The business I'm in the process of creating brings an abstract yet familiar employment style with an industry that has some of the most growth potentials than almost any other out there. America itself makes up around 33% of the Tech industry accounting for a major portion of economic activity. It's a 5 trillion dollar-a-year industry that will continuously grow since technology and innovation are hand and glove with one another. Uber, Lyft, Door dash; companies like these allow almost anyone to set up an account and begin making money. Giving people the option to make extra income from almost anywhere at any time. In most cases, people who work delivery jobs or use delivery apps don't get paid much but enjoy the supplementary income. The company I've been working on for the past year gives people in the tech industry or others looking to pivot into this industry the opportunity to have a schedule flexible as UBER, but still taking care of work orders and jobs in the industry. A lot of the simplest jobs in tech don't require extensive training, so with minimal training, we begin helping average Americans who may only have a GED or Diploma make $25 an hour starting. But that's only in Texas where the minimum wage is around 7 to 8 dollars. Imagine in every state in the U.S., how many people we could help, people who work minimum wage and struggle working paycheck to paycheck. My main interest in entrepreneurship came when I was very young. For years my father had sold insurance with one of the largest companies at the time being Northwestern Mutual. So at around 4th or 5th grade, I was being taught about the art of selling and the power having your own business can have over your life. Most times when hearing my dad speak about things like this I never listened to him, but in the 6th grade my father gave me the books; "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and "Cashflow Quadrant" both by Robert Kiyosaki. After reading those I saw the world in an entirely different light. I began to understand that financial freedom was something that almost all people chase but so few can enjoy until they're in their late 50's and 60's. Only allowing you to enjoy a minimal amount of your later years with no strictures. As well as only allowed to help and create change within your current physical means. There's a major difference between someone who uses their weekends to pick up trash from the beach and a philanthropist who donates hundreds of thousands to the BLUE marine foundation. And even though doing charitable work for your community is valiant and admirable; someone whose ability to bring major equity to the table as well as sweat equity is moving the needle much further. My main goals in life are to create a better system for financial literacy and education for African Americans across the board, sustain financial freedom for myself and my family, as well as help anyone and anything I can while in the process and beyond. That's because so many African American people seem to not understand the power a U.S. Dollar has when it stays inside our community. So many other immigrant communities can plant their flag and sustain. And that's because they have the right mentality and understanding of what to do and how to do it.

Most times when asked what drives you, you would give a basic or general answer that speaks about my mother or father. Those who have sacrificed certain things in order for you to have the life you have right now. But I do think at the root of all inspiration you have to be at the center. Because without it, when things get tough you'll begin to contemplate why you push yourself as hard as you do. And if it's for someone else you'll always try to find a reason to do a little less from time to time. In cases of sports stars we always see those that have made it, those that did everything possible and finally have the ability to do what they love as a career. But we rarely talk about those who faced burnout or got sidetracked along the way. A-lot of times these people are always doing it for, their mom, or their family but struggle to understand what direction they truly are going. They just have their head down for so long then eventually look up and ask themselves, is this what I really want, or is it just something I've been doing for my family so I'll continue on. Thoughts like this when on your path enforce you to question your personal process and often make decisions at times that aren't congruent with the goal you had initially drawn for yourself. Without inspiration from within, to do better and be the best version of yourself, outside inspiration will eventually be forgotten, lost in translation, causing you to question yourself so much more often. When you see people who draw inspiration from themselves and are on fire about their dreams or goals their almost unstoppable. A great but cliche example of this would be Kobe Bryant, he does have his family and parents as inspiration for what he was looking to do. But at the root of himself his own competitive nature and self-belief was the engine driving the machine, nothing else. To me, outside inspiration should be a side, never the main course meal. "I liked challenging people and making them uncomfortable. That’s what leads to introspection and that’s what leads to improvement. You could say I dared people to be their best selves." -Kobe Bryant

I think the biggest issue with the criminal justice system in black communities is that we don't have black voices and faces operating through it. I think as people in America we generally grow up around people who look and sound like us so we're more naturally empathetic toward our own causes and issues to some degree. And when I say the system I mean all levels; police, mayors, judges, lawyers, drug enforcement agents, even investigators. If we had more people that looked like us or came from the places we do policing and managing our communities we could begin moving in the right direction. Because those that do would empathize naturally and asses situations much better. As of right now we have people of other ethnicities and cultural backgrounds who have been taught and trained the wrong way, and not necessarily by the police force. But by people who were in their own home or community to see African American people as some sort of adversary. In so many of these situations I see on the news the tone a lot of these police use when dealing with black people is so much more aggressive than with others. The only answer to these reactions across the board would be you see that person as someone to stand at odds with. Someone who needs to be deterred and controlled, not protected. When seeing opinions on criminal justice reform people go in depth on so many decisions in terms of policy. And while those opinions are intelligent and valid, to me the decision to have people who come from those communities is the first and only step to take. As people, we are hardwired by those around us at a young age to see life through a specific lens. To me, it seems extremely unrealistic to expect someone who comes from the suburbs of another city or state to understand and empathize with the issues happening inside of black inner city communities. Regardless of how much they've been trained and taught by the police force, if they have never been in that environment, don't understand that jargon, don't understand the mannerisms, they will most likely act irrationally and asses the situation at hand incorrectly. And this is a best case scenario, not considering they're already using some sort of conscious prejudice to deal with the issues in a black communities. When that comes in to play we put ourselves in an even deeper hole, because those that have conscious prejudice generally don't care about who the person is or what they're dealing with. They just know they got a call and it needs to be dealt with.

I believe that the use of smartphones and devices in our modern-day is a double-edged sword. It's almost ironic how the thing meant to connect us the most socially has created the most social disconnection than anything else around the world. In my personal experience using smartphones has made it easier to connect with people that are the most distant, people we would never see otherwise; people who are in other cities, states, countries, even continents. But makes it more difficult to create bonds with those that are always right in front of us. Those that are generally closest to us; friends, family, neighbors, etc. Nowadays we never see people "talk things out" but rather use the internet as a way to escape our issues and problematic experiences. Our smartphones give us so much reach to the outside world that we eventually find it difficult to see right in front of ourselves. In years past someone's community was something you heavily invested in socially, not just financially. Neighbors knew one another, friendships weren't associated with the rest of the world's opinion, and people invested in one another a lot more. In today's world, we share videos through social media instead of asking how someone's day went. And while that's still a form of connection it's a lot less pure than interactions people would practice prior. Our attention span as people seems to have shortened so much, that conversations which don't include something new or in the times just bores people completely. And depending on who you are, you can see that definite social change in day-to-day life is a blessing or curse. Smartphones allow day-to-day life to flow faster and easier but some don't want that. They'd much rather enjoy an experience that's controlled by them and not a device that buzzes to remind you that the Kardashians decided to post something on Instagram today. Most times when asking this question of whether our devices are instrumental or detrimental you get a mixed bag of answers and that's because people view life differently as well as come from different generations. People who come from earlier generations such as myself are huge proponents of all technology. That's because we don't know how to live life without them. All the answers to everything you can think of are just a click away. What are the answers to the test? How do I talk to my crush? etc. For others who lived life years before it seems like their proponents in certain cases, but mainly when the information needed is fairly trivial. What's the recipe for these cookies? What day is the 4th of July? etc. But regardless of when you come from we still are stuck in our phones from time to time. The only issue is that when behind the wheel to many become glued or drawn toward the consistent buzzing and ringing. I was scared straight due to many of my friends near life-ending experiences with texting and driving. And I think for many others something needs to change so that others can understand when in something moving 60 plus miles per hour. Any second of mismanaged attention can wreak havoc.