Blogs

TEENS: ARE YOU COACHABLE?

      A few months back, Indianapolis had a visit from the famed Harlem Globetrotters.  One of their current key players, ‘the smiling forward’ Zeus McClurkin, was interviewed on one of our local noon TV news shows.  During the interview, McClurkin brought up a very crucial point that many young players seem to miss during their formative years.

      “You have to be coachable in order to be a successful player in any sport.” McClurkin noted.

      Through his younger day

A SUCCESS PRIMER FOR YOUNG BLACK MEN--CONCLUSION

      You may wonder why I’ve spent much of this year writing about this topic to my younger Black brothers coming along, and the next generation behind them.  Simply put, it ties in with the reason why I started writing a syndicated column in the first place. Back in the 90s, I saw little effort, but a LOT of talk in providing upright materials to encourage Black men, while the market was (and still is) flooded with material to encourage Black wo

WHEN DID OUR BLACK HISTORY BECOME HATE SPEECH?  PART 1

      I know that I will cause more than a few eyebrows to be raised based on the title of my column for today.  However, I trust that I’ll be able to unpack a reasonable explanation in order for we as a people to stop being programmed by the world system and get back to being a godly, prosperous and God-fearing people.

      Let me lead off with this observation about myself.  I’m a fan of US Military History. The late four-star Gen. George

A SUCCESS PRIMER FOR YOUNG BLACK MEN, PART 9

      Here’s a saying that parents have passed down to their sons over the generations: “Get your education, for it is something that society cannot take away from you, once you have it!”  An addendum to this is the following: “You can be excellent in whatever your life’s work will be, provided that you are willing to train for it!”

      Going to school on a regular basis, showing up daily for your lessons is a part of the training.

      During my cri

DON’T BE SHOCKED AS THE ‘PRETENDERS’ VANISH!

      This is going to be one of those columns that you will not only want to hang onto, but you will also want to pass on to your sons—and even grandsons—because it will contain some truths that SHOULD be taught in school.  Unfortunately, these truths are often ‘caught’ through real life experience, Amen?

      A few summers ago, I had the opportunity to teach at a Vacation Bible School (VBS) Institute.  I was blessed to host a course on “Introduction

THE NEW LIES: DON’T WORK HARD AND DON’T SEEK ADVANCEMENT?

      The quickest way to ‘make room’ for the hundreds of illegal aliens to enter our country and join the American workforce?  Create more and better ‘lies’ to get current American workers to become ex-American workers; content to stay home, pick up a government check, and spend their time ordering takeout and playing video games.  At least, that’s the way it ‘seems’ when one takes the time to check the latest business trends.  Yes sir,

A SUCCESS PRIMER FOR YOUNG BLACK MEN, PART 3

      I’ve worn a variety of different hats over my lifetime.  All of them have, at time or another, ‘bumped uglies’ with the impact and effects of juvenile crime.  Whether it has been in a classroom, in a courtroom, or in the streets, juvenile crime is the issue that spends more time taking—rather than giving.  In short, regardless of what you see on social media, in the ‘mainstream mess’ or in the latest video game offering or in the latest rap/hip-

THERE ARE BETTER WAYS

      A few years back, it was revealed that for every one million students who played basketball, maybe two would have the talent to turn pro.  This was roughly the same ratio for those who wanted to play professional football.  This simply means that for the rest of the young men involved in athletics, they would need to have a realistic ‘back up’ plan for success after their high school and college sports days were behind them.

      Over the years, we would hope that man

A DANGEROUS SOCIAL TREND: THE BLACK WEDDING BAND

      It ranks right up there with a woman asking the ‘steady’ man in her life to marry her—I’m going to broach the subject of the solid black wedding band, or, the wedding band with a majority of black trim clearly visible to the public.  I don’t know who started this ‘social trend’ but there is danger written all over it.

      I recently ran into a young man who displayed such a band while we were at my local barber shop.  I saw his black weddin

THE ROOM RENTERS

     Someone with more wisdom than I stated the matter plainly: “When immorality floods the land collectively, it is because EACH of us individually have tolerated the SAME immorality in their OWN lives.”

     Please allow me to get KJV biblical for a moment.  Two Old Testament men: Nehemiah (who helped to rebuild Jerusalem) and Daniel (one of the more notable of the Old Testament major prophets) sought God in prayer and did something rather unusual for their day.  They EACH not

BACK IN THE DAY ECONOMICS WITH MIKE RAMEY

      Let’s get to the lowdown on employment, or as it is better known as ‘getting a job’.

      There are two things that job seekers need to keep in mind about the economy.  Either you have an ‘employer’s’ market (where employers can afford to be a lot more selective about whom they hire for a job), and an ‘employee’s’ market (where employees are in short supply and can not only pick and choose where they work, they can get top dollar for their services)

BUILDING YOUR OWN SUCCESS LIBRARY

     I recently ran into a young brother who had brought an interesting problem my way, which provided yet another opportunity for me to teach!  As we were talking about business building and Black economic success, he seemed a little frustrated in the fact that he could not find any books written by African Americans on business success.

     You know me.  Once the opportunity to share wisdom which I had been blessed to gather over the years, I was ready for ser

POSITIONED FOR: THE COMING THING

“Sometimes, we are waiting for God’s blessings; sometimes, God’s blessings are waiting for us!”

--Mike Ramey, Syndicated Columnist

     One of my favorite modern westerns is: “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.”  It ran only one season during the early 1990s but packed a lot of punch in a small package.  Legendary character actor Bruce Campbell played the lead—with a very strong supporting cast. 

     One of the underlying themes of the show was the dawning of th

     Here’s my opening quote for our time together: “Politics will improve before the American public, as more and more honorable and upright men fill the ranks of public servants.” I trust that I have given an upright man the inspiration to step into the ring, and run for public office.

     Your fellow citizens need you…especially in these last days.

     One of the best pieces of advice I got in terms of living the Christian life in a fallen society came from the late Pastor E. V. Hill. In one

     A few years back, Ty Willingham, Head Coach for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, was interviewed about a tough, upcoming game. The TV interviewer seemed more nervous about the game than the coach, as they asked Willingham about his strategy to deal with a very potent opponent’s running and passing game.

     “We’ll adjust our offense, accordingly.” Said Coach Willingham.

     The adjustments paid off, as Notre Dame ran over the opposition with little sign of trouble. It was the OTHER team th

“When we’re faced with someone else’s success, it makes us think about why we can’t do it instead of how the other person did do it.”

--Author Chris Hogan
“Everyday Millionaires”

There have been three great books on the subject of wealth that I have been blessed to read over the years. The first one: “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. The second: “Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice” by Dennis Kimbro, Ph.D. The third one is the newcomer “Everyday Millionaires” by Chris Hogan (2019, 250 pages,