Author: Bianca A. McCormick-Johnson

In short, I'm a work of ART (Aptitude, Responsibility, & Talent). My goal is to Attract, Retain, and Teach an audience between the ages of 14 to about 50 and beyond the disciplines of life. I've been blessed with the gift of giving knowledge and creating peace within the souls of many who are starving for spiritual satisfaction. I'm no prophet, but I do believe that I am one of God's chosen spiritual leaders and sources of information on how to walk a straight path down a crooked road.

Spare the Negatives, Share the Positives

Have you ever seen a beat-down that didn’t go viral? That’s because people love to be entertained, even if it’s negative. Most of the time, it involves women and teenagers. While we are shaking our heads and sharing, what are we doing to promote change in our communities? It is not until one of our own loved ones get murdered behind those kind of incidents that we decide to speak up and show out. But oftentimes, it starts on social media. If you recognize any individual in those videos who seems to be antagonizing the situation, you should not encourage it; in fact, you should find a way to address the problem. A simple conversation can go a long way. Quite often, the antagonist is an adult. That is totally unacceptable! People are behaving in this manner because they think it is okay. But I am here to tell you that it is never okay to showcase or promote a beating on social media. It does not matter who started it. No one deserves this type of humiliation. These kids are feeling like champions on the Internet, yet they feel challenged when taking a standardized test. As you can see, it still takes a village to raise children.

Women, we have got to do better. No college offers a degree in twerking, and having cat fights over men is not classy. Moreover, if your rear end is your biggest asset, you will surely retire broke. Twerkers, the time it takes for you to create and upload those senseless videos of you shaking your behind, you could be pursuing a career as a choreographer. You’ve got the fundamentals. Bad girls who love to fight, take that energy to the ring and make some money. Lela Ali never has to fight again. Booty and beyond, have you considered starting your own modeling agency? You could create a new category. You should even consider starting your own clothing line for curvy women like yourself.

Take a few minutes and assess your own behavior, so that you can see where you may have fallen through the cracks. It’s okay that you are not perfect. Neither am I. Even some plants lose their perfect shape over time, especially if they lack nutrition. Feed your soul with proper nutrition, and watch how things start to change in your life. In the meantime, spare the negative media, and share the positives. You may be helping someone without realizing it.

And remember…
“Make sense of what you do, and make every cent count.”

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.

Submit topics suggestions using the “Contact Me” page.

Photo: Flickr. Fighting by Discutivo CC

Something captured your interest? Don’t be selfish. Share with your friends!

Common Courtesy

Kim: “Hey Gina, you wanna catch a movie later?”

Gina: “I’d love to. That new Tyler Perry movie’s got some pretty good reviews.”

Kim: “Cool. So do you want to catch the 7:45pm showing?”

Gina: “Sounds good to me. I’ll be ready at 7pm.”

Kim: “Great. I’ll text you when I’m on my way.”

Seven o’clock rolls around, and Kim hasn’t texted or arrived. Seven ten, fifteen, and so on passes, yet Kim still hasn’t texted or come by. Gina finally decides to call Kim to find that Kim had changed her mind all of a sudden. Does this sound like you? If so, you need to establish some common courtesy because that’s just rude. It will give you a better name and possibly save your friendships. There is absolutely no excuse as to why Kim couldn’t call or text Gina, as opposed to just letting her sit around and wait. I’m sure Gina would have understood. Besides, Kim extended the invitation and then backed out simply because she changed her mind, not because of some extenuating circumstance. You never know what type of arrangements or accommodations a person has to make to satisfy your request or keep a commitment. Thus, it is your due diligence to be kind enough to communicate plan changes. How would you feel if someone did that to you? Would you just brush it off and still count on he or she? Or would you just fall back from that person out of disgust?

A breach in common courtesy is not limited to the previous scenario. It is also when a person intentionally ignores an inquiry or request. People ignore text messages, instant messages, direct messages, emails, and the like. How could you ignore someone’s inquiry or request but update your Facebook status? Nowadays, most people manage all accounts from a mobile device. Therefore, all your notifications are being managed via one device. You have no excuse as to why you can’t be courteous when you no longer have to face people. You can now hide behind a text, email, or some other digital form of communication that does not require you to speak or show your face. Some of you are better at using that method anyway. If you don’t like the person enough to reply, then block/delete or unfollow that person. That’s what those buttons are for. Make use of them. Quit carrying on a network of people you don’t even like. That’s just fake. You would be much more appreciated, if you were real and honest.

So the next time something comes up, you change your mind, or someone messages you, show some common courtesy.

And remember…
“Make sense of what you do, and make every cent count.”

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.

Submit topics suggestions using the “Contact Me” page.

Photo: Flickr. Don’t Care by Deornelas4 CC

Something captured your interest? Don’t be selfish. Share with your friends!

Time Waits On No One

Have you ever lost money in a gamble, bet or some other bad decision? Did you eventually recoup those funds over time? I sure hope so. Even if you didn’t recoup all of it, you should’ve regained a fraction of it, if you work full time. Regardless of how it was lost or how much was lost, there are myriad ways of earning back money.

What I find to be just as valuable as money is time. In some cases, time is more valuable than money. For instance, let’s say you have to miss a day of work to spend time with your daughter or son who’s going off to college or the military. Would you consider that time with him or her more valuable than the money you lost from missing work? Besides, if missing one day of work causes you to fall into a financial crunch or miss a meal, you should consider finding a new job or side hustle. Don’t ever let a job dictate your life because employers will continue to eat and maintain their affluent lifestyles in your absence.

You have to learn to prioritize time and money in order of importance on a daily basis. You will miss your calling chasing money. You will miss your child’s graduation chasing money. You may even lose your spouse chasing money. Some things are more important than money itself. By all means, work your job or run your business because you have to make a living somehow. But don’t take on more than you can handle just for a couple of dollars. You’ll find yourself sleeping less, sick more, and spending less time with your loved ones. At some point, we all have to make sacrifices, but don’t use them as an excuse to bailout out of your responsibilities and commitments. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that people have time and money for what they want to have it for. You don’t have time to entertain your friend’s new business venture, but you don’t miss a happy hour. You don’t have time to support a worthy cause, but you never miss a big event. Didn’t I just see you at the comedy show last weekend? I thought that was you. Yes you. The one who never seems to have time for anything or anyone.

Just remember this one thing…If you don’t make time for your loved ones, don’t expect them to make time for you when you need it most. Once time is lost, you can never get it back.

And remember…
“Make sense of what you do, and make every cent count.”

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.

Submit topics suggestions using the “Contact Me” page.

Photo: Flickr. Time by Sean MacEntee CC

Something captured your interest? Don’t be selfish. Share with your friends!