If you haven’t make sure you  check out the last two episodes of the “Straight Outta Lo Cash” Radio Show “You Big Dummy” and “Giving Away the Nookie for Free”. You can also subscribe to the show on I-Tunes or listen on your Android, I-Phone, I-Pad or Black berry of Stitcher Radio.

2012 is finally here and everyone is making their annual New Year’s Resolutions. Traditionally people go into the New Year with goals and aspirations. People will go out and say they are going to work out, they are going to start that business, they are going  to become more spiritually connected, they are going to start loving themselves more, and the general statement that (insert random year) is going to be their year. Then a few months later we find that the majority of people didn’t give a real effort on towards their goals. And then those that even started on their goals are consisting working towards them. The main issue I see is that people don’t realize that change evolution doesn’t happen at one time it is a constant process throughout the year. A person should be looking for change 365 days a year.

I have always believed that change just isn’t going to happen because ea New Year happened. If you are a crackhead on Dec.30 there is a high possibility you will still be on Jan. 2. The change happens when you believe in the change and are willing to work towards that change or goal. You have to be willing to change your surroundings, mentality, and habits. It is not going to happen overnight as I described in “Don’t Worry It Wasn’t Your Time”. We have to be bold enough to see the goal or change through.

The time to change or go after our goals starts not from the New Year but in a change of thought. I spoke to a group of students at a community college a few months ago and I told them that going after something we really want is like standing outside in the cold waiting for a bus while everyone inside is warm in the house partying. When we go after some things we will have to sit in a position of being by ourselves waiting and working towards our opportunity while other things may be leaving us behind. The moment we figure we can run to the house party get a little warm and grab a drink is when that bus could be pulling up to take us where we want to go. This bus (opportunity) just doesn’t happen because the New Year has started it happens because of our constant process of change, work, and evolution during the year.

For instance, when I started From Ashy to Classy I challenged myself to take my writing to the next level but putting my hat into the big pond called blogging. I had told myself I was going to start one for years but I basically pressured myself. I knew that the things I wanted to carry out were not singularly going to happen because of a blog but I know that I had to make myself become the best writer I could be. Almost three years after starting my blog I have had so many great opportunities come my way from starting my radio show “Straight Outta Lo Cash”, being asked to lecture at various universities and venues, and  being named 2011 Black Weblog Awards winner for Best Culture Blog and Best Blog Series for “The Marcus Graham Chronicles”.

This change didn’t happen because of a new year and me saying I was going to do this. It happen because I stopped just saying the year was going to be my year in Jan. but said it was going to be my year in Feb, March, April, etc. This blog is nowhere close to where I want it to be and I am steadily evolving with my writing and side endeavors I am going to embark on but I am willing to go through the process that this life will take me through.

The way that this world is built we are bombarded with things to discourage us from our goals and working towards maximizing our capabilities. We  will only begin to see strides or understand our happiness if we break away from cliché New Year’s Resolutions and begin to start doing the work we have to do to become who we want to become. Think about when you were a child when someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. Remember how serious you were when you said you wanted to be a policeman, firefighter, lawyer, or even a circus clown? Ask yourself again…what do you want to become or change and when you answer that question remind yourself everyday of who you want to be. But, understand that it aint gonna happen overnight or because you said so on Jan. 1.

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