Latest news with #Jakes
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
What Is Calabash International Literary Festival? A Q&A About Jamaica's Renowned Event
Kwame Dawes and Sheryl Lee Ralph at Calabash 2025 in Treasure Beach, Jamaica There is a fine line between Calabash and a cult. After all, there exist legions who will not miss the biennial festival for anything in the world—those of us who, religiously and ritualistically, take planes, trains and automobiles to reach a remote fishing village in Jamaica where some 3000 people gather in the name of the holy word. See, this is no ordinary literary festival. Since its inception in 2001 Calabash has featured such literary heavy hitters as Salman Rushdie, Jamaica Kincaid, Junot Diaz, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Colson Whitehead, Derek Walcott and actor/novelist Michael Imperioli—all of whom forgo their usual speaker fees because it is so great an honor and a joy to just be invited to read at Calabash. And its setting is the epitome of perfection: Jakes at Treasure beach, a cluster of eccentrically lovely cottages scattered whimsically across six rocky, beachfront acres—a place where the sea is the omnipresent soundtrack (so intensely present that it transforms us visitors into the backdrop against which it, the main character, acts). Every time I stay at Jakes I notice some quirky design detail I hadn't honed in on before; this time it was the 'book nook,' posted outside the property to foster reading in the community. The whimsical beauty of Jakes But the magic of Calabash is so much greater than the sum of its parts. In an increasingly AI-generated world, Calabash—like Jakes, from whom the festival feels organically sprouted—is palpably, beautifully IRL: a noun, a place, a verb and a vibe. It is gloriously anachronistic—no, it is both the past and the future: a relic from an era when digital distraction did not rule, but also saturated in the forward-thinking genius of the writers who grace its stage. It is a festival infused with reggae—there are nightly concerts on the beach and an incredible closing acoustic concert in tribute to a selected classic album—but more than that, Calabash moves like reggae, with an insouciant feel that masks the meticulously calculated coordination at its core. Making such magic takes a village—literally: the tight-knit community of Treasure Beach is itself a main ingredient in the festival—but there is a powerhouse trio at the heart of that calculated coordination. Following last month's staging of the festival, its largest one yet. I asked them some questions. Justine Henzell JUSTINE HENZELL, CO-FOUNDER AND PRODUCER OF CALABASH Can you break down the beautiful alchemy that is Calabash: what are the ingredients that go into this inimitable festival? It is indeed magical but yet obvious that if you fill an exquisite destination with fascinating people, let them listen to diverse points of view read and spoken eloquently, feed them delicious food, and provide music to vibe and dance to a good time will be had by all. In decades of Calabash, what have been, for you as Producer, its most challenging moments and its most magnificent moments? 2027 is the 16th staging so there are so many but simply looking at this year I can find challenges and magnificent moments. Like finding a way, in 24 hours, to fill the space left by Michael Ondaatje's unavoidable absence was indeed a challenge! But because the Calabash team can pivot and draw on a deep well of talent and support, the conversation with Marlon James and Paul Holdengraber was a triumph rather than a consolation. The echoes of Sheryl Lee Ralph song at the end of her conversation with Kwame Dawes are still resonating weeks later. Having a sitting Prime Minister of Jamaica attend for the first time and engage deeply with the authors and audience was also a highlight. What will Calabash look like in 20 years? Hopefully it will look the same in 20 years. The beach will be present in the background, the sea will be safe for swimmers, flowers pollinated by bees will decorate the stage and the audience will be as diverse as it is now. How will it feel? The hunger for sharing experiences has only increased since we started Calabash in 2001 and I believe it will continue to be a need. The palpable joy of the festival weekend feeds the soul as well as the mind and Calabash will continue to be treasured for providing that space. Kwame and I will be 'Calabashemerita' looking on from our comfy chairs strategically placed to catch the breeze, overwhelmingly pleased as we whisper and laugh with each other while watching our successors hurry about. Kwame Dawes KWAME DAWES, CO-FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF CALABASH Can you share more about the process of selecting readers for Calabash? How do you ensure the right combination of wordsmiths? There is really no mystery to our system and our process. We rely on recommendations and on paying careful attention to what is happening in the literary world. We always managed to limit our options by the rules we built into our process--we prioritize new work by our authors, and we seek always to create a balance across all kinds of markers of range a diversity. The principle is to never lose sight of where good and interesting work may be happening in the world, and then making sense of how that work will go over at Calabash. What people may not know is that we are persistent about inviting writers year after year, and we have sought to keep a good relationship with writers, some of whom have not yet said yes to coming. Each year, after the festival, we write to all the writers and we ask them to suggest writers who they know and who they think would be a good fit for the festival. This approach is important for a few reasons. The first is that we know that those who have read at the festival understand what its beauties, strengths and unique qualities are, and so they can communicate this to those writers they know. The second is obvious: they know these writers and can open a door of communication directly with the authors. This has proved especially helpful. While many festivals can offer good fees, and the quality of feed can be a deciding factor for the writers (and their agents) for us what we have to be able to offer assurances of are the following: a large and engaged audience, the opportunity to sell books, a destination that they would pay to go to on their own, an assurance that they will be well-cared for and valued by the festival organizers, an exceptionally good sound system, that they are being invited not entirely for their fame but for the quality of their work with which we are familiar, if not intimate, and the company of really gifted and successful writers. Our secret weapon is Justine. There are few people who can ask for impossible things from people in a manner that makes them regret saying no. Finally, there is our other secret weapon. We do not always know how a reading will go down, but we have come to trust the generosity, hospitality and good humor of our audience, it is a quality that actually transforms the writers in quite remarkable ways. Calabash is a vibe—this may be a cliche, but it is so because it is true. And it allows space for writers to be themselves, but it also moves them into shaking off the usual anxieties of reading at festivals, and capture the Treasure Beach vibe, the Jamaican vibe. We work on this. Needless to say, we have started to think of 2027. Truth is, we started to think of 2027 in 2017. This is the nature of programming. Avid listeners: The larges-ever crowd at Calabash 2025 In decades of Calabash, what have been its most magnificent moments? I am never good at this kind of question. As an organizer, I have always cherished the generosity of the audience—their patience and the cooperation. When I stand on the stage and start to list out the "tent etiquette,' or when I have to respond to the million questions about the open mic and when it is going to happen, or when I am aware that something may have been said on stage that may not have sat well with many, I have always been impressed with the good humor, the kindness and the incredible level of community that this audience has shown. I have been as impressed at the manner in which this attitude is contagious—how generations of Calabashers have passed this spirit on to others from festival to festival. Here is the thing: I have read all over the world, and I mean it when I say that this audience is the most attentive and informed audience to whom I have read. They prepare for the festival, but they also come with a remarkable skill which in many places, has been lost—the skill is the ability to listen and apprehend buckets full of spoken words. I have always observed that Jamaica is a radio society—the radio is still a part of the way we live, and listening is engendered by this. The vibe that is Calabash The second thing that has impressed me year after year, has been the style of the audience. This year, I saw a series of instagram reels featuring Calabash style and I thought this was ingenious. I mention style because what we see revealed is idiosyncratic approaches to style and fashion. People seem to just express themselves how they want, and the result is a chaotic collage of beauty. It's a thing. I could name some of the big names who have come to the festival, and a list of the less than big names who have read. But none of them have surprised me with their brilliance. Their brilliance was known to us when we invited them. What was a surprise for me, and continues to be this has been their willingness to come to our festival. I will never take this for granted. What will Calabash look like in 20 years? Here is what I hope. That the festival will maintain its core principle of being a free festival, of being primarily designed for a Jamaican audience, of being an international festival that is fundamentally Jamaican in spirit, that we hold to our motto of 'earthy, inspirational, daring and diverse'; that Calabash will hold to the reggae principles of its beginning in those, philosophy, and consciousness. We are a festival based on the southern hemisphere, in the third world, in a country shaped and defined by the African those and understanding, and My hope is that this will not be lost. But I can also say that we have been working on the legacy of the festival—its incredible archive of assets surrounding each staging—the photos, the videos, the planning ideas, the art and design work, the merchandize, and on and on. We believe we have created something that such be memorialized as a truly transformative force in Jamaica, and we are working on this and have been doing so for many years. We also, know that Calabash may have to change to meet the needs of the country. When we started the Workshops and Seminars were critical parts of our mission which was to elevate reading and writing of the literary arts in Jamaica. That goal will not change, but Calabash is now looking at other ways to achieve this. The launching of a Caribbean Poetry Book Series, Calabash, is a case in point. Jamaica has to decide whether it wants Calabash to be here in twenty years time. This is a money question, yes, and it is a will question. Justine and I, and the team carry in us tremendous knowledge and skill about running a great festival. People may think this is simple, but if it were, there would be many more of these. The fact is, there are not. If Calabash is around in twenty years, it will be because we have found a way to transfer this knowledge to people who have the vision for the festival. Jason Henzell and his sister Justine JASON HENZELL, CHAIRMAN OF JAKES HOTEL I don't think Calabash could be held anywhere else but at Jakes. Why do you think that is? What is it about the relationship between Jakes, Calabash and Treasure Beach that is so magical? In 2000 Noel Mignott of the Jamaica Tourist Board took [Jamaican novelist and Calabash co-founder] Colin Channer around Jamaica on book tour for his first novel, Waiting in Vain. When reaching Jakes I told them Justine & I came from a family that understood creative people and production and that such a festival would mean a lot to a small village like Treasure Beach. I told them about Alex Haley writing the seminal book Roots at Treasure Cot, our grandparents' beach house on Calabash Bay, which they built in 1941, the year our mother Sally was born. Colin and Kwame Dawes had been hatching the idea of a literary festival already so once Colin and Justine met in Montego Bay the founding trio began to plan in earnest. In 2001, Jakes hosted the first Calabash with about 300 people attending, mostly family and friends. The writers were drawn from the Jamaican and overseas literary community that Kwame and Colin knew. There were more yellow butterflies in the lignum vitae trees than there were people but we knew something special had been created. Jakes, Calabash and Treasure Beach have all grown together over the past 24 years, a beautifully symbiotic relationship. The success of Calabash 2025 has also inspired us to plan the second staging of the Food, Rum & Reggae Festival set for Nov 7-9. Can you share some details about new developments at Jakes and in Treasure Beach, especially since Hurricane Beryl? What did recovery look like—and how was it both a local and a global effort? The outpouring of love and support from overseas visitors after Hurricane Beryl was tremendous and enabled the BREDS Treasure Beach Foundation to assist hundreds of families to 'build back with love.' It proved that the community tourism model, where tourists interact in a myriad of meaningful ways with the local residents, works in good times and challenging ones. Less than a year later Treasure Beach was able to host thousands for Calabash 2025 and show that we are ready to welcome guests again. It was a huge boost to area in every way.
Miami Herald
22-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
HBCU gets big donation from T.D. Jakes
HBCU Morris Brown College received a powerful and unexpected gift during its 2025 commencement ceremony, courtesy of Pastor T.D. Jakes. The renowned faith leader and philanthropist announced a $100,000 donation to the Atlanta-based HBCU during his keynote address on May 17, according to Atlanta News First. T.D. Jakes, founder of The Potter's House, made the pledge through the T.D. Jakes Foundation. The funds will cover more than 150 workforce certification exams, giving Morris Brown students valuable credentials in high-demand fields. His speech centered on resilience, legacy, and leadership - themes that align with the school's long journey of renewal. "Legacy is not what we inherit, but what we invest forward," a Potter's House representative said. The ceremony, held at Saint Philip A.M.E. Church, saw 58 graduates cross the stage. Jakes himself received an honorary degree and emphasized the significance of investing in the next generation, connecting Morris Brown's revival with a larger movement of empowerment and self-determination. Once nearly shuttered, the Wolverines have fought their way back into the spotlight. Morris Brown made history in 2022 as the first HBCU to regain accreditation after two decades. It has since opened its doors to students from other institutions, including those affected by Limestone University's 2025 closure. Jakes' gift comes at a crucial time, as many HBCUs face increasing financial pressures. Past corporate donations from organizations like Chick-fil-A have helped sustain the momentum, but this gesture stands out for its direct impact on students' futures. T.D. Jakes closed with a charge to graduates: "You've come too far not to get up. Fight until you build your business or company, find a cure for cancer, franchise yourself, or get on your feet." The weekend was a memorable one for Atlanta HBCUs, with major figures like Dr. Cornel West and Taraji P. Henson addressing graduates at Morehouse and Spelman, respectively. The post HBCU gets big donation from T.D. Jakes appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bishop T.D. Jakes: Businesses that find their purpose find their profit
Listen and subscribe to The Big Idea on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. According to Dallas-based pastor and businessman T.D. Jakes, entrepreneurs and small business owners don't need to separate finding their purpose from earning profits. "The stats really show that the most successful entrepreneurs are purpose driven, not just profit driven," he explained to host Elizabeth Gore on Yahoo Finance's The Big Idea podcast (see video above or listen below). "When you get in it because you have a compassion and a desire to meet a need, when your business finds its problem, it's found its purpose, and it finds its profit. People who just do it for the money generally have a far less success rate than those who do it because they have an inner conviction that gives meaning to their lives — and the money just follows the meaning." Jakes, who is also the founder of T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures, uses a mixed-income model to address housing needs in the communities where he owns real estate. This increases the diversity in these communities while also addressing housing needs. "The stats say sociologically we do better when we have diverse communities," Jakes said. "It solves a problem, and the best businesses solve problems," he explained. "We have homelessness. We have people who have less-than-adequate housing. We have people who are moving up the economic ladder — and as their family dynamics change, they're scaling up, they're scaling down." Using properties to help create affordable housing isn't the only benefit of investing in real estate, Jakes said. "It's a passive stream of income that, for the most part, once you get it up and done, it's making money while you're asleep," he continued. "And it's solving problems for people, it accrues in value. ... There are a thousand reasons to be able to do it." Others looking to invest in real estate shouldn't limit themselves to their current neighborhood when purchasing property, Jakes advised. The world is "more interconnected than we've ever been in life," he said, noting that money "doesn't care about zip codes." "Most of us think, 'I'm going to invest in my neighborhood,' and that's good," he said. "But sometimes there are great opportunities in other cities and even other countries. And don't be afraid to branch out, because money doesn't watch street signs. As you invest into these different areas, you get a return, and you build relationships, and you become more global." Every Thursday, Elizabeth Gore discusses real-life stories and smart strategies for launching a small business on The Big Idea podcast. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why T.D. Jakes says real estate is key to wealth & savings
Listen and subscribe to The Big Idea with Elizabeth Gore on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcast. This week on The Big Idea with Elizabeth Gore, T.D. Jakes Group Chairman & CEO T.D. Jakes joins Elizabeth Gore to answer the question: How do I do well by doing good? How can an entrepreneur succeed while also giving back to their community? Gore and Jakes break down his real estate ventures and the Big Idea behind his specific mixed-use housing model that is helping communities in Texas and other cities Finance's The Big Idea with Elizabeth Gore takes you on a journey with America's entrepreneurs as they navigate the world of small business. This post was written by Lauren Pokedoff How to y'all. I'm Elizabeth Gore. Welcome to the Big Idea from Yahoo Finance, the show that navigates the world of small business and entrepreneurship. All businesses start with one light bulb moment and each week I'm going to take you on a journey with America's entrepreneurs. We're going to get betweenThe spreadsheets for these operators to flow from their smallest failures to their biggest successes. As the co-founder of the small business funding platform, Hello Alice, it has always been my mission to help ensure entrepreneurs have the tools they need to live the American dream. So let's cowboy our big idea question is how do you do well by doing good. Now, what I mean by this is how can someone give back to their community while making money on their entrepreneurial journey? Something I'm very passionate about. Today's industry focus is real me today to talk about this is Chairman TD Jakes, who's going to share his stories on how he's given back to the community through his entrepreneurial and spiritual journey. For more than 40 years, Bishop Jakes, as I know him, has helped millions of people realize their purpose through his dynamic ministry. He is the founder of the Potter's House, a non-denominational, multicultural church and global humanitarian organization in Dallas, Texas with 30,000 TD Jakes Enterprises, the chairman is a bestselling author, publisher, and an award winning filmmaker. He has recently founded Good Soil, an entrepreneurial platform and relevant to today's topic, he is a real estate mogul across the country. Please welcome America's preacher, TD Jakes, I can't believe you're here. I, I am just, um, and it's hard for me to call you Charon because you're my bishop. And the first time I ever saw your face was when I took my grandmother to your Potter's house in Dallas and full circle now to be talking about entrepreneurship. I that crazy? I mean your whole philosophy is doing well by doing good. I mean, tell me more. Well, you know, I don't to separate one from the other, and the stats really show that the most successful entrepreneurs are purpose-driven, not just profit-driven. Uh, when you get in it because you have a compassion and a desire to meet a need, when your business finds its problem, it's found its purpose andIt finds this profit arbitrarily. It just just just comes along with it. People who just do it for the money generally have a far less success rate than those who do it because they have an inner conviction that gives meaning to their lives and the money just follows the meaning. Now I think of you asAmerica's preacher. And but you start doing your homework and you were an entrepreneur from a kid. Where did that come from? Well, my parents, my father started a janitorial service with a mop in the bucket back in the 60s, ended up with 10 trucks and 52 employees and traveling all over the I was cheap labor. There you go. OK, so, so I scrubbed out the corners and packed up the trucks. I remind my kids of that, by the way, when I get home,yeah, dinner is your pay. We'll work for food. And then my mother started buying up property, real estate, all up and down the uh, even later, many years later when my mother got Alzheimer's, she was still getting rent. Yeah, didn't no longer remember. She referred it to like 607, 609. I'd say 609 paid, 610 paid, and she, she said, I don't care no more baby. But all of those years she modeled that in front of me. So it's kind of in my DNA and part of who I am. And every church I ever pastored, I started from the ground up. There are a lot ofSimilarities between the two because it's not just about preaching. You have to also pay the bills and pay whatever staff you have, you know, there are a lot of similarities between the two. So believing in yourself, believing in your product, uh, believing in faith, believing in for me believing in God, that some kind of way you're going to get me out of this, the roller coaster. And I think that's OK for us to talk about these small business owners, the folks listening and there are going to be hard days. And if you have that purpose and faith, how does that how does that drive someonethrough? I think it's very, very important because mindsets determine assets and if you lose your mindset, you're going to lose your assets. And so it's very important that you maintain your mindset and surround yourself with other people who can relate to you, who really realize that just because you're an entrepreneur doesn't mean that youhave lots of money and everything goes right and you can come in when you want to and leave when you please. You might think that when you start. Well, then you realize, oh wait, I'm the hardest boss I've ever had. After the first one to come in the last one to leave out the trash. Everyone takes out the trash and whenever somebody has to go, you end up filling their spot sometimes. But that all adds to the education of you fully understanding what is ask of a person. And so the hard times determine the good times. And I think we avoid the hard times, but the hard times is the university of education that exposes you to what it takes to really be an entrepreneur. This is not just about school, it's about experience. Really from day one, and this is our big question on the show today is, is can you do well by doing good? Gave both gave back to your community, found profitable so for a small business owner, I mean, they are trying to, you know, trying to hire the first person, cash is tight, but do you believe you can give back from day one? Yes, I think you can. You can give a smile. You can give a positive attitude. You can give a birthday card, you can keep a record of birthdays and holidays and create because greatest resource in business is relationships. That is so true. And a lot of people do not count relationships as a resource. They only see a resource as the bottom line on a ledger, but in reality, your greatest relates, your greatest resource is your relationship and your ability to relate with your customer, your consumer, your staff, uh, your peripheral staff, meaningThat you should have some people around you that you don't pay, but they are smart and committed to you and they, whether they become your board or they become your mentors and mentees. The reason we started good soil is the lack of all three things, not having access to capital, not having access to cash, not having access to confidants, not having access to somebody who can you and speak into your life. We are getting ready to have the largest transfer of wealth from baby boomers to the next generation. 76 million people. It's amazing. And Good Soil is your entrepreneurial platform where small business owners can come on and they get counsel, they get grants. You have the Good Soul Forum coming up. Tell us about that. Well, we've got the Forum coming up coming up June 12th through the 14th. In your home state we got you. I'm so excited. I'm excited. There's also, I think this woman named, what's her name? Oprah Winfrey. Oprah, Oprah's coming. And I told, I told somebody, this is an opportunity for us to pass to the next generation. What we learned, what we did right, what we did wrong, what to watch out for, so that the learning curve is not so steep or so stiff. And I think it's a very important inundate yourself with this kind of information. We're gonna be doing mentoring. We've got a $500,000 fast pitch competition. Uh, even those who didn't win the competition said they benefited by having to put together, uh, their portfolio, what they were going to do, uh, their business plan, that sort of thing. You cannot walk out of a room full of like-minded not be fuller and richer and more developed in who you are. That's how I felt anytime I'm in the room with you, to be really honest. Now, now tell me, we're in a really interesting time, if you watch the news right now of very strong opinions and and some would say the purpose of a company is to make money, period. So you see a lot of some shareholders pushing back on everything from diversity, equity inclusion to ESG to even corporate I'd love to just hear your opinion on that. And then also, you know, did you ever get pushback from some for your profitable models, because, because you are the purpose driven human. So I'm just curious your thoughts. Yes, you're going to get push back, but the reality is, no matter what we vote or what we say or the semantics or how we change the name, our world is diverse. Our country is diverse. Whether that diversity is gender, whether it is uh, whether it is different ethnicities. It's unavoidable. We just simply do not have enough, uh, white men to run everything in the country by themselves. The birth rates, just do the math. So at the end of the day, if I have a car wreck and an EMT comes, I don't care whether he's Indian or Asian or young or old, I just want to get out of the so we can debate it all day long on paper. We love to do stuff like that, but in reality, this is a diverse country. England is a diverse country. India is a diverse country. It's unavoidable. And so if you're going to, you only have one pond to fish out of. So you can't just pick the fish, you know, and then you've got to pay them fairly and treat them fairly, and we can change the name any way you want the point is, we're all here together and we do not want to get to the point that we become extinct as a species because we figure out how to do artificial intelligence at the expense of human intelligence. And we were just talking about human intelligence, no matter what form it comes in, or color. Hold that thought. We are going to take a quick break and we'll be right back with a big back to The Big Idea. I'm Elizabeth Gore here with Chairman TD Jakes. Now, uh, I picked up on something earlier. I actually didn't realize that your mom, God rest her soul,Um, was investing in real estate all the way up until when she passed. Uh, and today our industry topic and focus as real estate, which you are crazy passionate about. So was she your inspiration and then why do you think that that is a good both profitable and community investment to be in real estate? Well, it solves the problem and the best businesses solve problems. We have homelessness, we havePeople who have less than adequate housing. We have people who are moving up the economic ladder ladder, and as their family dynamics change, they're scaling up, they're scaling down. It's a passive stream of income that for the most part, once you get it up and done, it's making money while you sleep and it's solving problems for people. It accrues in value. And if you're lucky enough to live in Texas, shameless plug like I do, uh, you don't have to worry about state are some special benefits that go along with it. There are 1000 reasons to be able to do it. And what we have a tendency to do is to invest in depreciating assets so that we look like we're doing well, rather than scale down on looking like you're doing well and scale up on actually doing well by focusing on appreciating assets, passing it on to your heirs, becoming part of you can do more business, you can buy more things, and it's just so many good reasons I think you should do it. And when we do it, we do mixed income. Yeah, so your model, if I may, is really unique, and I'm I'm thinking about Texas and Georgia and uh you do mixed income. You also look at the properties, you know, are we going to put data centers? Are we going to do this, we're gonna do that? Tell me about that model because I think it's really interesting for other people to emulate it. Yeah, Ithink it's very, very, very important because whenYou got one group of people and they're all on the same socioeconomic level of life. It kind of gets boring if everybody is completely wealthy or everybody is completely I can't imagine you bored. Lord help us. That cannot happen. Our diversity is interesting and the stats say do better when we have diverse communities. There's more upward mobility. If a boy who has no father grows up in a neighborhood near someone who has a father, he is 7 times less likely to go to so your neighbors impact you. They inspire you, they motivate you. And so our focus is mixed income, mixed use facilities because we're trying to close food deserts where you don't have to drive so far to get food or to get what you need. We have covenants where we don't have payday loans a bunch of liquor stores or intoxicating people to the point that they're not productive in their lives. We're not saying that you can't have it, you have to travel a little further to get it, you know, but getting a balance in your life where you're thinking and you're moving and you're talking with interesting people, we are so isolated, especially since that isolation is affecting our emotional well-being. And so we have little places where you can do a cookout and the neighbors can come into the open spaces and we won't be so alone, even if we do livealone. It's interesting, you almost come to the real estate industry withUm, almost a way of life. You know, you're not just building a house, you're building a way of life, you're building a community, you're building long-term investments, wealth transfer, as we talked what is there any, is there anything you're you're worried about in the real estate industry? Anything people should be concerned about? Oh, I think you have to watch the interest rates. I think we have to watch inflation. I think we have to watch the cost of products, uh, and, and, and the timing of it. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't go forward through hard times, but because hard times don't last. Tough times don' tough people do. And, and by the time you get it built, you're going to be in a different period. So I don't think you ought to give up your dream just because of the inconvenience of where you are right now. Two years from now, it won't be there. Recessions don't last, inflation doesn't last. And thinking about it that way from a long term perspective. In fact, all entrepreneurs listening to me right now, you can't just think about making week. You've got to have a long term perspective of where you want to be 10 years from now. And that's how you monitor whether the year was a success, not by the year itself, but how close are you now to where you want to be 5 years from now. That's where that, as you said, your passion and your values come through, right? Because you have hard years good years, we try to be very transparent on the show that we all make mistakes. So we call our mistakes dirty unicorns. So, so, so get throw me a mistake. I can't imagine you let's get a dirty unicorns. Oh, it's hard to pick one. I think the biggest, most important recent one is being careful who you partner uh, when you get that wrong, you spend so much money trying to get out once you get in that it's better to spend the money on the front end vetting, not only what they have done, but are they compatible and do your rhythm and your pace and your objective. And sometimes I haven't gotten that right. I have confused charisma with character. Oh, confused charisma with character. And my husband just said, um, he works with a lot of tribes and there's this saying that is, I go at the speed of trust. I was really moved by that when he said that to me andSo does does break breaking through one layer to see the next layer down, is that take time? Is that diligence? I mean, what is your advice to business owners when they're choosing that partner? I think you ought to get into partnerships like like uh like my wife gets into the pool. One step at a know, let's do this and see how that goes. And then let's do this. She's not doing cannonballs. No, no, she's not me's not OK. And uh that's great advice. Yeah, it gives you an opportunity to see. It doesn't mean that the partner is bad, but do we have chemistry? It's almost like a marriage, you know, it's have a covenant, you have an agreement, you have principles, you have ideas, but you don't know till you move in how well that's gonna work out. You get married in 20 minutes, but you don't really get married for 10 years. That's right. And then you're married to a different person, I think every 10 years. Yes. Can we grow together or do we grow apart? That happens in partnerships too. That's have to have the equivalent of a prenup is how do I get out if they, yeah, yeah, yeah. Lawyer up and make sure that you have the principles set up so that when the times get hard, you've already agreed how to respect each other as you separate separate one fromanother. That is incredible advice. I, I was going to ask you the best piece of advice you've ever been given, but I'm going to switch out. What what do you think?Would your mother's advice be about real estate? I think, uh,Not to limit yourself to your own zip code that that that we have to think more globally today than we did when she started. She bought up all the houses on the street and then she started branching out into other neighborhoods. Most of us think, you know, I'm gonna invest in my neighborhood and that's good. That's sometimes there are great opportunities in other cities and even other countries, and don't be afraid to branch out because money doesn't watch street signs. It doesn't care about zip codes. And so as you invest into these different areas, you get a return and you build relationships and you become more global because for the first time in the world, I can get on my phone and pick and forth with somebody in Korea and get an immediate answer as if they were across the street. So if, if Japan's stock goes down, it's gonna affect America. We are more interconnected than we've ever been in, in life. And by the way, when we were talking earlier about the discontentment and the restlessness of the areas that we live in, I see it on the news, but I don't see it on the on the elevator.I don't see it in the grocery store. I don't see us running buggies into each other, you know. Yeah, not the same ones anyway, you know, and I'm not sure that we're as angry at each other as they say we are. I think conflicts drive up ratings. And so they show the very worst of us because the planes that land never get covered. It's just the ones that so we're we're seeing all these crashing planes, you know, and you walk around like this, but when you walk up and down the street, people are opening doors for you. How are you today? so forth and so on. I'm not saying that there is an evil out there and injustice out there, but I'm not, I don't think it's as pervasive as we think that it is. Well, it's certainly not here and you're a blessing, and I am so grateful that you came on today and umAll of our listeners at the Big Idea, they're going to learn so much from you. So thank you. It's a real pleasure. At the end of each episode, I like to give a shout out to a small business who is doing amazing work. So today, I'd like to shout out to Mama Laverne's Food, a business known for their award-winning Chicken and waffle pancake mix. Oh my gosh, it sounds so by a mother and daughter duo, Laverne and Donna Richardson, it also happens to be Chairman Jake's favorite. Thank you, Chairman Jakes, for coming on the show and thank all of you for joining us. We hope you learned a lot. This has been the big idea from Yahoo Finance. Watch us every week on your service. Find videos at and listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can also come say howdy to me on any of my social channels at Elizabeth Gore USA. I'm Elizabeth Gore, and as my grandmother always used to say, hold your head up high and give them hell. See you soon. This content was not intended to be financial advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional financial services. Sign in to access your portfolio
TimesLIVE
01-05-2025
- General
- TimesLIVE
TD Jakes steps down as church leader, hands over leadership to daughter and son-in-law
Renowned American Bishop TD Jakes has stepped down as leader of the Potter's House church, handing the leadership to his daughter Sarah Jakes Roberts, and son-in-law, Touré Roberts. Jakes, 67, made the announcement during his Sunday sermon after serving for decades. 'This is legacy, not because they're kin, but because they're the kind,' he said. 'They've immersed themselves into the DNA of this church for years. 'They're not meant to replace me because nobody can, but if they step into this position, they may extend me. We need fresh vision, fresh blood, as the world changes with technology. 'I know the crown is heavy, but I also know if God is for you, who can be against you?' In November, Jakes survived a health scare while delivering a sermon in church. He said there are some things he wants to focus on outside the church. 'There's some things I want to do in the community before I get too old to do them because the clock is ticking. There are some ways I want to prepare for the days ahead that I can't do completely from the pulpit. There's some work in the vineyard that needs to be done. 'I talked to the board because I was concerned. I had seen too many men build something and stay so long that they kill what they built. What you have to understand is that it's not so important that you just know when to grab hold, it's knowing when to let go. There are some other things I'm assigned to do, but I cannot afford, especially after November, to risk something happening to me and you being sheep without a shepherd. 'I cannot afford to let all the work of all the saints, living and dead, hold this so tightly and for so long that I wither away.'
