The Honesty Box

 

Imagine waking up on the morning of your birthday. You check your phone and find that you have plenty of missed calls, text messages and social media shout outs. After putting on your best outfit, you find a medium sized plain box, with a bow on it, sitting directly outside of your front door. Smiling from ear to ear, you pick it up and shake it gently. There’s got to be something special inside for you. Little do you know the surprise that’s lurking inside of the box. It’s filled with different colors of index cards with words typed, not handwritten, on them. It seems a little impersonal for such a spectacular event – after all, it is your birthday. As you take a closer look, you realize that the words printed on the cards are people’s opinions about you. Some are outstanding remembrances of your wonderful personality, while others are harsh reminders of your past and unfavorable comments about you. As you continue to sift through the many index cards, you find a tape recorder at the bottom. You play the message back and a stoic voice simply says, “Welcome to the honesty box”.

 

Wouldn’t it be interesting if we were all handed an “honesty box”, filled with anonymous statements of how people really feel about us? Those things they only have enough balls to say behind our backs, but not in our faces. Wait, let’s be somewhat optimistic and assume there are some nice things in there as well. We can hope for an honesty box for people to tell us how they really feel about us, but reality isn’t quite aligned with that. But you will be able to get Honesty Box in your hands very soon. It’s my upcoming poetry and essay book, set to be released later this year. You may have noticed tweets from me with the hash tag #whatsinthebox. Well, what’s inside the box? Honesty. For those of you that have read my first two books, Blurred Vision and Hindsight 20/20, you’ll find that Honesty Box is even more raw, candid and personal. It’s my version of the truth and I’m sticking to it….

Check out the rest of the post here…

Honesty Box- Coming Soon

New Website, New Look, New Mailing List….

 

HOWDY WORDPRESSERS,

I have exciting news for you…  I’ve switched from Word Press to my own personal website…   I’m really excited about the freedom I will have to share with you all more Music, WTH Moments, and more inspiration…  If you would like to continue receiving emails and updates from Peauxetic Expressions, please click on the link below.

Please subscribe to my mailing list at  www.peauxeticexpressions.com

 

Thanks again for joining the Peauxetic Expression Family….

 

Carlos

Website Update/Music Monday – “Are Brandy Fans Nodding Off?”

Good Morning! Hope everyone’s day is going is well.

I’m in the process of updating my website and as a result, some of my followers were lost in the transfer. If you would like to still receive emails and updates from Peauxetic Expressions, please click on the link below. Also, don’t forget to check out the first post of today’s Music Monday, “Are Brandy Fans Nodding Off?” Will you be buying Brandy’s CD when it hits shelves tomorrow?

If you would like to subscribe again now, please go to www.peauxeticexpressions.com

F.E.A.R. Factor

Everyone is scared of something. Children are afraid of the dark. Teenagers are afraid of acceptance and peer pressure. College students are afraid of the massive job force that awaits them and where they fit into it. Adults are afraid of so many things…failure, commitment, love, and even success. The funny thing is adults are the least likely to admit their fears. Fear is a catch 22 emotion. It can hinder your progression and propel you forward all at the same time. The question is which direction will you allow fear to sway you?

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to hear actor/author Hill Harper speak at a company event for my job. I didn’t expect much, but his speech was a pleasant surprise. The premise of his topic was fear and how we allow it to hold us back. One of his quotes that he stated has still stuck with me. He didn’t coin this phrase, but it was very profound nonetheless (and it was my first time hearing it). “Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real”. Basically, what this means is that fear is nothing more than an illusion. We get so worked up behind the illusion, that we lose sight of the reality. Because of fear, we believe that we will fail. We will lose. We will die. We will be defeated. We will be left all alone. We will not succeed. And yes, all of these things are possible and can happen…if we think ourselves into that negative space. But what about the flip side of fear that says we are victorious? We are loved. We are winners. We are blessed. We are worthy.

Failure is not the worst thing that can happen to us. It can actually be the beginning of something beautiful. So what if you fail? You learn, get up, try again or try something new if that doesn’t work.  We should never let fear hold us back, only push us forward. Is this easier said than done? YES! In case you’re wondering how I came up with this blog, it’s because I have had some fearful thoughts recently in regards to releasing my 2^nd book and starting school again in the Spring of next year. But one things is for sure, if we let fear stop us from turning on the engine to drive to our dreams, we’re sure to never get anywhere. Turn on the reality of something great and turn off the F.E.A.R.!

What are you fearful of and how do you overcome it?

Miguel: Adorn Remix- Song of the Week

Last week, Miguel released his 2^nd CD, Kaleidoscope Dream to a strong sales week of over 50,000 copies. It’s the follow-up to his nearly 2-year-old debut album, All I Want Is You. You may have heard “Adorn” as far back as February as the first track on 1 of 3 “Art Dealer Chic” EPs. All of those EP tracks are featured on Kaleidoscope Dream, with a few new songs as well. But “Adorn” made so much noise that it was chosen as the lead single for the CD. I must admit I didn’t care for the song as much, until one day I gave it a chance and heard the whole thing. It has since really grown on me and I like the simple production on here. Plus, the Wiz Khalifa feature on this version makes it even better. In the background, Wiz Khalifa says “That boy can sing.” Miguel is no R & B ballad king, but it’s a sure thing he’ll gain an even bigger following with this one.

What do you think of the song?

*Check out my thoughts on the Kaleidoscope Dream CD at the end of my video for today’s earlier blog, “T-Boz Finds A New TLC”*