WEBVTT - Dr. Boyce Watkins Interview 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:10.080 Real celebrity joined the Breakfast Morning. Everybody is DJ Envy Angela, Ye, Charl, 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:11.880 I mean the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. We 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:14.600 have a special guest in the building this morning, doctor 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:16.800 Boys Watkins. Come on and so what's happening in brother, 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:19.959 How you doing? Oh? Everything's good, longtime Pola mine. You know, 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:22.200 we've been having a conversation for the past two weeks 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:26.960 about financial I call it illiteracy, you know, ever since 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:29.360 mister Damon Dash left, you know, and it's parked up 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:32.760 a good conversation in our community just about finances, and 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:36.320 you know, entrepreneurship investing, its investing in self empowerment. So 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:38.920 I wanted to reach out to a financial expert that 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:41.840 I know, doctor Boys Watkins. Now, for people who aren't 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:44.400 familiar telling why you're a financial expert, we'll have a 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:46.720 PhD in finance and a tough finance for about twenty 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:51.640 years University of Kentucky, Indian University, Syracuse University, etc. Um. 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:53.360 So you know, I know a lot about money. I 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:55.080 know what it's like to not have any money. UM. 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.520 I used to really want money. That's why I major 0:00:57.560 --> 0:00:59.680 in finance. I wasn't even really supposed to go to college. 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:01.560 I figured that if I study money learned about money, 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:03.800 somebody would pay me money to talk about money. But 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.400 then I really also learned how money can be used 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:08.399 as a tool not just to liberate you, but it 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:10.200 can also enslave you. I mean, we have a lot 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:14.000 of multimillionaires in our community that are scared of their 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:16.200 own shadow, that are just afraid of everything, afraid to 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:19.360 be controversial, etc. And I think sometimes if you look 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:22.680 at money in the wrong way. Money, money, it's powerful, 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:24.640 like fire or like a drug. Like fire can either 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:26.400 cook your food and keep you warm, or it can 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:28.320 burn you and your family alive. A drug can either 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:30.000 heal you and make you better or can turn you 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:32.480 into an addict. So that relationship with money, I think 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:34.640 is important because most of us think about money several 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.240 times a day every day. And you wrote several books 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:39.520 on finances as well. Yeah, yeah, you know. I wrote 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:42.000 a book called Black American Money. I have another book 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.280 coming out called It Takes a Village to Raise the Bar, 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:47.400 a New paradigm for Black America, and it's basically talking about, 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:49.960 you know, just ways to think about money in ways 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:52.120 that that money can really be the next step in 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:54.800 our civil rights movement, you know, because you know, if 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.080 you have political power without without any economic power, that's 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:00.520 kind of like having a driver's license but not having 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:02.680 a car. You know, like you're not gonna go anywhere 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.480 unless somebody else wants you, wants to give you a ride, 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:06.920 and then at that point you're still only gonna go 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.840 where they want to take it. Now, question Dame Dash. 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:11.280 We mentioned that earlier. What did you think of Dame 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.320 Dash his interview? You know what, um I describe him 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:16.520 as a breughly fresh air you know, yes, well, you 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.160 know what I liked. Here's what I like about Dame. 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:21.800 I liked the energy that Dame comes with, Like I 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.480 like to me, I think that that so many black 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:27.560 men have been so emasculated economically, and it's it's it's 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:29.239 not something that just recently happened. It's been happening for 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:31.799 one hundreds of years. That I liked the idea of 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:34.400 just having a call to manhood and kind of saying, 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:36.760 you know, look, we can do better, you know, and 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:39.560 and sometimes like you think about it, on the football field, uh, 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:42.240 you know, your coach that motivates you to play, sometimes 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:44.040 you're gonna punk you out to be like, you know, 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:46.320 you're playing like a bitch. You'll get up. You know, 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:49.280 you you need to win, you know. But the thing is, 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:52.880 I think with Dame it's interesting because you know, he's 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:54.760 he's a little bit like uh. I think he was 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:56.480 trying to be kind of like an economic version of 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:58.280 a Harriet tubed me, like, you know, I'm gonna get 0:02:58.280 --> 0:02:59.920 these slaves off the plantation. I'm gonna shoot you if 0:02:59.919 --> 0:03:02.680 I have to. Um. But you know, we all understand 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:05.400 that in order to escape the plantation, you have to 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:08.120 have a plan. Right to go to war, you have 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:11.520 to have a battle strategy. But not having the strategy 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:13.760 and head right away does not give an excuse to 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:16.400 not fight. And I think that, and so that's what 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:18.839 I like about Dame. I think Dames started a conversation. 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:21.520 We weren't really talking about this kind of thing, you know, 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:24.200 two or three weeks ago. So I'm glad he did it. 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:26.639 But it's deadly, it's very deadly, and it could hurt 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.880 a lot of our own Let's look, there's a lot 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:31.640 of different things that were said, some things that we 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:35.360 may agree with, some things we may not. Rhetoric, so 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:37.480 you enjoyed the safety and the security of a job 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:39.840 every day. But there's no pride in that to me. Now, 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:41.720 let me ask the question. There's millions of people out 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:45.880 there that don't have that opportunity and boss every day. 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.040 So you're basically saying because they have a boss, there's 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:50.040 no pride in it. I think because people on the 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:52.240 radio tell people it's okay to have a boss, they 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:55.280 don't understand that they can have more. It's just a pride. 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:57.720 You should have an ownership that platform. How do you 0:03:57.720 --> 0:03:59.480 get to the platform by putting your own money up 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:01.920 and investing in yourself the last reason why we set 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:03.800 up the platform. Say they don't have to do any 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:07.400 you have a boss, but a man say he has 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.600 a boss and be proud. Okay, no pride in having 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:13.960 a job. Having a boss is like calling another man daddy. 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:15.640 And how can you have a boss and be proud. 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:19.839 I think that it's okay to have I mean everybody 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:21.800 has some kind of a boss on some level. Like 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:23.320 with the interview you deal with Andy, I think it's 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:27.080 his name, Um, you know Andrew. Yeah, there's always you 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.520 know what, even if you're on your own business, you 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:31.159 have someone that you have to answer to. You have 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:33.719 something right. Every day when I get up and I'm motivated, 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:35.760 I'm answering to the boss that lives inside of me. 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:37.640 That's saying, if you don't get off your but you're 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:39.560 not going to achieve your goal. So everybody kind of 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.560 has some sort of boss. The question is whether or 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.400 not you're being pimped by your life, whether or not 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:48.680 someone is is boss, is your boss to the point 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.240 where you don't feel free, you know, you don't have 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:53.599 any degrees of freedom in your life. You feel stuck 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:57.080 in your own existence. Um, I think in that situation 0:04:57.279 --> 0:04:59.920 you have to make a change because here's the thing. 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:01.479 Here's the thing. A lot of people don't get this. 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.600 If you work for me and I'm the reason that 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:06.560 your children get to eat every day, I'm the reason 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:08.920 that your wife has a roof over her head, You're 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:10.800 not really the man of your house. I'm the man 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:14.919 of your house. And so I think that having someone 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:18.320 you answer to is okay. But if you can somehow 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:21.520 shift your situation where everything is a partnership, where you 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:24.880 have options, you know, for example, the question one question 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:26.760 you could ask is do you have f you money? 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:29.840 If somebody in your job calls you the in word 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.760 or disrespect you, or you just hate your job? Do 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:35.080 you have enough put aside? Do you have enough other 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:37.320 options so you can walk in and say, f you, 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:40.400 I'm out. If you can't really do that, then I 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:42.800 would say you have to adjust something in your life. 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:44.880 Just because you're committed to something doesn't mean you don't 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:49.040 have options, right, So, you know, is there no pride 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:50.599 in having a boss? I mean, I don't think we 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:53.359 can agree with a statement like that per se, but 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:56.599 because there's dignity and working hard no matter what. But 0:05:56.920 --> 0:05:58.880 I do think that if you are being pent by 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:00.560 your life, you got to make it a j I 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:02.960 gotta tell some of my friends who might complain other time, 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:04.919 I hate my job, I hate my bus, I hate this. 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:07.400 I'm like, well, you can't complain about it for too long. 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:09.279 You got to do something about it. In that case, 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:11.159 if you really hate it and it's not what you 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:13.159 want to do, at some point, instead of complaining for 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:15.600 years and years and years, you gotta get up off, 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.159 you know, and do something. Change you, get a new job, 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:21.600 create some more opportunities. Yeah. Absolutely, I mean, you know, 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:24.320 a lot of what I think we have to embrace 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:26.920 is the idea and I want to believe. I want 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:28.880 to believe the best about what Dame was trying to do. 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:31.040 And I think that this is a conversation that has 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.919 to be had with a community, not with one person leading. 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.040 This was met him or anybody else. You know, all 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:38.719 these deals have to be laid on the table. But 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:41.560 I think that what we need to really consider is 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:43.840 the idea of the importance of building things. We need 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.240 a nation of builders. That's why I love Lewis Farakoon 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.320 for example. He's one of my favorite Black leaders because 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:51.600 he built his stuff. You know, he didn't climb up 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:53.680 somebody else's tree. He planted the seat and grew his 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:56.760 own tree and climbed to the top of that. Right, 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.160 the baton was passed. But at the same time, you know, 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.440 there's a building mentality within the Nation of Islam that 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:04.440 I think we can all learn from. It does not 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:07.000 mean that you don't form partnerships. It doesn't mean there's 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.159 no pride in working for other people per se. I 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:10.960 mean I can't I can't sign off for something like that, 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:13.480 But I do think that we have to resurrect the 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:17.120 pride of building as opposed to just borrowing, because what 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:19.600 we don't understand sometimes is that you know, and I'm 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.920 talking about I'm really talking about people of color right now. 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:24.720 A lot of this stuff that's out here, it wasn't 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:27.040 really built for us, you know, it wasn't. I mean, 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:29.520 these co operations were created by other people of other 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:32.280 ethnicities one hundred years ago, and we get in there, 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:35.480 and we somehow become disappointed and surprised when we're treated 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:37.880 differently because we're black and we don't get the same opportunities. 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:40.360 But you can't really move in somebody else's house and 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.280 then expect to be able to shift around the furniture. 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:45.280 It just does not really work. Um. So I think 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:47.680 taking that pride in building your own house and just 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:49.400 and being proud of that, right because think about this, 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:51.680 if you start your own business, it's not You're not 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:54.840 going to be bawling for a while, if ever, right, 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.440 But you have to you have to realize you can't 0:07:57.480 --> 0:08:00.080 you can't judge the quality of a tree by the 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:03.160 size of the seed. Every every tree is gonna start tiny, 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:05.880 and you grow that, and you grow that over several generations. 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:08.320 Even large companies like the Ford Motor Company. If you 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:10.000 look at the history of a company like that. It 0:08:10.120 --> 0:08:12.520 started off as a tiny seed. It was it was nothing. 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:14.680 Now it's massive, and I think we have to ask 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:17.680 ourselves not about what's happening in twenty fifteen, but what's 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:20.400 gonna be happening in twenty one fifteen with our grandchildren, 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:23.760 great grandchildren, great great grandchildren. What are you passing playing 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:25.200 in those seeds? Now? I think this is the first 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:27.480 generation of wealth for black people. You may civil rights 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:29.080 back side of the nineteen sixty four were still in 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:32.240 segregation fifty one years ago. Yeah, but I'll tell you, man, 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:34.120 I don't even know if black people have that much well. 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:38.959 I mean the average round of billionaires you're seeing. You're 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:41.800 seeing some of the black elite doing extremely well. I 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.520 don't think that the black middle and lower class are 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:47.120 doing all that well. We're gonna take time, though. But 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:50.080 one thing I do agree with is as a kid 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:53.360 growing up, I didn't learn about being an entrepreneur or investing. 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:55.959 My parents didn't they My pops was a police officer 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:58.040 and my mom worked at Guardian Life Insurance. They didn't 0:08:58.040 --> 0:08:59.800 instill that of me. I still letting my kids because 0:08:59.840 --> 0:09:01.560 I was a little different. But the problem I had 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:03.800 with Dame when I say it's deadly. Is you know, 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:06.319 you tell these kids don't have a boss, you get 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:07.679 out there and do it. And see this problem with 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:09.280 Dame is you know, if you listen to Dame, or 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.079 you listen to past interviews, or you listen to to 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:13.600 wholes records, you see that they started their business from 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:17.760 illegal activities. Illegal activity. So you're encouraging kids. Well, I 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:19.960 don't have a ball. I started like this. No, I 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:21.840 went to college, I went to high school, got my degree. 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:23.440 I went to college, got my degree. I started work 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:25.960 and save my money. And that's how I built my empire, 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:28.079 you know. And you're telling kids, well, you shouldn't do that. 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:31.520 And that was my problem because a lot of kids listen. Well, 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:37.280 he is saying sell T shirts. Now what do you 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:39.240 get money to sell T shirts? You know the drug 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:42.280 dealer upfront? You gotta have some weeds, but you got 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:43.640 you gotta have some capital. And the way you get 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:45.480 capitalists having a job and put money on the side. 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:47.360 And I don't see nothing wrong with having the boss. 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:49.560 Let me let me tell you, but I agree with you. 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:51.680 I'm not you know, I think we can agree on 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:54.120 that for sure. Um, And one thing I'll supplement with 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.520 and it's not really a matter of fighting about it 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.480 one way or the other. Is uh. You know, there's 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:02.240 a book called The one hundred Dollars Startup which basically 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:04.480 explains how you can start a business one hundred hundred bucks. 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:07.400 And I know this type of stuff works because I 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:10.160 started something with my brother for about seven hundred dollars 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.000 a couple of years ago. We made a quarter million 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:15.520 dollars within two years, right, So just from that one business. Right. So, 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:18.800 And the thing was, if I hadn't been thinking like, Okay, 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:21.040 what can I create, what can I generate? I never 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.840 would have done that, right, because sometimes we get caught 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:26.400 in thinking that a job is something that someone is 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:29.640 supposed to give us. A job is also something you 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:31.600 can create. It doesn't mean you have to do it. 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.560 But one thing I do say is I think every parent, 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:36.880 every parent who cares about their kids, should teach their 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.440 child how to have their own business, even if they 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:41.600 go work for somebody else. It doesn't mean that you 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:43.720 have to be an entrepreneur. Everybody isn't built for that. 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:47.040 But what I would say is either run something or 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:49.839 invest in something. So, for example, if I got together 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.360 with three other people. And let's say, no, the other 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:54.520 three didn't want to be entrepreneurs. They ain't have the time. 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:56.679 They want to keep their jobs. Well, everybody comes up with, 0:10:56.840 --> 0:10:59.839 say two thousand dollars, you pull together that six. I 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:01.960 get my twenty five percent of the company, but with 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:03.959 equities because I've got free time. So I'm going to 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:05.719 run the company because I have the expertise in the 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:08.959 free time. You guys are investors, therefore we all own something. 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:11.400 I think that money from them. Well, if you're working, 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:13.200 I mean, you know, if you got a job, you 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:15.200 can't come up with two thousand bucks over time. It 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.040 may take you a year to save it or whatever, 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:18.680 but you can come up with that. I mean, we 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:20.720 invest in so many other things. I mean, people always 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:23.120 say black people can't really create jobs, and I don't 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:24.760 think that's true. We create a lot of jobs for 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.000 other people. But we're spending all this money on these 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.200 brands and all this other stuff that we do. We're 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:31.600 not thinking where that money is going. And I think 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.520 that is the problem. That we're sort of letting our 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.440 power escape. Like money is your power, and you cannot 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:39.160 give your power away because at the end of the day, 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:41.400 you will be powerless. I just had recently bet an 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:44.720 article about an entrepreneur. He was working at a phone 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:46.840 store right where a lot of the phones that they 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:48.760 don't sell, they don't have anything that they can do 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:50.920 with it. Everybody, you know, it might be some old 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:53.079 phones that are just laying around. He started his own 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:55.680 business and turned into a billion dollar business where he 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.440 would get those phones that they didn't sell and he 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:00.480 was selling them the companies that maybe you know at 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.160 your job, everybody gets a cell phone that the company 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:05.480 gives to you, and he was selling those phones that 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:07.200 they didn't use at the store. He was like the 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:10.960 go between person selling them to companies that had to 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.080 give their employee cell phones. And he turned it into 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:15.320 a billion dollar business just when working at this cell 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.440 phone store. Yeah, it is. And I don't think he 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:20.400 really needed much money to start that. He just started 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:22.680 mediating those because he saw a need. He saw that 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.360 there was this overflow of phones, and then he saw 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:27.760 that there were companies that needed to give employee phones 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:29.200 and didn't want to spend a whole lot of money, 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.439 so he just merged the two ideas together. Yeah, there 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:34.520 you go. I mean, and the thing is that to 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:36.640 come up with those ideas. You have to have a 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:39.120 certain kind of spirit you have to have, you know, 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:41.559 I mean really creating a job for yourself. It's a 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:45.800 little bit like the difference between somebody who thinks that 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.280 they can only eat if the grocery store has food 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:51.880 or if the restaurant serves them, versus somebody who says, well, actually, 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:53.920 if worst comes to worst, I can grow my own food, 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:56.040 I can cook my own food. I'm not gonna starve, 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:58.880 you know. So you should never starve to death because 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:01.120 somebody would not bring food to you. You should know 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:02.800 how to create your own food. So I think it's 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.600 an idea, you know, in terms of creating opportunities, it's 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:09.720 about building the entrepreneurial spirit, which starts with taking pride 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:13.520 in that I have more so much more respect. You know, 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:15.680 when I hear about young brothers that they don't have much, 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.280 who say I own something, I'm building something. Then I 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:19.800 have for people who say, oh, I work for such 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:21.560 and such corporation, I'm making a lot of money. It 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.280 doesn't mean that both people aren't accomplished. But you know, 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:26.640 I really think we have to build because I really 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:29.560 think that this affects us politically and socioeconomically in the 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:32.640 sense that people can never people don't respect you when 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.240 you're always begging for something. Malcolm X talked about that. 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:37.280 He said, look, as long as you are begging for 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:39.959 jobs from businesses that you do not own, you will 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.839 always be severely unemployed. And if you look at the 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.199 unemployment disparity in nineteen sixty five, nineteen sixty four, and 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:49.959 Malcolm was saying this to twenty fifteen, it hasn't changed 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:51.640 that much. And that's why it's dangerous to tell people 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:55.800 there's no pride to having a job unemployed. I think 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.679 that you can be proud if you are a proud person, 0:13:58.720 --> 0:13:59.800 But I think at the end of the day, you 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:01.640 have to figure out what you're what you're comfortable with, 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.199 what you can live with. UM. Let's let's let's be real. 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.560 You know, racism UM is stressful for people when they're 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:10.240 dealing with There's an angry black middle class of people 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:11.800 who did all the right things. They went to school, 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:13.840 they worked hard, they got these corporate jobs, and they 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.640 are pissed off because they know they're being treated unfairly, 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:18.520 but they don't feel like they have any options. So 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:20.800 and and and some of in many cases. I mean 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:23.400 there's studies that show this affects your health. I mean, 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.560 for man, it kills your testosterone. Uh, you know you 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:29.040 can get people get cancer. I mean, people get sick 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.520 off of this stuff. So my thing is, you know, 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:33.720 you have to find a way to liberate yourself and 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.800 restore your manhood because I think it affects our families, 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:38.920 because I think that black women have a hard time 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.800 really respecting black men the way they should, because many 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:44.840 of us have been so beaten down by the society. 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.920 We don't know what to do right right right now. 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:49.720 And I'm not I'm not saying this there's some sort 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:52.160 of fundamental flaw and who we are. I'm saying that 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:55.320 maybe we need to resurrect some ideas that can that 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.160 can restore that that power maanhood. There was nothing better 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:00.880 that happened in my life in terms of dealing with racism. 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.200 Then when I figured out how to start my own stuff, 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:06.560 you know, I mean, it just it. It made me stronger, 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:09.200 It made me prouder, It made me more courageous. You know, 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.000 I got into this crazy when I worked at Syracuse University. 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:13.880 I would you know, I was dealing with all this racism, 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:15.400 all the stuff, and I got into this big fight 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.480 with Bill O'Reilly about something he had said. He made 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:18.880 a joker you remember that. Yeah, he got it. He 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:22.040 made a joke about lynching Michelle Obama and I didn't 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:24.280 like that, so you know, we got into it or whatever. Well, 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.320 he worked really hard to get me fired. And I 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:28.120 mean I'm talking about really hard, you know, and to 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.000 the point where multimillion dollar donors are saying, We're not 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:31.440 gonna get money to your school because you got a 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:34.840 racism you don't have a riley. That played a big 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:37.960 part of it. Yes, um. And the only defining factor 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.360 in terms of whether or not I could stand by 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.120 what I said versus apologize or something I did not do, 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:47.080 was whether or not my financial situation was right money. Yes, 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.640 when your money, when your few money is right, you 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:52.280 have the ability to be a little boulders. I'm not 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.880 more courageous than other people. I just checked my money, 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:57.080 check my bank accounts, check my business and said, Okay, 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:59.600 if I get fired, I'm gonna be okay. You under 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:01.400 saying so, so that's the idea, And the thing is, 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:03.160 it doesn't. It wasn't just my situation. I think this 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:05.880 is a microcosm of what what so many of us 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:09.200 experienced every day. UM, just make sure you've got options 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:10.880 for yourself. If you've got options, I think you're gonna 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:12.080 be all right. I want to ask you about what 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:13.600 you said. I don't want if I'm mis quoting you. 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.080 Let me know you said that a man is not 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:17.880 a man if somebody if he if he has a job, 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:19.680 that boss. You're not the man to your house. The 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:21.880 boss is the man to your house. You know what 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:26.840 I will say this, It is fundamentally flawed for you 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.080 to depend on the descendants of your historical oppressors to 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:32.120 get the things that you need in order to survive. 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.000 But the reason I ask you that because you, like 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:36.160 somebody like you, you went to school, You busted your 0:16:36.200 --> 0:16:38.360 ass to get your degrees to put yourself in that 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:40.480 position to make that money. So it's not like they're 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:44.080 giving you something. You earned that position. Yeah, I earned it, 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:47.160 But understand I mean you know what. For example, when 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:49.440 when I got my first job as a professor, I 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:51.280 was the first black person they'd ever hired in one 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:54.320