The Elephant in the Room

Lately my life has been chaotic with business, other things, but business is beginning to take a front seat. Me and my circle have started the plans we’d curated right before the new year and we aren’t letting up. When your business starts to take off and gain some volume, as we all know, people that we know for sure wasn’t worried about us or even supportive of the idea, are now calling us and interested in what we’re up to. Granted, many of those people may have had things going on in their own lives, where it was impossible to focus on others, but we’re aware of who those people are. When it comes to business and trying to separate it from your personal life, a common, uncomfortable conversation usually arises…FAMILY. To be honest, I’ve never been the most family oriented person, but I love family dynamics and seeing how others interact who are close to their family. I consider anyone family that I have a true love for and we’ve possibly been through some shit. Many of us can recall times we’ve called on our friends before blood relatives because those are the people we trust and confide in. I never understood why people would get so upset at the fact that family isn’t always on your side. But that's because those same people misconstrue the terms “Family” and “Love”. Just because I may not trust, talk to, or hang with my cousin, doesn't mean I don’t love them. Shit, I have blood siblings that will lie on me to get what they want or just try to paint a different picture of me to get the heat off of them. Thats what PEOPLE do; their relation to you has nothing to do with their morals.

I see many people inside and outside of my circle, that slow themselves down due to the fact that people they love can’t catch up or are begging them to wait up. Sorry not sorry, I’m not for it this year and neither should you. There comes times where your family may grow mad at you for being selfish for your future. People will always comeback with what they’ve sacrificed and let go of to have to get things done, and we have to have that same mentality. Anyone that isn’t able to say' ‘NO’, chances are, they haven’t gotten any further than the last time you’ve spoken to them. People use your common sense as you’re reading this. Of course being there for major family events, births and deaths are automatic and shouldn't be second guessed when it comes to your participation. As for handling things that aren’t your responsibility just for  the fact that you’re young and they feel like they've paid their dues, we all choose to pay differently, as well as use our time differently.

I’ve learned to keep my moves to myself, to avoid criticism and just to have your shit together before you present someone with an idea. The questions are always coming and you can tell who’s prepared by the way they respond. I remember getting defensive because most of the time I hadn't fully figured out my plan before people came with questions, and you have to confident in your decision making when it comes to your future. I’m the type of person that thinks of every possible situation that can happen and plan for it because as we know, most people around us are negative and wants to know how we will handle something negatively impacting our grind. Family in this case will remind you of your previous plan and when plans change, they grow concerned if you have the discipline to finish the task. All in all, your family wants what’s best for you, but their way. After years of trying to make people happy, I grew drained and unhappy. How was it that someone else’s happiness about my accomplishment was more important. Many of my accomplishments started to feel like failures because it wasn’t working towards the future I now wanted.

A lot of times, we let our family dictate our future, knowing that they've already lived their lives and made the decisions they thought were best for them. Now it’s our turn. Take your dreams, keep them close to you, and don't let anyone alter your plan but you. Everyone is going to have an opinion and seldom take their own advice. You can’t seek guidance from someone who has no idea where you want to go, only you can decide that.