We all have a vision in life, but that can only come true when you take action. To become requires a commitment to the how. This is what this episode’s guest inspires us today. Haseena Shaheed-Jackson sits down with an individual with many hats, wearing them all to achieve his one vision: to be a servant. Robert “Bo” Harris is the founder and CEO of AGM + and the Director of Bailey Basketball Association, a non-profit dedicated to providing free tournaments for youth athletes in NBA arenas across the country. Here, Bo shares how he commits himself day by day to the things he does to help others, especially young athletes even in their lives after their jerseys come off. Not one without his own struggles, Bo tells us of that turning point that made him understand his vision and superpower. Since then, he has been capitalizing on his purpose and serving others. Tune in as Bo inspires you to tap into that vision and pair it with action.
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To Become Requires Commitment To The How With Robert “Bo” Harris
How are you doing?
I am doing amazing. How are you doing?
I am excited to have you on this show with me.
I’m happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
You have a powerful story. I want the audience to know to not turn this down because this is a young man that I admire. He has a vision. I asked him before we started talking, “Tell me your vision.” What did you say your vision was?
I said, “My vision is huge.” How do you want me to break it down? It is very huge. It keeps me up at night.
Expand upon that vision because we have to have a vision. Arnold Schwarzenegger says, “Create a vision of who you want to be and then live into that picture as if it was truly you. Create it and then you live it.” Tell me about your vision.
You quoted Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’ve had this vision for a very long time. It breaks down a couple of things, like how I want to look. When I was younger, I used to pray all the time that I always look youthful. I’m always in good health. I used to draw these pictures of a character and that was always me. Back then, it was braids. That was the thing. Dreadlocks weren’t too big. You don’t have these dreads. It’s like, “I’m where I need to be at this moment.”
As far as the vision in life, it is to be a servant. How do I go about doing that? I have a not-for-profit organization and a production company. They both run parallel to each other and intersect all the time. Do you know how the eight intersects at one point but it still goes around? It’s infinite. The production company is AGM+. It was originally Agolmind. Agolmind is the production company where we make musical compositions for artists. I started as a producer and rapper.
Over time in business having the lessons learned, money made, and challenges overcame and challenges I didn’t overcome, I still wouldn’t always make music. One great artist and friend, Henry Bailey, who turned out to be my cousin later on learning in life, it’s interesting how you would find out you’re related to people, was murdered. It stopped me from making music. I was in a big funk. At the same time I’m doing that, my wife is a phenomenal singer. Shout to my baby, Shannon Harris. She’s phenomenal.
I have heard her sing before. She’s fabulous.
She doesn’t play about it. She’s amazing. I’m producing and writing music for her when I get the urge because it doesn’t stop. I’m always like, “Check it out. Use this.” As she was still doing shows, I was like, “I’m going to buy a camera to create content around her for her brand.” While doing so, my son was also playing AAU. I tape his games. People were coming to me like, “Are you with this company? Who are you and what do you do?” I’m like, “Let’s birth AGM+.”
AGM+ was made to create content for anybody who leads the live streaming services. If you are a public speaker, you have a corporate event, you are a musician, maybe you have sporting going on, or those who want to do podcasts and things of that nature, I provided that service. Right before the pandemic, I had a partner that we were doing a business where we were taking kids to play at the United Center on the court for free. They could stay for the basketball game afterward. People were like, “This is an amazing event.” The way that I would promote this was by driving Uber. Not only was I getting my social skills up by talking to all these random strangers but I was also pitching this idea to everybody.
I got to jump in right there because you are saying something very vital. You used your job to fund your vision. It wasn’t what you wanted to do but you found a way to use a vehicle, a car. You also found a way to use Uber to make connections. Go ahead with that.
I do that with all my jobs. I can go on that as well. We only have so much time but it’s the way everything works. While doing Uber, I’m pitching this idea to everybody and letting everybody know what’s going on. I’m getting, “Are you a not-for-profit? I want to donate.” I’m like, “No.” I bring this to my partner at the time. He’s like, “I don’t want to do it.” I’m like, “Why not?” He tells me his reasons for not wanting to be a not-for-profit. I’m like, “This is more beneficial. We can help more people. If we are a non-profit, we can get into schools. We can do this. We can be more of service.” He was like, “No.” I’m like, “We got to part ways.” We agreed to go our separate ways.
I started the Bailey Basketball Association, which is named after my friend who was murdered. His name was Henry Bailey. People are asking me why I named it Bailey Basketball Association when he was a rapper. It was like, “If you know his story, he was more than a rapper.” The man was dope at everything. He was multi-talented. The man was an actor and a rapper. He could play basketball but the thing about him was he was too short. The great thing about him is that in everything he did, he would always bring his friends and people along. He was like, “If I can help you, I’ll help you.” I took that spirit with me and that mindset and created the Bailey Basketball Association.
In one of our first fundraisers, we got suites at the United Center for All-Star Game. We had some kids up there so they could see what was going on. We are still doing the same thing. We’re having basketball tournaments in NBA arenas. We’re also partnered with the WNBA. The kids get to still play on the court for free. They still get to experience the actual professional setting, meet some professional athletes, and then stay for the games afterward. Everything ties into each other because, at the same time, we’re live-streaming the game. We’ll have kids come out, livestream, and learn the media aspect of it. We have people commentating and a lot of good things going on.
The vision of it all on a grand scale is to be able to do this on a national level and at the same time, teach these kids what is necessary for them to do after the jersey comes off. If we’re giving them that professional setting on that big stage in their youth, they don’t have to say, “If I don’t make it to the league, what am I going to do? I never played.” That what-if is erased.
We’re also hooking up with other not-for-profit organizations that deal with financial literacy and public speaking. Another organization that we’re partnering with deals with a nursing agency that teaches phlebotomy and things of that nature. It’s a lot of players that want to be doctors and things of that nature. It’s good for them to have that on their resume as a high schooler and going into college, understanding how scouting works.
One of the podcasts that is under my network deals with talking to high school students, high-level high school coaches, college coaches, and college athletes about the process of becoming a player at a D1 level, D2, or D3. They talk about how it feels to have a NIL deal, which means they get paid as a student, in high school or college, because the rules are changing and what to do with this money.
Don’t think that because you’re a big name and you get $30,000 you go buy a car. Be smart about this because if you tear your Achilles heel, then what? You are out for a season, maybe two. You may not want to play. Things always happen so you want to be prepared for it. What we’re doing is creating a structure for these kids to understand what options they have and still provide them the opportunity to play basketball at a high level, girls and boys as well. That’s pretty much the vision.
You’re saying what happens after you take the jersey off. You’re helping them also to pursue their dream of playing basketball, per se, if it works out or it doesn’t but also showing them that they have options and alternatives in life.
It is always about options. If you don’t understand your options, then it’s going to be hard when you fail. You hit that brick wall and you’re like, “Woe is me. What am I to do? What can I do? These are my only options.” Where we come from, those options aren’t the best. Therefore, we make the wrong decision only because of our awareness of the options that are presented to us.
If you don't understand your options, then it's going to be hard when you fail. Click To TweetWhat we do is push out more stuff. “Do you want to talk to somebody about some financial literacy? Do you want to talk to somebody about Bitcoin and things of that nature? Do you want to learn investing? Here. Go talk to these people. Do you want to learn about public speaking? Do you want to get into politics or something like that? Here. Go talk to these people.” Whatever you want to do, we got it.
Our network is growing so fast due to our podcast, Xposure Runs. Please, go check that out. We are providing these kids options because we know it’s tough out here. With the discretion of social media, we want to make sure these kids don’t fail. We want them all to go to college. They don’t have to pay for it. If they don’t decide to go to college, they have a plan to do what’s needed for them to be successful.
What we need to see is that life has options. I was speaking to you about this briefly. In the movie, The Equalizer 2, there is a part that always sticks into my mind. Denzel played the part of McCall. He was with this young youth, Miles, who was an artist whom he had hired to paint over graffiti that was on the building outside.
Miles didn’t have a father figure. He lives with his mom, I believe. The streets were his father. Miles was thinking that his options in life were limited so he was hanging out with the unsavory crowd, thinking he was going to be a killer, a gangster, and a drug dealer. McCall took a liking to this man because he believed in his potential. Every person has potential. It’s a matter of us believing in ourselves.
The turning point in the movie to me was when McCall goes to rescue this young man who was sitting up in an apartment doing drugs. He was being told he had to go shoot somebody or something. The peers were telling him he had to do some unsavory task. Miles busted into the apartment, dragged the young man out, and took him downstairs into the hallway. They were arguing. They had this altercation. McCall says to Miles, “Do you want to be a killer?” McCall takes out his gun and puts it in his hand. He says, “Shoot me then.” He puts the gun and says, “If you’re a killer, be a killer and shoot me. Start with me first.” The young man looked at McCall because he couldn’t do it. McCall says, “You are better than this.” The young man looked at him because he didn’t believe in him.
Afterward, they had a few more words. The young man said to McCall, “Why me?” McCall looked at the young man and said, “Why not you?” That’s what we need to understand. Why not you? What makes the where it cannot be you? Believe in who you can be and go for that vision. Let no one or no man stop you because you are created for more. It’s within you to tap into that potential.
I understand society can pull us down in our environment but we have to be willing to rise. You have to believe in what you can control. What you can control is you. I want you to share a little bit of your story because your vision is a product of where you came from. You are here because of where you came from. You saw that you thought your life was limited as well. What was the turning point for you? Give a little background on who you were before you came to that turning point.
I’m what they call the best of both worlds. My mother is from the low end of the Southside of Chicago. That’s pretty much the project if you’re familiar with that. My dad’s from Gary. If you know about Gary, then you know that’s crazy all in itself. I also grew up in the suburbs of Richton Park. I went from living in an apartment complex to being a kid out there in Hazel Crest and having a good time.
The gangs were pretty heavy. That’s when gang banging was pretty big to move into Richton Park. I saw my house get built from the ground. That was a whole experience. There was one White family in the apartment building. It was being around nothing but White kids. That wasn’t an issue. It was great. Some of my best memories were with some of my friends from that time.
Junior high school came and I got influenced by the wrong crowds. At the same time, I had my friends from Ford Heights. Some of my best friends are from Ford Heights. That’s a rough neighborhood in itself as well. I’m traveling in all these different worlds, low-end, Gary, Richton Park, and Florida Heights. My mother was like, “You got to do something.” I used to throw these parties at my house all the time. We used to always have company. They hated that but they understood what it was because they didn’t have a lot for us to do as kids.
We had a big enough house. Everybody was at my house and I used to get a lot of trouble for that. My parents didn’t want me having people over the house but I still do it because I had to be a socialite. I don’t know if I yearned for that but I know that was the natural situation that was going on. It still happens. I was in the streets. I never went to jail, to God be the glory, but I had my fair share of doing things that could be looked at and frowned upon. Let’s leave it at that.
We are not here to hash that. The thing is you were doing things that you should not have been doing.
That carried on with me to college. During school, I was so busy being cool. I didn’t care about the grades. It was like, “Where are the girls? Where are we doing this? Where is the money at?” I’m naturally intelligent as most of us are. I tell a lot of my friends when we were younger and then some of the kids, “Our dope boys are the chemists. You don’t even understand. You got a block or you got to hustle. You are selling what you selling.”
“Do you know that’s what an entrepreneur does? Do you know you’re doing checks and balances? You’re doing a whole financial report but not putting it on paper. You understand your losses and your gains. You understand product inventory. That’s what a whole boss does. You don’t even understand what you’re doing.” I break it down to them like that. I got to college and saw the worst of me there because I had free range. I didn’t have my parents tell me, “Come in.” There was none of that.
You had no boundaries. You did whatever you wanted to do.
It was bad. I can’t even sugarcoat it.
We don’t have to share.
Let me tell you. I come back home and calm down on one end but turn up on the other. It is not in a positive way. God speaks to me in many ways. I had this dream one day. God was like, “The police are about to run into your house. They are going to find what you have. This isn’t your house. It’s your mama and daddy’s house. Once they find this, all of you are going to lose this house. You are going to go to jail. Not only will you try to escape how you want to escape but you’re going to break your legs in the process. After you escape and still go to jail, you’ll be handicapped.”
God gave you this long story.
The dream was so detailed. I can see it as I’m talking to you about it. I’m like, “I am going out of business sale. Everybody come get it. Come get whatever I got. It’s going out of business sale.” Ever since then, I was like, “I got to figure out a way to get some money outside the streets.” That’s when I started the record company, the production company, the rapping, and all that stuff. I figured out the musical talents that I always had. I started making music.
All these things that were in me that I either suppressed or ignored started coming out. My instinct for business started flourishing in more ways than one. More people wanted to be involved in that business. I helped them with setting up stuff. My father runs financial services. I’m setting up LLCs with my friends and helping them with their taxes, business, and personal. I’m scaling.
At the same time, it’s not taught to us to be literate or aware of financial literacy. Being with my dad and working with him allowed me to translate this. We don’t have to understand what a W-2 is. I am breaking the forms down into layman’s terms or literal terms. I can break it down to you as if we’re chopping it up on the block. They understand, “You do this on the front end and get this on the back end.” It’s helping a lot of people.
I realized, “This is what I’m going to do because I can’t go back to the streets. I don’t want to lose my legs. I don’t want to be a drug dealer or a pimp.” I saw that around me as well. I was like, “I don’t want to be any of that. It’s not in me.” I can do it if I want to because I believe I can be successful in anything I want to do but how is it helping people? How is it glorifying God? How is this going to benefit me in the long run? I’m trying to live a long time. I have observations that show a lot of cats who do what they’re doing don’t live too long. The chances are very slim. If it isn’t the streets that kill you or a bullet, that’s either your health or choices that take you out early. I had to cut all that out and figure out another way. That was my journey.
It looks like what you’re saying to me is that God had a talk with you in your dream that allowed you to realize what your superpower is.
It took me a while to get it because we had more than one talk. That was the first one. That wasn’t the only one. Trust me. When I’m dead set on something, I’m like, “Whatever,” to everything. I’m like, “This is what I’m doing because this is what I want to do.” My wife says it’s selfish but it is like, “That’s not necessarily selfish. I’m living my life. What I do is for everybody. I want to do how I want to do it because it works best for me that way.”
I have God to send me down all the time. He did that much because I’m better. I learned a lot. My mama used to say I learned the hardest lessons. I don’t have to learn that. I don’t have to go through it to learn what I need to learn. I’m going the hard way. Once I started understanding that, I changed my ways on that as well. I always talk to my mother about all this stuff. She said, “Understand what you don’t want. Once you understand what you don’t want, put yourself in the position to get as far away from that as possible. You’ll end up where you want to be.”
I would flip it around another way. Figure out what you do want and then do more of that. In your case, it had to be to do what you don’t want to do.
I didn’t want to go to jail.
I love what you said. When God showed you your dream that your legs were going to be broken and the police were going to come in and take all this stuff out of your Mom and Dad’s house, that was your deterrent. He painted a vision that was an ugly picture that you did not want to see happen. That fueled you to go into the path that you needed to go in.
That was the turning point. As I went along on my journey taking these steps, the more the vision was relayed. He was like, “Since you didn’t do this, let me show you this. You didn’t do that. Let me show you this. Now that you’re doing this, let me show you where else can go. Let me show you further down.” We’re at the point where we’re doing everything with the production company and the not-for-profit.
I don’t play basketball. If you know me, you know. I can do whatever I would set my mind to but setting my mind to playing basketball wasn’t my thing. I’m not letting my homies do that. I’m not going to get out here and play basketball. Having the network that I have in the basketball community, my friends still don’t see it as possible. I’m not going to lie to you. I know how to respond to stuff. They’re like, “How are you talking to this coach?” It’s always, “How are you,” not, “Why are you?”
At first, it was, “Why are you,” but they understand why. It’s a, “How are you?” God is opening every door for me. I’m not shy to walk into my purpose and never have I been. It is like, “This is what we’re doing? Let’s go. This is who I have to talk to? Let’s talk. Is this what we need to raise money for? Let’s raise. Is this who I need to help? Let’s help.” It is never been an issue of fear. When things become uncertain and I get a little anxious or worried, I go right back to praying and all that stuff. God has guided me in this life. All this stuff is new to me.
You said something vital that I want to go back to. It’s the how. A lot of times, we get stuck on the how because it’s uncomfortable and it takes us in a direction that we’ve never been. I love what you said where you’re able to still go out and meet people that you’ve never met before. You don’t allow the fact that you don’t know them to stop you.
We have people who are afraid to step forward and do something because of the how. What do you do to make yourself go out and do that how to make a connection with someone that you don’t even know? You don’t know what their response could be there. I’m sure you’ve gotten rejected because we all do. What did you do to keep going when you suffer rejection and still keep pressing forward to make another connection with someone that you needed? In your business, you have to make connections to refer people to someone else to help them. Expand on that.
There are two things with that. It was a book that I read. In my journey, it’s been a step-by-step situation. In my journey, I came across a book. It’s called Rejection Proof. It was about overcoming the fear of rejection. I read that book. It was pretty much telling about a guy who was dealing with it. He was like, “I’m trying something different.” He would put himself on a task every day and do something that terrified him as far as talking to people. He was coming to find out it wasn’t bad. He ended up helping his wife and a lot of people with this task. It’s a great book. That helped me.
There is another thing on my journey, which is Uber. That was a tool that helped me on so many levels. Not only did it help me provide for my family but it also helped me pitch. You have to understand. I’m getting it. If I’m working at Uber, I’m in a car with strangers all day and all night whenever I’m driving. Not only do I need to make sure they’re cool so I can get my five stars but I also want a tip. I got to learn how to talk to anybody and everybody and make them so comfortable that they also give me a good review and a nice tip and I can go on about my day. That taught me a lot.
I was dealing with strangers every day for about two years, night, day, White, Black, old, young, Indian, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, teachers, businessmen, stockbrokers, thugs, drunks, and party animals. They allow me the opportunity to try and see where it gets you because you still don’t get paid regardless. If it goes well, you get extra money. You might meet somebody new. You might get a new follower. You get a new supporter. You never know who may be able to help you along your journey.
It has worked. I know the city like the back of my hand. I know restaurant owners and a lot who do Uber. Uber helped me out immensely. If they had given me a sponsorship, I would have sold Uber so well because of how much it helped me. It doesn’t make any sense how much it helped me. I’m remembering Toastmasters when I used to do the contest. I used to talk about Uber stories.
It was amazing how much of an asset Uber was to me at that time. Sometimes, people miss that about where they are in their journey and where God has placed them. If you pay attention to how many ways where you’re at or your job is helping you, you capitalize on that. We’re not where we are for no reason. Everything has a reason. We are where we are in our lives for a specific reason. It is getting in on that and tapping into that like, “This is helping me do this.”
We're not where we are for no reason. Everything has a reason. Click To TweetWe’re talking about my business but in a few hours, I’m going to have to go be a chemist at my job. How does being a chemist help me? It was to show kids, “You may not be able to think that you are smart enough to be a chemist but I never took a chemistry class a day in my life.” They’re like, “What?” I’m like, “I’m a whole chemist. You may not think you’d be able to work a job and still do these massive things in the community but check me out. Do you want to be a chemist? Let me put you in tune with this lab that you can be an intern at.” There are so many ways that you can tap into and see how you can be useful to a lot of people and be a better servant out here.
It sounds like what you’re saying is taking everything that you do and seeing the opportunities and possibilities.
I’m an opportunist. I’d be a fool to tell you that I am not. I make sure that I’m very aware of what’s going on in my life at that moment. I’m a servant so I have to make sure that I understand, “Why am I here? What is my assignment here? How can I help while I’m here?”
I did a facilitation on create plus vision equal possibilities. The whole thing is that you have to have that vision and be willing to create it to see the possibilities. Otherwise, you’ll stay stuck your whole life not ever truly realizing who you can be and believing in who you can become.
Do you know what taught me that? Working in factories and becoming a chemist. I was talking to older people who worked in factories for 15 to 20 years and seeing their health problems, their complaints, and their should’ve, could’ve, and would’ves. It was like, “That can’t be me. I got to figure something else out.” The journey is amazing.
I love what you said. You’re trying to find the book title. You’re dropping so many interesting nuggets along the way. The journey is very important. We can easily get stuck into thinking when we go down a path that that’s not a path we should go. However, that path is part of the journey. You have to embrace each leg up in the way that gets you to where you ultimately need to be. You started doing some things in your life. God had talked with you. I’m a person of faith. I understand. God, one time, hit me over the head. We won’t go to my story. This is about you.
I try to tell everybody, “You don’t want to be called by God.”
God will hit you over the head. The other thing is that he had that talk with you and painted that vision to you so vividly that you still remember it. He said, “Everything you have is going to be gone and your mom and dad are going to be on the streets. Do you want that to happen?” Your answer was a resounding no.
It was a big no. He was like, “Do you think this thing that you’re doing is going to be able to take care of you after that? It’s going to be bad. Your mother, father, and sister aren’t going to have this house that you watched get built. This isn’t a choice.”
He helped you turn around. You moved to helping kids, the youth. That is powerful because our youth is the backbone of our country. It’s our future leaders. You’re helping them see, “If you want to play basketball, I’m going to introduce you to that system. However, you need to understand that there’s life after the jersey. What do you want to do with the talent that’s in you?”
I look at even Jordan. I’m bad with the names of the basketball players. There’s another player that comes to mind. Excuse me if I get stuck because I’m not an athletic person. The point is that each athlete finds that there’s life after the game. You’re helping our youth to see that there’s life after the game. You can be that ball player. However, what are you going to do with your funds after you finish playing ball?
Do you know what’s amazing about that? There is a very large number of athletes that go broke. That’s why we do what we’re doing, not only with our events and tournaments. We also do them at the high-level event because we understand how saturated these events are and how these kids are under a lot of pressure not only due to their parents but also the schedules they’re under and the stress that comes with these circuits sometimes. Parents are arguing with each other. It’s competitive. That energy is a lot.
At the same time, you put them on these high-level events because they want to be seen by these coaches. They all want highlights and exposure. It’s hard to do that when you are in a space where 30 teams are playing in the tournament. Fifty teams in a tournament over a weekend? No coaches are going to see that.
We’re showing them, “This is the line you follow.” How do we know this is the line you follow? It is because we’re talking to coaches who have coached NBA players and have won multiple state championships back to back, male and female. We’re talking to the people that you need to talk to that you may not have access to. Now that we’re doing something, you have a blueprint. If you sit back, take information, and watch, you’ll be good.”
We did an event with The Grind Session. Scottie Pippen was there. He talked to the kids. He’s saying the same thing. It was like, “I made some money. We’re doing this to make sure that you all understand that when that jersey comes off, you need to have a plan because agents can rob you, accountants can rob you, your manager can rob you, and your family can suck you dry. If you don’t have a plan for that, then what are you going to do?”
I’ll give you an exclusive. There are a couple of programs we’re planning. When kids try out for these high schools and these teams, we get about 60 kids to 100 kids to try for a team of 12. What happens to these 80-some kids after that? They need another option and something to do. Therefore, we’re going to start an intramural program. We’re getting these kids not only a place to play basketball and be occupied with proper training but at the same time, be able to play on a nice level event in the arena. You still get exposure from not only the high school coaches that may have overlooked you due to the fact that a large number of kids tried out but also, college coaches can see you. This is another avenue that we’re creating.
At the same time, we’re going to have panels where we’re talking to players who had the limelight on them and blew it and messed up. They can see what’s going on so they don’t make the same mistake. We’re trying to prepare these kids for an amazing future because they don’t understand their options. When they don’t understand their options, they get bored. When they get bored, they only go to options that they know and that’s not good.
The music or the entertainment they provide us with is not good. You can ask how many kids are reading books. You can look and tell if they’re reading or not. They can tell you the music they’re listening to. If you listen to the music they’re listening to, it’s like, “We got to change it up and introduce you to something new.” My parents had me join the Scouts and things of that nature so I saw a lot of stuff. I was exposed to a lot of things which gave me the foresight and insight to be like, “I may not like this but this is another option.” These kids need that. That’s all we’re trying to provide out here.
One thing you’re saying that comes to mind is that Nelson Mandela says, “Vision with action can change the world.” That sticks with me because what you have is a vision that can change our world. It’s changing the world and helping our youth to see that there are other possibilities. We allow society to hold us back and make us think that our potential is limited and our limitations in life are based on only what someone tells us we can do. Instead, we have to see that there’s unlimited potential.
I always think of the athlete who had polio and was told that she was never going to walk. She turned around and became not only a walker but a runner. She won gold medals. We can’t allow what someone tells us to put that negativity in our minds and make us think that we can’t be more than that. We have to believe in that person that’s within.
To me, that was what God was saying to you when He spoke to you in that dream. He said, “Son, I didn’t create you for this. I created you for a purpose.” Him showing you where you were going was your wake-up call to move you in the path of your potential. I want you to share one final story with me because we’re wrapping up here. You brought a relative in. I want you to share his response and see how you’ve changed his perspective in that one meeting.
Usually, when I do my events, I have my family with me. I have a large family. It’s a family business so every time I do something, my family’s with me. I was talking to one of my cousins. She was telling me about her son. She was like, “He is in the streets. He is having a little trouble.” He was in a group home or something like that and he was coming home. I’m like, “Tell him to call me.”
He called me and we talked that day. I was like, “What’s going on?” We talked it out for a little bit. I’m like, “Are you coming home?” He was like, “Yeah. I’ll be home this week on a Wednesday.” I said, “On Friday, you are with me.” That day, I told him about my event at the Wintrust Arena. I said, “You’re with me on Friday.” He was like, “What are we doing?” I said, “You’re chilling with me?” He said, “All right.”
We’re having an event and we’re going back and forth. He’s trying to get out of it and making all these excuses. I was like, “I’m calling your Uber. Don’t even worry about it. You got a ride coming your way.” I’m calling him an Uber. He was in the arena and was like, “What’s going on?” He walks in and sees that we have the whole arena to ourselves. The girls were playing basketball because it was an all-girls event that day.
We had the girls playing basketball. He sees the live stream going on. He sees his family. He was like, “This is what you do?” I was like, “This is one of my companies. This is what we do. We have these girls come out and they get exposure.” These girls are hooping. It’s not like we got scrubs. These are top athletes going crazy on this court. Not only are they getting exposure and understanding how it’s going to be on a college and professional level but they’re having a good time and learning. He’s also seeing, “This is different.” You can see it on his face. His face lit up.
He had an a-ha and light bulb moment.
We ended up going to lunch. We’re eating lunch and he sees a famous rapper, Chance the Rapper. My daughter was like, “That’s Chance the Rapper.” I’m like, “That’s his brother.” They’re like, “I see him.” I was like, “It’s his brother but still go meet him. He directs videos. He’s a big deal.” He ends up meeting Chance the Rapper’s brother. Forgive me for not knowing his name.
That’s okay. I’m bad with names, too.
They get to meet him. They take a picture and all that good stuff. We go back in and he sees me getting everybody. That was the time for the game. He sees me talking to the people who are the parents of the kids and the staff at the Wintrust. I made sure everybody got in an orderly fashion. They get their merch and all that stuff. He was like, “This is all you?” I was like, “We’re sitting in this whole section. This whole section is us. Go ahead and have a seat wherever you like. Let me know if you’re hungry or want something.” He was like, “Thank you.”
That little kid was so happy to be in there walking around because he had free range. He’s a kid so I’m not letting him run loose. My son was nineteen. His other cousins are older. They’re all walking around. He’s chilling with the older kids or the older boys. They’re walking around the whole arena, meeting folks, talking, and being exposed to that whole situation.
That was his first WNBA game. He went from seeing his first WNBA game and then also seeing his cousin have a whole event in front of him. He was like, “They told me about you. I heard about how you got down back in the day but I didn’t know that you were doing this.” I said, “We got options. I know how you’re drilling and all that stuff that it is what it is. That isn’t the way. Do you understand me?”
“You were somewhere where you thought you were going. You didn’t even know you were getting out. They were going to feed you pills and put you in all this stress. You don’t need that. Come on this side. This is a little different over here. This is what happens over here.” He was like, “I got you.” His mama was super excited. She kept raving about it and saying, “He’s doing good.” You have to expose these kids to stuff.
That one event helped change his perspective. That’s what it’s all about, how we can change our perspective in life. Don’t go where someone is leading you. Go instead where He is leading you. When I say He, it is the Father. Go where your heart and your gut are telling you to go because that is what’s important. You can become whoever you want to be if you believe in that vision. I go back to what Arnold says, “Have that vision, act like it, and it will come true.”
Don't go where someone is leading you. Go instead where He is leading you and where your heart and gut are telling you to go. Click To TweetI’m a living testament to that. There is no other way around it. I always saw myself how I wanted to look as a shorty or a kid. My mother showed me this when I was a kid. She said, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I said, “A movie star or a star.” As I got older, I was like, “I know a lot of people. I could be a big deal but I don’t want the fame. I’d rather be in the background helping.” There are a lot of people that I look up to and all their names are not in my mind.
I am in the background being as much of an impact as those who are in the front. Sometimes, it’s always masking and smoking mirrors. You never know who’s calling the shots. I come to find out as I continue to grow, “You’re not even the man. You’re the spokesman of the man. The man is this guy. Guess who I’m talking to? The man.” As I’m consistently meeting these people, it puts me in a bigger position to help more people. I’m excited about everything we have going on.
If someone wants to get in touch with you to find out about your program, how can they find out?
You can go to BaileyBasketball.org. That is how you get in touch with the not-for-profit. Our Agolmind website is being reconstructed. You can mostly find me on Instagram @Agolmind.
Thank you for our talk. I know this is powerful because it’s going to help someone. Someone is going to get a different view. If we touch one person, that one person will touch another.
If we have one, we won. That was our job to help somebody. We can’t help everybody but somebody.
Be that somebody. That’s all we need.
That’s all we’re asking. I appreciate this. This has been amazing.
Thank you for your time.
It’s all good. Thank you.
Important Links
- BaileyBasketball.org
- @Agolmind – Instagram
- Xposure Runs
- Rejection Proof
