I wasn’t supposed to be here…a black boy born to a single mother who had to work two and sometimes three jobs to make ends meet.  I wasn’t supposed to be here…making a REAL difference in the REAL world.  I wasn’t supposed to be here…standing strong as a black man who graduated at the top of his class from high school, college and graduate school. I wasn’t supposed to be here.  I was supposed to be in the grave after that car accident at the age of sixteen when my vehicle was hit at full speed and spun around three times, jumped the curb, and missed a tree by less than two feet.  I was supposed to be an alcoholic spending every dime I have trying to drown away my sorrows in local bars.  I was supposed to be in jail for a crime that I did not commit.  I was supposed to be jumping from house to house living with 5 different baby mamas and complaining that I’m out of work, so that I won’t have to pay child support.  

But when God has a plan for your life, no weapon, no situation, no lie, no plot, no scheme can stop you from reaching your destiny.  I did not get here on my own.  I had a team of strong women praying for me.  I was supposed to be in that 71% of high school dropouts that come from fatherless homes, but my grandma prayed for me.  I was supposed to be in that 63% of youth suicides that come from fatherless homes, but my aunties prayed for me.  85% of the youth in prison come from single parent homes, but I wasn’t one of them because my mama prayed for me.  

We don’t know what people go through, have gone through, or are currently going through.  We’ve got to learn to love a little more and judge a little less.  In order for us to change our current situation, we must change the way we see our brothers and sisters.  We cannot expect for our children to get along with each other and grow up to be productive citizens when we walk pass each other and don’t even speak.  How can we expect to increase our productivity without changing our personalities?  Writing this book is an accomplishment, but it is not the end; it is merely the beginning.  I have a long road ahead, and I am ready to take on the challenge of bettering our schools, our district and our community.  I am grateful for all of the failures that I have experienced in my life because they have allowed me to really appreciate this win.  In the words of Fantasia, “Sometimes you have to lose to win again.”

Though I come from humble beginnings, I am proud to say that this first generation college graduate is an Assistant Principal and owner of his own consulting company, iLive Consulting, LLC. This book is a true testament of who I am, where I’ve been, and how I made it through. I wrote this book out of obedience. I pray and pray that God would give me guidance and take complete control of the downward spiral that once was my life. He instructed me in December of 2014 to become transparent with my struggles and that through my transparency I would be set free from everything “hindrance” that was keeping me from reaching my destiny. What I learned from this experience was the fact that only thing that was stopping me from reaching my destiny was my own perspective. Outside forces can only stop me if I allow them to. I had to learn how to get out of my own way. Through this process of sharing my story with others, I learned how to Successfully Overcome Artificial Restrictions.