Street Knowledge question

"Raise your thinking above your past conditions and circumstances."

The same thinking and tools necessary to survive are not the thinking and tools you need to overcome and rise above the conditions and circumstances you've survived. It's like the stray cat or dog who had to scavenge daily for food to survive. It was necessary to fight for every inch of space to exist. This is especially so if they were in an environment with other wild animals. Let's say this cat or dog is rescued and now has a home. A stable environment exists in the house, along with daily meals. You'll find that this cat or dog will still act like a stray for quite a bit of time until it settles in and becomes comfortable. In some cases, this may never happen. They will eat and eat even when full because, in their mind, they're still determining when they'll get another meal. It's like the individual who grew up in poverty and doesn't grow out of the survival mind state. It doesn't matter if they have one dollar or one million dollars in their bank account; they'll conduct themselves in a state of mind of struggle.

There are a lot of great things that are learned within the streets regarding survival. Yet many unproductive behaviors are also learned when moving past struggle. Let's face it: moving up the social and economic ladder, a thinking and behavioral upgrade must occur at every upward level. Many people never make the necessary adjustments because they must realize their state is counterproductive toward their progress. They've lived many vital parts of their lives in a state of mind of struggle, and it got them through just fine. So why should they change? This is the question many of them ask themselves, and it's precisely why many don't rectify their flawed viewpoint(s.) You see it with many hip-hop artists and athletes. Not to single them out, but athletes, actors, and music artists are, unfortunately, the group many people look up to, want to live like, and aspire to be. Since this is so, the media outlets and social media place an overwhelming spotlight on the lives of these individuals, and so we, the public, get to see the good and bad.

People are people. This is very true: people are people. There are skinny people, obese people, tall people, medium-height people, short people, wealthy people, poor people, middle-class people, blue-collar people and white-collar people, urban people, suburban people, etc. There is only a certain amount of personalities. Within these personality segments are variations. There's not one person that's the same as anyone else, and everyone's different. It's the same with environments, neighborhoods, social spheres, etc. Each has its own set of rules, policies, and ways to navigate safely. It's the difference between playing college sports and playing in the pros. If one adjusts, they will survive; remember about thriving.

You see, in the streets, in most cases, enemies are dealt with physically if any action occurs beyond thinking and words. In the corporate world, a pen, paper, and signature can cause harm to many more people than one violent act. Corporate executives always make decisions that impact hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of people's lives. Think of community and global pollution. Policies, laws, military strikes, and good and bad business deals are all orchestrated via contracts and signatures. The higher one moves up the social ladder, the more necessary it is to think deeper and broader and exercise more mental intelligence than emotional intelligence and brute force. Don't get me wrong, there's a thin line between the streets and corporate America. Just because a guy wears suits instead of streetwear doesn't make them any less physically dangerous. The wealthy have bodyguards for a reason, and let's be honest, most corporate CEOs or execs aren't worried about street guys or the poor coming after them. They're concerned about their competitors or someone who ended up on the wrong side of a multimillion-dollar deal putting a hit on them. Now you know why some executives have the security the level of presidents and dignitaries. The world is a dangerous place because humans are dangerous. I'm sure I'll say this a few more times in this book, and I've said it quite a bit through the series of books within the Third Eye Awakening series of books.

"Navigating the working world is a bit trickier than navigating the streets because the rules are clear in the streets."

The above quote reminds me of one of my past supervisors as a quality assurance inspector at an over-the-counter drug manufacturer. He was 100% square, college educated, and a small business owner until his wife divorced him, took him for child support, and then he was forced to reenter the job market. He was a trickster and an excellent communicator. He was not more of a trickster than her, but maybe he got what he deserved. As we all know or should know, karma is real. This guy was slick like a serpent. He could talk his way out and around whatever he wanted to. He was so good he managed to get our department manager fired about a month after I was hired. The manager was on him, and I'm sure he (the manager) finally realized that he (the supervisor) couldn't do anything related to our department other than talk and push paper. I honestly don't think he desired to, either. He figured a job was a great option to get himself together while he figured out his next career move.

Everyone within the Quality Assurance Department was mandated to be able to know not just the work orders but also standard operating procedures and how to clear to open as well as close a production line or any other work area in the building. He needed to learn how to do this and anything outside of the office work that came with supervisor duties. He had no issue doing P.C. or paperwork and spent most of the time in the office. I wasn't bothered because it allowed me to learn what I needed to know without anyone on my back, and within three months, I learned every area and managed myself. I wouldn't say I liked that he was a manipulator, which applied to everyone he dealt with. This is one of the ways he kept his position in life. Some people believe in grinding (hustling), while others believe in swindling. He was a swindler. I'm curious how he passed all of the college tests. I'm not a gambler, but I would wager that he paid others to write essays and term papers for him. I can't picture the guy giving that much time or effort to anything that presented hard work.

One of my co-workers, a quality assurance inspector who managed to get promoted to production supervisor, somehow developed a more than cordial relationship with the Operations Manager and the Q.A. Supervisor I'm speaking of. Naturally, of course, they were having behind-the-door talks. Well, he (the friend) came and told me one day that my supervisor had told him not to trust anyone on the job, even me. I laughed because I knew the game that was being run. Feeble management leaders use this tactic to sow distrust amongst workers. My co-worker was one of the few workers whose pay increased steadily. I was happy for the guy, to be honest. After ten months of being hired, I still earned the same pay rate, even though the Quality Assurance Department depended heavily on me. My objective wasn't to increase my pay but to learn the production floor and move on to another organization. I let my co-worker know why the Q.A. Supervisor made such comment, and they (management) didn't want me to understand what was happening. I didn't care because I had my objectives to work on daily. When the next few months arrived, I began setting up interviews. The first interview was at Twin Laboratories, Inc. (the vitamin and nutraceutical manufacturer). The exact day was 9/11, the same day as the Twin Towers being crashed into. Unbelievably, I was being hired when the plane struck the first tower. The next day, with a glow on my face, I gave my two-week notice.

More than thrilled doesn't describe the mental state I was in. The supervisor looked worried, and the reason was apparent. He didn't know anything, and now that I was leaving, his cover would get blown. After I left a few months later, he couldn't hide that he was utterly incompetent. They winded up moving him to the warehouse to supervise. He had been buddies with the operations manager, the owner's son-in-law, so they wouldn't fire him like that. Plus, he was a White male. If he were Black or any other ethnicity, they would have fired him a long time ago. Of course, he could not handle the warehouse position, and they had no choice but to fire him.

Slicksters wind up sooner or later backing themselves into a corner. Developing a solid foundation of knowledge and skills is essential to do whatever task. Talk doesn't get things done. In the end, he learned an important lesson about being a slickster and also being a White male. The White male card may get you in a door quicker than others, especially when there are other White male gatekeepers. It may keep you in the door longer than others when you can talk a good one because they may be able to relate more to another White man's circumstances. But in the end, everyone needs to produce. Otherwise, it's a negative aspect on the business ledger regarding people resources. Suppose they can have a minority do a supervisor's job or the person in the direct position over them. In that case, many businesses run by White management and ownership will allow things to run as is. But when there's no one to pick up the slack, someone has to do the job and it must be the person in the position. White men have done everything in America to see to it that other White males have opportunities. This is so even if they weren't, or aren’t qualified. Under-positioning African Americans, especially Black men, has been a standard practice in America, England, the UK, France, and many other Westernized nations. This is how White males have maintained power. I have run into instances where I was offered positions that I was over-qualified for just to be put in a position where I'm showing others above me how to do things properly. More than not, these folks happen to be White. Life will teach you, and I've learned not to play this game. Let's say I've learned not to play the game in the manner they would like me to play. Knowledge has value. Skills have value. I'm not in the business of life to teach those higher than me in a position at a company how to do their jobs through working at a position lower than them in status and pay. Nor am I in the business of allowing anyone to use me at the expense of no reciprocation, and this applies in any manner.