The Secret to Success

I will be the first to admit that I did not go to college with the best game plan in mind. I could not decide what I wanted to major in, and I was not really sure what courses I should or (maybe more importantly) should not take. I was like a deer in headlights. Despite my academic indecisiveness, one thing was for sure, I came too far to fail. I promised myself this time that I would choose my inner circle wisely. Like I said, I knew from first-hand experience, not from what I read in a book or from what my parents told me, how one friendship could make or break a person. So I spent the first few weeks observing. I knew I was not the smartest apple in the bunch, but my ability to judge a person’s character was reliable. Those who have spent any time in the hood had to acquire this skill to survive. So like a hawk that hovers over a particular area waiting for the right moment to swoop in, I observed everybody I came in contact with. I watched and I listened to their conversations and to the best of my ability, I tried to determine who was just talking and who was serious. I knew if I were going to make it in my new environment, I would have to surround myself with individuals who knew where they were headed and had a serious plan of action. For example, I could not hook up with people because they were from Chicago or Detroit or because football was their favorite sport or because we were Virgos. If I was going to survive and get the most out of my college experience, I needed to be as strategic in selecting my inner circle as professional sports teams are with selecting players in the Draft.

With his first pick in the ‘89 inner circle draft, Eric Thomas selects Irvin Daphnis. What drew me to Daphnis? Like all the greats, he had an aura about him. He stood about six feet tall, he was dark with a thin build and glided across campus with this silent confidence that screamed, “Look out world ‘cause here I come.” Irvin was the only person I knew who was confident enough and proud enough to sport dashikis like they were Jordans. I can still picture him walking through campus with this one colorful dashiki with the continent of Africa embroidered on it. Besides his iridescent swag, Irvin was extremely intelligent but it wasn’t necessarily his intellect that drew me to him; it was his crossover ability that intrigued me. Even though Irv had the ability to go toe-to-toe with the best of them and although as a freshman he easily matched the intelligence of most upper classmen, he never felt the need to isolate himself from the average Joe like myself. He also had a passion for knowledge and he identified with the struggle of his people. In the words of James Brown, Irv was “Black and Proud” and did not mind saying it loud. In fact, Irv was so proud of his heritage that we nicknamed him Black.

I remember the first oratorical contest I attended and watched Irv go to work. He breezed through the first few rounds and made it to the finals. I have to be honest, I was nervous when I found out he was competing against this other freshmen by the name of Furman Fordham, also known as Pucky. I was blown away the first time I heard him speak too. His gift was his command of words; he was like a walking dictionary. We ran in different circles, but I admired him from a far. He was one of those guys who made me feel like I did not stand a chance at the collegiate level. He reminded me of one of those “most likely to succeed” guys and every time I heard him address the crowd, I kept thinking to myself, if those are the type of skills you need to succeed in college, I don’t stand a chance. To my surprise, the contest was a dogfight. They went back and forth and back and forth. Pucky was doing his usual verbal acrobatics while Irv orchestrated a well-balanced speech arrayed with verbal, theatrical and contemplative skills. It was a tough decision for the judges, but to my surprise Irv pulled off the upset. I walked away from that contest a changed man. Watching another black male freely articulate in the way Irv did that day gave me the confidence that I needed to start believing in myself and my abilities. Not to mention the fact I discovered that Irv was Haitian and the fact that he was a first generation American inspired me even further. I knew if Irv’s people could come to this country and succeed and help him overcome his obstacles to become the person he was, there was no excuse for me. Irv had the blue print; the competitive advantage and I needed to sit under his feet so I could learn from him.

Bell Tower Ministry

“Start where you are with what you have… what you have is plenty.”