A lot of young people ask me for advice on Instagram and I help them privately but I’m going to start publicly addressing things as well for those who may need it but don’t want to ask.


Young man asked me "When will I know I'm at the end and it's time to quit fighting for my dream/relationship/idea/situation?". My answer at first was never give up, but then I decided to give some more realistic advice:


Once you lose the will to fight for it, it could be over. 


- When you feel that achieving your dream/idea is no longer your main priority, and you've lost your passion for it, it’s close to being over. When you wake up in the morning and the first thing on your mind isn’t, “what can I do today to achieve my dream?”, it may be over. 


- When your relationship/situation is no longer a 50/50 union but it’s more of one partner caring more than the other, it’s headed towards being over. Once you let the mundaneness of being around each other put the spark out, it’s headed toward being over. Once you feel like the attention you receive from your partner isn’t enough and now you’re seeking it from others or your partner lacks interest/support in whatever you’re doing, it’s headed towards being over. 


- Now that you have an idea of what the ends looks like, it’s your responsibility to make sure you are doing everything you can to prevent these scenarios. Do not let your passion fade while on the pursuit of achieving your dream. Do not let the relationship get dull and lose it's spark. 


- In reality though, God has the final say. What you want for yourself may not be what God has for you. Maybe your dream or relationship isn’t working because God is letting you know that you are thinking too small, or that it's time to move forward and grow, something better is waiting for you. This is why it’s important to be in tuned with your inner self and to keep your spirit clean so you’ll be able to listen and hear God when it’s time to move on or when you should continue to fight. God will give you the signs you need to make your decision. 

I was talking to my brother last night and he was telling me how many people do not believe in him. I told him to appreciate that. When people don't believe in you that gives you a infinite amount of motivation. When you lose focus, lose confidence, lose your will to go forward, just think about how many people would be right about you if you were to quit. These people are hoping for your downfall. Don't you dare give them the satisfaction of being right about you. Use their negative energy as a new source of motivation. When you achieve your goals, these same people who didn't believe in you will be drawn to you, and that is because without even knowing it, they helped you succeed.  

Earlier today, during my workout, I was doing a pretty tough exercise and I began thinking about how easy it is to just quit. I was hurting, I was sweating, tired and personally I just wanted to stop. If I would have quit, the pain would have ended, but I knew I had to keep going. I endured the pain and continued my workout because I knew that the pain doesn't last and in the end it will make me stronger. We must do the same in life. Things may be hard, things may not be going the way you want them to go, but you cannot quit. You have to continue and fight through the adversity. The adversity you are facing is here to make you stronger. Nothing in life, worth having, is easy. That is why quitting is not difficult to do. Any and everyone can quit, it takes a strong and focused person to keep going. You can't achieve anything, worth achieving, if you quit. School is hard, you can't quit. Your job may be uninteresting or unfulfilling, you can't quit. Your relationship or marriage may be on the rocks, you should not quit. We have to endure and push through the adversity to get to the other side. Trouble doesn't last always, do not take the easy way out. Don't quit! 

​Peak

Life can be difficult at times. Sometimes you will feel overwhelmed, you will have a feeling of 'why me?'. I want you to know that whatever you are going through, it will not last. It won't be long until you are past this and you are living a blessed life. When I entered the draft in April of 2014 and went undrafted, I had to fight to keep myself positive. After 3 months, I finally received a call from an NFL team and got a workout, and ultimately I signed to the team. 90 long days I had to sit and wonder if I was going to be able to live out my dream. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I listened to uplifting gospel music every single day. I read my bible and meditated. I worked out and got ready for my opportunity. I did things to keep my faith strong. You must do that same. You may be searching for a job right now, you may be in college and struggling with your grades. You and your family may be having money issues. You may be going through a rough patch with your significant other. Whatever you are going through, it has to end. Once you are past it, you then have the blueprint so the next time you are going through a trial you know what to do, or you can pass the information on to someone else who is struggling with something. Right now it may seem like you will not make it, but you will, and when you get to the other side of the storm you will look back and realize that it did nothing but make you stronger. Hold on no matter what is going on. It won't be long until its over. ​

Everyone wants things they do not have. It is common sense because if they had it then they wouldn't be  seeking to obtain it. My question is, are you ready for what you are asking for? God knows that answer. Our tongue is the pen of a ready writer, what we say or ask will come to past. We must make sure we are talking positively so that nothing negative will come from the words we speak. We also must make sure we are capable and ready to handle what we are asking for. Everyone wants to be a millionaire but can you manage the money that you have now? If you can't manage thousands of dollars then what will you do with millions? If you cannot keep your modest home clean and running smoothly what will happen when you have a mega mansion? Honestly those aren't things that we even need but some people do desire those things. Instead of asking for our desires, ask God to bring comfort into our life. Being comfortable includes your health and your peace. You can ask God for money but you have to understand the responsibility that comes with that. Know the difference between a need and a desire. The millions of dollars you want is a desire. Being able to pay your rent and live comfortably is a need. Ask God for your needs first and foremost. When you live right and trust God then will he give you the desires of your heart. No matter what you asking for, when you are ready to receive it, God will release it. The best thing to do is to ask God to give you what you need. God knows us inside and out and he will give us what we need and in time he will we also give us what we want. ​

Everyone wants to be successful. The key is to not wait until you are successful to think successful. You have to have the mindset of where you want to be even before you are there. This requires faith! If you want to be the VP of the company that you work at, I'm not saying walk around telling people what to do, but you should have the work ethic of the VP. Work with that goal in sight. Everything you are doing will pay off. God will honor the work you put in. Even if you are working with the greatness mentality for an extended period of time and you see nothing happening, you must maintain in the mundane. Everyday will not be a big event, you can't look for that to keep you encouraged. Achieving greatness should be the motivating factor. You are taking a step closer to your blessing everyday that you continue with the right attitude. Doing what is right but having the wrong attitude is counter productive. God wants to see you remain faithful and have the right attitude so he can bless you. God tests us. The bigger the test, the bigger the blessing. You may be waiting for a while but that's because the blessing you are about to receive is bigger than anything you ever imagined. It starts with you thinking it before you see it.