A Future Built by the Curious
For years, we’ve been hearing that “artificial intelligence is coming!” For most of us, artificial intelligence, or AI, is a hallmark of science fiction, and even before its popularity in the news cycle for the last five years or so, we’ve already been relying on it heavily in our everyday lives. But the power and extent to which AI has, can, and will affect us haven’t yet been fully embraced.
Artificial Intelligence isn’t coming — it’s here, and likely here to stay.
But, if we’re being honest, there’s a lot of noise floating around surrounding the topic. So I’ll say the quiet part out loud. At this stage, it’s less about machines, robots, and technology replacing people. The moment that we’re in demands that people replace their fears of AI (founded and unfounded alike) with focus.
For the last hundred years, progress has belonged to the industrialists —those with factories, money, and access. The next hundred will belong to the curious — the ones who decide to learn, to adapt, and to build with new tools in their hands.
In my latest episode of Money & Wealth, I talk about what I call The Great AI Rebuild, where I discuss how the entire world is being rewritten, and how every small business, entrepreneur, and dreamer can take part in it.
“Your job won’t be replaced by AI. It’ll be replaced by someone who knows how to use it.”
Understand this, and this is supremely important for younger generations whose cultural value system may differ from many veterans in the workforce, this new era doesn’t require wealth to start — it requires work ethic.
This is the new pick-and-shovel economy. Be the one handing out the tools, not always on the receiving end.
Listen to “Rebuilding the World with AI: Million-Dollar Opportunities Hiding in Plain Sight.” Please share it with someone who needs a reason to stop fearing the future and start building it.
Faith, Freedom, and the Work That’s Still Ahead
Recently, I joined Ambassador Andrew Young on The Breakfast Club. Any time I sit beside him, I’m reminded just how far we’ve come as a nation and community, and just how far we have to go. As we transition eras and take up causes similar to those of our heroes and sheroes, we must remember that, as inheritors of this legacy, we are called to manage and build on the hard-fought progress won for us. If we don’t take it up, no one else will.
We talked about the legacy of Dr. King, about the unfinished business of economic justice, and about the power of a new generation to lead through ownership, not outrage.
Ambassador Young said something that stayed with me:
“The movement didn’t end with civil rights. It’s still happening — in how we build businesses, how we raise families, how we serve one another.”
He’s right.
Because the next phase of freedom builds on protests and demands for equal opportunity and grows into conversations about ownership and production. It’s about showing our children that leaders can wear a hoodie, run a company, and write checks that change communities, just the same as a man or woman in a suit.
Watch the full conversation on The Breakfast Club.
Elevating Excellence — The 2025 XCEL Awards
Last week, I was deeply honored to receive the 2025 XCEL Award from Black Enterprise, standing alongside leaders I deeply respect: Robert F. Smith , Troy Taylor, Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Larry Fitzgerald Jr., and Dr. George Frazier.
These men embody excellence, purpose, and a true sense of leadership.
“The outstanding individuals selected for XCEL Award recognition represent both extraordinary achievement and undeniably positive impact on behalf of others.” — Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.
Read more about this year’s XCEL honorees.
The Real Rebuild
We are actively rebuilding the world. Others are already building. Will you have the courage to participate and create a better future for us all?
The question isn’t whether technology will change your life. It’s whether you’ll let it change your possibilities.
The next generation is watching. Let’s give them something worth inheriting.