LIfe Lessons, Tupac & the IRS :: Peep My Father’s Day Interview With My Dad

A father is the name of the person that is listed on your Certificate, the birth certificate – whereas a dad is the man that loves and protects you until his name is placed on a Certificate, his death Certificate.

In life, daddy (my father) said I had a choice on whether or not I was a good husband or boyfriend but as a parent, I had no choice but to be a damn good one. His advice in business was to make sure I respect two entities, God first and the IRS second. Daddy was right as I needed God’s help during the IRS Audit – as usual, he performed a miracle. Do you think that my generation under-values the importance of a father figure?

If you do, it is because my generation, when we left the Urban core for the Suburbs, sinned by not visiting our communities that were left behind. Jasmine, when I was a kid, it was common to have 2 parent household, black owned businesses and other industries in the City. When we fled, we left a tremendous void. I am not making excuses but it is hard for a young black man to make the right choices when he sees nothing but destruction and crime everywhere he looks. I left the City and came back. It is no longer enough for me to raise my kids but I have a responsibility, an obligation to teach those in the community (especially the young brothers) how to succeed. Any black man that succeeds but refuses to come back and help out is just as guilty of destroying the urban core as the criminal.

The biggest mistake a father makes with a daughter is when he believes he is superior to a woman but somehow expects the world to treat his daughter as equal to a man. The biggest mistake a father make with their son’s is not telling them that they love them.

Jasmine, dad will have to deviate as my life is moved by movies not song, although I do love me some Pac. In Training Days, when he says “King Kong aint got shit on me” smile. I am in my 20th year in business and I have 4 great kids and when times get tough, I look in the mirror and quote those word (but I pray real quick right after – lol).

I know all of you kids say that I lose my temper too fast, I fly off the handle when you do something wrong and I am crazy as hell – Sorry, that aint gonna change (lol). But you know that the advice I give you may not be right but it is what I believe to be right (but I am right 95% of the time, dammit – lol). So my legacy is that no matter how pissed off I am at you kids, I still love you.