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I recently had the opportunity to do a book discussion with a small group of 7th graders at the MS/PS 27 Agnes Humphrey School in Brooklyn, New York.

I must admit that I was quite impressed with some of their answers and found this to be a great example of how you will often find only what you seek.

Although there were many, one of the stand out moments for me was when a student named Junisha express how she wanted to be a photographer.  Since I’m all about seizing the moment, I put her on the spot and challenged her to take pictures during the discussion.  Although she was kind of hesitant at first, she not only accepted the challenge, but exceeded expectations in my opinion.

She took all the following pictures minus the group shot… (more…)

To pre-order your copy today, click –> (more…)

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To pre-order your copy today, click –>  (more…)

“The questions challenge the beliefs, morals and foundation of “your world”…Sakiya proves his innovative talent as a wordsmith and utilizes each word to its creative capacity.” Melody Hoffman, JET Magazine

“The contents of this book possess a concept which is as vital to the human mind as water and oxygen are to the human body.” Harry O’Brien, Collingwood Football Club

BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO READ MY LATEST LITERARY EFFORT!
All pre-orders will be shipped prior to release date of March 22,2010,

To pre-order your copy today, click –>

(more…)

“The questions challenge the beliefs, morals and foundation of “your world”…Sakiya proves his innovative talent as a wordsmith and utilizes each word to its creative capacity.” Melody Hoffman, JET Magazine

“The contents of this book possess a concept which is as vital to the human mind as water and oxygen are to the human body.” Harry O’Brien, Collingwood Football Club

BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO READ MY LATEST LITERARY EFFORT!
All pre-orders will be shipped prior to release date of March 22,2010, PLUS the first 250 fellow thinkers to order will receive a signed and numbered metallic ink cover edition.

To pre-order your copy today, click –> (more…)

“The questions challenge the beliefs, morals and foundation of “your world”…Sakiya proves his innovative talent as a wordsmith and utilizes each word to its creative capacity.” Melody Hoffman, JET Magazine

“The contents of this book possess a concept which is as vital to the human mind as water and oxygen are to the human body.” Harry O’Brien, Collingwood Football Club

BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO READ MY LATEST LITERARY EFFORT!
All pre-orders will be shipped prior to release date of March 22,2010, PLUS the first 250 fellow thinkers to order will receive a signed and numbered metallic ink cover edition.

To pre-order your copy today, click –> (more…)

Try to regard all encounters and situations, including your job, as a game, as the world of illusions.  Pull back a little and enjoy it all.  Do you best, but don’t fall apart if everything doesn’t pan out the way you’d like it to.  Remember that things are seldom what they seem.  Even skim milk masquerades as cream, and as Oscar Levant once said, “When you strip away the phony tinsel, what do you find underneath?  The real tinsel.”

I highlighted this passage over ten years ago.  When I came across it over the weekend, it dawned on me just how much I’ve applied it to my life!

View poster… (more…)

Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss’ editor, bet him that he couldn’t write a book using 50 words or less.  The Cat in the Hat was pretty simple, after all, and it used 225 words.  Not one to back down from a challenge, Mr. Geisel started writing and came up with Green Eggs and Ham – which uses exactly 50 words.

The 50 words used are: (more…)

I plan on doing this at random bookstores over the next month…and who knows, Kanye might even join in on a few.

A special thanks to all those who continue to support!!!

“Whatever qualities the rich may have, they can be acquired by anyone with the tenacity to become rich.  The key, I think, is confidence.  Confidence and an unshakable belief it can be done and that you are the one to do it.”

- fellow thinker
Felix Dennis

Sidebar: I really like the way this guy thinks!!!

“People who grow rich almost always improve their sex life because more people want to have sex with them.  That’s just the way human beings work.  Money is power.  Power is an aphrodisiac.  Money did not make me happy.  But it definitely improved my sex life.”

- fellow thinker
Felix Dennis

Do you agree???

The Thank You And You’re Welcome book will be featured on CBS’s The Early Show in their Father’s Day Make Over Segment at 8:09am this morning!!!

 

via Harry’s World

Roughly four months ago, I was browsing through youtube and watched a video “The Think Movement has begun� which really appealed to me.

I remember feeling so energised and inspired by the short video.  I was thinking “This guy who is speaking on the clip is exactly what I am about!�

The guy’s name was Sakiya Sandifer and the name rang a bell although I could not remember where from. After replaying the video I realised that I had heard of the name Sakiya Sandifer because I had one of the books he co-wrote with Kanye West entitled “Thank You And You’re Welcome.” (more…)

written by Anthony Roberts, www.xxlmag.com

When Will Smith made the leap into having his own sitcom at the height of his rap popularity, the gamble paid off for Hollywood’s current leading man, as fans were able to accept the Fresh Prince in a new arena. When Eddie Murphy, at arguably the height of his acting career hit the world with his singing on Party All The Time, heads weren’t exactly hailing Murphy as the next pop sensation. Point being, it takes a lot for the public to see celebrities in a different light. Kanye West is undoubtedly well aware of it, and most likely doesn’t care whatsoever.

The 808’s & Heartbreak savant has earned his stripes in the music game, but now with help from author J. Sakiya Sandifer, decided to throw his hat into the literary world. More inspiring bits and pieces than War and Peace, West and Sandifer’s Thank You And You’re Welcome is an attempt to impart some of the truths that the MC/producer has used in his own life. In a candid chat with XXLMag.com, Kanye along with Sandifer breaks down why the book is so ill, why Ye refuses to swap verses with artists and how he’s using this format to become a better person.

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“When you don’t have confidence for your thoughts, you will always be under the control of others’ thoughts.”

Excerpt from 200 Thoughts 200 Million Meanings (Outside Looking In) written by fellow thinker Arto Tuncboyaciyan (ISBN 978-0-615-20626-4)

Thanks again V.

Excerpt from As a Man Thinketh by fellow thinker James Allen

All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.  In a justly ordered universe, where loss of equipoise would mean total destruction, individual responsibility must be absolute.  A man’s weakness and strength, purity and impurity are his own, and not another man’s: they are brought about himself, and not by another: and they can only be altered by himself, never by another.  His condition is also is own, and not another man’s.  His suffering and his happiness are envolved from within.  As he thinks, so he is: as he continues to think, so he remains.

A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must become strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another.  None but himself can alter his condition.

It has been usual for mean to think and to say, “Many men are slaves because one is an oppressor; let us hate the oppressor.”  Now, however, there is amongst an increasing few a tendency to reverse this judgment, and to say, “One man is an oppressor because many are slaves; let us despise the slaves.”

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 
1290 Avenue of the Americas 
New York City
6pm – 9:30pm

Join Publishing Prep for an evening of honest dialogue where winning strategies to self-publishing success will be disclosed.  Get all your pressing questions answered by myself as well as other distinguished panelist of self-published all-stars!!!

For more info, visit www.publishingprep.com

Doing some random middle of the night reading, I found this question by fellow thinker Adam Smith quite intriguing…”What can be added to the happiness of the man who is in health, who is out of debt, and has a clear conscience?” (more…)

Sometimes when I see a bad performance and people still clap…I wonder if they’re clapping because they liked what they saw or because they’re happy it’s over?

Excerpt from THANK YOU AND YOU’RE WELCOME

Friday, October 10, 2008
By JEFF THEODORE
JOURNAL ARTS EDITOR

As young men, Sakiya Sandifer and superstar rapper Kanye West traveled in the same circles while growing up in Chicago. Eight years ago, their paths crossed yet again in New Jersey.

“I was living in Perth Amboy and Kanye was in Hoboken,” says Sandifer. “We created an adult friendship. Later on, I was behind the scenes, helping him get his ideas out.”

This summer, Sandifer, a businessman and writer who at his core defines himself as “a natural thinker,” helped West get his ideas out in a big way co-authoring the rapper’s first book, “Thank You and You’re Welcome,” (self published, $10).

The book, available online, has sold more than 500,000 copies so far.

“We wanted to write it in one voice,” says Sandifer, who now resides and maintains an office in Downtown Jersey City. “We wanted to share with people some of the skill sets and tools we’ve applied to attain success. It’s about getting people to know that it’s up to them to think about building their own houses.” (more…)

From: Powrightbetweentheeyes.com

A Surprisingly Special Business Book

One of the best, and most Surprising, business books of the year comes from a most unlikely source–Kanye West.

As I’m sure you all know by now, I read ‘em all, but Kanye’s mini-opus entitled “Thank You and You’re Welcome” is one of 2008’s fave finds, a concise handbook of common sense, common decency and street wisdom.

Like his innovative albums and concerts where he collaborates with other talent for a veritable “one + one = three” equation, Kanye wrote his book with J. Sakiya Sandifer of “Think Think Think and Think Again” fame. In its 50 or so pages, all black with varying styles and colors of neon font, the two offer theories, spout aphorisms and ponder conundrums (conundri?) like:

I wonder…would you rather have 100% from an average person or 10% from someone who is outstanding?

or, the favorite of everyone here at Surprise Central:

Believe in your flyness…conquer your shyness

Best of all, in true Surprise fashion–and in homage to its title–the book was given away as a parting thank you gift to everyone who attended Kanye’s concerts this past tour.  If you weren’t lucky enough to be part of that crew, you can pick up the book by vising Kanye’s site or emailing TYYW@wethinkllc.com.

I recently had the opportunity to share my thoughts on the Star & Buc Wild Radio Show.  The environment felt very genuine, as within the first five minutes I clearly recognized a fine oiled machine with many parts acting as one, with one goal in mind…GREATNESS!

At the helm was Star, the man who as Wendy Williams would say, “a friend in my head”.  Our overall conversation seemed to have a mutual respect for one another.  Although Star presented his thoughts with a great sense of confidence, I welcomed them because it was a great test to see how much did I really believe in my own. (more…)

Most are born with some type of talent. Just think of how many people you know who have said “I have always been good at ______.�  Now think of how many people you know who are making a living from their talent.  Unfortunately, most don’t take the time to develop their talents into skills and even less of them become disciplined in it.  What good is it to take the time to develop a talent into a skill and never become disciplined enough to know the how/when/where/why to apply it to its fullest. 

Think about it: Professional sports are full of talented and skilled individuals, but how many CHAMPIONS does it have?

Excerpt from Think Think Think And Think Again: The Power of Ideas Designed to Spark Change

NYC – Sherry Bitting, Senior Public Relations & Marketing Manager/Complex Magazine and me discussing my blog and books.

Please pardon the bad lighting (I know at times it looked like I’m in the witness protection program)…this was me experimenting with a new camera. I felt compelled to share when the content turned out so good!!!

An excerpt from “Becoming A Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison” by Jim Calloway.

It’s constant white water.  Sometimes change is at once the most fun you’ll ever have and the most afraid you’ll ever be.  Catergory of One companies love challenge, and they always know that it’s more fun going through the rapids than it is standing on the riverbank.  Standing to the side on the riverbank may seem like a safe place to be, but if you don’t develop the will and the skills to get through the white water, you’ll be stuck forever.

I know the sentence structure isn’t the best, but the point is dead on.

Like Kanye and I said in ”Thank You And You’re Welcome”…

If you know you’re the best, it only makes sense for you to surround yourself with the best. NO EXCEPTIONS!

I couldn’t think of a better way to congratulate my friend, co-writer and business partner on being honored as the #1 Hottest MC In The Game as reported at MTV.com!!!

And not to encourage anyone to leave my site, but here’s the link to read the full story…Hottest MCs In The Game’: At Last, We Agree With Kanye West — He Is #1

…whatever you put into it!

Think about it, can you squeeze juice from a sponge* that was only used to wipe up water?  Be very very very careful of what you allow to soak into your sponge*.  For when life puts its pressure on your sponge* (and it will), it will only squeeze out what you put into it.

*sponge = brain

Above is an excerpt from “Think Think Think And Think Again: The Power of Ideas Designed to Spark Change”

Message to all who have and will come in contact with me…I AM PRESSURE!

There’s nothing to gain by getting upset with me when your true self is revealed due to my presence.  Regardless if it’s greatness or buffoonery, it was there before me.  I suggest you take full responsibility if you don’t like what comes out…for it’s the only way you can make a change. 

And yes, I’m directing this to a specific person, but there no need to name names at this time.  However, I do suggest that they watch their step moving forward…there’s no need to wake a sleeping giant!!!

 

The concept for this page came to me during a career day presentation at a middle school in New Jersey.  In the mist of the Q & A session, I found myself fascinated with the motivational posters above the chalk boards.  They actually motivated me to create my own version of what could be in every class or locker room in the world.  >>> (more…)