WEBVTT - The Answer to DEI ...Is Beyonce 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.440 Welcome the Money and Wealth with John Hobriant, a production 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:16.120 of the Black Effect Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Yo, John 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:18.920 hobrian This is Money and Wealth on the Black Effect 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:26.639 Network and today's episode is quite special. It is the 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:34.120 answer to DEI. It's Beyonce. Actually, yeah, you heard it right. 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:38.240 I'm gonna say it again, the answer to D and 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.400 I diversity, equity and inclusion in the debate raging today. 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:49.280 What is the answer? It's Beyonce. Actually, what do I 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:52.279 mean by that? Today we're going to talk about Beyonce 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:57.240 and her historic album of the Year when at the 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:02.840 Grammys and what that means for the conversation around diversity, 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:08.360 equity and inclusion are as. I like to call it 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:12.600 inclusive economics, a phrase that I began to coin with 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:16.720 my brothers Charlemagne, that god who has as enormously popular 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.800 morning show The Breakfast Club, where I first broke my 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:26.480 philosophy around what I thought D E and I really meant, 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:33.440 which was really research and development for new markets is 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:37.720 where you cultivate the future. It's R and D for 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:40.920 companies and for communities and for the country. But it's 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:45.920 been weaponized and politicized. So let's put it aside and 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:50.160 have a real conversation about the stuff that really matters, 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:52.960 and let's get into it right now. Here's the big 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:58.840 idea again, Beyonce is the answer to D and I. 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:03.040 We're in this new era. The best way forward for 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:07.000 African Americans and others isn't about begging for a seat 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:11.160 at the table. It's about building the table and becoming 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:15.080 so good that we can't be ignored, or, as my 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:19.639 friend Stephanie Rule would say, expand the table and add 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:25.440 a seat. Beyonce just showed the world what it looks 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:30.200 like when you dominate a space that was historically not 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.560 built for you, and in her particular case, it was 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:38.520 country music, and became the standard. I'm gonna say it again, 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:43.799 beyoncey just showed the world what it looks like when 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:47.320 she dominates a space that was historically not built for 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:53.600 her country music and became the standard. Think about what 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:58.519 that means, Think about how serious that is. And there's 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.639 no hate on anybody else's, no no shade on anybody else's. 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.440 Is not putting anybody down. I mean, she paid the 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:11.000 highest compliment to country music by participating in it, by 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:13.520 wanting to be part of it. She had already dominated 0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:19.079 other genres. She had already killed it in our popular 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.280 culture for African American music. She could have done a 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:24.800 lot of different things. She could have done some predictable things. 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:28.960 She could have gone into spaces that were easier pathways, 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.400 and she went into an area that no one expected, 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:40.160 and I'm sure most people questioned country music and absolutely 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:49.600 killed it. Beyonce's trailblazing impact. She just became the first 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:52.720 black woman to win Album of the Year for a 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:58.800 country album, something unheard of decades ago. She didn't wait 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:04.960 for permission. She delivered excellence on her own terms. What's 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:09.520 the lesson here? Economic power doesn't come from waiting. It 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:13.800 comes from owning your skills and proving your worth in 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:17.960 the marketplace, the marketplaces of ideas. What's a patent, It's 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:22.760 a monetized idea. What's the biggest Country's the biggest economy 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:24.880 in the world. It also is the places with the 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:29.000 most patents. Whereas places that have you know, no economictivity, 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:31.719 they're dying. Paces that have no patents, places that are 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:35.520 stuck in war, stuck and stupid, arguing about well, arguing 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.320 to argue all the time. These are places in the 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:41.440 world that are not progressing. But a patent is a 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:49.520 monetized idea, and Beyonce is a walking, talking, singing patent 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:57.640 of excellence. Think about this, what's the parallel to business 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:03.760 and finance? Like Beyonce took over country music, Black entrepreneurs 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:08.240 and professionals should focus on dominating their industries from real 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:13.760 estate to technology to finance. You can't change the rules 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:19.919 by arguing, you can change them by winning. Beyonce's not alone, 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:22.800 by the way, I'm gonna She's my real framework for 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:26.280 this conversation, and I'm going to go through a roll 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:32.040 call of enormous success stories before I finish this podcast 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.600 episode to give you a wider lens of what's possible 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.080 when you focus on the right objective. But we just 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:45.200 give some easy ones. Doctor Dre dominated in music and 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:51.599 then pivoted. Anybody who's of color who started off in sports, sorry, 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:54.960 and music and became a billionaire did it by pivoting 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:58.520 the business. But it's not an easy pivot. Who did 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:01.200 that successfully and dominated in two areas Doctor Dre and 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:05.599 then beats by Dre okay, the headphones, which is now 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:12.800 you know, a billion dollar enterprise. Michael Jordan basketball and 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:17.640 then Air Jordan's Okay merchandise tennis shoes in his case, 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:25.800 Magic Johnson basketball switching to business a multi dimensional measure. 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:29.680 As a friend and somebody who I work with a 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:31.799 little bit. After the Roddy King riots in South Central 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:34.880 a nineteen ninety twould have been admiring his success and 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.159 rooting for him every since. We should be rooting for 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:46.280 each other's excellence. The Williams sisters dominated in tennis, a 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:52.039 sport that supposedly black black folks could not, should not, 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:59.560 would not have not succeeded. Look at the Black Forbes 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:02.679 fifty lists that just came out in December of twenty 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:04.760 twenty four. I happened to be one of the people 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:07.919 included in that list. Now come back to my story 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:09.840 in a moment. 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:12.520 But look at that list. 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:19.560 That is it's the opposite of mediocrity. It's excellence on steroids. 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:21.360 No one on that list is going to be denied. 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:25.080 And they're from a broad cross section of killing it, 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:28.800 not killing you, not killing me, not killing somebody else. 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:34.320 Killing it like being the absolute best in their industry 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.320 and their chosen profession. By the way, you can't make 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:40.920 this up. Coincidence is God's remaining anonymous. That to Andrew 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:44.560 Young quote while I'm doing this podcast episode, can't make 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:44.960 this up. 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:45.880 One of the. 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:50.720 Fellow nominees, fellow awardees, and the Forbes Black Fifty List, 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:54.240 who really, in some ways is in small part are 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:57.560 now in a part a large part. I'm in a 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:01.000 small part of our history bro our or a timeline 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:02.880 of thirty two years in obera show, but a large 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:07.200 part of a demarcation where I got legitimized of my 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:11.120 success and really saying to the world, this guy is real. 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:13.720 Just emailed me. None of them. 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:17.040 Oprah Winfrey, who's on this list and is one of 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:21.360 the people I would have planned on identified Actually when 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.040 I send her a note, I said, you are the 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.400 standard bearer for the race, and I mean it. I 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:29.440 mean she is as close to Black royalty as a 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:34.200 geinst And she killed it, coming from nothing, being shortchanged 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:39.520 on her credibility and her talents in Chicago, being short 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:41.680 shifted by being told that she could only be a 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:46.000 newscaster or a broadcaster local do this traditionally, read this script, 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:50.240 don't get off off message. And she decided she was 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:53.480 going to create a national platform, a national show, and 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:56.240 then do it her own way and bring spirituality in 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:59.760 it after you from Initially people did not follow her, 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:03.280 but she stayed with it and became the absolute best, 0:09:03.320 --> 0:09:06.680 and what she did killed it. Oprah's not black, She's 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:10.960 global who happens to be proud of the fact that 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:13.440 she's black. Right, She doesn't run away from it, but 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:16.800 she doesn't hide underneath it. And she's not trying to 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:18.040 get a discount because of it. 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:18.440 She is. 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.240 She stands on this mantle of excellence and says, you 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.480 can do it too. And she gave me the Oprah 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:31.640 Winter Usual Life Award, which during the op Winfrey Show, 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:35.920 when she did these awards and I had my mother 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:37.959 and father of the show, it was a moment I 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:43.600 absolutely treasure. And she said to the world, John Brian 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:46.800 is somebody and the rest was up to me. I 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:49.640 believe in the James Brown version of affirmative action. Open 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:53.200 a door out, get it myself, and thanks to her 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:55.120 and others, I have been getting at it. But no 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:57.480 one gets it there by yourself, right, But but no 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.520 one owes you anything either. When you get that, you 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:03.640 take it and you own the field. You own the field, 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.400 and you make people who are who are rooting for you, 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:11.640 proud that they backed you. Don't don't embarrass them, right Uh, 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:16.080 and always be humble and be appreciative. Quincy Jones another 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:21.520 mentor mind, another iconic doer who's now doing it in heaven. 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:23.120 Uh. 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:28.920 Once lifted Oprah winfree and and then of course it 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:31.559 was so proud of Oprah that he put the Oprah Suite. 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:36.640 It is home that I've stayed at before, God resting, 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:40.520 God rest Quincy soul. So Quincy helped Oprah. I think 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:44.000 it was color purple. Oprah helped me and a range 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:46.800 of others to come up. Who are you going to help? 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:50.160 And I'm sure there's no doubt my mind that Beyonce 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:53.920 is already leaning in. And she said in her acceptance 0:10:53.920 --> 0:11:01.040 and speeches is all about opening doors. Beyonce is blazing 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:11.200 impact again. She just became this iconic figure that you 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:14.240 never take this away from her, that went from one 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.400 genre to another and for the first time ever, became 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:24.960 album of the Year for country music. The new conversation 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:30.640 is inclusive economics. Whether it's black or white, or red 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:34.040 or blue meaning race or color that people want to 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:38.240 argue about. Really the colors green as in US currency 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:40.240 at least here in the United States of America. Right, 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:43.560 But it's always been about green. We just have been 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:49.480 distracted with other well distractions. What did Malcolm X say. 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:51.839 We've been bamboozo we've been tricked, we've been food, we've 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:58.439 been hoodwinked, right, and we've been emotional, and we now 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.880 need to get focused on what really mattered. And when 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:06.880 you get emotional, it's easy to be deceived, to be disillusioned, 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:13.280 to be dismissed. Dee and I has been weaponized, I 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.040 think for political purposes, but it doesn't matter. It's been weaponized, 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:21.800 it's been hijacked, and it's been played with and been 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:25.320 made toxic in many ways as a brand. Some companies 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.920 are rolling back their diversity programs. I've talked to a 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:30.640 number of these CEOs who run these big companies. They're 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:34.000 good people. They basically said, I'm still gonna keep I'm 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:37.199 still committed to these values because it's good for business 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:40.560 and they're good people, but it's also just good for business. 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.400 They just don't want to have a flag out there 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:46.240 that says, come hit me over the head if you 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:49.240 disagree with me politically and making them a target. So 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:53.360 they've backed away. Most of these CEOs are good people 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:58.600 backed away from the label but not the cause. There 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:00.760 are a few of these companies are disingene you didn't 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:04.000 meaning when they did in the first place, and I 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:07.400 won't name those companies because that's not the way I roll. 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:07.839 I talk. 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:09.839 By the way, here's my philosophy for life. Talk without 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:12.960 being offensive, listen without being defensive, and always leave even 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:16.040 your adversary with their dignity because if you don't spend 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.240 the rest of their life trying to make you miserable, 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:22.760 it becomes personal. So I don't spend time arguing with 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.319 stupid people. I mean to argue with the food prooser 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:28.080 are too I think again. I like math because it 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.080 doesn't have an opinion that's a melody hops in quota, 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:33.440 I use a lot, and as you're about to see, 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:37.400 the math is really here all that matters. So we 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:41.480 need a new framework. De and I has been weaponized 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:44.280 and played with. When need a new framework, one based 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:48.800 on economic empowerment. That's why I call it inclusive economics. 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:54.360 It's about participation, not politics. The data that proves this 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:58.480 approach works is from the Business Plan for America, which 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.640 I wrote, and you can look up on my website 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.920 Operation Hope and download all of the data and go 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.120 through it for yourself in as much detail as you like. 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:12.280 It is there, and it is unimpeachable. It's sourced, it's 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:14.520 fact based. It's not emotional. It's not partisan. It's not 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:17.600 Republican or democrat, or black and white or urban liberal. 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:19.320 And it's not rich and poor. It's just data. 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:20.880 It is. 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:24.320 And no one's ever argued with these numbers. I've never 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.840 had one person, institution, what ever, tell me that the 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:30.880 numbers are wrong. They just try to ignore me and 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.640 hope I'll go away. I'm not going anywhere again. We're 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:37.600 just getting louder with this message. But you don't need 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:39.520 to scream and hollow it because when you got the power, 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:42.080 you don't need to use it. Step over messing, not 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:46.240 in it. Here's some power for you, black buying power 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:53.600 over one point eight trillion dollars, yet underutilized in asset building, 0:14:54.920 --> 0:15:00.880 entrepreneurship growth. Black businesses are growing at the fastest rate ever, 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:05.440 but face major capital access gaps. In fact, after the pandemic, 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:08.680 the fastest growing group coming out of the pandemic were 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:13.520 African American black owned businesses and the fastest group amongst 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:17.760 all fastest group were black women own businesses. In fact, 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:19.920 there was the fastest group. It was a fastest growing 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.560 group of small business owners since two thousand and four 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:28.520 after the pandemic. And now I believe it's latinos by 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:35.800 the way, So kudos there. Home ownership impact. Closing the 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.840 Black home ownership gap could add over three trillion dollars 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:43.880 to the US economy. Did you hear what I just said? 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:48.040 This is these are real numbers. Closing the black home 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:52.920 ownership gap with financially literate, well prepared new home buyers 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:57.240 could add over three trillion dollars to the US economy. 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:02.480 So the delta, the difference between Black home ownership and 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:07.240 their mainstream counterbarts read white, it's about thirty percent. And 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.360 that's where this three trillion dollars comes from. You know, 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.320 fighting the good fight's not just about fighting in the 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:15.720 streets in the suite. Sometimes you got to fight the 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.160 argument with your brothers and sisters in the streets. So 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:21.800 sometimes I'll be talking about this stuff about homeownership and 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.160 brother will say, oh, you know, I don't want to 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:26.240 no home. That open home is stupid. 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:26.920 You own home. 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:33.160 The bank owns a home if you don't pay about 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:35.920 excellence people is about stepping up. You gotta look pay 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:37.880 your bills right if you as long as you pay 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.040 your bill, the bank does not own that home. They 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.320 own the mortgage, the rights to the mortgage on a home. 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:46.120 You get the benefits of that mortgage through tax right 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:48.960 off and all that stuff and appreciation from owning that 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:51.400 home right. And some people will tell you not to 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:55.480 own a home on major TV broadcasts, These wealthy people 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:58.440 telling you own you shouldn't own a home, own a 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:01.760 home right. So I have no idea what's going on 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:03.480 there other than the fact that they don't look at 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:08.840 their forty year OO mansions as primary assets that they've 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:10.600 grown on that long time ago they remember. They don't 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:14.360 remember their humble beginnings. But for most people, home ownership 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:17.199 is the user way to build well AI in the 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:21.880 future of work. The next frontier isn't just d E NI, 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:29.000 it's AI literacy and ownership in emerging markets, emerging industries. 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:42.840 Here's the message to corporate America. Also, companies should shift 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:51.080 from diverse optics diversity optics to economic outcomes. Who's getting contracts? 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:55.760 My brother Roland Martin and I have this conversation often 0:17:55.840 --> 0:18:00.199 about in his case advertising contracts. He just wants a 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:03.160 reasonable piece of the pie for the market of the 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:06.159 AFT American consumer. You know, again, one point six one 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:08.760 point seven to one point eight trillion dollars consumer spending 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:10.840 force would be one of the largest nations in the 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:13.520 world if we were a country, and ninety percent of 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:16.800 what we get is we generates consumption, which is typically 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.800 not good news, but in this particular case, it is 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:24.840 good news because we're buying stuff and those folks are consuming. 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:29.520 And Rowland Martin and other minority media companies just want 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:32.359 a fair share, reasonable share of the economic pie with 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:36.000 an allocation of advertising dollars. But there's so many other examples, 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:43.119 and participating supporting institutions that can give you access to 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:45.800 these emerging markets is good, but it's not only the 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:48.440 right thing to do. It'll pay dividend because they'll bring 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:52.359 you more customers. Corporate America, So who's on your supply chain, 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:56.800 who's building wealth as a result of this platform? You 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:00.520 have these major major company because you have vendors up 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:03.840 and down the chain in this company. Who you're hiring, right, 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:06.680 does it reflect your communities? Does it reflect your customer base, 0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:09.600 you know, I mean you do business with people you 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:14.239 reflect back to understand, appreciate, right, and they appreciate and 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:20.359 respect you in return. Right, So it's doing well and 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:24.359 doing good. It's good capitalism. Just don't talk about inclusion. 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:30.639 Invest in it, action steps how to win like Beyonce 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:37.119 for entrepreneurs and professionals, be the best in your space, 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:41.160 period over to rounded through it. You're gonna get to it. 0:19:42.600 --> 0:19:46.080 I believe an entrepreneur works eighteen hours a day to 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:47.359 keep from getting a job. 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:48.440 That's right. 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:53.560 I have a tea shirt sometimes just it's built on failure, right, 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:56.159 I mean I just I just never give up. I 0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:59.840 take no for vitamins. Right, you got to just com 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:04.440 it to being the absolute best. Read the book The Outliers, right, 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:08.399 and it talks about the exceptions of the rule. The 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:10.760 folks who put in a little bit more time, a 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:12.480 little bit more and invest a little bit more time 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:16.520 and energy to train up to be the best, the 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:19.240 very best that they can be. And it pays off 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:23.159 because they become the NBA players, the pro league of 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:26.600 their sector, and don't have to worry about somebody cutting 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:32.119 number break they become they're breaking for the whole. They 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:38.520 are creating new holes. They're creating a wake behind them 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:41.439 that other people can follow through. They're not following others. 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:44.399 They people are following them, and people are investing in 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:46.399 them because they're the best at what they do and 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:50.440 they're creating as a result of that, economic opportunity. Beyonce 0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:55.040 has created economic opportunity. She just opened a whole new 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:58.720 door just with this most recent shift, which was very 0:20:58.840 --> 0:21:02.879 risky again into country music, which she bet on herself. 0:21:03.240 --> 0:21:07.359 What would happen if you bet on yourself multiple income 0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:20.200 streams all right, real estate, UH, investing, entrepreneurship, learning, AI, 0:21:20.359 --> 0:21:27.679 and tech. Because the economy is shifting, for business leaders 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:35.199 and corporations move beyond U d n our programs and 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:41.879 invest in economic participation contracts with diverse applies. As I 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:46.800 mentioned funding black entrepreneurs. You can do it actually through 0:21:46.880 --> 0:21:50.280 minority participation contracts or minority women own businesses. If you 0:21:50.280 --> 0:21:53.040 don't have to target minority in women own businesses. If 0:21:53.040 --> 0:21:57.879 you're you're targeting underserved communities, you're going to get minority 0:21:57.880 --> 0:21:59.919 in women owned businesses who are in those communities. By 0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:02.760 by the way, this includes poor whites in West Virginia 0:22:02.800 --> 0:22:06.600 I'm not excluding anybody. If you're talking about inclusive economics, 0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:08.879 it's just really repairing the ladder from the bottom to 0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:11.080 the top. And as you're trying to get the folks 0:22:11.080 --> 0:22:13.720 at the bottom, you can naturally sweep up as a 0:22:13.720 --> 0:22:16.879 result of that, best in class potential leaders and doers 0:22:16.880 --> 0:22:19.280 of the future who happen to also be black, brown, 0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:23.840 and different without targeting black people. Okay, but that's a 0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:26.959 whole nother podcast for another time. But you know, one 0:22:27.000 --> 0:22:30.400 of my businesses, the Promise Homes Company, which I sold 0:22:30.400 --> 0:22:33.560 the majority of a couple three years ago, still on 0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:38.480 mistake in it. When I was the chairman CEO, we 0:22:38.560 --> 0:22:40.840 made sure that half of all contracts went to minority 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:44.119 and women in small businesses in communities where we invested in. 0:22:44.160 --> 0:22:46.520 Because we were invested in underserved communities, I didn't have 0:22:46.520 --> 0:22:48.920 to say, where's the black business. That's not the way 0:22:48.960 --> 0:22:51.280 we worked it. You had to be competent, you know, 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:54.439 it was really where's a competent business. I didn't want 0:22:54.480 --> 0:22:56.320 to go to a national company. I want to go 0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:59.000 to small businesses in my neighborhood where I invest in 0:22:59.000 --> 0:23:02.720 these affordable house signal in underserved community homes where I grew, 0:23:02.760 --> 0:23:06.760 you know, where I Atlanta in North Florida, and the 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:08.719 likelihood I was going to hit up. You know, if 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:11.080 I throw a rock at a business in the underserved 0:23:11.119 --> 0:23:15.960 area affordable workforce development community area where I'm invested in 0:23:15.960 --> 0:23:18.040 bought seven hundred homes, the likely that is going to 0:23:18.160 --> 0:23:20.000 hit you know, if I threw a rock, close my 0:23:20.040 --> 0:23:21.560 eyes and hit a business, there's going to be a 0:23:21.600 --> 0:23:22.320 minority of women. 0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:24.199 It's fairly high. 0:23:24.640 --> 0:23:28.639 And it just turned out that plumbing, heating, electrical landscaping, roofing, painting, 0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:31.400 these are things I had to get done every month anyway, 0:23:31.920 --> 0:23:34.760 and so we end up doing a few million dollars 0:23:34.800 --> 0:23:38.280 a year, like just under five million dollars a year 0:23:38.280 --> 0:23:43.320 in contracts every year, these repeatable, reboutable philanthropy, which is 0:23:43.359 --> 0:23:45.800 just contracts I would give the contract to somebody when 0:23:45.800 --> 0:23:49.280 not to give it to people who who in many 0:23:49.280 --> 0:23:53.080 cases look like me, without me targeting anybody, just really 0:23:53.200 --> 0:23:57.119 emphasizing where the dollars should also have a shot to. 0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:01.120 Empower, versus just. 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:04.199 Doing the easy, lazy thing of giving that contract to 0:24:04.240 --> 0:24:08.359 a one big national company who wouldn't even notice that 0:24:08.440 --> 0:24:11.360 I gave them a contract. Whereas we gave contracts where 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:15.680 it literally changed folks's world and made some people millionaires. 0:24:16.640 --> 0:24:20.560 For everyday people, turn your income into wealth, save invest 0:24:20.760 --> 0:24:24.679 Oh and get my book Financial Leuwacy for All. It's 0:24:24.680 --> 0:24:26.440 a great place to start as a best seller, by 0:24:26.440 --> 0:24:28.000 the way, been the best seller for a year now. 0:24:28.160 --> 0:24:31.359 Support businesses that support your community. I'm not down with 0:24:31.400 --> 0:24:34.240 the boycotton thing. I mean, everybody do their do their situation, 0:24:34.320 --> 0:24:36.919 do their thing. I don't say, don't boycott the company. 0:24:36.960 --> 0:24:40.600 Clean the shelves right there are there are black owned 0:24:40.600 --> 0:24:44.719 products of minority with Latino, whatever, Asian, whatever, your whatever, 0:24:44.760 --> 0:24:47.520 your cause. Azure is if there are products for those 0:24:48.119 --> 0:24:50.680 good companies that are on the shelves of these companies 0:24:51.040 --> 0:24:54.960 at Target, Tarja, Walmart, or wherever it is you shop, 0:24:55.400 --> 0:24:57.840 clean the shells, go buy all of them. Send the 0:24:57.880 --> 0:25:01.240 message that that you've got the area is buying power 0:25:01.760 --> 0:25:08.080 and support either the brands and or companies that support 0:25:08.280 --> 0:25:11.440 your community by giving them your dollars and then writing 0:25:11.480 --> 0:25:13.560 a letter to the CEO, writing a letter to the 0:25:13.960 --> 0:25:16.160 store manager whoever you can get to, and let them 0:25:16.200 --> 0:25:19.560 know that you back your values up with your dollar 0:25:19.600 --> 0:25:23.159 bill buy a share of stock in that company, if 0:25:23.160 --> 0:25:25.760 it's a publicly traded company, and now you have a 0:25:25.840 --> 0:25:27.960 voice as a shareholder as well. You can talk with 0:25:28.040 --> 0:25:30.440 the shareholder meeting. It's a whole another conversation with another time. 0:25:30.760 --> 0:25:35.640 But be a positive force for good, not just an irritant. 0:25:36.400 --> 0:25:39.560 I mean being an irritant is productive and useful. There 0:25:39.600 --> 0:25:41.760 is a time for protesting. By the way, where will 0:25:41.760 --> 0:25:45.000 we be without I was talking to Charlottvigne today about 0:25:45.320 --> 0:25:48.720 the legacy of Al Sharton and Jesse Jackson's not the 0:25:48.760 --> 0:25:51.920 way I roll, but you know them shaking trees twenty 0:25:52.040 --> 0:25:55.520 thirty years ago, and Reverend Sharpton's case ten years ago, 0:25:55.520 --> 0:25:57.960