Innovation. Creativity. Solution-drive strategies. Answers to issues. This is what people pay big money for. If you have an idea and put some action behind it – it can make you a millionaire. That’s the truth. Just look at history: Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Madam C. Walker to Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg. Even on a job, you are rewarded with promotions and raises for having good ideas. But how do you get the creative juices running and revved up – especially in this economy. Well, here are five tips to get you inspired and fired up...

Many of you may not know this, but I am a native of Birmingham, AL. On April 27 (which happened to be my 25th birthday) a devastating storm ripped through the city and caused pain that I could have never imagined.

The only way to get rid of a problem is to admit you have one. Keeping secrets will not heal you. I’ve always been one to open up and let my pain be known. I’ll let you know when I’m mad, sad or just plain ticked off with you. I’ve never been one to “keep it all in” – I’m one to let it all out. If only Mama could confront her issues, she’d be a lot happier. Her neatly packaged life may begin to unravel a bit but we would begin to know what we should pray about – not cover up.

A cathartic post about how I came into myself just in time for my 25th birthday...

As a little girl, I remember when Black History Month was just a week. We'd always talk about Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, Frderick Douglas, George Washington Carver and others I dubbed, "The Regulars." Around sixth grade, I realized there was much more to Black History, and more importantly, my history.

My oldest daughter, is 21 years-old. She looks just like I did at her age, 21 years ago, and has many of my traits. Following in my footsteps, she attends the my alma mater. One thing we don't have in common, is our sororities.