Validity...Put In Work | Peloton Value Trade

 

Investing In Yourself – Using Pillars to Build Your Core	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/urbanomics-pillars-path-set-for.html
Setting Budgets + Saving for Black Swans	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2013/02/personal-finance-budget-101-free-credit.html
	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/11/hey-henry-high-earner-not-yet-rich.html
How to Open My First Brokerage Account	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/personal-finance-101-starting.html
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Also Coming Soon - a series on #HowtoInvest. People have been reaching especially after the spikes in Gamestop, AMC, and other stock to learn the basics. I self-taught myself how to invest beginning at the age of roughly 18 and have never stopped. To be a good investor and ensure you are not gambling (speculating), I'll cover (hardest parts of investing in RED):

Budgeting 101 - How to Fund Ur Investments?

Why Stocks as an Investment?

What is Ur Investment Profile + Personality?

How to Pick Stocks?

When to Buy Stocks?

How to Enter My Trade?

How Many Stocks Should I Own?

When to Sell Stocks?

Am I Speculating (Gambling)?

Validity - Put that Work In

They wanna know what I gain by showing my people how to Invest, I say, "Validity"

They askin' "What work you put in young brotha?", I'm like, "What didn't we?"

For years now, I have spoken about playing the long game. I try to educate folks that being unbalanced, greedy, and thinking short-term thinking is screwing up the world. It's funny, corporations are measured on a quarterly basis (remember health check). This short-term focus on immediate financial gratification is why Peloton can be worth $150 dollars a share a year ago and now worth $20 - $30 dollars a share today. The economics didn't change, and I questioned the stock from the beginning with my inner circle, my Mansa Musa Network. I'm doing very well in life, and I wouldn't purchase a Peloton bike with yo money. I purchased a used Sole elliptical many years back and that machine is built to last. First lesson -- I purchased it used. Why? Because we all know around January and February, everyone set goals to get physically fit then a few months later human nature sets in, and many abandon those goals. Too many of us are scared to put that work in. Being a value investor, I come in and simply find someone selling and play let's make a deal. You're using it as a coat hanger, now I might too, but for one tenth of the cost you paid for it it's worth the risk. However, I'm going push myself to set goals, track them, and put that work in.

Short-term thinking is hurting people and the world as we are addicted to social media. I jumped off social media a few years ago because the feeling I got reminded me of gambling. I felt good when I got likes and you curate what you share only to get likes. I got nervous I didn't like enough people's stuff. Would someone be mad if I didn't like their photos? I'm busy, and people have liked my posts...I need to go and like theirs in return. I read young kids are scared to go on vacation and often hand their accounts over to friends to KEEP UP the likes on their pages. I see suicide rates hitting closer to home and as a world many of us are not happier inside. I remind you don't be short termed in your thinking, play the long game. Since the age of 18, I literally took a trip every year to view the work and enjoy life. That slowed for me only in the last few years. What changed, family dynamics but mainly COVID. I want to get back out there but for my family and my goals I'm playing the long game...to be here for a while, God willing.

A reminder to put that work in like we are doing here.

Work Hard - Do something that brings value, and someone will pay you for your services

Stretch your World - Explore books, the world, and be intellectually curious. Don't believe the hype on social media or just your block. 

Play the Long Game - Stay healthy, make long term investments in yourself and others

Believe in Something - To stay balanced you must believe in something...you will be tested. Are you ready

I've started off 2022, how 2021 ended and everything is clicking. My work is keeping me busy, my investments in real estate and stocks are performing well. I changed my business structure to an S Corp and now employ 3 full time people. I hope to add 3 more by the end of the year. I set goals and my mission is to know them the f&ck down. Why because I was just supposed to be an athlete, a statistic, and it's my job to change that view and uplift those who need my help.  Don't believe me...just watch.

Peloton Interactive Inc (PTON Update

Just about a week ago I said the following:

I think Peloton is starting to shape up the same way my Sprint trade did. This stock was once as high as $150 just a year ago. To me, Peloton is just a bike but the stock skyrocketed once it came public. It has fallen from grace to a low of $22 dollars. Like the winter olympics, you don't want a stock chart that is sloping downhill...not good.

Rumor has it companies may be sliding into their DM trying to hookup. I bought some Peloton today because it reminds me of whenever I find Reese's cups for $50c. Usually, it's a time to load up because I just don't see if often. With Peloton, I still struggle with the need for an overpriced exercise bike. I will probably need to interview some actual users to fully understand all the benefits, but I said the same thing about the Apple iPhone and many people are happy with paying for an overpriced phone. I think there is definitely a market for the "connected" use of the bike but clearly, I didn't agree with the price of the stock. I finally feel somewhat vindicated, now that the stock has cratered but it took a while to get here. Long story short, is I can see clearly now the rain is gone. And I think Pelton is worth some risk if Amazon, Apple or other suitors wanna hookup.

Here is where the stock traded in my last post:

Here is where they are trading a week later:

At a high of $39.62 just this week many of us would be up somewhere between $800-$1000 bucks only if you bought 100 shares. Then scale your business and goals. What if you bought more...you do the math? Don't be short term in your thinking...right now everyone is thinking about just a hustle a quick buck. Join our movement because it's built to last. Don't hype drug money and guns that are tearing communities down, focus on sustainable living, wealth creation, education, and leaving something for the next generation.

Stormin The Capitol - 2 Different Economies + ESG Investing

Investing In Yourself – Using Pillars to Build Your Core	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/urbanomics-pillars-path-set-for.html
Setting Budgets + Saving for Black Swans	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2013/02/personal-finance-budget-101-free-credit.html
	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/11/hey-henry-high-earner-not-yet-rich.html
How to Open My First Brokerage Account	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/personal-finance-101-starting.html
Diversify your Life (Mind, Body, Soul, + Investments)	Search My Blog

Week In Review (Week of 1/4/2021)

Risky Business 

The biggest headline this week was how domestic terrorists were able to storm our sacred US Capitol building. I cannot think of any other word that would describe the acts of these people. As you cried out "Storm The Capitol", you assaulted law enforcement, caused our lawmakers to fear for their lives, and literally tried to stop Democracy in progress. What seemed like a cute slogan is more akin to treason if your objective is to try and intimidate and tear this country apart. We truly live in two different worlds, when a bunch of thugs think it's okay to lead an insurrection and no response occurred for hours. Luckily patriots in our news, our government, and our nation are speaking out and these people are being held accountable. So as I consultant, I share a simple rule with my readers: "You may be engaging in risky behavior if what you are doing any point in your life (no matter your age) COULD NOT be printed on the front page of the newspaper or be the lead story on your local news."  Your brand always matters and will follow you as the internet never deletes anything. There have been recent stories of students kicked off college campuses for their racist remarks, athletes dismissed from sports teams for being photographed for not wearing masks at gatherings, and yes thugs fired from their jobs as facial recognition and the public reported these bums boasted about damaging our democracy.

Link from the Streets: Corporate Execs Fired for Participating in Riots

Keepin in Real - Why is Housing Breaking Records

Did you know that the housing market was on absolute fire last year. How is this possible in a Coronavirus pandemic environment?? If you recall, I began my rants on having a national holiday to starve the virus in March 2020. As corporations raced to implement Work from Home (WFH) orders to keep Corporate America going strong, corporate workers began to taste another concept I have written about for years: optionality. While I have been working from home exclusively since 2017, many non-front line employees began benefitting from this trend in 2020 while still being productive.  So you have this strange irony:

1) White Collar Employees - Have work, NO commute, earning a paycheck, saving $$

2) Blue Collar/Essential Workers - Many unemployed, forced to work if essential w/ no vaccine (at the time), no PPE, no hazard pay, and still may need to use public transportation to commute to work

We call this the K economy. Using the really cool image that I created, white collar employees are on the space ship that keeps going up and to the right.  They can move outside of the city limits, have more space, keep working, and due to the Federal Reserve providing bailouts to the housing and corporate markets --- their home values, stock, and retirement accounts are sky rocketing too. They are making money hand over fist.

Unfortunately, my image depicts the front-line, blue collar worker as the mouse. There is a pandemic on the loose and while those guys (me included) get to work from home, they are being told they are "essential" -- please risk your life everyday. Often blue collar workers are more likely NOT to own homes, have monies in the stock market, and may only be benefiting IF they participate in a state or federal pension that have monies in the stock market. They also may need to stay close to the city because the hospital, city-county, or federal building they work in is in the city.  Few bailouts have been given here - the primary was unemployment benefits and immediately negative comments were made about how unemployed people were living high of the hog because they were given an extra $600 a month. 

#facts - White collar workers on the space ship are benefiting from a bailout, handout, or an entitlement. The Federal Reserve which has the ability to print money did just. And what did they buy with that printed money?? See for yourself: Fed Buys 1 Trillion in Mortgage Bonds

#facts - The reason why housing prices went up 16% alone from May to June 2020, is because for the last year the Federal Reserve has kept their interest rate at 0%. This means you are earning nada, zilch in your saving account and they are politely "forcing" you to spend your money to earn a return. So many are using low mortgage rates to buy homes as a way to earn a return...the rest of us are throwing our money in the stock market. It's safe to say if you own a home or stocks, you are on a rocket ship flying high.

This breakdown of very complex financial market activities was brought to you by Urbanomics. 

Ballin on Wall Street

At the end of 2020 and already in 2021 everyone is buzzing about sustainability. I laugh because now that advanced nations have depleted the Earth of everything she has to offer we finally want to invest in companies that will help to save it. This concept is NEW right?? Not really, but the fact that we have to rally privileged people around the world to do the right thing is mind boggling. So my buddies on Wall Street call our latest mission ESG investing, which stands for Environmental Social Governance. This may be the reason why my boy Elon Musk became the richest man in the world this week. That's a bad boy and his mission to electrify everything is a good start. But shouldn't ESG start at the top?? What about ESG politics, laws, leaders, and then yes companies and investments that support those initiatives. Do we need fancy letters to tell us to be good to the planet? Do we need fancy letters to tell us to STOP killing black men at the hands of the police who have a shield of immunity? What about the widening gap between the rich and poor? The middle class is getting eroded and the working class isn't just black and brown...there are many poor white folks in America now. This increases as non-college manufacturing jobs are shrinking across the nation. Do we need letters to tell Corporate Executives that they should do and say the right thing:

- Did anyone tell Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf after he blamed the lack of diversity at his bank on "a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from."  #wtfdidhejustsay

- Did anyone tell the former GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt who often jet-setted around the world with two corporate aircraft — one that actually carried him, the other flying just behind as a backup “shadow plane” on the off chance that a mechanical problem might delay his busy schedule. His aircraft was rumored to stock both lobster and steak so the boss could choose his midflight meal. In his 12 years as CEO, Immelt raked in an roughly $168 million as GE sank further and further into irrelevancy.  #newgoals:become Greedy CEO

Similar to politics, I don't need letters to tell me what's right and wrong. There has been a lot of wealth created and benefits and perks realized in politics and Corporate America. Strangely all the while, the earth and poor working class people has been depleted under their governance and supposedly with ESG at the top of their mind. 

Because who needs letters to tell people there is a talent pool of black people or to NOT fly two jets (even if the company is paying for it).  I guess I would storm the capitol too if slowly these perks were being taken away from me or someone that looks like me. 

 But really, at the expense of Democracy?? #DAMN

Umoja | Unity - Unity in Life, Investing, and Service

 I start of this post remember the acts of my late father. He was a professor, spiritual leader, and African elder who took the responsibility of passing down history and culture seriously.  I am a better servant and businessman because of the life principles he shared with me every day. As a professor of geography and sociology, he taught me about how human society developed and evolved and as the world evolved I had deep recognition of different countries and cultures of the world. So I begin my post as he began his prayers: recognizing our ancestors and their contributions, praying for those who've left us but still watch over us, and a principled message to all, but in particular the youth who will carry the torch in the future.  After Christmas, this principled message was about the teaching of Kwanzaa.

Umoja | Unity

My parents were and are the depiction Umoja. They believed so much in unity that for over 20+ years they held a multi-cultural New Year's Eve party that would pack our tiny 3 bedroom 1 bathroom ranch home with over 50,75, 100+ people each year. The goal was to bring Africans from entire diaspora, Americans, and anyone that needed a safe place to ring in the New Years. People would travel from all parts of the US to be at this party. And each year it started the same way:

Prayer - We prayed for Unity, Love, Good Heath, and so much more

Libation - We poured libation and remembered our ancestors and loved ones that have past. This is critical is a year marred by COVID-19. Don't forget

Lighting of Kwanzaa Candles - Finally after teaching the youth about the principles of Kwanzaa (yes Africans bring their kids to a party), a young person from the crowd would light the Kwanzaa candles.

Today is first day of Kwanzaa and I want to remind everyone of the importance of UNITY. We are a village and your actions or inactions can have collateral damage to your network. For example, you have a right to not wear a mask, but if you are the reason why some contracts COVID-19, have you no responsibility in their outcome? I remind people that I have billionaire buddies (not really but you get the point) that most people outside of the business community have no clue who they are:

Bill Ackman, Seth Klarman, Paul Singer, Mario Gabelli, Carl Icahn, Reid Hoffman, Jack Dorsey, Marc Lasry, Steve Cohen, Robert F. Smith. (I held off naming: Mark Cuban, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk to make my point)

I say this on a day of Unity --- You are not my competition. Truss...so when I or someone asks for a vendor referral, ask for advice on a new investment, help you increase your net worth I implore you to be principled in helping others. This mentality that you did it on your own, you got that great mortgage, house, job, investment on your own is flawed. Everyone has had help along the way. So many where influential in helping me, and yes I did the heavy lifting but the key they gave me to opening that door was so important. We will need to be unified to play in the Big Leagues against my buddies I mentioned above...and truss they believe in herd mentality. Many invest together, donate together, and influence politics together because they realize their is strength in numbers. There is a reason why most of my buddies own sports teams, outside of the countries that own a majority of the oil deposits around the world, sports is the last known cartel. The price NEVER goes down, need proof: just from the list above Marc Lasry (owner of Milwaukee Bucks), Steve Cohen (owner of NY Mets), Tillman F (owner of Houston Rockets)...the list goes on. They partner and invest together often through knowledge sharing and compensating each other when they've truly been helped. I haven't even mentioned my Asset Management and hedge fund billionaire buddies at Blackstone, KKR, The Carlyle Group, and Apollo who often collect 2% of all assets they manage annually and 20% of any profits they make for their uber wealthy clients. We call this 2 and 20 in the industry and the wealthy across the world line up to invest in their funds...not for a hook up or for free...but so that they continue to collectively win.

It's time for us to collectively win...Umoja

The US Economy Has a Stimulus Hangover

 I fear the US economy is starting to feel the hangover effect, after binging on $13 Trillion, yes with a "T", trillion dollars of stimulus. I'm not going to argue whether it's needed or not because I previously said stimulus to main street America is definitely needed. But the hangover reminds me of how I felt after a Saturday night of partying in Chicago once we officially transitioned from winter to warm weather --- everyone was out drinking.

When I think about government stimulus, everyone this spring and summer was wasted off of stimulus. If you were unemployed you got an extra shot of stimulus in the form of $600 added to your unemployment pay. For small businesses and then surprisingly large business (remember my post on even the LA Lakers organization getting PPP funds), we benefitted from stimulus if we promised to bring workers back. We soon found out many of my business colleagues graciously took the money and then far too many decided NOT to bring workers back --- why because they were more concerned about tying the funds to when business would come back. But being in the RISK MANAGEMENT business, this is fundamentally flawed thinking. The PPP experiment as I call it was a social experiment to see if as a nation we could band together and do what's best for our neighbor financially. I'm sad to say, the experiment didn't work as business people fought it along the way, while cashing in the money. During a health pandemic where people SHOULD stay home quarantined, you cannot expect business to return back to normal --- use government taxpayer money to keep people afloat. 

Note to anyone reading -- What kept people going was the unemployment checks and the extra bump of $600, it caused an e-commerce boom. How do I know, well I am in the Cyber Risk Management business. I have been getting calls from all over the country to help people do more business across the internet. My most amazing story is a company that sells boats and luxury yachts in Florida. They called me and we discussed business. At the beginning of the pandemic, no business because their model was predicated on customers coming in. But they quickly learned they needed a robust web platform as they were getting boat and yacht orders left and right. It sounds like most of us in Corporate America could keep going as we could work from home and buy boats and yachts but I wonder about the front line worker who is exposed to the virus on a daily basis if you're driving a bus, riding the train, or working the grocery checkout system. No national quarantine holiday in my humble opinion was a bad risk management move.

Why do I think we're feeling a hangover let's look at the news:

Company Continue to Announce Layoffs - 

• Airlines - this industry announced 35K job cuts and some anticipate this number will top 100K
• Disney - announced 28K layoffs
• Salesforce - initial pledges were made to not layoff, well soon thereafter they announced 1K layoffs

Jobless Claims Continue to Rise

As an investor, how do I keep track of economy. I use one indicator called the Jobless Claims report from the US Labor Department. The data is staggering:

• As of September 30, 2020 25 million required jobless benefits 
• Last week (Oct 10, 2020), - 898,000 new persons applied for jobless benefit aid for the first time
• To put this data into context, during the 2008 Financial Crisis that I believe was the worth since the Great Depression, the number of first-time applicants peaked @ 665,000 

COVID-19 Continues to Spike 

• France noted that 40% of it's hospital beds are filled w/ COVID patients
• Europe cases are rising
• The rural US is now the leading source of new cases
• And unfortunately people are fatigued or bored with staying home

Like a patient addicted to stimulus, the stock market is calling for more. What happens if we don't get more --- a painful withdrawal??

The ride up has been nice if you bought into e-commerce and stay at home stocks: think ROKU, PELETON, AMAZON, FACEBOOK. Everything else hasn't moved much...need proof I believe the S&P500 is up only 4%. So my barbell approach is still working. My retirement funds are safe (not invested in the market) and my investments in ROKU and Collectors, Sprint, Alibaba Allergan and others have surprisingly made me a tidy fortune during the pandemic. Real Estate is the other area where I'm poking my nose in. 

A reminder to not drink the Kool-Aid --- you'll avoid a hangover. Stick to the pillars.

What You Need in Life -- Invest Like a "Middle Child"

 

Investing In Yourself – Using Pillars to Build Your Core	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/urbanomics-pillars-path-set-for.html
Setting Budgets + Saving for Black Swans	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2013/02/personal-finance-budget-101-free-credit.html
	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/11/hey-henry-high-earner-not-yet-rich.html
How to Open My First Brokerage Account	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/personal-finance-101-starting.html
Diversify your Life (Mind, Body, Soul, + Investments)	Search My Blog

The Pillars - The Miseducation

In my culture, lessons are taught by the elders to the community and especially to the young children. Ironically, one thing has not changed over time which is song is a form of communication used to narrate stories.  This is still on display today with the power of music artists sharing stories through song  If you have read my blog you know that I like a flashback and reference songs that were defining for a generation.  When I thought of this post, a song came to mind popped in my head that defines success.  Success for many could be summed up through the hit track "Money, Power, Respect".  Many will believe this song was a track by Lil Kim.  Simply, before there was a Nicki Minaj or Cardi B there was Lil Kim eviscerating hooks like she did for the L.O.X on this track.  No disrespect to The L.O.X or Lil Kim, but my generation and generations before that bought into the wrong message:

See I believe in money, power, and respect. 

First You get the money. 

Then you get the power. 

After you get the power, MF will respect you

Song: Money, Power, Respect; Artist(s): The L.O.X ft. Lil Kim,

While Lil Kim described one way to obtain respect, she forgot to tell you that this way is not sustainable for everyone.  So I challenge, what you need in life --- are the pillars.  We need to strengthen our mental fortitude through education.  Those are skills that can never be taken away from you.  We need to use our skills to invest in our own assets.  By being independent, no one can dictate the terms to how you live, especially if you live within your means.  I'm proud when I see people discussing the pillars in our community here a few recent examples:

I believe J. Cole's has unplugged from the Matrix and understands the Pillars. He's on the same mission, Check out his lyrics from the track "Middle Child":

What good is the bread if my brothas is broke?

What good is first class if my brothas can't sit?

That's my next mission

That's why I can't quit

Just like LeBron

Get my brothas more chips

I think Kanye read my post on Master P. Go back and read how I wrote that over 20 years ago he inspired me to be independent, black owned, and bout it bout! People are finally understanding the stakes. Yes, Kanye you are the talent, why don't you own your own masters sir. Don't be afraid brotha because as a producer, artist, businessman, and family man you owe it to yourself, family and community to negotiate your own terms as long as you know your worth. Thank you for seeking out Master P and as I've told many people, you will grind for years but you must flip the switch to negotiating own your own terms when the time is right. I look at all my business deals closer, eliminate the middle men, and because it's my business I can choose to keep the money in my community and invest in people who share my values.

For years I've been talking about living within your means and prioritizing ownership and investing in assets that appreciate.  I was pleased to see the rapper Plies make this comment:

Finally, I'm hopeful people are listening.  I read a great story and about a business man, named Young Bleu.  He talked about his goals of being an independent music artist and how he already owns a few assets: a house and a restaurant.  And the thing I love the most about his article was an example that he gave: Young Bleu Interview courtesy of HipHopDx:

"I’m going to put it like this. Just say as a rapper, you got $400,000 in your account. You don’t got a house, right? Now just say that your label say, “F&ck you.” You know what I’m saying? “F&ck you. We don’t want to do nothing with your shit right now. We don’t feel like we want to do shit with you right now.” All right. You got $400,000 right? Okay. A nigga come up to you and say, “Man, shit. I can get your record going. Shit, we can go and do radio 150,000, 200,000.” Okay, there’s always a chance that this shit might not go as planned. So now you only got $400,000 but nowhere to go besides what someone says they can do for you.

Now if you already had a house, you already had cars paid for, why would you spend the $400,000? You know what I’m saying? If all else fails, you have a home to go back to. But if you don’t you’ll be scared to spend that money if you felt like, “Damn. Shit. If I blow this shit, it’s over and I’m back at the bottom. Shit, I’ll probably be back staying with my mama. Goddamn.” You feel me? If you got your shit in order, you will be more comfortable spending money, you know what I’m saying?"

Sound familiar?? All I can say is well said young brotha. This young man understands the game.  If you dissect his statement, he says: "what is the point of having so much capital (or cash) in your account and you own nothing.  If you own a house and have assets to fall back on (especially if this house was paid off), then when someone approaches you about doing business you are more likely to take prudent risks and make more investments knowing that you have something to fall back on.  As he eloquently stated, if you don't own that house (or some asset that appreciates) you will be scared to spend that money. I have a 9-5 job and a side hustle for income; my assets range from: 2 homes, have a individual retirement account that I could live off of and I use my brokerage account as war chest and make numerous investments every day...I'm not scared because I approve every investment. I can't wait to invest with J Cole, Master P, Young Bleu, Kanye if they share my value (b/c I don't always see eye to eye with some folks). But if we can agree people of color need their contracts rewritten, need independence, and they need investment...then let's do business.

#pillars, #independent, #Master P, #Young Bleu, #MiddleChildInvesting, #J Cole #educationispower

It's Take a Village To Invest - Grow Leaders | Plant Seeds | Stocks

Investing In Yourself – Using Pillars to Build Your Core	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/urbanomics-pillars-path-set-for.html
Setting Budgets + Saving for Black Swans	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2013/02/personal-finance-budget-101-free-credit.html
	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/11/hey-henry-high-earner-not-yet-rich.html
How to Open My First Brokerage Account	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/personal-finance-101-starting.html
Diversify your Life (Mind, Body, Soul, + Investments)	Search My Blog

African Proverb - It Takes a Village

Today I wanted to share a proverb that I believe strongly in. Have you ever heard the phrase "It takes a village" -- usually it's followed by "to raise a child" because that's where modern day society believes the biggest need is in their household. This is evident by COVID because when businesses were closed certain leaders were rushing to get schools open because they needed to 'house' children so the parents could go to work. While this is one function, it defeats the goal or objective that parents muse be at the center of their child's life and educational growth especially during the early years. I started raising children later in life so maybe I am less guilty, but still guilty as charged during my child's infant months. 

A few years back when I was going into the office, I would often come home late (due to work and long commuting) and find my child already asleep. I want to change this mentality to form a better family. My village concept is not new --- because I work from home, I walk my daughter to daycare, take a morning bike ride with my 5 year old, and monitor her school progress --- while I work. Notice in my example, we still use school/daycare BUT they support my village concept and the objectives of raising a child alongside family, church, community --- those other entities are NOT the owner or solution. I set the objective, the goal, the discipline --- the others must help support and nurture the environment. This is the same with other priorities NOT just children. 

So this brings me to Baker Mayfield and Alejandro Villenueva when it comes to the goal of improving African-American lives in the US. The African American village needs help and it takes village and community leaders to help nurture the environment. I prefer calling the objective - we are investing in the African-Americans. Yes, we need to invest in all communities including white ones BUT today we are focused on my community. I respectfully ask you all to never be the Baker Mayfield's of our village. I would rather you be Drew Brees or Alejandro Villenuava but please don't be a Baker Mayfield. Before the National Football Season, he claimed he was an ally and would kneel as he understood the objective at hand - bettering black lives. But as the season approach --- Baker Mayfield changed his tune. Unfortunately, but not uncommon, he probably succumbed to his business interests, protected his image (commercials), and caved to whispers around him. I won't leave my child with a wolf. To protect my child and village I rather that wolf tell me exactly who he is like Drew and Alejandro did. The worst is the false ally you leave to help nurture your village but actually through their actions helps to tear it down. In closing, if you don't know the story of Alejandro is shows why we must nurture villages -- he covered up the Pittsburgh Steeler approved decal of a fallen black child who was killed in Pittsburgh, Antwon Rose Jr. Instead acknowledging and focusing on the objective at hand, I saw the self absorbed culture I see to often in our society on full display. He chose to cover up Antwon Rose's team approved decal on his helmet with a name that meant something more important to him. I'm fine Alejandro supporting your military village but that IS NOT your only village. I can pray for police, military, the flag and still show support for the African-American community and ANTWON ROSE JR - a fallen black male at the hands of the police. They are not opposites on a spectrum, they are simply villages with actual lives that all must be looked after. We must grow leaders that uplift villages --- NOT tear them down.

Planting Seeds - Budgeting

For the last few weeks, I've decided to plant some additional seeds to help my village. I try to train people from all nationalities and backgrounds on information technology principles. I believe the jobs shifts in my sector have the ability to uplift and transform people's career if they choose. I then try to help place those people in the jobs of the future which is like a public - private partnership. I fully acknowledge that I benefit at times when anyone finds a job through me. If I am solving a problem, it's fair to be compensated for that to grow my mission. I wrote months back at how I helped a young man of color via a paid internship that taught him the benefits of project and property management. He shared a new story with me this weekend that made me smile, the seed is growing. I am planting a new seed that takes me back to my root (no pun intended). I am teaching another person the benefits of budgeting as they chart their path outside of their current village. The strange thing is their budget is simply an extension of a plan - a plan to be a seed that grows and adds value to those around him. It's time consuming but self-fulfilling whenever you hear I'm learning a tremendous amount. More to come.

 

Stock - ViaSat

Similar to growing people, I plan investment seeds. I tend to a large garden and have a full-time job. So I set alerts and wait for them to ripe -- my investment goal is to find value but only when the value is there. Then I go back and investigate my plant -- will it grow, or produce other seeds, or is the plant dying or worse can it cause harm to other plants. Here is one of my new investments and you'll even see the alert I set months or sometimes years ago -- reminding me of my objective to find value.

ViaSat Inc  (VSAT: NASDAQ)

Alert was set: $42.10
Current:

Disclosure - I do not own ViaSat but actively watching this stock. Like a crop in my village, I will sit down, evaluate and determine what type of investment will this be. I like when stocks are honest about their true colors, some they are only profit motivated like Drew Brees or Alejandro Villenueva. I can live with their truth. I really analyze and stay clear of the stocks like Baker Mayfield, the one's that claim they align with your objectives but in reality they do not support the mission of the village.

King's Disease ---- DraftKings | ROKU | Gold

So, can I breathe? Can I walk? Can I speak? Can I talk?

Can I floss without you wanting me outlined in chalk?

Family gossiping, pocket watching him

Jealousy keeps blossoming, ain't let it box me in (King)

'Cause you are not a king if you can't come out a thing

That you got yourself in, claiming nobody helping

The stupidest part of Africa produced Blacks that started algebra

Proof, facts, imagine if you knew that as a child, bruh

Nostalgia, how I remembеr things

Remember crowns, remember, kings

They want your reign to cease (King)

You a king, you will be next to me, doing your own king shit, most definitely

We're so "Say less when I speak", y'all estrogen speak

Respected by kings only, address me as chief

Invested in things only a vet would

Only lames front on kings, that's expected from creeps

You mad at my brothas and any woman with interest in me

Artist: NAS  Song: King's Disease

Can I floss without you wanting me outlined in Chalk

My next post is about the King's Disease. I like to post rap lyrics because the world has gotten so literal. The art of communication is to read between the lines and the ability to understand people, cultures, and society is lost if we lose the art of reading people - their words, actions, and body movements. The internet has taken all the guess work outta that when I can I just re-send an article/post/clip or even a meme and then I allow you to guess or interpret what I mean without simply sitting down and communicating with you directly. I interview people for work and it's amazing how many reads I get from a voice, a look, or a person's body movement toward the questions I am asking. So again I wonder if the Internet is a form of King's Disease. A luxury that masses want but oddly everything everyone posts (breathe / walk / speak / talk) is captured and scrutinized -- even worse it's often canceled immediately - "Can I floss without you wanting me outlined in Chalk"?

'Cause you are not a king if you can't come out a thing; That you got yourself in, claiming nobody helping

I am very independent and having children you learn very quickly that there is something innate in us as human beings in wanting to do things ourselves. My daughters, just shortly after turning 1, all of a sudden don't want you to feed them. They want to feed, walk, and do everything for themselves. But as we get older or sometimes as our confidence breaks we find ourselves blindly walking into situations that may not be healthy financially, physically, mentally, or spiritually. We all go through it --- racking up debt, late nights drinking, abusive relationships, and even challenging the need for spirituality in our lives. For a child, all it takes is those two or three times of not being able to get food in your mouth to start crying and asking for help. But as we get older, we learn this thing called denial and often we DO NOT seek transformation from within until we've hit rock bottom.  Notice, I listed my 4 Pillars above and  challenge myself, especially during the roughest parts of my day, week, month, year, life to revisit those pillars for support. I try to do more which oddly is like doing LESS --  MORE meditation, sleep, exercise, reading, praying, seeking counsel to right myself and my core. I do this to get myself out of tough situations and to make sound informed decisions so that I pivot out of bad situations and decisions. Also, I find during these moments, seeking counsel is humbling because I do not have all the answers. This is the cure to King's Disease instead of blaming or claiming nobody's helping. Competing with each other is self-defeating, but that's why we teach "competition" so much in our society. If we work together and take on the systemic injustices in the system, imagine that --- real change --- that's our competition.

The stupidest part of Africa produced Blacks that started algebra; Proof, facts, imagine if you knew that as a child, bruh

My cancel culture vultures will take aim at Nas for using the term stupidest. But if you read between the lines he is bringing awareness to the advanced, highly civilized accomplishments of early African societies. The fact that Africa is the birthplace of forming civilized societies living together, developing math, and methods of communication. This is clear...you just need to open a book or be taught in school. I remember planning my trip to Africa and my then girlfriend asked me about safaris and jungles?? I didn't blame her but elementary, middle, high school, and college had failed her, us and our society. I knew since a child that safaris were more common to Sub-Sahara Africa, and other parts of Africa had deserts, and hills, mountains, waterfalls, and forests. The funniest thing is my mother's two story home in Western Africa is bigger than any home I lived in until I bought my duplex condo unit in 2010 at the ripe old age of 30. Proof, facts - my mother's crib in Africa was bigger than anything I lived in in America until I reached the age of 30. I wonder if an inadequate education that doesn't focus of contextualizing historical and factual information is King's Disease.  I used to travel to London often for work and remember an interesting interaction I had at a bar in the Picadilly Circus area in the West End of London. My co-workers and I easily stood out and our version of English clearly marked us as Americans. I am also sure it was our love for khakis and polos, which clearly are NOT in the British dress code. The men are often well-dressed during the work week and suits and ties are still the norm, even for the gent I witnessed riding a bike to work in a suit.  But back to the bar --- this woman from the BBC was chatting me up at the bar and inquired what plans I had for the weekend. So I asked what bars and restaurants should I visit and got a curt response of what "CULTURE" would I be taking in. I didn't understand exactly what she was talking about so I said what do you me. CULTURE, she said what CULTURE are you taking in. She proceeded to school me on the importance of knowing history, different cultures, and art. Something I almost never hear AT A BAR in America. In London, ALL of the museums are FREE. So I went to the Tate Britain, The British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Windsor Castle, and others to soak in CULTURE. I saw artefacts from all over the war dating centuries back...but it also opened my eyes that to the victor goes the spoils. There were items clearly belonging to African and Asian cultures of important value and they were in a British museum. What if America made all our museums free, I wonder if the awareness and appreciation for a global world would increase. Thank you to my friends in the UK, for a moment, I was suffering from King's Disease.

Stocks Fit for a King

Draftkings Inc  NASDAQ: DKNG  - I entered this stock after I learned legend, icon, and NBA greatest of all time Michael Jordan toon an equity stake in DraftKings.  He will become a special adviser to the sports betting and fantasy sports company and maybe read my posts about the unleashing of sports gambling on America. Recognize what's coming - states are drowning in debt and will want to dip into this revenue pot along with Marijuana legalization as they usually embrace quick fixes to solve problems. Don't believe me, look at my bet on Ceasars Entertainment, they were bought out by PENN National Gaming (PENN) for a nice profit.

Roku Inc  NASDAQ: ROKU - Roku is my COVID-19 investment play. It aligns with my larger theme of cutting the cable. America's appetite for staying open and not addressing this disease head on means people with be home streaming the hell out of this service. I wrote earlier this year about cutting off my cable service...sorry Comcast and we don't miss it for a moment. Roku is a day trader's dream because it is a more volatile than a teenager in HBO's hit series Euphoria. I place a HUGE bet on ROKU and each week I trade against it for additional income. The worst is these income producing bets cause me to have to sell my base position early. The upside, is currently during the entire COVID summer I've been collecting 100s of dollars a week of income as the stock moves up in trades that might take the stock off my hands (i.e., like a pending trade offer for my best player). Like Jay said the industry is shady and needs to be taken over --- so I'm coming for the crown. King shit Nas

Gold - I wrote just a few posts ago that this rally in the stock market is artificial. The Federal Reserve is single-handedly propping up the markets and has printed over $7 Trillion dollars to stave off foreclosures, companies closing, and high unemployment. They deserve to be applauded and certain politicians probably deserve to lose their job as real people are hurting. The only problem is this analogy: The Federal Reserve is akin to your family using a credit card to stay afloat - to pay the mortgage, food, car, and school bills. Eventually the credit card company will cut off the credit and/or ask you to pay it back. In governments, paying off debt usually means services are cut - government workers - post office, city transportation, trash and sanitation. It also means tax hikes in the future. Hikes in the future means inflation will be in our future --- assets that are not in dollars is the bet to protect your dollar. Gold, Silver, and yes even Bitcoin might be the play to diversify this historic helicopter money printing effort.  I didn't even mention, that UNTIL there is cure or bold steps taken LIKE A BUBBLE to stop the disease from spreading ---- people will continue hurting and the Federal Reserve may have to PRINT MONEY until things improve. Yes I own Novagold, Warren Buffet owns Barrick Gold, IAU is an ETF as everyone is winning now but there is always a cold winter. 

Stay blessed, stay safe, get your URB own

Life + Project Management - Pt. 1 (Skills Development) + EBAY Trade Reveal

To catch your attention, the internet and "others" try to lure you in with shocking statements, click bait, or even cool acronyms. But nah, we ain't about that here...just keeping it real. If this is for you then welcome, if you need more time to unplug from the Matrix then so be it. I wanted to talk about how I use the Urbanomics Pillars everyday to literally Project Manage my life. I don't need a degree or even a PMP (one of those shiny acronyms for being certified for managing projects) to succeed. They are the icing on the cake, as I have developed skills to manage my biggest project, my Life Project --- one that focuses on God, me, family, and friends. Notice I didn't say work, wealth, and traveling to each state/continent as my main project. Like others, I enjoy these things and they may be on my goal or bucket list, however; my project is my life.

To be balanced in life you need a strong core, that's the base of the Urbanomics Pillars. Underneath those 4 Pillars you need to manage the collection of small and large projects that make up your life very carefully. Every project you take on eats up time which is our most precious asset, every decision impacts a future decision, and distractions can derail you from your ultimate mission. So let's discuss how to manage projects and in turn manage your amazing life:

1) Develop Your Skills --- You have to be grounded in the basic things that will help you dream, set goals, make rationale data-driven decisions, manage risks, negotiate deals, and know what's fair (i.e., right vs. wrong). The skills I recommend people focusing on are the skills that are free, YES FREE!! If you need a cool acronym try this on SLAM+, it stands for:

Science | Legal | Arts | Math |  + (volunteer, teach, technology, engineering, trade, etc.)

All of these were learned for free in PUBLIC schools and have anchored my life. 

Science - I don't love chemistry, biology, or physics but I have a true appreciation for one simple technique that I use literally everyday of my life. I learned in science classes how to develop a hypothesis. In Science, a hypothesis is an tentative answer to an observation, phenomenon or scientific problem that can be tested by further observation, investigation and/or experimentation. 

In today's world, I hear so many people giving me their opinions but often I am suprised how little of it is rooted in any data at all. Funny in public school, I took something, usually a problem, and tried to find ALL the answer by identifying potential answers (solutions) and rigorously testing them over and over again. I do this everyday and for complex things I write them down.

Legal - It's sad to say but I fundamentally believe that everyone, especially people of color need to understand laws and regulations. In a litigious society, the difference between giving a statement that will be used against you or your child, illegal searches, contracts and fine print, loans and gifts, and stand your grown and imminent threat can unfortunately mean life or death. Legal laws killed Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and countless other innocent people. It's still strange to say "lawful", "legal", "innocent" and yet they still ended up tragically dead in a mature, lawful society.

Arts - My focus on Arts is English because communicating is a lost form. So much of life is decided by the word choice you use and kids from a very early age can learn word choice, negotiation, debate, and how to write and articulate their thoughts by reading, acting, revisiting history, and through music as these are all forms with which we express ourselves in. The other art I find beautiful is speaking multiple languages -- growing up in a family and community of accents, the one thing I learned is to take the time to "listen" deeply and closely to what the other person is saying. I rarely ask someone to repeat themselves and have even told people don't try to compensate because english is your second language...say what you're saying and I'll piece it together. People come up with terms everyday to describe actions we've always known existed. The one that is top of mind is micro-aggression. Again, it's a bit fancy for me but I've always called this hate coming from haters and also when i was younger a put-down. Quick example, I can remember how mainly my white friends as early as elementary i believe would make a big deal out of saying the work "ask". I would say the word, they clearly knew what I meant but often felt it was their place to correct me and say do you mean ASK not AXE...haha you're not planning to kill me with an axe. Or I felt for some of my friends who went out of their way to emphasize the world important --- when most Americans hardly ever emphasize the first "T" --- I've always heard many say impor * ant.  So the arts helped me be an interpreter for my parents, a sympathizer for English second language persons, adventurous as I've speak African Krio, bits of Mende, Portuguese, and Spanish, but also cognizant that in the business world I needed to learn a NEW language to compete. I speak business fluently - I say important with the first "T', I emphasize ASK when I can remember, and most importantly due to another micro-aggression I felt early on I trained myself to speak slowly. While colleagues early in my career would blurt out, why are you speaking so fast...in a hurry. Again, you understood me but after my amazing presentation you needed a little something I guess to put me back in my place. Unfortunately, being an African that is proud and KNOWS his history and worth, I kept it moving. But again, I speak business -- so around 2007 I witnessed an amazing orator speak - then presidential hopeful Barack Obama his the scene and graced us with his presence. I heard the calm, smooth, deliberate, and slower pace with which he used with the world and I studied his speaking, literally. Between him and CEOs of major companies, I watch with how they "artfully" described their vision, slowly paused for questions, and elegantly drew you in with examples. I only knew of two other people with impact for me prior to President Obama and that was Christopher Wallace (The Notorious BIG) and Tupac Amaru Shakur (Tupac). Finally, history proves that words matter, and cultures since the beginning of time have had a few basic common principles -- treat your neighbor like you would want to be treated...and that fairness would take us a long way.

Math - Basic math, calculus, and most importantly probability and statistics have by far been the single best skills I've learned and use hourly. My most favorite class was prob/stat in college as it changed my life. Used by poker players, who often make great investors, I learned about how to calculate the odds of events happening. Tack on my learning of decision trees, applying this calculation to making everyday decisions and my world slowed down to a crawl. I was able to make informed decisions at school, in job selections (I graphed pros and cons on all the offers I received), at work, and in life. I used this to determine what houses to buy, where to live, what investments to make, and more importantly how to prioritize my TIME. This is the hardest concept for someone that grew up poor --- learning that you can't be everywhere and do everything. Time is your most precious resource and focusing on your most important areas, when you trust someone else (outsource), and when to admit you failed. Because you aren't taking enough risks if you haven't failed at something in life.

+ - To round out your skillset this is where I see volunteering, learning technologies, trades, mentoring, and teaching as a way to continuously improve over time.  You must expand your circle, give to others and upgrade your skills as time goes on. These are the ways to do them. 

Part 2 - Will cover how to manage projects from investing, renting homes, etc. 

Another Free Trade Reveal: Ebay had been in the dumps. Paypal is no longer a payment option that can be used on the platform. Disagreements between the CEO and outside investors led me to believe change was coming. And it has it a big way. This culminated with Ebay selling its classifieds business to a European company just this past week. This contract will net a healthy profit is Ebay can stay above $32 going into Jan 2021.  Ebay currently trades in the $55 dollar range and I may sell Ebay before that date as this position has already collected roughly 60+% of the gains.  Time for another investment to find: