starvation and eviction hanging over our heads, my siblings and I hit the streets, sold candy in our schools, and canvassed the neighborhood offering to take out peoples trash for a dollar a trip . On most days we made $40 doing so, and that money meant the difference between starvation and survival.

In black barbershops, men selling mixtapes, bootleg DVDs, shampoo, incense, and car care products pass through almost every hour. Out in the streets anything and everything can be purchased with the right “connect” (network of people). And there are no shortages of service providers, either. Local handymen repair plumbing in homes, auto hobbyists trick out “clunkers” with custom paint jobs, and freelance babysitters and beauticians braid hair and watch the neighborhood’s children. And all these goods and services are provided for pennies on the dollar compared to “legal” businesses.

The Downside

The urban entrepreneur’s business climate can be an isolated one, and could inadvertently contribute to the imprisonment of its members in the underclass. Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor illustrates this point;

To them, the larger business climate is an amalgam of mysterious institutions and backroom dealing. Residents “believe their white counterparts have clandestine connections.” Says a neighborhood businessperson: “I’ve noticed business all over the city and it’s all about hand-shaking, promises, lots of things going on behind closed doors.” The larger world is just a bigger, whiter ghetto, where people are riding on their reputations and sharing wealth among friends. The discrimination may be real, but the idea that a wider economy connects billions of strangers seems utterly alien to the women and men trying to make it on the street

At the very least, Off the Books should call into question a world in which fixing cars for cash is a criminal enterprise, one where the will to work clashes so constantly with the limits of the law. If Venkatesh’s picture of the ghetto is accurate, the task is not to change the people within its borders, but to end the isolation of urban economies and allow its bustling informal economy to join the wider network of formal exchange. While that task is freighted with the historic legacy of discrimination, a city truly interested in encouraging ghetto capitalists would erase the lines between the licensed and unlicensed, the permit-carrying barbers and the outlaw beauticians.

However, the only way that these individuals can fully exploit the opportunities made available by becoming mainstream is with the refinement of the skills that made them successful on the streets, polishing their image to adapt to new professional environments, and the acquisition of higher levels of education. Accomplishing these facets is the highest goal of this site as well as the community of individuals that make this site possible.

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Popularity: 14% [?]