Reallionaire...A real hustler

Peace,
This review is from playahata.com

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Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out

Category: Biography, Motivational

Author: Farrah Gray, With Fran Harris

Publisher: Health Communications, Incorporated

ISBN: 0757302246

Length: 282 pages

Release Date: January 2005


Synopsis: A remarkable teenager who went from public assistance to a million dollar net worth shares his story and offers 9 key principles to success. Farrah Gray is no ordinary teenager. He wears a suit and tie; he has an office on Wall Street and another one in Los Angeles . . . and he sold his first business at the age of 14 for more than a million dollars. He invested that money in a partnership with Inner City Broadcasting, one of the most prominent African-American owned businesses in the country, and now is heading the re-launch of their signature magazine, InnerCity. According to People magazine, Farrah is the only African-American teenager to rise from public assistance to a business mogul without being in entertainment or having a family connection. Reallionaire tells Farrah's extraordinary and touching story. When he was just six, Farrah's mother became seriously ill, prompting his decision to provide for this family, and he spent the first $50 he ever made taking them for a real sit-down dinner. At the age of eight, he founded his first business club. By fourteen, with a million dollars in his pocket, Farrah was well on his way to business success. Each stage of Farrah's progress is marked by one of the principles of success he learned along the way, creating not just an extraordinary story but also a step-by-step primer for others to create success in their own lives with honor; charity and compassion. In the tradition of great motivators and leaders, this is both an instructional book and a story to inspire others to live life to the fullest. And readers don't have to be interested in business to enjoy it. In fact, Farrah is a role model for everyone-just think of him as a Les Brown for the 21st century.

Bruce Banner Says: Overall: B+

It’s funny that every time you turn around you hear brothers talking about “I’m a Hustler, I‘m Hustling, I‘m grinding, I am on my grind,” and all these adjectives about how entrepreneurial they are. It seems that they are yelling about their ability to do many things to get money legal or illegal on the radio and in everyday conversation but those really hustling and doing it legitimately are often ignored in the same communities.

I find such is the case with Farrah Gray, who became a millionaire at just 14 years old. He started hustling at age 6 after his mother became ill. The young venture capitalist is now seasoned at 20-years-old. Farrah's hustles or business ventures range from 1-Stop Mail Boxes & More, pre-paid phone cards 4 kids, Farr-Out Foods, the Teenscope interactive teen talk show, a comedy show on the Las Vegas Strip, the NE2W Fund to support young entrepreneurs, and InnerCity magazine, a joint venture with Inner City Broadcasting, Inc. The kid has his hand in everything. People from all walks of life can and should know about him. He was just an average kid from very humble beginnings and I think all can relate to him. This book is the perfect graduation present for a child graduating high school.

He can teach a lot of people about business and his business acumen is right up there with the richest people and even surpasses many of them, particularly celebrity entertainers. He actually understands how to make money in most any field. He doesn’t have celebrity status, he doesn’t dunk or sing. Entertainers and athletes have the luxury of being able to leverage their celebrity and celebrity status through PR firms to get endorsement money for games, commercial products, movies, etc but that is not really "hustling”.

He might have always had a little something extra as business woman Wendy Day of Rap Coalition says, “Most Kids his age are like, ‘Let's go to the mall.' Farrah is like let’s build a mall.” What he has done its worthy of praise and according to People magazine, Farrah is the only African-American teenager to rise from public assistance to a business mogul without being in entertainment or having a family connection of wealth.” That’s a double edged sword because while it shows how much he has accomplished it shows a contrast of how the African American community in general waste the majority of their genius dealing with entertainment activity.

On the other hand Farrah realized early on that his chances at success were much better if he chose a path outside of entertainment. He stopped watching a lot of TV and began watching the people around him and reading books. He had lots of support from his mother and his father who although he didn’t live with them was part of his life.

Farrah is a role model. He has seemingly handled his success well and hasn’t become supped up although he would have reason to after rubbing elbows with President Clinton, Michael Milken, H. Wayne Huizenga, Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, and many other business and political leaders. But this kid is real inside and out in fact the title of his Book Reallionaire is a word he coined which means Rich In spirit and in financial terms.

The spiritual component that he incorporates into his book makes it a joy to read and you can appreciate what he has done because the balance is so obvious. Farrah uniquely presents his book as a motivational resource and an instructional book with 9 Philosophical Chapters on business

His story will definitely inspire other kids and parents despite whether or not they enjoy business. It’s written in a very simple and easy to read format. If you are not already filthy rich, then you will likely find this to be a good, light read but don't expect to be a millionaire because you read it, or more importantly, if you are working for somebody else.

The Alchemist

The Alchemist: A Fable about Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho

FROM OUR EDITORS
With the help of several enchanted strangers, an Andalusian shepherd boy learns to listen to himself.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come. The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

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I like alot of the author's writings. He has a simple sort of writing that dosen't cloud up what he is working to say. This book is all about showing the importance of utilizing experience to get to Understanding. Those who refuse to experience life end up making life a mystery.

Peace

1984

1984

FROM THE PUBLISHER
George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision of "Negative Utopia" is timelier than ever-and its warnings more powerful.
Author Biography:

SYNOPSIS
Winston Smith is a low-ranking member of the ruling Party in London, in the nation of Oceania. Everywhere Winston goes, even his own home, the Party watches him through telescreens; everywhere he looks he sees the face of the Party's seemingly omniscient leader, a figure known only as Big Brother. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even the people's history and language. Currently, the Party is forcing the implementation of an invented language called Newspeak, which attempts to prevent political rebellion by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts is illegal. Such thoughtcrime is, in fact, the worst of all crimes.
As the novel opens, Winston feels frustrated by the oppression and rigid control of the Party, which prohibits free thought, sex, and any expression of individuality. Winston dislikes the party and has illegally purchased a diary in which to write his criminal thoughts. He has also become fixated on a powerful Party member named O'Brien, whom Winston believes is a secret member of the Brotherhood—the mysterious, legendary group that works to overthrow the Party.

Winston works in the Ministry of Truth, where he alters historical records to fit the needs of the Party. He notices a coworker, a beautiful dark-haired girl, staring at him, and worries that she is an informant who will turn him in for his thoughtcrime. He is troubled by the Party's control of history: the Party claims that Oceania has always been allied with Eastasia in a war against Eurasia, but Winston seems to recall a time when this was not true. The Party also claims that Emmanuel Goldstein, the alleged leader of the Brotherhood, is the most dangerous man alive, but this does not seem plausible to Winston. Winston spends his evenings wandering through the poorest neighborhoods in London, where the proletarians, or proles, live squalid lives, relatively free of Party monitoring.

One day, Winston receives a note from the dark-haired girl that reads "I love you." She tells him her name, Julia, and they begin a covert affair, always on the lookout for signs of Party monitoring. Eventually they rent a room above the secondhand store in the prole district where Winston bought the diary. This relationship lasts for some time. Winston is sure that they will be caught and punished sooner or later (the fatalistic Winston knows that he has been doomed since he wrote his first diary entry), while Julia is more pragmatic and optimistic. As Winston's affair with Julia progresses, his hatred for the Party grows more and more intense. At last, he receives the message that he has been waiting for: O'Brien wants to see him.

Winston and Julia travel to O'Brien's luxurious apartment. As a member of the powerful Inner Party (Winston belongs to the Outer Party), O'Brien leads a life of luxury that Winston can only imagine. O'Brien confirms to Winston and Julia that, like them, he hates the Party, and says that he works against it as a member of the Brotherhood. He indoctrinates Winston and Julia into the Brotherhood, and gives Winston a copy of Emmanuel Goldstein's book, the manifesto of the Brotherhood. Winston reads the book—an amalgam of several forms of class-based twentieth-century social theory—to Julia in the room above the store. Suddenly, soldiers barge in and seize them. Mr. Charrington, the proprietor of the store, is revealed as having been a member of the Thought Police all along.

Torn away from Julia and taken to a place called the Ministry of Love, Winston finds that O'Brien, too, is a Party spy who simply pretended to be a member of the Brotherhood in order to trap Winston into committing an open act of rebellion against the Party. O'Brien spends months torturing and brainwashing Winston, who struggles to resist. At last, O'Brien sends him to the dreaded Room 101, the final destination for anyone who opposes the Party. Here, O'Brien tells Winston that he will be forced to confront his worst fear. Throughout the novel, Winston has had recurring nightmares about rats; O'Brien now straps a cage full of rats onto Winston's head and prepares to allow the rats to eat his face. Winston snaps, pleading with O'Brien to do it to Julia, not to him.

Giving up Julia is what O'Brien wanted from Winston all along. His spirit broken, Winston is released to the outside world. He meets Julia, but no longer feels anything for her. He has accepted the Party entirely and has learned to love Big Brother.

Copyright 1999-2001 SparkNotes LLC


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Peace,
1984 is the sh#t! I read it in 1984 when I was a youth. I didn't really grasp it. As I grew I watched the movie and I read it again. I started to soak in a lot and see some analogies in reality as I stepped up my observation. It is relevant nowadays. It is a fresh critique of the current 'war', government structures, totalitarian governments, and the control of language to control the brain i.e. 'wisdom knowledge'.

Gold star to the one who can guess the Plus Degree that the year 1984 plays a critical role in.

As a Man Thinketh

Peace,
All summations of books, if not stated otherwise, come from http://www.bn.com. I won't be giving a review of each book. Each book posted though will be one that I have read, am planning to read, or is relevant to the science of everything in life.


As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

FROM OUR EDITORS
Allen, a 19th-century Englishman, was convinced that positive thinking produced health, wealth and a sense of well-being. His argument is clear and timeless: within each of us is the spiritual power to overcome the troubles of everyday life. 5" x 7 1/4".
ANNOTATION
Illustrating a timeless Biblical principle, this book lays the groundwork for the power of positive thinking.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Allen's practical philosophy of successful living has awakened millions to the discovery and perception of the truth that "they themselves are makers of themselves". Building on the Bible verse. "As a man thinketh, so he is", Allen insists that it is within the power of each person to form his own character and create his own happiness.



This is one of those classics that expounds on the mind, the brain, mental power, and manifestation of thought. If you substract the 'mystery god' concept you will find a nice piece on personal responsibility, self reliance and self actualization. It is one of the closest things that I have seen to 'christian buddhism'. I suggest this book to new borns in the Nation all of the time.

Five Percenter Rap

book_cover
Originally uploaded by ALifeAllah.

Peace,
I’ve been promising for a while to do a review of Five Percenter Rap: God Hop's Music, Message, And Black Muslim Mission by Felicia M. Miyikawa. I’ve just been slow gassing. Bro Omi even beat me to the punch. With all that said let me drop the all eye seeing perspective on this book. I got a long list of grievances so here we go:

-As I’ve said in a previous post scholars be treating us from an anthropological stand point. It is as though they are studying a ‘dead’ civilization. As such they continue to not let us speak for ourselves. In the bibliography there are no issues of ‘Behold the Sun of Man’ , ‘The Word’, or ‘The Five Percenter’ which are all Nation periodicals. She hasn’t watched one video of our Nation’s events even though anyone can get access to them. She hasn’t spoken to any of our elders (who actually walked with Allah the Father) such as 1st Born ABG#7, Abu Shaheed (who left the temple with Allah and has a show on public access in Power Born ), 1st Born Al Jamil, or any of the 1st Born of Medina. All of the above are easily accessable. The time of prophets and messengers is over. If you want to speak about the Gods then go to the GODS.

-She uses the excuse that she is ‘white’ to explain why she couldn’t have complete access. She basically states that white people have no access to the Nation. It sounds as though she is repeating something she ‘heard’. If she had researched any she would have found Azreal, the first white five percenter who was taught by Allah in Mattewan. Though she has the book ‘The Mayor’s Man’ in her possession she failed to realized that Barry Gottwiter was a white man who had access to the Nation. Even nowadays, Michael Muhammad Knight, a white muslim, just showed up at our events and asked questions. In his articles you can see that he spoke to many of the
1st Born, Abu Shaheed, and I even saw him speaking to Knowledge Allah (one of the authors of our anthem, the Enlightener whom Felicia stated was written by Brand Nubian..wtf??!!!) during the Show and Prove. It looks as though she didn’t even try.

-Speaking on the ‘not trying’ level. I saw no mention of her ever visiting or calling the school nor attended a Parliament or Show and Prove.

-I spoke of this in another one of my post yet I’ll reiterate it again. She kept calling him Clarence 13X. From a scholarly point of view that is weak. He was only Clarence 13X when he was in the temple. The time of his life that is important to her study is when he was amongst the youth from 64-69 i.e. when he revealed himself as ALLAH. It doesn’t matter what her ‘theological beliefs’ are if she is writing as a SCHOLAR. She should refer to him by his NAME. She has no problem referring to any of the ‘rappers’ by their ‘MC’ names. When you read books on Father Divine his birth name is only given in the intro. When you read books on the Popes their birth names are only given in the intro.

-She states that ‘there is no standard’ to judge who is God or not; even amongst the Gods. Yet she goes on to then write a whole book on the ‘influence of the Gods in Hip Hop’. That’s like saying you don’t know what a ‘dog’ is (and you are going to do a report on dogs) and you have a mixture of dogs, cats, horses, etc… You then start recording the ‘behavior’ of the mixture with ‘hairballs’, ‘eating hay’ , etc. Then you say that dogs spit hairballs, eat hay, etc.. There has always been a way to detect a true and living God. Maybe she just should’ve ASKED THE GODS AND EARTHS or CALLED THE SCHOOL or READ OUR LITERATURE. The Nation has ALWAYS been critical of “MCS” who came in the name of Allah. Also, she has no reference for how deeply involved a person was in the Nation. So there are some who may have just ‘changed their name’ yet she referencing them as though they are the Nation spokesperson.

-She doesn’t bring new information to the table. She regurgitates a lot of the information that is out there already in the Free Cipher. She didn’t even interview any of the Gods or Earths in her book. She states that she is ‘just putting the information out there’ and THAT is a dangerous thing. What she ends up doing is repeating the same disinformation from some of the articles AGAIN. For instance, she refers to Allah as Clarence Jowers Smith in one portion. THAT is disinformation that could’ve been cleared up if she had done ANY research to her sources. She would’ve seen that one of his wives maiden name was JOWERS i.e. THAT Clarence was his SON. This is the source of disinformation about his ‘record’ in that they mixed up his son’s record with his own.

-She also it appears just ‘makes up information’ like when she states that the Gods were probably trained the martial arts because they were former members of the NOI and would’ve gone through FOI training. The 1st Born DIDN’T come from the NOI, they were youth on the street. That was the whole point of what Allah did. Only a few left the temple with him (such as Abu Shaheed and later Eubeka and Rajab) yet the youth who he taught weren’t in the temple.

-Says she is aware of our lessons yet confuses the NOI Actual Facts with ours (which have 11 original and 2 add on facts). So when she is drawing up what a certain lyric’s relationship to the lessons are she states that the weight of the planet Earth is in the Actual Facts #19 or something. It ISN’T in our Actual Facts at all. It is only in the 6th degree of the 1-40.

-She stated doctrines associated with NOI started with Fard. Actually Fard NEVER stated anything started with him. In fact NOI doctrine states that MFM went and got all of the information from colleges, libraries, people, etc.

-She made a statement that the Nation is ambivalent about marriage under the government. Uh, no, the Nation is clear on that. Our National spokesman Dumar Wa’de has written a reflection on not marrying under the government as well as Allah B.
-She stated that the rise of conscious rap and Five Percenter rap should be credited part to Farrakhan. Uh, why should Five Percenter rap be credited to Farrakhan??

-She fell back on automatically saying that the Moorish Science Temple is the precursor to the NOI without proving anything. In fact, the foundation is a lot more complex then that. One of the best essays written on it is by Ernest Allen Jr.
entitled “ Identity and Destiny: The Formative Views of the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam”
in Muslims on the Americanization Path?


That’s everything in a nutshell. It is an ‘interesting book’ yet the research is sub par. She could’ve just asked the Gods, checked out our various media sources, and checked the validity of our sources.

Peace

104 Miles

Peace


I take all book knowledge and use it to benefit myself.
Allah the Father

One thing about the Nation in my experience is that it has always been pro-literate. I’ve seen brothers who could not read learn these degrees from mouth to ear (by oral transmission) and then be encouraged to go and learn how to read and write. I have always been impressed by how learning this Knowledge inspired a person to what to LEARN in general. That is something that the public school system has had trouble with amongst children nowadays.

When I was learning 120 all the Gods who I was around ALWAYS had a new book in hand. “Yo God, have you read (insert random title) ?!!!” Black Isa my brother was into ‘criminology’ books such as the Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim. Other Gods were into the hard sciences. Others had some plus degrees that they had to hip me to. I personally loved history books and science fiction.

Ironically, while being well read in school was being frowned upon by the ‘in crowd’ as ‘nerdish’, reading amongst the Gods who ran the streets was a sign of intellect. It was a sign of POSITIVE sign of intellect.

Peace

Peace

Peace,
For those whom are checking this blog I won't be blogging alot. I will basically just give updates as to the new links that I have added to the links list.

Peace