Reach - Then Teach

Dear Hannah,   I know that I do not know. So, I need to LEarn and teach. I cannot LEarn while talking. I LEarn by listening. I teach by LEarning. I teach by listening and talking. I create change through power and influence. I create power through efficient work. I do efficient work by LEarning. I influence by reaching - then teaching. See, I am quiet - but not silent. Here's what I am LEarning ...

Dear Hannah, Life is a series of opportunities. Here's how I approach life ...     I listen, because I don't listen well.     I am quiet, because I am not quiet.     I observe, because I can't see.     I know, because I know that I don't know.     I speak like no one else is ever going to speak for me.     I do like no one is ever going to do for me ...

Dear Hannah, Being part of a church has helped me to grow - both in my walk with God, and in my understanding of life and people. Church helped me to wake up, grow up, speak up, and wise up. The experience has not always been "pretty" - but has taught me key lessons ...   Your gifts can become weapons (against you and others) without the BALANCE of healing and accepting, affirming, accountable, authoritative relationships. Hurt people hurt people. Healed people help people heal. People who help people sometimes exploit the people they help - and the people who help them. We are all mentors to each other through shared life experiences - good, bad, and ugly. Your mentor's good works are beacons of light that show you the path; his missteps are clear warnings to you. Take heed.   Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, When they can't see you, learn to take advantage of being "hidden" and underestimated.   Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, All ideas are great. The ones that are developed, financed, negotiated, produced, packaged, and sold make money. Love, Daddy "LEarning (Games People Play (The Story of Monopoly) - in 90 Seconds)" By Derrick Brown Charles Darrow lost his job as a heater salesman at the beginning of The Great Depression in 1929. He then created, patented, copyrighted, and licensed Monopoly between 1933 and 1935 - but Monopoly was based on versions of real estate trading games whose patents date back to 1904. Why did Darrow's version flourish - making him the first millionaire game designer? Well, two lessons come to mind ...

Dear Hannah, Multiply your influence through mentoring. Love, Daddy "LEarning (Honor Role - The Power Of Mentors)" By Derrick Brown American history has not been kind to Paul Robeson. Robeson was a complex individual. Even complex individuals can be erased - one dimension at a time ...

Dear Hannah, There is sometimes folly in faith ... and there is sometimes faith in folly. Love, Daddy "LEarning (The "Real" Matrix - in 5 minutes)" By Derrick Brown 3-5-2017 A long time ago, a movie called "The Matrix" captured our attention. The movie conveyed that reality was not "real" - but simulated and imagined. It made lots of "real" money, though. A few years after, author Sophia Stewart sued the key players behind "The Matrix" for copyright infringement. She also sued the key players behind "The Terminator". She alleged that both movies were based on works she created in the early 1980s. Court documents show that Stewart did not win her lawsuit. They also suggest that she did not win because her case was legally difficult to prove - not necessarily because it was false ...

Dear Hannah, Sometimes detours help you see what you might have otherwise missed. Love, Daddy "LEarning (Crossing Paths (The Story of Tim Reid, New Millennium Studios, and The Spook Who Sat By The Door) - in 11 minutes)" By Derrick Brown A long time ago (1997) in Petersburg, VA (where my wife Keisha was born and raised), Tim and Daphne Maxwell Reid launched New Millennium Studios - a 15,000-square-foot full-service movie production studio on 60 acres of land ... land with a rich Civil War history. It was the only full-service movie production studio in the state of Virginia ...

Dear Hannah, Read the Bible while you are in church (and when you are not) ... Love, Daddy "LEarning (Bring Your Own Bible (The Story of The Printing Press) - in 3 minutes)" By Derrick Brown The printing press was invented a long, long time ago by Johannes Gutenburg. He initially used his invention to print Bible copies. Gutenberg was nearly bankrupted by his venture - but he persevered (to his own detriment) ...

Dear Hannah,   we need to talk.   we need to have sustained, substantive conversations with friends, fans, and foes that are affirming, accepting, accountable - and sometimes authoritative.   they can be focused, civil, intra-generational, didactic, inspiring, comforting, strategic ...   ... and can still be pleasant & fun.   ... or thoughtful, probing, and sobering.   ... or downright serious.   they can edify and mature the mind, will, and emotions ...   ... by speaking life   ... and preventing death.   they can build bonds, teams and camaraderie.   they can birth visions.   they can create frameworks for change.   they can help to keep peace, help to make peace, or help to say "peace".   it all starts with a good question that provides food for thought.   check it ...

Dear Hannah, our conversations have dwindled into shouting matches and "people's court" cases posts and reposts of articles that align with our minds to which we assign absolute truth with no consequences where we want to prove that our might is right your wrong is strong and always have both our say ... and our way but civil discourse - especially between dissenters - promotes growth it helps both parties see that they are two points diametrically opposed on the same circle and that preservation of the circle is more important than our "points" check it ...

Dear Hannah, my education began when I finished school. reflection led to a lot of unlearning and relearning. i realized that i was presented facts disguised as knowledge, opinions disguised as fact, and a whole lot of memorized processes disguised as problem solving. it's all good, though - 'cause now I know ... that i don't know. so i value divergent thinking ... (seeing many answers to the same question) ... creativity ... (capacity for original thought) ... reading ... writing ... counting ... and thinking ... as the keys to converting facts into information into knowledge into wisdom - and solutions to the problems of our existing state. i have also learned to value biographies. the stories from someone's life - and their wisdom earned through lessons learned - inspire and ground me ...