Larry Stith (a.k.a. Sparkle), the 41-year-old street hustler, is again teamed with his main partner Johhny Dobbs (a.k.a. Rainbow), a lifetime pimp, drug dealer and scam artist. They are joined by Beverly Johnson (a.k.a. Bevy), Sparkle's secret lover and a corrupt police chief, as well as Asian beauty Mercedes and Aunt Rose, who knows the ins and outs of rival Black Don's business. Lifelong friends and their associates roam through the underbelly of Atlanta's glitter and glitz in a maze of whodunit.
The Grind is today's new textbook for success. It not only provides its readers with insight on achieving their goals, but further aims to bring about their peak levels of performance on a consistent basis. Three words can sum up the soul of this book: whatever it takes. This book features many in-depth examples of practices from some of the most prominent entities in the business world including Donald Trump, Sean Combs, Howard Schultz, David Geffen, Sam Walton, Russell Simmons, and many others who have achieved success. Along with characteristics such as hard work, dedication, attention to details, perseverance, The Grind includes groundbreaking unorthodox strategies to give the reader a competitive edge. Every person has the potential to become successful; the only limitation is the person's own self and the effort they are willing to contribute. It is solely a choice whether or not they will do what is necessary to position themselves for success, and this book is the definitive reference that will motivate and show readers how to do just that.
We’ve been conditioned to think about creative genius as a dichotomy: dreamers versus doers, creativity versus discipline, the spark versus the grind. But what if we’re wrong? What if it’s the spark and the grind? We love people whose creative genius arrives in sudden sparks of inspiration. Think of Archimedes in his bathtub or Newton under his apple tree. But we also admire people who work incredibly hard and long for their creative breakthroughs. Think of Edison in his lab, grinding through hundreds of failed variations on the lightbulb. We remember his words in tough times: “Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration.” Now Erik Wahl, a visual artist, speaker, and entrepreneur, helps us unite the yin and yang of creativity— the dynamic new ideas with the dogged effort. He shows why we won’t get far if we rely on the spark without the grind, or the grind without the spark. What the world really needs are the creators who can hold the two in balance. Fortunately, it’s possible to get good at both, as Wahl knows from experience. After his corporate career suddenly ended, he pursued a spark—to paint photorealistic portraits—and ground it out until he got good enough to make very good art very quickly. That’s the basis of his riveting live shows, which have captivated skeptical audiences who never expected to be inspired by art—and taught them to embrace creativity in a whole new way. This book offers surprising insights and practical advice about how to fan the sparks and make the grind more productive. Wahl deftly synthesizes the wisdom of other artists, philosophers, scientists, and business visionaries throughout history, along with his own views. Here’s how he sums up his approach: The world needs people who enjoy swimming in ideas until they discover a great one. The world also needs doers who have a gift for activation, a.k.a. “getting s*** done.” But the most potent individual creators in any industry or environment have learned how to be both. They’ve learned how to spark their grind and they’ve learned how to grind their sparks. As a result, they not only make things happen, they make great things. If you want to ensure constant creativity in your life and produce your most innovative work—this is your guide.
An erotically intimate glance into the lives of five kindred spirits forever linked through love and devotion as they travel through a maze of deceit and mischief from the upper echelon to the underbelly of Atlanta. From the sandbox to the grave. That’s the motto of the three partners for life: Johnny Ivey, Johnny Dobbs, and Larry Stith. Together, in the mean red-light district of Atlanta, they are also known as the three amigos. One for all and all for one. Newly released from jail, Larry “Sparkle” Stith wants to lead a life free of crime and violence. But his dream of reform is cut short when he is reintroduced into the street life by his former friends. Revengeful adversaries are on a mission to take over his friends’ prostitution, drugs, and gambling turfs, drawing him back into the life he was trying to escape. Sparkle’s lover, Beverly Johnson, is now the city’s police chief. She battles her own personal demons in search of a life of peace while secretly protecting her friends and her political career. With the backdrop of Atlanta, there’s a labyrinth of trickery that the friends must travel in order to keep their territory, their sanity, and even their lives.
Few scholars have explored the collective experiences of women living in the inner city and the innovative strategies they develop to navigate daily life in this setting. The Grind illustrates the lived experiences of poor African American women and the creative strategies they develop to manage these events and survive in a community commonly exposed to violence. Alexis S. McCurn draws on nearly two years of naturalistic field research among adolescents and adults in Oakland, California to provide an ethnographic account of how black women accomplish the routine tasks necessary for basic survival in poor inner-city neighborhoods and how the intersections of race, gender, and class shape how black women interact with others in public. This book makes the case that the daily consequences of racialized poverty in the lives of African Americans cannot be fully understood without accounting for the personal and collective experiences of poor black women.
A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller In this iconic bestseller, popular business blogger and bestselling author Seth Godin proves that winners are really just the best quitters. Godin shows that winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the right Dip. Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out fun…then gets really hard, and not much fun at all. You might be in a Dip—a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac—a total dead end. What really sets superstars apart is the ability to tell the two apart. Winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can beat the Dip to be the best, you’ll earn profits, glory, and long-term security. Whether you’re an intern or a CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you’re in a Dip that’s worthy of your time, effort, and talents. The old saying is wrong—winners do quit, and quitters do win.
Jaydee Graham had a golden, idyllic childhood-the youngest child, adored by her parents, her future unlimited. Then a business deal gone wrong plunged the family into difficulties, pushing her father into an addiction that shattered her childhood. When her wild and free spirit clashed with the iron control of family and church, Jaydee went through a series of therapists and hospitals, eventually ending up in long-term residential treatment-all of which alienated her further from her family and drove her into the arms of an abusive boyfriend. Then, when all hope seemed lost, she found a surprising and miraculous source of love that became the ladder out of the hole her life had become. Endlessly surprising, startling and yet oddly hopeful, The Soul Grind tells the tale of a fierce and passionate soul grasping to make sense of a senseless world. A must-read for anyone who's survived trauma, addiction or perhaps just adolescence, this book heralds the addition of a thrilling new voice to the recovery canon.
"The first in-depth biography of Nipsey Hussle, the hip hop mogul, artist, and activist whose transformative legacy inspired a generation with his motivational lyrics and visionary business savvy-before he was tragically shot down in the very neighborhood he was dedicated to building up"--
Life is hard, and the challenges it presents can be overwhelming at times. But as much as we might want to give up, we eventually come to moments when we need to make decisions and keep moving forward. Grind, Don’t Quit offers inspiration and an honest, relevant, and practical approach to developing the grit needed to journey through life’s toughest battles and reach a new place in life. A pastor and business leader respectively, Jamie Holtom and Jim Christian offer real-life stories and practical tips on how to work through these kinds of challenges to get the most out of life. You will be encouraged and empowered in ways that will strengthen you when times get tough. Hope. Resiliency. Faith. Hard work. Measurable goals. These are the things that will change your life and lift you to new heights physically, spiritually, and mentally. In our private lives and as leaders, we all need to strengthen our resolve in our most discouraging moments. Grind, Don’t Quit models for readers a meaningful process of sticking with a task and seeing it through to the desired end. Ideal for both individual and group study, this inspiring book will challenge readers and be a valuable addition to personal, church, and business libraries.
