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JANUARY 1
 
Who Are We?
 
“We’re a special people, We’re the best and the brightest our ancestors ever produced!”
 
—JAMES WELDON JOHNSON, WRITER
 
Who are we? We’re African Americans, and we are achievers! We are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews. We are doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers, and entrepreneurs. We’re African Americans, and we are achievers!
 
We are jet black, blue black, dark brown, brown-skinned, medium brown, yellow, high yellow, light-skinned, fair skinned, light, bright, almost white, redbone, but Afro-American to the bone. We’re African Americans, and we are achievers!
 
We have climbed the highest mountains, scaled the highest heights. We are visionaries, innovators, dreamers, creators, leaders, builders, and doers. We’re African Americans, and we are achievers!
 
We made it past slavery. We’ve been hurried and hassled; discouraged and downtrodden. We’ve provided an unpaid service to this country by serving others first and ourselves last. Yet we are survivors, overcomers, those who have endured. Though we’re the last hired and the first fired, we know the meaning of perseverance. We know a setback is a setup for a comeback. We’ve survived the end of the world, and now handle miracles by appointment only.
 
On a scale from one to ten, we are one hundred! We’re African Americans, and we are achievers!
 
I am an African-American Achiever.
 
 
JANUARY 2
 
Designed for Success
 
“I know who my real Father is.”
 
—REVEREND CECIL “CHIP” MURRAY, A.M.E. CHURCH, LOS ANGELES
 
Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier once said, “Prayer is just as important as roadwork.” The ex-champ beat the odds by utilizing hard work, self-confidence, and unshakable faith—the power within.
 
Dr. Georgia L. McMurray, who has been stricken with Charcot-Marie-Tooth atrophy, a congenital degenerative disease that has left her completely paralyzed, is one of the nation’s top educators. From her motorized wheelchair she continues her research and remains committed to championing the causes of young adults, particularly teenage mothers. Dr. McMurray’s remarkable life proves that a physical challenge of any kind—whether an early pregnancy or a rare disease—need not be a limitation to excellence. Much in demand, she closes her speeches with a prayer: “I ask God for strength to continue the journey.”
 
The Archbishop Desmond Tutu continues to fight the greatest enemy known to mankind: ignorance. Armed with nothing more than an unconquerable faith, Bishop Tutu refuses to bend or bow. On more than one occasion he has mentioned that “God will see me through.”
 
Joe Frazier, Dr. Georgia McMurray, and Bishop Tutu understand the Universal Law of Spiritual Power that governs their lives. They know that the vitality of the Creator—the designer of the universe—permeates every fiber of our being. Infinite Intelligence guides us to health, happiness, and prosperity. Chase your dreams! Climb the highest mountain. Call upon the spiritual power that rests within.
 
I know who my Father is. Today I will step out boldly and conquer new worlds.
 
 
JANUARY 3
 
An Identity Crisis
 
“We’ve been called colored, Negro, black, everything.… Why can’t we just be free?”
 
—PAUL MOONEY, COMEDIAN
 
Most people haven’t the slightest idea of who they are and what they are. When questioned about their true identity many are equally confused. Who are you?
 
Historically we were called “nigger” before we had the right to vote, “nigras” when just a few of us went to the polls, “colored folk” when our numbers began to swell, and “Negroes” when we began the great migration north in the forties and fifties. But who are you? With power in the 1960s came selfrespect. “Black,” it seemed, was the final step on the road to dignity and equality. Not so, say many leaders and social activists of the day. “African American,” it has been said, is the proper term. But again, I ask, who are you?
 
Each of us sooner or later will search for our true identity. For example, “wetbacks” became “illegal aliens” and then “undocumented workers.” The “old” became the “elderly” and now “senior citizens”; the “crippled” became “handicapped,” “disabled,” and now “physically challenged.”
 
If any of the above labels—African American, black, Negro, or colored—seems symbolically out of place, then of course it should and must go. But if you told me that you are a “mind with a body,” a “spiritual being,” a part of the great “I AM,” you would be closer to the truth. You would be in line with the African proverb that states, “if you don’t know who you are, anyone can name you; and if anyone can name you, you will answer to anything.”
 
I know who I am: a child of God. And I can do anything!
 
 
JANUARY 4
 
The Home Field Advantage
 
“There are some countries so backward that their people don’t spend money until they have saved it.”
 
—A. G. GASTON, ENTREPRENEUR
 
There’s an old fable about a man who was riding across the desert at night. As he crossed a riverbed, a voice came out of the darkness ordering him to halt. The voice then said, “Now, get off your camel.” The man did so. The voice then said, “Pick up some gravel from the riverbed.” The man complied. Finally the voice said, “Now mount and ride on. In the morning you’ll be both glad and sorry.”
 
As the sun rose, the rider looked at what he had picked up and discovered it was not gravel at all but a handful of precious gems! As the voice had said, he was both glad and sorry. Glad he had picked up a few and sorry he had not carried more. Like most fables, this one is based on human nature and has specific meaning for those fortunate to live in this land of opportunity.
 
We live in the richest country the world has ever known. We, African Americans, possess just about everything the wealthy possess—only in smaller amounts. We have homes, cars, stereos, televisions, and savings accounts—only in smaller quantities. Our food is just as tasty and plentiful; our homes are just as cozy. With only a fraction of the world’s population, Black America possesses nearly 10 percent of the free worlds’ total income.
 
But most of us are like the man in the fable. We are glad we have such a high standard of living but still have some regrets. Regrets because many never realize that financial independence has nothing to do with the amount of money you can earn, but only with what you do with the funds you possess.
 
Riches, in all its forms, are within my reach. I will reach for and receive my share.
 
 
JANUARY 5
 
You Know, I’ve Been Doing Some Thinking …
 
“If you could pray for only one thing, let it be for an idea.”
 
—PERCY SUTTON, CEO AND PRESIDENT, INNER CITY BROADCASTING
 
The United Negro College Fund professes that “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Latch onto this thought. It’s the first step on the road to freedom and prosperity. Mind is cause, and experience is effect.
 
Everything happens to us twice in life. First the inner, and then the outer. First the mental, then the physical. First the thought, then the thing. All causation is mental.
 
Harmonious living tells of harmonious thinking. A turbulent life reveals some kind of inner turmoil. We may believe that we are positive, settled people, but if we notice troubles or conflicts in our outer conditions, we must look within to see what inner negativity has surfaced. If you want to know what’s in your subconscious, you don’t have to go to a psychiatrist. Just look at the condition of your home, your car, your health, your relationships. Outer events are simply skin and bones of inner thoughts.
 
Whatever you experience in life is really the outpicturing of your thoughts up to this point. Change your thoughts and beliefs, and the outer picture must change also. Judge not according to appearances, but according to your mind’s eye.
 
I am in complete control. My thoughts are in accord with my desires.