Motivating Monday (On Saturday): May 1, 2021

Moving From Poverty to Prosperity

Welcome and Welcome back! It's another amazing day in paradise. Thank you so much for being here. 

Happy May! I already know this is going to be my son's favorite month because he is five and he is enthralled with all things five! We are well into spring and we are enjoying some beautiful weather. Along with that beautiful weather has come beautiful people. 

I need to thank all those who have contributed to this super special journey my son and I have been on "exploring" the perils of poverty. An extra special thank you goes to those we met/encountered last Sunday! Thank you so much for your individual and collective goodness! 

I want to acknowledge a few others but I don't want to name any names because, for one, we didn't get to speak to everyone and for two, privacy. So I will do it like this. Thank you to #13, Mr. Nigeria and H&B for stopping, conversing and expressing your concern. 

I also want to shout out a friend who follows this blog, when she is able. She is married and they have three beautiful young children, the youngest being under a year in age so it's not like she has a lot of time. We were finally able to speak with one another again this past week. 

The last conversation we had may have been last year when she was still pregnant. Their youngest was born in September. It was a very sacred experience for both of us. I'm grateful for her and her husband. Their care, concern and contribution are priceless. 

Now... if you're here, it is very possible you want to know a little bit more about me and my son. His name is Wisdom. That's the name God gave him when I was pregnant with him. I was told it was "not for the things he would learn but for the things he would teach". He is among my top three teachers. He is my heart beating outside of me. 

 

I have written lots about our experiences. You can learn more about the last organization we were enrolled with. You can learn more about what it means to be "bringing dignity to poverty". And you can learn more about our personal perils in poverty in this post called "Portraits of Our Poverty".

To give a brief summary, "bringing dignity to poverty" simply means empowering people experiencing poverty stricken situations with the element of choice. If you read the post above, I explain it in more detail. I feel most people are challenged by what I am saying because it forces people to look at the paradigms they are living their lives in...through. 

I need to confess that I am incredibly infatuated with the word "paradigm". I learned what it means studying "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" with the Motivation Reader's Mastermind Network. This network has been my lifeline to sanity. I join a Zoom call every Tuesday through Saturday morning starting at 8 a.m. The purpose of the call is to read books live and discuss them. 

God directed me to rejoin "The Network" at the beginning of this year after a long hiatus. I never would have imagined how this book along with the group of people I've been reading it with has confirmed every aspect of the journey my son and I have been on. Whether you are or are not familiar with the "Seven Habits" please consider joining us. We just finished reading it and are about to spend one to two weeks reviewing the entire book.

To explain the ways this group has confirmed our journey would take up volumes. BUT... I can share, in short, how this comprehensive work by Dr. Steven R. Covey has. The book is basically broken into two sections. The first speaks on your internal relationship with yourself. The second then speaks on our relationships with others.

From the Franklin Covey website this quote by Dr. Covey speaks to why I am infatuated with the word "paradigm": “Paradigms are powerful because they create the lens through which we see the world… If you want small changes in your life, work on your attitude. But if you want big and primary changes, work on your paradigm.”

There are a lot of harmful paradigms people hold about people who are homeless and/or unhoused. I know. I've been subject to them. From those harmful and hurtful paradigms come ineffective solutions from ineffective people. 

That's where we come in. "We" being my son, Wisdom, and I. We are here to refocus the lens through which people view poverty. With clearer, more accurate vision truly effective solutions can be implemented to move people from poverty to prosperity. 

My son and I are working on implementing those solutions in our life but they require money. And that's where I am asking you for help. Please share our story with others. And please invite others to invest as you. If you haven't invested yet, then please do!

Any funds we receive I view as an investment. The return, on your end, I feel is the information you received to compel you to contribute to our mission to move from poverty to prosperity by bringing dignity to poverty. It is a profitable exchange for both of us.

My prayer is always that you feel like the return you receive is far greater than what you could ever give. And at the same time you feel you have given what you feel comfortable giving. If that's $1, thank you! If that's $1000, thank you!

I promise you either amount is welcome and greatly appreciated. You remember that quote that says "the journey of 1000 miles begins with one step"? Well the same is true with money. "The journey to $10,000 (or any amount really) starts with only 1 penny, the smallest unit of currency in America". 

When we receive $1 we are 100 pennies into our journey. That's way further than 1 penny alone will do. Now you can see how each and every dollar is very welcome, deeply appreciated and joyously celebrated. Thank you again and/or thank you in advance. 

In closing, our goal is to collect $10,000. That's on the high side though to account for the unforeseen. Mary Kay Ash once said something to the effect of, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you fail, you will land among the stars." I'm shooting! If we end up with $5000 over a 3-5 day period, that would be awesome. If it takes longer, then more money will be required.

The money would be wisely invested with the following objectives to accomplish: 

1. Secure our housing for 4-6 weeks so I can focus on getting trained and not on making sure we have stable housing. 

2. Invest in inserts from Good Feet for the plantar fasciitis I suffer from. These are incredibly important because I have the most awful foot pain in the morning. It is often debilitating, depending on how much time I've been on my feet the previous day. Having been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my knees five years ago, having feet that are properly supported is critical for my health to be good. It is also critical to creating a certain quality of life I desire, as a mom, to possess to remain active with my son. 

3. Enroll in the Circle of Security training. It's $1000. The course schedule I'm interested in runs from May 13-May 21, 2021. 

4. Start the parent coach training through the Jai Institute for Parenting. The cost for this course is $2750 or $375/month for 10 months. 

I'm interested in combining these two courses into a career to sustain me and my son. Eventually they will become a substantial part of the model I have been developing to address homelessness and poverty. This project is called P.A.I.D 2 Parent; it's nickname being the NEW Emancipation Proclamation. It is designed to dismantle and destroy the pregnancy to prison pipeline.

If the information you received here is worth more than the time you have invested, please invest in our cause. I have asked (Horace) Stan Anderson to be the steward of the funds we are being given. He is the brilliant visionary behind the Motivation Reader's Mastermind Network I spoke of earlier. You can send funds to:

Cash App: Cashtag- $Stan1854

PayPal: mrmastermindnetwork@gmail.com

Zelle: 917.968.0507

Please put "For L.U.V." in the notes. The MRMNetwork is currently collecting contributions to purchase more iPads for the Catherine and Count Basie Middle School in Jamaica, NY. 10 % of all contributions "For L.U.V." will go to the school. 

If you don't mind sending funds to me directly I can receive via: 

Cash App: Cashtag- $WCTsMom

PayPal or Venmo: kai.timetoluv@gmail.com.

However you invest, thank you. Thank you again for being here. And thank you in advance for your continued support. Enjoy the day you're creating. Peace...