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donkolart · 9 years ago

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A DREAM TURN INTO REALITY Wooooooo, I had the great honor of speaking to a group of 7th graders today in drama class. So here is a brief explanation of how it went.

There was an assignment on the board that ask the students: “what are your dreams and what are you going to do to make them happen?” As you all know I was excited to share a bit about my story and give out #majorkeys to help them see the big picture for their dreams/ideas.

When expressing their dreams many students stated that they would get good grades to achieve their goals.

They also never heard of the term “financial literacy” until today which was broken down to them and instructed for them to write down on their paper to study.

Here is what the students wanted to be and here is what I explain they could create. But before I explained anything I asked all the students “do you believe in God?” Everyone raised their hand. I explained if you believe in God then you’ll have the faith to live out your dreams and the rest will fall in place.

Student 1: I want to be a gymnastics: what it will take & lead to: a diet change, family support, practice, gold medals, which lead to endorsements.

Student 2: I want to be a Basketball Player. What it will take: Family Support, Practice, Good High School, Have a backup plan to invest your money..

Student 3: “I want to be an archeologists.” Study history, collect artifacts, build a museum with your cultural history, buy ancient pieces, sell ancient pieces, rent ancient pieces out to the movie theartres and theatre.

After at least 3 students everyone begin to ask to me to share the possibilities they can do with their dreams.

Student 4: “I want to be a mechanical engineer.” What you can do: learn the engineering of old gas cars and the new electric cars. Create a unique service or product that will improve the transit system. Connect with the athletes in the room to fund your venture.

Student 5: “I want to be a photographer.” Ok, learn the old way of how to develop pictures, in your field you can get hired to develop your friends business portfolios, you can also create a business that does photo shoots for actors in the room and events. Also learn the digital mediums of photography. Once you understand that you can create a photo filter, patented it, and sell it to snap chat or Instagram.

Student 6: “I want to be an hacker for the government.” Wow, ok, here is what you can do: first take out the device in your pocket and understand how it is made. Research the manufactures of your phone, the company applications in your phone, and download “Lrn” app in your phone. You can also go online to “futurelearn.com and take classes on coding. With your field you can also create code to make the products and services of your friends better.

Overall the students were engaged and learn a great deal of the world that is happening around them. They were motivated and happy to transition to the next class.

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donkolart · 9 years ago

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Whose Culture ?

donkola: after you take your first breathe this morning, thank God for waking you up. #thoughts unfortunately we live in a culture ran by children who can't comprehend or accept responsibility run away from awareness and violent will tear down human life to keep their reality of privileged upheld. We live in a culture where time and breathe of life is taken for granted and healing from past mistakes is not supported. We live in a culture where the money you make or the title of your job signifies your maturity and not how you take care of yourself,family, and community. We live in culture where many churches and schools have been purposely systematically broken and all forms of faith and hope one seeks can be bought for a limited time only. We live in a culture where questioning is consider intimidating and curiousness is not allowed but distraction from the truth is alright. We love is promoted as a stagnate product never growing in expression or diversity. We live in a culture of insecurity/fear is projected onto everyone and folk who have a God(science,law, & technology) complex lead people astray and strangling their spirits not allowing them to expand beyond this life time to a more higher place.

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donkolart · 9 years ago

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So today's boys and girls we are discussing Desiigner. But before we do if like to give a little background history about my experience while working with the youth. For many years I work and fostered relations with at-risk youth who acted out for lack of understanding and wanting love and support by breaking laws and committing crimes. At the core of all they needed trust and consistency, some made it while others didn't. After a long conversation with my brother we both came to an agreement the when creativity meets "proper English" creativity always wins. Which brings to mind the new school rapper Desiigner. After being introduced to him through the Life of Pablo album by Kanye West. I was intrigued to understand why Desiigner raps the way he does. My brother shared a post stating the it sounded like a Africa spiritual on his new free style Timmy, Timmy. So I let the thought sit with me for a while as I wrestled with the idea of how to meet this youth where he is at. Finally I got the courage to look up an interview to go behind the music and see him in a wholistic perspective versus shutting Desiigner out because how he sounds lyrically. It was an honest interview and a reflection of how he works creatively. A top of that I grappled with the idea of not boxing/categorizing the my emotions base off of my expectations of whet I feel he should sound like. As my brother put it to me very simply is that our youth are exploring and they have way more courage then some of us. But also I appreciate the cultural rebellious nature of him going against the English language as HipHop has done for years. Many of us still hold high the English language, but forget the historical origins of colonization and the mother tongue which was lost due to it. Remember Kutah Kenta, Roots, your name is Toby. To be even more profound I can't judge Desiigner's walk because this may be the path way that God has chosen him to go on to bring him closer spiritually. Overall let's not shame or judge the youth in any art form instead let seek to have patience and understand how they are trying to define/navigate the world.

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donkolart · 10 years ago

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Negative Tapes (Part 4 of 4) By DonKola 12/5/15 Just this pass year alone, I've had the pleasure to work with the intellectual disability and they have been a true eye opener for me. By working with the people I've learn that with enough encouragement and patience anyone can do anything they set their minds to. People with diseases or disabilities can sometimes be the most misunderstood and neglected. While working with a blind man I challenged him to learn how independently find things for himself. Now I know you may ask, why he didn't have a walking stick? Well it was his human right so he stated he did not want one. But during the time I was there I challenge him to do things on his own and eventually he learn how to go to the bathroom, trash can, and get his lunch all by himself. Prior to me working with him he thought that in order for him to function properly he needed someone to be with him. False. It was a tape a tape that lack autonomy and independence for him to live a full life. There were many others I worked with who've been told that they couldn't do independent things because their care takers told them they would hurt themselves. My argument to them and anyone else is to destroy your negative tapes and challenge what you've been told to find/create your own perspective of life. In order to succeed we all must fail. A list of things that can help us all delete our negative tapes is: 1. measure change is setting goals by journaling each day or documenting through different mediums. 2. Create a Vision Board Manifest it through prayers & meditation. 3. Start your day off positively by meditating, never allow your body to dedicate to attitude for the day. 4. Check in with yourself to see if you are honoring your bodies mental and physical health. 5. If you can't read or understand technology get a tutor at your local library or research one online. 6. Listen to podcast for "self help" just type in self help podcast and numerous ones should show up. 7. Check your environment and if you feel it's negatively contributing to your state of mind find a foster home, friend, or extended family member to stay with. Time away heals all wounds. 8. Before you make any assumptions check yourself to see if it's true. During that moment create a positive tape or say a prayer and think about all positive things to help you distance yourself from that thought pattern. This will ultimately help you reach your goals. If you want to get more information on donkolart just sign up for my email listing on how to unlock your inner potential to create the life you want. For More great articles and workshops sign up here http://bit.ly/DonKola Or follow me here http://bit.ly/followdonkola

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donkolart · 10 years ago

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Negative Tapes (Part 3 of 4) By DonKola 12/7/15 When I researched negative tapes for the first time I realize how much an impact negative tapes can have an affect on our everyday life. From childhood, to advertisement, culture, workplace norms, and school. After understanding my tapes, I challenged myself to reflect. One of the albums that came to mind was a Jay Z's Blue Print 3 album the song "What We Talkin' About" or when Pastor Young Jeezy stated that change is necessary in his recent breakfast club interview. Growing up as an artist I was always fascinated by change and how we can sometime neglect looking at the wolrd from a different perspective. I think that's why it's important to always listen, journal and gather feedback for ourselves so we can see if we have changed. As I reflected on my life recently I've recognize the changes that have occurred. One that comes to mind was when I finally moved into my new place. I went to the grocery store and to my surprise I saw all diverse groups of people. Then it clicked, I wrote I wanted to live within a diverse community. But that is not even the half of it. For More great articles and workshops sign up here http://bit.ly/DonKola Or follow me here http://bit.ly/followdonkola

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donkolart · 10 years ago

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Negative Tapes (Part 2 of 4) By DonKola 12/6/15 My family tapes were very black and white meaning I received different tapes from my mother and father side of the family. But the most powerful tape was my fathers. He was very negative towards society and it stem from his father. Later in life I realized I had taken that same stance. Recognizing this was a hard pill to swallow. I had also taken on other peoples tapes of what I should be professionally from extended family of what I should do all while trying to create my own tapes of empowerment. School tapes were no different with all the rules and regulations that lack fostering of creativity and critical thinking in certain classes I attended all the way into my graduate school years. The negative tapes affected me so much that I attracted negativity in my Facebook timeline. But I know now that I have a choice to listen to positive tapes. For More great articles and workshops sign up here http://bit.ly/DonKola Or follow me here http://bit.ly/followdonkola

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donkolart · 10 years ago

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Negative Tapes (Part 1 of 4)

By DonKola 12/5/15

Tapes, we all have them playing in our head 24hours 7 Days a Week and 365 Days out of the year. Some times there are good some are bad, either way they still play on and on and on.

I recently was dialoguing with my best friends about how negatively I felt regarding my current employment situation. She challenged me to think differently about the circumstances that I face. She confront my thoughts by asking me if what I thought was true. At that time I really couldn’t give her a solid answer about how I felt. She empathize with my current situation but not the feelings I create towards the problem that kept me in a stagnate state of mind.

At this point in my life some would’ve thought that I had my life under control. But it wasn’t until recently I questioned my negative thought pattern that hinder me from connecting with people and situations on a positively.

Tapes, whether negative or positive we all have them. They are feed to us by our parents first, schools second, society third, and companies we work in fourth. Shad Helmstetter Ph.D. created the book called The Power of Neuroplasticity, where he states that our brains have a loop cycle that when we think a thought our brains records it, stores it, and plays it back to us.“ Depending on the amount of thoughts(negative or positive) we have about any situation will potentially be a self fulfilled prophecy.

Growing up is such a static environment at a young child I had to change and challenge negative thoughts on a consistent basis. Some thoughts change and others didn’t. I’ve learn that our minds are shaped through what we expose ourselves to.

While doing the mental work by learning to understand my negative tapes I realize that some tapes were barred in my subconscious and never address due to my perceptions of personal growth. Now that I think about it has been hard for me to address personal growth and I had only been scratching the surface.

For More great articles and workshops sign up here http://bit.ly/DonKola

Or follow me here http://bit.ly/followdonkola

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donkolart · 10 years ago

Photo

Negative Tapes (Part 1 of 4)

By DonKola 12/5/15

Tapes, we all have them playing in our head 24hours 7 Days a Week and 365 Days out of the year. Some times there are good some are bad, either way they still play on and on and on.

I recently was dialoguing with my best friends about how negatively I felt regarding my current employment situation. She challenged me to think differently about the circumstances that I face. She confront my thoughts by asking me if what I thought was true. At that time I really couldn’t give her a solid answer about how I felt. She empathize with my current situation but not the feelings I create towards the problem that kept me in a stagnate state of mind.

At this point in my life some would’ve thought that I had my life under control. But it wasn’t until recently I questioned my negative thought pattern that hinder me from connecting with people and situations on a positively.

Tapes, whether negative or positive we all have them. They are feed to us by our parents first, schools second, society third, and companies we work in fourth. Shad Helmstetter Ph.D. created the book called The Power of Neuroplasticity, where he states that our brains have a loop cycle that when we think a thought our brains records it, stores it, and plays it back to us.“ Depending on the amount of thoughts(negative or positive) we have about any situation will potentially be a self fulfilled prophecy.

Growing up is such a static environment at a young child I had to change and challenge negative thoughts on a consistent basis. Some thoughts change and others didn’t. I’ve learn that our minds are shaped through what we expose ourselves to.

While doing the mental work by learning to understand my negative tapes I realize that some tapes were barred in my subconscious and never address due to my perceptions of personal growth. Now that I think about it has been hard for me to address personal growth and I had only been scratching the surface.

For More great articles and workshops sign up here http://bit.ly/DonKola

Or follow me here http://bit.ly/followdonkola

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donkolart · 10 years ago

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