Pieces Table of Contents Prologue Free(dom) $Time Fuck$ Body Animal Creator Choices Love Responsi(bill)itie$ #1 Fan Orphan Name Voice You
Prologue
I
f you’re like me, you know that we are made of more than just flesh and bone. Every man is made of Pieces. Imagine a puzzle. You have a picture of what the puzzle will be once it’s fully put together, but putting it together is more difficult than analyzing the cover image. Each piece must be observed and put in its place to see the bigger picture — You. Maybe your pieces are more complex than others. Maybe you’re a 12 piece puzzle with a step-by-step manual. Whatever the case may be, each man is a puzzle. In my opinion, our life’s mission is identifying the pieces to our puzzle and putting everything in order as we see fit. Read with an open mind. None of the statements in this book are proven fact. This is simply life as I see it.
I Free(dom)
Y
ou were born free. You were born to be free. At the end of the day we are all free; only if we allow it for ourselves though. You can live a lavish life of materials and shiny objects but become a slave to the lifestyle. Of course, we all want nice things but at what cost? Would you sacrifice your internal beliefs for the benefit of your physical flesh; or “sell out” as most commonly referred. As humans, we’ve fallen victim to the trap that having a lot of money is the only way to be free. The mind adjusts to the reality of the physical being. While you may dream of riches, the internal prisons remain the same until you can totally set yourself free. The phrase “money can’t buy happiness” is too far overlooked. Look at
Kurt Cobain, Robin Williams, and others who could purchase whatever came to mind however those possessions couldn’t free them from the shackles they were bound to while on Earth. “We should never lose sight of what really matters.. what really holds value.. LIFE and TIME two things we can never get bacc. Everything else can always come bacc.”
⁃
Tez The Don
II $Time
T
ime is essentially the currency of life. God (yes, God), gives everyone a certain amount of time. That time is broken down into intervals of 24 hours which we acknowledge as Days. Every man blessed with time has the same 24hrs. What he spends that time on will reflect within the outcome of his life. Let’s put this in literal terms; when looking for a job you are essentially looking to sell your time for $(xx.xx) per hour. If you spend time sleeping you will receive rest. If you spend enough time with someone you will grow to either love, hate, like, or loathe,
them. If you spend enough time doing anything, you will get something in return. What You Put In is What You Get Out Gordon Ramsey wasn’t born a great chef, Kobe Bryant didn’t come out the womb shooting fade-aways, nobody is born knowing how to ride a bike. What separates a novice from an expert? Time spent. Time used negatively can also have repercussions and consequences. If you spend your time doing nothing you will get nothing. This is Wasted Time. Wasted Time is basically ANYTHING not associated with your life’s mission, whatever that may be. Everybody has a limited amount of time. We cannot control that we are forever spending our time. What we do have control over however, is how we spend our time.
What do we measure when a man dies? Very rarely will you see a dead man’s Bank Statements. Upon entry to his funeral you typically receive a bank statement of life — the Obituary. The first thing we look at is how much time did this person have. The second thing we look at is how they spent their time. Think about this; when a man goes to prison, what is considered his “debt” to society? His time served.
III Fuck$
T
he amount of care, the amount of effort, your ultimate drive behind a subject all strives from one source; the amount of fucks you give. Think about something you truly give a fuck about. You put as much as you can into perfecting whatever just popped into your brain. Fuck is different from time because it is possible to spend time on something without truly giving a Fuck. Let’s use your daily 9-5 as an example. Do you really give a fuck about that job? Probably not. You’re only there because they pay you for your time. But why are you at work? What are you making money for? Whatever that may be is
what you truly give a fuck about. That’s the only reason you didn’t quit along time ago. When you truly give a fuck about something you’ll spend your time on it without expecting any type of pay. For example; nobody is going to pay you for taking care of your own children, however you will spend as much meaningful time with them as possible if you give a fuck about them. Giving a fuck without spending time on something is just wishful thinking.
IV Body
Y
our body is your mind’s canvas for the world to see. It is the billboard for your mind. Rather you indulge in tattoos or want to dye your hair bright orange, your body is your work of art. People will make premeditated assumptions on your character based on how they see your body. Like Time, your Body is irreplaceable. Don’t get too caught up on cosmetics, for the inside is far more important than the outside. You WILL feel the effects of what you do to your body. Poor physical health is typically a result in poor physical maintenance. You don’t NEED a gym membership in order to work out. You don’t NEED a personal chef to
eat properly. All you need is self awareness. Once you reach adulthood, nobody is going to take care of you anymore, that’s your responsibility. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you. “You have one body, why waste it?” - Donald Fuqua
V Animal
W
hen you are hungry, your stomach may growl. When you get sleepy, you may yawn. If your body disagrees with something you ate, it’ll reject it. These are non-voluntary actions, or animal instincts. As an intellectual you KNOW you have to eat to live, drink to hydrate, bathe to clean. Look at the purest form of life, babies. Within her first hour of life, My Daughter found her mother’s breast to feed, all on her own. No one told her this is where you eat from, her animal instincts acknowledged My Wife as her mother and could SMELL the breast milk.
Mothers have the ultimate animal instincts. Not only will a mother’s body produce EVERYTHING a baby needs, when a breastfed baby is sick her body will create the cure. When a baby cries (even on the radio!) a mother’s breast will fill with milk, which may even result in leakage. And let’s not forget Women’s Intuition. No matter how civil we are, no matter how you dress yourself, we are indeed animals at our core. And like any other animal you must, train, feed, groom, and care for yourself.
VI Creator
W
e were all born with a unique gift beyond human measure. This gift is the power of creativity. The power to create is what separates us from the animals, slightly. Typically when two animals engage in sexual intercourse the mission is simple — create. Humans are the only species that have sex for pleasure. I say this to point out the fact that the need to create is embedded in our nature. Due to the fact that it would be physically straining for women and financially straining for a family to constantly reproduce whenever they get bored, what are we to do with this excess build up? We create. We were put here to create and put our best pieces out into the world.
Everyone has the skill to create something. When I say something I mean anything. Creations can go further than the eye can see. Music for instance; one of the purest forms of expression that can create a picture even when you have your eyes closed. Without creating, we are left with bottled up tension which will result in babies or destruction. When we don’t know what to create we have sex or we fight. Just like the animals. Focus on 6 basic principles when creating; who, what, when, where, why & how. Who are you creating for? Maybe you’re doing this for the advancement of civilization or you’re doing this solely for yourself.
Nevertheless it is important to identify a target audience. Who will this benefit? What are you creating? Once you identify an audience , identify what it is that you will give them. Maybe it’s music. Maybe it’s the gift of culinary arts. What will YOU bring to the table? When will you create? Set aside time for preparation and development. Utilize your 24 hours to get the most out of your day and out of your life. Where will you set up shop? Identify a lab/workspace. You can set up shop anywhere. You may even have to improvise. There are often stories of musicians setting up studios in their closets. Why? A designated work environment will minimize the chance
of distractions and allow you to zone in on completing your project. Why did you start to begin with? Never forget what motivated you to take action in the first place. When we create it is often to fill a void that we feel is missing from the outside world. If YOU quit there will be no one else to bring YOUR unique gift to the world.
How will your creation benefit you? Maybe you’re in it for the money. Maybe you want the satisfaction of pleasing others. Maybe you want your name (chapter 12) etched in eternity. At the end of the day how will your creation help you. Everyone has the power to create. It is in all of us. Everything you create isn’t for the
sole purpose of making a dollar but fulfilling our duty as living organisms and giving back to the world.
VII CHOICES
Y
ou always have a choice. Rather it be a simple choice or a life changing decision, the ball is always in your court. NO MATTER the proposition, you ALWAYS have the option to say yes or no. You don’t HAVE to go to work and pay bills, you could be homeless — you’d rather be comfortable so it’s a no brainer right? Who says you can’t swerve into oncoming traffic? It’s not a wise decision, and you will probably die, but you have that option if you want to take it. Life is made of right and wrong choices. The world has its own suggestion on what is right and wrong, based on the greater good of the environment, but every man has his own
agenda. Within this agenda, man has his own idea of right & wrong. Even though we may not understand every decision our counterparts makes, trust assure they did what was best for THEM. You must always do the same.
VIII LOVE
L
ife is nothing with love. No matter what it is that you love. Some people love each other, some people love objects, some people unfortunately love to spread hate. In my opinion, love is natural. You don’t have to work to maintain love. Love is what gets me out of bed in the morning. Love is the reason I spend my time and give a fuck about anything. If you truly love something it’ll gravitate towards you one way or another.
Reminder: Just because you love something or someone, it doesn’t obligate them to loving you back or accepting the love you give. Love isn’t always reciprocated and sometimes you have to redirect that loving energy to something more reflective and receptive.
IX RESPONSI(BILL)ITIE$
E
very man has Responsibilities. Life would be complete chaos without responsibility. Believe it or not our responsibilities are a direct result of our wants and needs. Nobody is going to hand you anything. If you want anything you have to work for it. Once you obtain it you have to maintain it. We all have bills No one will ever feel sorry for you having to pay your bills, taking care of your children, or going to work. You wanted a nice house, you have to pay for it. You wanted to have unprotected sex, had a child, now you have to take care of it. You wanted the latest and
greatest iPhone on the best service possible, you have to pay for it. Just like the next man. If Not You Then Who? You have to know yourself. Learn to maintain and manage. Complaining isn’t gonna make the bills go away. The trash isn’t gonna take itself out, the dishes aren’t gonna wash themselves, and nobody’s going to wash your ass. You always have the CHOICE to ignore your responsibilities. Just keep in mind they will remain and must be attended to eventually.
X #1 FAN
T
he ability to pump yourself up in any situation strives from your #1 fan — You. We have all been nervous, discouraged or maybe even doing very well. Whatever the case may be, you got yourself through it. No one can want more for you than you want for yourself. If anybody should cheer for you, it should be you. Only you know the work you put in. Only you know the sacrifices you made in order to get where you are in life.
XI ORPHAN
N
o matter how good of a relationship you have/had with your parents, something was missing from your childhood. Maybe your parents worked too much, maybe they didn’t spend enough time with you, maybe they didn’t love you how you think they should have. Our parents raised us based on their views of the world. My father would always say he knew my grandfather loved him but they didn’t spend as much time together as he’d like. In response to his upbringing, my father made it a mission to spend as much meaningful time with his children as possible.
Your parents may know what’s best for you, but only from a human aspect. We are all human, but we are all different people. Only you know what’s best for you as a person. While we can’t go back and raise ourselves the way we see fit, we express our views and beliefs on our own children. We pride ourselves on doing for our children what our parents didn’t do for us. Are we really doing it for or them or is it to satisfy your inner child?
XII NAME
W
hen a man dies all that remains is his name. Every man has a name. Rather your name is David or Aalyhzjuan, give your name meaning. If your parents didn’t give you ANYTHING, they started you off with a name to build upon. Give your name your own meaning before it’s all said and done.
XIII Voice
C
losed mouths don’t get fed. The only way to clearly express your thoughts is through spoken word. The power of the tongue is quite mighty. What you speak into the world will more than likely come to existence.
XIV You
W
ho are You? We focus so much on who we want to be that we lose sight of who we are. Spend the time to learn more about yourself and how to manage yourself. What are you made of? What are your PIECES? Identify who you are internally Biologically we are all the same; 206 bones, 78 organs, 70 percent water, etc. It’s our Pieces that give us our individuality. You are more than the name on your birth certificate. You are more than the body you see in the mirror. You are more than your job title.
Identify your Pieces. Put them in order however best suits you get to where you aspire to be in life. The only way you can move forward is if you’re at one with yourself. Never lose sight of the big picture — You.