@ freddyB - I think one of our biggest weaknesses is that once we do get a successful product, we tend to squander the wealth away on an extravagant life. Nothhing wrong with spending if u have the money to spend - but take a look at white millionares....they don't live extravagantly (except for Donald Trump whose been to bankrupcy court how many times?). Anyway, my point is that we are a flashy and ostentatious people....and that is often our downfall.

I remember this young African American man that I met some years back. At the age of 27 he quit his job as an accountant and started his own business in an unrelated field. Daring and risky move but he was very successful and sold a product much in demand. He also employed probably about 20 people, the majority of whom were white. I noticed that with his financial success, he went from driving a beat up Honda to a Mercedes Benz, which he in turn ugraded to a newer Benzevery 6month to a year. He also started wearing custom-made suits and you could see he was wearing his money; taking friends on exotic trips to the Island which he paid for; investing in some flashy but not financially sound ventures. He was as they say,"Living Large"

Well no matter how successful a business is, if you bleed it dry, you will not be able to sustain it. And thats what happened here.This man'sbusinesses abruptly shut down at the hands of the US Marshalls.....and he filed for bankrupcy. Shocking - espcially when I tell u that this man's gross receipts were close to a million dollars a year.....and that is right out the gate. He didn't have to wait years to attain that level because he had a business model that could not fail.

His failure was a sad day for me because at the time he was about my age and his business success was inspiration to me that young, black people could succeed in America in a large way. Anyway, the lesson that I learnt was that you dont have to wear your money... because ultimately, you have nothing to prove to anyone....