Under Promise and Really Over Deliver

Wildly successful entrepreneurs have a knack for giving their customers the very best that they could never have expected. In their world, the expected is for the rest of the crowd. They are here to give you what you don’t expect.

Let me illustrate this with a short example. When you order a hamburger at some local greasy spoon, you expect, well, a hamburger. When you order a pair of shoes at the local shoe store, you expect a pair of shoes. The shoes we’ll leave for another illustration but let’s deal with the hamburgers since I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. You get home, wolf down the hamburger, while wearing your standard pair of loafers and all is well. That is of course unless you have purchased your burger from the guy who over delivers on your order.

This is no ordinary burger. 

It is a hand-select Kobe beef burger. Not only do you get a burger but you get the prime cut of beef, taken from the choice selected cow. Not only did this cow look good but it was feed only the best ingredients, to produce the best beef taste. Your burger is the best of the best and that’s not even counting the toppings. I may not finish this article because I’m really, really getting hungry now.

The toppings are not just lettuce. This is arugula lettuce, taken from the greenest, most tastiest part of the plant. Sourced from the best farmers who only use native virgin harvesters (an over-statement but you get the idea). The mayo isn’t some store-bought off the shelf variety. No, it is produced much like a perfumer would create a perfect scent. An intricate balance between soft and sweet, pungent and acid. This is Chef “Voila” select highbrow gourmet velvet pesto… If it says pesto, you know it must be good.

Successful entrepreneurs NEVER under deliver. 

They always give you the best that there is. They have a knack for getting the best out of a product or service and in turn deliver it to their customers and friends. It is something in their DNA or it was ingrained in them. Now it is a part of who they are.

In a world of mediocre products, goods and services, it is the person who puts effort into delivering quality, that will be the one that will stand out in the crowd. It’s as if they are a light in a dark room. Their glow is so obvious, there is no mistaking them from their surroundings.

Keep this in mind, the next time you are working on a project. Are you really getting the best? Are you really putting forth your best effort? Is this the thing that you would be proud to put your name and reputation on? If so, then join the elite class of successful entrepreneurs that lead the field.

Sherman Ray

In The Beginning

In the Beginning...

Since this is our inaugural issue, I thought it would be appropriate to start with a short story about me and how Black Success Magazine came to be.

My name is Sherman Ray. I’ve founded a lot of organizations and activities in my 50+years of life. Anything from a small business networking group to bag to school drives, even a classical car show to promote the businesses in my strip mall, you name it, I’ve done it.

It was when a group that I never really envisioned grew to over 2000 members that I decided to find a vehicle that would serve that group. The LV Black Business Directory started as just another networking group but one that was exclusively for minority-based business men and women in Las Vegas. Well to make a long story short, the LVBBD is now 4 years old and has upwards of 2200 business owners promoting their various items for sale or services for hire.

We had tried to create events and opportunities for our business owners to mix and mingle but like most things timing was off, people were too busy or some other excuse found its way into the dialogue, until one weekend when I was listening to a tape or television show. It occurred to me that there might be an opportunity to start a website  that would service my peeps. That weekend the Black Success Magazine was birthed. 

We’re just at the beginning of this thing but already people are interested in what we have to offer. In the coming months we will be rolling out all kinds of products and materials for our friends and partners who look through our pages. I hope you will become a frequent reader and share our articles and stories with your friends.

Sherman Ray

Publisher, Black Success Magazine

Always Republicans

This last few weeks have been the most immersive politically since I've been active within the party. A series of calls from the White house, a couple of emails from the White house. I even was able to meet the SBA Administrator Linda McMahon. To round out the events I along with a small group of agitators were privy to insider information on the State of Affairs here in Nevada by the RNC.

Why do I bring this up. It isn't just to say that I'm closer to the sweet spot politically than ever before. It is to say that during all of those meetings, there was something common to all of them. I was the only person of color in all of those meetings.

Now being a black man, it's pretty easy to pick me out in a crowd. I'm usually the one with all of the people glancing my direction trying to figure out, "Is he Niger Innis, or is he someone important". Needless to say, I am neither. I'm just a run of the mill black conservative, just like my ancestors before me, trying to make a difference. That is the point of this article.

You see blacks have always been a part of the Republican Party. ALWAYS!!! From the day that we as a people gained our freedom with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the ensuing War between the States, blacks first developed a sense of national identity within the Republican Party.

The first black members of congress were black republicans. The first black state mayors, republican, the first black senators, GOP, The first black governor Republican. The rich heritage of the black association with the Republican Party cannot be denied. It has all but certainly been forgotten. The history books have been either wiped clean of these truths or in the course of time the legacy of great black leaders within the Grand Ole Party has all but been forgotten.

So the next time you see a person of color in a Republican rally or at a conservative event, don't be so shocked. Many of their families, friends and relationships have all been as much of a part of the Republican Party as the guy next to him.

On the Right Side of History

As many of you may know, I founded the Nevada Republican Black Caucus as a way to educate, encourage and ultimately bring more blacks back to their historical roots within the Republican Party. As you can imagine, this has been a daunting task.

Historically, blacks have been On the Right Side of History but in the past few decades we have gone off the reservation. I'd like to remind my brothers and sisters of color the reason why we have and should continue to be On the Right Side of History.

There are marked differences between the historical Democrat Party and the historical Republican Party. There can be no mistaking the two groups. It is like night and day. Dry and wet. Black and white. If anyone, coming from a different planet were to given a prospectus on the two parties it wouldn't take him or her long to distinguish their differences and how they came to be. Why blacks who have historically been a part of the Republican Party are now predominately entrenched in the Democrat Party is what we will briefly discuss here today.



On the Left Side of History

The Democrat Party can be characterized as being the following:
1800's-1960 absolutely racist- They fought in the civil war of 1861-1865 to keep slavery alive in the southern states.
They invented the KKK after the Civil War to keep blacks and non-blacks from voting Republican
They instituted Jim Crow Laws- to stop blacks from voting
They Created Poll taxes, Segregation, Lynchings and in one case closed down an entire school district to stop the intermingling of black and white children.
They fought against Voting Rights for Blacks
They fought against Citizenship Rights for Blacks
They fought against Freedom for Blacks.



Democrat President Woodrow Wilson had the first screening of the KKK film "A Birth of A Nation" in the White house


Democrats during the 1920 Democrat National Convention walked out in mass because blacks were allowed to speak.
Established Roe v Wade the historic Abortion Rights Case
Fought Against Civil Rights marchers (Bull Connor)
Fought against integration in schools (Gov. George Wallace)
Established a system of segregation throughout the South whose effects can still be felt to this day.
Fought for LGBTQ Rights
Defeated DOMA
Ushered in Obama who amassed more debt in 8 years that all other Presidents combined
Anti small Government
Anti limited government  Spending
Anti border control and responsible immigration policy
Anti Military
Pro Abortion (which is the #1 Killer of African Americans)
Pro Gay Marriage
Defeated efforts to give parents school choice in education funding.
Lead the charge for the biggest expansion of Government with the takeover of the US healthcare system. (ObamaCare)
Started riots to stop US citizens from excersizing their rights to Free speech
Systematically trying to disarm US citizens in view of our 2 Amendment Rights to bear arms.





On the Right Side of History

Republicans
Established the Underground Railroad
Establish the Abolitionist movement
In 1854 was established as the anti-slavery Party
Fought and died to end slavery during the Civil War.
The first blacks elected to political office shortly after the Civil War we all Republican
Signed the Emancipation Proclamation
Signed the 13 Amendment to the Constitution (Ending Slavery)
Signed the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (giving US Citizenship to freed Slaves)
Signed the 15th Amendment to the Constitution (gave voting Rights to freed slaves)
Signed the Voting Rights Acts of 1957
Passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1961
Helped to fund many of the Historically Black Colleges
Passed the Suffrage Act allowing women to vote

The short list of landmark legislation and battles won by the Republican Party outline a cause for freedom and liberty for all people. These accomplishments cannot be underestimated. They serve as the pillars of black empowerment and freedom. Without even one of them blacks would not be able to function in American society with the freedoms we now enjoy. These same freedoms were all opposed by Democrat lawmakers and liberals. If the Democrats had gotten their way, Blacks would still be picking cotton on some plantation and the America we have today would not exist.
Our struggle is to keep the great advances which were fought and died for so many years ago.



Although blacks have left the Party of Lincoln, for the Party of Slavery, this does not diminish the great role black and white republicans have had in shaping America. It is up to us to help return blacks to The Right Side of History.

The Power of Association

There is a wise biblical saying that starts with "Bad associations...and end with good intentions. In the middle of that saying is something that parents, counselors and probably your grandparents have been trying to tell you for years. Don't hang out with the wrong people!!!

What is so important about the people you hang out with? Well, statistically you will tend to become the average of your 5 closest associates. That means if your closest associations, (those people who you allow to speak into your life, you follow the things that they do and aim to the same success level as) if those people are uneducated, unmotivated, mediocre-types, then you will probably end up that same way.

Pretty important stuff, I'd say.

I know that the majority of us have grown up with a set of friends and ideals that served us at the time when we were kids. Like most of those people, we had friends who hung out at the bars, clubs and drank beer all day. That was probably a phase in our lives that served us growing up. It was a childish time of life and for most of us, we decided to get serious about life and start focusing on making something of ourselves.

If you truly want to become successful in life, you have to decide, not only to do some intellectual changes. That is do some studying, take some classes, etc... but that it means you will have to really take stock of the people who you call friends and also those who you are going to associate with. As I said, you will tend to become more like those people, even if you get all the book knowledge in the world.

In my upcoming book "I Did It", I'm going to go into the critical issue of  Associations. So keep your eyes and ears open.

Subscribe to my weekly updates. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook and harness the power that is already inside of you. "If I could do it, so can you."  

Taking on Myself

One of the biggest obstacles to growth is getting past the strongest roadblock to success. Me, Myself and I. That can be a huge hurdle because I am a very opinioate person. Me can be a bit stubborn to change Myself is always second guessing the other two guys decisions.
So how you do settle this connundrum without having the guys in the white jackets take you off in the Ice Cream truck? Well, in my own life I have had to rely on a couple of things that have worked time and time again.

#1 Go with your first instinct. This may seem like a no-brainer but most people can't get past this first obstalce. They are always second and sometimes third guessing themselves. In an effort to "Get it Perfect" on the first shot, they waffle and teeter on a decision to the point where they don't make any move at all.
Case in point is a client that I one had who spent literally months on making a decision that cost his company thousands of dollars. He just couldn't make his mind up.  Or another client of mine who was given the proverbial "Goose that laid the golden egg." All he had to do was jump on the opportunity and let the details work themselves out. This was a 6 figure waffle. Which leads me to my second point.

#2 You will make mistakes- Mistakes are part and parcel in the process. Rather than individuals accepting this part of the process,they do everything they can to not make a mistake and there in lies the problem. When you live in a world where you don't proceed because you don't want to make a mistake, you miss opportunites to see newances of your original intent.
What I mean by that is that you will never become innovative if you don't see the green in the brown or the yellow in the orange. You aren't looking for the ancillary effects of your project so when they occur you are oblivious to them. Which leads me to my third and final point.

#3 I can learn from my mistakes- Didn't I just say that? If you aren't willing to move forward because you are afraid of making mistakes then how can you learn from your mistakes?
I was working on a project when someone came in with an idea that blew my original idea out of the water. Rather than wallowing in my own tears, I quickly regrouped and studied what  I had been doing. This redirecting of my thinking enabled me to change directions. I learned from this mistake and added to my repetoire a valuable piece. Without making that mistake, I would have never been able to learn from that mistake.

This is your chance to do the same. If you want to continue to move ahead in your business, family or career, don't be afraid to make some decisions, right or wrong and if you do make a mistake learn from it and gone on. Life is too short to look back and say, "If only...

Sherman

Only Time Will Tell

The last month or so has been pretty hard on me. I’ve had some great highs but also some deep lows. On the high side, I’ve been training for a marathon. This has probably been the most intense thing that I’ve been a part of. Every other morning I’ve had to rise out of my quite comfortable bed and beat my mind and body into submission. You see, it isn’t all glamorous being a runner. The stories of having throngs of well-wishers urging you on every morning are huge exaggerations. Not only is it a lonely and sometimes frustrating calling in life but getting out of the bed really sucks.

I’m finally past all of the mind games associated with running now but it took some time to cross than chasm. My weekend runs are now half marathons and better. Woohoo… but it would be nice to have a running partner to share in the pain.

On the low side of the past few months, we felt the loss of my blessed mother. A few weeks ago I received the call that Mom was going into the emergency room. When I arrived, she looked healthy and full of spirit but that was just a façade. My mom was shortly going to change from elderly to eternal and I would get to witness every last moment of it by her side.

That time passed like an eternity. What was only a few weeks felt like an endless parade of contradiction and confusion. I knew early on that this would be the last of my mom’s earthly life. There was that nagging feeling that her life would soon pass into eternity but it would take just a little more time. Maybe it was so that we could get our emotional minds around it. Maybe just so that our far off family could be make arrangements. Whatever the reason, Mom would linger for a full 2 weeks and then only a few hours after her priest gave her communion and her final prayers did she slip into the Fathers arms.

I received the call at 1am. Mom had passed away, come down and say goodbye.

The last few weeks have been a sobering reminder of my own mortality and legacy. How do I want to be remembered? What will I leave for my step-children and my wife? Who will remember me with fond memories? Will anyone come to my funeral?!!! Only time will tell. Only time will tell.

Sherman Ray is an author, speaker, radio personality and Leadership Development Coach. He is also the founder and President of the Diversity Networking Group. For more information on him or if you would like to book Sherman to speak at one of your company functions go to www.shermanray.com or www.redlettermedia.net.