A cousin of mine passed recently, he was a meek, low-profile, family guy who owned a barbershop. But the day of his funeral, the room was packed. Different ages, different races, people you wouldn’t expect to grieve together. Although I only met him twice, it was devastating, but also deeply touching. It showed me that impact doesn’t always need a spotlight. And it made me think deeper about purpose & what it takes to build something that actually touches people.
In branding, patience is everything. Like a a good bop, the brand will hit when it’s in tuned and aligned. Could take a day, a year, a decade… it’s not up to us. Most of the work we do as creatives lives outside our control. That’s hard to sit with. But also, kind of freeing. Because it means our job is to stay ready & stay the course.
Just do the best you can, work with who wants to work with you, fail & learn from that shit. Today could be your last day anyway.
Building & sustaining relationships is a challenge. Those who build strong ones, just continue to adapt as they f up the many they try to make.
Name 1 business or company that became successful dolo… 0 team & 0 customers… I’ll wait
When you receive ideas, capture them... make them as tangible as possible. God gave it to you for a reason, don’t allow the reason to be a reminder to not waste giving them to you.
The road less traveled is nothing short of a battle.
A lot of no's
A lot of missed shots
A lot of stressful times
A lot of hopelessness
But you'll make it happen
Keep believing
Keep adapting
Keep Learning
Keep taking shots
Keep going
Just because something is unseen doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The things that serve a real purpose tend to last over time. But there are always invisible forces at work, so we may never fully understand the meaning or process behind every creation…& maybe that’s the point. Maybe we’re just meant to create, design, & let others make the stories. Moral of the story Strategy is powerful, but it’s not everything. Presence is a tool worth investing into your craft.
A stargazer
A daydreamer
A maverick
A believer
We all have a purpose & a limited time to live. What’s giving up really gonna do at the end of the day?
Agility is a rhythm. A steady beat of progress, not a one-time performance.
Branding is no different—keep them, don’t just chase them.
Success? It isn’t applause. It isn’t a title. It isn’t what they say.
It is what you build, what you give, what lasts.
Start within. Move with purpose. Let the world catch up.
What intrigued me this week? Reimagining strategy as roads and nodes. The roads are like systems guiding us. The nodes are like ever-changing people, places, and things shaping the experience. To reiterate how Seth Godin painted it: a strategy isn’t rigid; it breathes with whoever and whatever walks through. It made me rethink how I build, how I lead.
What inspired me this week? Daily reminders of Black brilliance. Men and women whose value outlived their wallets. MLK, Malcolm—giants not measured by money, but by meaning. Their stories echo louder than any paycheck. A faith-fed life, bread alone don’t sustain us.
What refreshed me this week? The honesty in design. That’s the hardest, purest line to draw. When you strip back the fluff, people feel the truth. We’re wired to sense what's real. It’s what connects.
The tie that binds it all: A good story shortcuts years of trial. It gets people to act, to believe, to move. It's not about complicating; it’s about revealing. Like a well-laid road, or a house built solid. Faith, strategy, & design are all stories we’re telling. Question is, are we telling them honestly enough?
Money is not some mythical thing locked up in a magic cage in outer space controlled by aliens. (well… if you look at some of these billionaires, one could get away with that description👽😬).
When there’s less money to go around it’s because of some mystical happening. There’s always someone at the top hiding in plain sight taking even more for themselves. Inflation? it’s just someone wanting more money at the end of the day. Layoffs? A person just wanting to save more for themselves or just save their ass.
Money isn’t worth anything without an assigned value. You deserve more. We all have an expiration date that’s out of our control. We deserve to live well.
