by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 4, 2015 | Black History Month, Book Reviews, Books, Encouragement, History, Motivation, Race
Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora.
Research has found that the proportion of young people who are daily readers drops has dropped dramatically in recent years. According to some studies, since 1984, the percentage of 13-year-olds who are weekly readers dropped from 70% to 53%. Even worse, the percentage of 17-year-olds who are weekly readers fell from 64% to a startling 40%. It’s jarring news. Therefore, I’m sharing my list of reading recommendations. Here are a few titles that had an impact on my life and that every African-American should read.
The thesis of Dr. Woodson’s book is that African-Americans of his day were being culturally indoctrinated, rather than taught, in American schools. This conditioning, he claims, causes African-Americans to become dependent and to seek out inferior places in the greater society of which they are a part. He challenges his readers to become autodidacts and to “do for themselves,” regardless of what they were taught: History shows that it does not matter who is in power… those who have not learned to do for themselves and have to depend solely on others never obtain any more rights or privileges in the end.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 2, 2015 | Decisions, Empowerment, Goals, Money and Finance, Self-Leadership
Live below your means…
You hear it all the time, but do you know what it means to live below your means? More importantly, have you figured out how to do that? The truth is many people live above or beyond their means. “Between 1993 and 2008, personal savings rates in the U.S. declined, hitting the lowest levels since the Great Depression in 2006 by falling into negative territory, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis,” according to Glenn Curtis of Investopedia. It took a credit crisis and near-global economic disaster to get Americans to close their wallets and stop spending and “acting” rich.
Photo Courtesy of Mint life
Are You Rich
First, let’s clarify by what I mean by “rich,” as this is a subjective term. It’s an ever-moving target. It’s like trying to nail jello to the wall. Defining “rich” is as personal as taste preferences of food or fashion. Many times, even when you are considered by others to be rich, you don’t think of yourself that way. Why? It’s all about perspective. The problem is you don’t “feel” rich. For the sake of this post, I won’t define rich…I’m leaving that task to you.
Recently, I shared the first reason why you’re broke is because you don’t have a budget. Remember, money without a direction will disappear. You can read it HERE. Next, I shared the second reason you’re broke is because of bad habits. Bad habits interrupt your life and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. You can read about it HERE. Now that you’ve caught your breath, let’s talk about the next reason why you’re broke…living ABOVE your means.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 30, 2015 | Decisions, Money and Finance, Parenting, Self-Leadership, Success, Tools
People will tell you what’s on their mind if you ask. A few weeks ago I asked this question on Facebook:
As you pursue your journey towards success, what obstacle, challenge, or problem keeps reoccurring that you’d like to resolve?
Overwhelmingly, the reoccurring challenge was financial. Since my personal vision is helping people get from here to there, the first step towards getting to your “there” is clearly defining where you are now. Recently, I shared the first reason why you’re broke is because you don’t have a budget. Remember, money without a direction will disappear. You can read it HERE. Now that you’ve caught your breath, let’s talk about the next reason why you’re broke…bad habits.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 28, 2015 | Decisions, Money and Finance, Motivation, Self-Leadership
If money really could talk, what would yours say? For some, it’s saying Good-bye? Is it me or is everything more expensive? A few weeks ago my wife asks me to pick up a few items from the grocery store (bad idea).
Something told me to eat before heading there, I didn’t (another bad idea). After getting the requested items and throwing in a few “extra” snacks to curb my appetite, I couldn’t believe the final cost of 12 items. I’m shocked! Not only is food expensive, I’m discovering EVERYTHING is expensive.
Buying a house is expensive. Cars are expensive. Buying quality foods cost more than buying processed food. And guess what, it’s expensive. Schools are expensive, especially for those paying off massive student loans with under paying jobs.
Being single is expensive. I know being married is expensive. Kids are VERY EXPENSIVE. And there’s no doubt that getting divorced is expensive. What’s the point: EVERYTHING is expensive, but that’s not the real reason why you’re broke. So if you’re ready to stop complaining about how expensive things are, then here’s the remedy — the real reason why you’re broke. (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 26, 2015 | Accountability, Christian, Christianity, Decisions, Empowerment, Leadership
Self-confidence is one of today’s most popular subjects. Conferences, seminars, workshops, and best selling authors tell us that the key to success is to be self-confident. Consequently, we’re encouraged to live boldly, think big, and craft BHAG’s (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).
Confident people inspire confidence in others: their audience, their peers, their bosses, their customers, and their friends. And gaining the confidence of others is one of the key ways in which a self-confident person finds success. Having self-confidence is even finding its way into church life. How so? (more…)
