Dance Concert: "Jagged Ledges" by Deeply Rooted Dance Theater

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is a Chicago-based dance company that celebrates the African-American aesthetic through movement and music. The critically acclaimed 'Jagged Ledges' is a work inspired by the plight of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Kevin Iega Jeff, a co-founder of the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, previously served as an artistic director of the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre.

Wildest Dreams Check-in, Week 12

Today is Day 81 of the Power 90/P90X program.

Gold Star

I can't believe that I've made it this far (with AWOL days, and other difficulties, of course). I will be greatly relieved to take a short break (probably 2 weeks) from all of this when I finish the 90th day. I plan to do another 90 day training period completely made of up P90X workouts. The plan is to keep going until I get myself totally "tight and right." I'm much closer to where I want to be than when I started, but there's still work to do. Like I said last week, I'm in this for the long haul.

I press on!

The Awful Truth

I blew off two days of training this week. One day out of sheer laziness. And last night, after having dinner with a friend. I very rarely drink, and I really enjoyed knocking back some Margaritas during dinner. So I ended up feeling full, drowsy, and tipsy when I got back home. I called it a night and went to bed.

What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?

"Streams Are the Gathering of Drops:" How Are You Using Your Minutes and Hours?

Time is one of the greatest blessings that God has given to human beings. This is a blessing that most of us waste. I have been guilty of this as well.

In the Quran, God reprimands unbelievers for wasting their lives in a state of disbelief, despite the blessing of longevity that He bestowed upon them:

"And for those who disbelieve, for them is Fire of hell; it is not finished with them so that they should die, nor is chastisement thereof lightened to them. Thus We deal retribution on every ungrateful one.

And therein they cry for succour: Our Lord, take us out! we will do good deeds other than those which we used to do! Did We not give you a life long enough, for him to be mindful who would mind? And there came to you the warner. So taste; because for the iniquitous there is no helper."

Quran: 35:36-37.

What strikes me about this verse isn't so much the chastisement of disbelievers. It's God's disapproval of the wasting of time: "Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"

How many people meet death with regrets. "If only I could do it over again . . . If I had just a little bit longer . . ."

How many of us already have regrets over how we've spent large portions of our lives? Which is another form of loss because it poisons the blessings of the present moment that we've been granted.

In another chapter of the Quran, God vows by Time, and warns us that we will be in a state of loss if we don't use it properly:

"By the time!----
Surely man is in loss,
Except those who believe and do good, and exhort one another to Truth, and exhort one another to patience."

Quran: 103:1-3.

From the book, The Value of Time, by Shaykh Abd Al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah:

"There is nothing more true or beautiful than what Imam Bahauddin ibn an-Nahhas al-Halabi (Muhammad ibn Ibrahim), who died in 698 AH, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote, indicating that by doing a little regularly it adds up to an immense and amazingly great amount, as in the case of Abu'l-Wafa ibn Aquil. He wrote in the biography of al-Suyuti in Bughyat al-Wu'at:

'To do a thing today, and the same tomorrow
Gathering is the essence of knowledge
Thus one may achieve wisdom
For streams are but the gathering of drops'"

The Value of Time, pg. 31.

Streams are but the gathering of drops. The minutes and hours that you spend every day doing things that are not moving you toward your wildest dreams will gather into a stream called "years." A polluted stream. One filled with regrets. If you're not careful with how you spend your time, it will result in a lifetime of regrets.

"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"

Truth be told, most African-American women are keeping themselves busy with activities that are NOT moving them closer to achieving their wildest dreams. Most of these activities revolve around doing things for non-reciprocating others.

"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"

God gave us "lives long enough" to move closer to our goals. It's up to us to use these everyday minutes and hours wisely.

It's not enough to divest from people who are not making positive, reciprocal contributions to our lives. This, by itself, won't make our wildest dreams come true. This, by itself, won't be enough to save our own lives.

We must also be wise with how we spend the blessing of time. We must divest from activities that are not moving us toward the abundant lives that are our birthright.

Among other things, I've divested from bringing work home, unless it's an absolute emergency (and I do everything I can to make such emergencies rare).

What are you going to divest from?

Geostrategy Nerd: Recognize The Survival Value of Dissensus

It concerns me that so many Black people assume that consensus is always good, and that dissensus (difference of opinion) is always bad. Real life is much more nuanced than that. Mapping out collective real-life survival strategies is much more nuanced than that.

It doesn't occur to most of us that consensus is often a form of people collectively putting all of their eggs in one basket.

I bet consensus doesn't sound quite the same when it's put that way! This is something to keep in mind when mapping out mass strategies for fluid, rapidly changing circumstances. When there are a large number of unknowns, it might not be a good thing to try to herd people into a single, grand strategy. Even a good strategy usually has an expiration date, and is best used under certain circumstances.

Just think of the various obsolete strategies that African-Americans continue to have a consensus about:

1. Pursuing symbolic inclusion instead of seeking dominance over an essential economic niche.

2. Continuing to use protest techniques from the Civil Rights movement.

3. Trying to cajole our former slave masters, their children, and their Ellis Island cousins to solve our economic problems with forced inclusion into their businesses. This is done by using demonstrations and protests to shakedown White corporations for jobs.

Many Black women's empowerment blogs have acknowledged the end of the African-American community as a functional collective; and are mapping out adaptive responses to this situation. I submit to you that in many ways, African-American women find themselves in an unprecedented situation:

I'm not aware of any surviving human society that had the vast majority of its children out of wedlock.

I'm not aware of any surviving human society that expected its women to raise children alone.

I'm not aware of any surviving human society that expected its women to socialize its boys into manhood.

I suspect that the reason why I don't know of any such human society is because these social practices DON'T work; and lead to the destruction of any group that engages in them.

Most African-Americans currently have a consensus that we can engage in these behaviors and still somehow survive. I disagree.

If we are going to map out several survival strategies (and thereby have more than one viable "basket" for our eggs), we must leave room for people to follow their own vision of what it takes to survive and thrive. We must leave room for constructive disagreement.

*Suggested Reading* In the context of peak oil preparedness, John Michael Greer has written a couple of excellent essays about the potential life-saving value of dissensus. http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu89l08VJe38BHv9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzbzlzY3FoBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1NTMDFfMTE1/SIG=11sjonph5/EXP=1237787877/**http%3a//www.energybulletin.net/node/47508 and http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu92008VJVGQAseZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEza25tZTJ0BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1NTMDFfMTE1/SIG=11suqkkg8/EXP=1237787956/**http%3a//www.energybulletin.net/node/47436

Wildest Dreams Check-In, Week 11

Today is Day 75 of the Power 90/P90X program.

Gold Star

With frequent use of the pause button, I was able to make it through the Plyometrics workout!

Including the jump knee tuck: "Keep upper body relatively calm while jumping up and pulling your knees in towards your chest repeatedly. Use your hands as targets for your knees. Modify by lowering your hands, which decreases jump height. To intensify, raise hands to increase jump height and pick up speed."

I'm happy that there's really no "Awful Truth" to report this week.

I've sort of settled into a hopefully long-term, sustainable pattern of eating mostly raw food before dinner. Since I'm no longer following the regimented diet plan, it's somewhat slowing down my short-term weight-loss progress. However, I feel that what I'm doing represents great progress for the long term. I feel content (not agitated, angry, or resigned---*Smile*) about continuing to train and eat much better (than I was before) after I've finished the first 90-days. [After taking a small break, I'm going to continue the P90x training after Day 90.]

I no longer perceive this as a "quick fix" situation. I'm in this for the long haul.

What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?

Table Talk for Activists, Part 6: Backbiting & Other Destructive Forms of Disagreement

This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.

Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!

Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
____________________________________________

Backbiting Is Usually The Result of Mishandling a Disagreement

Upon reflection, I realized that backbiting is usually the result of the backbiter mishandling disagreement. It begins when the backbiter discovers that she's unable to get the other person to agree with her. The backbiter then starts going to various other venues to disparage the person who disagreed with them. I've watched this happen repeatedly with commenters on various blogs.

Here's the typical scenario for this:

The commenter is unable to get the blogger to agree with her. The commenter then tries to "flip the script," and claim that the blogger that they are backbiting is intolerant of dissent. From the scenarios that I silently observed before I even started my own blog, that's not these backbiters' true issue at all. Their REAL issue is that they were unable to get the blogger to change their position. And instead of gracefully agreeing to disagree, they skulk off to other forums to whine about how the blogger would not change their position to agree with them.

This is dysfunctional AND destructive behavior. Let's talk about the constructive management of disagreements.

Recognize That Most Disagreements Will Be Managed, and NOT Resolved

The first step is to recognize that most disagreements will be managed, and not resolved. As Frank Hecker stated in his essay Handling Disagreements in Open Collaborative Projects, he strongly believes that "in the context of open collaborative projects it is not possible to definitively resolve all disagreements to the satisfaction of those disagreeing; I believe instead that in the real world the best we can hope for is to manage disagreements well enough to get some work done."

I agree with Mr. Hecker. In the context of Black women's empowerment blogs, the point (as I see it) is to work together to pursue our broader, shared goals. NOT to convert other discussion participants to every, single tenet of our personal beliefs.

Recognize the Difference Between Critical and Non-Critical Points of Disagreement

In order to work together to pursue broader, shared goals we actually have to have shared goals. Trying to work with people who do not share one's goals automatically leads to infighting. Even if a group of people have shared goals, they also need to have shared core values in order to be able to cooperate enough to get work done. Trying to work with people who do not share one's core values automatically leads to infighting.

For example, I believe in economic empowerment for Black women. However, I would not be able to cooperate with persons who feel that it is appropriate for Black women to seek this empowerment through the sex trade.

The problem with how many of us handle disagreement is that we inflate every point of disagreement into a false core value. Through our emotions, we turn every point of disagreement into a "dealbreaker." Whether or not the disagreement is over an actual core value, we need to learn to gracefully walk away from disagreements.

Gracefully Walk Away From The Disagreement

People create a lot of unnecessary friction and strife when they refuse to gracefully walk away from a disagreement. Instead of "agreeing to disagree" and moving on, they do destructive things. Sometimes they run to other venues to backbite the person who disagreed with them. Backbiting is when the target of the verbal attack isn't present to respond.

In addition to backbiting, there's another destructive behavior that I call "the running battle." This is where the combatants openly rehash and re-fight their battles with each other over and over at a never-ending series of venues. As a result, the strife that was originally contained within one setting is spread to multiple settings.

Another destructive behavior that people sometimes engage in is to stay and fight with the person who disagreed with them.

There are two main "stay and fight" techniques that I see a lot of. The first "stay and fight" technique is to needlessly rehash the original point of disagreement. It's one thing to state one's full position on an issue when it naturally comes up in discussion (including a point of disagreement). It's something else to continuously drag the point of disagreement into unrelated conversations.

The other "stay and fight" technique is to insist upon having the last word in a disagreement. I see this a lot with commenters on blogs, which always amazes me. It would never occur to me to expect to have the last word about a topic in somebody else's "house." Especially if the person I'm disagreeing with is the blog host!

On this blog, I will at times allow dissenting readers to have the last word in a disagreement. I try to be a gracious host. However, I won't do that if I feel that the point of disagreement is of critical importance. Also, people need to understand that they are not entitled to have the last word in somebody else's house. That's a courtesy that might be extended, not a requirement.

Gracefully walking away should be the general practice whether the disagreement is about a "dealbreaker" issue or not. If it's about a "dealbreaker," engaging in destructive behavior (such as backbiting and staying to fight) will likely create an extra, unnecessary enemy. If the disagreement is about a non-essential matter, engaging in destructive behavior will make it difficult (if not impossible) to cooperate with that person in pursuit of broader, shared goals.

Over the last century, many Muslim reformers such as Hassan al-Banna (the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood) have recognized the activists' organizing principle that we should cooperate on the issues we agree upon, and excuse one another on the issues we differ on. I believe that this is good advice.

Two Never-Known or Mostly-Forgotten News Stories That Explain Why Introspection And Activism Matter

While we're digesting the recent Table Talk for Activists discussions, I feel that it would be good to keep all of this in what I believe is its proper context.

In addition to the Dunbar Village Atrocity, there were two (mostly never-known or mostly forgotten by those who knew) news stories that propelled me out of my earlier sense of semi-complacency about the condition of the African-American collective. In its own way, each incident speaks to the near-total reign of barbarism in the former Black community. Each incident speaks to the Rwanda/Congo-type conditions that are right around the corner. Each incident speaks to what is at stake with our online work. In places like Dunbar Village, Rwanda has already arrived.

Darius Miller

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2009/01/28/apollo-holmes%E2%80%99-suicide-a-dead-end-in-case-of-comatose-trainer/

Our (mis)leaders, who are so concerned about accused Black male criminals, don't seem to know or care about Darius Miller. I find it interesting to note that the Black women in Atlanta who responded so enthusiastically to the violence-prone buffoons of the Jena 6, haven't said a peep about a Black man who was beaten into a coma for defending Black women from DBRBM.

I haven't forgotten about Mr. Miller.

Shontae Blanche

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/nov/07/local/me-runover7

While the Internet Ike Turners and Ikettes are angrily denying the need for Black women to expand their marriage horizons, there are Black women literally dying over a perceived shortage of potential mates. These women believe that there is a "man shortage" because the only men they are considering are Black men. There are plenty of loving and lovable men other than the dwindling number of eligible Black men.

The idea of a crowd of grown, African-American women fighting to the death over the affections of a Negro criminal is horrible enough. The background details of the victim's life were also disturbing (from the Los Angeles Times story above):

The mourners said it was unlike the 22-year-old to be involved in a violent dispute.

"If she would've had any idea what she was getting into, she wouldn't have come," said Brenda Rowry, Blanche's aunt.

At her childhood home in a neighborhood about three miles northwest of the fatal confrontation, Blanche's grandmother and cousin remembered her as a popular girl and bank worker who was determined to avoid trouble.

"She would tell me, 'I'm not going to be like my mom,' " said Helen Hayes, 60, who raised her granddaughter. According to Hayes, both of Blanche's parents had been in and out of prison since Blanche was a young child.

Blanche, who was five months' pregnant and married to a man in prison, was looking forward to a future as a mother and to graduating from Cal State Northridge.

She hoped to become a parole officer and was 13 classes away from that goal, said a cousin, Argentine Hayes, 21.

Generations of dysfunction that has become normalized. And it's spreading. Next stop, Rwanda.

Table Talk for Activists, Part 5: Handling Ikettes

This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.

Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!

Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif

Wildest Dreams Check-In, Week 10

Today is Day 67 of the Power 90/P90X program.

Gold Star

Last week I figured that it would be a good idea to not wait until the last minute to order the P90X program. So I placed my order, and it arrived earlier this week. The original plan was to finish the introductory Power 90 program, and then start the more advanced P90X program.

What I forgot was that I often turn into a "blind ambition" sort of of person. I forgot that there was no way that I would have the P90X dvds, and not at least experiment with doing the workouts.

After the last two days of experimentation, I've decided to switch over and start doing the more advanced P90X workouts. P90X is serious. Both in terms of the exercises themselves, and the time commitment. Most of these workouts are about an HOUR long.

Today, I made it through the Legs and Back workout, which is 58 minutes of alternating squats, lunges, and pull-ups. [In my case, pull-up variations using resistance bands; maybe I'll invest in a chin-up bar. Time will tell.] It was hard and I struggled, but I made it through.

The Awful Truth

I hated the relatively brief yoga portion of the Power 90 program. The Yoga X workout in the P90X program lasts for 92 minutes. NO. There's no way that I'm going to do 1.5 hours of yoga. I abruptly walked away from the Yoga X workout yesterday after about 20 minutes. I've decided that I'll do the Cardio X program instead on the Yoga X days.

What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?

Table Talk for Activists, Part 4: Handling Internet Ike Turners

This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.

Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!

Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
_________________________________________

If you are a Black woman blog host who supports Black women and girls, you have to be prepared to handle the Internet Ike Turners that are guaranteed to show up at your site. [Head scarf flutter to Gina, blog host of What About Our Daughters for coining the phrase "Internet Ike Turners."]

Internet Ike Turners are Black men who are enraged at the very idea that any Black woman, anywhere, is thinking about any issue in terms of Black women's interests. You see, Internet Ike Turners are determined to maintain the current status quo of "Black interests" being defined solely as whatever benefits Black men, period.

Internet Ike Turners [IITs] euphemistically refer to this status quo of Black male empowerment at the expense of Black women and children as "Black unity." And they will attack any forum that questions or challenges this status quo.

If you use your blog to question this status quo, then they will attack YOU. They will also seek to disrupt your blog discussions.

RECOGNIZING COMMON IIT TACTICS

The first step to handling this type of online aggression is to recognize it for what it is: an attack. Too many Black women bloggers misread this behavior as legitimate dissent and discussion. That's not what the behavior is about at all. It's about derailing, and shutting down, any discussion that might raise Black women's consciousness. I'll focus on the IITs' favorite attack techniques, but please take the time to read the entire linked article called "25 Tactics for Truth Suppression:" http://www.benfrank.net/disinfo This article covers the full range of disruptive tactics.

Play Indignant

Avoid discussing any of the points that are raised, and instead talk about how offended you are by the very premise of the discussion. Naive opponents will discuss and debate the merits of your decision to take offense at the discussion.

Hit and Run

Leave a short, sarcastic comment and then run off before anyone can respond. An alternative is to return to leave other comments while ignoring other participants' responses to your original comment. Naive opponents will continue to respond to you, instead of moving the discussion forward without you.

Straw Man

Misrepresent your opponent's argument into something that's weaker and easier for you to rebut. Spend all of your comments responding to this fake, straw man argument, and NOT to anything your opponent actually said.

Deny Reality

Act and speak as if the very real, very negative circumstances facing African-American women don't exist. Act and speak as if the African-American collective is a paradise filled with stable, loving, married households. Act and speak as if the masses of Black men are protecting and providing for Black women and children. In short, deny reality. Imitate the posture of 1950s Southern racists who just knew that their "darkies" had every reason to be happy living under segregation; and would be happy if it wasn't for "outside Communist agitators."

Naive opponents will start discussing and debating the existence of your alternate reality, instead of the original issue at hand.

Invoke [Invented, Skewed] Statistics to Deny Reality

This is a variation of the above technique. Naive opponents will start discussing and debating the merits of your fake statistics, instead of the original issue at hand.

Start a Flame War

Say something insulting or condescending to goad opponents into emotional responses. This way you can shift the conversation away from the issue at hand, and onto other people's emotionalism. For extra credit points, leave a link in your insulting comment to an IIT blog in order to lure opponents there to be insulted some more.

Change the Subject

This tactic is usually used in combination with at least one of the other tactics listed. It's also the ultimate goal of all of the earlier tactics.

STAY ON POINT: STOP HOLDING TOWN HALL MEETINGS FOR INTERNET IKE TURNERS

The first error that many Black women bloggers make is not recognizing these disruptive tactics for what they are: attacks. The second error many women bloggers make is by entertaining this nonsense.

If you are an activist blog host, please understand that it is totally inappropriate to allow oppressors to use your blog to advance their agenda! You don't owe your oppressor "equal time." Would you allow the Klan to use your blog forum to spread their message? Well, the Internet Ike Turners are the same as the Klan. I think that sometimes we forget this.

As a blog host, unless you have the skills to successfully use the IITs' comments as "teachable moments," you probably should NOT publish their comments. By arguing with IITs, you are allowing them to re-direct the discussion away from the original point, and away from your discussion goals.

For audience members, the most productive response is usually to ignore the Internet Ike Turners' provocations, and stay focused on moving the discussion forward.

Comment Overflow for the Post, "If You're Not On One of These 10 Roads to Riches, You're Heading Toward the Poorhouse"

*Reader's Note* We're transferring our discussion from the 3/2/09 post, "If You're Not On One of These 10 Roads to Riches, You're Heading Toward the Poorhouse" to the comment section here. [I don't like having the scroll down miles of computer screen to read new comments, and we've reached almost 100 comments in the comment section of that particular post.] Please post your comments to the "Roads to Riches" post right here. Thank you.

Wildest Dreams Check-In, Week 9

Today is Day 60 of the Power 90 program.

It's a Wash: This Week's Awful Truth and Gold Star Cancel Each Other Out

One the one hand, I'm in much better spirits than I was last week about this whole transition. This is thanks to a comment from a reader named Ana (who pointed out that last week's bit of semi-craziness was simply part of "the necessary birth pangs unto becoming a new, healthier person."). ¡Muchas Gracias, Ana!

On the other hand, I've missed a couple of days of working out this week due to illness. [The cold that I've been ducking and dodging since last week finally caught up with me. Although, I avoided getting a sore throat due to timely intervention with zinc lozenges.]

I soldier on.

What's going on with you? How are your Wildest Dreams (of any type, not just fitness/health related) coming along?

If You're Not On One of These 10 Roads to Riches, You're Heading Toward the Poorhouse

I'm reading a book called The Ten Roads to Riches: The Ways the Wealthy Got There (And How You Can Too) by Ken Fisher.

It's time for African-American women to finally leave Fantasy Island and face reality. My Dad taught me that in real life there's no such thing as treading water. If you're not moving forward, you're falling behind. And it's just a matter of time until you drown. In the current economy, this means that if you're not working to build wealth, you're working to become poor. The days of being able to rely on "good jobs" are OVER.

Furthermore, I've been reading disturbing reports comparing this current depression not to the Great Depression of the 1930s, but to the Long Depression of the late 19th century. The Long Depression lasted from 1873-1896! What if the current economic tailspin goes on for the next 20 years? What will you do?

Here are the ten roads to riches that Mr. Fisher lays out. [My comments are in blue.]:

"1. Start a successful business---the richest road! [This is a hard road, but the most promising one in terms of the odds, and level, of success.]

2. Become CEO of an existing firm and juice it---a very mechanical function. [Not very likely for the vast majority of Black women.]

3. Hitch to a successful visionary's wagon and ride along---it's high value-added. [Translation: Look for a winner to "to drag you along through his or her success." Look for a winning CEO, entrepreneur, etc. to play sidekick to, and ride along with.]

4. Turn celebrity into wealth---or wealth into celebrity and then more wealth! [The odds are not in favor of this option. Black folks need to let go of "hoop dreams" and "hip-hop dreams" and focus our energy on things that have greater chances of success.]

5. Marry well---really, really well. [I strongly urge every African-American woman to pursue this option, along with another road to wealth. As Evia has often pointed out, it's just as easy to love a wealthy man as a poor man. Women from every ethnic group EXCEPT African-American women seem to understand this basic fact.

This is why other women look to marry well, and thereby ensure the future of any children they have. Meanwhile, many AA children are in the condition described by Min. Farrakhan as "naked, hungry, and out of doors." This is because their mothers did NOT marry well. Or marry at all. And their mothers had these children by men who aren't going anywhere productive in life.]

6. Steal it, legally---no guns necessary! [Translation: Practice law. Ouch! I would say that the odds of this option panning out are not promising for the vast majority of Black female attorneys. For a variety of reasons,which are too many to get into here. ]

7. Capitalize on other people's money (OPM)---where most of the mega-rich are. [Translation: Manage other people's money. A lot of it.]

8. Invent an endless future revenue stream---even if you're not an inventor! [The author explains that this doesn't only mean actually inventing something like Post-Its; it also means making "an annuity-like future cash flow from something that you create, own or patent that just keeps spewing cash. A gadget, book, song, movie, or even experience." The Ten Roads to Riches, Amazon Kindle Locations 2552-69.]

9. Trump the land barons by monetizing unrealized real estate wealth! [Translation: Building skscrapers---Umm, not in this economy. Or collecting rent as a landlord---Yep! People will always need somewhere to live.]

10. Go down the Road More Traveled---save hard, invest well---forever! [The idea of trying to scrimp your way to wealth sounds crazy to me. I have heard of elderly people who had accumulated huge sums of money over many decades with U.S. Savings Bonds, but they were all too old to enjoy it. What's the point of that? Also, all of this was before the current economic depression.]

Follow one of these ten roads. Or a combination . . . If you can do two at once it's faster. Harder, but faster." The Ten Roads to Riches, Amazon Kindle Locations 146-55 through 155-68.

Which roads to riches are you willing to follow?

Which roads to riches are you preparing yourself to follow?

Which roads to riches are you already following?