A Surprising Goal I Want You In On...

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the last 3 weeks since I found out about the passing of my grandmother and thinking about the things that are and have been really important to me and the dreams I've had since childhood.

One of my dreams will be coming true very soon. I will be publishing my first book very soon called Your Starting Point For Student Success which my mission of the book is to give entering college freshman a guide to the introduction of personal development which unfortunately is something not taught at most colleges and universities.

However coming out with the book is only one part of the that dream, the other part is getting it into the hands of the people who need it most. I want this to be a book that parents give their children who are graduating from High School this year to set them on the right course in college, I want mentors who have proteges in college to give this book to them to truly help them succeed in school and in life.

This book is short and easy to read because I understand most students don't like reading GARGANTUAN size books but don't let the size of the book take away from the impact it will have. Iit delivers the first 5 most important principles to living a truly successful life inside and outside of the classroom.

In this book, students will discover:


1. The most important key to creating success in your life now

2. The real secret to creating unstoppable self-confidence

3. The simple yet effective technique to help students get more done in less time

4. The one thing that drives all of our actions and how to properly understand it

5. The crucial environment factor you must control to guarantee your continued success



#1 NY Times Bestselling Author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker, said
"Arel’s principles are simple yet extremely effective. His book will show you how to create success in your life where and when it really counts.”


So the reason I wrote this note is to share a dream with you that I have because I know that is the only way a dream comes true, sharing it with as many people that you care about as possible. I want to get this book into the hands of as many students as possible this summer.

To do this I am going to start releasing excerpts of the book until it's release date on amazon.com in hopes that individuals like yourself will see this and realize the life changing power a book of this nature could have a on young student's mind.

I hope you will join me on this journey, only if you think the principles of this book will be beneficial to someone you care about. I remember when I was a student trying to find my way and I was trying to figure out what was the very first book I should read, what was that very first book to start my journey with and there really wasn't one, until now.

So keep a look out and please join me on this mission to make the lives of students better one page at a time!

Before It's Too Late...

Last week I had the wind knocked out of my lungs while I was boarding an airplane in LAX on May 5th, 2009.

As I was boarding the plane I received a phone call from my mother letting me know that my grandmother had passed away...

I immediately fell to one knee and felt an intense surge of emotion course through my veins.

I cried...it's been a long time since I cried in public.

As I was sitting on the plane ride I had all of these thoughts racing through my head, was I a good grandson? did she know how much I Loved her? Could I have done more? Did I make her proud…did I make her proud?

And then I had one realization that really caused me to feel pain. I have a burning desire to make my family proud of me. I, like many others, want to be someone that gives their grandparents many reasons to brag to their friends because of the accomplishments of their grandchildren.

As some of you may already know, I have a book coming out soon. It has always been a dream of mine to one day be a best-selling author. I will be the first author in my entire family. Since this is something really special to me and I knew my family (especially my grandmother) would be so shocked and surprised when they found out, I chose not to tell them.

You see, right now, no one in my family even knows I am writing a book. I wanted to keep it a secret. I had it all planned out in my head. I would send each one of my family members a copy of the finished book with a hand written letter expressing to them how much I Love them and how I would not be the man I am today without all of their Love and support. I envisioned them all calling me to congratulate me.

I envisioned the party that I was going to throw once my book officially mad the best-seller list and I could picture my grandmother there wearing one of her big hats, beaming and smiling with pride and Love. She would make my favorite meal; curry goat and oxtail with rice and beans and sweet plantains. She would come up to me and give me one of her tender loving warm hugs and whisper to me “well done, I’m so proud of you, you have made me feel 10 feet tall today”

Now, when my day comes, it will be different. I realize now that I could have had my book finished months ago if I just concentrated more and work harder toward it. I thought to myself that if I didn’t let all of the small insignificant tasks eat away at my time I would have had the book done, published, and printed in her hands before she passed. And the truth is, I know I am right, I could have worked more diligently on this project. It is one of my most important short-term goals right now because I know how much my book is going to positively impact the lives of the students who read it.

I believe the longest journey on earth is from our heads to our hearts. I’ve always intellectually understood the importance of taking fast action on ideas, having clear goals and executing on them. However, now I really emotionally get it and feel it like never before. Even though I will find solace knowing that she is looking down on me, watching over me, and supporting me, I would rather be able to share my experience with her in person.

So now this brings me to you. What goal have you been thinking about doing for a long time that you’ve been wanting to do so much, that you know once you complete will make your family and friends proud. What have you been wanting to do but have been putting off because you are letting the little things get in the way of the big things that really matter? What is that goal that is most important to you but you have not been spending enough time on?

Today is a gift and that is why it is called the present. Move forward with great tenacity and spirit, not just today but everyday. Make sure you recognize what that goal is for you and start doing whatever you need to do right now to move closer toward making it a reality. Make sure you live a life of no regrets and make sure you let the people who you love know how much you love them by saying it and showing it.

Before it’s too late, start living the life you know you deserve.

The one question to find out if you are pursuing your true passion?

It's something people struggle with all the time, "How do I know if this is my passion?" "How do I know if what I am doing is what I should be doing with the rest of my life?"

There is one simple yet extremely profound question that will answer this big life question. And here it is

"Could I see myself not doing what I am doing?"

I love motivating audiences through my leadership programs, When I hear students say things like at this following link, it makes me know what I am doing is my calling. I love helping students find their passion with my program entitled "How to Turn Your Passion Into Your Profession" , I could never EVER see myself not being a professional speaker. If I lose my legs, I will want to get wheeled on stage. If I lose my voice, I will type my messages on a screen, I truly love this with so much passion that I'm willing to pay the price to make it work.
Are you willing to pay the price for your dream? When things are going tough, will you break down or break through?

You know you have hit your true passion when you could not not see yourself doing it.
That's it

Offering False Hope To a Nation?

“We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check, we’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope, but in the unlikely story that is America there has never been anything false about hope.” - 44

There is nothing more powerful than finding the words that give us meaning, that give us purpose. There is nothing more powerful than the moment where things actually click in your mind and you finally get it. You finally get what you’ve been striving for, for so many years. You finally feel your inner pitch fork resonating on a frequency that reigns true in your heart. There is little that compares to understanding a message so powerful that you are moved to tears and you feel more “one” than you ever have before.

There are many messages out there of personal development and no one idea is any better than any other. The true importance is to hear a message in a way that will resonate within you, the messenger is only a conduit to bring electricity into your heart and into your actions. You may hear something a million times, and you may do something hundreds of times over, but when you finally “get it”, when you finally just get it, the power in that moment is unforgettable.

My individual mission in life is probably not very different than yours. Like you I strive to make this world a better place in the little way that I can, to touch lives and bring an inner strength to people that makes this life worth living not just for others but for ourselves as well.

After speaking at a conference in Long Beach California empowering the minds of educators, directors and youth to be proactive about this upcoming time in our lives, to not only want change but to actively pursue it and face the challenges with bravery and hope, countless people came up to me and told me that they needed that message, they told me how much meaning to their lives they received in just one hour, they told me how much more they believe that it’s possible. It was hearing people tell wholeheartedly that I was able to give them the needed inspiration, the proverbial “shot in the arm” to start being proactive instead of reactive that sparked inside of me. Something powerful that if it had a name I would share it with you, but it doesn’t or I haven’t found the words yet.

My message can be seen as common sense with uncommon wisdom. I believe where too many others go wrong is that they miss the “2 Phase Approach”. Phase 1 is The Why and Phase 2 is the How. I strive to not only provide my audiences with the Why to get them motivated and fired up but also with the How so they can take that energy and actually do something with it. Too many times we get fired up and lose momentum because we just don’t know what to do next, your mission and mine is to help lead people through the 2 phases, though both are independently and equally important in their own right.

As I sat on the Jet Blue ride back home, I listened to the “Yes We Can” song over and over again, and literally found tears rolling down my face like an avalanche of unstoppable emotion because I realized that those 3 little words, though simple and heard many times truly sums it up for me. Because I know that you and all the people I’m fortunate enough to encounter can. Can be what they want and who they want. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity, Yes we can and Yes you can heal this nation but most importantly yes you can heal yourself. Never give up fighting for what you believe in, never.

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It is my passion and purpose to add value to people's lives. If you want an amazing Black History Month Presentation for your students? Check our Arel's newest addition Will You Be Remembered?

Could Obama’s Speech Be the Worst Ever?

As I was sitting in the airport getting ready to fly to California to speak to a group of educators and youth I was scrambling to get in front of a TV screen to watch the inauguration. Everything seemed to be not going the way I wanted. My flight was at 1pm which means I had to be in the airport for the big speech, the security line was long, and when I got to my gate the cnn.com live stream was so busy that I could not even log on. And when it finally did connect the live feed kept skipping. So far not the most ideal situation. Strike one.

Luckily in the terminal they had TVs playing the speech live but they had two TVs going in the same place with one having about a 5 second delay from the other so it was very distracting to focus in on what was saying. Strike two.

Finally I grabbed a rocking chair and placed myself right in front of the TV set to hear Obama speak. Here comes the third pitch and it was definitely NOT strike three. More like a home run. Was I disappointed? Absolutely NOT! I would be the biggest liar if I said this was one of the worst speeches ever, in fact this is probably going to go down in history as one of the most pivot and powerful public speeches of all time. Anyone who watched this speech knew that Obama kept true to his powerful and colorful language which helps paint a picture that all can see and believe.

I sat there focusing on what he was saying and as many of my fellow Americans probably felt Obama’s words were being spoken directly to me. His message was that of personal responsibility and forward movement to create the world and the life that we want. The underlying message seemed to be that we are a special people, a special nation that will allow its citizen’s to rise to the level of our individual ambition. We can build bonds amongst our brother abroad and fight those that want to destroy rather than build.

To imagine where we have come in just 60 years, from a place where someone like me could not be served in the same restaurant as my mother to becoming the president of this great nation is amazing. Think about how much can happen in such a short period of time, in as little as a year or just in one day.

What will you do to make the next phase of your life different then the last? No matter what your political post we all have one president and have witnessed history. What history will you make for yourself? What new level will you reach when you are feeling tired, upset, frustrated, feeling like hope is lost and you just don’t have what it takes to succeed. What will you choose to do? What action will you take to realize all is possible with the proper belief and the proper consistent action? What will you do to leave behind a legacy that is worth talking about. What proactive choices will you make to make your life what you feel it should be? Will you choose to look at the world with a clenched fist or an open hand?

If today proves nothing else, it is proof that anything is possible if you believe. Change will not come over night, but have resolve that it will come. Will you be a builder or a destroyer?

Do you want an amazing Black History Month Presentation for your students? Check our Arel's newest addition Will You Be Remembered?

Dreams Come True

I felt with the historical inauguration that is happening tomorrow, it would fitting to pay tribute to our past leaders of change. As I mention in my presentation on Leadership called "Will You Be Remembered?" You Can Either Excel At Making Things Happen or Making Excuses...Which One Will You Choose Today?

Watch The Video and Read Along, I think you owe it to yourself to be moved by this



I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

Countdown to Jan 20th

Do you want an amazing Black History Month Presentation for your students? Check our Arel's newest addition Will You Be Remembered?

Reflections on a historical night

As the phone calls and text messages came pouring in shouting in victory of what is truly an amazing night in history. I feel myself impacted in a way that is somewhat hard to explain. I'm sure just like you, there is a feeling coming over you right now. I feeling of hope, a feeling of what will be able to be accomplished and seen in our lifetimes.
Think about it, we were all alive before the Internet, text messages, cell phones, facebook, and many of the things that have become part of our daily activities that are now common place to so many.

Now we are all around to experience the first president of color take the most coveted position in America.

I have one important message to leave you with as you high-five your neighbors and do the running man cabbage patch victory dance (don't act like you didn't do a jig).

The worst thing about success is a little bit. My biggest fear is that too many people will feel like, yes we made it, we have succeeded and then think the real work is done. What is the worse thing for us to do right now as a people is to feel like "We made it". The truth is, now is the most important time for us to look deep within ourselves and start taking the action that we know we should be taking to better our lives and our country.

What do I mean the worst thing about success is a little bit? What I mean is that so many times when the first sign of success hits, we want to bask in all of its glory. We want to kick back and marvel at what has happened. Yes this has its time and place but when you rest too much, and get too lazy that is when you lose your edge and begin to live in a habit of failure. It's easy to fall back into old habits and it's hard to stay consistent with positive change when the old habits seem so appealing and "easy". It may be easy, but trust me it is not fulfilling.

One thing I bet, is that you won't see Obama letting up, he will move forward and keep his presence and his message strong. I ask that you do the same. If you are reading this right now, I believe it is for a reason, I believe that there is something great inside of you that you feel swelling up. Don't rest, don't ignore it, don't sit back too much and watch. Stand up, make this upcoming year, this upcoming month, this upcoming day the most important of your life so far. Live every day knowing that you have the power of unlimited potential in you.

So...how will you be remembered?