For my 27th birthday, I'm raising $270,000 to keep The X for Boys & Girls free for every child we serve. Thank you to Delta Air Lines for leading the way with a $10,000 donation. We operate 5 days a week, free of charge, with no government assistance, BECAUSE OF YOU! ❤️🔥

I taught the boys something that a lot of grown folks probably don’t know either: look for the emergency fuel shutoff when you’re at a gas station. We also covered turning the engine off while fueling, staying alert, and not getting buried in your phone while standing at the pump. We use gas stations every week, but how many of us have actually learned what to do when something goes wrong?

Why does doing good work in your community automatically mean you should run for office? Every good coach doesn’t need to be a commissioner. Every mentor doesn’t need to be a mayor. Every community leader doesn’t need their name on a ballot. Public office is one way to serve. It’s not the only way. Sometimes we become so focused on who we can elect to fix our communities that we forget the responsibility we have to help fix them ourselves. Vote. Hold leaders accountable. Work with them. But then come home and do your part too.

In my observation, it is extremely difficult for someone to stay heavily involved in politics for a sustained period without losing a significant chunk of their soul. Entertainment and politics are the worst sectors for this phenomenon. Too many big egos and perverse incentives.

Your kids need to hear you say, “I was wrong.” Sometimes you raised your voice when you didn’t need to. Sometimes you reacted before hearing the whole story. Sometimes your child was right and YOU were wrong. And that’s okay. But own it. How can we teach our children accountability if they never get to watch us practice it? “I was wrong. I’m sorry. I could’ve handled that better.” Those words don’t weaken your authority as a parent. They show your child what accountability actually looks like. Your kids are learning how to apologize by watching you too.

Why do we only question the camera when it’s pointed at something GOOD? Nobody asks why somebody posted the shooting, the fight, the arrest, or somebody’s worst day. But let somebody feed families, mentor children, clean up a neighborhood, or change a life and suddenly it’s, “Why did you have to record it?” Because goodness deserves documentation too. If all we share is the worst of our communities, eventually we start believing that’s all our communities have to offer. So yes, document the work. Tell the good stories. Give people something positive to share. Our cities are more than their worst headlines. Make the good louder.

“Somebody gets paid to clean it” is not an excuse to be lazy. Yes, somebody cleans the theater after we leave. That doesn’t mean we should leave our popcorn, cups and trash everywhere for them to pick up. It takes a few seconds to grab what you brought in and throw it away on your way out. A big part of being considerate is simply not making somebody else’s job harder when you don’t have to.

Your child should never be so afraid of YOU that they’re scared to call you when they need help. Yes, there should be discipline. Yes, there should be consequences. Yes, your kids should know you don’t play. But I never want my children in a dangerous situation thinking, “I can’t call Daddy because he’s gonna kill me.” Call me FIRST. We’ll get you safe. We’ll figure out what happened. And if consequences are necessary, we’ll deal with those afterward. I want my children to respect me, not hide from me. You can hold your child accountable and still be their safest phone call.

I told the boys, “CALL 911!” With no warning. Then I asked one simple question… “Where do you live?” A lot of them didn’t know their address or their parent’s phone number. That doesn’t mean their parents never taught them. Sometimes life gets busy, and we forget to randomly check whether our kids still remember the information we taught them. If you don’t use it, you can lose it. So put your kids on the spot tonight. 😂 Ask them their address and your phone number with NO warning. That’s why I’m grateful for programs li

He was upset with me, but wouldn’t tell me why. I told him even if you’re upset with ME, your voice still matters. Speak up for yourself. Then I noticed how softly he spoke, how much he looked down, and how hard it was for him to confidently say his own name. I pushed him a little, he got emotional, and honestly, so did I. I saw a little of myself in him. Confidence isn’t something I’m expecting him to magically have tomorrow. We’re going to practice it together.

STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. BE SEEN. Look for drivers inside vehicles. Listen for running engines. Recognize reverse lights. Stay out of blind spots. And never assume a driver sees you just because you see them. These are the little lessons we assume kids already know… until we actually ask them. Better to teach it now than for them to learn it when it matters.

Why is it “sad” to see a child LEARNING? Some of the comments on our videos say it’s sad that I have to teach these boys certain things. I don’t understand that. You weren’t born knowing how to pay bills, fix things, communicate, grocery shop, handle emergencies, or navigate life. Somebody taught you. And I guarantee everything you know didn’t come from your mama and daddy. That’s the whole point of a village. These boys have parents who love them and teach them. My own children learn from people besides me too. More good adults pouring into a child is a blessing, not evidence that somebody failed. Instead of being sad that they didn’t know something, be happy somebody cared enough to teach them.

If something happened to your child in a public restroom, would they know what to do? We teach kids how to USE the bathroom, but we also need to teach them how to stay safe in one. Check your surroundings. Use a stall that locks. Go with a buddy when possible. If something feels wrong, LEAVE. And if someone approaches you inappropriately, forget being polite. GET LOUD. Make noise. Get out and find a trusted adult. An adult stranger should never need a child to follow them or help them privately in a restroom. These conversations may feel small until the day they matter.

We sat there for almost 10 minutes and nobody came to our table. I could’ve handled it myself… but K2 needed to. I told him to speak up and get a server’s attention. He was nervous and let a few walk by, but eventually he did it—and we got waited on. I told him, “If you never speak up, we could sit here all day.” William practiced ordering his own food too. As parents, we can’t always order for them, ask for them, and fix everything for them. Sometimes we have to stand beside them and let them work through the uncomfortable moments. I’ll be right there with you, son. But I’m not always going to do it for you.

A busted pipe can do thousands of dollars in damage while you’re waiting on somebody to come save you. So today I taught the boys something every future homeowner should know: where your water main is and how to shut the water off. Ours required a water meter valve key, so they learned how to find it, use the tool, and shut the water down in an emergency. You can still call the plumber. 😂 But you don’t have to let water flood your house while you wait for him to get there.

She finally said yes to the hug… but everything about her body was still saying NO. That was the lesson. A reluctant yes after somebody has been pressured isn’t something to celebrate. Pay attention to the person, not just the word you wanted to hear. And if respecting her answer means you leave disappointed? It’s okay to be disappointed. It’s not okay to make your disappointment her responsibility. One of the boys said it best: “It’s her body and her control.”

Happy to support a great cause! God bless you @NewEmergingKing!!! gogetfunding.com/the-x-for-b… #GoGetFunding

My homie offered to buy my snacks, so I started grabbing everything! Somebody offering to pay doesn’t mean run the bill up. That was the lesson for the boys: be considerate of other people’s money. If somebody is blessing you, don’t take advantage of it.

The gas pump is not a parking space. Once you’re done pumping, move your car before you go inside. Somebody else may be waiting to get gas, and it only takes a few seconds to pull into a regular parking spot. Being considerate is really just thinking about the person coming behind you.

I told the boys to grab apples and oranges… and they were realizing, it’s not all the same! Green apples. Red apples. Mandarins. Different oranges. That was the lesson. Grocery shopping is more than just grabbing “an apple” or “an orange.” You need to know what you’re buying, understand the differences, and pay attention to what’s actually on the list. A lot of kids never get taught the little things because adults assume they already know. That’s why we teach it.

“That’s their job” is a terrible excuse to be inconsiderate. If you grab cold food, decide you don’t want it, and leave it sitting on some random aisle, now somebody has to find it, the food may be ruined, the store loses money, and everybody eventually pays for waste like that. Same thing with carts. Same thing with trash. Same thing with restaurants. Yes, workers get paid to do a job. That doesn’t mean we should make their job harder on purpose. Put it back. Clean up after yourself. Think about the person coming behind you. Being considerate is free.