In Between The Ears

So many things that are believed now-a-days are based off of perception. That is why I titled this post “In Between The Ears”, because it all starts in the mind. Whether it’s true or not, it all revolves on what you think.

A lot of people think just because someone has a big house, drive a high priced vehicle, or wear the best clothes, that they are successful. That is so far from the truth. Materialism is not success, nor does it correlate into being rich or wealthy. You can have a big house, the best clothes, the highest priced car, and still be the brokest human alive. All that having all of that material stuff means to me is that you have got a lot of payments that consume the money that you do have. Just because a person has all of those items doesn’t mean that they are paid for either. People can sell you a dream, but until I see a paid for deed for that house, or a title for that vehicle, it doesn’t mean a thing to me.

People think also that because I moved to Atlanta and I work as an Engineer that me and my family are rich or wealthy, and have it made. That makes me laugh. I have a question to ask people. What is your definition of rich, wealthy, and having it made? Because I have to get up everyday and go to work like anyone else, and so does my wife. Rich to me means that you have over a million (Liquid) dollars in your bank account. Wealthy is having billion (Liquid) dollars in your bank account in my eyes. It seems to me that I haven’t achieved any of those statuses, so I obviously have some more work to do and I am not either of those. Who has it made, huh? I sure haven’t. I go to work and work probably harder than anyone. The difference in me and other people is that I am motivated to go to the top and not settle for where I am now. If I had it made then I wouldn’t have to work and could just sit on my hump and lay back. So please don’t think that I have anything made. I have worked to get to the point in my life that I am at. There was nothing given to me, nor were there any corners cut. There have never been any silver or gold spoons put in my mouth. The only thing that was given to me was a hunger to succeed in anything that I do, and a dream of Engineering. So don’t be so quick to say that me and my wife have it made because I can show a million eyes hard times when I was growing up that they haven’t ever seen if they step into my shoes.

It’s funny that most people front like they are rich when they really don’t have but a few thousand in their bank accounts. Bragging about having a lot of money never makes me think that someone has any money. Talk is cheap. Let me clue you in on something. I know a lot of people who are rich and have plenty of money. The difference between broke people and rich people is that rich people don’t ever talk about how much money that they have, only broke individuals do. I’ve always heard that empty cans make the most noise, so obviously this statement is true.

A lot of people think that everything in me and my wife’s life is perfect. Nothing is perfect in life. Our life is not a Fairytale. If everything was perfect then there would be no need for God. Me and my wife have gone through so much over the years. People only see the end result sometimes. They only see the best and not the worst that you go through. They only see the success and not the struggle to get to the top. Me and my wife work hard at being the best couple that we can, and we give the same thing to the world that we give in our relationship, hard work. It’s not a coincidence that we do good in our work life, relationship, parenting, spiritual life, and giving back to the community. There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes in our lives that we do. It starts with our motivation. We are so motivated to leave this world with a great legacy. We are both dedicated to God and the principle of faith. Growing up poor, I see the value of faith and giving back. I believe that success unshared is failure. We both feel that you need to show up in life. A lot of people think that you have to get motivated and then you act. It is quite the opposite. You need to act and then get motivated after you act. That is what me and my wife learned quite early and it has paid off triple fold. I feel that in doing things that way then you won’t ever miss an opportunity because if you stay ready then you ain’t gotta get ready when the times comes. That is why me and my wife do good in whatever we take on. So please don’t think that our lives are easy. It takes hard work to do your best.

There is also a misconception about competition. I have had a lot of people that have tried to compete with me over the years, and think that I will compete with them. Let me make this clear to anyone that hates me or tries to compete with me. I will not compete with you. I only compete with myself to make myself better. I don’t respond to anything that anyone says about me because they aren’t worth my time. If you respond to anything that anyone says about you then that means that you have stooped down to their level. I don’t compete because I have the house that I want. I have the vehicles that I want. I have the family that I want. So why is their any need to compete when I am satisfied with my life? Also people have tried to compete with money. I could care less about what anyone makes or what they do because you are just working a job to use your money to show off for now, and I’m working on my career to set up my kids and grandkids. I do this for God, my wife and kids, and because I know that I am blessed to be a blessing to others less fortunate than me. You do this for selfish intent and for competition. So when you try to compete, just know that I am cut from a different cloth. It’s like trying to compare a patchwork quilt to Egyptian cotton sheets. By that I mean that we are of different quality and purpose. So just know that I refuse to ever acknowledge anyone that competes with me because my goals are not the same as yours, so the odds are not in your favor.

I will leave this post by saying this. Don’t ever look at what other people have and want it or covet it. That is why the bible says live by faith and not by sight. Things may look good on the outside, but they are not always as they seem. They may have something one day, and they might not have it the next. That’s why perception is a mirage at times, and made up in between your ears. I say read into something before you go to cast judgment. Don’t judge a book until you’ve read it in-depth.

~Marks of Wisdom