We have all read that the most successful people are early risers. It generally has to do with discipline and getting quiet time to think. It may be true for some people, but not for everyone. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m not an early riser. On average, I get up at around 7:30 AM. I check email, eat breakfast, and try to get in a work out. I’m a late night person. People who work with me have to deal with the annoyance of regularly receiving emails or text messages at midnight or later. I must admit that I don’t follow any structured success formulas, but I am really good at a few things. Each day, I spend 2-3 hours on intensive, proactive work. This includes outgoing calls to key relationships, strategic planning, drafting proposals, and creative writing. I am also good at prioritization; I am clear on the few tasks each day that are most important and I do those first. Most importantly, I find daily time for reflection and deep thinking – something very few people do on a regular basis. Make no mistake, there aren’t any silver bullets. The lesson here is that there are many paths to success, so find what works best for you and forget what others say. Other late risers include: Bill Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg, Pharrell Williams, and Bill de Blasio
“Boomerang” was a different kind of film. It was a movie about friendship, loyalty, and romance set in NYC at a medium-sized Black-led company that sold beauty products. Boomerang had an all-black cast and a plot that had nothing to do with being Black. While that was unheard of at the time, Murphy was such a big star that it didn’t seem like a big deal.
About a year ago, I was convinced by some of my closest friends that I should do a podcast. Today it seems like everyone has a podcast, and frankly, 99% of them aren’t very good. I wasn’t sure I could do much better, but I realized I do have some ideas that some people have found interesting in the past.
The decision to invite President Barack Obama to the NAHREP Policy Conference last Spring was a decision I made with the NAHREP National Board. Anytime we have a political figure of that stature at one of our events, we know it will stimulate a lot of buzz among our members and stakeholders.