This past weekend I had the chance to visit a city built on the backs of blue-collared, anchored in American history, and stapled in the 101 textbooks that put me in an HR state of mind. On Friday afternoon when I sat down in that plush seat, powered off my Droid, and relaxed my head against the back of my chair, all I could think about were the stories I read and the images previous visitors had painted for me of the place I was headed. “It couldn’t be that bad,” I thought. The media has a way of sensationalizing everything. People exaggerate their adventures. Statistics can be manipulated. People always see the bad before they see the good.

“The estimated time for today’s flight is one hour and forty-five minutes.”

My journey was underway.

I couldn’t tell you what I did on the flight other than think. One of the things I enjoy most about flying is that my mind can literally be in the clouds. So for just under two hours, it wandered. And when I felt my ears pop, I was back on the ground.

When the plane got reacquainted with the runway, it was clear I wasn’t in New York City anymore. Airplane cabins have a certain way of telling you where you are as soon as the pilots power down the engines. I couldn’t help but find truth in that ridiculous yet well-intentioned song about it being so cold in the D. I was Definitely in Detroit.

Through my eyes.

The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) impressed me. It put La Guardia and JFK to shame and gave me a great first impression of the city. DTW was clean. Everything looked new. The people in the airport were friendly. Passengers weren’t scrambling. I felt at ease. See, I knew they were exaggerating with the stories.

Then I got hungry.

The first thing I do when I get to a new city is find food. It has to be something outside of the airport. A weird tradition I guess. I ended up at a mall, where I expected to get a feel for the pace of the city. It was Friday afternoon. Kids should’ve been out of school. People should’ve been out of work. A great formula for people watching. I didn’t expect the mall to be packed, but I thought I’d see a good number of people out and about window shopping at the least. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked in and found it to be dead like the Langoliers were about to eat it.

The food court was quiet. The mall was dashed with black folks going about their business in a fraction of what I expected. I took a look at the mall directory as my stomach rumbled and saw there was a Fuddrucker’s nearby, which — as a burger monster  – left me no choice but to go there and grab something I didn’t need.

When I walked in, the proverbial tumbleweed blew by. It felt like I was at a diner just off the curve of a highway in the middle of no where, except I wasn’t worried about being lynched. It was Friday afternoon. Why was it so damn quiet? Was there a blizzard coming that I didn’t know about? Did I miss the tornado siren? Do they even get tornados out here in the middle of winter?

This was just the start of my weekend trip. Little did I know how much it was setting the tone for what was to come.

Over the course of the trip, I got to see a few parts and sites of the city. I didn’t realize Detroit was across the river from Canada. I didn’t know the Pistons played an hour away. I didn’t know the Lions, Tigers and Red Wings (oh my) were situated so close to downtown. I didn’t think the bumps in the road could be any worse than what I endured in Ithaca, NY. I didn’t realize coney island hotdogs were as common as water. I didn’t know a gas station could have better coffee than Dunkin Donuts. I’d forgotten the meaning of negative windchill. I’d forgotten that white people can do sh*t like roast marshmellows in 15 degree weather…in t-shirts…at an event called the Winter Blast.

Detroit taught and reminded me of a lot, but the biggest lessons of the weekend came in my unintentional yet intentional tour of the city. In “Tupac Back,” Meek Millz had a line that said something like “Rollin’ down in Philly this the new Iraq.”

The new Iraq is definitely a collection of neighborhoods in Detroit. This was the first time in my life I went down street after street of vacant homes with inhabited houses sprinkled here and there. And when I say vacant homes, I don’t mean foreclosed houses in decent shape with signs on the lawn. I mean houses and buildings with doors and windows that looked like they were blown out, and the scorched remains of homes that could’ve passed as victims of grenades. The closest thing I’d seen to this was my accidental trip through the hood near Morehouse, where boarded up buildings housed young black men in long white t-shirts circa 2005.

But these homes in Detroit were different. The struggling economy wiped these houses of their dignity. Vandalism looked like a way of life. Abandonment and foreclosure were mischievous brothers that ran amuck throughout the city, leaving a trail of depression behind. It was both eye-opening and disheartening to see the faded memories of those who left the area long ago. The pictures that previous visitors painted for me were crystal clear. And the words I read in newspapers turned into rotting shingles and crumbling brick.

What the hell happened here?

The worst part about it was my trip through the nice neighborhoods with homes that looked like mansions compared to the houses just a few streets over. These $300K+ abodes had guest houses above two-car garages and gates to remind you of affluence. These neighborhoods were coincidentally insulated by the depression around them. The irony. And without saying it, you can guess the predominant demographic of these areas despite the fact that the majority of the city is black. I don’t even need to go any further with this. I want to say we need to do better, but it’s hard to do better when the economy doesn’t support it.

The struggle is real in Detroit. The depreciation of property gave me an appreciation for my often loathed upstate NY hometown. Albany has its issues, but it’s nothing like what I saw this past weekend. Even with the good I viewed from my passenger seat, I can’t help but think about the broken homes.

I’m looking forward to going back to Detroit when the weather is nice though. It’s tough to see everything in two days — particularly when it’s brick sickles outside. But all around, I had an enjoyable trip. The ailing homes were a small part of the visit, but they had a big impact since I’ve never seen anything like that before. I could tell you about the fried chicken I ate, but we’ve all seen, smelled, and tasted that before.

Note to self: I’m bringing my passport next time and heading over to the casino across the river. But before that, I’ll be sure to spend some time at the park that looked like it bustles with pride when it’s not covered with snow. And I’ll do a walking tour of downtown and the historic landmarks spread throughout Detroit. Every city — regardless of it’s economic conditions — has greatness to offer. I’d love to paint you a brighter picture in a few months when the sun let’s me and the city be great. But for now, I’m still in a bit of shock.

Sometimes you just can’t sugar coat,

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

I’m excited. Not just because I passed the PHR exam, but because of all that lies ahead in 2012. I’ve gotten a few emails (that I still need to respond to) from people asking me what’s next amongst other things. I hadn’t thought much about it since my mind has been preoccupied. But now that I’ve cleared the main course off my plate, I can start focusing on the master plan. One that will hopefully allow me to flip dreams into tangible reality.

I’m excited for SBM. It’s becoming one of the best relationship-focused blogs out there. You could try to dispute this, but I won’t listen to you. 2012 will be our year. I already see great things happening. We’ve got some work to do, but the team is poised for greatness. You’ll see what I mean as the year goes on. Sh*t, you can probably see some of the changes now. Even if you’re not into relationship blogs, I think you’ll like what we have planned.

I’m excited for TRSJ. I was curious how things would turn out when I made the shift to positivity, motivation, and inspiration. On the real, I knew where I wanted this to go a while ago. If you’ve been around since the summer, I mentioned having a great idea that made me nervous to think about. This shift and a few other things I have on my tackle list are part of it. I’m happy to see that so many people have stuck around and continue to support what I’m doing. The best part is I don’t have to make my living off telling women what to do, or writing like I’m in left field. I can win by just being me.

Passing the exam didn’t just help me with my day gig credibility. It also helped me with where I wanna go overall. Remember that post I wrote on cover letters? That was a test to see how people would respond to that type of content. It went REALLY well, so I’ll be throwing in more career-related posts in 2012. The PHR gives me additional credibility to speak on what I already know. So it’ll be an easy transition for me, and a helpful transition for those that continue to follow along. I’ve always had career coaching in the back of my mind. Now’s the time to start heading in that direction along with my other pursuits.

Don’t worry. I’m not gonna suddenly put up a pic of me in a suit and start typing corporate jargon. My personality will always be anchored in my writing. You don’t understand how much fun I have writing about important topics, while still being able to inject humor and foolishness without losing the point. Oh yeah. As a heads up, you may start seeing my name other places. Once again, I’m excited.

Lastly, I want to thank everybody that’s offered encouragement and checked in on me while I pulled out my beard hairs. Proud you I shall make.

Leprechaun Kicks and Sh*t,

P.S. I wrote this post while listening to some of the most violent, ignorant, drug-laden rap music in existence. Guns and positivity are an odd combination.

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

I hated sleep. I hated the fact that every day only had 24 hours. I hated that I still had a website to maintain, articles to write, and extracurricular projects to drive forward, when all I wanted to do was study for my exam and go into the test feeling confident.  I felt like I had pissed off Murphy’s Law’s cousin and this was an act of retaliation by the whole family.

As the exam got closer, I started making more mistakes at work and falling behind in just about everything else. I sent so many “I’m Sorry” emails that I started to wonder if I was a bad person rather than the victim of bad circumstances. I can’t call myself a victim, because I took responsibility for letting so many fires start and not having enough water to put them all out. But to a certain degree, I didn’t care. I just wanted to pass the exam that I was supposed to take two years ago before I got acclimated with the concrete jungle that’s New York City.

Fast forward to the night before the showdown. I made the mistake of going on a message board for last minute pointers to help me pass the test. This proved to be the equivalent of going on WebMD to self-diagnose an ingrown hair. Instead of helpful tips, I found the lost souls of failed exams past. Every forum that I went into was filled with frustration from people that weren’t so lucky and warnings of difficulty from those that succeeded. As you can imagine, my anxiety skyrocketed. My hands turned to arctic stone. My asthma reminded me of my childhood. Doubt started to creep through the cracks of the confidence I’d built in the last week. It turned into a long night followed by an early morning. The likes of which I hadn’t seen since my back to back to back to back exam period in college. I still hate statistics.

I headed out for the exam on Tuesday morning at 1130. It felt like I was headed to the league track and field championships with the rest of the Cornell squad. People were wishing me good luck. My stomach bubbled in anticipation. I crushed some Smart Water with the hope that it’d make me retain terms in addition to hydration. But the test wasn’t supposed to be about terms. It was supposed to be about application of acquired knowledge to professional situations. Clearly angst had decided to take a seat next to me on the train ride to the test center.

Eventually I arrived at the facility. I walked into what looked like a Stress Lover’s Anonymous meeting. Eyes were wide. Legs were jumping. People were studying in the hallway. The staff at the facility was less comforting and more catholic school nun. I had to turn in the contents of my pockets. All I had was a key to my assigned locker and my identification. I looked at my name and prayed that I’d walk of there able to put the letters PHR behind it.

I got called into the test room and seated at my station. I wish I brought ear plugs. My anxiety heightened. My heart raced at the same speed of the fingers I heard typing away on other timed exams. I took a deep breath, reassured myself that I was ready, and clicked start.

The exam started off easier than expected. It was almost as if every possible thing I studied appeared in the first 20 questions. Despite the ease in answering, I couldn’t help but be distracted by the frantic clicking and typing around me. I had to ask for ear muffs. I hope that hearing never becomes my gift.

As the test went on, the questions got more difficult…really difficult. I started marking more to come back to. I went from being ahead of time to running out of it. I couldn’t believe four hours had passed so quickly. By this point, I was hostile toward the concept of time. I’d lacked it for 30 days and ran out of it on the most important day of my career. The computer started tallying my score, then had the audacity to ask me if I wanted to take a survey about the exam.

F*ck no. I just want my score.

The screen froze for what felt like five minutes. I started to call for one of the staff members, then it came back to life. I felt like I was going to be sick. Then I scrolled down the page past the block of text about how the exam was calculated. My eyes got wide and I felt the emotion start to seep through.

I passed.

January 31, 2012 became the greatest day of my professional life.

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

Happy Place. Happy Thoughts. Happy Place. Happy Thoughts.

Hey There,

Long time, no see…though you’ve probably seen me somewhere else. Whatever the case, I realized today that it’s been over 2 weeks since my last post here. I also realized that my Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification exam is one week from today. Needless to say, I’ve become disconnected and somewhat withdrawn from the blog and social media scene. I don’t think I’ve ever worked as hard as I’m working right now. Between the exam preparation, my day job turning into Hurricane Shitshow aka the busiest season ever, the behind the scenes crap that comes with running a big blog (SBM), my email, and keeping up with my writing obligations, my plate is overflowing with food — much of it I’ll have to force myself to eat. Someone pass the Pepcid AC.

I’m even finding this simple update post difficult to write. It’s 7:15am. I’ve been up for well over an hour. And all I can think about is everything that needs to be done in the next seven days. My brain is already doing 100mph on a freeway to no where, and I haven’t even gotten to work yet.

By the time you see this, I’ll most likely be buried in some stack of papers or Excel sheet dealing with global compensation. If not that, I’ll be adorning my magical cloak so I can be on my invisible sh*t with a dingy red notebook containing months of study, stress, and struggle.

Honestly and study guide aside, I’ve learned a lot — both good and bad — about myself during this month of my professional rapture. And I can tell you that once I get my passing score on this exam and the busy season is over at my job, I’ll never allow myself to get into this situation again.

As optimistic as I’ve tried to be, I can’t help but notice how some of the issues I’m dealing with today were set in motion months ago. Much of this stress could’ve been avoided. But since I didn’t take the necessary steps, I’m getting a painful reality check. I’d talk about the lessons learned now, but I know the tone will be off and it won’t translate the way I’d like it to. So I’ll save it until after I triumph. It’d make for a much better straight-to-dvd production.

The feeling that I have right now is one that I’ve had before. It’s only January and I don’t like it. I’m already thinking about vacation locales, drinks with umbrellas, and the absence of internet. I’d plan something, but I don’t have the energy, time, or motivation to focus on anything other than what’s coming up. Maybe I need to put a picture of a beach above my desk. It never hurts to have a prize to eye. Granted, being able to put PHR after my name in my email signature is a prize in itself, but I’d rather be looking forward to things that aren’t work and responsibility. I need respite — a large dose of respite.

I’ll be back writing ferociously on the other side of this exam. Please keep me, my health, and my sanity in your prayers…well, if you’re into that sorta thing. Talk to you soon. And much like I’ll be doing over the next week, stay positive.

Struggling with the utmost realness,

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

Some people treat popular bloggers like celebrities. They put them up on a pedastal and make a lot of “I wish” comments when thinking about them. Stuff like this:

You seem so free. I wish I could write and be expressive like you. I wish I could make Youtube videos like you. I wish I could end up on a tv show like you. I wish I had 7000 followers and 7000 subscribers. I wish people cared as much about what I have to say as much as they do you. I wish I could pursue my dreams like you. I wish I was in a happy relationship/marriage just like you.

I’ve gotten some of these compliments. I say that because that’s what I take them as, and I’m always appreciative. It’s great to have people respect and admire the work you do — rather, the work they see. What people fail to realize is that they follow what appears to be a finished product. They don’t see the years of blood, sweat, and tears that came before the blogger or celebrity “made it.” They don’t see the late nights. They don’t see the agonizing over what works and what doesn’t. The wishers don’t see the self-doubt, envy, and destructive thoughts that run through the heads of those they esteem to be.

I understand aspirations, role models, and goals. I understand emails that come through at all hours of the day asking favors. It wasn’t long ago that I did the same thing. Sh*t, I still do it today.

I see people that have reached their destination (at least for the time being) while I’m still looking at mile markers. I email them to explain my situation and ask how I can improve. Sometimes they respond positively. Sometimes they don’t respond at all. But regardless of their response, I don’t wish to have their lives. I just wish to have a little guidance since they already know the bumps and turns in the road.

A lot of the folks that “make it” to the next level — bloggers and otherwise — soak up the compliments, share them on Facebook and retweet them on Twitter. They bask in the praise and accomplishment, but they don’t take the time to give anything back and it irks me. They allow themselves to get filled up with words of how great they are. Yet, they keep it moving without even a glance into their rearview. They’re confident and they’ve convinced themselves that they’re great. But they forget one thing:

You’re not great if you don’t show somebody else how.

Success and greatness are two different things. You can achieve all your goals. You can live comfortably and field offers for new opportunities every day. You can have the admiration of thousands or millions because of the path you’ve walked. But if you don’t take the time to show that you’ve went through or are going through the same things your admirers have, you’re not great. You’re selfish. You’re full of yourself. And if that’s the type of person you are, I want nothing to do with you.

Yes, people may eat up your words or onscreen display. But just understand this:

True greatness is in showing others how to achieve the same.

If you’re one of the people that constantly aspires to have what someone else has, whether it be writing talent, acting ability, or the skill to win influence, understand that you’re capable of the same with some hard work. Understand that the same people you look up to had the same thoughts you’re going through today. Understand that they’ve dealt with a bunch of insecurities and obstacles, but all you see is the end result.

For someone like myself that’s still aspiring, I’m no different than the person that sits next to you in class or at work. I wake up to go to a 9-5. It just happens to be that I’ve worked hard to develop a separate talent, and now people are taking notice. I still have a mother I need to check in with to make sure her health is in order. I still mourn the loss of my father more than three years ago. I still have skeletons in my closet that won’t disappear no matter how much spring cleaning I do. I still wake up on Monday mornings and wonder if I’m using my God-given talents to the best of my ability.

Many of the people you look up to are no different. They just don’t put it out there because they have an image to maintain and a reputation to uphold. You don’t need to aspire to be like anybody else or possess what they posess.

You need to aspire to be the best person you’re capable of and ask questions along the way. If your “inspiration” doesn’t respond, there’s always somebody else a lot closer to you than you think that’s willing to lift you as you climb. Don’t let a blogger or anybody else tell or show you differently. We’re all human and flawed. And with that being the commonality, you can bet they thought the same thing you’re thinking right now.

Bloggers are people, not Gods. Stop worshipping false idols.

Keeping It Positively Gangstah,

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

This might work if I was actually skinny. Actually, it wouldn't work at all. Ever. Too Big Too Wide. Pause.

I was gonna write something inspirational for today…then I put on my pants for work and everything changed. These weren’t your ordinary pants. These were special pants — my favorite pants of years past. They used to be the go-to pants for events requiring slacks and assertiveness. Yes, I could’ve worn anything today, but I was determined to wear these pants.

As soon as I slid one leg in, I knew I and my ability to procreate were in trouble. I raised my head to infant bronze Jesus and asked for salvation, but he spared me no mercy with these pants. It was at that moment that I knew I had no choice but to wear the burden in the cloth as punishment for my fast food transgressions. Like you, when things get hectic, my eating habits go to complete booboogas. Salads turn into hood chinese food (the hooder the gooder) and my dreams become Papa John’s ads.

Don’t get it twisted though. I’m no Sloppy Slim. I look like I could still get on a football field, or plow through a stagnant grocery line on the 1st or the 15th to purchase my double-stuffed oreos. I even had aspirations of playing basketball again and dunking on someone…until I put on these pants and my seams dreams were ripped to pieces.

You could say that wearing uncomfortable clothing is an act of stupidity or denial about one’s predicament, but I’m wearing these pants today as punishment, acceptance, and inspiration. There will be no grieving for the thighs of yesterday. There will only be a focus on the thighs of tomorrow. This doesn’t need to be a resolution. It needs to be an unwavering lifestyle change.

So as you’re chowing down and proclaiming 2012 as your year, take some time to think about your health and what it means to you. Think about what you could be doing to keep yourself optimal and in fighting trim. Start working on one small change you can make per day (i.e. more water or less cheetos) and stick to it for a month, since it takes about that long for a habit to hold.

Do this in remembrance of me…and my pants. For today will be a day of discomfort.

Two-Stepping with the Utmost Care and Shallow Breaths,

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

I wanna go with the other HR people. Don't leave meeeee!

As you may or may not know, I have my Professional in Human Resources certification exam coming up on the 31st. It’s crunch time and I’m starting to get antsy, nervous, and soiled under my arms. I know that’s too much information, but I wouldn’t have been able to convey my nervousness about the test without it. Damn. I can feel my gut rumbling like I need to…just kidding.

Anyway, I’m probably gonna end up with one post a week on TRSJ between now and then. Hopefully it’ll be more. Though with the way this studying’s going, I’m not gonna get my hopes up. Standardized tests have always bullied me into sneaking out the side door, so my angst is justified — in my head at least.

I’m more optimistic about this exam because I’m passionate about the content. But I keep having flashbacks to my SAT II Math test circa dinosaurs, where I walked out after ten minutes of staring at the bubble sheet and pondering what I really wanted from life. Engineering didn’t seem so sexy anymore and my icy palms agreed. I think that was the last time I took a true standardized test.

If things go well, I’ll talk about it here. Ehh, if things don’t go well, I’ll still talk about it here. I’m sure there will be some good lessons or stories out of the frenzied studying, the test, and getting my results right after I click submit. At least I won’t have to shiver and shake like I’m at the doctor’s office waiting to confirm if what WebMD said is true.

What a coincidence, my right leg is bouncing fast enough to shake a section of my living room floor. I’m gonna take a chill pill and listen to some Jason Mraz. If by chance you’ve taken the exam before and have some pointers, you know where to find me. I’ll give you my firstborn as a token of appreciation…for 15 seconds in the presence of my bodyguards, Bovice and Orpheus.

I’ll catch you on Thursday with my next post. I think you’ll enjoy.

Ride or Die Motivation and Leadership Theories,

Studying Slim

P.S. Check out (and share) my latest post on UPTOWN Magazine’s site: The Ugly Truth: 5 Lies You Should Never Tell in Relationships

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

Resolutions don’t have to cover one year. They can be goals that take you into the next chapter of your life. But whatever the case, you need to address them one day at a time. You also need to understand why you’re choosing the resolutions you’ve set for yourself. And for those of us that don’t believe in resolutions, we need to understand what is it that’s keeping us from annual goal-setting. Is it our low success rate in the past? Is it because we know we have motivation issues? Is it because we honestly don’t know what we want from life?

It all starts with values and passions. If you need to jog the thought process, check out this post I wrote that explores how you’ll want to be remembered in the end. It’ll put some things in perspective and give you a basic roadmap of what you can do to get there. If one of your resolutions is to find a new job, go through the post I wrote on creating an effective cover letter. If it’s a goal to have more productive relationships, you may find this read on listening helpful.

But again, it starts with values and passions. These are the things that fuel your actions and keep you moving even when things get tough. It may be worthwhile to have a resolution to find out what it is you really love, and what it is that you value (i.e. recognition, family ties, wealth, health, etc.). Think about why you enjoy doing the things you love and list out the reasons. Think about the things that have motivated you or made you say “eff it” in the past, and figure out what the most basic elements were. Your values will be hidden in the details.

Once you do this, your resolutions will become clear and they’ll be more likely to stick. You’ll also experience less doubt because you know the greater purpose and what it says if you stop trying to get there: what you thought was important wasn’t as important as you claimed it to be. At this point, it’s okay to regroup and rework your goals need be necessary.

Within my resolution and goal-setting process, I’ve opted to go the SMART route:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely

Specific 

Saying “I want to be a better person” is cool, but it’s vague. There are a lot of things that go into being a better person. You need to write down what those things are and pick a few to focus on. Maybe it’s being in closer contact with family, volunteering regularly, or finding a church home. The more specific, the better.

Measurable

The best goals are the ones that can be quantified. If you can’t quantify them, you really can’t measure your progress. People like to chase numbers. It sparks competition with self. It also gives you something to work with for the next year. Like I mentioned, maybe it’s a certain number of contact to family and friends. Maybe it’s eight trips to the gym per month and hitting some specific strength goals. It could be attending six networking events in the field you’d love to break into. You can make a big chart for yourself and keep track of the progress on all your goals. It should be somewhere that people can see when they visit you. The more people that are aware of your goals, the more accountable you become for completing them. It’s part of that whole speaking it into existence thing.

Attainable

For a goal to be attainable, it should be something you really think you can knock off in the selected time frame (more on this below) — which in this case happens to be a year. Maybe you have bolder goals that won’t be accomplished in that time, so you come up with smaller and more incremental goals that will help you get to the big one. They’ll also allow you to achieve smaller successes along the way. Small wins lead to big victories.

Realistic

Don’t just set crazy goals for the sake of setting crazy goals. You need to have the tools available to help you achieve success (maybe it’s a goal to get all those tools). You’re not gonna be president in 12 months, turn into a super model overnight, or increase your income by $50K in a year unless you’re a big hood boss. Dreams take time. Even the successful went through a stretch where their names weren’t known. It just happens to be the case that people forget that part once the person makes it big time.

Timely

It doesn’t have to take you a year to accomplish each goal. It can be a few months. Regardless, you need to put a time limit on it. And if you hit your goal before then, ante up and put a new time frame to get to the next level. If you’ve never been through this process before, you may have to make a few adjustments during the year. That.Is.Ok.

Hopefully you find this helpful. If you already have resolutions in place, try to apply this model and see how thorough you are. If you don’t have goals or resolutions, take a few days or a couple weeks to map out what a successful 2012 will look like for you. And as always, you know where to find me if you have questions.

Happy New Year,

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

Hopefully, you feel the same. If you don’t, take a moment to reflect on this past year and all the ups and downs. You’re still here. You’ve gotten through them, or you’re getting through them. You have supportive family and friends that want you to be great, whether it be people online or “in real life” as we like to say.

It’s funny. Sometimes I think folks online are more generous and encouraging than people I know in real life. Of course I know there are tons of trolls out there spewing unnecessary and destructive e-venom. But, I don’t wanna focus on the negativity. I’m choosing to focus on the good and the positive plenty. You should do the same. It’s healthier and changes your life’s trajectory by about 20 degrees.

I’m only putting up one post next week. It’s gonna be something on New Years Resolutions. I’m not sure which day I’ll run it, but you’ll know when it’s here. In the mean time, happy holidays and I’ll see you sometime next week.

Oh, and do feel free to share one good thing that happened to you this week and/or what you’re looking forward to this holiday season.

Reflecting & Recharging,

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson

Little did I know that when I opened Twitter, I’d find the most substantial and encouraging message that I’ve seen since I started blogging:

I used your advice on cover letters and already got 2 interviews so a huge thank you for sharing. -@likkle_talawa

If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ve heard me say that one of my biggest goals with writing is to help people. If I entertain them along the way, cool. But my goal with all this isn’t to be an entertainer. It’s to be a valuable source of information, that people can take away from their keyboards and into their physical lives. When I saw that tweet, I high-fived Jesus and called my momma.

Aight…I’m exaggerating. I went to my fridge to find a beer so I could toast solo to the mini success. Unfortunately, there were no beers in the fridge, so I returned to the couch somewhat underwhelmed and mustered up a sincerely enthusiastic reply:

@slimjackson honestly, that’s the best tweet i’ve seen this year. happy to hear! knock out those interviews!

@slimjackson yall have no idea how happy it makes me to hear stuff like that. i’ll take one person succeeding off (my) advice over 300 fb likes on a post.

Whether or not she gets one of these two jobs is to be determined. But in a way, I’ve achieved a dream and confirmed the foundation of one of my major goals for 2012. The takeaway here for you as a reader is this:

If you read something or listen to someone and have even a modicum of success off their words, tell them. You never know when a simple thank you will help them solidify their purpose. Gratitude can be the greatest form of encouragement. And encouragement is what helps people achieve their dreams.

2-stepping in some NY Knicks basketball shorts while making it rain fire sauce packets,

Original content from The Real Slim Jackson