Excellence Requires Persistence of Purpose.

This is timely encouragement for somebody. Don't be discouraged if you aren't "there" yet! It's a process. You have to get with it an STAY WITH IT in the most important areas of your vision. You can't get there overnight. You just can't. Don't let people, the enemy or your frustrations lie to you. It's a process, but you have to stick with it. Excellence takes time to be developed in you. I've written before about the 10,000 Hour Rule. ...

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Questions...Questions...Questions...Final Exam Time!

Look, I know these last few blogs have been BORING!!!! I get it. It's been all about questions and talking and hard work and all that! I hate even typing them up so I know some of you hate reading them. There's some great stuff in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, however, but I'm going to end it here before I make people angry!I feel like we can stop here. Here are the final questions in the series covering topics such as religion, race and ethnicity,...

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Top Ten Ways to Know You Don't Have the Gift of Singleness

I tell people all the time that unless you're circling the globe preaching, teaching and converting people to Christ, you most likely don't have the gift of singleness. Here are some other ways to know!10. You find yourself wishing you had a hug. Maybe even right now.9. You like the idea of building a life with another person and being their support.8. You feel like your family is incomplete...or you want to start one.7. Netflix on a Friday night...

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The Nine Most Powerful Words You Can Utter

"Where do you feel like you are right now?"When you are working with a new prospect or just following up on a lead, once you have let them talk and tell you all about the deal or their situation, ask them this question.It might seem redundant - like they just finished telling you the answer to this question - but I assure you you'll get more from asking this question than just more details about the loan request. When you ask someone where they feel...

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Stop Being Such a Rookie.

Back when I worked in VC, we considered the people who were overly obsessed with "protecting" their ideas to be rookies. It was laughable. In fact, asking someone to sign an NDA was enough to get the meeting cancelled right on the spot!It wasn't that anybody wanted free reign to "steal" ideas... it's just that good ideas are a dime-a-dozen. Literally. We used to call it the "San Francisco Rule" meaning this: any good idea has eight people thinking...

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Great Questions to Ask Before Marrying!? - Part 3

As I said in the blogs, one reason for a high failure rate in marriages is how little people talk before getting hitched! We talk about music, TV shows, sports, etc. but so little about faith, life, expectations, work.... It's great to share common interests, but there are millions of other San Antonio Spurs fans, to use a personal example, and I can't marry someone based on my love of basketball. We've got to do a better job of making sure people...

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Duh. Pinning!

Great article suggesting that "Pinterest now drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined." Oh, yeah... here's mine! I have to admit. I think it's pretty cool so far! http://pinterest.com/markmccrayI must admit that two days there has done more for me than months on Google+ or LinkedIn. I'm not alone in my thinking. Here is an article showing major brands are closing their Facebook stores and taking up on Pinterest...

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Duh. Pinning.

Great article suggesting that "Pinterest now drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined." Oh, yeah... here's mine! I have to admit. I think it's pretty cool so far! http://pinterest.com/markmccray I must admit that two days there has done more for me than months on Google+ or LinkedIn. I'm not alone in my thinking. Here is an article showing major brands are closing their Facebook stores and taking up on Pinterest...

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Black Peoples' Christmas?

It's been a while since I've written specifically about money. However with "Black Peoples' Christmas" season upon us, I thought it was finally time to follow up on Part One of "A Financial Plan for Black America" by posting several ways you (anybody really) can use their tax return to improve their financial situation for once and forever. I heard a friend of mine call getting a large tax check the term "Black Peoples' Christmas" and the term...

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"That doesn't work for me."

I like it when people are strong and confident enough to tell people where they stand...what they need and prefer out of life. I love it! Of course, there's always a way to say everything, but I won't chase that rabbit right now... The point to this post is how you can be so forthright in telling others around you what "works" or doesn't work for you, but take so little time to look at your own life and results to have the same conversation with...

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Great Questions to Ask Before Marrying!? - Part 2

As promised in Part 1, here are the Sex and Relationship questions! You might consider printing these out and using them as a conversation piece over dinner or coffee! That way you can use me as the bad guy! Say it's my fault for bringing these up! These are the good ones...I rarely read AskMen.com but I found an article that shared some great advice for all of us...In the early stages of a relationship, talking about an ex should be completely...

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Great Questions to Ask Before Marrying!? - Part 1

I was watching Tyler Perry's incredibly average and boring as heck new movie, Good Deeds, or something and even though it wasn't supposed to be a comedy, it made me laugh more than once! When Gabrielle Union and Tyler are breaking up, she reveals to him that she doesn't even want to have kids! Wow! Really? They live together and are days or weeks from getting married and this is just now coming up?It's amazing how little some couples discuss before...

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The Art of Giving Advice

You know how you can tell a judgmental person? Their language includes a lot of "should" and "ought" statements. It's just something I listen for when I talk to people. It doesn't bother me personally. It just lets me know the kind of person I'm dealing with. But do you know who cares? The people listening to you!!A lot!Professional "counselors", "advice-givers", "teachers", "coaches", "pastors" and other "experts" might want to be careful about...

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Man on Fire.

For a lot of you, the only thing separating you from your vision is what the old folks call a "made up mind." You are still "okay" with the possibility of your dream not coming to pass. You haven't yet decided that you will see your vision happen NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES! Don't fool yourself or over-spiritualize this by arguing that it's all in "God's hands" or up to "the universe" to make it happen. Once he got a vision, do you think Abraham...

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Choose Wisdom over Weakness

When is the last time you asked someone for their opinion regarding what you should do? And really listened!!??? Seeking input when you're facing the challenging decisions of life is not weakness; it's WISDOM! Learn how to ask people around you a simple question - "What do you think?" - and it will change your life by helping you make better decisions. Of course you still make the final determination, but there is great wisdom and victory in...

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