Reach - Then Teach

Dear Hannah, I have bought and sold my favorite things (textbooks, calculators, athletic apparel, laptops, tablets, and cameras) on eBay since 1998. Several years ago, I created an analytic algorithm to help me identify items that I could buy low and sell high. It works ... Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, The computer is my ultimate weapon. It facilitates all of my consulting prowess. It allows me to vertically integrate and manage my operation - as a solo artist. It is my employee, warehouse, heavy lifting machinery, and consultant. I am good at repairing and maintaining them, and better than average at using them. This combo of complementary skills is valuable. I have made good money...

Dear Hannah, I have reached life's proverbial "crossroads". I have learned who I am ... what I want to do ... and how to do it. For the record, I will facilitate hope, healing, and change through small-group discipleship and "standup storytelling". This ministry will create and publish learning content that can be sold to generate revenue. Here's what I have not figured out. I need to buy some mor...

Dear Hannah, I am Keisha's husband. I am your father. My name means "leader of his people". I am a "standup storyteller". I fuse rap, spoken word (poetry), oration (traditional public speaking), singing, and teaching into messages of hope, healing, and change that I write, direct, and produce to help people who help people. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, Everything must change - and STAY changED. Change begins with me and the renewing of my mind. It then continues through efforts to effect small-group discipleship (equipping others to equip others). Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, Sometimes the cause masks the agenda. Sometimes our agendas mask our issues. Count all the costs of victory. Conquer conceit, then conquer defeat. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, Freedom ain't free. Financing my projects required buying lots of time. That meant Daddy had to leave home to hustle while Mommy was at home during the Summer. This helped us learn how to craft our exit plan before we entered. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, Some of my best ideas (including songs like "Daddy's Gon' Get The Milk") have come to me while taking you for walks. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, I film and write about hope, healing, and change. The cameras I use (Flip cameras) and the best 3 pieces I have written ("Johney", "U Can't See Me", and "Stand Your Ground") each have stories worth sharing. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, I believed in the plan I had crafted, but knew that its success depended on time and finance. I had to literally buy enough time to reach the goals via "Working From Home". Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, I believed in the plan I had crafted, but knew that its success depended on time and finance. I had to literally buy enough time to reach the goals via ... "The Wedding Planner" "Peacemaker" "Selling Lesson Plans?" "Music To My Ears" "Without A Song" "Lights, Camera, Action" Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, I needed to change my approach to handling myself and others - and its hidden impact on my career and interpersonal interactions. My period of self-reflection concluded that my ... 1. Discourse skills should generate hope, healing, and change - not despair, vitriol, and strife. I needed to put myself in situations conducive to my virtues, not my vices. 2. Mentoring skills could be ref...

Dear Hannah, I have written and sold two magazine articles. One was about how I financed my college education. That was published in 1994. The other was about coming home to take care of our newborn daughter (Hannah), and to become "me" on a full-time basis. I learned the same lesson twice with these experiences. You must tell your own story. When you sell stories, the purchaser turns your story i...

Dear Hannah, My name is Derrick (Brown). I am Keisha’s husband. I am Hannah’s father. I am a “standup storyteller”. I fuse rap, spoken word (poetry), oration (traditional public speaking), singing, and teaching into messages of hope, healing, and change that I write, direct, and produce to help people who help people. I know that change begins with me - and the renewing of my mind ... ... then con...

Dear Hannah, I have often been advised about, admonished for, and accused of using a pedagogical, lecturing tone - especially when I am directly involved in a conflict. Point taken as one to grow on anytime someone gives that feedback - regardless of our conflict and their intentions. I have also often been taken to task about that pedagogical, lecturing tone by people who - for whatever reason -...

Dear Hannah, I have a track record of cutting people off - and then leaving it like that. I do not let anyone or anything get me warm twice. Carrying the burden of offense is a hard way to live, though. This is a little more subtle than unforgiveness - but can be just as burdensome. When I carry offense, sometimes nothing major has happened ... but I often decide that I will not allow anything at...

Dear Hannah, Our world is still dominated by forces that equate “equality” to “providing opportunities”. These forces often provide opportunities that they control. To the contrary, equality is predicated on both opportunity and circumstance. Equality is achieved when societies provide opportunities and circumstances that create diverse, inclusive, and sensitive environments. Those favored most by...

Dear Hannah, Once upon a time, the President gave a group of African-American community leaders a seat at the table. The leaders brought their own menu. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah, Sometimes things happen that upset us. We have to feel what we feel, take the time to heal, remember what is real, and keep moving forward ... As I lay me down to sleep I kiss my wife and ponder deep I wonder why, and that's OK Answers tomorrow are questions today Then I kneel and start to pray Ask the Lord to have His way Stay focused on a future day Hope to keep all harm at bay So m...

Original Broadcast: 9-4-2017   Dear Hannah, So how do you deal with the frustration that accompanies feeling like you are not being heard? I have no answers. I do have an approach that I am still LEarning. First step ... remember what frustration is, Derrick. Frustration is an emotional response to a lack of control ... of people, circumstances, outcomes, etc. I am not in control of anything but m...

Dear Hannah, I am a big fan of Digital Underground. I remember "Same Song" - which featured and introduced us to Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a dancer, "hype man", and background vocalist for the group. I remember the honor Digital Underground showed to Parliament / Funkadelic ... they sampled a lot of that funk, and gave George Clinton co-writer credits on "Kiss You Back". I also remember "Piano Man"....

Dear Hannah, Remember my sharing on Proverbs 12:24 ... when I mentioned that most proverbs describe two distinct pathways that individuals have the opportunity to choose - and bear the fruit, the consequences, or some of both? Well, here we go again. Let's wrestle with Proverbs 12:23 now. For posterity, Proverbs 12:24 says "The diligent person will rule, but the slothful (lazy) will become a slave...

Dear Hannah,   Proverbs is a Bible book full of concrete, simple, indisputable wisdom. The wisdom is offered in small, "bite-size" verses. This makes it a good book to study with a mixed group of older and younger folks. Studying Proverbs can lull you to sleep, though - please let me explain. It is easy to interpret most proverbs as describing what a good person does vs. what a bad person does ......

(Rebroadcast: 2-5-2018) (Original Broadcast: 3-1-2017) 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...

(Rebroadcast 1: 3-5-2018) (Original Broadcast: 3-1-2017)   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 - e...