Life, its a matter of perspective.  Actually, let me rephrase that, “Life, it’s a matter of People”.  Life really is all about the people.  The people that stand in your way, the people that stand before you, the people that don’t stand for anything the people that lift you up.  I have been blessed to have all of those people in my life.  They have either taught me a lesson or shown me the way.

The non-profit that I lead, Beyond the Locker, has give me the opportunity to work with people from the San Francisco City Streets of the Tenderloin to the green hills in Trinidad and Tobago.  When it comes down to it, people all want the same thing, they want to know that who they are and what they believe in will be validated.  We all need each other to make that happen.

I had the opportunity to meet with some great people from Wells Fargo bank in Hayward, California.  I shared with them what I love to do in the local San Francisco communities.  I thought I would come in there and show them how it’s done.  Well, what a surprise!  I was blown away by the things the Wells Fargo team had done in the community.  They have done things from serving in soup kitchens to providing free photo sessions for family portraits.

I met a young man in 2009 named Matt B.  I listened to what he was going through, where he wanted to go and helped him get a job with the Raiders.  No big deal right.  Wrong.  Seven years later I am receiving validation for my efforts with one young man by his mother, Denise C., and her team at Wells Fargo.  They have poured into my work because I poured into their work.  I guess, “what goes around, really does really come around.”

When was the last time you validated someone else because of their efforts?  You don’t have to move a mountain.  You just have to acknowledge the effort and the work of others.

Life, it’s a matter of people.

ONWARD!