Monthly Archives: April 2015

Wup That Boy’s Butt Momma

      Sorry but I side with the mother. 

These aren’t rebels and this is no revolution. There’s no nationwide Civil Rights violation in effect and no law that embraces the same. This is something like in-fighting. 

Sure there are isolated incidents and some cops that are on the wrong jobs. Sure there are confrontations everyday and arguments and people who break the law and authorities who abuse their position. 

But the majority of our country is peopled by good, hard working, aspiring, progressive, God-fearing folk who want to live good and excel. 

It’s so easy to digress and to be the company that misery loves. It’s so easy to see the hole in the donut when your own chips are down or when we hurt or experience loss. It’s so easy to want to retaliate when someone has been assaulted or executed. Watch any mob story or hood tale, from Godfather to Boyz In Da Hood, there’s always revenge. But in those stories revenge is always messy. The thing is, those are stories that have been created. What’s happening today is a story that you’re creatING. And you have the choice to make it A positive outcome or a negative one. The kid in this video is not fighting for my rights and he’s not avenging anybody’s death. 

Many of the people out there rioting are disruptors. A number of them are troublemakers. You can call them “oppressed” if you want to… 

You teachers and preachers and Black historians can coddle them with your conscious, guidance counselor mittens if you want to… Two wrongs don’t make a right. Criminal activity is not the answer to criminal activity. Identify the specific source of the problem and address it civilly. Address it in democratic ways and means. The alternative is to act like a primitive, and animal, a rebel. And we’ve all seen what happens with rebels

Mother beats rioting son.

Blue Eyed Rhythm & Soul on Relentless Radio

  

Tonight I’m Standing At The Scratchline

 

don’t know why but I’m sitting here idling; thinking about Maya Angelo. I met her back in the mid 90s at an entertainment venue known as the Motown Café on 57th St. in New York City. By the way thank you so much Audra W and Esther S for all that you have done for me in the entertainment industry. 

I was such a nincompoop and so unfocused (no leadership at my side) and driven by fame and lights and money, so much so that I missed A lot of the richness of the individuals who I interacted with.Standing-at-the-Scratch-Line-A-Novel-Paperback-L9780375756672

 I was just so trite and wayward and really not thinking about the long-term picture and how I might make an impact on peoples lives or how we might have relationships far into the future. Thank God I never went overboard but I do remember glib moments with Nancy Wilson and Chaka Khan and Phyllis Hyman, Luther Vandross, Christopher Reeves and yes our Maya Angelo. If nothing else, all those memories have toughened my Teflon as it relates to all-things-entertainment… I just don’t find myself impressed by much of anything these days. New talent I must say doesn’t impress me often, not enough dedication in such an over saturated marketplace. But in some ways I feel the whole “been there done that” state of mind. Sometimes I see entertainment as so superficial and I really do hunger for rich, engaging involvements with individuals on grassroots levels. Probably why I don’t favor all the extra hair and lashes and the whole mask that people put on in life. But even then, how does all I just shared make sense when I’m about to sign/manage/develop my first artist? Go figger. 

Back to my point, the crazy thing is that I did not know when I met Maya, that her son was such a prolifically-phenomenal writer who would change my life with his novel “Standing at The Scratch Line.” Sure, the Titans in the game definitely laid the groundwork for me. That would include James Patterson, Elmore Leonard, Sidney Sheldon and definitely John Grisham. But Guy Johnson, Maya Angelo’s son, brought a whole new perspective to my game of writing.  Perhaps there were the textures that I was familiar with, and the troubles and challenges and hardships in the storyline. Perhaps, it was because the underdog came out on top. Or more importantly, it may have been because this character, King Tremain, is a hero I always wanted in my life… the leadership, the guts and the heart that I often leaned towards in my life. So that’s my little two cents today folks; check out “Standing At The Scratch Line” if you’re looking for some inspirational, thought-provoking and awareness-raising content. if you need a boost in the carriage department. Sure, it’s fiction, but trust me we fiction writers don’t write from thin air. I’ve even changed the lives of others by demanding that they read this book. I can’t even wait to read it again myself. It keeps me sharp in my life as well as with my pen. It reminds me that people are basic and it also reminds me that my pen is valuable as are my words. I’m thinking I need to use them more surgically. All these reminders come from that one book. #heed

Wayward, Awkward & Yet Forward: From Mt. Vernon’s “White Rabbit” to World Renowned Pied Piper.

I believe the purpose of the diary is to purge every now and then, to let go of your feelings and emotions and two we count your experiences. Personal diary, to me, is to do all of those things in hiding. For your eyes only. You will say things about people and about experiences that are true to your heart, but without the intent of exposure or hurting anyone. Some of our diaries come with the testimony that when we pass away the contents might then be revealed.

On the other hand, we live in a get-it give-it got-it-now world, where just about every old paradigm has been disrupted. Technology and sharing on social media and Internet has changed to game for sure. So me being a writer, and me being so experienced and savvy and very real, it makes total sense for me to share my experiences on my social media and on my website, for the purpose of edu-tainment, raising awareness, informing, and yes, purging.

Very rarely will you see me shitting on other people, but where it is necessary I will. Some of you who have been following me already know about this story:

12 Vernon Place Mount Vernon NY

I grew up in Mount Vernon New York, lived at 12 Vernon Place on the north side of town for as long as I can remember. As a young boy I grew up on Wonderrama, HR Puff’n Stuff, Sesame Street and the Electric Company. Mom created our world with home made apple turnovers, tunafish casserole, corn & ham bits hidden in our pancakes and her Singer sewing machine.

Ours was the family that had a workaholic for a father, babysitters every now and then, and a very busy schedule of activities. Our activities included mom self importing us into the yearly memorial day parade, riding on our bicycles, with papier-mâché 11160452_10153167236070733_1550978220_n-1headgear and streamers and… Well… Just picture three kids and an adult interrupting the theme of patriotism with Gilmore-creativity. Indeed, we were the famous Gilmore family of Mount Vernon. If we weren’t singing as a trio in the church choir at the first Methodist Church at the intersection of Summit and Lincoln Avenue, then we were performing before a group of elderly folk at some “retirement home.” They called the managed-care facilities now, but we knew them as homes where old folk resided. If the Gilmore’s weren’t at the YMCA, the YMHA, the local library or scattered in the Cub Scouts or the Brownies, the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, we were towed-off to summer camp where mom was “resourceful” brokering a deal to be the nurse at Camp Trexler, enabled to have her children to attend camp and experience the outdoor life that sleep away camp offered. If not out on those excursions to the beaches, to the plays on Broadway, or to Bear Mountain Park, we were at home there on Vernon Place in that quiet suburb of Mount Vernon New York. Its on Vernon Place where I played with my GI-Joe, built a treehouse and yielded to mom’s loud whistle when it was time for dinner. On Vernon Place I was taught to ride a bike by our neighbor Peter Tarter. On Vernon Place we had the Reverend Michael Fields and his family, a Judge lived down the block, and fine-ass Phaedra Perry’s dad was the famous actor on S.W.A.T. And I don’t know how this happened but, I was paired up with a girl named Jodi with whom I walked to Traphegan Elementary school every day. I don’t know if I was good company, or if I was chaperoning, considering she could probably beat my ass/tomboy that she was. All the while, I’m living in this world with aloof natures, no focus, and most importantly no daddy. Daddy was seen here and there, but most vividly when I needed a spanking. I remember the spankings progress to the switch. (Mom’s weapon) And I remember dad’s weapon was the leather belt. At age 10 dad began to bring me to the south side of town where I took on duties at his deli on Sanford and 3rd. Even leading up to my newfound work experience, dad would bring me here and there to his growing chain of stores. They progress from grandma’s card shop on Prospect Avenue in the center of Mount Vernon and eventually dad had a chain of 3, 4 or 5 delicatessens on the West End, on the east and on the south end of Mount Vernon. It seemed like dad grew an understanding of supply and demand, despite the amputation of his leg do to a baseball accident when he was 18 or 19.

So, at 13 I learned quickly and helped courageously until I eventually was running the shop behind the register even when dad slipped away. Now that I’m older I understand that is slipping away was more than just business since I currently have a half-brother who’s a few years younger than me.

Coincidentally I also have an older half-brother. To say “Poppa was a Rolling Stone” would be an understatement considering that he ran a series of businesses and maintained a few “allegiances” with different females. Considering dad was missing a limb, he sure made up for it with his third leg.

white rabbit alice in wonderland traphegan elementary school mount vernon nyWith my roots being so deep in Mount Vernon, you’d bang yourself in the head wondering why the principle of my elementary school, Traphagan School on the North side of Mount Vernon, would call me out of class down to her office
and proceed to prosecute me and beat me for living in New Rochelle while going to her school in Mount Vernon. Even with the lack of technology back in the 70s, sustaining a twisted face was not beyond me. That’s the only expression I could come up with against these allegations. And not to mention, 2 years earlier (in the 3rd grade) I was chosen to perform as “The White Rabbit” in our school play Alice in Wonderland. This was an absurdity amongst the parents at the school, since I was Black, and that Alice was White and the intimacy of it all… my positioning beside her… they tried so hard to get me to give up that role, but I was just too talented a singer and performer. No White boy in the school could hold down the role like me. And then there was the resourceful mother I had with the Singer. She made the outfit for me, complete with the ears that stood up over my head, wired inside of white fur and silk.”I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date. No time to say hello/goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!” Those lines are branded in my memory, but also branded in my memory was (fast-forward 2 year) 5th Grade… Mrs. Maxim’s office. I recall she charged me with lying and had me bend over while she brought the paddle to my ass again and again. Later on, around the age of 13 or so I sure did go to New Rochelle schools such as Albert Leonard and New Rochelle high school. But11173721_10153165457745733_223836866_n of course that was me as a teenager. But, the adolescent, Mr. Gilmore’s son, the one who played team sports on the baseball team’s and perform duties at his dads deli and sang in the choir at church (yeah, ME) was suddenly blamed and persecuted and assaulted by the school principal when I was in the fifth grade. In fact, the punishment carried on. My fifth grade teacher sort of took the baton from the principal and held me back from “recreation.” Recreation was sort of the “getaway” for our class during each day. So not going to recreation was considered punishment, not to mention the shame before other students. Today a child might tell the teacher to go to hell and child might go anyway to recreation. LOL but back then in the 70s we were by default to be obedient. “The Golden Rule.” And I can vividly remember how

I was “held back” and how Mrs Zinman directed her class pet, (I remember her well as Ana Farda) to brush the fertilizer and dirt from the shelving where the plants were positioned on to the carpeted floor. With the dirt on the floor I was ordered to get on my hands and knees/to sweep up or pick up what Ana tossed there. This was the further punishment that I had to deal with in the fifth grade underneath the teacher Mrs. Zinman.

Mom and dad could never get the lady’s name right they always called her Zimmerman. But her name was Zinman, and in my eyes she was no better and no worse than the school Principal Mrs. Maxim. naturally, now that I’m a world renowned author, I will use this smidgen of content in a book. But I wanted to give you some insight and perspective as to some of what I’ve had to deal with as a kid growing up in Mount Vernon, going to Mount Vernon schools, progressing through life without focus, stumbling into the USMC, into an Honorable Discharge, into the streets and clubs of NYC, into prison, into college, into entertainment, into allegiances with Mike Tyson, Ashford & Simpson and Dougie Fresh… into business deals with Russell Simmons, TV interviews with Brandy, Nancy Wilson and Phyllis Hyman, into my landmark 14-book publishing deal, onto and Arts & Leisure cover story of the New York Times, TIME Magazine, and ABC World News, and eventually here, where I reside in Conyers Georgia.

It’s a long, complicated, intense and detailed journey with many challenges that come my way daily, monthly and yearly, but it’s a journey I wouldn’t give up for anything in the world. No, I wasn’t ever raped, nor have I ever raped or killed anyone, so in God’s eyes i’m what you might call “no Angel.” But I’m certainly not the derelict that you would expect me to have become considering my wayward path and awkward beginnings.

In my eyes, I really haven’t done that bad. My only regret is the women that decided to take my children from me. When we are young we make dumb decisions that have life-long consequences. And in New York, no matter what choices they make, women have the upper hand of the law on their side. So until I complete my own circle of life, I pour my energy into my work and my talent and the satisfaction of my small army of devoted fans. I live within my means and I enjoy the peace, the seclusion and the testimony that I’ve created. Relentlessaaron

Below, the map of Northern Mount Vernon and the walk I took to school each morning. Not dangerous, perilous or confusing. Grades 3 thru 6

Before Traphegan, I attended Lincoln School in Mt Vernon, except they tore that down and re-built, moved all the students to different elementary schools around town.

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Years later, I built my following on the streets of New York. I created a magazine, I produced live shows and events, and I earned the name “Relentless”

Eventually I earned enough fans to get the attention of one of the world’s biggest publishers. I was no longer just a “Mount Vernon cat.” I was going global.

Screenshot 2015-02-13 20.20.19

My story was magnetic and all the worlds biggest press and media came running to my door. I made it mom! I really made it!!!

Click the picture below to watch the feature on ABC World News Now

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Am I A Slacker?

IMG_0303.JPGHere's my issue: number one I keep it ever so real. Number two I can't stand delay. I toss and turn all night because of shit that should have been done. Shit that has been promised to me. Shit that should be going right and instead goes left. My other quagmire is that I understand that life only gives us 24 hours in a day and that the most resourceful people often take on more than they can handle. So while we look good handling so much, and while everybody says "I don't know how you do it all", "I don't know how you write so many books" and "how did you get all these businesses started", the fact is that shit gets lost in the sauce. The impact and the urgency gets lost. This happens, especially, when you're doing it all yourself. Thank God for technology, because it makes many of us more efficient. But at the same time, it shows me inefficiency. Maybe it's because I am accustomed to doing it all myself. Maybe it's because I routinely "get it done" or "handle it". I was telling someone the other day that I am a walking, talking, TV studio/production company/radio campaign/book publisher, and of course beneath all of that I am a writer. So life's complications have sort of pushed me to be the most resourceful with what I have and what I know. How else would I survive not holding a 9-5 in my entire adult life/now over 30yrs of this? However, in my heart I know it's time to get to basics: writing and filming what I write. I have my audience & endorsements; I have my talent and I have the wherewithal to share. What else could I possibly need? The truth is I need a team. With the team, deals will come in from all over the world. Of course it's got to be a legitimate team, not just pretty skirts and shiny shoes. Not just wigs, makeup and fast talk. My team has got to be on their mark, ready, set to go! My team would be familiar with my voice, as much as they would know how to channel my work. My team would be dependable and disciplined. Just as I've changed many of your lives with my writing, so too could I change the lives of others around the world. It's time to get cracking. #relentlessaaron

What inspired me to write?

  I was locked up and feared for my life every day/miss categorized and thrown into a prison where men were condemned for 50 years or more. So instead of turning into a predator or a vulture, I became productive. A squirrel.  A hummingbird. My “honey” was every page I wrote, every chapter and every book completed. My dreams at night we’re not of freedom but of my characters activities and the chapters I’d be writing when I woke up. And when my 7 years was up I had 30 manuscripts ready to go. I wasn’t thinking about a publishing deal, instead I did it myself and began to publish my books one at a time. I developed an audience and a big enough buzz that one of the 10 major publishing companies gave me a quarter of $1 million advance. To get a deal like that today would be a miracle in this failing publishing industry in the world of paper on the demise. I am still inspired to write and I still pump out books now on my 40th book, with my own audience. My advice is to do it yourself if you can’t get a deal and to print the books that are necessary as you are still writing. 40 books and 1000 devoted Fans Is Way better than and elusive audience that is ready to buy anything from anybody. Blessings.

You Are A Garden in The Big City

 

THATS WHAT YOU ARE… You are that garden in the middle of the city. The Rose growing out of the concrete. You are as beautiful as any garden across the world, despite the noise, the traffic, and the crowds that surround you. I know you feel there’s competition since you live in such an over populated part of the world, but let that not discourage you or influence you. If anything use it to motivate you. For your garden is as sacred and as plentiful and as peaceful as Paradise. Good morning beautiful Garden. You are created by God, and therefore you matter. You are still a miracle; The survivor. The inspiration #relentlessaaron

10 Unorthodox Book Marketing Strategies For Dummies:

Screenshot 2015-04-13 16.20.04 There are plenty of Orthodox ways to market books. Since there are so many first movers who have been writing books for years and since they are mostly caught up in the old paradigm, the old way of doing business, I thought I’d import a reality check that may shake you but will not break you. Remember I walked the walk I’m not just here talking. I’m not preaching and I’m not selling anything I’m here to tell you the fax and nothing but the facts.

1) set up your elevator pitch and print flyers, bookmarks and business cards to fit your agenda. No matter if your book is ready or not, your message and your story is still you. Your book is merely the instrument that carries your message.

2) Find the cheese. Where is your audience? Where do they congregate? For me, everyone was my audience! So I brought myself to Times Square in New York City, one of the most populated intersections on the planet. I did this on the subways and in the streets in the late hours on Friday and Saturday nights when people traveled from far and wide to be a part of the congregating, the gazing and (yes) the spending. Furthermore I had to have a pitch for women and different pitch for men. The pitch had to be short and sweet, something that will draw you in to want to know more. Don’t give me that “I’m-an-introvert-and-don’t-know-how-to-sell” nonsense. You have a message and the only person responsible for sharing it is you! So get out there and meet people and share your message. For me Times Square, Columbus Circle, 34th St. and many places in the Bronx were where I was able to be seen by millions of people throughout the early years of my book publishing success. Note: this was a number of years ago so make sure you check the local laws that are relevant to today if you intend to try this.

3) Where are the events? Find the events, penetrate them, and engage. I visited, marketed and was invited to over 300 events throughout the country once I got my first of 30 books printed. But even before my book was printed I had flyers and I was out on 5th Avenue in New York City meeting folks and sharing the message about my forthcoming book. “New York is Book Country” was that event. I remember walking down that mile long stretch with all those authors who paid so much money for those booth spaces. Regardless if I didn’t have full-color brochures and expensive promotion, I was where I belonged! Eventually I was invited to speak and engage and moderate at the biggest book conventions in the world, that was BEA; held at New York’s biggest convention center. Since that convention also moves around I was invited to speak at the Washington DC convention as well. I was brought in to HOST the keynote symposium “The Wheatly Awards” at the world famous Harlem Book Fair. And all of these conventions I spoke at invited me because I was hungry! It was because I was purposed, because I’d mastered my craft and (most importantly) because of my hustle!

4) what bookstores are still standing? Do you know? Have you been watching their trends and do they seem to have staying power? Already knowing I had written some of the best books ever created (affirmed by a sea of avid readers who read my manuscript before print) I floated on my mojo. It was not even a second thought when I took the risk of opening up a UPS account and shipping cases of books to bookstores around the country. I included an invoice and a letter to say “here are the books you requested”. Certainly this was a lie, but what choice did I have in forging my way to the top. And it worked!

5) Where are the “connectors” in my universe? What radio personalities need you connect with? What TV personalities must you connect with? What radio shows must you be interviewed on? What publicists must you partner with? Naturally your content is different from everyone else’s right? So then if your content speaks to homemakers then there are connectors in that field. If your content connects with industrial corporations, fashion, or entertainment or law or finance then there are connectors in those fields. There are associations and meeting places and congregations that are all about the love of their industry. So your content must fit in somewhere in that demographic. Find those “connectors.” Make it your top priority to meet with them and to engage with them and to compel them to share information about your work. There is nothing more important than your work and your alliance with those individuals. If you need more information about that, read the book “The Tipping Point” WHAT??? You haven’t already read that book? Then my friend you are not ready to win in the world the books.
A quick story here: once upon a time a radio host name ‪Michael Baisden‬ (now fired from the big radio broadcasting stations) was a mover and a shaker in the radio industry. One day he promoted the subject matter that he’d be speaking about on his radio show. When I heard about it it was mere moments before he was about to broadcast. I was compelled to find his personal phone number. I had already attracted and created a certain energy: “I get what I desire and what I’m prepared for” and when I did get Michael’s phone number I called it right away. Moments before showtime Michael picks up the phone and I announced: “this is Relentless speaking…” And I gave him my elevator pitch about why I “needed to be on this forthcoming show.” All I can remember is Michael being upset and enraged with why and how I was able to get his phone number. It didn’t matter that my story was spot on with his subject matter he was about to speak on before millions of people. All he wanted to know was how I got his number. I never shared my source but in ending the call in haste he told me I had to follow everyone else and call in on some 800-number. My speed dial game was on 1000 at the time and I finally got through and he actually let me on the air, prefacing my voice with a most controversial intro. He said to his millions of listeners: “Family when I tell you this man is Relentless…???” And I went on to tell my story which has been heard and repeated over and again on his shows rebroadcasts. So use my story as your way of saying you “will not lose!”

6) it’s almost time to print banners, posters, wrap an SUV and rent a moving billboard. You can’t tell me that you’ve executed all of the past 4 Dummy-moves and your book is not ready? Your book is now in hand and now it’s time for you to turn up the volume!

7) Create an excerpt page, a brochure or booklet. Let some people read your work. When I set out on my book campaign, social networking was at its infancy. MySpace… AOL chat rooms. Huh. That wasn’t enough for me. I had to get out there every day on the main thoroughfares and even in the big malls around the country and I had to share my message and connect with people. I built an email list. And many people share their phone number. It all added up. I may not have had a blueprint but I had a drive. I may not have had a template to follow but I had a dream. I may not have had more than one book to sell, but I had 29 others ready to print. I was ready, are you?

8) Where are the book clubs that matter to you and your titles? Find them, interact, meet and engage. Make your presence unforgettable. Forewarning here: I have been invited to numerous book club organizations and events including but not limited to Boston Public Library, Mount Vernon Public Library, and even Detroit Public Library. I have been asked to engage at events throughout the country, including the black expo in New York City, the Bronner Brothers Hair Show in Atlanta as well as their show in Baltimore. Yes, I did it “my way” but the literary world and the world at large was excepting and they embraced me and welcomed me. It got to a point that such was all I knew. All I knew was people entertaining me and taking me in and pushing me forward. Many times they paid me and other times we had agreements. Strategic alliances.

But be clear and beware, there are those out there who do not want to see you succeed. They have tried and failed to reach any substantial value or presence in this industry. They will try and shut you down if your content is even close to there or if you’re market feels like it’s their market.

I have gotten hate from other authors and other event organizers as well as people in the press and media. But none of that outshines the success that I have achieved over the years. So look forward to 2% or better haters who do not want you to win or out-do them. I will be more specific in my forthcoming book “I Did It, You Can Too”

9) Create questions that can will and are answered by your content. Then, get a Casio eX-slim camera and shoot videos. Obama had over 2000 videos that heavily impacted and influenced the masses of voters who helped him to become president. I have over 600 videos on YouTube and I moved to the top of my genre. I’ve earned awards, media coverage, etc. i’ve earned relationships with other writers in my community as well as the world over. I’ve earned one of the biggest publishing deals ever for a debut author. So your book is now printed and you are ready for this business? So how many videos do you have presently? Are you wanting to be popular on your block, in your neighborhood, or throughout the world? Well act like it then! Once upon a time we used to send up smoke signals and homing pigeon’s and Morse code to get a message out. There were horsemen and telegraphs and eventually the telephone to share a message. Remember party lines? Well today, megatrends have brought us to social networking. Get with the program! Get in there, learn it, research it, don’t be afraid of it, and WIN!

10) Go back to ‪#‎1and‬ do it all over again tomorrow, nonstop, no excuses, as if your life depended on it! You are already in the gym on the treadmill looking up at the TV, see yourself on the TV, interviewed on ABC World News. See yourself on the cover of the arts and leisure section of the New York Times. See yourself in the world’s biggest magazine, time magazine, on the largest radio station, NPR radio, and its affiliates… And in your city’s biggest newspaper, the New York Daily News. See it, believe it, and make it happen. You can do it! How do I know? Because I did it! And you can too! ‪#‎Rockytheme‬

Dear God…

Dear God, I just want to tell you that I hear you tonight. I haven’t experienced a rain storm like this in quite some time. And how it…imagefalls feels like a shout for attention. I know so many of us are not listening and many more of us need guidance. And still others want for advice and direction but know not how to find it. I don’t believe we are lacking leadership or information or resources… I don’t even believe we lack ability to live in harmony, in peace and prosperity. What I believe we lack is the willingness to do what we know must be done.v I believe many of us are faced with uncertainty, and we are afraid and in many cases aimless/not living on the same page/nobody living by the same charter or rulebook. God, as much as I observe this and make sense of it in my own life I can only help but so many people. And if my plate is full how then would I be able to achieve what you brought me here for? I’m always helping helping helping and advising and instructing and directing, i’m doing what’s in my heart. I’ve even gotten to a place where I have foregone pleasures and thrills in order to focus on the work. So then lord what more would you have me do? How much more my style I exhaust my energies every day to be the productive, giving leader that I have it in me to be? God of you I ask for continued guidance because I don’t know it all. Yes you given me a lot but I continue to want for more information and more resources and more capabilities to make a difference during this short time amongst our people. Send me a signal. Touch me. Send me where I need to go. Amen

Truffle Butter My Ass! Yuck!

You youngsters are off the hook. Family no matter what you read in my books I was never interested in anal sex. Ask me if I tried it, and that’s a different story LOL. some years ago I had a six-month relationship with a woman who was quite entertaining. She had that young and dumb thing going on but for the joy and pleasure of yours truly this woman was a walking/talking porn star. please don’t take that to be a bad thing, as it’s always good for an artist/Author/producer to be entertained in such a way. It’s sort of lens itself to further creativity, if you know what I mean. I remember less than a month into the relationship she said “I like it in my ass” you would think a guy like me who has been there-done that would have the blasé attitude about this comment; but instead I hid that OMG! expression underneath my poker face. I don’t know how you guys do it and I don’t know how you women do it but that is just not the natural order of things. #beyondnasty And then to read this article about truffle butter and what that means in sexual terms is just straight dangerous. Sex has become so damned complicated these days, and i’ll be glad when I get hooked up for good #monogamous

I’ve  been inactive for sometime now, and I’m growing to respect abstinence evermore when I read stories like this. Ewwwwww!

From Ebony Mag

“Truffle Butter” has been a radio and club hit since Nicki Minaj’s The PinkPrint was released late last year. Although most of us would hope that the song’s title simply refers to the expensive French delicacy slathered on meats (as Drake alludes to in his verse), there’s an alternate meaning that has potential real health consequences.  According to the Urban Dictionary, the term ‘truffle butter’ refers to the tan substance (feces mixed with excretions) that accumulates around a woman’s vagina when a man removes his penis from a woman’s anus and then inserts his penis into her vagina to continue having sex.  Regardless of what the Young Money rappers had in mind, there’s been an uptick in cultural conversation about anal sex and this is a good opportunity to talk about some serious safety concerns.

It is well established that fecal matter in the vagina is not sanitary or safe.  The most common cause of fecal matter entering a vagina is due to incorrect personal hygiene following a bowel movement. Instead of cleansing in the direction away from the vagina towards the anus, or from the front to the back (the correct way!), one mistakenly wipes towards the vagina from the anus.

In the case of ‘truffle butter,’ to deliver fecal matter into the vagina during sex, potentially puts women at high risk for contracting vaginal infections such as bacterial vaginosis as well as urinary tract infections.   There is also an increased risk of infection of the anus and rectum if the couple switches back to anal sex after vaginal sex. It is key to remember that the feces contain lots of bacteria, and that about a third of the content of feces is bacteria, virus, and parasites.  In addition, an attempt to create ‘truffle butter’ using no condom, increases the risk of contracting sexual transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV, genital warts, herpes, and syphilis.

How are these infections contracted?

During sex of any type, the shear forces caused by the penis rubbing on the lining of the vagina or anus causes tiny tears. Theses tears make it much easier for bacteria and viruses from semen, feces, and blood to enter below the lining and possibly enter the blood stream. As a result, anal sex is 30 times more risky for HIV transmission than vaginal sex according to the CDC. 

So what can you to make sure you and your partner are being safe? Here are my Doctor’s Orders”

1)    Always use a condom: Extensive research continues to show the effectiveness of this method of protection. The barrier provided by latex condoms provides a nearly impermeable barrier to particles the size of STD pathogens.  If you have trouble using a condom every time you have sex, learn about pre-and post-exposure prophylaxis–medications that prevent HIV.

2)    Avoid having anal sex followed by vaginal sex until you put on a new condom.  The same applies if you are using a toy.  This will help to significantly reduce the risk of contamination due to traces of fecal matter.

3)   Use a water-based lubricant to decrease the risk of anal tears during anal sex.

4)    Proper hygiene is essential after anal sex.  Be sure to use an anti-bacterial soap.

5)    If you are sexually active (oral, anal, or vaginal), please get regular testing for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. Regularly testing is a key component of prevention and also helps to protect those that you care about.

6)    Share with a friend or a young person the risks associated with ‘truffle butter.’ It is important to share health information on sexual practices that may put individuals at high risk for HIV or STDs.

 

Tune in next week for 3 methods to tighten your vagina naturally, risk free.

Dr. Aletha Maybank is a pediatrician board certified physician in preventive medicine/public health. Follow her on Twitter on @DrAlethaMaybank.

Read more at EBONY https://www.ebony.com/wellness-empowerment/the-truth-behind-truffle-butter-504#ixzz3XEoACDeC
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We Don’t Know It All, But We Can Always Learn, Grow, Improve

I never went to school for writing…

I never went to school for night club management. I never went to school for publishing. I never went to school for Internet radio production. I never went to school for web design or graphic design or video production. I never went to school for networking or for strategic alliances. I never went to school for any of those and yet I am winning in all of those fields. So how did I do it?

It all begins with definiteness of purpose. You’ve got to know what you want. Once you identify what you want then you simply go after it by doing the work. That means studying that means being and apprentice that means practicing that means falling and ultimately that means mastering that particular skill. so when it comes down to it, there are no excuses why you cannot achieve greatness in one way or another. End of story.

EXCELLENCE APRIL 2015

Relentless Aaron : Authorpreneur

Relentless Q&A: How To Build An Audience

Your-Audience-is-everythingRelating to WordPress versus blogger, I would keep both. I would cross-post if there is a platform that does this. If not just copy and paste in both and perhaps use different photos as your image. Blogger is a reputable platform to share information and has a great allegiance with bloggers where you can create strategic alliances. WordPress is (opinion) now the front runner as it relates to blogging. There was a point where HBO was the brand leader, until Netflix came along. The blogger/word press war is very similar. And speaking of strategic alliances…

Every brand “rides the tiger.” Determine who the tiger is in your industry and your genre and become the apprentice. If you’re starting from scratch and your Fanbase is small the best way to acquire new fans is to ride the tiger.

I’m going to tell you a quick story that you can use as a template: I have aligned myself with Starbucks coffee shops for over a decade. Granted, I write the books and I have achieved the same for that craft. But that merely speaks to mastering my craft and does not speak to the promotion of the same. While in Starbucks, I naturally aligned myself with other writers and other readers and inevitably sold books in those stores. Moreover I’ve made more money and I’ve earned more valued relationships from Starbucks clientele and customers then I could imagine. There’s a book being written so you’ll need to wait on that as I went very thorough into the details. Meanwhile, In getting to that point where I needed to market my work, assume I was once this hobbit that sat in the closet and wrote my ass off for years. (BTW that’s very close to my truth) How in the world will I share my content? Well when I came out of the closet I knew that I had to align myself with readers and I realized that readers were found in numerous places but most importantly in bookstores, libraries and coffee shops. The most popular of the three happens to be the coffee shops. In New York we happen to have coffee shops and cafés all over the place. So I master my craft then I create strategic alliances with high traffic venues and events. But I don’t subject myself to totally focusing on that, as I maintain my social networking as well as I build alliances with other tigers in my genre. Again, you need to identify the Tigers in your genre and you need to attach yourself to them. They will allow the attachment for the most verifiable and the most passionate of their fellowship. You begin as part of the fellowship, then you become one of their soldiers, until you become a lieutenant and eventually you will become a partner. This may seem time-consuming, but I assure you if your passion is in your pen and if your pen is in your purpose and if your purpose is practical you will create partnerships. You need to have partners in your circle. These are people that you can share ideas with and people who have like minds. Those strategic alliances will be with people like yourself and also people who have excelled in your field of expertise. Please do not discount my mention of expertise and mastery. There are many crabs in this barrel all scrambling to get out. They are climbing over in around one another. How will you get out? And how will your plan B more unique than all others? How do you find the market leaders in your industry? Research, research, research! If you’re passionate about what you’re doing you will love the time necessary to reach the top. Is the bullet list:

1) Master your craft
2) identify the Tigers in your industry and your genre
3) align yourself and be of value to those tigers
4) take the necessary steps to grow your brand and create valued relationships, not shortcuts.
5) do all of the above on and off-line.

SIDE NOTE:

if you are about that life-speaking of the writers/writing, etc life then also align yourself with other writers that you might want to partner with. See that they also have a burning desire and a nice fan base that equals yours. If so write a story together and go back and forth with chapters between the both of you. In doing so you’re not only inspiring one another but you’re also sharing one another’s Fanbase. You can begin the process online and if it becomes exciting and valuable to our readership in the blogs you may want to go to press with that writer. Now you have another book that you can add to your library and so does that other writer. That is a strategic alliance.

SECOND SIDE-NOTE:

Why Starbucks?
Let me start out by saying that I have made thousands upon thousands of dollars from my alliances at Starbucks. It’s not only because I’ve mastered my craft but it is because I am a good person. Be a good person. I know it’s difficult if you’re an introvert but reach out and touch someone. Stretch your boundaries and step outside of the box. Create a focus group in your community and have those meetings at Starbucks inside or outside on the patio. You can do the same at Panera bread or a number of other franchises around the world. Starbucks is a brand leader and they’ve created a large constituency of followers, follow where is that our readers and writers and publishers and marketers and theoreticians. If you are going to be successful in your field and your endeavor you need to be known and respected in those circles. I hope I am preaching to the choir her for many of you, but for others among you who asked the question “why Starbucks?” I don’t believe we are on the same page. You will need to go back to “marketing 101” in college. You will need to go back to “relationship building 101.” Okay now I’ll be less facetious and more specific: You will need to read the books @radical marketing” and “the tipping point” and “all marketers are liars” and “think and grow rich” “how to Win friends and influence people” and most importantly “the magic of thinking big.” I hate to say this but I will say this: if you have not read all of these books you are not ready to be a winner in this industry. Family, everybody wants to be a winner and get ahead of the rest, but the way to guarantee your position is to do the work.

How To Build An Audience

  

 Relating to WordPress versus Blogger, I would keep both. I would cross-post if there is a platform that does this. If not just copy and paste in both and perhaps use different photos as your image. Blogger is a reputable platform to share information and has a great allegiance with bloggers where you can create strategic alliances. WordPress is now the front-runner as it relates to blogging. The biggest Titans and the biggest industries have word press platforms for their websites. Word press is not just a blogging site with run-on updates. It is more intricate and just as comparable as your basic food groups/tons of nutritional values, but oh-so simple to administer. And the power of all that is a greater resource than we can imagine in this lifetime. There was a point where HBO was the brand leader, until Netflix came along. The blogger/wordpress war is very similar. And speaking of strategic alliances…
Every brand “rides the tiger.” Determine who “the tiger” is in your industry and your genre and become the apprentice. If you’re starting from scratch and your fanbase is small the best way to acquire new fans is to ride the tiger. I’m going to tell you a quick story that you can use as a template: I have aligned myself with Starbucks coffee shops for over a decade. Granted, I write the books and I have achieved the same for that craft. But that merely speaks to mastering my craft and does not speak to the promotion of the same. While in Starbucks, I naturally aligned myself with other writers and other readers and inevitably sold books in those stores. But I am not merely a writer, and I don’t think you are either. So many of you are entrepreneurs or you are just strong voices wanting to be heard. There are all levels of successes and failures at the coffee shop. I’ve met more millionaires at Starbucks in the past 10 years then I have outside of Starbucks in my lifetime. Moreover I’ve made more money and I’ve earned more valued relationships from Starbucks clientele and customers then I could imagine. There’s a book being written about this so you’ll need to wait on that as I went very thorough into the details. Meanwhile, In getting to that point where I needed to market my work, assume I was once this hobbit that sat in the closet and wrote my ass off for years. (BTW that’s very close to my truth) How in the world will I share my content? Well when I came out of “the closet” I knew that I had to align myself with readers and I realized that readers were found in numerous places but most importantly in bookstores, libraries and coffee shops. The most popular of the three happens to be the coffee shops. In New York we happen to have coffee shops and cafés all over the place. So I master my craft then I create strategic alliances with high traffic venues and events. At the time, that could be a street corner in New York or New Orleans. (Beware laws have changed) But I don’t subject myself to totally focusing on that, as I maintain my social networking as well as I build alliances with other tigers in my genre. Again, you need to identify the Tigers in your genre and you need to attach yourself to them. They will allow the attachment for the most verifiable and the most passionate of their fellowship. You begin as part of the fellowship, then you become one of their soldiers, until you become a lieutenant and eventually you will become a partner. This may seem time-consuming, but I assure you if your passion is in your pen and if your pen is in your purpose and if your purpose is practical you will create partnerships. You need to have partners in your circle. These are people that you can share ideas with and people who have like minds. Those strategic alliances will be with people like yourself and also people who have excelled in your field of expertise. Please do not discount my mention of expertise and mastery. There are many crabs in this barrel all scrambling to get out. They are climbing over and around one another. How will you get out? And how will your plan be more unique than all others? How do you find the market leaders in your industry? Research, research, research! If you’re passionate about what you’re doing you will love the time necessary to reach the top. 
Here’s a bullet list:
1) Master your craft
2) identify the Tigers in your industry and your genre
3) align yourself and be of value to those tigers
4) take the necessary steps to grow your brand and create valued relationships, not shortcuts.
5) do all of the above on and off-line.
SIDE NOTE: if you are about that life-speaking of the writers/writing, etc then also align yourself with other writers that you might want to partner with. See that they also have a burning desire and a nice fan base that equals yours. If so write a story together and go back and forth with chapters between the both of you. In doing so you’re not only inspiring one another but you’re also sharing one another’s fanbase. You can begin the process online and if it becomes exciting and valuable to our readership in the blogs you may want to go to press with that writer. Now you have another book that you can add to your library and so does that other writer. That is a strategic alliance.  
SECOND SIDE-NOTE:
Why Starbucks? 
Let me start out by saying that I have made thousands upon thousands of dollars from my alliances at Starbucks. It’s not only because I’ve mastered my craft but it is because I am a good person. Be a good person. I know it’s difficult if you’re an introvert but reach out and touch someone. Stretch your boundaries and step outside of the box. Don’t be shady or shy about it either. Be genuine. Speak and act from your heart. Create a focus group in your community and have those meetings at Starbucks inside or outside on the patio. Scared of coffee? You can do the same at Panera Bread or a number of other franchises around the world. Starbucks is a brand leader and they’ve created a large constituency of followers; this fellowship includes readers and writers and publishers and marketers and theoreticians. If you are going to be successful in your field and your endeavor you need to be known and respected in those circles. I hope I am preaching to the choir here for many of you, but for others among you who asked the question “why Starbucks?” I don’t believe we are on the same page. You will need to go back to “marketing 101” in college. You will need to go back to “relationship building 101.” Okay now I’ll be less facetious and more specific: You will need to read the books @radical marketing” and “the tipping point” and “all marketers are liars” and “think and grow rich” “how to Win friends and influence people” and most importantly “the magic of thinking big.” I hate to say this but I will say this: if you have not read all of these books you are not ready to be a winner in this industry. Family, everybody wants to be a winner and get ahead of the rest, but the way to guarantee your position is to do the work.

Video trailers anyone?

imageHelen Downing recently posted her video and asked her fellowship to comment. here’s what I gave to them after watching the clip

Greetings everyone. A voice over such as a related poem or even some dramatic acting (in audio only) would be a nice additive for this video. Remember to lower the music where you add your voice over. Audacity is a great software to do this as well as Premier Pro if you’re really skilled. Also, and this goes for everyone, don’t be limited by what Anna Moto and or shutter fly give you. Use those platforms, take the results of what they render for you, and import them into your video editor. One quick effective video editor is Windows movie maker, and for the Mac screenflow. Sidenote, my first publishing deal was a 14 book deal with St.Martin’s Press. But I would never have landed that deal without this sage advice: Part of my success was the amount of video testimonials that I accomplished prior to the deal. I had dozens upon dozens of video testimonials. Some from my neighborhood, some from my region, some from book conventions around the country, and some from our massive Street sale campaigns in New Orleans, Baltimore and Atlanta. Building that audience, taking those photos and using my Casio exslim camera to record testimonials all over the country was priceless. In fact it was worth a quarter of $1 million upfront from one of the worlds biggest book publishers. You just cannot deny your readership’s testimonials about your work. One other thing; this is only your first video for this book, where you should likely have 5 or 10 more relevant videos from varying perspectives. There should be videos from interviews that are done with you/work out a deal with your local public access TV show. Make sure they’re good at what they do. Use the footage on social networking and your website etc. Make sure that they won’t mind you cutting the fat from the interview. Slice that interview with some of this video that you posted. And the interview I’m speaking of is simply another perspective on your book. An additional perspective would be to dramatize a little bit of your book. Use the filming template of CSI or Gray’s anatomy he; look at the camera shots and angles and close-ups and wide shots. Try to fit your dramatic role/acting/filming into what you see on TV. It’s what the world is accustomed to seeing so “when in Rome…” and I’m not asking you to be a TV producer but, I am asking you to be a TV producer. You are a visionary and you have a voice and the most relevant way to project that voice today is through video. Thank you and good night.

Author Writes, Author Robs, Author Wins – Part 1 – Conversation with Marcus

Author conversation

Author conversation


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