R.I.P. Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II (a.k.a.) Reverend Ike.

For years I have heard his name. I HEARD he was a scam artist using God as a cash cow. Not being one to always just go by the word of others, I took it upon myself to look upon him with my own eyes. What I found was a man who used his vocation to become wealthy and share his beliefs with others so that they could do the same. It just so happened that his vocation just happened to be preaching the Gospel.

Watch this video clip and tell me where the scam is?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE-dXg5fChI

He felt he "deserved the best" and he sought it for himself. Also, he preached and interpreted the Gospel no more or less than any other preacher. What makes him any different from say a Bishop T.D. Jakes, or any other preacher in store-front makeshift church? The money he made and the fact that this man had a couple high end cars in a time when blacks were just getting used to sitting in the front of the bus? Preachers study the scriptures, interpret and pull out various meanings and then express those interpretations to their congregations.

The problem, as I see it, is that for some reason people believe that there is some nobility in being poor. In my opinion, this is because there are more poor people than there are rich people and since no one inherently wants to look down upon themselves; as a collective, poor people believe that they are living "in the right" and those who are wealthy are not.

MIND YOU ... I DO NOT BELIEVE IN ABSOLUTES, so these comments do not apply to ALL of a given type of people discussed here. The funny thing is, the same frame of mind applies for the minority of the world's wealth owners as well. It was Rev. Ike who was known to say, “The LACK of money is the root of all evil.” Something else he always said was, “The best thing you can do for the poor is not to be one of them.” I'll ride with that!

Another mantra he sopke of was “If you want to be rich, feel rich. Don’t ever pass a bank without paying some attention to it. Read the interest that is being offered. Feel rich, learn how to feel money.” Rev. Ike spoke a lot about drawing fortune and prosperity to yourself by believing you deserved it and that it would come to you if you believed strongly enough. This is nothing more than what is popularly known today as "the Law of Attraction" and this man was preaching it over 30-40 years ago!

The majority of the people I've known my whole life - either directly or through observation - are the type of people who don't just want to be told how to be prosperous, they want whatever the successful person has done for him- or herself to be done for them.

Here's an example: Let's say you're a talented singer and your dream is to be a famous recording artist. You go to all the talent showcases & industry networking events where you shop your demo CDs to anyone in the recording industry who's willing to have a conversation with you. After putting in all that hard work and hustle, you get a recording contract and you're on your way to fulfilling your dream. Now along comes a friend of yours, who you get along well with - but they're not necessarily your "ace-boon-coon-busom-buddy" and he or she wants to get into the business as well. He or she wants to have what you have, but they want you to make the connections for them. They want you to just put their demos on the right desks. In other words they want the success that you went out on the grind for to be handed to them through you.

A lot of people respected Rev. Ike, and a lot of people ridiculed him as well. Hypocrisy knows no boundries of race, religion, or economic status. In what little bit I have researched, read, and listened to, I find a great deal of the essence that exists in MY personal messages of success, and should I find something in my studies of his teachings that works for me, best believe I'll incorporate that into my message and teachings - always giving credit where it is due.

Personally, I am still trying to figure out why it is that people will see other people having the things they want for themselves, but not be willing to put in the work to GET those things for themselves. Fear & laziness are the EXCUSES that sit at the top of the list! You might not have to do what those people did. You must do what will work for you; but above all else you must DO SOMETHING.

THIS is what Rev. Ike preached. He talked the talk and he sure enough walked the walk.

Rest In Peace Reverend Ike.

28 July 09 ... Today's Thought.

"God ALWAYS answers your prayers; however, ain't nobody ever say that answer was ALWAYS going to be 'yes.' God knows what's best for you, & sometimes the answer He has for what you're asking for is 'NO.' Now when that happens, who are you going to complain to? God is busy, so stop begging Him to do for you what you need to be doing for yourself. Stop yappin' & make it happen!"

~ HSRjr.

26 July 2009 ... Today's Thought .

"No matter how far off the future may seem, as long as you work and walk towards it - never taking your eye off it - it will work and walk it's way to you. At some point, then must become now ... it always does."

~ HSRjr.

22 July 2009 ... Today's Thought.

"Goals Often Deferred are not the equivalent of Goals Often Discarded. The first is what GOD may suggest. The second is what GOD will allow you to do if you lack faith in Him & YOURSELF."

~ HSRjr.

The True Mark of a Boy Becoming a Man

All I am going to say is that Chris Brown has admitted he was wrong in his actions. There are are people - both men and women - older and wiser than he who have done far worse. There is no greater mark of true manhood than when a man can just come out and say, "I was wrong & I'm sorry."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy4wrJ4-q1Q

Now ... For those who are/were fans, it's up to you whether or not you find him entertaining in the future. He is young and still has a bright future ahead of him. Fame & fortune do not endow people with a shroud of perfection.Each and every one of us has done something that we either got caught doing and had to apologize for, or got away with and will reserve our apologies for when we meet our maker.

Just because you might spray air freshner when your done, it does not mean your crap doesn't stink.

Let the boy become a man and prove himself to have improved himself. None of you would want anything less for yourselves.

19 July 2009 ... Today's Thought.

"Many people fail in life not because they are incompetent but because they allow films of failure to be projected into their minds. Those who write, produce, direct, & star in the movies of their lives are those who win the Oscars of personal achievement." ~HSRjr.

17 July 2009 ... Today's Thought

Am I wealthy now?

NO, but I'M working towards it. I've created multiple streams of additional income that, IN TIME, will prove themselves fruitful. People give up on their dreams because they allow the haters to discourage them because they have YET to achieve their goals. Achievement takes time & patience. Success takes commitment & action. If you lack these things what you will have an abundance of is FAILURE.

B+ ("Positive" not "Plus")

{Originally written: Tuesday - 10/24/06}

My father once told me, "Never allow someone to live rent-free in your mind." My father has dropped many a jewel on me over the years - I think more often unbeknownst to even himself, but that one is up there at the top of the list.

A couple of days ago a person at my job really pissed me off by asking me a stupid question, that by all rights had an undertone that was really questioning my job performance. This was not exactly the best way to end off the last day of work before having four days off, and I left work feeling miserable. To add on top of that, I was en route to the wake of one of my brothers immediately after work (R.I.P. "Giggles").

While driving on the highway I recognized that I was in a negative mental state, and more importantly knew I didn't want to be there, so I turned up the music in the car and I began shifting gears in my mind to try and change my mental state. Two things came to mind that made it happen. The first was that jewel of wisdom from my father. I realized that person at my job was occupying some prime real estate in my mind while I knew I certainly was not occupying any kind of equal value of significance in his mind.

Secondly, somehow I thought about my blood type "B+." When that popped into my mind, I felt as though I had just stepped out of the shower! You know that fresh feeling you have while you're still engulfed in the mist and heat and steam right before you begin to dry off? I thought to myself, "this is how God made me ... He made me to BE POSITIVE!" With that, I was able to walk into that funeral parlor and be an example of strength while also enduring sadness and loss.

I used to always think that we cannot control how we feel. I no longer subscribe to that particular belief. You may not be able to control your feelings as they come upon you; however, once they are there and in your face, just as big and bold as the light of day, you can either engulf yourself in those feelings or you can make a conscious decision immediately followed by a conscious effort to change those feelings - especially if they are not conducive to you achieving optimum performance, or at the very least you achieving a positive state of mind.

16 July 2009 ... Today's Thought.

"Those who are good are satisfied with being good; however, those who are great are never satisfied."

~ Unknown.






"You might hear somebody talking about making good money, but you rarely hear someone talking about making "great" money because the more they make the better it gets.

I'm soon going to have to join C.A.: CAKE-AHOLICS ANONYMOUS!"
~ HSRjr.

Priorities: Are you working for YOUR future, someone else's, or no one's?

Just before I got off from work today, one of my co-workers came up to me and asked, "You don't work much off-duty anymore do you?" He asked me "Why?" when I told him that I did not work as much off-duty assignments as I used to. My answer ... "My personal time has become more valuable to me than what this job can provide."

You see, not so long ago, I came to the realization that my job doesn't appreciate me. My job doesn't care that I want to go home when it's time to go home. If there's a 3-car pile up and I'm the only guy available, I'm stuck. I realized that I am just a cog in the machine - a spoke in the wheel. With or without me, the machine cranks on and the wheel continues to roll. When I came to that realization, I also came to the realization that if I did not work for what's in my best interests no one else would do so for me. I work with guys who have given over 25 to 30+ years of their lives to this job, and many of them are STILL on the road.

Even better ... shortly after that previous conversation, as I was parking my squad car, I came across a woman who works in my courthouse. When she asked me how I was doing, I told her "I'm one day closer to retirement!" She then told me that she had "retired 6 years ago." I cannot even begin to tell you how many mall security guards, private investigators, or bounty hunters I have encountered who are all "retired" cops, yet are still working some kind of job in order to make ends meet.

Personally, I made a decision that MY STORY would not be like one of those. There was a time when being a cop was all I wanted to be. Now, being a cop is nothing more than what I do. It is what I do to pay my bills, and provide for my family while I steadily build upon what it is I really want to be - which is an example of success. I want to be able to show you that if you narrow down what is you want to have and become, and you are willing to put forth the effort necessary, you can live your dreams.

Right now, I'm working on my "15 Year Plan." My plan for the next 15 years is; in addition to doing my "day job," to continue speaking & writing, and making my bones as a speaker and author so that when I retire from Law Enforcement I will have used those years to build myself as a brand. The work I will do will be of my own creation and because of that it will always be what brings me happiness.

So, while I still have a job to do "9 to 5"-wise, I find myself working FOR myself. I am also seeing the benefits of my labor. I'm working for my future. I'm working to reach my goals, and as I travel along the way, I am blessed with many new and exciting contacts and experiences that would have never presented themselves if all I did was go to work, come home, and spend my summers going to Disneyworld & Six Flags.

SOME pleasures will have to be ... deferred while I'm grinding for these next 15 years and building my foundation - for MY future.

Let me now ask you ... How far ahead are you planning for YOUR success?

Set a goal.
Set a date.
Create a plan and put that plan in motion.
Work towards it, and as time passes, you will find your goal working its way towards you.
Do nothing and you will gain nothing.

Can you really afford to allow time to prove me right?

If You Get Off the Boat Too Soon You Might Not be Able to Get Back On!

This past Friday my wife & I attended a concert at "the WORLD FAMOUS APOLLO THEATER." The concert was an "old school" Hip Hop show. By "old school" I mean the music upon which Hip Hop and rap music was born - back when rap was not about violence, mysogany & the idea that replacing your God-given teeth with precious metals and diamonds was a good look. There were some real legends on that stage that evening, and it was a great show.

However, there was one performance that got my "HRJR-Spidey Sense" tingling.

In addition to just putting on a bunch of great artists from back in the day, special attention was made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the pioneer rap group known as "the Treacherous 3." The group consisted of rappers "Kool Moe Dee, " "Special-K," and "L.A. Sunshine" and a couple of other guys who were dancers. They came together in 1979, and had a few early successful singles. However, this was back when Hip Hop as a culture was still in its infancy stages and the so-called "big money" did not come as easily as it "appears" to come for today's rap artists. So ... frustrated about not making that "big money" that they felt they deserved, L.A. Sunshine & Special-K called it quits. Kool Moe Dee, however, kept on making music and eventually becoming a star in his own right throughout the late 80's and into the 90's. Although he has not come out with any new music in recent years, he does well for himself touring and performing his hits of yesteryear.

Now ... Take a look up at the picture above.

In the picture above, you see Kool Moe Dee (in the front wearing the white hat). Directly behind him are the performers who stand-in and perform the roles of L.A. Sunshine & Special-K, and behind them are their dancers. Now take another look at the picture (I'll wait). The gentleman in the white suit is "the original Special-K." I didn't know who he was until Kool Moe Dee had called him out to perform a couple of verses.

Now here is where the "tingle" set in ...

Between the dancers and the other two rappers, they had a very tightly choreographed routine. I cannot really recall which one of the Treacherous 3's songs began to play, but Special-K stepped out from the back (where you see him standing in the picture), took a microphone off the stand and began performing his verse ...

Well ... at least he attempted to (take ONE more look at the picture above).

The gentleman in the black suit standing next to Special-K happens to be Kool Moe Dee's bodyguard. Mr. Bodyguard politely walked up to Special-K, guided him back to where you see them in the picture and smoothly took the microphone back & handed it to a stagehand.

At that point I was no longer interested in the performance. At that point, I began studying Special-K's facial and body language. His demeanor was that like a kid being told he couldn't play with the rest of the kids in his class. There was sadness & humiliation - after all, this all happened ON STAGE. On the one hand, he was excited. He was really feeling the vibe and all of the love that was coming from the packed theater. That's what made him step out onto the stage and grab a microphone.

On the other hand, the reality is that his place on that stage was nothing more than professional courtesy. He had no place in that routine. He left the group. He "got off the boat" and because; as they say, "the show must go on," someone else took his seat.

No one ever knows what the future holds; and even though tomorrow is promised to no one, the one thing that IS certain is that there will be a tomorrow - and a tomorrow after that. Back in the late 70's no one could predict that Hip Hop as a culture and rap as a music genre would explode as it has over the past 30 years. Those who were around back then who are still performing and making money today are those who had a vision and stuck to it. Unfortunately, there were dozens of people who were brought to the stage who are considered to be Hip Hop pioneers even though they haven't performed in years - decades even. Few people barely remembered them, nor do they enjoy the financial windfalls that many of today's artists enjoy.

This situation has strengthened and made manifest a belief that I have held for a very long time. Success does not come to those who are weak at mind or heart. You must have faith. You must be able to see into the unknown and know that there is a place for you there. You must spend the time between seeing it and arriving there becoming what it is you plan to be. The only way to have those things you envisioned is to spend that time between seeing them and achieving them putting in the work necessary that will make it possible for you to acquire those things when the time is right.

If you do not do what is required of you to get what you want out of life, not only will you have to spend your days wishing you would have done what you know you were supposed to do ... like Special-K, you will find yourself pulled off the stage and out of the light and be made to watch the one who did put in the work necessary to take your place in the light.

Keep the faith & see what it is that you are reaching for.
See it with your heart if you can't see it with your eyes right now.

The future is yours. If you do not strive to earn the things you want, the universe has no problem giving to you that which would be reciprocal to the work you put in ... NOTHING.

10 July 2009 ... Today's Thought.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

The Litany Against Fear (from novel DUNE)

Today's Thought ... 9 July 2009.

"I've already got mine. I can only show you the way. I cannot do the job for you. I cannot walk your path for you. No one does my job for me. No one walks my path for me. It's easy to want or allow someone else to do the work; however, once they've done so, THEY are the ones who have the power, wisdom & other benefits from having done the work - and if they did YOUR work, then they have power over YOU. It's there for you ... But you have to want it bad enough to go after it and take it ... for yourself."

HSRjr

Today's Thought ... 1 July 2009.

We live in a world where people idolize those who have what they don't. While doing so, they also resent the fact that those idols have more. What they fail to realize is that these people are no more human than they are & the reason why they have more is because they got off their asses and DID MORE.

Success never comes to the one who's standing still.
It meets you while traveling towards it.

HSRjr