Is there a time, effort or monetary limit when it comes to your dreams? What are they worth to you? How much time and money are you willing to sacrifice to make them come true? These are questions that I’ve had to ask myself over and over in regards to my dreams.

Each and every time that I start a new project or put money towards something, I have to be sure. How can you be sure? If there were a sure way, we’d all be rich, famous, highly educated or whatever it is that we want to be. I have to be sure that it’s worth the effort of trying to make it work not if I’m sure it will produce the desired results. You have to start somewhere.

These dreams can’t and won’t manifest themselves. They don’t come true without the groundwork. They won’t prosper without that twinkle in your eye. They can’t grow without you turning the soil.

Flip that shit over with a purpose.  

Plant the seeds and tend to your garden. So what if it has rained a little harder than you needed. So what if it was a bit too hot. You don’t stop caring for it because of things that are out of your control. You may have to move the garden to the other side of the house. You may even have to set up a greenhouse. You do whatever it takes to make it grow.

Your dreams are mental gardens. You need to be focused and work hard to make them tangible. Nurture your dreams just as you would cultivate a garden. These are living things that need love and care. You wouldn’t let anybody control and take over something that you’ve worked so hard for. Is it worth it to put your dreams in someone else’s hands?

There’s an “easy” way, and there’s a “right” way. Do right by your dreams. Don’t be impressed by fancy gardens. Don’t be distracted by gardens that seem to grow quickly. You don’t know what a person has done to get that garden. For all you know, they could be working on someone else’s garden. They could have robbed someone else of their garden. Better than all else, they could have worked on their hands and knees to make their garden come to life. Your garden is YOURS. Your dreams should be your focus.

It’s okay to take notes without taking a loss. A loss can be more than what meets the eyes or bank account. The loss of an opportunity is one that you never use to your advantage. It’s a door that you’ve never tried to open. A loss is a dream put on hold because of “timing.” What time on your watch or calendar says “now is the time” or “today is the day”? Exactly.

Learn from the mistakes as well as the accomplishments of others. You can’t win a race while looking behind you. People are so focused on what others are doing and how they can do it that they don’t realize how much of their own time is wasted. Spend your time, don’t waste it.

Fight for your dream and then enjoy the fruit of your labor. When you do, success will be so vibrant and fragrant. You’ll be so proud of your garden.

Sweet Dreams.

Love,

Chan

When it comes to giving back to the community and making a positive impression on those around, New Day New Way has stepped up to do their part. Between back to school supplies, handing out care kits to the less fortunate and many other things, New Day New Way is making it known that they care about the community and want to be apart of the change that they wish to see.

As a new organization, it's somewhat difficult to gain support from big names but New Day New Way has used their nationwide connections and positive impact to gain the support of athletes and friends alike. You can often see stars such as Chad Johnson as well as The Ignant Agenda Podcast host @Waymofludenu, Lifestyle Enhancer @Truth_305 and yours truly @Love_Chan sporting New Day New Way gear. 

For more detailed information about New Day New Way and to find out how you can help, please visit the website listed below. 

New Day New Way

TheOvision has been making a name for himself all around the photography/videography world. Working with athletes like Odell Beckham Jr, DeMarcus Van Dyke, Antonio Brown and Jarvis Landry, TheOvision has been enhancing lifestyles across the sport. Not only that, TheOvision can be spotted at many of the hottest venues capturing your favorite rappers and partygoers. Even with his growing success, he hasn't lost touch with his South Florida roots and continues to photograph, network with and support local artists, brands, and organizations. 

You never know what can happen when people start to pursue their passion.

Sometimes, you have to let the work speak for itself. 

Instagram - TheOvision 

Twitter - TheOvision

Last year, my friend and blossoming author Shynae Nicole released her first book, Butterflies & Teary Eyes. I had the opportunity to celebrate this milestone with Shynae at her book release, and I'm so proud of her accomplishments. Each page left you in a new set of emotions while helping you understand that a series of events were necessary to evolve and progress. Click the book cover to purchase Butterflies & Teary Eyes.

When your friends are dope, you support their dope shit.

www.ShynaeNicole.com

#SupportDopeShit

“How you hating from outside the club? You cant even get in!” Christopher Brown

That famous line seems to follow me around alot. I have no objections about it either. More times than not, you need to be able to deny certain energies the access to your life and space. Life is too short  to be dealing with so much unnecessary bullshit. I never understood people who stick around you for the sole purpose of “knowing” what you have going on. They want to keep tabs on you just to report back to people who probably never even asked about you. These are the same people who act as if they’re in your corner but are never around when you need them. I need somebody to logically explain the perks of perpetrating. What do you stand to gain? What is the current incentive? Like, why? So many questions with so little answers.

Believe me when I say that I know that this is nothing new or recently discovered. It doesn’t mean I can’t still try to get to the bottom of it. At what point do people stop riding the fence? Yes, you can deal with several parties who don’t really get along but don’t fake it. “If you switch sides, you better stay there”. Uncle Rozay told me that. A lot of yall move really funny style. Your foundation is real shaky, fam. You talk too much. Why not save yourself the fake anger of being fake upset and fake Big mad when you’ve been found out and cut off? Don’t be butt hurt when your ass gets kicked to the curb. You, my former friend, have played yourself.

One thing about it, life goes on. You live and learn. You become a better person when you make it through the bullshit. There’s no reason for you to feel bad or guilty for protecting your energy. Every once in awhile, you gotta clean up the shop and change the locks. You have to make up a new secret handshake. You have to delete people. Take a different route home. See what your game has been missing. We become so preoccupied and content with what is familiar instead of what genuinely makes us feel good. Fuck all of that! Limit people’s access. Make yourself a little less accessible. Deny that access. Let them figure out where they went wrong without losing sleep or time for yourself and things that matter.

I say that to say this - Be better to and for yourself.

"Boy, my time is limited and I ain't tryna waste it all on you."
Some things just aren’t here to waste.

How can you sit there and basically lie to my face?

The funny thing is, you expect me to believe this.

Should I just turn the blind eye as if I haven’t seen shit?

How much time is enough time?

How long do I walk around as if everything is just fine?

They always want to say that “patience is a virtue.”

Why be so easy going with someone who continuously hurts you?

I’m just waiting for the day to come clean because I’ve done my dirt too.

All of those late nights out, I was seeing the one who actually pays me some attention.

When it comes to keeping me happy, you’re no runner up or even an honorable mention.

While you were out playing those stupid games and cheating, he made sure to give me the love and affection that I was needing.

I bet it’s so different when you're on the other side of the gun.

I imagine that staring down a loaded barrel isn’t the same kind of fun.

I can see the hurt and frustration in your face,

You never thought you’d see the day when someone else takes your place.

My, oh my what a day when the tables turn,

I knew it was only a matter of time before you’d begin to learn.

See, the things that you’d do, he did them five times over.

No need for celebratory drinks, we make the best of the best while sober.

They keep telling me that it takes time.

Have a little more patience, and everything will turn out just fine.

I meant it when I said that you never have to lie to me about the facts meanwhile you’re doing any and everything that you can behind my back.

What type of Fuck Boy shit is that?

One day you’ll learn to appreciate the good when it’s around.

I didn’t see anyone else extending their helping hand when you were down.

Fucking clown.

I’ll take a little bit of the blame off of you because me sticking around gave you partial permission to do the dumb shit that you’d do.

(Not) sorry to burst your bubble this time around.

Live and let live. No love lost, no love found.

If you weren’t informed as of yet, you really tried it.

Engaging in all of this wild shit and doing so little to hide it.

No worries, this is one of those situations that we learn to deal with.

So numb to the pain, it’s now hard to even feel shit.

At this point, we’ve signed off on this card so let’s go ahead and seal it.

Signed:

Sincerely yours,

One of the realest

This is nothing short of strange. Just so that we’re clear, I mean strange in the most beautiful way possible. There are so many layers to out love. I like peeling them off just as we peel off each other’s layers. Since we’re at it, tell me about the many flavors. Of course, you know all about them. I know you try not to hold back, but the circumstances complicate things just a tad bit. When we’re together, we’re together. We never think about the times that we spend apart. Even with the distance between us, we are still so close. I can feel your heart beating. I can see the way your chest expands with every breath of me. Take it all in. Inhale. Exhale. It gets easier, the harder it gets. We know that there’s only a matter of time before we run out of time. We spend it wisely. Every moment counts. Each minute between pink matters. These feelings don't die easily. I love feeling the feelings when you're feeling me. Damn. The strangest of love. To us, it’s the most amazing thing ever. They’ll never figure this out. They’re just not that clever. In the event that they do, we shrug it off and say “whatever”. How can we give a damn about the others when it’s only us between these covers? We don’t. We won’t. With a love as strange as this, I'm not sure that I know what “regular” love is. This is us. This is it. We couldn't stay away, even when we tried. Each conversation draws us closer. These love drunk words are everything that the sober mind is thinking. Anchored by your love, my heart is sinking. Quickly falling for you. What is my heart thinking? Either way, we don't fight it. Let go and let love. It maybe the strangest ever but you can't front, you've gotta love Love. Strangest love.

What happens now that we’ve crossed that line?

Do we continue to pretend that everything is fine?

Do we adjust our brightness and dim it now?

Or should we simply let this boiling pot simmer down?

I’m still trying to figure out how.

It was always an idea but never supposed to be real.

There’s no reason why we should know how the other feels.

When I say “feels”, I don’t mean on an emotional tip.

I say “feels” as in those outer touches and that inner grip.

Oh shit.

I think we may have really fucked up this time.

You’re steady saying the fault is yours while I think that it’s all mine.

I judge each situation case by case but this time I’m not sure how to look you in your face.

The only reason that I say this is because I consider you a friend.

I’d hate for this to be the reason that we bring it to an end.

How did we get here?  

Now that the damage is done and we can’t take back our actions,

It’s hard to act as if these things never happened.

I feel bad, I can’t front. At the same time, we tend to do exactly what we want.

We just went for it.

A night of tossing and turning turned into an early morning of saying next to nothing.

Silence is golden at times.

We didn’t need guidance. We let the silence guide us.

Should you speak first or let me?

The phone rang.

Perfect timing to break this somewhat awkward silence.

There’s no way to undo the previous night’s happenings.

We digest it and move on.

This will be no quick mission.

It literally takes time and mental strength.

We now begin the process of going great lengths to make it all make sense.

Better yet, let’s not stress it because everything will be just fine.

We just know better next time so let’s not cross that line.