I lost a friend to cancer last weekend. We kept in touch mainly through Facebook ever since my family moved away from Atlanta. She eventually moved to New York with her husband and son, but later they all returned to the A. Facebook kept us seconds apart no matter where on the map we were. She was young. Too young. Her family was stunned. Unfortunately in her case, as … [Read more...]
Is Jaden Smith a Pioneer of Black Masculinity or It’s Nail in the Coffin?
If you haven't heard already, Jaden Smith was recently named as the face of a Louis Vuitton collection for women. A lot of people feel a lot of different ways about it. Jaden's never been afraid to push gender and societal norms, famously wearing an all white bat suit to Kim and Kanye's wedding, and a dress to his prom. The Internet predictably went nuts. Some went so far … [Read more...]
Parents: Should You Ignore Potential Mental Health Issues in Your Kids?
My four year old loves his school.He loves his teachers. He has friends he looks forward to seeing everyday. His teachers love him, but more than that, they actually give a damn about him. Some schools churn out students like a candy factory, but we're lucky enough to have a caring staff who truly adapt their methods to the students. At the age of four, he's reading simple … [Read more...]
How Marriage Can Help You Through the Good, Bad, and Ugly Times of Life
Welcome 2016. In the middle of downtown Austin, at the Auditorium Shores, right on the edge of the Colorado river with the skyline as our backdrop, my son and wife held hands and danced to the live music playing 200 ft. away from us. A wall of people staring at the skyline waiting on the eventual fireworks extravaganza were forced to watch a random family twist, spin, … [Read more...]
A Good Husband’s Cheat Sheet that Will Help to Keep Sanity Under His Roof
First, let me say there's no real cheat sheet to being a good husband. It's something you do, or don't do - consistently. And every good husband falls short. Every good spouse falls short. But with effort, every husband can always do better tomorrow than he did today. Related: A Good Wife's Cheat Sheet For myself, between my career, my business, the next sale, the next … [Read more...]
Couples: Here’s Why You Should Create a Marriage Vision Board for 2016
Tonight, I'm writing this from our AirBNB rental in Denver, Colorado. My wife and I have been wanting to hit this city for a while now, and after tonight, we can cross it off our life's to-do list. This weekend is going to be a blast. And we may not have gotten here if it wasn't for our vision board we use to guide our minor and major marriage decisions. By now, you've heard … [Read more...]
Couples: 5 Surprisingly Simple Steps to Creating a 2016 Digital Vision Board for Your Marriage
Vision boards may seem corny, but they're probably more necessary today than ever before. The age of the Internet and smart phones are cultivating an era of distraction. This is not by accident. The more you're focused on just getting by or surviving your daily routine, the less you're focused on steering the direction of you and your family. Don't get it twisted. Every … [Read more...]
Here’s Why You Should Speak the Power of Gratitude Into Your Life
We are lucky. If you're reading this post in the comfort of your own home, or under the sheets on your cell phone, surfing your own personal wi-fi, you are lucky. Every single day on this planet is wrought with endless amounts of unspeakable suffering and enduring hope. The fact that each of us wake up in the morning with the hope of making a better day for ourselves or … [Read more...]
Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should Have Kids
There's a standard life cycle most of us learn to follow. Go to school - graduate - get a job - get married - have children - struggle - triumph - die. But just because it's taught to us doesn't mean it's for us. Some people are simply not meant to have kids. And there's nothing wrong with that. Parenthood is not a road easily traveled. Ask any single parent you know. … [Read more...]
Single Men: To Attract a Good Woman, Give Her This One Thing
This past weekend, a couple fellas and myself celebrated the end of the week with the traditional happy hour. After a few hours and a few cold ones, one of the single fellas began the usual rant of not being able to attract the woman he's looking for. At the age of 25, he felt he was in the "awkward stage" of being too old to find women in the bars and, since he was new to … [Read more...]
This Might Be the One Simple Reason You and Your Spouse Still Don’t Get Along
Before getting married, the best description of marriage I had ever heard was from a woman with 30 years of matrimony under her belt. She simply stated, "Marriage is a sum total of some guaranteed bad years and some guaranteed good ones." There's simplicity in knowing that the bad days may turn into bad weeks, which may turn into dark months and even dark years. But even … [Read more...]
Every Man Needs a Cheerleader and He Wants It to Be His Woman
Next to every great man is a great woman. This is no coincidence. As humans we still validate one another. We do that by whom we choose to keep around us, whom we elevate with our words, with whom we decide to spend time, who we cut down with hate, who we invite to the party, and ultimately whom we decide to have children with. Who do we champion in our lives? We are all full … [Read more...]
Women: Stop Treating Your Man Like Another Piece Of Bling
Ok, so we're all a little selfish. Some of us more selfish than others. And, from this narcissistic position, we tend to see the world through our own worldview. We're all guilty of this. We're not capable of removing the lenses Men get married and tend to think that their new wives are their own personal sex kittens; and, by bestowing their last names upon these hopeful … [Read more...]
Would You Still Date Him If He Was Black? How Real Is White Male Validation In The Dating World?
Recently, one of my single friends was contemplating what city to move to next because in her own words she didn't feel her husband was living in our city. Our city has a population of over 1 million, and it only takes one acceptable person to dedicate their future to you in order to bless them with the "husband" title, but I let her make it for the sake of conversation. Are we … [Read more...]
Men – This One Thing Is Killing Your Love Life
Reports show that adult material viewed online makes up for more than a third of all Internet bandwidth usage. The world watches a lot of pornography. It's in our households and shaping our culture whether we openly speak about it or not. And, ignoring it is not going to take away its power. Men - If you want to have better control over your life and in your most meaningful … [Read more...]