Courage=Freedom (long)

[Duke]

Awesome post.

Would you mind linking to A-Unit's post?

Thanks.

 

[backbreaker]

I don't have it linked, but I have it saved in a word document on my PC

I will quote it...

WAIT, that was the entire post

 

[backbreaker]

I very very very rarely read new posts on here.. everything I need to learn is summed up by a couple of posts, by a couple of people on this forum, all of which I have saved in a word document.

Everything else just confuses things and is overcomplicating something that is not very complicated

 

[guess_who]

Great story backbreaker. I loved every minute of it. Its amazing that you accomplished all that by age 22. 22! Its actually funny that I came across your story today, just when I was getting to point in my life where I was so sick of how I'm living. I decidied today to do whatever it takes to suceed, partly because of your story of what you went through and what you accomplished.

Its cool that your into handicapping and horse racing. I actually live in a big track town myself (Saratoga Springs, NY), and have always loved the races. Also, about your two friends,the rappers, do they have a myspace page? I'm a fan of rap and would be interested in hearing their stuff.

 

[backbreaker]

I've been to Saratoga a couple of times. One of my fav 3 tracks in the country, I have been to all of the big ones (nothing is better than Churchill, you just can't beat it, and Santa Anita park is also in a class by itself)

The only thing I don't like about Saratoga is that it's only open for like a month and a half a year.. Well they rotate between Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga, with Aquedcut being like the red headed stepchild of the three, which is in session now. The NYRA is a complete joke.

I was up at Belmont for the Breeders Cup last year. If anyone ever gets the chance to go to it this year or in the future, do it. It's at churchill this year.

If anything, go for the women. My gosh. There were over 100k people there and it only costs 10 dollars to get in.

Plus you get to watch literarly the best horses from around the world all on one race card.

No, my two best friends don't even really know how to use the internet. I mean they can check emails and play pool on yahoo and that's about it. I try to stay out of their stuff, becuase I don't want to get our personal relationship tanted by a business one, but they have the talent to make it, they really do.

one thing about rappers however, I honeslty believe the reason alot don't make it isn't the lack of talent but there isn't anyone aorund to tell them seriously what they need to work on and what is hot and isn't.

Every beat, record a rapper makes he think is a hit, trust me... What they have to understand is it's not what YOU htink is a hit, it's what sells records. I tell my friends from time to time, "hey, that's hot right there" and "hey, that's not", and I can tell they get their defenses up, because it takes a while to do stuff like make the beats, do the voice overs and stuff like that and one day they told me that I don't get it because I'm not in the music industry.. but what they don't understand is, I am the person they are trying to sell music to.

Anyway, they have some learning to do, but if they keep at it, they will be fine.

Neither of them don't know alot of the stuff I had to go though when I was stuggling, they just knew I stayed in the house alot. I keep alot to myself, so I don't know if they think I am just lucky or really smart or whatever the case may be, but I might have to sit both of them down one day and show them that even though they love what they do, it's a business aspect to it, and at the end of the day, you want to make money making music, that's the goal.

What's really sad is, the they make all of their beats in house. The beats aren't sampled, the one that does beats cant' stand sampled beats, but the beats are still good, a couple are pretty damn hot, but for the most part, I can tell he doesn't put alot of thought into them whatsoever, and the reason that is sad is that he is THE most talented piano player I have ever met. he is 23 and tought me how to play the piano about 11 years ago and I was good enough to play for my curch, a 5000 member congrigation when I was a teenager. yet he never applies what he knows as far as real music concepts to his beats. It's like he is scared to venture out and try something knew.

Before he gets ready to make a beat, you will hear him dabble on the electric keyboard and everyone just stops to listen to him, and he is just playing around, then he will start making a generic beat, and everyone is trying to put two and two together like "dude, why not do THAT on the beat?"



Like I said, anything you want to put your mind to, you can do it.

This is something I want to do, this is my average day, let's see, Wednesday. This is what I plan to do tomorrow.

7-8am: Get my ass up, run wind sprints outside until 8amish

8:15: Get to gym, workout until 9am

9:15 Take a shower get dressed

9:45 go get a massage (every wednesday morning, standing date)

11:15 head to the track (45 min drive)

12:15 Get at the track.. (I don't even plan to make any bets tomorrow, I am just going for the hell of it)

5:30 Come back home

6:30 Eat

7:00 Go to little sisters Basketball Game

8:15 Dinner Date, more than likely Red Lobster

9:30 I promised my old oneitis i would meet her at Barnes and Noble to catch up with her, havne't seen her really in like 8-9 months

10:00ish- until I am free for the rest of the night, might catch back up with my date

Whatever it is, I am going to be asleep by 2am because I am getting up in time to go to the track because I have to make bets on Thursday, there is a horse I have been chumping at the bit to bet on and he, rather she, races tomorrow (that's actaully a horse racing term)

Sounds pretty laid back doesn't it? Normally on a Wednesday, After 6:30 I am free to do wahtever the hell I want


This was a normal wednesday for me 3 years ago


6am- Wakup, might eat
6:15- Answer Emails, record sales
7:00 Meeting wtih business partner
7:20- Order Inventory
8:00- Build PC's
1:00- Go run daily errands (Bank, post office, bills, etc) and try to grab something to eat in between that time
3:00 Answer emails again
3:30 Work on managing budget, oragnaize shipping/inventory from previous day
4:30- Build PC's
9:00- Answer Emails yet again
9:30- Work on website updates
10:30- Try to find something to eat, clean up the mess I made for the day, and if I ahve any time left, build more pc's

Try to be to bed before 1am


It's not easy... However the work ethic I picked up, even when I have free time now I don't really have FREE time, I am reading something, learning, working out.. something to better myself. Even when I am at the horse track, i am honing my skills, as the more races i take in, the more experience I have to my benefit

 

[backbreaker]

BTW, Fav track to visit is probably Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA, simply because the track announcer can make the worst race seem like the kentucky derby, and the crowds get amped, with the yelling and screaming and cheering every race


Worst Track is hands down Turfway Park.. Their track announcer seems like he has ADD or something.. it's like you want to help him complete his sentences half of the time.

 

[bbestar]

Why don't you want to fight in the U.S. Army, son

 

[backbreaker]

Didn't your mom tell you not to dicuss politics and religion with strangers?

Just kidding. If you must know, it's not that I am scared. Not in the least bit.

It's because a) Until African Americans are treated equality in this country, given the same rights, not given longer jail sentences just for the color of their skin, not protrayed as thugs and idots by the public media and in general , and more money/effort goes into educating the inner city youth into having lives other than selling drugs and being deadbeats, then in the words of Muhammed Ali, this is not a black man's army.

Secondly, lets assume that all of that wasn't the case. Everything was totally equal.

This war isn't a war about our freedom. This war, the one that is going on now, is lining the pockets of certain politicans and corporations, and that's not something I am willing to risk my life for.

If I were living back in the American Revolution era, I could see myself fighting still for the cause, even if I would have been a slave, because there was a greater cause at hand.

There is no cause in this case, not one worth fighting for. There hasn't one, at least one we actually faught, in the last 60 years. The countries that need to be invaded, the countries who have leaders who commit true genocide on their own people, are the ones we need to be going after. If Iran was north of Russia and had no oil, we wouldn't be there.

One can't make the arguement it's because of Sadan, because I can name at least 5 more dangerous dicators or political leaders off the top of my head that we havne't touched and don't plan on, but mainstream meida never tells about that, letting literarly millions of people die unheard.

So no, this isn't a military I am willing to give my life for. I love my country, just not the people running it.

 

[ATribeCalledDS]

Wow, You're young and are in a situation that a lot of people would like to be in. I'm not even sure of my goal yet . But i'm working to create my own opportunities. Anyway, I admire you courage and determination. I'll make sure that I will do the same.

 

[backbreaker]

Thanks for the kind words. I just hope that someone gets something from what I wrote. Alot of people honestly think they have limitations on what they can accomplish, when that isn't the case. The only limitations are yourself