Rise and Grind! Words of Encouragement from the Newly Unemployed!
Hey Booskies!!! For the last 6 months, I have been managing a clothing store for a global retail brand. On Thursday, I was fired!! LOL….For what, you ask? For doing what I do best…me! I have simply been doing me and loving it, and I knew that my termination or absenteeism was inevitable. The jokes on them,anyway, because I quit 3 months ago and they’re just now finding out?!?!?! LOL.. I have never in my life been able to work for anyone else for a substantial period of time. I was born a boss; I am much like my father in that sense. I like to make my money on my own terms, and if I’m not happy I simply won’t do it. Hence, I’ve always found creative ways to hustle. People think hustling is restricted to illegal activities, but I’ve been grinding since I was a pre-teen…
- 3rd grade- I made black history calendars & sold them to my classmates for 25 cents.
- 4th grade- I wrote short stories and ended each one at the climactic point with “to be continued” , so my classmates were forced to keep buying issues.
- 6th grade- I started a fashion club, and charged all the girls weekly dues which I pocketed ( Smh..lol).
- 7th grade, I started doing extra work in movies, music videos, and tv shows. (I was also the girl in all the math textbooks, coloring in the multiplication tables!!! LMAO!)
- 9th grade, I sold fake absence notes and fake doctor notes.
- In 12th grade, I started my own T-shirt company and made thousands of dollars setting up my stand in the village, right on the corner of Broadway and Houston. My T-shirts had slogans that said “Jesus is Black, Get Over It,” “Fuck Bush,” and “Fuck the Police.” (What an angry little teen I was, lol!!) I loved that I gave people a way to say what they’d always wanted to say, but just didn’t know how!
- In college, I wrote term papers, sold and flipped text books and calculators. I started teaching my own hip hop and reggae dance workshops. I’ve taught over 50o students and managed to stay fly throughout college! LOL..
- My senior year in college, I started my clothing company, Save Your Vanity. 1 month after I started it, my sister and I had a credit card machine and were selling hoodies for $250 on the street in Soho, and people were buying it! We decided it was too cold to sit outside, so 1 month later we were in 3 major boutiques. A couple of months after that, we were customizing jackets for Jay Z!! I’m still hype over that!
- This past June, I decided that I really liked rapping and wanted to be a performer. 1 month later, I had a music video that had 15,000 views!
My point?? SO WHAT IF I GOT FIRED?!?! I’m not saying all this to brag, but to serve as an inspiration!! I didn’t do anything that you can’t do it, I simply did. I’d love to say that I’m exceptional, and I’m one of a kind and all this crap, but truthfully…I’m not doing anything that you can’t do! All you need is a strong desire.
Let’s try something together:
WRITE down your short term and long term goals. You MUST WRITE IT DOWN. Seeing is believing.
Give yourself a realistic time to get it done. Set a time when you will evaluate your progress.
COMMIT. DO NOT ACCEPT THE FUCKERY. Simply do not accept anything less and you will win EACH and EVERY TIME! Things will go according to your plan…You’ll see what can happen when you put your mind to it!
I’m trying it with you. I’m giving myself 3 months to get it popping. Starting………..
NOW!!!!
(P.S. If you want to know how I did any of this, just ask me!!! There’s so much money out here to be made, we can all eat! Share the wealth of knowledge. Figure out how to make $$ doing what you do!)
August 17th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Hilarious…charging 5th graders to be in a fashion club and writing folks’ term papers…yes, dear, you, indeed, embody the hustler spirit! I am sure the universe will guide you to exactly where you want to be in your state of happy unemployment.
August 17th, 2009 at 9:47 am
You are such an inspiration even in your “wildness” I like you alot…so unfortunate our paths dont cross that often but thats ok…tehehe but girl on the real you rock the house! You say what you want, when you want, and could care less who agrees to disagree! You remind me of me, if I was a wild child…LOL funny because my name means wild and untamed. But, I must keep the lioness tamed and leave all the fun to my alter ego..YOU! *smiles* Oh yeah about this blog…while I was reading it I started laughing you’ve been a hot mess all your life…LOL But in all seriousness keep doing what you’re doing…stay smart, keep hustling, keep grinding, and stay focused…under all that “roughness” I know there lies a sweet little chocolate girl who just wants to love, live, and enjoy life by any means necessary..and whoever doesn’t like it or tries to stand in the way can *kick rocks* *POW*!!!!! See YOU at the TOP Overfab! *chocolate kisses*
August 17th, 2009 at 10:59 am
That’s wussup! I dig you on doing what feels good and making money doing it. I am so Hip Hop and love music so I did the rap label thing as well and with a little effort got it poppin on a micro level. I was able to sell a decent amount on line and got an overseas ditribution deal thru a record label based in Germany. I did it with no knowledge of the game but learned alot and met some great people. I think you should give your seld 6+ months to get it crackin. Good luck!
August 17th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Great read, do you and you’ll be happy…I’m mad u pocketed the money from the fashion club (y i did the same thing trying star my own baby sitter’s club! Too funny)
August 18th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Very dope!!
I used to flip Lacoste shirts while @ college, and had three ppl (@ Brooklyn Tech, Brooklyn College, n Kingsboro) flippin’ for me. Consignment lol
The Art of the Hustle….Kerry’s (was) a star stuck in an understudy’s role haha
August 18th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Hustlers!!!!!
May 25th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
I’m finally figuring out how to operate this blog thing, and I never knew I could respond to the comments! So sorry I am so late, but better late than never said! Ms. Wilda, thank you for your kinds words. You are always so supportive and positive, and it really does mean a lot to me. Since you wrote this comment, we have crossed paths quite a few times. Reading this makes me realize how much I miss your crazy ass lol…I’ll do better lol….Luv ya, booskie :*
May 25th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Hey Anthony! I know I’m late but I’m just really getting back into my blogging and figuring out how to work this stuff. Thanks for your support, hun! I never knew all of that about you!!! That’s dope! See…you can relate then? Thanks for your encouragement and I want to encourage you to keep doing what you love as well because you’re obviously good at it to have had such success with no experience! That’s just like my sister and I with our clothing line! Dream Big, Plan Deep, and Work Hard…Big things will happen!
May 25th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
I know I’m a year late but I’m just figuring out this blog thing! Didn’t know I could reply to comments! Thanks Mikelah! That is so funny you had a Babysitter’s club! See? ‘oman a hustle from young! lol Great minds think alike boo! lol
May 25th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
LOLOL….I always knew there was something about you I liked. It’s that hustler’s spirit! lol