What motivates you? Could your surroundings be stopping you? Are you your best you?

[Broddie]

I'm not the best me right now. I did let my environment influence the creation of the situation that I put myself in where I'm not at my best. I am working on finally changing that.

 

[EmM HoLLa.]

I can trace my motivation back to cars. Since I was a kid I was motivated by cars. I spent time in Ghana with my Mom's side of the family when I was 10. That changed my whole outlook on life. As ya'll know I'm from the Bronx. Grew up in the projects. About a 10 minute walk from where Kool Herc started hip hop (literally). On a good day you'd see him strolling through the hood like nothing.. Being in that environment its easy to believe you aren't meant to be anything. And that you'll never make it. But spending time in Africa showed me otherwise. When I was in Africa all of my uncles drove Benz's. Shit they had to get government clearance to import into the country. They all told me to go to school. Little did I know they were all hustler's moving heroin and other things.. They tried to steer me away from that life and it worked. The most important thing I learned from them was that if you want anything and you are willing to work hard and smart you can get it. I always wanted cars like my uncles.. So that was my motivation getting through school. Started getting cars and quickly realized you can't be the nigga with the fly whip and not have the fly crib.. So on and so forth.. My motivation has built from that..

These days.. I'm all about financial freedom, generational wealth, and legacy. When I die. My last name needs to mean something. I want to position my family to succeed for a 1000 years. It's bigger than me. All the material stuff is just a lure like Boss says.. Don't get me wrong I enjoy it.. BUT. I've found that when you're talking to people and there is an aura of success on you. They are more inclined to believe what you're telling them even if you don't know what the fuck you're talking about it. In my line of business that can be the difference between success and failure. The belief a person has in you to deliver to them what you're promising.

 

[2stepz_ahead]

I can trace my motivation back to cars. Since I was a kid I was motivated by cars. I spent time in Ghana with my Mom's side of the family when I was 10. That changed my whole outlook on life. As ya'll know I'm from the Bronx. Grew up in the projects. About a 10 minute walk from where Kool Herc started hip hop (literally). On a good day you'd see him strolling through the hood like nothing.. Being in that environment its easy to believe you aren't meant to be anything. And that you'll never make it. But spending time in Africa showed me otherwise. When I was in Africa all of my uncles drove Benz's. Shit they had to get government clearance to import into the country. They all told me to go to school. Little did I know they were all hustler's moving heroin and other things.. They tried to steer me away from that life and it worked. The most important thing I learned from them was that if you want anything and you are willing to work hard and smart you can get it. I always wanted cars like my uncles.. So that was my motivation getting through school. Started getting cars and quickly realized you can't be the nigga with the fly whip and not have the fly crib.. So on and so forth.. My motivation has built from that..

These days.. I'm all about financial freedom, generational wealth, and legacy. When I die. My last name needs to mean something. I want to position my family to succeed for a 1000 years. It's bigger than me. All the material stuff is just a lure like Boss says.. Don't get me wrong I enjoy it.. BUT. I've found that when you're talking to people and there is an aura of success on you. They are more inclined to believe what you're telling them even if you don't know what the fuck you're talking about it. In my line of business that can be the difference between success and failure. The belief a person has in you to deliver to them what you're promising.

The best post i read in a long time....

but

I think it still goes back to mindframe. even with having nice things, the person must be ready to see the positive than the negative. stunting and Lure often get confused.

but I applaud you for going after what meant something to you. no matter if it was just material...you focused to get it and took the long way, the right right to get it. to want to have something carry on after you is often missed in our communities. I say all the time...this is bigger than me. I know i effected alot of lives in ways that i may never see. its not important that i see it as long as it happened.

lastly,

applause to your uncles. that is another thing we are missing in our communities....someone to tell or steer others away from the underbelly of the bad side of life. i was there once and my cousins and brothers always sent me home, told me to get my head into school and computers. thanks to them not welcoming me into that life i was able to see the other things life and God had set up for me.

now its nice to know my grandkids kids are setup

 

[2stepz_ahead]

I also think we need to stop saying "live for today because tomorrow is not promised"

are things that bad that we have to live like this....

maybe you should stop what your doing that makes this statement a reality.

maybe you should stop living where this statement is a reality.

i you are in a place where you are surrounded by people who barely make it to 30, you need to do everything you can to relocate to where people live until 80 unless you gave up on life already. then the question goes to why are you still here then...

 

[Young_Chitlin]

I'm motivated by what I'm subconsciously referring to as my "better tomorrow." My better tomorrow is no payments aka debt free. My better tomorrow is making sure (from economical standpoint)my young child is well taken care of. My better tomorrow is treating myself to a good lunch or golfing because I worked my ass off for it and paid the price CARAJO (no social life, etc)

 

[Young_Chitlin]

I'm motivated by what I'm subconsciously referring to as my "better tomorrow." My better tomorrow is no payments aka debt free. My better tomorrow is making sure (from economical standpoint)my young child is well taken care of. My better tomorrow is treating myself to a good lunch or golfing because I worked my ass off for it and paid the price CARAJO (no social life, etc)

I knew I was making progress in my snowball because I paid off $7,500 in 5.5 months. There were times where I had only an otter pop to eat all day. What I said in my previous post, is what keeping my flame blue

 

[T. Sanford]

There's so much to say I don't even know where to start. There were so many questions but I'll start with the title.

Hands down, I'm the most self motivated and driven person I know. And what motivates me is purpose. I know everything has (a) purpose, and so do I.

When Pac said “I'm not saying I'm gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.” He was speaking about me. Not me alone, but yes, ME. The world will change for the better, and I will have played a part in that. Everything I'm building will benefit all Life on the planet, not just people.

But I blame all of my limitations on myself, mainly my ignorance. I also realize that nothing in existence is independent of itself, but at the moment, I'm building alone. So being that I haven't built a reliable team or made the necessary connections, I have to build alone and I haven't yet figured out how to build all of these things and invest into all of these ideas with my VERY limited resources (or at least with what I'm aware of as limited). I only build alone because I haven't found anyone to really build with. But at the same time, I know there's avenues I'm not taking that will help, I just don't realize them yet. At the moment I'm strugglin and everybody I know is too (which perpetuates this cycle, a bunch of poor people making poor decisions). At the moment, ALL of my resources go into survival only, so executing these ideas takes a little ingenuity.

Another reality is, people like me very rarely cross paths with people like 2stepz and others who have the resources and the will to build. To me it seems that in the world there's a lot of financially stable people with questions, and a lot of poor people with answers. So what are we going to do about that? What connections need to be made?

Also, being that nothing is independent of itself, how does one build several non-profits, co-ops and businesses alone?

How?

To be continued...

Trill shit bruh. You nailed it. This the same thing that I am going through. We are two soldiers with the same struggle.

 

[AZTG]

What motivates me? A lot of things, but here is one.

Im the son of immigrants. Im a first generation immigrant myself but I was so young when my parents moved to the US that im completly assimilated.

With that said, im still the son immigrants. My parents moved to the US in their 30s specifically for the kids and financially my pops has had to work non stop to provide.

Now, they close to 60, when I talk to my parents, they talk like their life wasnt shit and theyre not happy because all they had to do is work.

I look at it differently. Both my parents were born in a village with no electricity and running water. Even in 2016, their villages have no paved roads.

They were able to get out of that type of life, educate themselves, come to the best country in the world, and give their kids a foundation.

Now here is where it becomes motivation. I didnt have the same foundation to build on like a wealthy white kid did. We could only afford to live in Paterson, NJ (shout out!) and go to a trash school. But, look at my foundation compared to the foundation my parents had as kids. They were born in a village with no schools where kids were expected to herd animals starting at 7-8 years old and were able to get out, come to the US, and give me a foundation of going to school in America, even though it was a poor ass school.

The upgrade in our foundations to build upon is night and day. It cant be compared.

I stay up thinking day and night on how to continue that. In other words be in a position where when i have kids, they are born with a foundation a foundation that is as big of an upgrade from mine as to the upgrade my parents were to provide to me.

With that said, luckily I am already in a position where if I was to have kids today they will grow up in one of the beat suburbs in America and go to a 10/10 school and be able to be in some soccer program and all other extra cirricular activities.

Its not enough for me though. That was only one of the motivations that got me to where I am. The others are still pushing me.

 

[NothingButTheTruth]

To keep it simple, freedom.

 

[SimplyKrys]

What motivates me the most is the fact that I don't want to end up like my mom or dad. My mom struggled and still does and currently lives in a shitty place with no heat or running water. My dad beat my mom, was never in me and my brothers life and admitted to being on drugs. When I was a kid we moved from place to place and even lived in the shelter. So because of all of that, that is why I told myself I need to get my degree and make something of myself so that way if I do ever have children of my own they will have a much better upbringing than I did.

 

[2stepz_ahead]

What motivates me the most is the fact that I don't want to end up like my mom or dad. My mom struggled and still does and currently lives in a shitty place with no heat or running water. My dad beat my mom, was never in me and my brothers life and admitted to being on drugs. When I was a kid we moved from place to place and even lived in the shelter. So because of all of that, that is why I told myself I need to get my degree and make something of myself so that way if I do ever have children of my own they will have a much better upbringing than I did.

break the cycle

 

[T. Sanford]

@SimplyKrys is one of my favorite posters plus one of the most humble posters on the site

 

[SimplyKrys]

@SimplyKrys is one of my favorite posters plus one of the most humble posters on the site

Thank you, you can't walk around acting like your shit smells like apples.

 

[mondosavant]

Excellent post!

Self-awareness and having a conversation with reality is so critical. Socrates said that an unexamined life is not worth living.

I salute you all who have the courage to question your core beliefs, desires, past actions, etc. That is a trait of strong and wise man. Even if your not where you hope to be, your winning in a big way because just identifying and knowing where you need improvement is half the battle.

As for me, I agree with most of what was shared but there are also a couple big factors...

I want to past the "test"!! I believe in God. The universe, higher power, an unseen realm, an immaterial uncreated creator, etc. Everything around us and inside of us suggests deliberate and designed engineering. Though I have an extensive knowledge of theology and abrahamic religions, I do not subscribe to any religious system of thought.

I know I can be completely wrong and It is not my intention to be dogmatic, but I cannot deny my heart. I have my theories on the religion and I have no problem with it at all. There are a few bad examples in every religion but overall the true practice of Christianity is excellent at making the world a better place by providing hope, emotional healing, purpose and principles to a hurting and lost world. Among other things...but I don't want to get to far from my point.

In my heart of hearts, I have like millions of others, a sense that this life on earth is not all there is. It's not just an expiration of time, lights out, all goes black and thats it.

I am not foolish enough to claim or assert what it life after death looks like, if there is a physical plane of heaven or hell, if we are reincarnated, start fresh asa part 2 version etc. The truth is I don't know. And I honestly feel no mortal human on earth then or now does. Our minds are incapable of even attempting to conceive. I believe all of our questions of God's nature, the why's the how's, the when's are beyond human capacity. I imagine it to be like trying to explain the internet to an ant.

So what motivates me is feeling and knowing in my heart that I have a divine purpose. A purpose, a mission, a job a task that I owe it to myself and the world to figure out. I believe we all do and the answer is many times vague. I think when we are not properly aligned with what it is, we attach to maladaptive behavior like chemical addictions, mental illness, dysfunction all around.

I feel as though Earth is a test run. We have been given a gift of Free Will and not made into programmed robots. That is why there is so much evil shit in this world. If there is to be a Mother Theresa, on the other hand there is the propensity for a character as Hitler.

It is my duty to cultivate my character and take it level by level daily in every aspect in my being. Physical, intellectually, emotional, spirituals, etc. To leave a footprint, contributing to humanity in some form, some way.

I don't know if there is a "hall of judgement" where I will have to give account of my life when I die for entry into an eternal utopia. But i believe the significant decisions i make while here have eternal implications.

If am wrong, will then damn I just lived a life of purpose, did what I enjoyed, Left a legacy, etc.. Life was cool, here i now rest in dust and bone, blackness forever. Nothing is lost.

If I am not wrong...I hope I did what i was supposed to because there might be some consequences.

Also, what motivate me is to honor my heritage and my ancestors who went before me. It would be disgraceful for them to have endured slavery, worked hard, suffered, achieved, made a way out of no way, survived, raised my grand elders, etc. All for me to been given this life and bullshit and squander it away living a purposeless , meaningless miserable existence...in 2017, the age we live in. This is an abomination to have all this and now realize potential in this day i age after all they have lived through and fought for during those thousands of years before me.

To which am Ii guilty. I'm not where I should be, where i want to be, but I'm grateful I'm not whereI used to be.

 

[NeighborhoodNomad.]

There's so much to say I don't even know where to start. There were so many questions but I'll start with the title.

Hands down, I'm the most self motivated and driven person I know. And what motivates me is purpose. I know everything has (a) purpose, and so do I.

When Pac said “I'm not saying I'm gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.” He was speaking about me. Not me alone, but yes, ME. The world will change for the better, and I will have played a part in that. Everything I'm building will benefit all Life on the planet, not just people.

But I blame all of my limitations on myself, mainly my ignorance. I also realize that nothing in existence is independent of itself, but at the moment, I'm building alone. So being that I haven't built a reliable team or made the necessary connections, I have to build alone and I haven't yet figured out how to build all of these things and invest into all of these ideas with my VERY limited resources (or at least with what I'm aware of as limited). I only build alone because I haven't found anyone to really build with. But at the same time, I know there's avenues I'm not taking that will help, I just don't realize them yet. At the moment I'm strugglin and everybody I know is too (which perpetuates this cycle, a bunch of poor people making poor decisions). At the moment, ALL of my resources go into survival only, so executing these ideas takes a little ingenuity.

Another reality is, people like me very rarely cross paths with people like 2stepz and others who have the resources and the will to build. To me it seems that in the world there's a lot of financially stable people with questions, and a lot of poor people with answers. So what are we going to do about that? What connections need to be made?

Also, being that nothing is independent of itself, how does one build several non-profits, co-ops and businesses alone?

How?

To be continued...

Trill shit bruh. You nailed it. This the same thing that I am going through. We are two soldiers with the same struggle.

 

[NeighborhoodNomad.]

I also think we need to stop saying "live for today because tomorrow is not promised"

are things that bad that we have to live like this....

maybe you should stop what your doing that makes this statement a reality.

maybe you should stop living where this statement is a reality.

i you are in a place where you are surrounded by people who barely make it to 30, you need to do everything you can to relocate to where people live until 80 unless you gave up on life already. then the question goes to why are you still here then...

The bolded is perspective and will.

This goes two ways as far as (re)moving from an unhealthy environment goes.

1.) It's been proven that the wellness of all things even down to a cellular level are the result of its environment. So if the cell (person, dog, insect, etc.) is in a healthy environment, the cell (thing) thrives. If the cell's in an unhealthy environment, it's short lived and is greatly hindered from living in its full potential. The environment determines the wellness of the cell.

It's been proven that our cell membranes receive signals from our consciousness and writes the DNA code. Consciousness/the mind can reprogram the cell.

2.) It's also been proven that consciousness/the mind creates, maintains and changes the environment of the cell. Environments are created, maintained and changed.

If my body is in an unhealthy state, I can make a conscious decision to change the environment of the cells of my body by eating right and exercise (action). This healthier environment I willfully created, allows my cells, organs, nerves, bones and body to function properly and allows the cell to live up to it's maximum potential, and thrive in a state of health and wellness. When the cells are healthy, the body is healthy. When the body is healthy, everything within the body is healthy, everything is interacting, and working in unison with itself.

So yes, I can work to move and put myself in a healthier environment that already exists, for peace, stability, and to thrive.

But I also have the option to take ownership, stay, create, maintain and change the environment and make it healthier for peace, stability, and to thrive as individuals and as a community.

 

[BigBallsNoWorries]

Also, things have to change as far as role models in our community

I blame partly the media (for enforcing black stereotypes) about how they never shine light on those who aren't rich entertainers or sport figures

But, who have just as much money or even more than those entertainers and actually have some serious power

That and also the lack of consistency of providing valuable guidance to the youth and steering them in the right direction to live a positive, wealthy and high quality life

for example, you will hear about the black youth talk about how they want to be like these new niggas on the block, 21 savage, BlacYoungsta (who I personally feel like he's just another flashy, loud nigga, that won't have long lasting wealth)

or want to be like Future, or Drake

Before you hear about them trying to be like a Bob Johnson, Daymond John or a Robert F.Smith

Especially the latter

Guarantee you this and let's expand on age for a sec

If you ask the average black person, aged 15-35, you ever hear of Robert F.Smith?

They'll be like "Who"?

But, they can name Lebron, Diddy, 50, Floyd Mayweather or Jay-Z in a minute

Robert F. Smith is a black billionaire investor, who can be seen as the black Warren Buffet, and has a net worth of $3 billion, right behind Oprah (and probably will surpass her)

Or about the richest black man in the world currently

Aliko Dangote, worth 11.4 billion, coming straight from the motherland, which is Africa

We need to reconfigure the role models in the black community, and have more variety of people to look up to, who have high value in society, not just based on materialism

 

[BigBallsNoWorries]

Quotes from people I look up to

"You got to want it, you got to want it as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful"- Eric "E.T." Thomas

(Motivational Speaker)

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'- Muhammad Ali (Greatest Heavyweight Champion of All Time)

"You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over." Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Empire (Net Worth:$5 Billion)



"Five days a week, I read my goals before I go to sleep and when I wake up. There are 10 goals around health, family and business with expiration dates, and I update them every six months.”- Daymond John, CEO and Founder of FUBU (Net Worth:$250 million)

"Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars"- Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, One of the Greatest Investors of All Time (Net Worth:$71.5 Billion)

"Success is not a part time thing,

it’s not a full time thing,

it’s an all the time thing. "- Patrick Bet David, CEO of PHP Agency, financial agency, net worth ($10 million)

"Everything in Life is A Sale and Everything You Want Is A Commission"- Grant Cardone, CEO of Cardone Enterprises, Real Estate mogul, (Net worth:$100 million)

"You have to have a desire to be great"-Robert F.Smith (Net Worth:$3 Billion)

 

[NeighborhoodNomad.]

Also, things have to change as far as role models in our community

I blame partly the media (for enforcing black stereotypes) about how they never shine light on those who aren't rich entertainers or sport figures

But, who have just as much money or even more than those entertainers and actually have some serious power

That and also the lack of consistency of providing valuable guidance to the youth and steering them in the right direction to live a positive, wealthy and high quality life

for example, you will hear about the black youth talk about how they want to be like these new niggas on the block, 21 savage, BlacYoungsta (who I personally feel like he's just another flashy, loud nigga, that won't have long lasting wealth)

or want to be like Future, or Drake

Before you hear about them trying to be like a Bob Johnson, Daymond John or a Robert F.Smith

Especially the latter

Guarantee you this and let's expand on age for a sec

If you ask the average black person, aged 15-35, you ever hear of Robert F.Smith?

They'll be like "Who"?

But, they can name Lebron, Diddy, 50, Floyd Mayweather or Jay-Z in a minute

Robert F. Smith is a black billionaire investor, who can be seen as the black Warren Buffet, and has a net worth of $3 billion, right behind Oprah (and probably will surpass her)

Or about the richest black man in the world currently

Aliko Dangote, worth 11.4 billion, coming straight from the motherland, which is Africa

We need to reconfigure the role models in the black community, and have more variety of people to look up to, who have high value in society, not just based on materialism

I never heard of Robert Smith either but this and the bolded goes back to what I was saying earlier. We don't know any of these people or their accomplishments because at some point, the VAST MAJORITY of he time, they remove themselves from the Black community physically and mentally. They remove themselves.

Out of sight out of mind. If the community didn't grow up with these people and see these people daily, how can they be a roll model of the community?

Another reason why us in the Black community do admire brothers like 50, Diddy, Jay and the streets is we can relate to them. We see people who came up who still walk, talk, dress and look like us. It says to us that "I can be myself and win!" and that's important. Can we say that about Robert Smith, Bob Johnson or Oprah? When we see them, it tells us that I can't be myself if I want to reach that level of financial stability. It doesn't matter how much money you have if the streets or the community can't relate to you. Our role models are people we can relate to. We can identify with our role models in some way.

 

[StillFaggyAF]

I'm not motivated really...just scared of failure