In order to be to unstoppable in the marketplace and in life, Black men must fortify themselves emotionally, financially, socially and mentally. They must be well-rounded, forward thinking, self-starters. They must create opportunities for their social, civic, employment and business interests.

Black men need personal development.

Black men need to focus on some of the major key areas of life and use simple principles as a guideline to improve the direction that they’re in. Men in general operate very well based on systems to be successful. A system is just a pattern of operations that can give us predictable results.
Like in basketball, mastering the basics are the catalyst for having foundational game. Shoot, dribble and pass. Black men should take a fundamental approach to self-improvement and play to their strengths to win. As tennis legend Arthur Ashe’s famous quote says: “Start Where You are, Use What You Have, Do What You Can.”

There are 3 major keys that Black Men need to constantly work on in order to fuel them to achievement and greatness: self-esteem, confidence and competence.

Let’s examine the power and need for all of these keys.

Self-Esteem

is of course how we feel about ourselves – it’s our own sense of worthiness and value, our image of ourselves. Black men often struggle with this since in a lot of areas we’re last on our own and everyone else’s totem poles. Because of this, Black men have cultivated an overall inferior self-image that has handicapped our progress in a lot of ways because we often times as a group don’t think that we deserve better than what we are getting. This can include the ways in which we’re being compensated at our jobs or being reciprocated in our relationships — especially our romantic relationships. The self-esteem of the Black man has been like having one free hand with the other cuffed to a bar. We have a reputation as being the last hired and the first fired on jobs and we are community eunichs among our cultural group and we’re depicted as being disposable in mass media and worthless by law enforcement. With all of these factors against us, we need medicine to heal the wounds of a low self-image and to make strides in a direction that can help us to know that we’re a special group that is worth it and that does deserve better and that in large part is going to come from us making steps and individuals and as a collective to be even better men and to eventually organize ourselves as a group.

Self-Confidence

is our second key. Black men as a group are known for being exceptional in some areas such as our physical strengths, our inborn suave and our abundance of talent but when it comes to having a sense of certainty about ourselves when undertaking new tasks or roles in different areas of life that force our growth, we could definitely use some help. For example, lot of times, Black men will avoid being in positions of influence where they’re responsible for the outcomes of other people because they don’t see themselves as being able to execute successfully in those areas and don’t want to be held responsible for the failures of others. This reflects itself in areas such as leadership roles on the job and within organizations. We will often lay low, get our check and get out the door, failing to see these as golden opportunities to bring up other Black men by being good examples. As Black men, me must get out of our comfort zones that can keep us stagnant and be willing to shed dead skin.

Competence

is our third key and it’s important, because we live in an ever changing world and a constantly changing economy. It’s been reported that by 2020, about 40% 4 of the workforce may only be employed on a short term contractual basis. It’s known as the gig economy where employers are going looking for people who can come in immediately and increase the value of a business. They must be able to show and prove efficiently as we move further into automation. Black men already experience a high level of volatility within the marketplace needs to take a jack-of-all-trades approach to their work. Black can use a Swiss army knife as a metaphor for their approach to the marketplace moving forward and adopt the philosophy that they should: Never be unable to, due a lack of skills or knowledge, what you don’t have go get and continue to add to your arsenal because as we move through these shifts, we need to be prepared to take care of ourselves and our families and our households.

Here are a few examples of basic strategies and philosophies that can help Black men in their journey.

Financial Philosophy
“I should always be able to take care of myself and to have enough to make moves to capitalize on investment opportunities.”
Financial Strategy
“I save at least 10% or more of my net income to serve as a hedge against rainy days and to have a lump sum for investing.”

Physical Fitness Philosophy
“My body needs to be prepared for war.”
Physical Fitness Strategy
“I do about 5 compound resistance exercises twice a week and about 20 minutes of cardio for a full body workout and to stay energized and strong.”

Relationship Philosophy
“I can achieve more through life with the cooperation and assistance of other people than I can as an island.”
Relationship Strategy
“I keep in touch at least monthly with people in my life that I want to establish stronger relationships with and I contribute something of value to their lives regularly.”

Life Purpose Philosophy
“I am here to use my God-given abilities to enhance the world.”
Life Purpose Strategy
“I learn as much as I can, adopt as many skills as possible, take advantage of the tools that are available to me to do good work.”

Volunteerism Philosophy
“I should have a sense of contribution because the best way for me to stay strong is to help others that have a bigger problem than me.”
Volunteer Strategy
“On a regular basis throughout the month I volunteer my time to help others that are not as fortunate as I am in an area and I enjoy helping them.”

Other things that Black men can do is to always upgrade themselves.

Tie up and lose ends in our lives and to take a small step in a direction that could give us more options. For example, going from one class of a license to another, can give you an opportunity for job opportunities, to take a step forward in your dress and grooming could be the game changer to have a better response from the opposite sex and for sales and to simply feel better when we walk out the door. Getting certifications in things that are related to your field can be a big help and also joining organizations, associations and clubs that can be supportive of your efforts and interests can be integral to your growth.

Lifestyle Goals

I’m a Black man with a passport so I can travel the world and have experiences that can change my outlook and increase my knowledge and have a lot of fun while doing so and not be restricted to my city, state or country.

I’m a Black man with a life insurance policy so that someone can profit when I perish instead of my death being a debt to my family.

I’m a Black man who saves at least 10% of my check so that I can ensure that I’ll have a cushion for my finances in case of emergencies and to have the means to invest into opportunities as I learn more about them and they come my way.

I’m a Black man that hits the gym a couple of times a week for 30-45 minutes and this helps me to look, feel and be strong so that I can approach life more confidently and to have the vigor to stay in the zone.

I’m a Black man that is always working on a certification in order to increase my proficiency in an area which allows me to increase my opportunities in the job market and in my entrepreneurial endeavors.

I’m a Black man that takes leadership roles within local groups which allows me to be more influential among my people and to be a good example of an organized man.

I’m a Black man that is a good steward of my time which allows me to be productive and to avoid procrastination.

Let know barrier get in your way brothers. See you at the top!

*Another classic interview with the legendary Oshay Duke Jackson on the topic!  Be sure to check out his phenomenal work on YouTube.

Written By: Waymon Brown. Creator of theesquireproject.com. Email info@theesquireproject.com