“Go three years into the future and describe, in present tense, your life as you want it to be. Really go for it- within the realm of possibility: If I say I am playing short stop for the Yankees, it ain’t gonna happen, but if I say I have a book on The New York Times best-seller list– possible. Include every aspect of your life: home, family, health, career, travel, relationship. Write it as if it already is!”

After reading that, I got really excited about writing out the future I see for myself. Actually, I think it’s a great exercise for everyone take on! Envisioning your future clearly in this way gives you a great touchstone and base to grow and take action from. In writing these things out, you (and I) can then ask yourself, “Do my current actions match my goal?” If so…HUZZAH!; but if not, then another question appears: “Do I really want it, or am I afraid of it?”

I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and, over the course of the last week, I drafted my own vision for my future, 3 years from now. It took me a couple of tries to get out all I wanted to say; but after lots of broken lead and crumpled pieces of paper, I crafted the following vision:

October 2013:

I am 34 years old, and am in the best spiritual, physical, mental and emotional shape of my life. My relationship with God and with myself is stronger and more balanced than ever. I have learned to trust Him completely–living in His will for my life– and have become stably confident, accepting and proud of the person that I am. I spend at least 1 hour a day reading my Bible and meditating- exercising my mind and spirit, while solidifying and strengthening the bond I have with God and myself. I exercise every day for about 30 minutes, but 4-5 times a week I get in a full hour-long (sometimes hour and a half-long) workout. In addition to weight training (with a personal trainer), I also incorporate swimming and yoga into my routine. My diet is consistently healthy, but I allow myself to cheat once or twice a week. My skin is clear and smooth (like butta, baby!), and my body has never been healthier or looked better. At 160 pounds and 10% body fat, I am at my goal weight, size and body proportions. I look and feel amazing! Seriously, if I had this body in my twenties, I would have been A MESS; but I’m happy to have reached this goal as a mature and responsible adult.

I am living in New York City in a spacious 1-1/2 bedroom condo with a medium-sized balcony and a breath-taking view of Manhattan. At the moment there is music playing throughout the apartment, and I am walking around–in my underwear– cleaning and brainstorming ideas for a new script. I just got off the phone with my boyfriend of over 2 years with whom I am in a loving and committed relationship. He’s smart, hilarious, sweet and affectionate, keeps me on my toes, and is, by far, the sexiest guy I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. He called to say ’hi’ and that he’s excited about tonight. Neither one of us has to work late, so…it’s date night! While we talk and see each other every day, we make sure to take 1 day out of the week to spend quality time with each other. Tonight, we’re meeting up for dinner at 5:30 and have tickets to a show at 8. We’ll probably end up at that cafe we like in the village for desert; followed by a nice walk to my apartment and a long night of passionate love-making.

My career is BOOMING! I’m finding great success and fulfillment as an Entrepreneur. My book, “Evolution Of A Man: A Journal Of Self-Discovery,” is still doing very well a year and a half after its release. It hit #1 on the New York Times best seller’s list last year and now finds itself comfortably out of the top 5, still making its way to personal bookshelves across the world. I tour occasionally to promote the book, but most of my time goes into TCG. In addition to running the company with Professional Geek, I’m also  creating, writing and producing new content- growing and nourishing my creative spirit. Though I knew and believed it would take off when Professional Geek and I first launched it, I did and could not anticipate the overwhelming positive response and subsequent success TCG has seen. We’ve created something that sheds a new, sophisticated and intelligent light on the urban LGBT community, and have given the community itself an outlet for creative expression- which all-together has entertained, open minds, and has begun  to foster acceptance  and understanding amongst individuals all across the country.  We have been met with open arms, appreciative spirits, and, yes, lots of revenue! We’re settling into a nice groove with the business, and now, PG and I are putting into action phase 2 of building our empire- which I’m keeping hush for now.

I am very financially stable! I’m seeing an average of $200,000 a year in personal income, and am well on my way of becoming a millionaire by the time I’m 40, if not sooner. Thanks to Tiffany, and her brilliant budget spreadsheet/teachings, I’ve really been able to control my spending and master my money; and as a result, I’m seeing financial freedom like never before. I’m completely out of debt, I’ve saved up an obscene amount of doe, and will be purchasing a brownstone within the next year or two. Hard work does indeed pay off!

My family is doing extremely well. My mom’s movie will be released this winter; my dad is busily enjoying his retirement; and my sister’s law firm is a force to be reckoned with- setting new standards and making great strides in Adoption Law. I’m really proud of her…of all of them! It’s funny- now that my sister and I have gotten our businesses off the ground–both of which are flourishing tremendously– we’ve sort of started a little competition between the two of us: Which one, at the end of each year, has made the most impact in his/her community…and made the most money? It’s been fun, this little sibling rivalry, and has brought us much closer together. We’re putting a plan together on how we can buy our mom the house she’s been dreaming about as long as we’ve known her. She’s always wanted a big house with a view and a circular driveway…she’ll have one soon. Our family is closer than ever now. We finally understand each other. Though we still get into it from time to time, we respect each other and each other’s opinions a lot more now. So the disagreements don’t last too long. Mom & Dad have met my boyfriend, and they like and accept him- which is something I never thought would happen when we first started dating. We’ve all grown so much…so close; time really does heal all wounds.

My friends are brilliant and crazy…as they have always been…just the way I like ‘em! I see my 3 besties at least once or twice a week, and I fill the rest of my free time hanging with all the other wonderful people God has placed in my life. I don’t go out to parties too often–I prefer to work– but when I do, I’m always meeting new people who, over time, become friends. I enjoy meeting new people. There are so many interesting and amazing individuals in the world. I’m truly blessed with a great group of old friends and a healthy handful of new ones.

I’m traveling and vacationing a lot, too! TCG and the book require me to take short trips around the country throughout the year; but I really let loose, check out of my normal routine and run a muck on vacation about 2-3 times a year. I usually go someplace with the besties and then my boo and I take a trip as well . The world is really my playground! My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to the Caribbean for early next year- just a little jaunt to get away from the cold weather for a while. We always have the best time together…I’m really looking forward to it!

Life is really great, I have to tell ya! Challenges and trials still arise–personally and professionally– but, now more than ever, these obstacles take less of my energy and joy to overcome. I’m really happy, and I’m a-okay…just as I always knew, deep down inside, I would be. I’ve got a clean bill of spiritual, physical and emotional health; an incredible, booming career; an amazing, boyfriend- whom I love dearly, and hope to marry and start a family with soon; and I’m surrounded by great friends and a supportive, loving family. I’m truly living the life of my dreams, and the future looks even brighter. God is so good! All I had and have to do is trust in Him, put in the time and do the work, and He takes care of the rest! Life is beautiful, and I’m enjoying every single minute of it!

The best is yet to come…

****************

There you have it…my vision for my future. I’m placing this vision in 3 places- one here on this blog, one in my hand-written journal, and the other on my vision board at home–so I can look at it every day and keep motivated and in action!

What about you? What do you envision your future to be?

Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.”
Habakkuk 2:2

What I’ve realized recently is that everything that I want for my life–my goals, dreams, etc.–can and most likely will happen…all in good time. There is a method to the madness of the universe, and we just have to work with it instead of against it. Bouncing around my apartment the other day, brainstorming ideas for a few of the business ventures I have going on, I looked at my vision board and saw all the pictures of my future goals and dreams; and the notion of things happening in their own time really hit home for me.  As I talked out the ideas buzzing around my head, taking in these pictures in front of me, I began to see a possible natural progression of my life into the life I wish for my future. I realized that by starting where I am NOW I’ll learn all, if not more than I need to know in order to make goals A-Z happen. My present prepares me for goal X, which prepares me for goal C, which prepares me for goal M, and so forth and so on. Ya feel me?

The basic gist is…live your life for NOW, not for the future; because the future is only a result the work you’re doing now; and furthermore, when you get to the future, it’ll be “now” anyway. So you might as well just always live for now! Right? LOL. It’s so easy for us to get caught up in thinking about where we want to be and what we want to do; all the while neglecting to notice that what we’re involving ourselves in at this very moment is both practice and preparation for all the things we want to accomplish in the future. If we put everything we’ve got into the great work we’re doing at this moment in our lives, then the things we want will just find us, by way of the natural progression of purpose, our faith, and the law of attraction.

Aahhaaa!!!

It felt really great to connect with that realization. It was as if much of my worry about the future just went away. I know my dreams will come true…they’ve been planted in me (by God) for a reason. And they WILL come to pass all in good time. I (and you) just gotta remember that all the great work I’m doing now is not separate from the work  and the life of my dreams; but in reality, it’s just the first steps to making it all come to life…just as it’s supposed to…in it’s own time…when, and as I become ready for it!

Within all this growth and contentment, I am most excited about the fact that, for the first time, God and I are on the same page, walking hand-in-hand. Walking down the road of my adult life, I’ve felt like God has always been a bazillion paces ahead of me, waiting for me to get my shit together and catch up with him. True, he’s always way beyond where I am as a human being, but I feel like I’ve finally stepped up to the challenge of living a life of hard work, value, integrity, and love, and he’s met me where I am, grabbed my hand and said, “ok…let’s do this!”

It started about a month ago, at a meeting for my prayer group, Touch & Agree. I was in a somber mood, and was having a bit of a pitty party about the lack of direction my life had at the moment. My sister in Christ, Tiffany, suggested that I set a reminder for myself to, every hour, take a moment to say, “Lord, I thank you and I trust you!” I followed her advice, and began giving thanks at one minute after the hour, for every hour I’m awake. At first, it felt like I was saying it, not for nothing, but really, just ‘cuz. But after a few days I really started feeling the words I was saying: “Lord, I thank you and I trust you!” Looking at my life– where I’ve come from and where I am– I began to really believe the words I was saying. Within a few days things just started happening. Little things that just made my day and, subsequently, my life a bit better. The train would arrive in the station just as I got to the platform; the worries of life were less stressful; I started running into and hanging out with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time; my money started to look right; I started (really) writing again; and business ideas began tapping me on my shoulder, like, “I hear you wanna make a name for yourself. Well, try me…I’m worth it!” And now, I can barely contain myself for all the passion, joy and purpose that resides within me. All from simply taking the time to recognize that God does have a plan for my life, thank him for what he’s doing, and let him know that I trust his plan. Now my moment of thanks has expanded to, “Lord, I thank you, I praise you, I love you, and I trust you!” I’m just that grateful for what I’m so personally seeing him do in and around my life. It’s almost overwhelming!

I took this experience back to my Touch & Agree family on Tuesday, at which they were overjoyed in a “yep…that’s my Jesus” kind of way! It became known and clear to me that when you’re walking in the will of God– living side-by-side with him in His purpose for your life– you find yourself in the right place at the right time, blessings start appearing out of nowhere, and you really do become unstoppable! And all you have to do to get in the will of God is just THANK him for what he’s done, is doing, and will do in your life; TRUST that he knows what he’s doing and will never steer you wrong; and TALK to him about what’s going on with you. Everyone has their own place where the meet God- in the shower, walking through nature, lying in bed. Me? God and I ki-ki in the kitchen, when I’m cooking! That’s the easiest and most fun place for me to chill with him and talk to him about EVERYTHING. We talk about my day, my dreams, my ups, my downs, my goals, my trials… whatever comes up in my head to talk to him about. And it’s there, in those quiet moments in my kitchen when he talks back to me about his hopes and dreams for my life, and how I can continue to flourish. 

As Elizabeth Gilbert says in “Eat Pray Love,” God lives in you AS you. He’s experiencing the journey of life, for the first time, as a human being called [insert your name here]. Your firsts are his firsts; your joys are his joys; your tears are his tears; and most importantly, your dreams are his dreams! Share this experience of life with him. Walk with him. Thank him and let him know that you trust what he’s doing in your life- not only because it’s his plan, but because he wants abundance, prospertity and success for you just as much as, if not more than, you want it for yourself. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?

I’m tellin you…I’m on cloud 9 these days, and ascending to higher heights as each day passes! My life, in the last month or so, has changed drastically for the better, and there are some really amazing things on the horizon. And it’s all because I took the time to stop, recognize the rock from which cometh my help, joy and security, and say:

“Lord, I thank you, and I trust you!”

In the 1989  Hollywood blockbuster, Back To The Future II, Marty McFly and Doc Emmet Brown traveled far ahead to the year 2008. What they encountered was a futuristic world, that included all kinds of nifty gadgets and toys- most notably, the hoverboard.

The hoverboard is a multi-neon colored, skateboard-like toy that defies gravity by flying! I wanted a hoverboard so freakin’ bad, y’all don’t even know! From the first time I saw that movie I knew I had to have a hoverboard. Sure, I couldn’t skateboard worth a damn, but that didn’t matter. The thing could FLY! I would have been perfectly content lying on my stomach or back, whizzing down Crenshaw Blvd. on my hoverboard. This “invention” had me looking forward to 2008 like nobody’s business!

Alas, 2008 came and went, and I have yet to lay myself upon the glory that is the hoverboard. Scientists and Hollywood have let me down immensely. And now, I have to deal with tales of space tethers and outer-space vacations, while my own dreams of defying gravity remain tarnished, unaccomplished and damn near forgotten. Effin’ scientists!

I have never been one for much competition. Sure, I may go in and get aggro during a night of bowling or a game of cards, but that’s all in good fun. In life, particularly when it comes to the daily grind of reaching for the stars of my dreams, I’m definitely more reserved and quiet. Instead of adopting a war mentality, as many seem to do, I tend to compare myself to to those around me; and in doing so, I lose steam. I’ll be the first to admit that this is a fault of mine- and one that I’m constantly working on- but I’d be lying if I said that watching some of the talented people in my heat (keeping with the race metaphor) take off, increase speed and pull ahead of me doesn’t make me want to stop running, grab the water boy, and hit the showers. In my head there’s been little point to continuing on.

What’s dawned on me recently, and has begun to change my thinking and perception of the undertaking that is my hopeful journey to international success, is the fact and the knowledge that I am a valuable and talented being in my own right and in my own way; and that greatness can not only apply, but also call to many people the world over. There are billions of people on this planet- each with different tastes, lives, backgrounds, thought patterns, likes, dislikes and interests.  Who’s to say that thousands if not millions of them won’t connect with me being me, saying what I have and want to say, the way I was born to say it? Because of this, I’m realizing there is no need for competition…there is room for all of us. An example that just popped into my head is Kelly Rowland. Sure, she may not have the same type of talent and fame that her former bandmate Beyonce has in the United States, but that chick is a force to be reckoned with in Europe. You think she’s counting her “When Love Takes Over” coins wallowing in a pool of tears over why she’s not #1 over here? Doubtful.

We are all spectacular. We will all shine. There is no race against time or another human being- for we are all opening doors and paving the path for each other to move ahead into the spotlight of our own dreams. We don’t all want the exact same thing, so there’s no use in pretending or forcing ourselves into believeing that we have the same destination. You can do you, I can do me, and we can both get what we want. It’s a good thing, too; cuz I’m tired of running.

all out of brotherly love, i’ve had my life handed to me in so many ways, and from just about everybody, but my friend, the oneironaut, said something to me this morning that really hit home. he was simply checking in on me, and ended up getting a full dose of me boo-hooing about my life. he listened, sighed, and then gave me some medicine. there were many things that he said to me- all in truth as a brother would tell them- but there was something in particular, that struck the hardest:

“… you’re lazy…anything that requires more action that you’re prepared to give…you give up on.”

that statement took me right to the unnecessary excuses and procrastination that have kept stagnant the last 4 or 5 months of my life. i’ve gotten very little work done because i’ve been sitting here scared to try anything; and when i do, i crumble at the first obstacle or test of will (no pun intended). all i could think was, “when did i become so lazy?” like, seriously. i was NEVER this lazy before!

in my spirit, i feel a bit of a loss of the joie de vivre that i prided myself by earlier this year. the candle is flickering now, instead of burning bright; and i need to revive that spirit. it’s high time i muster up some drive and determination, and follow my dreams full out!

the oneironaut gave me some really good advice. baby steps. rome wasn’t built in a day; nye media won’t be either. i’m in my crawling stage now- on the brink of a new year- and today, with my sights set to the sky, i reach for the coffee table top, take a big breath, and begin to pull myself up…

[sidebar: i'm catching up on all my missed television due to my 2 week trip to texas. my dvr went crazy and so i pretty much have to catch up on everything online (which i love 'cuz i can have porn playing in the background). anyway, after watching an enticing (and very well produced) "making the band 4" finale, i rounded to "the hills" for some beverly hills reality (or so they say...).]

when the opening credits and natasha bedingfield’s “unwritten” began to play, i sang along in the spirited and jovial essence that is my weekly hills viewing; but when i got to the lyrics, “reaching for something in the distance, so close you can almost taste it…” i got waaay too excited and almost started crying. i’m trying to stay really calm, humble, and quiet about it, y’all, but i am really, really ecstatic about my book, “evolution of a man.” like, i’m so friggin’ close to my dream of publishing a book and unleashing my presence on the world (lol) that i can hardly sleep at night! seriously. i got very little sleep in texas because i was dreaming about the possibilities of my work and it’s impression on society. i really feel that it is a unique story that will open a lot of minds and doors (my mission statement is coming soon). it’s frustrating, because i haven’t slept in over a week, but at the same time… i’m living for it! if i’m gonna have a restless night, i’m pretty damn glad it’s because i’m dreaming of and imagining my successful future.

albert einstein once said: “imagination is everything. it is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” let me tell you, i’ve been dreaming and imagining myself in all sorts of interviews, encounters, appearances, and meetings- i’m seriously about to do some shit; and i can hardly contain myself!

if something doesn’t happen soon, i’m gonna burst!

ok… back to “the hills”