People Will Say What You Can’t Do...

There is a saying that people who can do, and people who can’t criticize.

Don King is quoted saying that he wanted to be the first black billionaire. So naturally, people asked him, “how are you going to do that?” He told them that he was going to hang around nothing but billionaires and only listen to billionaires. “A person who doesn't have it can’t tell me how to get it,” he’d say!

I usually wouldn’t quote Don King for anything else, but that made so much sense to me when I first heard it twenty-five years ago. People will always tell you what you can’t do because your vision is not their vision and they are unable to see it clearly. Your vision is too big for you to see and do.

Imagine telling your vision to someone who is not anointed, not appointed, is unprepared and who has not put in the blood, sweat, and tears. It would be overwhelming for them just as it is overwhelming for you even though it is your purpose.

Fulfilling a vision and a purpose is not something you can do alone. You are going to need God to accomplish it. I believe that God adds his super to our natural to bring our visions to pass. Your natural is your preparation, your work, and your blood, sweat, and tears. His super is that he gives you favor, clears obstacles, and gives you glimpses of your vision fulfilled. Your job is to walk in it and to have that faith to make it happen.

Many people will have opinions about your vision, and it is important to listen, but you must not take heed to what people say that you can’t do. Do listen because it can be an indicator that you are on the right path and that you are walking in the right direction. It can be an indicator that you are advancing to a new phase closer to where you aspire to be. However, do not be paralyzed with fear, do not stop or beat yourself up when you experience setbacks.

You must learn from your failures. You must learn the life lessons, and if you don’t you will repeat the lesson until you have learned.

It is important to keep moving forward in everything that you have been purposed to do. People will say what you can’t do, but it is your job to believe in what you can do. No one else in this world has been purposed to do what you do. Isn’t that beautiful? You have a unique purpose that you were put on this Earth for. We each have a purpose, but many of us give up on our purpose when we are young because it is too hard and overwhelming.

God speaks into our lives all the time, especially when we are young. A lot of us gave up before we even started because a parent or even a friend discouraged us. Those closest to us are unfortunately often the people who discourage us from following our dreams because they failed to follow theirs. They are too self-absorbed to understand that you are not them and your purpose is not their purpose. Regardless of how close the naysayers may be to you, your purpose is your purpose on this Earth. Therefore, don’t listen to anyone who tells you what you cannot do. Add His super to your natural and accomplish your purpose that you were sent here to do!

For more insight on my personal quest to "blocking naysayers", please purchase (available for order on Amazon) Chronicles of a Black Executive: An Insider’s View of How Whites Can Demonstrate Empathy to Drive Equity in Corporate America. This book highlights some of the challenges and opportunities I have experienced during my 20+ year career in corporate America. This book is published under a pen name because I did not want to compromise my thoughts and my speech by putting my name on it. I wrote openly and honestly about everything to get all people free, not just black folks.

Let's go higher together and BE // Black Executive...