Saving & Doing what you have to do

So the weekend was good & it was business (and more) as usual. Been doing both work & some community service. My sis is doing well, have her 2nd basketball game coming up on Monday. So for Thanksgiving, Im going to Texarkana w/ the family, want to actually go back to the city w/o having to deal w/ death this time. I was planning to go to New Orleans for the classic first, but my cousin who stays in Baton Rouge says she wanted to meet up in Texarkana saying we have a “tradition” we have every year. My aunt & uncle are already in Texarkana, Im trying to get my paid days off so I can make it there Tuesday morning.

So on Saturday, I got to help out w/ a Homeowner workshop for people that were interested in buying a home for themselves. Ive been working w/ this woman who works at a Housing Department, been helping her set up her presentation most of last week. She have been trying to recruit me to be a financial consultant/coach, to try & help people bring their credit scores up & make sure they are able to put themselves on the right budget. But when I saw the presentation as it was presented, I learned a few things. I learned that you really do have to learn to save your money. Also, make sure you know your resources. For each person that completed this class this past weekend, they have gotten a certificate of completion. When they show that certain certificate & if they have that right credit score, they are able to get a soft loan to cover both the down payment & closing costs of up to $10,000, and if they live in their house for 5 years, they don’t have to pay off that loan. But also there were 18 people in this class, and of that 18, there were 6 black people, all women. Talked to the trainer, she told me that not many black men in my age bracket are looking to buying houses because we are comfortable where we are. So for myself, I know I got work to do, but I want to make adjustments to myself to try to own a home in the next few years.

(Written on last week, edited a bit)VVV

So the Saturday before, I ended up going to a friend’s house and we kicked it a bit, and also got to head downtown. This is a friend that I once worked w/ at my 2nd job. Flashback to Monday, during lunch, I picked up my check from my 2nd job & I ran into my homie. He showed me his check, it really wasn’t much because the government took half of his check for child support. Back to Saturday night, I talked to homie & he said he was gonna go out on Tuesday to buy the new Assassin’s Creed (Its for xbox 360 so its around $50-60). But the last check he gotten from that job was his last one, that only job was seasonal. But then what he tells me is that his daughter is coming in Thanksgiving weekend to see him.

I understand that we are in hard times, yet if you not making those necessary steps to improving yourself, you could be the blame for you in certain situations. I think that some of us just don’t put our needs in front of our wants. Its that we avoid what we NEED to do. Like my homie did, he knew there were things that needed to be done, yet he putting things on hold just for a video game, and from what I heard, he had a bitch-fit because he didn’t go get the game on that day it came out. But if you gonna try to improve your situation, know what your priorities are.


But I hope everyone has a great Holiday & drive carefully

Drew Brees' Coming Back Stronger (quotes)

I just finished reading Coming Back Stronger & I liked the book. If you dont know who Drew Brees is, he presently is the starting QB for the New Orleans Saints. Years ago, he had played for the San Diego Chargers, but suffered a season ending injury. He was supposed to have been the future of that franchise but it got to where people were saying he was never gonna throw a football ever again because of that injury. Instead of signing back w/ his team, who because of the injury wanted him to become a backup, he ended up going through a harsh rehab & signs w/ the Saints, a city at that time going through a rebuilding process because of Katrina. Four years later, Brees wins a championship w/ the Saints. But what you learn from this book is that sometimes when we go through certain things in life, there are gonna be times where people count us out, but will YOU count yourself out or work harder to comeback?? Here are some interesting quotes from the book that I loke & thought they were key:


"It is the fear of failure that drives you, but it is visualizing sucess that gives you the positive mind-set & confidence to feel like you can accomplish anything" - D. Brees

"One of the worst things you can do when you've been laid low is to try to come back too quickly. You have to see the truth about your situation & accept it in order to heal right & then return stronger. You need to learn the lessons while you're still down in order to put yourself in the position to make a comeback" - D. Brees

"Trust is the cornerstone of every meaningful relationship" - Marty Schottenheimer

"The most important game of the season is always the next one" - D. Brees

The worst thing that could happen in life is not getting knocked down; its getting knocked down & then staying down

Commitment is when you refuse to give yourself an excuse

The greatest opportunities in life are the ones that test us the most