Everyone in America is free to either succeed or fail. Ethics play a major role in an individual’s success or failure. Successful African-Americans who place value on their character are free to live the American dream while unsuccessful African-Americans who place value on material gain quickly lose their freedom to despair, imprisonment or spiritual emptiness.

To assure the freedom and success of all present and future generations of African-Americans we need to instill in our children the same code of ethics that are part of the successful American lifestyle.

So what needs to be understood by African-American children to assure their success in life?

- Successful people understand the value of education. They use educational resources for self-improvement and realize that education is a life long process. Continuing education opens a person to new ideas, people and lifestyles. Ignorance and bigotry close doors.

- Successful people have good work ethics. They are reliable, on time and prepared. They understand that the workplace is not about the individual, it’s a collaborative effort toward a single goal of success. They know that a job description evolves and may change according to need. “It’s not my job” are the words of the unemployed.

- Successful people have respect and empathy for others. They are diplomatic when faced with conflict and avoid both trouble and troublemakers. Success is measured by the company one keeps. A successful person may reach out to someone who is failing, but they also know when it’s time to break ties.

- Successful people understand that a person may be wealthy, just comfortable or poor but in no way is it a judge of person’s character. Anyone living a decent and respectable life is a successful person’s peer. Building a respectable, honest and trustworthy network of peers helps elevate an individual’s success.

- Success makes people confident, charitable and agreeable which gains the attention of people with great success and outstanding character who will gladly open doors for them.

So what else needs to be understood by African-American children to assure their success in life?

- Unsuccessful people don’t value education. They don’t use educational resources; they use excuses and pass the blame unto the system. They don’t respect anyone’s success, experience and the power that comes with it.

- Unsuccessful people have poor work ethics. They show up late if at all and believe it’s their right to stick only to the job description they were hired for. They are drawn to easy money which draws them into trouble.

- Unsuccessful people only care about themselves. They use insults, fists and weapons when faced with conflict and use foul language to make a point. They surround themselves with people who are just like them because it makes them feel powerful.

- Unsuccessful people may be illegally or immorally wealthy, but more often they are just miserably bitter and poor. Failure makes a person angry, paranoid, judgmental and just plain disrespectful towards authority figures which is a big mistake because…

…disrespectful people are not liked by people with authority over their jobs, credit and freedom. The only door that will be opened to a disrespectful person will be a jail cell.

Until people of all races understand that assets do not determine worth, respect is earned and not given and that success and freedom come with a lifestyle and are not rights… no one will really be free.