Self Made.....The Most Rewarding Success

When 2Pac rapped, "I'm a self-made millionaire" on 1996's Hit'em Up, he said it with a certain conviction, so it is no surprise that all of the African American's on Forbes' inaugural list of "The Wealthiest Black Americans" are self made millionaires, except for one, Oprah Winfrey, a self made billionaire.

Never mind the controversy surrounding 2Pac's lyrics, the fact is that his story and many of those on this list is that of African Americans who took their God-given talents and parlayed them into stratospheric success. So pardon him and them, for speaking with certainty.

The list, compiled by the people over at Forbes, highlights the names of the normal crop of African Americans that come to mind when we speak of wealth, Oprah, Tiger, Cosby, Magic, Jordan, Bob Johnson, and Jay-Z but also includes a number of lesser known names, including Don Peebles, Ulysses Bridgeman, Jr., and Quintin Primo III.

However, what they all have in common is that entrepreneurial spirit and internal drive that allowed them to be self-made.

It's is one thing to be a Hilton, a Morgan, a Carnegie, a Walton, an Astor, or a Ford, where you are essentially born into wealth, but it is a completely different ballgame when you come from the bottom, like Madam C.J. Walker, A.G. Gaston, or John H. Johnson. Your only armament is that of skill and persistence.

Almost every culture and rung of the socioeconomic scale respects the hustler. We are drawn to those who chart their own course, make their own rules, and attain success, within and outside the boundaries of the law. Be them the mobsters who built Las Vegas or the hustlers who lit up Harlem.

Aside from paying homage to those that came before you and those that helped open doors for you, being self made is what the American dream is all about. It is the redefinition of rugged individualism. That belief not only in self, but in the ability of the self to achieve on behalf of a group. What many people fail to remember is that as one person becomes a millionaire, he/she enables many others to earn alongside them.

Wealth is not created in a vacuum! It creates wealth and encourages success around it.

Just think of all the people they employ directly or indirectly through their companies. Warren Buffet has been minting millionaires since before many of us were born, like wise for Bill Gates, and many others. In theory, it is: I succeed, so we succeed.

So as you go about your daily grind, trying to figure out how to create your own
stratospheric wealth, strive to be self made. Strive to stand on your own two. Strive to make those around you wealthy in the process. Strive to create generational wealth, so that your children's children will come out the gate ahead of the pack.

You too could have "money like Cosby," if you strive to be self made.

-whatdabusinessis.com