Support Systems & Perseverance

I'm going to get right to the point of this blog: everybody you hold dear to you might not support your dreams! Please understand that they don't have to. It is up to you and you ALONE to keep your dreams alive. I also need you all to understand that sometimes strangers support you more than your family, friends and lovers. But that's just as good of a system if you ask me. Is support more important that accomplishing your dreams? Who are you going hard for? Who are you doing it for? Them or you? Whatever you do, you CANNOT get discouraged! You have to persevere even if you're the only one who believes in you.

"Support your family and friends like you do for those celebrities that don't even know you"

-Unknown

It seems as though black people (not all but many) don't know how or just outright refuse to support each other. This has been proved (scientifically and through social experiments) so please do not argue with me on the matter. I am just here to tell you all that we have to do better as a community. Often times the first thing many black people do is they look for handouts or discounts. Why are we like this? That's not support and is a main reason we cannot move forward as a community. Fun fact: The black community has buying power of $1.2 trillion. Everyone in our community can eat if we just support our friends and family. I'm not going to spend too much time on that but an interesting article about our buying power can be found here.

Another issue I have noticed is that some people do not know how to support their friends and family. Support doesn't always have to be monetary, okay? Here are a couple ideas that can help you support your friends and their progressions without spending a DIME:

1. Word of mouth- the best form of advertisement. Talk about their business, blog, music or YouTube channel in random conversation. Show or play a snippet of it and talk about what you like. This is the slightest form of advertising but it works wonders. You are sparking curiosity in their minds and will lead them to revert back to your friend/families business. It can help increase their views, subscriptions, or traffic to their page. Double win!

2. Put it on your social media (and tag them)- again, no chip off your shoulder at all. This is more exposure to a wider audience than the people they've already exposed themselves to.

3. Write a positive review/comment on their website or post- believe it or not people (like myself) still look at reviews and comments. This might be a deciding factor for a potential reader or buyer. Be genuine but a slight sice can never hurt! These are your friends and family you know.

4. Attend/Record their event or performance (don't forget to tag them)- attend and put a snippet on your social media. This can encourage more people to come out. you can also invite people to come with you. Often times people don't attend events because they don't know anyone and/or don't want to go alone. This tip can build clientele/fans/supporters to your friend or family all while you're all having a good time.

5. Help them with an event or project- self explanatory (lol).

6. Watch their rugrat(s)- this one is simple, offer to watch their kids if they can't get out. Don't allow your friend being a parent to stop them from achieving their goals.

7. Network for them/connect them to someone that can help them grow- understand that people are different. Sometimes it can be hard to walk up and talk to strangers. If you are more social than your friend/family member than help them network. This doesn't mean they don't want to achieve their goals, they just need a boost. Even if they do promote well you can always give them more prospects and potential customers.

8. Listen to/give them ideas- if you have an idea that can help them grow , why not share it? Tell them how they can improve, where they lack, what you've noticed, etc. Just help them out!

9. Don't expect anything in return- just because your helping promote their business doesn't mean they "owe you" anything. Part of being a friend is helping each other grow.

There are an infinite amount of ways to support someone you claim to love or is your friend. There is no excuse.

"Most people want to see you do better, but not doing better than them"

-Robert Mugabe

Now, I am doing this blog because it helps me cope, improves my communication, and allows me to be vessel of hope for others. All of these things are self-rewarding yes, but that doesn't mean I don't need support. How am I to help empower people if I don't have any traffic to my posts? It is impossible. Sometimes I get discouraged and I feel like I'm doing this blog for no reason. I can count on one hand the people that support me but that is okay, I will persevere! This is a stem-off of my dream to empower the world so I must keep moving forward.

Please know you are helping somebody, somewhere! They are watching you and love you for persevering despite the odds. You never know, this blog might not go too far. But it might inspire someone to write a more successful blog, a book, start a business, tackle a childhood fear, love their neighbor, improve their mental health, etc. Who knows! The benefits are far better than lesser. Please support you're friends and family! They cannot succeed without you. And if you are someone that has no support, you must persevere without it. In a game of Spades, a hand with only one spade is hard to play but not IMPOSSIBLE to win with.

"Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere."

-Barack Obama