Be Still and Know.

I woke up uber-early this morning! I intend to go get a good workout in too!! But I went to sleep last night complaining and wallowing in LA’s Real Estate market compared to other cities. It drives me crazy that the apartment I want here is 2,000 a month and I can get the same but slightly LARGER apartment for a fraction of the price in St. Louis for only 450! It really discourages me from finding a place in LA. Not to mention everywhere here is pretty over populated, if I was to get the apartment I want, in the community I want—low traffic, I could easily be looking upwards 3-4,000 a month. On an APARTMENT.

Anyway, so I woke up this morning feeling convicted about my “glacial” pace. I’ve been coasting in my comfort zone, perhaps had I not, I wouldn’t be complaining about rent prices.

And what kind of believer complains about anything really when you believe and know who God is. I was definitely tripping. So anyway, it’s time to pick up the pace and break through.

This AM I am thankful for this new consciousness.

Don’t ever find yourself waiting for the right time. It’s always right now. Even when you’re waiting on God, YOU should still be moving. More often than not, we think we’re waiting on him, but actually he’s just waiting on us.

So, LOOK TO THE ANT! Go be productive… produce results.

IDENTIFIED.

Artist, who write, sing, produce, and manage. Actors, who write, sing, produce, manage, act, and direct. Painters, who paint, draw, write, act, and sing. You get my point. Creative people do a lot, and that’s normal. I’m never surprised when I meet an actor who also pursues music, and fashion. I’m never surprised when I meet creative people period, because I am one.  *sigh* How much do we love telling people what we do? Personally, I call myself a professional get my life together-er.  If you can’t take what I really do seriously, take that.  I think  Creative people aren’t taken seriously because people tend to think that because you are not in the spotlight or because you are not making  big bucks, that you ain’t sh*t. (excuse my french)

Well, I CAME TO ENCOURAGE YOU TODAY! (lol) Hold your head up, and BE. You should never be ashamed of your dreams. So what if they’re common. So what if a lot of people don’t make it. YOU WILL! From  this moment, don’t allow friends, family, or PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW to judge you! Be happy and content with your decision to live out your dreams. 

So even if you don’t MAKE IT (whatever that means) you at least know that you came and you tried. BUT IM 100% CERTAIN that if you make up in your mind to PURSUE, and I mean REALLY PURSUE, with PASSION… you will CONQUER. Even if you’re not talented but you work hard,  you’ll still succeed.

And when you find yourself in a tough spot, alone. Know that you are not alone. There are a million of us out here that have experienced or is experiencing the same thing! So try to find comfort that whatever you’re doing has already been done before, it’s your job to do it BETTER! #thatisall

Okay…

This rain is getting to me! I’m waiting on UPS to deliver my package, thinking about life and what it entails. You know that’s always a joy! I’m thinking about my plays, my organization, and everything else. Ready to go—higher. I’ve been mulling and dragging my feet over what to do with the magazine, as well as my production company. Far as the name goes. I wasn’t very satisfied, and I wanted something less personal. But the more I think about it, and think about it… I’m happy being Classy.

With that said… I’m re-launching my website www.classybrown.com I will still blog here! But I’m going to open up a forum there for conversation. So… while I wait on UPS, I’m working on some other loose ends, and then I’ll start to work on that!

-Classy Brown

Do Books Change Lives?

I had a pretty good evening, Bible Study— good word, Borders—TWO books! Ah, that place annoys me, like seriously, why do they have to have sooo many great books to choose from? It’s really ridiculous. Lucky me, I’m on a 15$ a day max spending plan, today was the first day—I spent two days. Go figure   … But I got two really good books, one is Trump: Think Like a Billionaire and the other is by Catherine Black of Hearst. Ironically, I was just talking about her literally days  ago, I’ve been an admirer since 2004 when I first developed an interest for magazine publishing. So why these books out of the thousands? Well, someone poised a question to me about my ultimate career goal, and my response was to develop brands such as Hearst and Trump. Hmm, I wonder how long it will take. That’s when I got to thinking about the power of books. Do they really have the power to transform your life? My ignorant answer is no. A person must first desire to change, and then they need an even stronger will power to actually make the change. Books, are good for educational purposes, gaining knowledge, taking advice of people who’ve already “been there, done that”, but the  book alone, in your hand, is not going to change your life. It’s what you take from the book and actually APPLY to your life that will foster the change. Just my two cents.

So, since I spent my 15$ for today, and tomorrow… I will be in writing, and reading. I hope to have these two books completed by Sunday. That way, I can buy two more! They’re calling me! Next on the list is the Trump Card by Ivanka, recommended by my friend Maria, and a Piano Tutorial.

Anyway, full day, I’m tired. I’ll blog on my nonprofit, film and theater adventures tomorrow.

ps. Bible study was off the chain.. Pastor says people who say money can’t buy happiness have been buying the wrong things! Money can buy happiness, but it can’t buy Joy. Joy is a permanent state of being.

This Joy, that I have! The world  didn’t give it, the world can’t take it away. Come on!

Who Will Hold You Accountable?

New Year(s) always bring great energy. At least until the holidays are good and gone, and the same problems we faced before the extended weekend reoccur, with no new way to solve them. 

At some point, things must change.  This is what we tell ourselves before the New Year begins, and for a few weeks after. 

My point is this, after you’ve written down what you will do, what you won’t, what you will not tolerate, and what you will change, hold to it. Chances are, everything on your list was probably there last year, and the reason that they’re still there is because no one held you accountable, you did not hold yourself accountable.

The only real resolution is to be more responsible, and hold yourself accountable for you. Regardless of what you do, this basic principle of responsibility will take you far beyond your dreams.

Sometimes we do need help, so if you want to share, feel free to connect with me. Maybe we can hold each other accountable.

Happy New Year!

 

xoxo

a recollection of the past.

So in college I wrote and produced a few shorts… Destani’s

Groove…speaking of…those who know about it- ya’ll have to check out

the footage…funniest thing ever… Anyway, so I was thinking about how

my mom passed.. and then how my dad passed… it’s really dramatic- but

if you meet anyone who’s parents have passed and it wasn’t

dramatic…let me know. So anyway, Destani’s Groove- was basically my

character, but of course all the things I wanted to change about myself

at that time, situations included- I changed. That’s why I love the

ability to create…So tonight, I couldn’t sleep. It’s only 9:30, but I

was trying to go to bed early so I could stay up all night, as I have

alot of work to finish before going home tomorrow.

So I’m lying there crying… I couldn’t figure out if it was because I

missed my mom, or because of my desire to be so much like her. Then my

eyes weld up, and I literally felt a tear, just one. Lately, I’ve been

having a very low tolerance for bullshit and I only seek the truth. So

when I felt the tear hit my skin, at that moment it was nothing more

real to me than that. So no matter where the pain derived from, it was

there. And all I could hear my mom saying was that you will always need

a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and shoes on your feet. Now

I can sit here and tell you all day long how I spent over 250,000$ in a

year and a half.. (I wish I would’ve bought my Range) darn it! But more

importantly, I almost feel special- like I know that God has a perfect

plan for my life, and the best things in life are free. It’s so true.

But anyway, I’ve been broke before, I’ve been homeless before, and I

never want to go back down that route again. Wisdom is the principle

thing. So moving forward, as I’m sitting there crying- I remember her

motivation for my name to be in the credits. She ALWAYS told me, "Now

when I watch tv or movies, I watch the credits, I can see your name

being there"… and that has stuck with me all this time. I’m thankful,

even though I’ve lost both of my parents- if God intended for me to meet

any two people in the world I’m so glad that it was them… for many

many reasons, I won’t attempt to name. So anyway, I’m sitting

there…thanking God for the opportunity to have even known them,

thinking about how similiar their deaths were. When my dad passed I was

12, I remember leaving the hospital the night before telling him I’d be

back. We were walking out the door to go pick him up the next day when

the phone rang. My mom knew something was wrong. My aunt came…with the

news that Daddy wouldn’t be coming back home. again. ever. Now in my

youth youth I was way closer to my dad than I was to my mom- I loved her

of course, but I was indeed Daddy’s little girl.. so when he passed, I

naturally held on to my mother for dear life. I always remember my

reaction to the news, but I never thought about what my mom felt. I

can’t possibly imagine what it was like being told Easy Money, your

husband, your best friend, your soul-mate- of 12 years just died.

Leaving you to raise two young girls by yourself. My dad was a hustler,

that’s why they called him Easy Money….but make no mistake, he earned

it the good old fashioned way! WORK! "Don’t nothing come to a sleeper

but another dream"….that’s how he lived, that’s how he provided…

but anyway… he was 32 when he died….and who would’ve known approx.

10 years later, my mom would pass too. So…I had made the drive home

from Baltimore to Birmingham when I got the news my mom was in the

hospital…

I’m there, at the hospital, but I had to go back to school to take care

of some stuff, but I was coming right back… I was like "Mama, I’ma be

right back"….I know she knew because she kinda didn’t want me to go,

but I felt like I had to, and I KNEW that I’d be right back, prepared to

stay with her… so I’m in North Carolina- on my way back to Maryland

now… "Tye, turn around, you need to come back now… All I said was

OK, let me talk to her…so I guess they put me on speaker phone and I

had everybody in tears, but all I said was "Mama hold on, I’m

coming….Wait for me…please…" Now she was barely breathing, and I

just knew God was getting ready to perform a miracle or

SOMETHING…cause he told me he would heal her… now I don’t need your

condolences, or your "his thoughts are not our thoughts, his ways are

not our ways"…matter of fact…DON’T SAY SHIT… just listen… that’s

how I felt at that time anyway…. listen for his still small voice…to

comfort me, cause I need it right now…I don’t need you trying to tell

me you understand when you have no clue…. I made it home in about

three or four hours…by the time I had gotten there, she was

gone…They always said they wanted to be millionaires by the time they

turned 40. So I guess now they have a mansion up in the sky- Hey Luther

gave a concert the other day.

So I guess it’s alright. But my parents died of cancer. Different types,

different forms, different times….but it was Cancer… DESTANI is the

name..and she was a CANCER. (hey my birthday is July 19th…what does

that make me?) DARN right!!

Get Busy

Tonight I’m up thinking about the change that I want to make in the world. It’s in all of us, a natural desire to leave our mark. The key element is to do something! I’ve been working, but not relentlessly. And recently, I’ve found the perfect location for VirtuGyrl, which makes me wish I had worked a little harder last quarter.

So anyway, work hard and make things happen. For yourself, your family, your friends, your community, your world.

love, tye