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How to Build a Dream Board that will Help You Make More Money

"Do you want to make more money? Sure, we all do."

As I write this post, I have been watching O.J.: Made in America for over seven hours this "Presidents' Day" weekend. It's a compelling film. It's also very long.

How does this relate to making money through your Dream Board?

Well, in the documentary, Mr. Simpson decides to make money from his jail cell by writing autographs and having his management team sell his signed products to fans. He made over $3 million signing football cards while incarcerated so that he could fund his $50,000 per day defense team for his murder trial.

Then, after the civil case against him was ruled, Mr. Simpson had his family and associates hide his assets so that the court could not sell them to pay off his debt.

Most of you Dreamers (I hope) are not currently in the same situation as Mr. Simpson. Yet, we can draw lessons from his actions:

The "I" in "I Have A Dream Board" also means "You".

"Me?" Yes, you.

Over the past few weeks, I have been connecting with family members, friends, colleagues, associates, acquaintances, and strangers asking them if they would be interested in the topic of this website: Teaching people how to achieve their personal and professional goals through creating Dream Boards.

Most of the people who I have emailed haven't responded.

And some people replied to my email with, "No, thank you."

But...

I cut my hair.

It was kind of like this.

I didn't cut my own hair. Someone else did it. A professional in a salon.

For the black women, and other knowledgeable Dreamers, reading this, I did a Big Chop. I got my straightened hair cut off, leaving my natural hair the way it grows out of my head.

I want to address the elephant in the room.

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?"

Fear.

Fear of failure.

Fear of success.

Fear of things you can't control.

Here's another story about me to illustrate an issue.

"Okay..."

I don't know what I'm doing.

I've got lots of questions.

For the past few years/most of my adult life, I have endeavored to present a picture of myself to the world as an exceptionally qualified professional person.

I wanted my brand to say, "Mahlena is a kind, collaborative team player who brings excellence and a quiet curiosity to what role she find herself in."

I spent much of my education and my career being told--often by accomplished black professionals--that if I showed up, worked hard and played hard, was the first one to arrive and the last one to leave, double-checked and triple-checked my projects, did twice as much to get half as far, and a bunch of other platitudes from The Book of Respectability Politics, verses 1 through infinity, then I would find success in my chosen field.

That did not happen.