The Rules of Fortune

by Danielle Prescod

In the early days of his company, the luxury was to be able to hire people to do everything for him, and now the luxury was being alone.

his time at some of the best schools in America had taught him anything, it was who you knew, not what, that really made the difference in life outcomes.

you don’t win a race by tying your opponents’ legs together. You win a race by running faster,

Casual dress is a privilege for those given the benefit of the doubt. It is for people who will be accepted without question, and that’s not you.

William listened to Professor Hill continue his lecture for almost another half hour, hypnotized by the man’s voice, realizing that being in the room was the ceremony where he would be getting the keys to having the life he was meant to live—the rules of fortune.

The truth could be a terrific anchor for fantasy,

ad hoc

It was one thing to have a great idea, but it was another thing to give that idea longevity and power.

“Okay, so we charge people every step of the way,” he said. “We do the design, source the materials, manufacture the modules, and build, and then we also sell insurance for the individual units and everything inside them? That we also make.”

“Anyone can get rich, William, but it takes a very smart man to stay rich. There are certain rules of fortune.

“Bougie is a derivative of the word bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie represent the middle class, a middle class trying to emulate what they think it means to be a part of the aristocracy. But these people don’t know. They don’t have seats at the table. The bourgeoisie live outside of the confines of court. They’re relying on gossip and observation to ascertain what they imagine an aristocratic life looks like. They get a distilled version of what it means to be an elevated member of society, and then they dress themselves up and parade as such so that they’re able to feel important.”

There is no use in trying to convince people who are determined to find fault with you over something you cannot control, and this goes both ways. You can’t live for other people. Sometimes you have to choose the me over the we. There will be Black people who will want you to be a certain way. There will be white people who will want you to be a certain way. None of that matters. The only thing that matters and is useful is how you are able to process information that you have learned and how you are able to move forward in life.

Money doesn’t really matter when you have a lot of it, but it matters a great deal when you don’t have any.