Motivation and Work: "Every Sickness Ain't Death ..."

I have been writing essays since the 4th grade. Even then, they were 20-25 pages long and I was creating characters that others wanted to emulate. I would take home a reel-to-reel tape from school and voice out these characters - Matman being the primary one -. This stuff would be 40-50 minutes long. Then I would get an overhead projector and draw out the scenes. My instructors were so impressed they let me go from room to room and show what I had done. The positive vibes and responses that I got from that point on inspired me to continue to be interested in both art and writing.

Why am I writing this? Because there are those out there who are not getting the motivation they deserved. My younger brother Tim tells me that Mom always keep a bottom drawer in the kitchen filled with writing paper, drawing paper, pens and colors. He said that one of his friends told him, "Every time I come to y'alls house, you're the table drawing or writing." I guess when you're up under genius of this calibre you take it for granted. We are all incredible writers; my brother Tim has five published books. I've got more than 2,200 newspaper articles around this nation. Again, its about motivation.

Ego motivates me for the most part. I write grant proposals, terms papers, theses, dissertations, program proposals, legal briefs, essays on any subject and so on. I do this because, at some point, I was inspired or motivated. I write 200 page manuscripts like most people write memos or reminder notes for the grocery store. Yes, its prolific. But after some time you have to begin to motivate yourself. The way I do. The way Tim does.

Look at it this way: decades from now as someone (or something) is rummaging through the debris from the inevitable nuclear fallout. they'll come across our stuff and say, "Hey man, these guys had it going on." They'll read and learn that not everybody from the 21st century was an idiot.

Write about something of substance and be proud of it. Screw "art for art's sake." There is so little time left to muddle around. We have to do what needs to be done and let our words also motivate. As the old man told George Jackson who, in turn shared with us in his book, Soledad Brother: "Every sickness ain't death, every goodbye ain't gone, and every big man ain't strong."

Sifa ina ote watu weusi (All praise is due to black people)

Matthew
972-217-0825