NGS
March 2020 Anniversary Issue
Next Generation Speakers
Forrest Lamb
The Power to Change the World Inside This Issue:
PRECRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE: Checking Your Life Vital Signs
Also Matthew A. Cherry - Hair Love
2
Contents Table of
Editor’s Note... This is our 1 Year Anniversary! That’s right! 1 year ago today we launched this lifechanging magazine and we haven’t looked back. It’s amazing time flies! We would like to welcome Dr. James Williams on board as one of our editors and his breakthrough segment: Prescription For Excellence We have more content and more useful information coming your way so stay tuned! Please share this out with all of your network to help us reach the masses! Your feedback is critical to the development of this dynamic magazine. If you have any concerns or suggestions about the magazine please don’t hesitate to contact me: Email: Cicone@ciconeprince.com Text: 251-753-6299
2 3 5 6 10 12 14 16
...............................Body-n-Soul Nutrition
............................................Editor’s Note & Table of Contents
...........................The Urban CEO Summit & Award Ceremony .............The Power to Change the World: Seeing it Through ......................Prescription For Excellence
..............The Happy Entrepreneurs Show
.........The Webinar Success Blueprint 4.0
...............Matthew A. Cherry - Hair Love
I just want to know one thing, Who’s Got Next? Cicone C. A. Prince NGS Magazine Editor
Cover Photo Credit: Courtesy 3
Want to be in NGS Magazine? Secure your spot by going here:
www.climbtherightmountain.com www.ciconeprince.com/ngsmagazine-2 4
5
The Power to Change the
“You don’t have what it takes to be an Air Force Civil Engineering Officer. You’re not going to get a higher rating while working for me. You might think about getting out.” This is what my commanding officer, an Air Force Colonel, said to me, a junior Captain, during an impromptu counseling session in the early 80’s while stationed at Norton Air Force Base California. I left our meeting with a sinking feeling. Serving in the Air Force as an engineering officer was my career goal and now, I just had just the presence of the person who had the power to determine my success tell me that he doesn’t think that I have what it takes. I’ve read it some place that life is but a vapor, it’s here today then gone tomorrow. It seems that we’re just passing through. Therefore, I challenge you to make the most out of the time remaining; no matter how long or short that may be. “Embrace the change caused by pressure.” In order to redeem this precious commodity, let’s call it time, here are some questions that I find helpful: • • • • • •
What does it take? What is the largest obstacle? What is the first step? What is the most important lesson? What would I have liked to have known ahead of time? Would I take this journey again?
Questions:
1. What does it take?
You have to be willing to see it through and that takes vision. I’ve heard it said, “life is but a vapor and we’re here today and gone tomorrow.” Vision is someone’s idea, expectation, or hope of how something should be done, or how it will be in the future; for them. I find, “Vision is dreaming with your eyes open.” I’ve also been told to, “work while it’s still daylight, because when night falls, no one will be able to work anymore.” Our days on this spinning ball are numbered. How any you say? I don’t know. But suffice to say, you need to make good use out of the days that you have; no matter how many. Here are a couple of thoughts that I want you to keep in mind, “Success is not determined by what you think about …but the why that you think about it;” and “Destination is a mindset and not a place.” 6
World: Seeing it Through Have you heard this Biblical expression, “My people parish because they lack vision?” It seems that everything created by mankind begins as an idea, image, or vision in somebody’s mind about an expected future. Even I’m the product of vision. I believe that it was Dr. Stephen Covey coined the phrase, “Have the end in mind.” Well what’s stopping you?
2. What’s the largest obstacle?
I don’t know about you, but my biggest obstacle to achieving is a person. I bet that it is for you too. There’s this person that seems to always get in my way. What, you’ve got one too? Unfortunately, in my case, the person that I’m referring to is me! Surprised? Why have I always been my biggest obstacle, stumbling block and own worst critic? If I could just get out of my own way. It seems to be not so much as what I think about that’s forms this obstacle, but the way that I think, especially about me that causes me the most grief. Please tell me that I’m not the only one with this challenge. Have you ever told yourself that you weren’t good enough? Well I see that you’ve gotten in your own way too. Without the idea, expectation, hope or picture of how it will be in the future, that vision brings, you’ll never see it through either and you’ll probably never change the world. Understand, until you change how and where you see yourself in the future; you’ll never change this world. So, where do we start you ask?
3. What is the first step?
Get started! Even the journey of a thousand miles starts with that very first step. Here is what I say, “If not you, then who? If not now, then when? Well how about you … and what about right now!” I’ve spent far too much time searching for the needle in a very large haystack. Here’s a new thought for you. Try this, “Looking for the needle in the proverbial haystack? Burn the haystack! Needle found … problem solve!” Hey, I’m talking to you! Why did I decide to get started? My friend Cicone Prince offered me an opportunity of a lifetime, to write a chapter of a book collaboration. I wanted to back out because I could feel failure rising up in me. Obviously Cicone thought a great deal of me and after all I didn’t want him to know that I was afraid. I was afraid that I would start but fail to finish just when he needed me most. Did I know what to do? If you haven’t figured it out by now; no! Or at least I didn’t think that I did.
7
continued on page 10
You probably don’t know, but I’m a bit of a procrastinator. I know, you probably don’t have this problem. OK, I got that. However, I’ve been trying to see several projects though for some time. I would get started. Did I say that I would get started? Unfortunately, I wouldn’t finish. I found myself compelled to write this chapter. I know that this sounds confusing that a procrastinator would hunger and thirst for it. It was this thirst that drove me to the water and compelled me to drink. Who was the person in my life that was supportive of me while I was attempting to learn to “See It Through?” My mother, Geraldine Wilson Lamb, supported me in spirit. You see she passed in July 1998, 10 days shy of her 71st Birthday, which was almost 17 years before I started this phase of my life. It was unfortunate that she wouldn’t live to see the turn of the century with us. However, her presence still empowers and supports me today, over twenty years later. How can this be, you might ask? Well I’m glad that you asked. At her Home Going, in 1998, it was standing room only with people waiting outside the chapel to waiting to join the service inside. There was a least half dozen or more people on the program scheduled to testify of the impact that she had on their lives. One by one these people arose and spoke complimentary of my mother. Some of these people I didn’t know. They were speaking about my mother and again about the impact that she had on their lives. I just knew here as “mama”. I had lived most of my life, at least up to that point, attempting to earn a successful living. However, I discovered at that moment, that my mother had procured something far more valuable than success. She had achieved significance. Understand that success, at least from my perspective, has to more to do about what I’ve done for me. While significance has more to do with what you’ve given or done for others. Unfortunately, my mother wasn’t given an opportunity to have lived on this earth quite as long as many of us would have liked her to. In addition, she was only able to spend a few years with her grandchildren. However, these were great years. She had run her life’s race and finished the course well. She had “Seen it Through.” It’s serves you no purpose if you take this journey and learn nothing.
continued on page 15 8
Willie Jolley and Forrest Lamb
Join Our Private Facebook Group For • • • • •
Exclusive Content Next Level Conversations One-Of-A-Kind Networking Video Training Product Discounts
Check out our website for the latest Summit information:
www.NLLSummit.com 9
PRECRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE With Dr. James J. Williams
Checking Your Life Vital Signs Spring is a season many of us look forward to. It is a time to clear out the clutter in your garage, check the vital signs of your finances, as well as re-evaluate your goals. Once you’ve made up your mind that you won’t quit before reaching your goals, you will be driven toward the success you seek. However, you must develop some markers or milestones on your journey to let you know whether or not you’re headed in the right direction. Doctors check your vital signs to determine the state of your health. You can even monitor a number of them yourself such as your heart rate, blood pressure, and weight to get an indication of whether your health is improving. In business, companies use various measurements such as Return on Investment (ROI), Earnings per Share (EPS), and Return on Equity (ROE). These financial measurements become vital signs of their business. For the long-range goals you aspire to achieve, you need to establish some key measurements relevant to your goals. Monitoring these vital signs will help you make changes when necessary and keep you focused on the activities essential to your success.
Consistency
If you wanted, you could lose 20 pounds by a certain date, but the key to long term success is consistency. We can all change for a moment, but we must be consistent in our actions on a daily basis to produce any significant results on a consistent basis. Diets don’t work because once people achieve their weight loss target, they go right back to the old habits that produced the weight gain in the first place. The only way to permanently stay fit is to develop healthy lifestyle habits and practice them for a lifetime. Being consistent in your actions will allow you to continually perform at a high level. It’s been said that “the race won is not to the swift, nor the strong, but to those who endure.” Develop the mindset that looks at the success as a long-term proposition. Commit yourself to sustaining your performance as long as it takes to win. Even after reaching your objective, you’ll set a higher goal because you’ve developed the habit of winning. Mastering the art of consistency will set you apart from those who work when they feel like it. A few years, ago, I went to the dentist office for a routine teeth cleaning. I was greeted by the dental hygienist and I was her first appointment. As I sat in the chair, and after about ten minutes she began complaining about being there. It was only half past 8am, and already she had indicated that this was a bad day for her to come to work. 10
I was concerned that my teeth would become the object of her frustration. Would I leave the office wearing my natural smile or veneers? Months later I returned for another cleaning and to my surprise she was no longer there (I say this sarcastically, of course). Her only consistency was that she stayed away from the office. I once heard of a story of a spectator who attended a concert. After a riveting concert performance, an admiring fan said to the master violinist, “I would give my life to play like you.” After a moment of reflection, the violinist quietly said, “Sir, that is what it would take. I have given my life to play like me.” Goals are simple vehicles that allow you to express more of who you are. Consistency in the pursuit of those goals help you to realize more of your potential.
Life Vital Signs
The most obvious benefit to actively nurturing your own health and physical wellness is of course a significant increase in the likelihood of remaining healthy, catching and treating evolving health issues or problems early. Thus reducing the chances of serious problems developing or becoming worse and increasing the chances of a longer life of optimum health. The life wheel below depicts categories allowing you to check your vital signs in attaining purpose and balance to achieve your own ideal steady state:
11
continued on page 13
12
Let’s take this wellness concept a step further and apply the concept of a check-up to how you are living your life in a more universal sense. Here are some questions you should ponder: •
Are you living a balanced life of intention and purpose?
•
Do you have a clear set of goals written down (which you can articulate, if asked) to support incremental progress and achievement of the priorities and dreams you’ve defined for your life?
•
Do you have a clear sense of direction and meaning to the manner in which you are living and how you are allocating your time, energy and God-given talents in key areas of life (faith, career, family, social relationships, community involvement, etc)?
•
What are your thoughts as you reflect on the vital signs of your life right now based on the quick inventory above?
•
Do you feel your life is in balance overall across key components of your life?
If you don’t have the peace that comes from a clear sense of purpose and balance in your life, let me share some great news: you have the power to take action and become fully engaged in your own life, which is likely to give you a strange, yet wonderful combination of zestful energy to fuel the achievement of your goals and dreams, while also creating a sense of peace that only comes from a life of purposeful intention. If you are tracking in synchronization with your dreams and following your calling, with a strong sense of clarity, purpose and joy in key areas of your life, then let me congratulate you. If you are not on track…let me congratulate you for getting started - TODAY! Email - jjwilliamsphd@gmail.com
Cell - 301-806-8614 Webstore - ChasingTheEagle.com Twitter @jjwilliamsphd LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/james-j-williams PRECRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE With Dr. James J. Williams SCHOLAR | AUTHOR | SPEAKER | VETERAN | SUCCESS EXPERT
13
14
5. What would I liked to have known ahead of time? “If you can’t run with the big dog in the yard … stay back on the porch.” Life can be hostile and, in some cases, downright dangerous. Many times, you won’t be given the opportunity to overcome your fears. You have to, “Learn to do it afraid.” The mother eagle takes her young apprentice on her back and lifts it high into the air. Then suddenly, without warning, drops the young eaglet. The eaglet plummets through the air towards the unforgiving earth below, instinctively flapping all of the way. Learning to fly on its way down.
info@lambspeaks.com (504) 500-1838 www.lambspeaks.com
15
#BEYGOOD THIS IS BLACK HISTORY: MATTHEW A. CHERRY It has been quite the journey for former NFL wide receiver turned filmmaker, Matthew A. Cherry. The director, producer, and writer is a newly-minted Oscar winner. His NFL career included time on several teams including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, and Baltimore Ravens. In 2007, Cherry retired from football and headed to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in entertainment. His first Hollywood assignment was as a production assistant. He worked on over 40 commercials, and then as a director on over 20 music videos, including work with Parkwood Entertainment on videos for Beyoncé and Chloe x Halle. Since his introduction into the entertainment world, he has been an unstoppable force. He wrote and directed the independent films The Last Fall in 2012 and 9 Rides in 2016. A true innovator, with 9 Rides, Cherry is perhaps the first director to shoot a feature film entirely on an iPhone. Inspired by videos of black fathers lovingly yet hilariously styling their daughters’ hair, he launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 to fund what he and coproducer Karen Rupert Toliver polished into a brilliant animated short film. The campaign blew through its initial goal of $75,000 and raised over $300,000, breaking the record for the highest amount raised on that platform for a short film. On February 9, 2020, with Rupert Toliver, Cherry received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Hair Love, the story of a dad’s struggle to do his daughter’s hair while her mom is in the hospital. The 6 mins 48 secs film is magical, celebratory and honest. It was critically-acclaimed long before the Oscar nomination and win, and continued the discussion on the history of hair in the black community.
Cherry touched on that ongoing conversation in his acceptance speech: “Hair Love was done because we wanted to see more representation in animation,” he said. “We wanted to normalize black hair.” Watch Hair Love Here: https://youtu.be/kNw8V_Fkw28 We hear you, Matthew A. Cherry, and we are excited to keep watching your journey. Posted On: February 14th, 2020 https://www.beyonce.com/article/this-is-black-history-matthewacherry/?fbclid=IwAR2RcD8t6w5JgjrEZj KPBBy2fBsN76tRKTpOO2eqZoOPQItmhE9zYtOZOgo 16
17
18
19
The
Is Now The
Focus on Leadership •
Inner Leadership
•
Outer Leadership
•
Corporate Leadership
•
Organizational Leadership
•
Male Leadership
•
Female Leadership
•
Youth Leadership
www.NLLSummit.com