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Tag: entrepreneur

No Notes

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

My wife and I love to watch the show called New Girl. It was  one episode where Nick was writing his first book. Schmidt, one of his best friends, is usually very critical. However, when Nick submitted the book to him this one time, he didn’t give any feedback . No feedback, basically means no notes. No notes, basically means it is good.

Nick totally freaked out, he could not handle the fact that Schmidt didn’t have no notes for him. Nothing that he could correct, and nothing that he could have made better. He sent it to a few other friends, and they came up with the same conclusion.  No notes.

I always laugh at that episode, until I found myself in a similar predicament.  I have been working on my speaking in an empty room in downtown Los Angeles, California. I brought on a coach to help me go to a new level of thinking as an entrepreneur. But not only that to be a better speaker. I really needed some hard criticism, someone that would help me get me to the place where I am ready . The first week as expected, there was a lot of correction, the second week came in and I watched the playback and took the notes from the second week and took it to the third week. The process was the same. I was watching the playback, so that I could be better and take the notes that I was given to get to a place that I could be proud of.

The fourth week came, and I felt like it was my best speech. My coach had a ton of notes that week, which was to my surprise. He also told me that although it was good, I needed to be myself in the speech.  At this point, I am thriving on making the speech better, I was determined to be the best version of myself. I showed up at the fifth week, ready to be myself, and to take the bullet points to present my speech.

The week prior I was very confident in my delivery, but I was missing passion and I am full of passion when I’m talking about something that I believe in. This week, I gave it all I got, but I was looking for the critiques to come rolling in. I get on the phone with my coach, and he tells me, this is good, matter fact it was pretty amazing. I was like thank you. I pause for a moment because I was waiting on the critiques. He basically told me no notes. I immediately went back to the episode with Nick, and saw how he began to freak out. I didn’t freak out, but I did say this to myself.  This is good to get started, you have all that you need. I said to myself, Henry, you can only get better from here, so take the no notes as a sign that it’s time to really launch your speaking career.

Generational Wealth

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

This concept is still crazy to me yet makes so much sense. The principles from “the richest man in Babylon” still reign true today. Please allow me to be straightforward before I begin.

I read this book years ago, but I am just now applying the principles. It takes a conscious effort to undo bad habits.

I believe that every entrepreneur especially should apply this principle. If you are of the Christian faith, then you understand giving 10% of your income to God. If we are honest and unaware of that, most people will begin to pay their bills. 

I believe in giving back to God for allowing us to create wealth. I personally give to my church because I know where the finances are going and what they do for kingdom work. We also give in other ways that do the same. I didn’t always do this, but God began to make my heart tender. 

I was on a trip to Ohio, and I started reading this book. I was like, “Wow, I should be paying myself, huh?” It made perfect sense and I knew that I should try to apply it right then. I honestly tried it and used the money almost weeks after I applied the principle. I begin to realize that this is a healthy habit that I was not used to. 

I recently started paying myself again. It is not an easy principle because it is foreign, but it is necessary. This money can be used for so many things, including eventually investing in stocks and bonds, and buying real estate, just to name a few.

Generational wealth is simply assets, stocks and bonds, real estate (and so forth) that can be passed down to children or grandchildren. Who would argue that this isn’t an amazing thing? I wholeheartedly believe in generational wealth. There is an astonishing 91% of self-made millionaires who have passed down generational wealth. This is good news. The challenge is how do we pass down the information for our families, without squandering generational wealth? 

My grandfather left my father with nothing. My father was determined to have a different outlook on money. He disciplined himself and saved over $100,000 and taught himself how to do stocks.  My dad had discipline at an early age that I am just adopting later in age. I wish I would have grasped this when I was younger, but I was hardheaded. 

God has given me the ability to create and sell. I have made a lot of money and lost a lot of money. The main reason I lost a lot of money is because I didn’t ground myself in key financial areas. Discipline and knowledge is important; currently, I am in the season of grounding myself in financial literacy. What would be the point of making $10 million and losing it all because of lack of discipline and knowledge? My dad was key in certain seasons when I needed $10,000 here and there. I appreciate those moments more than he knows, even though I hated asking.

I have one granddaughter, named Arie. When she was born, I was already an entrepreneur. I created an Unapologetic for Kids apparel line so that she could have something when she gets older. My goal is to immerse her in financial literacy. I would do her more harm than good if I was able to pass down a million dollars without her being ready for it. We have to make sure we are training up the next generation to be financially responsible. 

Surrender the Gift

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

I thought about titling this “something borrowed.” God gives us gifts to steward, and our job is to multiply those gifts. 

The danger of talents is that they tend to lift us up. Let’s face it; we love people’s gifts. Most of us have a favorite something, whether it be an author, actor, actress, sports figure, speaker, or entrepreneur–you name it. 

Now, we can’t help who lifts us up and exalts us, but we can submit the gift to the Gift Giver. This is hard to do and it’s continual. 

I remember when God gave me the idea for Unapologetic Urban Gear; I was so excited. Soon after, I had this unction to kill it. I said to myself, “This makes no sense.”

I began to learn that the seed has to die first and then it produces. This was weird to hear for me, but I got it and did it. A year later, God did some amazing things for years to come. I feel that I am personally here again with the brand. It’s not mine; it’s His, and I have to surrender the gift to the Gift Giver. 

Highlight Reel

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

Deep down, our greatest desire is to be loved, and being known doesn’t hurt either. The cherry on top would be to have money and to be happy, day in and day out. 

If you look on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, you would think a high percentage of the world are happy and on top. 

If you were to tap in now, you would see an entrepreneur telling you the secrecy of success. But the truth is, there is no secrecy. They are selling highlight reels. 

You, dear reader, have a chance to not only be real but display it. Every day is not good but we can say that and lean on hope and find joy in God and the things that we do. Our job is not to be perfect but consistent in our efforts as our hands give all we have to unto the glory of God. 

#GodBlessTheEntrepreneur

Trust God Trust the Process Pt. 1

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

I created this design as I was approaching a new season in my life. I had no idea what the season entailed but I noticed a shift. 

I am a pretty seasoned entrepreneur but I felt like things were beginning to slip. I honestly felt like money was leaving my hands as fast as it came in. 

As I looked at everything, I slowly realized that I wasn’t doing anything differently yet sales were  drying up. I began to wonder if this was God’s  doing and if it was, then how was I supposed to respond?

Little did I know that this was just the beginning.  As I sat in my office at The Compound, my heart said, “Trust God. Trust the Process.”

#GodBlessTheEntrepreneur

Grace

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

The Lord saved me from my sins about 12 years ago. I will never forget the events leading up to it, and the actual day He captured me. I was always in proximity of shootings, and eventually, my car was shot up with me and my son in it, and then weeks later, my wife put me out of the house. It just seemed like near-death experiences kept following me. 
 
I was about 10 blunts in, one night, when I found myself on the floor, reading the Bible, and crying out to God. You really become a new person when He changes you. Things don’t look the same and you have no desire to do the same things. Music was my biggest struggle and I loved it so much. But I needed good music that was not glorifying the sins that I had just been saved from. I needed more!
 
I came across Christian artists, Emanuel Lambert, better known as Da Truth, and Flame. Their music impacted me and changed my life forever. I never imagined the Lord would allow me to have a publication, ten years later. If I never do anything else, the fact that I had the honor to put those two dudes on a cover, is more than enough.

Seasons

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

We expect the seasons to change. We know that when the tree shows new leaves and the flowers bloom that spring is approaching. we understand by nature that this is a natural order of life. So why is it that it’s hard to understand that our personal life has its own seasons.

It’s easy for us to adapt to the good seasons when money is flowing and their nothing is going wrong. However, the boring and challenging seasons makes us very uncomfortable: I have personally wasted a lot of these seasons but when you see them come around again and again, you begin to realize that you keep missing something.

I want to encourage you to slow down in these seasons and take advantage of them. Wealth is built in these seasons, new character is built in these seasons, perserance and faith is also built in these seasons.

#Godblesstheentrepreneur

Yet

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

I absolutely love the word yet. Yet gives hope, yet tells me it’s possible. You have to be able to see it before it manifest. Imagination is important because if you can imagine it, it’s in your grasp.

I look at my goals and I know that if God gives me the grace to live, they will happen. Here is my thinking. Their are business’ I haven’t created yet . Their is real estate development I haven’t purchased yet. Their is design deals I haven’t made yet. Their are books I have written and published yet .

Keep your dreams in front of you and move towards them in faith. Plan and execute.

#Godblesstheentrepreneur

Mindset is Key

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

There were times that I took road trips to an event, having twenty dollars on my bank card and no where to stay. I would swipe my card for a dollar to fill up the tank, to get me there because I knew I had a few days to get that money in the account before the balance came out. I cannot lie, doing this made me feel in a way, like a failure. I had to remind myself of the things God put in my heart and stay faithful to the vision.  

The truth was that I had enough money to pay the vendor fee for the event and to print the tees. I knew if I could just get there; that we had a great product and people would love them. As the owner, I felt I had to be the one talking to them, so I could explain the meaning behind each tee. I believed that if I could get it to the people who I came in contact with, they would help get it to the rest of the world. 

My faith and mindset was and is big and my actions showed it. You have to have the will power to push past your circumstances no matter what it looks like. There will be times that you have to risk it all to see the vision come to past. 

#GodBlessTheEntrepreneur

Balance in business

Written by Henry Murphy on . Posted in Blog.

Sometimes people don’t like to talk about Balance in Business, but it is important. First, I would say do what you do; because you love it. The fact that you love it, will sustain you during difficult times.

 For instance, I love touring. It’s fun and exciting. I get to meet new people, establish new connections, explore new cities, and grow the brand. Overall, it’s a privilege and an honor to travel.

The other side of touring is that, it’s nonstop, it tears the body down, being away from family, and it’s challenging to maintain a healthy diet. For example, a tour day go like this: travel through the night, get to the city, check into hotel, go to venue, set up, work all day, break down, eat, hotel and back on the road again to the next city.Fun, but difficult. There are two sides to every element in Business.