It Starts With Us

Nobody ever handed us a blueprint.

We didn’t grow up with silver spoons in our mouths or inherit businesses passed down from granddaddies with trust funds. What we did inherit was struggle. Pain. Resilience. We were born into survival mode. And too many of us were taught to survive—but never shown how to build.

But it’s time for that to change.

Because if not us, then who?

If it ain’t already in your family, why not start it with you?

The Power of Unity

Look around you. Go to any thriving community, and you’ll see the same thing: people moving together. Cultures that build with each other, that support their own. Asians passing down trades and corner stores. Arabs teaching business from childhood. Jews teaching their kids about ownership and law. Latinos working as family units to build something, brick by brick.

And what do we do?

We compete.

We envy.

We distance.

We tear each other down when we should be lifting each other up.

Too many of us trying to flex instead of build. Too many of us gatekeeping knowledge instead of teaching the young ones what we had to learn the hard way.

But deep down, we know the truth: we’re stronger together. Always have been.

From Black Wall Street to the Panthers, from the Civil Rights Movement to today’s creatives and entrepreneurs—when we move with unity, we’re unstoppable.

We just forgot that somewhere along the way.

Generational Wealth Ain’t Just About Money

When people hear “generational wealth,” they think of bank accounts, real estate, or fancy portfolios. That’s part of it—but it’s deeper.

Generational wealth is knowledge. It’s discipline. It’s character.

It’s knowing how to bounce back when life knocks you down and having someone older telling you, “I’ve been there, and here’s what I did.”

We need to normalize:

    •    Fathers teaching sons how to fix credit and change a tire

    •    Mothers teaching daughters about contracts and boundaries

    •    Big cousins putting the younger ones on game

    •    Uncles giving nieces their first stocks instead of just cash on birthdays

    •    Grandparents telling the truth about the past so the future can be clearer

That’s how it starts. That’s how it spreads. That’s how we win.

And let’s be clear—wealth isn’t just in what you leave behind, it’s also in what you build while you’re here. You don’t need millions to leave a mark. You need values, consistency, and a willingness to plant seeds even if you don’t live long enough to sit under the shade.

Teach ‘Em Early

Go to any Black barbershop on a Saturday, and you’ll hear somebody talking about how other cultures “put their kids on early.”

They ain’t lying.

You got 12-year-old kids overseas who know how to run a business, file taxes, weld metal, or build an app. Why? Because their community made sure they learned something early that they could use later.

Meanwhile, our kids know all the lyrics, all the slang, and all the trends—but too few know how to:

    •    Budget

    •    Invest

    •    Fix their credit

    •    Edit a video

    •    Start a business

    •    Build a résumé

    •    Speak with confidence

    •    Fix a leaky faucet

Not because they’re not smart. Not because they’re lazy. But because nobody ever taught them.

That’s not on them. That’s on us.

So why not start now? If your nephew likes clothes, teach him design. If your niece loves YouTube, show her how to edit. If your son likes sneakers, teach him the resale game. If your daughter loves hair, help her turn that into a brand.

Every kid got a spark in them—our job is to fan that flame.

And let’s not wait until they’re “old enough.” Teach them as soon as they can listen. Kids are sponges. And if we don’t pour into them, the world will.

Knowledge is Power (But Applied Knowledge is Freedom)

We can’t keep waiting for school to save us.

The system was never built for us. They don’t teach wealth. They don’t teach ownership. They barely teach history.

So we have to go get it ourselves.

Pick a lane. Any lane. Real estate, tech, trades, fashion, fitness, health, investing, storytelling—whatever speaks to you. Then learn it like your life depends on it. Because your future does.

Go on YouTube. Buy a course. Read a book. Ask somebody who’s done it.

Learn it. Master it. Pass it down.

You ain’t gotta know everything. But you gotta know something.

Because the day we start learning with intention, and teaching our people without ego or competition, is the day we really break the curse.

And remember, learning ain’t a flex—it’s a responsibility. What you do with that knowledge matters more than how much of it you got. Teach somebody. That’s how the cycle continues.

Rebuild the Black Family

Let’s talk real.

Too many of our families are broken—not because we want it that way, but because trauma got passed down like a family heirloom. Our grandparents survived racism, poverty, and violence. Our parents tried their best, but many of them were just trying not to drown.

So now we’re here. The in-between generation. The bridge.

And we have a choice:

    •    Repeat it.

    •    Or repair it.

Start with communication. Start with healing. Start with calling your people and just checking in.

    •    Tell your dad you love him.

    •    Hug your mom even if she wasn’t perfect.

    •    Forgive your brother.

    •    Reach out to your cousin.

Because family is foundational. Not always biological—but definitely intentional.

Your kids need to see what love looks like. What respect looks like. What unity feels like.

They need to see that you can disagree without leaving. That you can fall and still come back. That you can be a man who leads with love, and a woman who walks with strength but still leans on her people.

Healing is generational too. So pass that down.

Building Isn’t Glamorous—It’s Grimy

Everybody wanna be a boss until it’s time to do boss things.

Late nights.

Sacrifice.

Being broke while building something bigger.

Saying no to instant gratification.

Most people want the finished product—but they don’t wanna pour the foundation.

But you? You different. You reading this because something inside you knows it’s your time. You know you can be the first in your family to:

    •    Start the business

    •    Get the land

    •    Leave an inheritance

    •    Break the habits

    •    Pass something down

It won’t be easy. But it’ll be worth it.

Because the grind now turns into freedom later. And one day your kids will ask, “How did you do it?” And you’ll look them in the eye and say, “I didn’t quit.”

Support Black, but Make It Normal

We gotta stop treating Black business like a charity. Or a favor.

If the product is dope, support it.

If the food is fire, recommend it.

If your homie got a business, show up, repost, and don’t ask for a discount.

Let’s make buying Black normal, not just something we do in February.

Let’s support without skepticism. Let’s stop comparing it to billion-dollar brands and start helping it become one. Let’s celebrate the process, not just the polished result.

Let Go of the Crabs-in-a-Barrel Mindset

Everybody can’t go, but everybody can grow.

We gotta let go of the jealousy, the bitterness, the “who they think they are” energy.

Success ain’t limited. There’s no cap on blessings.

Just because your brother win don’t mean you lose.

Let’s normalize:

    •    Clapping when someone else wins

    •    Sharing information freely

    •    Connecting people with no strings attached

    •    Building together

We don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be intentional.

Your lane won’t shrink just because somebody else is eating.

Imagine This…

A future where your kids grow up knowing they don’t have to “make it out” because you already built something they could build on top of.

A world where your last name means something.

A world where Black families own land, businesses, art, patents, stocks, tech, and most importantly—peace.

It’s possible.

And it starts with you.

The New Black Blueprint

Here’s what we do moving forward:

    •    Build together, not in silos.

    •    Start family meetings. Talk about goals, money, values.

    •    Teach skills early—real skills they can use.

    •    Stop clowning our people for trying something new.

    •    Read. Learn. Share. Repeat.

    •    Heal. Forgive. Reconnect. Rebuild.

    •    Save and invest, not just spend and flex.

    •    Buy land.

    •    Create LLCs.

    •    Write wills and life insurance policies.

    •    Teach the babies why it matters.

    •    Document your story. Let your voice live beyond you.

    •    Celebrate progress, even if it’s small.

Final Word

Nobody ever handed us a blueprint.

But now we got a pen in our hand. It’s time to draw one up.

Lately, this been heavy on my heart…

I’ve been having conversations with all kinds of people—from all walks of life. Just listening, learning, soaking up knowledge. Not to act like I got it all figured out, but to understand what works, what doesn’t, and maybe pass it along.

Because the truth is—somebody else might take that same knowledge and teach me something back.

That’s what makes it powerful. That exchange. That unity.

We don’t grow alone. We grow together.

That’s why I say it all the time: there’s power in unity.

We are stronger together.

So I figured… why not write it down?

Put it on paper. Let everybody read it, feel it, bounce ideas off it, learn from it, build on it.

That way, we all keep learning and leveling up—together.