Wealth assesment - THE CONCLUSION

(Bare with me as this is my confession / therapy)

So I've written about wealth and just followed that note up with one about love. This be the final chapter in the quickest novel I've ever written.

Up until this point, when I thought about the word wealth, automatically dollar signs would dance around my head. I saw extravagance, living comfortably; green paper with presidents on them giving way to shopping sprees, opulence, being on yachts with old money people who smelled like spiders and Lagerfeld cologne. Don't laugh. This is what I envisioned wealth to be.

And every time I envisioned it, it seemed so far off. It was one of those things that was nice to think about but eh, probably would never happen. And I hated myself for the doubt that lie within me. On the one hand, I wanted it, but on the other hand, I was questioning if / when I would see it manifest. Double minded in my view. Not a good look.

That's when I had to be real with myself. I said to myself, "Self, you could care less about money. As long as your heart is happy, what you have in your pocket doesn't even matter. All those years you spent dreaming of "Mr. Right" had nothing to do with money. You were content to play in the park, have dinner by candlelight, WALK not SHOP the Magnificent Mile."

(If this part doesn't make sense, make sure you read the previous note: wealth assessment part 2)

My final thought is when I had my "ah-ha" moment. I simply told myself, "B. love is your currency."

(CURRENCY: something that is used as a medium of exchange; general acceptance; prevalence; something that is widely accepted and circulated.)

Wealth represents an abundance of currency. And I was birthed into the world with the currency of love. From the minute my father begged his wife (my mom) to bear his child, I was conceived in love. And my entire life could be summed up as me spending my "currency" (love) in the hopes of getting a good return on my investment. And it seems that all of the love I have put out into the universe has finally come back to me; pressed down, shaken, and running over.

Now that I have finally identified my currency and acknowledged my wealth, I understand that love was always my expectation. And wealth (i.e. money) shall be my gift. Love, to me, was the hard part. Money is a no-brainer.

Before, I would write from a place of pain and anguish and hoping. Now I feel free to write from a place of abundance, joy and sharing.

My cup runs over and I'm identifying the people who are seeking truth and evolution with cup firmly in hand.

Which is why I view StarChild as MORE than a magazine, but a movement. If we can inspire? We're THERE! If we can enlighten? We're THERE! If we can bring truth? Count us IN! If we can empower? You GOT it!

Here at StarChild we used to say that ideas are currency and everything else is just money. Well SC 4.0 is here and I'm changing that:

LOVE is currency...everything else is just money.

Spend wisely, spend purposefully and always pay yourself first.

Be blessed, be loved.

Wealth assesment - part 2

For as far back as I can remember, my nighttime slumber began the same way. I lay in bed with my trusty yellow pillow, cut off the television, shut my eyes, and began to envision me and my perfect love.

When I was a teen, these pre-dreams often consisted of me and the hottest white actor. So for a few weeks it would be me and Ralph Macchio (Karate Kid) having a picnic. Then it would change to me and Rob Lowe swinging on swings at the park. When MTV got big my knight in shining armor was Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi); we'd wander around the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. My most memorable and longest lasting pre-dream crush was John Taylor (Duran Duran) sharing a 16 candle-esque candlelight dinner.

As I got older, and more knowledgeable about love (and lack thereof), the faces changed (and actually turned a little more negro-esque thanks to Donnie Simpson and BET), but the concept remained the same: I was in love with a man who adored me and we lived happily ever after.

These pre-sleep visions were my only solace as I found myself in relationships that left me depleted, defeated and sad. My shrink will say I slept alot because i was depressed. I say i slept alot because my (pre) dreams trumped my reality.

Stay tuned...

Wealth assessment (a startastic view)

When I first began pushing my magazine StarChild full-throttle, I was inundated with outside projects that could lead to increased revenue. Several people requested my (paid) expertise for consulting. Others loved my photographic eye, and offered me money to take family pictures and senior photos of their children. Some wanted to pay me to market and/or speak at their events. For almost 99percent of these requests, I did not oblige. Not because the money wasn't good, but simply because my heart just wasn't in it.

One day I was having a conversation with my friend and best-selling author, Kareem Vaughn. He had a great idea he wanted me to execute. After he ran down on the details of the project, he said "All I need you to do is.." and I stopped him there. "I'm straight Kareem. I don't want to do it." He was taken aback. "Why? It's already something you know how to do? I'm PAYING YOU! You'll be making some extra money." I shook my head. "I'm just not feeling it." He reiterated, "but I will be PAYING YOU, Brandee." And that's when I said the words that still make him laugh uncomfortably to this day;"I'm not motivated by money." I said. Matter of factly and finitely.

When I heard those words come out of my mouth, I admit I kind of shocked myself, too. Afterall, I was still working at a 9-5 making bare bones money and struggling to find funding to keep StarChild up and running. On the one hand I always prayed to God for wealth, but on the other hand I was constantly turning down opportunities to achieve it. What the hell was wrong with me? I thought. I tried to convince myself that I was lazy, but my dedication to StarChild and gumption to continually show up to a job I loathed trumped that assessment.

So if it wasn't laziness, what was it? Why would I offer to do someone's wedding photography for free but shun the idea of doing paid photoshoots for people? Why wasn't I following up with business owners to run ads in SC but would not only run but CREATE an ad for free for a business owner if I felt enthused or empathetic toward their plight? Why was I so friggin backward? And how could I change this about myself? And if I didn't change this about myself, how the heck would I manage to achieve wealth? Or better question, did I really want the wealth I prayed for?

Stay tuned...

MereImage Speaking Engagement - 9.19.09

I was recently asked to be a guest speaker for MereImage, Inc's "Peer to Peer Rap Session". It was a very exciting experience as I was able to indulge on my favorite passions: communicating effectively with today's youth.

It was refreshing for me to be around such an alert and enterprising group of students. I think sometimes I tend to put teenagers into a collective box; defined by what I perceive to be weird fashion, weirder language (LOLZ anyone?), brainless and loud music and raging hormones. Yeah, I know. I suck for that. LOLZ (ahem) But being in environments like these reminds me that they are individuals, alive with hope and innovative ideas...and I smile as I look forward to the contributions that they will make to society and our world at large.

Special thanks to Jackie Meredith for having me on board as a speaker. You are truly a gem!