Pride, Poverty, and Prosperity

By Maceo Keeling

Everyone has heard the old saying that pride goes before a fall.

This proverb has been proven within our communities, in politics, at work and in almost every aspect of our lives. What do we have to fear if we are already at our bottom and our circumstance is riddled with tribulation, frustration, and agitation?

Pride can be a powerful enemy or an empowering friend. It does not define what you can or cannot do. Pride often asks what you are willing or not willing to do. For example, if you were hungry and needed food for your family, could you, and would you, commit a crime or steal for food? Could you humble yourself and ask for help? And if you got help, would you pay it back or pay it forward?

The answer to all of these questions is Yes! You absolutely could—because desperate circumstances can force good people to do desperate things.

Your pride won’t determine your ability to break into someone’s property and take something that doesn’t belong to you, but it will determine your willingness to do so.

Obviously if your pride keeps you from committing a crime, that’s a good thing. On the other hand, when we see ourselves as too good to do a dirty job, or accept a job which, although honest, is low-paying or menial, it is often pride that keeps us down and broke. Yet being broke or without money should not be a permanent condition, especially if it is only pride that keeps us from finding a way out.

Clearly, if you have nothing, even a little something can create some options. A flood begins with only a few drops of water, and even a few drops of water can begin to slake your thirst. My testimony is about the folks who say, “I would never work for McDonalds,” but they have no job or money to speak of. When I ask why not, they tell me it doesn’t pay enough. (As it happens, I worked for McDonald’s for many years, supported a family of four, and held dear the company benefits and a 401K.)

So let me emphasize: a little something is better than a whole lot of nothing! Which leads us back to… how do we change our situation?

Put your pride in your shoe and walk on it. That is a safe place for it: it will cause you to walk a little taller. You’ll know where pride is when you are standing in line at the bank cashing your check. Finally, you can take pride out of your shoe when someone says to you, “Hey man what you doing?” You simply answer, “Working, and paying my bills!”

Pride does not make any job or an honest hustle easy, but how can you say that you are proud of anything when you are doing nothing?

Most paths you choose will bring you to a rough patch at some point or another before you achieve success. Fast-food, retail, landscaping, drywall repair, car detailing, selling T-shirts, hats, homes—anything you choose starts out hard. How do you start, if you have nothing to start with? How about:

Go to the library and use the public computer to sell on Ebay or Craig’sList or Etsy. Borrow a rake, if you have to, and rake leaves for money. Shovel snow for hire. As we approach spring, people want their gardens tilled or yard mowed: get out and offer to labor for them—for pay. “Get yo papah!”

The only thing between you and your money is air, opportunity, and you. You can suck up the air and create your opportunities at almost no cost. The only cost is to prove ourselves worthy to be paid!

The question is, will you pursue it? Will you press on to the goal you have chosen or will you give up on yourself? Will you become one of those people who make excuses and criticize those who have a great story to tell about how they made it? Or will you admire them and emulate them as a role model for yourself?

You do not have to start out great at it anything to begin something and learn from experience. You must begin something to become great at anything!

Set it off! Wake up! Get up! Stand up … and Stay up!

The Conscious Call radio program airs every Monday at 11:30 a.m. on WRES-FM 100.7. In a collaboration with the radio program, the Urban News will help keep readers informed about events, programs, news, and the progress of The Conscious Call. The opinions and statements made in this column are solely the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of the Urban News.