Saturday, March 7, 2009

Price of Excellence: Open Letter To Our Youth



Some say the American Dream is having a healthy salary, a nice home, a sharp car and money to go on great vacations. Young girls see Beyonce and they want to sing “If I Were A Boy." They see her in movies and commercials and they want to be glamorous like her. They see Jennifer Hudson and they want to sing like her too. They dream of being discovered on American Idol and someday living in the "Spotlight." Young men see Will Smith and wish they could be one of the hottest movie stars in the world, earning $20 million for one movie. And oh yeah he’s married to a fine woman named Jada Pinkett-Smith.
I have a son in college who loves the finer things in life. He enjoys relaxing in the lazy boy recliner. He likes to wear $120 Nike gym shoes. He enjoys having nice clothes. He likes driving nice cars. He likes going on dates with pretty ladies. These are expensive habits that someday he has to figure out a way to support with his own money. That’s why we sent him to college, to find a way to pay for his lifestyle.
Everyday on television, in newspapers and magazines and in music we see and hear about people having the latest toys. It seems everybody has a cell phone with a camera, an iPhone, a blackberry, a Wii or a laptop computer. Rappers sing about having big rocks, real big cars and rolling like stars. These items cost. If you don’t have money you can’t buy them. So far I’ve talked a lot about material things and money. It sounds like money is of the utmost importance. Well it’s not. What’s important is building the foundation which allows you to have the number one tool to generate money. That tool is knowledge in the form of an education, a professional trade or a professional skill.
According to the US Dept. of Commerce your level of education dictates how much money you earn. The report which covers the years 1990 to 2004 says the following. The average income for a person who didn’t graduate from high school is $9.50 an hour. That’s $19,000 a year. With a H.S. diploma or a GED avg. wage is $13 an hour. With a 2 year college degree the salary rises to $16.50 an hour or $33,000 per year. With a 4 year college degree the income moves to $$20.50 per hour or $41,000 per year. With a Master’s degree the salary goes up to $25.50 per hour or $51,000 a year. With a Professional degree, like a Law degree or a medical degree or a degree in architecture the salary goes up to an average of $75,000 a year. A doctorate degree or Ph.D pays on average $68,000 per year.
Do you think you could live off of $41,000 a year…$51,000 a year? Could you live off of $75,000 a year? The good news is the money is waiting for you. All you have to do is go to college, make good grades and graduate.
Two weeks before he was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee Dr. Martin Luther King delivered a sermon at his church in Atlanta, Ebenezer Baptist Church. The title of the Sermon is “The Drum Major Instinct." The drum major instinct is the natural desire to be the leader, to be out front, to be recognized by the crowd. In the 1800’s there was a Drum Major who was perfect for his time and all time. His name was Fredrick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was born a slave on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Frederick’s mother was a slave and his father was the slave master. As a child Frederick secretly learned how to read and write from one of the master’s relatives. Frederick practiced reading and writing and educated himself through books and his own life experiences. Eventually Frederick used his skills to create what was essentially a fake passport that free black men had to carry in their pocket in case someone mistook them for being an escaped slave. The paper would prove they were free men. Frederick used his passport when he escaped to the north where he later wrote a book about his life as a slave. He became a civil rights leader speaking all over the North and in Europe about the injustices of slavery. Eventually, bounty hunters came looking for Frederick Douglass who was now famous to take him back into slavery. That’s when Frederick moved to Europe until he had earned enough money to buy his own freedom from the slave owner. Frederick wrote many articles and delivered many speeches about the injustices of slavery. One of Fredrick’s most important quotes is this one, “If there is no struggle there is no Progress.” If Frederick wasn’t born a slave he would never have experienced the pain of being beaten with a whip by a slave master who wanted to break his spirit, wanted to break him down physically. Had he been born a free man Douglass would not have felt the pain of being separated from his mother as a child. He may not have been called by the Lord to fight for the freedom of black men and women. He may never have become one of the most important and powerful Americans of the 19th Century.
Fredrick Douglass was willing to risk being beaten for learning to read and write. He risked his life to gain his own freedom. He was willing to pay the price. Are you willing to pay the price of earning a degree. I’m not talking about the kind of education where you have 1-A, 1-B, 2-C’s and 1 or 2-D’s on your report card every semester. Paying the price for a solid education is critical to your future.
I want you to understand how to pay the price for your education. First  You have to dream. What do I want to be? What do I want to do with my life? As the ideas start to flow, you have to develop a plan to make your dreams come true. Since you may not have all of the answers in your head, research it in books at the library, get some information from the internet, talk to a career counselor, talk to someone who does what you want to do. Read books about people who do what you want to do. When I was in your shoes back in 1981 I prayed to the Lord for help. Lead me to the right college, make the financial aid money match what I need, help me get a job on campus, give me a scholarship and let me play football.

I feel like singing a song. “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May. I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way? My girl, My girl, My girl. I’m talking about My Girl!” That’s the music of Motown, The Motor City properly known as the city of Detroit. On January 12, 2009 the Motown Record Company turned 50 years old. Maybe your dream will lead you to start your own business just like Barry Gordy the founder of Motown Records did. The company was started because Gordy had been writing songs for the great singer Jackie Wilson. Wilson and Elvis Presley had similar styles when it came to their on stage presence. Gordy was worried that as a songwriter he would not make enough money. He wanted to borrow $1,000 from his family to start his own record company. But there was a problem. Barry had already failed at selling Christmas trees, running a record shop and as a professional boxer. Now he wanted to borrow $1,000 from The Gordy Family Fund which his parents and his seven siblings had been contributing $10 a month to. The plan was to use the money to make a record with another Detroit singer, Marv Johnson. Barry had to convince his family to give him a chance.
During the family meeting Gordy pleads for support. He promises that he’s going to be rich and famous. Finally, his mother and father agree to give their ambitious son $800. So on January 12, 1959 with $800 Barry Gordy started Tamla Records. He later renamed the company Motown Records and built a music empire. Motown changed the record industry. For the first time black music artists were working for a major black owned record company and dominating the competition. The list of Motown music artists past and present it long and strong, from The Temptations and The Jackson Five to Diana Ross and the Supremes, of course Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie and Boys II Men. Today the company is called the Universal Motown Records Group. Some of the current artists include singers India.Arie, Erykah Badu, Mýa, Kem, and Yummy Bingham, pop singer Lindsay Lohan, reggae singers Damian and Stephen Marley, and rappers Q-Tip, Trick Trick and Nick Cannon. Motown changed the course of the music industry forever and became one of the most successful black businesses of all time.
The next great entrepreneur could be you. You could be a master barber or a dynamic hair stylist? Go to Hair school and graduate. Get your certification. Build up a solid clientele. Starting out you can work in someone’s shop. Later consider purchasing a building and renting chairs and booth space to other professionals. Maybe the building you buy is large enough to lease retail space or even office space to other businesses.
Is event planning in your future? Plan, prepare and coordinate events like the half-time show for the Super Bowl, the Democratic National Convention or the Republican National Convention. On a smaller scale you could plan weddings, dinners and local special events.
How do you get started? Volunteer to help work on the homecoming committee at your school. Volunteer to work for the Circle City Classic committee, volunteer for Anderson’s annual Midnight Parade. All of these projects become part of your resume and you'll have references for jobs that will someday pay you good money. You've provided free labor, but gained so much valuable knowledge. On the job experience allows you to learn from professionals both the good and bad of how to put on events. Book knowledge is necessary, but real life experience is always a plus on your resume.
You’ve heard the phrase “Knowledge is Power.” Let’s turn that around a bit and examine the “Power of Knowledge.” When a baby cries and his mother or father picks the baby up and shows love, the baby learns something. If I cry my parents will come see about me. So when a baby is hungry it cries. When a baby is wet and needs a diaper change it cries. When a baby is in pain it cries. The baby’s cry is one of the most powerful tools of communication.
In 2007 Ohio State point guard Mike Conley Jr. was selected in the 1st round of the NBA draft. Years ago the NBA and the NBA Player Union agreed to a salary cap that structures the salaries for NBA rookies who are drafted. The salaries are on a sliding scale which means the number one pick in the 1st round receives the highest salary and each pick after that receives less money according to the scale. The same goes for players selected in the 2nd round of the draft. Most professional athletes have an agent who represents them during negotiations. The average salary for a sports agent is 3 to 5% of the contract that they negotiate. According to a company called Become A Sports Agent dot com the following are the average salaries for athletes and their agents.
Sports League
Athlete Salary
Agent Salary
MLB
$2,800,000
$84,000
NBA
$4,200,000
$126,000
NFL
$1,700,000
$51,000
NHL
$1,800,000
$54,000
I don’t know Mike Conley Sr. and I’ve never had a conversation with him. However, I am a father who believes in helping my children make wise decisions. While his son was in middle school Mr. Conley started studying the sports representative business and prepared to someday become a registered sports agent with the NBA. Mr. Conley knew someone would be needed to negotiate future endorsement opportunities, financial planning, personal appearances and work on his son’s behalf in many other areas. Mr. Conley started his own company MMG Sports Agency and formed a partnership with a larger agency BDA Sports. Now he has at least 4 clients including his son Mike Jr., Greg Oden and Daequan Cook. Mr. Conley discovered that he could do what any other sports agent could do. By having the foresight to become a sports agent, Mike Conley Sr. was able to keep by my estimation nearly a half-million dollars in the family. That, my friend, is an example of the very profitable power of knowledge.
Finally, young people, I hope you give serious consideration to paying the price of excellence. The decision you make will turn your life in a certain direction. It will determine the type of person you marry, where you live and where your children attend school. A bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a doctorate degree, a skilled trade or profession are all tools for survival. Are you ready to pay the price? If you are, it’s time to strap up and get to work.

1 comment:

  1. Good food for thought. We all need to keep in mind that there is a lot that goes on to ride and enjoy the rainbow.

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