I'm out of the office tomorrow but didn’t want you to go without motivation in your inbox:
A cherished and beloved professor charged my School of Business class at Howard to “Get Your Groceries”----“Don’t leave HU without your groceries!” he yelled. Back then, it was funny to see a guy who looked like a chocolate santa claus (belly and all) be so passionate about this one simple concept. Although it was simple, I think about it often and I don’t think I will ever forget it.
Having an opportunity such as college or a job, is much like going to the grocery store. When you enter the grocery store, you have all of these goodies—you got your produce section, your fruits and vegetables, your have your snack aisle, and don’t forget the bakery section – oh cakes and pies-- cheesecake, peach cobbler, velvet cake, chocolate cake --- aww mane! So you get your cart and you put everything in your cart that you could ever want or need. Some stuff is essential like milk and bread, other stuff is just extra stuff like oatmeal crème pies and cinnamon buns. So you fill your cart up with everything- I mean why not? Its there and you got food stamps! (j/k) Then you get to the counter to check out, you pay for your food, and you walk out. You get in your car and get home and just when you get out, it hits you “I FORgot my groceries!” Its too late—your already home, the grocery store is about 15 minutes away and their probably already gone.
This concept is so deep to me. Mr. Gray didn’t want us to leave Howard without the knowledge, the experience and all of the other opportunities at HU. You can come the Mecca and have all of these wonderful opportunities that surround you but you still not take advantage of them. "Watch you come to the Black Harvard and not go to class… Ha! It would be silly to not get an internship during each summer... It would be absurd for you not to become active on campus—theres too much to offer! Graduating and not soaking up what the Hilltop has to offer is like leaving the grocery store without groceries—just plain dumb. You paid for it, didn’t you?!" he would say.
Although we may look at school and jobs as a normality, it truly isn’t—they are opportunities that some just don’t receive. When you leave them without any knowledge, its like throwing away the opportunity. We have wonderful jobs that people out here struggling would literally kill to have. All the time you spend at work, the misery that it sometimes results in, and the stress that comes with it, the work, the effort----is the cost---- just like tuition and fees is the cost of college. After your program ends or your 2 years is up can you say that you got your groceries and ready to enjoy them or will you look at your receipt (showing the time you spent and the stress that you may have gone through) but have nothing to show for it?
Getting our groceries doesn’t mean, getting the money that we received from each pay check nor does it mean receiving our health benefits. Getting our groceries means soaking up every single opportunity out there. Does your program / job have an affinity group? Join it, if they don’t, volunteer to chair it. Are there opportunities for community service? Are there lunch and learns? Free training in excel? Continuing education classes? Industry Conferences at the junior level? Many time these things are available but we either don’t seek them out or we know they exist but think “that is not in my job description.” I know Ive done it. Ill be like “ Shiiii, my job is to analyze these numbers, that is it, my friend. All that extra stuff is NOT necessary.”- - Well guess what? With that mentality, my lucky peer next to me who IS going and who IS doing, is getting TWICE as much out of the SAME opportunity than myself.
If we knew better, we'd do better. Ignorance is bliss but knowledge is key. "Not knowing" about xyz networking event after work is no excuse. At this day in age, a click of the mouse will point you to a series of events or things that may interest us and help us.
Mr. Gray passed away last year from a heart attack and he's now known as the "Groceries Man." His analogy is one that if we applied this to our lives, we can get the most out of the opportunities that God has given us. Let go get our groceries because the greatest things that life has to offer are pretty sweet…. just like those yummy oatmeal crème pies.
Have a good weekend-- I know I will @huhomecoming (lets get it!)
A cherished and beloved professor charged my School of Business class at Howard to “Get Your Groceries”----“Don’t leave HU without your groceries!” he yelled. Back then, it was funny to see a guy who looked like a chocolate santa claus (belly and all) be so passionate about this one simple concept. Although it was simple, I think about it often and I don’t think I will ever forget it.
Having an opportunity such as college or a job, is much like going to the grocery store. When you enter the grocery store, you have all of these goodies—you got your produce section, your fruits and vegetables, your have your snack aisle, and don’t forget the bakery section – oh cakes and pies-- cheesecake, peach cobbler, velvet cake, chocolate cake --- aww mane! So you get your cart and you put everything in your cart that you could ever want or need. Some stuff is essential like milk and bread, other stuff is just extra stuff like oatmeal crème pies and cinnamon buns. So you fill your cart up with everything- I mean why not? Its there and you got food stamps! (j/k) Then you get to the counter to check out, you pay for your food, and you walk out. You get in your car and get home and just when you get out, it hits you “I FORgot my groceries!” Its too late—your already home, the grocery store is about 15 minutes away and their probably already gone.
This concept is so deep to me. Mr. Gray didn’t want us to leave Howard without the knowledge, the experience and all of the other opportunities at HU. You can come the Mecca and have all of these wonderful opportunities that surround you but you still not take advantage of them. "Watch you come to the Black Harvard and not go to class… Ha! It would be silly to not get an internship during each summer... It would be absurd for you not to become active on campus—theres too much to offer! Graduating and not soaking up what the Hilltop has to offer is like leaving the grocery store without groceries—just plain dumb. You paid for it, didn’t you?!" he would say.
Although we may look at school and jobs as a normality, it truly isn’t—they are opportunities that some just don’t receive. When you leave them without any knowledge, its like throwing away the opportunity. We have wonderful jobs that people out here struggling would literally kill to have. All the time you spend at work, the misery that it sometimes results in, and the stress that comes with it, the work, the effort----is the cost---- just like tuition and fees is the cost of college. After your program ends or your 2 years is up can you say that you got your groceries and ready to enjoy them or will you look at your receipt (showing the time you spent and the stress that you may have gone through) but have nothing to show for it?
Getting our groceries doesn’t mean, getting the money that we received from each pay check nor does it mean receiving our health benefits. Getting our groceries means soaking up every single opportunity out there. Does your program / job have an affinity group? Join it, if they don’t, volunteer to chair it. Are there opportunities for community service? Are there lunch and learns? Free training in excel? Continuing education classes? Industry Conferences at the junior level? Many time these things are available but we either don’t seek them out or we know they exist but think “that is not in my job description.” I know Ive done it. Ill be like “ Shiiii, my job is to analyze these numbers, that is it, my friend. All that extra stuff is NOT necessary.”- - Well guess what? With that mentality, my lucky peer next to me who IS going and who IS doing, is getting TWICE as much out of the SAME opportunity than myself.
If we knew better, we'd do better. Ignorance is bliss but knowledge is key. "Not knowing" about xyz networking event after work is no excuse. At this day in age, a click of the mouse will point you to a series of events or things that may interest us and help us.
Mr. Gray passed away last year from a heart attack and he's now known as the "Groceries Man." His analogy is one that if we applied this to our lives, we can get the most out of the opportunities that God has given us. Let go get our groceries because the greatest things that life has to offer are pretty sweet…. just like those yummy oatmeal crème pies.
Have a good weekend-- I know I will @huhomecoming (lets get it!)
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