$5,000 Scholarship for Black Farmers

I read this from Soul Fire Farm this morning:

Help spread the word: These scholarships are open to any applicants who self-identify as Black farmers or aspiring growers at any scale, or their dependents. No need to have land to apply, and there are many eligible fields of study.

Application deadline is April 28 for scholarships of up to $5,000 through the National Black Farmers Association for students/aspiring students who “plan to enroll or are enrolled in agriculture-related study at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school.” Any field related to agriculture could be supported (including business, engineering, animal science, marketing, mechanics, environmental science, agribusiness, food sciences, biology, holistic nutrition, urban farming, veterinary science, and many others!)

More details and application here: https://www.scholarsapply.org/blackfarmersassociation/

 

Buy What You Really Want

Morgan Spurlock, pictured above, shows how far advertisers are willing to go in Pom Wonderful Presents ... The Greatest Movie Ever Sold!

What is marketing?
Commercials on the tv, print advertising in newspapers and banner ads on the internet are all various types of marketing/advertising. Companies that want you to buy something (spend money) or do something (“like” them on Facebook) use marketing and advertising to get you to #1 be aware of their opportunity #2 understand what action they’d like you to take and #3 take that action based on their prompting.

Hire Shay to come speak at your next event

Why does it work?
It works because we have all been indoctrinated to want things from the time we were born. Commercials are not only aimed at adults, they are aimed at children. How many times have you heard a young child tell you what material item they want and instruct you on where and how you can purchase it. The advertising has gotten so slick that more and more movies, music videos, and tv shows are using product placements to advertise to you when you don’t even realize you’re being advertised to.

Check out Pom Wonderful Presents ... The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

What do you not know about it?
Morgan Spurlock created a wonderful documentary about product placement named Pom Wonderful Presents … The Greatest Story Ever Sold. He shows viewers how product placements work by making a movie full of product placements. One of the best parts of the movie is when he goes to a neuro-marketer. The neuro-marketer shows him that the reason he likes Coke so much is that when his brain recognized the product, his brain squirts out a bit of a happy hormone. He tells Morgan that he is basically addicted to Coke.

Not only are advertisers ingenious enough to make us want their products, they don’t even want to know what they are doing because they know that the mystery of it all makes us want those products even more.

Mane and Tail ... .it's not just for people ... Lol

What you should do about it
#1 Become aware of the classic tactics that are used to get you want to things you don’t need and probably didn’t even know existed. I present a great workshop on this topic.
#2 Turn off the tv/radio. I know it’s not popular, but if you don’t put yourself in harm’s way you it’s harder to be effected.
#3 Check to see if your purchases are in line with your values. If you say that your family is really important to you then why do you spend all your money on depreciating items like clothes?

The key is to buy what you want, not what advertisers, your neighbors, or your family and friends tell you that you should want.

Resources
Great review of Pom Wonderful
Neuromarketing’s aims

Shay Olivarria and Cynthia Coleman at American Airlines Credit Union Financial Bootcamp event in Dallas, Tx.

Shay Olivarria is the most dynamic financial education speaker working today. She has written three books on personal finance, contributes to multiple online media platforms, and is a foster care alumni. She’s been quoted on Bankrate.com, FoxBusiness.com, and The Credit Union Times, among others. Visit http://www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com to find out more about her work.

Join the conversation

Become N.E.W.

I had a great time speaking at the financial empowerment event for Become N.E.W. yesterday and apparently they had a great time as well.

Shay, you did an excellent job. Your presentation was lively, informative, and funny! You have great energy and it comes through in your work. I would love to get a copy of your power point presentation. Please keep in touch cuz a sister gotta stay on course!

People are used to hearing professionals speak about personal finance. No offense, but speakers on money matters tend to be a little on the dry side. We talked, we laughed, we shared stories, we worked through myths to creating abundance, and I shared 7 tips to create abundance in your life. I’m glad that I’m able to share information in a way that people can hear and are motivated to put to use. Esther Joseph agrees,

Shay, you are amazing! Thank you sooo much for coming out and truly blessing us with valuable, life-altering information. You are a blessing and a gift from God. I appreciate you and look forward to working with you again in the future. Continue this walk of being a valuable resource in the lives of God’s people. …You were VERY organized and your presentation well delivered and thought out.. this is certainly only just the beginning for you.. good journey :).. God bless.
EJ

I also had the opportunity to meet comedian Barry Brewer. He did a funny set, stayed for the workshop, and added value to the conversation by asking awesome questions. Here’s what he thought about the workshop:

Marketing to Our Kids

Today, I read one of the best articles I’ve read about how children are being aggressively marketed to. As we are going about our business of providing workshops to afterschool programs, churches, libraries, and various other youth groups I’m always surprised by how much push-back we get about why kids need information about money mangement, travel and cultural competancy, college, etc.

I can’t turn on the t.v. for more than ten minutes without seeing ads for toys, games, shoes, clothes, food, etc, targeted at children. When one of our trainers does the marketing workshop that outlines the different types of marketing appeals the kids, and usually the adults, are surprised to learn how much time, energy, and thought goes into manilulating thier little minds.

Let’s be proactive folks. Teach our kids how the real world works before it’s too late.