The idea that people should blindly pursue financial wealth even at the cost of life is the type of paradigm that makes the Black American Community this country's greatest consumer and most impoverished demographic at the same time. Numerous caricatured examples in our media suggest that a fiscally superfluous lifestyle invites tribulation to a household. Translation: More money, more problems.

The glorification of money tangentially presented with messages that confuse spending money with making money create the space for a perfect storm to generate self-inflicted, self-sustained oppression.

Too many priorities fall in line before getting rich to die trying. Before getting rich I have the responsibility to survive or die trying, the responsibility to feed my family or die trying, and the responsibility to change systems of oppression in my community or die trying.

I'm not saying don't think about money at all. Prioritizing obligations does not relieve you of the responsibility to manage personal finances.

I despise the question: "What if money was no object?" Even if we didn't have to worry about money most of us would still be doing what we are already doing. You naturally do what you love for free because you love to do it ... sometimes we even pay to do what we love so that part is covered. Don't think about what you would do for free because that makes you forget that you already do.

Instead, think about what you do for fun. What's your favorite thing, your favorite place? What do you like to talk about? What do people say you talk too much about? What get's you fired up inside? Write it down and build something that includes all that you enjoy or as much as possible.

After that, when you focus on establishing goals, when you fix your vision to include the income that you desire and get real about developing a process to make your efforts fiscally productive than you set a path that you can follow. Think critically about what you love to do and identify concrete opportunities to yield income doing that. Take responsibility for the part that you play in your success.