9 Ways to MASTER 2023!!

Photo Credit: Alana Adetola Arts Photography

     First and foremost I want to acknowledge those whom we lost this year. This has been and continues to be a tough year for many of us. It is my will that we honor them by walking with the best part that they shared with us. By allowing their knowledge and wisdom to live through us, others can understand who they were and are! Reflecting upon 2022, I just wanted to take a moment to share some of my thoughts with all of you regarding being successful in our undertakings. Whether we make New Year Resolutions or not, striving to be resolute in all that we say and do is important, regardless of when we choose to make that decision. In part, this is what “word is bond, bond is life and I will give my life before my word shall fail” means to those of us who are Five Percenters. This phrase is not simply something to recite. It is a declaration of being resolute and it highlights the integrity, fortitude, and consistency to follow through with our word. In fact, when our word is truly a bond we will not be broke, or broken...

   Despite the challenges of this year, there were a number of things that I accomplished; from helping coordinate some amazing Niagara Falls National Heritage Area and Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center projects to being featured in a United Nations Short Doc, speaking at the United Nations, and filming two documentaries that will be released in 2023. What I am most proud of is the completion of the renovation project and receiving the official license to open our Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters!! As one of our cultural ambassadors, I take great pride in knowing that positive contributions such as this continue to expand the global footprint of our Five Percent Nation. This means nothing if I am unwilling and unable to show others how to also be successful in their undertakings. There are certain things that I have done, and continue to do without fail, that has allowed me to take my ideals from knowledge to born, from inception to conception. In this article here are 9 Ways to MASTER 2023:

1. Although it is your personal idea, our idea should be something that improves your quality of life with the intent/consideration of making you a greater resource to others and the world that we share. Life is interdependent and there is a constant process of giving and receiving. This intent/consideration ensures that our idea is in tune with the universal order and is something that is sustainable -because we are actively providing a service (and/or products) that others, and the world, need. If all we are thinking about is what we can get (keep), and not what we are able to consistently give, what we get (keep) will eventually run out. If you don't believe this, try it with your breath. Keep it to yourself and see how long it takes for your oxygen to run out... It is all about reciprocity.

2. Make sure your idea is real and obtainable. It is less likely that we are going to change EVERYTHING at once so it is important to work on what we can change, one goal at a time. Also, take things one day at a time. It took a while to create habits/routines and it is going to take time to change them. The smaller goals we accomplish serve as steppingstones; helping us build confidence and gain the tools and experience that are necessary to reach our larger goals. And with any goal, one of the most important steps we need to take, and habits we need to create, is to “get our day underway with a positive, productive attitude.” That attitude sets the stage for our altitude. This is one reason for asking ourselves, and other members of my Nation, “What is Today's Mathematics?” and “What is Today’s Degree?” It orientates us with higher-order thinking and enables us to get our day underway with a positive, productive attitude. Whatever your cultural worldview or religion is, start your day considering the positive principles that your worldview and religion share. Our attitude sets the foundation of our altitude.

3. Make your goals specific. Instead of saying something ambiguous like, “I’m going to read more” say something more specific like, “I am going to read one book every month.” This is called Specificity. Specificity helps you better focus on your goals and encourages you to be more responsible and committed to those goals. If you were to say, “I want to be healthier in 2023” there is no sense of ambition or plan of action to take that idea from knowledge to born. Now if you said, “I am going to only eat baked chicken once a week and go to the gym three times a week for 1 ½ hours after work” that has a sense of ambition and provides part of a plan of action to achieve your goal of being healthier in 2023. If it is not clear, our path will not be cleared. When we learn about being ‘right and exact’, Specificity is what ‘exact’ means.

4. Set a projected time/date for your goals. Setting a time/date creates a sense of urgency, responsibility, and accountability to meet your goals. If you don’t meet your time/date then set another one. Without setting a time/date then we are saying that our goals are not really a priority (important). Why? Because under these circumstances they can happen any time and any day; that is not resolute. If you don't have a time/date, you are creating the possibility that there will never be a time/date. Keep in mind that “one day” or “someday” are not days on a calendar. This is especially important for those Five Percenters who still have not knowledged 120. Apply yourself and make a serious commitment to getting your degrees on cap. Set a reasonable time/date when you want to be complete and don’t procrastinate. We need you, especially our youth!

5. Write down your ideas. I have known people who had challenges with organizing their day, appropriating their time, and focusing on achieving their goals. One of the solutions I shared with them was writing down their goals on index cards or signs and posting them in visible places around their home. Not necessarily for everyone to see, it is for you to see! This helped reinforce and remind them of their goals so they would not allow themselves to get lost in the hustle & bustle of each day. Committing your ideas to paper is the understanding of knowledge and wisdom. How? Because it is outside evidence that allows you to physically see what you thought [knowledge] and spoke [wisdom] about. Understanding is often referred to as the child or the best part. This is one reason that Creatives often refer to their projects, such as their paintings, literature, or music as ‘their baby.’

6. Only share your ideas with those who have shown themselves to be supportive of you fulfilling them. If they are not there to help you, they are only going to hinder you. If they are not an asset, they are a liability. If they are not in your life to build, they will destroy. This also includes the nice folks with pleasant attitudes. Just because they have a happy disposition, it does not mean that they can automatically help. Again, our idea is likened to a baby and a baby must be nurtured, respected, loved, protected, and educated. That baby must build its immunity to repel the bacteria and viruses that could compromise its health, growth, and development. It is unwise to let any and everybody touch your baby. It is equally unwise to expose your idea to any and everybody.

7. Look into networking with people/organizations that will help you fulfill your physical and mental health goals. That is why our social equality is important and the reason some keep us apart from their own social equality. Our network is a prime indicator of our net worth. Take care of yourself and connect with those who are invested in doing the same. There are no ideas when we don't have your health!

8. Speaking of health; strive to maintain a positive outlook! Some days it will be easy to maintain a level of positivity and other days you need fellowship with others who share the same goals and are just as resolute about achieving goals. This means investing the time to build with others and being present to learn as much as you can about the positive principles/values they are sharing with you. 

9. Your idea is not the end all be all. Some people live to have a wedding while others strive to be married in the mind, have a family, and etc.  While the wedding is a place, being married in the mind is a state. So although your ideas may help you arrive at a place, the ultimate goal should be to achieve a state of existence. And this state of existence should set the stage to help you achieve even higher and greater goals! It is all about constant growth and elevation, not stagnation. Life is constantly changing and evolving and so should the living.

PLUS DEGREES: 

"Be a shark, not a peacock" as one of my homegirls would say. When a peacock walks into a room with its feathers fanned out everyone can see it. It is not necessary to be showy and strive to get attention. You also attract predators that way. Sharks move in silence and by the time you see their dorsal fin it is too late. In many cases staying below the radar and not revealing what you're doing until it's actually done is a sure way to be successful in your undertaking. Be a fine mist that the naked eye can hardly detect. When we talk a lot we are also subject to the expectations of others which are usually unrealistic. If you tell people you are writing a book and you know that you don't even have a manuscript yet, people may assume you are going to be publishing a three-hundred-page book next week and expect it. Now when you obviously don't deliver, people begin to look at you like the boy/girl who cried wolf. Always remember that light travels 186,000 miles per second and sound only travels 1,200 feet per second. People will see what you are doing before they can hear what you are saying so your reputation precedes you. So talk less in 2023 and let your work speak for you.

*Just say “NO.” Sometimes we put too much on our plate because we don't know how to tell people “NO” and we feel guilty about it when we do. Here's the thing: if you don't have the time, you don't have to agree to do it. Let time be the reason that you cannot commit to something. It is unreasonable for someone to expect you to create more than twenty-four hours in a day. Just. Say. NO.

   In closing, I will that every one of you and your families have a positive and productive 2023 and that is adds more beauty to our families, community, and environment.

Peace,

Saladin