Doing It BIG

I called my girl Vicky last night.

“Um, hey girl,” I said and yawned. It was almost 10pm and I hadn’t even heard from Tina yet so I assumed we weren’t going out anymore.

“What’s up girl?”

“Tell me why you don’t invite me to hang out with you?” I asked her annoyed.

“Um, maybe if I ever get off this couch, I’ll invite you out,” she replied then paused. “Ohhh…I’m sorry Tee, you wanna come over and hang with me?”

“DUH! Hello! I haven’t seen your house yet!” I said and laughed.

She laughed too. “I’m so sorry girl. I forgot.”

She gave me directions to her place and even though it was late I made the trek over there. The drive was about 20 minutes but it was well worth it.

When I pulled up to her community, all I could do was shake my head. Beautiful houses, condo’s and townhouses. Brand new. My friend has been in Atlanta for a little over a year and she is already a homeowner.

I find her townhouse and park my car. We give each other a quick hug and I smile at my wonderful friend. Vicky and I met our sophomore year in college. We pledged our community service sorority together. When I met her I liked her so much that I abandoned my single dormroom and basically moved into her dorm room for the duration of the process.

She usually sends me updates about the progress of her house but I was not prepared for the emotional sack that smacked me when I walked in. Take a look at her place.

As she gave me the grand tour, all I could do was shake my head. I was completely numb. Here I was sitting in my friend’s house. This is her house. She owns this house. She is a few months younger than I am. She and I were in school together.

“Tee!” she said, waking me out of my mental coma. “Why are you looking like that? You’re freaking me out!”

“I’m sorry dawg. It’s just…Everyone here is doing it big. Every person that I meet is as ambitious as I am. I used to think that I was crazy for dreaming the way I do but the people here are dreaming too and accomplishing their dreams. It’s amazing to me. The mentality of the black people here is such a contrast to the mentality of the black people in Miami. Here we are prosperous.”

“And in Miami, everyone is trying to survive,” she finished for me.

“Exactly.”

I remembered what Tina said to me in our conversation yesterday. “I had to do it girl. I refuse to be another single mom statistic who barely has enough. I have so many business ventures I don’t have time to really run them all and I’m in school. I’m working on this jewelry business that I love girl and I’m going to put it on the internet. You can be one of my models. I’ll put you on my business cards. Girl, I’m trying to make money in my sleep!”

Wow.

Everyone dreams like me and Kim do.

I feel like the Joe Pesci character in the movie Casino when he decided to move to Vegas. Dude was excited because it seemed like unchartered territory. As if the people there didn’t know what they have.

Everyone here is on the hustle. Everyone here is grinding it out. Sure, alot of people have music business dreams but there are an equal amount of people who have big business dreams. Every black person has a tight resume and an investment portfolio. It seems like you can come with a little bit and achieve a lot.

Sitting in Vicky’s living room watching last week’s episode of Flavor of Love, I had an epiphany. I’m going to do it big too! I casually thought about home ownership when I was in Miami. It didn’t seem like a realistic option because all the real estate is so expensive and working on my single income, well..I didn’t get too excited about it. But here, even the college students own their own homes.

The event I covered yesterday for the magazine was a real estate development open house. One of our advertisers invited us to see the new development she is cultivating on Metropolitan Parkway. These new loft style townhomes will be 100% owner occupied. No renters in this community. I even met a 20 year old college student who had already signed her contract for her house.

20 years old.

A sophomore in college.

This city is breeding a culture of ownership and prosperity and it seems as though people from outside the community are taking advantage of this gold mine. When you meet people in business and when you’re out for fun, 9 times out of 10 the person is a transplant who has seen and heard of the goodness of this city and they ran, not walked to get their piece before it overloads.

This city is on the verge of becoming the next Miami or New York- for Black people. I want some. You should want some too.

I’m nervous because I talk a good game. I dream big and I speak as though I am already where I want to be. Now I’m at center stage. The curtain is drawn. The lights are on. It’s my time.

I work for a magazine where I am introduced daily to millionaires and the most successful business leaders around the country. I am being fed the secrets to success and I am eating it all up. I am teachable. I am ready. I believe that I will surpass even my own most grandiose fantasies.

I am about to do this shit.

OR die trying.

Nothing but death can keep me from it.

I’m not interested in simply being a homeowner, getting married and settling in. NO!

Allow me to dream out loud.

I am going to own multiple homes across the country.
I am going to own rental communities and invest in other ventures.
I am going to become a magazine editor within the next 2 years.
I am going to send my sons to the best private schools that money can buy.
I am going to continue to educate myself in order to educate others on a global scale.
I am going to receive love from a man who wants nothing more than to please God and support me in all my dreams.
I am going to win.
I am going to win.
My sons will have the utmost respect for their mom.
I will be a shining light to them.
They will grow up to be wonderful men who contribute great things to society.
I will fail some, but I will not stop.
I can not stop.
Or I will die.
I would rather die than accept failure.
I want these things more than I want my next breath of air.
Those who can not understand or contribute positively to my plight will be released from my life.
I have no room for people who want to live life on a mediocre or simple level.
I will only surround myself with people who are doing it big.
I will one day be able to donate half of my income to worthy causes.
There is no one on this earth who is more worthy of these successes than I am.
I am ignorant in some areas, but God has given me a brain- I can learn.
I will seek out those who know, and I will learn from them.
I will speak my dreams daily, reminding myself that all dreams are merely my unmanifested destiny.
I will not lose.
I will not fail.
I may fall, but I must get up.
I can not imagine my life without accomplishing these goals.
There is no room for back up plans or accepting failure.
I may fail and fail again but that only makes me more eager to taste success.
Now is my time to taste success.
I will do it big.
Bigger than life.

And so it shall be.

In Jesus name.

Do it with me.