Month: September 2016

Hello lovely people of the iRush world! I hope your day has been not only an eventful one but a productive one as well.

I have a couple doses of good news for you guys but I am unsure whether or not to disclose this super news. You know how people say don’t jinx yourself? Well, the thing is I am not superstitious at all but I do not want to leave anything to chance. Ugh, I just don’t know! I want to share but hubby says no anyhow. But I will say, when you wait for God to move he will absolutely move! So many blessings in my personal as well as my business life. Sometimes you just have to be still and trust God. I know sometimes it gets hard because, though you may feel discouraged you never want to feel defeated. That is the time to trust God, it s also the hardest time to.

Do you want a million dollar business? Then you need to stop walking around with a hundred dollar mindset! I am blogging to prove to you that all that you ever wanted to do in life is possible. I am actual living breathing proof and I have opened my life up to you like a book. I have had major setbacks and disappointments in life and even sometimes in my current life as well but you must keep pushing. Accept what is now and move forward to greater. I have been raised in a single parent household, then a stepfather. I know what its like to not have your biological father around or even care. I know what its like to go without food, lights, and basic necessities. I have been verbally, mentally and physically abused by loved ones and strangers. I have been sexually assaulted, raped, humiliated. I have been married and divorced. I was in an extremely abusive relationship. I have lost a daughter, I have lost  parent. I have been skinny, I have been fat. I suffered from bulimia and anorexia. I have self mutilated (I used to pierce different parts of my body as a way to release pain and frustration. I have been in custody battles I have lost a child temporarily in this matter. I have run businesses. I have built businesses. I have done mlm. I have strained relationships. I deal with rejection and pain. I deal with low self esteem. You name it, I pretty much have been there. And through it all I have always known that I am bigger than it all.  I said all this to say, I have been there. And I know it will work out.

I love what I do and I love the fact that I can help other people do it too. It feels good to know that God will continue to use my pain for encouragement.

I said all of this to say, Get you a Me in your life. I am honest and dependable and all i want to do is see you succeed.

-Rush

Hello and good morning.

There is so much I want to say and so much I cannot at the same time.

I have been pushing my company Rush Consulting Firm. I think I am going to give it a rest for a moment. A lot of people say running your own business is time consuming while others will argue that it is worth the time and effort because the more time you put in it, the better off financially you will be and while I wholeheartedly agree with that statement, sometimes you just do not have the time. And that is where my company comes in. So I will still market, not like I have been but I will.But my focus right now is on helping.

My family is not your typical family and we do not celebrate holidays like everyone else. We do not do Christmas commercially and our Thanksgivings are now big breakfasts and family time; OUR family time. Birthdays are celebrated with family dinners to the birthday person’s place-of-choice. Easter and New Years is celebrated at church.

A lot of people believe we deprive our children of enjoying being a child by doing holidays the way we do but I strongly disagree.

We do not allow our children to play with any type of armory device and the action figures with guns and the like attached to them is not allowed in our home. We do not allow them to watch cable television and we still pray together. Every day.

Some say our children will grow to be resentful for being so strict.

Let me tell you about my babies.

They make good grades. They are never in trouble for being in fights and were never  suspended from school. They keep their chores done and are very content with what they have. If they want something they have to earn it. My son wanted a smart phone upgrade. I told him if he brought in straight A’s he could have one. He goofed around in school and brought in all A’s and a B. He did not get his upgrade.

When they argue with one another we put them in ‘couple’s therapy’ so that they can talk out their issues as opposed to just being angry.

My philosophy is this, I am raising black boys who will become black men; Strong black men. They will learn to express themselves without anger or aggression. They will be respectful to those who respect them. Those who do not respect them, they will know they are not worth their time. They will open doors for their wives. They will be great fathers to their children. And they will know that every goal they set for themselves will be achieved.

My girls are raised with pride and humility, self love and empowerment, gentleness and kindness. They have a father who treats them like they are the princesses of the house because they are. Therefore a man who steps to them will have very large shoes to fill. The first guy who says you are pretty they will not fall infatuated with them, because they are told often and they already are aware of how beautiful they are. Money and jewelry will not buy their love because they will know that they are independent enough to acquire their own riches. They are instilled with the values of family and grace, confidence and respect.

Too many African American homes are filled with one parent struggling to make ends meet, no time dedicated to family, anger and resentment for what they thought they would be by now, and heartache. Too many of us are allowing our children to fall in the fallacy of becoming rich like the man or woman on television. We let our children listen to the garbage that is put out in the music world allowing them to believe that they can live that life, but what is that life? A grown man rapping (lying) about the things he has while half naked women crowd around him being degraded for their 15 minutes of fame not one time saying something genuinely positive or saving any money for when he has been washed up.

We have to do better as a generation because it will only get worse. Instill in them the greatness that you see in them that they cannot see yet. Teach them that struggle is a word and not a destination. Show them that family means love; honesty and integrity are still alive and pride is to be handled with care.  Most importantly let them know that they are somebody just the way they are.

-Rush

This is old to me, but new to some of you.

Without letting depression set in, I often think about my baby girl who died before I could wish her happy first birthday.
Without letting depression set in, I hear the whispers of my name when you speak hurtful things about my weight.
Without letting depression set in, I remember the little girl who was touched inappropriately by a family friend.
Without letting depression set in, I cannot forget when I slept at the local gas station picking through the trash to feed my only son.
Without letting depression set in, I still feel the fear of being told I could die of ovarian cancer.
Without letting depression set in, the tears still come when I think of my stepfather dying and no one comfort my pain because he was not my “real” dad.
Without letting depression set in, I cannot forgive myself for dropping out of law school to hide from my abusive ex.
Without letting depression set in, I wonder who is my friend when so many have stabbed me in the back.
Without letting depression set in, I pretend not to notice that you treat me different because I put my family first and cannot hang out with you.
Without letting depression set in, I think of how I have to raise my brothers daughter while they act as if she does not exist.
Without letting depression set in, I remembered how you slandered my name to your friends when you felt like I should have gone another way with my decisions.
Without letting depression set in, I worry about you and the decisions YOU make.
Without letting depression set in, I still feel the words of my mother putting me down without knowing the whole story and when she did learn it, no apology was given.
Without letting depression set in, I remember it all and it hurts so bad. But with a smile on my face and a pep in my step you will never know my story.  You will never feel my pain. You may never care. But remember this, as I continue to rise to the top like the perfectly kneaded dough, I will smile. As God lifts my spirits, all of the hurt, pain, and abuse will go away. I will come out smarter. Wiser. Happier. And richer. You will still talk about me. So I will not let depression set in because nothing is worth taking my happiness.
-Rush

You can’t help but be happy if you were made to be happy.

What is holding you back from being happy? We need to reevaluate the people and the things that bring us down. No matter how much we love or respect someone, nothing is worth you walking around filled with misery.

Perhaps you feel like you cannot be yourself around certain people, whether friends or family. We need to learn to lose the negativity in our lives. Even if you take baby steps, do something daily that makes you happy. Slowly remove yourself from the lives of people who infect you. We all must know we were made to be happy not miserable.

Find small things that will make you smile daily. Find an investment where you can watch your money grow even if it’s just cents per week.

We need to not allow the happenings of life get us so down, not everything is unavoidable, but it is overcomable. ß that is a made up word but you get my point, right.

If you are anything like me you are just tired of being bogged down with worries and cares of life and how people see you, you are tired of beating yourself up about how you are not where you want to be in life. There is still time for you to achieve your goals, even if you have to tweak it a little bit. You have to know that you are worth it. You are worth more than that! Who told you that you could not? Someone sewed a seed of doubt in your mind and now you carry around a tree. A tree of worthlessness. A tree of fear.  A tree of shame. Give yourself the right to chop it down. No one is going to stand for you the way you will. No one knows you better than you know yourself. No one knows your capabilities. Dig deep and regain your YOU.

Stay strong. Stay focused. Stay determined.

-Rush

Good afternoon gems and jewels.

I have a question for you.

Why do we feel the need to validate or prove ourselves? I used to find myself doing it sometimes. We have come a long way from being sure we are presentable to ‘I hope they like how I look/act/dress’. We get lost in the emotions of how someone else will feel about us in some aspect that we oftentimes lose our selves. Does that make sense?

Take social media for instance.

We post something on insta-gram or face book and we check to see who liked it, heaven forbid someone puts a comment or we get an alert about it, we turn into children that just want to be accepted.

Sure you bought that dress or suit because you thought it was nice but when you put it on to go somewhere it has to be perfect from every angle down to the last detail. Why?

Some of you may say well I just like to look nice, and there is nothing wrong with that but I assure you that if some of us look deeper we will see that we have the automatic thought process to wonder as we walk past someone who looks at us to think “what were they thinking about me”.

I used to find myself sometimes walking into a room and if two people are talking and happen to look at me (could be because I just walked in the room), I instantly start to wonder if they are talking about me. In a sense it is vain to think that every conversation that doesn’t include you is ABOUT you. But on the other hand it is a set in sense of insecurity.

I think that on some level we all need to sit down with a shrink and find our core of happiness so that we can carry it around with us, that way if we are feeling down, broken hearted, lonely, inept, broken, or torn, we can remember that core and remember that nothing else matters. Why live your life to someone else’s standard, hopes, and dreams? Why are you on the back burner of your life? What about your standards, your hopes, your dreams? Doesn’t that matter to you anymore?

Every day you go to work and force yourself to smile, to be happy, to even say good morning. But why? Why should you? Why WOULD you.

-Rush

Forgiveness of yourself is pivotal in the positive progression of life.

Remember that time you did that very shameful thing? That one thing that you try your best not to think about because it makes you sick to your stomach. Could you believe you did such a thing. You would never tell anyone about that would you?

The feeling that memory gives you shows you that you have not forgiven yourself and you need to.

One way to have peace within is to forgive yourself entirely. Now I’m not talking about the fact that you slept with your best friends spouse but you are still smiling in their face. No, that is not a past mistake that is deception. You have to also ask for forgiveness and even if they do not forgive you that is the first step you need to make. Inner healing is the key to prosperity. By continuing to hold on to the guilt of the past you disallow yourself to move forward because in your subconscious you do not feel like you are worth the blessings that are in store for you.

Don’t allow the shame and guilt you feel to hold you back. You woke another day to continue in the path of fulfilling your destiny. Someone/something thinks that you are worth it. If you were not meant to continue on you wouldn’t have arose this morning with the eagerness and willingness to carry on.

Take a moment at sometime today and think about what you did that makes you feel so shameful. That’s right think about it hard. Revel in it until it makes you cry. Absorb it in your mind. Make it the last time you do it. Now write down all the reasons you should forgive yourself. Carry that list around with you if need be. YOU ARE WORTH FORGIVENESS. Know that. Say that. Over and over and over again.

We must realize that we all make stupid, childish, ignorant, unmentionable, shameful mistakes.  And that’s okay, we all do. We learn and we grow from it… we GROW from it.

Do not allow yourself to be held captive by the thought in your mind. Learn self control and when the memories return that you’d rather forget, counteract them with positive thoughts, more directly, say to yourself ‘ I am worthy of my own forgiveness.’ Because you are.

When you overcome this small hurdle, help someone else. It will reaffirm your positivity.

Hold your head up, stick your chest out, but remain humble.

-Rush

What are you reading?
I have been reading and listening to audio books lately and I don’t know why I ever stopped. There is a sense of enjoyment knowing that you are empowering your mind and expanding your mental horizons.
I’m not talking about romance or Steven king novels, I’m talking about books that will will make you reevaluate you life and structure your finances or change your way of thinking. Right now I am listening to rich dad poor dad and reading the Secret.
You don’t realize how your mind has been programmed from childhood. We speak negativity in our lives with out being aware
Something as simple as “I’m going to find a better job that will pay me more money” it sounds positive but its really not. What ever happened to your goals and aspirations as a child or even a young adult?  When did we decide that we were not worth the work that we give to other people and their companies? When did we decide that living by the rules and regulations of someone else’s idea of life was what we wanted to do? As young ones our biggest desire is to get from under the rule and thumb of our parents. But in actuality when you think about it working for someone else is worse. As an adult when have you ever had to make mention to your parents that you have to go to the bathroom? Well welcome to the work force. Or better known as the rat race. You chase the money and continue to find yourself living from check to check. Why? Why have you given  up on you? Why did you decide that you were not the time, the trouble, the investment, the reward?
The most gratifying feeling you will ever have is following your dreams. Yes sometimes you will get tired and sometimes you will feel discouraged but you WILL keep going. You will keep going because you want to, not because you have to. You will keep going because although there will be endless days and sleepless night you will love what you do.
There will be a sense of peace in your life that I assure you will elongate your life because you will be happy.
Is having a job a bad thing?  Of course not.
Is working for yourself better? Absolutely
All I am inspiring you to do is follow your heart.
No one else is going to build your dreams for you.
Last night my son asked me if I’d ever gambled, I instantly went to answer no but a thought popped in my head…
“Yes” I started. “I gamble everyday I go to work. I put in 8 hours of my most valuable asset; Time, and hope that the company will pay me for it come pay day”. Now to some of you that may seem extreme but you don’t really know what goes on with the inner workings of your job.  Your position may be here today gone tomorrow.  Then what? You find a job you hope has more security? Put some faith in yourself and make your dreams reality.
–Rush

 

Happy good Saturday loves!!!

I hope everyone had a peaceful thought provoking week. Did you decide what you want to do with your life? Did you analyze and strategize your plans for being happy. I surely hope you have decided to do away with the negative thoughts and people in your life.

Recently my husband and I went on a date. A long over due date. We went to dinner. We laughed and enjoyed one another without phone call or interruption. The children were with a well trusted friend and there was quiet and peace of mind to discuss the plans of our immediate future. We have decided to stop caring about what we spend and fretting over every dollar. We are pretty frugal to say the least and we calculate all that we spend. 90% of it being living accommodations the rest necessities. I spent $55 to get my hair done. $55 (gasping), my husband spent $15 which should have been $20 but he didn’t tip the barber (tisk tisk). Then we spent $65 for dinner. Inside I was having a panic attack because we just don’t do that. But Thomas said “why not?” why not spend money on ourselves. And I thought about it, could that be why most mothers and fathers are miserable? We as parents put so much emphasis on our family both financial and physical that we literally forget about ourselves. We in turn fight with our partners over frivolous things not realizing that its something as simple as taking a little time out for ourselves, to take a brief moment of silence to enjoy our life that we have built.

I recently decided that I am going to steal a moment each day just for me. To do absolutely nothing. Yesterday I sat in a semi lit room sipping a cup of coffee. It was quiet. It was nice. Just me and my thought to sit and be.

We have to learn not to stress about things. We have to trust that what we set out to do will get done.

Life is not short. It is as long as you desire it to be. Stress makes life short. Worries make life short. Constantly thinking about your should haves, could haves, and would haves makes life short. Your happiness and desire to inspire yourself and others is what gives you longevity.

Don’t think back on all the things that you may have done differently had you known then what you know now, it doesn’t matter. Thinking on the past will only make you regret your present and hate your future.

Set your goals and live out your aspirations. Why not? What exactly do you have to lose? Put yourself out there for yourself, you’d do it for your love ones. Are you not worth it?

My advice to you today is find time for yourself and don’t feel guilty about it.

-Rush

Hello loves.

You woke up this morning, what a beautiful way to start your day. This morning I woke up with you guys on my mind. I wonder how many of you read this blog and keep proceeding with your day as usual and how many of you actually allow it to marinate to your very soul.

What I say is not meant to be some deep epiphany but rather thought provoking. Are you happy? That is a question I often ask myself when I start out on a new venture in life. We must be happy in what we are doing or else, well, we’ll be unhappy.

Why do we stay where we know we are not happy? Do we not think we are worth the time that we have invested into someone else’s dream? I KNOW you have a dream or a goal. You are worth every drop of energy that you place elsewhere.

Distress will attempt to overcome you but maintain your confidence. You can do it. If you think you can’t ask me and I will tell you again; you CAN.

Finish these sentences.

Always play it ___________.

Money doesn’t grow__________.

Good thing come to those who________.

Money doesn’t buy_________.

See how you have been mentally programmed? We are bred to believe that if we wait, good things will come, and in some aspects, that may prove to be true, however that does not mean that you have to walk the same humdrum of life as the next man. It is important that we follow our heart, the first time. We second guess when obstacles stand in our way and that is when we veer off the road we were traveling and we find ourselves lost. Lost in the world of complacency and forgotten hope. Dusty dreams and subdued destinies. You have held your ideas captive in your mind and they just want to be free. Free to share with the world your creativity and your beauty. What are you waiting for?

Are you living with a purpose?

-Rush

Hello loves.

I hope by now, you all know the purpose of my blogs. I blog because I have much on my plate but I make every attempt (on most days) to get it done and I hope to be an inspiration to someone who may feel like they want to do more but are afraid to do so. Let me tell you, I absolutely have my days. As a matter of fact, one of my worst days are Friday. My husband works the weekend shift and he leaves Friday evenings and returns Saturday afternoon just about. After I gave birth to number nine, every Friday, like clockwork, I would get a migraine. I am not sure why, I suppose the anxiety of being home alone with nine children began to sink in. My heart would palpitate, I would hyperventilate and the migraine would be instantaneous. I remember the week after I had Cam, McRush had to go back to work and a few hours later he had to come see about me. It was one of the worst migraines I had ever had. I could not even breathe without the pain becoming immensely worse. I have gotten better since then but I still feel the anxiety but more so now from the state of affairs happening in our country. We are a black family who are God fearing, law abiding, kindhearted, don’t smoke, drink (besides an occasional glass of wine), or do drugs, respectful and all that other stuff that ultimately means nothing at the end of the day.

I cannot tell you the panic I feel if my husband does not call to let me know he made it to work, and we talk until he is in the building. Its crazy. Life is crazy. But you can do it. I have three businesses and nine children that I home school as well as find time to assist others in need. Life can get overwhelming but just breathe through it. When you look back over all of the things you worried about, you realize you never had to worry in the first place. Enjoy yourself. Pace yourself. I am rooting for you even though I do not know you.

I get emails all the time from people who want to know how I do it because they have less to manage and feel like they are going to fall apart, but that’s why I am here, to encourage you and push you. You can do this.

I am not a super woman. I am an everyday mother, wife, and businesswoman who has awful days just like you. It gets crazy, but you take a step back to assess and reboot. My purpose, hopefully, is to inspire you and push you to your greatness. That’s what my business is all about, reminding you everyday that you can, because you can.

So, if you love to hear me go on about the mayhem and foolishness in my life as well as the triumphs and set backs, then let it motivate you. If you hate it, let it motivate you. But whatever you do, be motivated to do it!

You guys keep us in your prayers and we will keep you in ours!

-Rush