Black at Square One

If you want to be great, learn to excel at the things that require no talent.

Welcome to the secret place.

Welcome to the secret place, a podcast that I created out of a desire to escape the noise of life and share the things I learn out of my secret place with God. It is my hope that through sharing what I learn, I can inspire you to seek knowledge and wonder as well.

“As children bring their broken toysWith tears for us to mend,I brought my broken dreams to GodBecause He was my friend. But then instead of leaving HimIn peace to work alone,I hung around and tried to helpWith ways that were my own. At last I snatched them back and cried,“How could you be so slow”“My child,” He said, “What could I do?You never did let go.” – Lauretta P. Burns

We never truly say goodbye. The people we love live on within us.

Belief is everything.

The beauty of life lies in the eternal moment. Don't forget to enjoy it. Create, live, laugh, and trust God.

It's been a long time since I've published anything. In part, I attribute that to struggling with feeling like I should be doing more, while not knowing exactly what to do. I wrote this episode in moment of clarity that I had, and I hope that it speaks to you as much as it did to me.

The race is not given to the swift or to the strong but to the one who endures to the end. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Don't forget to let someone know how much you love them.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Enjoy this poem I wrote ——— I am by no means saying that if you're not famous or remembered throughout history, then your life was a waste. However, influential and world-changing people are amazing examples of what can be done when you tap into your God-Given potential, have the courage to color outside the lines, pursue your purpose, and don't fear having a little fun in the process.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"There is no trust without relationship" --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Music Exist Strategy - Reverence Borrtex - Changing Borrtex - Memoir of Solitude Bedroom - The Inner Pattern Koronis - Weave --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

I feel like we often hear different quotes and sayings such as "who dares wins" or "if you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat", but we often don't ever stop and internalize those sayings. What does it really mean to step out of the boat, and begin to walk on water? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

In a chaotic world, sometimes stillness is our best and only defense against the perpetual noise around us. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"If you want to take the island, then burn your boats. With absolute commitment come the insights that create real victory." - Tony Robbins --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Success is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Take life one piece at a time, and you'll be astonished at what you find you can accomplish. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

It's never too late to start something new. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Music included Vers L'Avant / Forward" by J.T. Peterson Happyness "Eternity" by Franck Barré Shows and movies featured Ferris bueller's day off How I met your bother The pursuit of Happynes --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

"Holding space is decluttering your life mentally, physically, and spiritually." -Kaden --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"The best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none." - Albert Einstein --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." - Buddha --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"I freed a thousand Slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves." -Harriet Tubman --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"If your success defines you, then so do your failures." --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Life is too short to live as if the goal of life is to arrive safely at death. Live Dangerously, take risks, and your life will be the greatest story you've ever told. -GM --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Sad Cinematic Documentary Music by Infraction [No Copyright Music] / Planet - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2B3... Beautiful and Relaxing Piano Music - Still (Copyright and Royalty Free) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=962VmrIh9vQ Art of Silence - Dramatic / Cinematic [Free to use] - https://soundcloud.com/uniqofficial --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

A friend should be one in whose understanding and virtue we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for its justness and its sincerity. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. Henri Nouwen --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

If you never really knew someone, can you really say that they've changed? Music provided by HearWeGo Artist: Cash & Ferven Title: We All Have Storie To Tell Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3eDwp4hzVws --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

“You don't have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, perhaps just one, and then be willing to live for them and die for them. The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing.” ― John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

“If you chase anything in life chase the things that get you excited about living. Chase the things that give you hope, happiness and a glimpse of a better life. Chase the things that make you want to be a better person. Chase the things that inspire you to think, create and live joyfully. Chase the things that reinforce in your soul that you can make a difference. Chase the things that make you want to transform your heart from selfish to selfless. When you chase that kind of storm you are chasing rainbows.” ― Shannon L. Alder Music provided by HearWeGo (https://goo.gl/nDS3zR) Artist: Wiljan & Xandra Title: Woodlands Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XCcN-IoYIJA --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most." --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"Do not save what is left after spending, spend what is left after saving." -Warren Buffet --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"Do not think money does everything or you will end up doing everything for money." - Voltaire --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you. --Dave Ramsey --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us. --Julia Cameron --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Choice is the most powerful tool we have.  Everything boils down to choice. We exist in a field of infinite possibilities.  Every choice we make shuts an infinite number of doors and opens an infinite number of doors.  At any point, we can change the direction of our lives by a simple choice.  It's all in our hands, our, hearts, and our minds.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

The dreams of my childhood were uninhibited, unadulterated, defying logic and sense. As I started growing up, so did my dreams. They became more of a reflection of my life. They were bound realms of sense and logic, cancelling out the things that were unattainable. If you look through the life of artists and scientists, you can find one similarity: They always dreamed of something impossible. Maybe that's what made them bear difficulties, because they wanted it to see the light of day. I wish all people could start dreaming like kids again. The world needs more of it. -Varun Bhat --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Stop waiting. Get to it. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Will life ever return to normal again? What is normal? And what if life right now...was the new normal? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Things are always changing. Bad times become good times, night changes to day, curses become blessings. Unfortunately, it is because of our perspective that we cannot see how a seemingly impossible situation can become an impossibly good thing. If we change our perspective, perhaps, we just might see that when life is seemingly falling apart, it is really falling into place. Music Used: Esther Abrami | No.7 Alone With My Thoughts Esther Abrami - No.8 Requiem Outsider - Myuu --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

For every person that wants to see you succeed, there are about two to three people who want to see you fail. People who are people pleasers especially fall into this trap. They want to please everyone, even if it comes at the cost of themselves. There has never been someone who was successful who cared about what everyone had to say about them. Unfortunately, there will always be haters, but how you deal with them can define whether or not you contribute to continuing the cycle of hate, or you break the cycle. Some things you can do when you encounter haters are: Ignore them/Block them Be kind and respectful Surround yourself with supporters Remind yourself that comments from a hater are a reflection of them and aren't really about you. Understand criticism can be a sign of pain Keep being you. Keep moving forward, pursuing your interests, and being who you are Lastly, are you a hater? Do you put other people down just to elevate yourself? For those of you who are working hard to accomplish your goals, don't get discouraged. remember that a moment of hate can devastate a lifetime of work, whereas a moment of love can break barriers that took a lifetime to build. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Accepting the things we cannot change. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

what is being a Christian? Join me as I do a Q&A on all things Christianity. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Is reality really real? Or is perspective the only real reality? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

On June 6th, 1944, history was made. Two young American medics chose to help not only American but also German Troops. Learn what means for us today and the invaluable lessons these men gave to us.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Reflecting on 2020 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

"You always have to give 100 percent, because if you don't, someone, someplace, will give 100 percent and will beat you when you meet." -Ed Macauley --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

Every night, I die... --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support

So you want to get a head start in life? In this episode I talk about things I've learned while in quarantine and how They've helped me progress in life. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/g_gm/support