The title of this blog post can mean so many things. This is probably the reason I chose this title. I wanted people to wander about the content of the article and naturally think about what this means to them. The interesting thing about the title, is that I interviewed someone in the past and this is what the person referenced when discussing Affirmative Action. The reference was regarding out with the old language of hiring minorities and in with the new language and law protecting these individuals. And when I think about affirmative action, it protected so many individuals besides the intended population.
My reference to old and new is regarding the end of October and the beginning of November. Out with the old month and sales goal and in with the new month and sales goal.
Check out this TikTok video for Good Morning Amira as I prepare for November and selling 15 books next month.
I think about Good Morning Amira (GMA) the Children’s Book. GMA helps toddlers become familiar with the morning routine of waking up, brushing their teeth, washing their face, washing their hands, and completing other daily activities to get them up and going. Just as Proverbs 22:6 states, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart for it.”
Routines are good to have, especially when you are teaching toddlers how to wash their hands, face, brush their teeth, and helping them become contributing parts of society. Lol, you have some time before for that last part, but it will be here before you know it. For those currently raising a toddler, you know that routines often have to be changed or adjusted based on your little one and his or her needs.
Make sure you grab a copy of GMA at your local Target store.
My goal from now until the end of December is to sell 15 books a month. This means for the next 4 months, I plan to sell 60 books total.
How can you help? Tell your momma, daddy, brother, sister, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles I have the book just for them. Buy a book or two; keep one, while donating the other one to a friend or local charity. Buy a book a month through my subscription service and get a new book shipped to you each month. Purchase 2 Children’s Book Box sets for your local elementary school. Gift one of my books to your alma mater. Message me for details.
This morning before work, I created this flyer, not realizing how this whole concept would come into fruition. As the day went on, I had the opportunity to speak with a passionate soul who is just as dedicated as I am in having and using multiple gifts. Sometimes, people with multiple gifts and purposes are told that they have too many gifts or are doing too much. Which is not true. This pleasant soul touched on creating multiple streams of income. This was definitely a sign that I was on the right path. We were meant to speak and share our ideas of generational wealth, streams of income, our passion, and being multi-gifted.
I am using my gift of writing to provide details on creating multiple streams of income. The goal is for individuals to identify current streams of income, identify future streams, and to work towards having at least 7 streams. This is a work at your own pace, income generating plan.
Feel free to subscribe to my monthly subscription page to get information on writing, publishing, and creating different streams of income.
Have you considered creating different streams of income? Creating different streaming not only provides you with increased income if needed, it also allows you to create passive and active income.
Welcome Siarre Lashelle Massey to the Read to Lead/Write to Enlight Book Festival. Siarre is an Ohio born and based writer, storyteller and artist.
Her Solar Return
Her first collection, Her Solar Return, was published in June 2022. Prior to this, she shared solely via blogging. She is here, first and foremost, to share her experiences as a multi-ethnic woman, as a mother, as a person with neurodivergence—-as a human being living and learning and trying to enjoy the scenery along the way.
Are you looking for books you and the family can enjoy each month? Check out some of my works for you and the family. This selection includes Children’s, Self-Help, Poetry, Thiller, Journal, and Romance/Thriller.
January- All in Together Girl (World Peace)
All in Together Girls is a children’s book that displays and discusses two cousins who play a childhood jump rope game. The cousins take you on a journey to family, friends, and fun. This books allows children to learn the names of each month and experience the activities and weather associated with those months. Shay and Jaye will have you ready to take out your Double Dutch rope and sing with them in their journey down memory lane.
February- Good Morning Amira (Black History Month)
Start the day with Amira as she completes her morning routine with some help from her mother. This toddler is full of life as she wakes up in the morning to start her routine of washing her face, brushing her teeth, and washing her hands.
March- The New Face of Disabilities (National Disabilities Month)
The face of those with a disability is ever changing, making it more and more challenging to determine who has a disability and who does not. Wouldn’t it be a perfect world if everyone was equipped with the right tools to assist those with a disability? Well, why not try to make it an almost perfect world? Melica Niccole provides you with helpful tools to assist you work with this population.
April- Poetic Outlets (Poetry Month)
When it comes to writing books, Melica Niccole knows how to take you on an emotional roller-coaster by poetically entering your spirit and releasing emotions that have longed to be set free. She knows the consequences of holding onto things for so long that a choice has to be made. Her choice was to liberate her feelings with an objective of becoming one with herself. She has been through so much in life that she wants to share her world because it’s all about the lessons you learn and the opportunities you take. Just know that with great success comes great failure and you must continuously push toward a dream and keep your Eyes on the Prize. Melica is a dream big, reach for the stars type of person. She gives special thanks to her mother and father for encouraging her throughout life and always believing in her. In reading Poetic Outlets, you will witness her transition as a writer, which is astounding. The shift will be seen when she discusses depression, society, love, and attributes of a woman. It can honestly be said that this book has a bit of everything in it that draws you deeper and deeper into the author’s thought process.
May- Renaissance of the Psyche (Memorial Day)
Melica Niccole’s fourth book of poetry. In this work, she returns to what she loves about writing and producing poetic flows with passion, love, and dreamy-realism. She pays homage to poets of the past and present in “Respect” and “Long Live the Poet”, takes you on a journey to “Love’s Utopia” and keeps you on edge with “Omen”. You will feel the passion in her heart with every word that you read and every page that you turn. This book is about releasing your soul into the universe by doing what you love and giving life your all. Are you doing what you love?
June- PJ’s World (Juneteenth)
PJ’s World is a children’s book about family, adventure, and fun. Join PJ as he talks Hip-Hop with his cousin, drives a train as a conductor, and becomes a dancer at the dance studio of a world renowned Choreographer. Come and explore with him and be a part of his adventures.
July- Jacob: In the Mind of a Mad Man (Disability Independence Day)
The sequel to Dead Wrong. This book is about the thought process of a mentally unstable individual who could snap at any given moment and he only has one thing to blame; love. How will his love interest respond to his unwarranted advances? What happened in Dead Wrong to make Jacob flip the script? The only way to understand him is to think like him. Now, let’s go deep inside the mind of a mad man.
August- The Wanderlusts (Women’s Equality Day)
The Wanderlusts love to travel. They also love meeting new people, art, taking pictures, helping others, reading, and exploring the world.
September- Football Fumblina (Football Season)
Football Fumblina could have been a ballerina. From ballet shoes to fumbles and tumbles, Fumblina shows the world why she loves being herself and playing a game she does not always win. This game is just like life, sometimes you have to fall to learn how to stand up on your own and go after your dreams. She knows all about falling and working hard so she will be able to change her outcome. Do you have a little Football Fumblina in you?
This poetry book is similar to a nursey rhyme, which allows listeners to hear the words and join in on all the fun.
October- Dead Wrong (Domestic Violence Awareness Month)
Tasha Marie Smith is a smart, goal-oriented woman looking for fun, excitement, and a little money on the side. She is dedicated in making a few extra dollars, while working as a Community Health Prevention Specialist and going to school for her Master’s. Life couldn’t get any better than this. Well, that is until her life takes a 180 degree turn down the wrong direction. She only has one person to blame for the decision that’s herself. How did success lead her here? The price of success comes with a high price, which often times can be everlasting. Is Tasha willing to pay the price of success? Whatever she decides, the decision will leave her body limp with frustration, shock, betrayal, and deceit. Tasha Marie Smith is dead wrong. She will admit her wrongness or feel the burdens of it.
November- My Poetic Soul Unleashed (World Kindness Day)
My Poetic Soul Unleashed is Melica Niccole’s second book of poetry. Melica felt that it was time that she unleashed her soul in the form of poetic words and allow people to witness her talented aura on paper. So many times in life, people tend to see the things that are on the surface without digging beneath the exterior and revealing a diamond in the rough. It’s time to stop recovering items from the surface and start digging for more than the obvious.
December- Event Planning and Task (Universal Human Rights Month)
This Event Planning and Task Management Journal was created for the sole purpose of helping students, innovators, event planners, and new individuals to the field with creating a plan to assist them with developing programs/events. These programs can be developed for the community, higher education environments, financial institutions, and other areas as needed or wanted.
This is just a few of my works to help you make reading a part of your daily activities. Reading is just as important as eating health and exercising. You are actually exercising your brain by reading new, fun, and challenging material. So join the movement and Read to Lead and Write to Enlight
We are about that life. Plant life that is. Recently, I purchased my first houseplant. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plants before, such as a flowers. However, nothing bigger than that. This is something I’ve been meaning to do for a while now. Yesterday, I made the conscious decision to make time to start this process. In being a mother of a three year old, time is often limited to do recreational activities for myself. I chose me yesterday because I know that there has to be a work-life-and personal time balance to manage it all.
This is the best decision I made yesterday because not only do plants improve air quality in your household, they also reduce stress, and one’s mood. With the increase of COVID cases still having a grip on this world, I think everyone deserves to have access to things that improve their health, wellness, and life.
So the plant above is a tropical house plant. It’s called Dieffenbachia also know as dumb cane or leopard lily. It’s found in Mexico and West Indies.
Stay tuned because I’m sure this isn’t my last houseplant purchase.
There are seven upcoming stock splits that everyone should know about, especially for those who have been following these brands and waiting for the price to go down. Well this is your chance to grab a few shares of some major players at a really low price
Take Amazon for example, this company has been a trendsetter for some years now. It gives individuals the ability to sell their products online, authors an opportunity to sell their books without paying out of pocket for printing costs, and subscribers a chance to catch up on their favorite shop on Amazon Prime. Did I mention they also deliver groceries and have a pharmacy as well? Talk about your one-stop shop. With the new union in Staten Island, New York and potential ones in the future, only time will tell the continued success of this company. However, I assume they will be doing even more in the future. One thing they many want to consider is making sure they are not creating a monopoly and they are abiding by the antitrust laws.
Ticker- AMZN
Closed at- $2,447 on 6/3/22
Split Type: 20-for-1
$2447 / 20 = $122.35 (Price opening on 6/6/22)
Split date- 6/3/22
Sector- Consumer Discretionary/Staples
Next there’s Google. What can I say about this company? This successful company has allowed students to utilize google docs without paying a subscription fee, travelers to utilize google maps to plan trips, content creators to use google drive to upload large projects, Vlogers to connect with YouTube, and a host of other things. Of course there is a looming recession and inflation in full play, which all companies have and will make adjustments for, but Google always seem to come out ahead
Ticker- GOOG (Alphabet Inc)
Current price- 2,255.98
Split type: 20-for-1
Split date: 7/15/22
Sector: Technology
Next is Tesla. A company that a lot of other Electronic Vehicle (EV) makers try to compare to or exceed. When a company is the first to do something, they tend to be held at high regard when it comes to their business, brand, products, services, and other matters as well. Take the owner, Elon Musk for example. He’s at a stage in his life where he can tweet out information about Dogecoin and stock orders increase. Currently, he is in the news regarding a bid to buy Twitter. There has been much said, positive and negative. We will see how this all plays out.
Ticker: TSLA
Current price: $759.63
Split type: 3 for 1
Split date: Shareholders will vote on split on 8/4/22
Sector: Consumer Discretionary
Next there’s Nintendo. Many of us investors, parents, aunts/uncles, or family friends remember Nintendo from either having the first game set sold or buying some later version of it. Game sets have transitioned completely from Atari (Generally moving characters left, right, up, or down) to Game Boy, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo Switch. With having over 100 years, almost 200 years, in this industry, who would expect things to change now? Now things do change, as we have seen over the years with Nintendo. However, it can be assumed that Nintendo will be around for years to come. At least that is my hope.
Ticker: NTDOY
Current price: $56.09
Split type: 10-for-1
Split date: 10/1/22
Sector: Technology/Consumer Discretionary
Who doesn’t likeSpotify, or a streaming service with new and old school music at your fingertips? I know I do. The era in which I was born was heavily populated with cassette tapes. You know, the cassettes you had to fast forward and rewind to play your favorite song over and over again. This was the way of life, who could want anything more? Matter of fact, when I was around 8 years old, record players were a big deal, well in my household it was. My sister had a record player and my mother had an entertainment console, which connected her record player to an 8 track player. Luther Vandoss blared from her entertainment console every Saturday.
Now imagine years later and having music at our fingertips because of companies like Spotify and their streaming service. Now there are competitors, such as: Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon music and more.
As profiled on cnbc, “Kinetik Holdings Inc., formerly Altus Midstream Company, is an integrated midstream energy company in the Permian Basin. The Company provides gathering, transportation, compression, processing, and treating services for companies that produce natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and water. The Company operates approximately 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/day) of constructed cryogenic natural gas processing capacity strategically located near the Waha Hub in West Texas. The Company also has interests in four built, long-term contracted pipelines transporting natural gas, NGLs, and crude oil from the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast. It has long-term dedications of approximately 850,000 acres for gas, crude oil, and water midstream services from 30 active producers in the Delaware Basin. The Company’s Midstream Logistics business also includes its crude oil gathering, stabilization, and storage services throughout the Texas Delaware Basin.”
“the world’s largest retail gaming and trade-in destination for Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo games, systems, consoles & accessories.” I remember vividly last year when GameStop’s stock was a Wall Street Bets sensation and people seemed to pour their money into this company without any evidence to support that the company was doing well. Even people who had never invested in this company was talking about investing. Some investors considered it a pump and dump. Now, Wall Street Bets’ agenda seemed to save GameStop and AMC from short sell companies who intended to push the price up so they could sell it. Now as far as GameStop and how it’s doing now, one must take in consideration of Analyst Colin Sebastian’s comments about “until the company ‘more clearly articulates new management’s business strategy,’ which will enable investors to better evaluate the company’s ‘intrinsic value and prospects for future free cash flow generation.’”
Ticker: GME
Current price: $137.21
Split type: TBD
Split date: Pending Shareholder Approval on 6/2/22
Naturals the Paper People was re-released today. This is a Children’s Book about paper people who live inside books, called “Naturals.” They come alive every so often to interact with people in the world and help them make decisions or learn new things. Their goal is to make the world a better place through love, education, helpful gestures, and unity.
The first book in a series of five is called: Our Hair and Shapes. This book is about taking pride in one’s hair by exploring different types of natural hair styles. The book also focuses on shapes that we come into contact on a regular basis.
In about 2 months, I will start my monthly investment chats with my friends and family. There’s about 10 of us participating in this chat. I will be tasked with surveying the room, presenting what I know, and helping people understand the wonderful world of investing.
Surveying the Room
Presenting What I Know. I definitely do not consider myself an investment guru; however, I have made some great investments such as investing in technology and EVs. I will present what I know and refer individuals to financial professionals or my favorite, Investopedia.com. Investopedia offers a lot of great and relevant information for investing.
Using the Participative Strategy. I will work with others in the group to start researching and presenting stock on their own to the group. This will allow us to discuss various stock and learn about other options.
The strategies above are only a start. I am pretty sure this list will grow; however, let’s keep it pretty simple right now.
About two months ago, Ford and Ravian decided to part ways regarding develo🌜ping electric vehicles together. Ford also gave up a board seat with Ravian, which makes sense especially if they are deciding to compete head on with Ravian in the EV Sector. Although Ford gave up its board seat, the company still has shares in Ravian.
During the announcement of the split, shares of Ravian slid a bit, while shares of Ford increased. Both companies seem to be doing really well with their Electric vehicles and have received positive comments. In fact, Ravian developed the first ever electric pickup truck. Being the first to do this is such an honor,
Ford is on target to double its production of the all electric F-150, due to the high demand. 2022 and after is going to see the explosion of EV industry. It’s only a matter of time until mostly everyone is drive an EV.
One thing I know about investing is the importance of being able to discuss your investments with like mind individuals. Like mind, meaning those who are investing or want to invest in the stock market or Cryptocurrency.
Investment groups or investment discussion groups are really great to be a part of. They allow you to meet in person, virtually, by email, or text messages to discuss your investments and gain clarity to those investments.
Check out my new blog at EdwardsFamilyEmpowerment.blogspot.com which discusses investment discussion groups and social media stock groups.
There are many steps to Invest. Above, I provide my top five list on how to be successful in investing. The very first step is to research how to invest. This is the most important step. This step teaches you the fundamentals on investing.
Depending on your research methods, this may take you a long time to complete . However, we all know that learning never ends, so some of the processes can overlap each other. You can learn as you invest.
The next step is to setup your investment account so you can start investing. When doing so, you will have to provide the company you are working with your social security number. This is for tax purposes.
Once your account is set up, use the site to research stocks. This is the third step. You can also use Yahoo Finance, Motley Fool, and other reputable sites to research this information. In 2022, The Dream Stock Exchange will make its debut on the stock exchange ( https://dreamex.com). Dream “will focus on small business capital formation and diversity using the power of the American investing.” Make sure you check it out.
The next step is to create or join an investment support group. This group can be made up of friends, family, and even strangers. This will allow everyone to discuss stocks in detail and get others opinions.
The last step is to have fun. Investing should be fun and you should only invest what you can. Have fun, but not too much fun. You also have to be responsible while investing.
Here is my next article on investing that I wrote for Edwards Family Endowment. There are 2 other parts set to be released between now and the beginning of the year.
Here is my next article on investing that I wrote for Edwards Family Endowment. There are 3 other parts set to be released between now and the beginning of the year.
Recently, I was given an opportunity to write an article on investing. I decided to do it in 5 parts because there is so much information to investing. Feel free to click the link below to see my first article.
How long Should I Invest? This question truly depends on your financial goals. Some people have short term goals, while other people’s goals are long term. It’s good to have short term and long goals. This allows you to invest in your present and future.
When investing you may want to consider the taxes you have to pay on stock sold before 1 year compared to stock sold after 1 year. Your annual income and filing status also pays a part in how much you will be taxed for the year. Let’s look at an individual filing head of household bringing home around 53,701 to $85,500 a year. Say this individual brings home $69,600.5 (The median between $53,701 and $85,500). She has capital gains of $10,000, which brings her annual income to $79,600.50. Her short term taxable rate is 22% compared to a 15% long term taxable rate for an individual filing head of household, bringing home between $53,600 to $469,050.
As you can see, it pays to invest long term; however, there are those occasions where short term investments are inevitably. Some examples are reverse stock splits, trying to save some portion of your investment, and day trading of course.
Now I can’t tell you what you should do. All I can say is to do what’s best for your wallet.
These are a few long term and short term stocks that you should consider.
T.I spoke candidly in his song About the Money by saying ”If it ain’t about the money…” For some it truly is about the money and others it may be about power, voting rights, etc. And that’s quite alright. We are all different and are motivated by different things. I assume that when our position and needs change, so does our priorities and focus. This is evident in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Creating different streams of income is often the goal of individuals. This allows for more flexibility in case something happens to another stream of income. Many of us know that things happen and nothing is concreate or set in stone so multiple streams would be beneficial.
In April of this year, Time and Next Advisor revealed 7 Passive Incomes for 2021. These areas included: Blogging, Digital Courses, E-books, Digital Downloads, Affiliate Marketing, Real Estate Investing, and Stock Market Investing. They also discussed how many streams you should have, which I definitely agree with. The number of streams you have is dependent on your goals and needs.
“All the rumors are true, yeah!” Just like Lizzo’s new song featuring Cardi B, “Rumors.” All the rumors regarding continuing to develop a top five crypto list and things you heard about these currencies.
As I continue to develop my cryptocurrency top five list, the list has went through many changes. The list has updated several times and I can now give my top three choices and possibilities. That statement feels as those I’m playing spades and stating I have three books and some possibilities.
Number 1 Choice is Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) is actually the number 1 cryptocurrency on Coinbase. BTC has made some people a lot of money, especially those who believed in it since it’s inception.
Number 2 Choice is Ethereum Ethereum (ETC) is said to be the 2nd best cryptocurrency in comparison to BTC and on Coinbase. When you are buying Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ETC is the currency used to purchase and list NFTs on sites such as Rariable.com.
Number 3 Choice is Cardano Cardano (ADA) is listed as 5th on Coinbase regarding popularity. ADA was founded and ETH was co- founded by Charles Hoskinson. Recently, news was shared on Motley Fool that “Cardano would enable the execution of smart contracts on its network — enabling transactions between parties without using an intermediary. The update that will place Cardano on par with Ethereum in this aspect is set to launch before the Cardano Summit in September.”
Strong Possibility Solana (SOL) is listed as 61st on Coinbase regarding popularity. Not as popular has the three above; however it still has been increasing steadily lately. SOL is said to be “a blockchain network that supporters say is faster and more energy-efficient than the Ethereum or bitcoin blockchains, which can seize up during periods of heavy transaction volumes.”
Another Strong Possibility Compound (COMP) is 8th regarding popularity on Coinbase. “COMP is a DeFi protocol that hosts lending pools to earn interest on various cryptocurrencies. These pools allow token holders to supply their tokens to others who borrow those tokens at algorithmically set interest rates based on supply and demand.”
A Possibility AMP is 9th regarding popularity on Coinbase. Last month, AMP was reacting positively to “rumors, Amazon(NASDAQ:AMZN was preparing to accept crypto payments. However, it needs a network to help with that. This is where Amp comes into play. The rumors claim that AMZN has reached out to Amp and Algorand to help it with this process.”
My goal is to continue to follow these cryptocurrencies over the next few months to present a more concrete list, which could change again between now and then.
Feel free to share your favorite cryptocurrency and why.
With Cryptocurrency, it is hard identifying what you would like to invest in, unless you are a crypto expert. If you are like most of us, you are a beginner, looking to get your feet wet.
When I first heard about cryptocurrency, it was in relation to Bitcoin. It was about 10 years ago. A friend of mine discussed it, which I did not know much about. I thought the whole idea of another currency was ludicrous (almost spelled it ludacris 😂). This was because most time people think this way at things they don’t understand. The whole idea of investing was foreign to me. Although my graduate school created a platform for us to start investing, I like many others, started the initial phase of investing and then fell off checking on my investment.
I got back into investing in 2018, which my sister and I started this process together. We invested in companies on the stock market such as: Disney, Apple, and EQR. This set the stage for investing in cryptocurrency in the future.
Investing in cryptocurrency started around the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021. My other sister had started investing in cryptocurrency due to her many discussions with another co-worker. The co-worker guided her in discussions about getting a crypto wallet and how to invest. This helped me understand cryptocurrency a little better and start researching information.
Honestly, cryptocurrency is a complicated subject, but it doesn’t have to be. The stock market was once complicated as well until I started looking into stocks, helpful tips, and guidance to investing. This is the same with crypto. As I begin to research and look into currencies, I am able to determine my watchlist and invest.
Here is my current watchlist:
Bitcoin*
Ethereum*
Cardano*
Compound*
Amp
Clover Finance
BarnBridge
Celo
(Items with asterisk mark just means it could be included in my top five cryptocurrencies in the future)
Melica Niccole 