# Chearis > Already worthy. Create boldly. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About Already URL: https://www.chearis.org/about/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T13:00:04.000Z Already is a newsletter of essays for Foundational Black American makers, written by Karsten Chearis. The name comes from the first half of the Chearis foundation, *already worthy*, and it does what a name should do: it settles the question at the door. You were worthy before you opened the email. The essays start from there. Karsten writes in first person, with his life as the receipt, and the voice is Fayette County raised, Memphis made. The essays cover building a career and a life without splitting yourself in two: faith that holds under pressure, culture carried into every room, and the craft of making something out of what you were handed. Each issue lands in your inbox, and the point is the life it shapes after you close it. The reader Already has in mind is already building something, intentionally or not, and never needed permission to begin. Hustle culture sells worth as a score you raise by never stopping. Corporate America grades on assimilation. Already writes from a different ground: acceptance comes first, so the work stops being an audition and becomes an expression of who you already are. Every issue leaves the way it arrived, with the whole story in four words: **already worthy, create boldly**. ### About Us URL: https://www.chearis.org/about-us/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T13:00:19.000Z Chearis is a family name before it is a brand. Memphis is home, and when Karsten Chearis put his surname on the company, he was making a statement about lineage: Foundational Black Americans have been making the most out of the least for centuries, and he comes from makers. His career shows the range of the inheritance. Karsten started in IT operations, hands on the systems, and grew into the presales craft that became his signature. He has spent his career at global cybersecurity companies, leading teams of subject matter experts and cybersecurity practitioners, mentoring leaders who now run rooms of their own, and creating the frameworks and processes that keep working after he leaves the room. He delivers keynotes, gives talks, and shows up as a guest on podcasts; his writing and content live across the web. The message stays the same wherever he lands: excellence and authenticity belong in the same person. That belief in systems is the through line. Karsten builds them for a living, and he built one for his people: Chearis, a creative empowerment brand with a single mission, to equip Foundational Black American makers to make the things only they can make. The brand pairs tools, content, and community with the conviction that worthiness comes before the work. His newsletter, Already, carries that conviction to the people already building. Faith carries all of it. Karsten was called to preach at 11 years old and has done the work of ministry ever since; today he is a licensed minister whose work centers on disciple making and building programs that serve the local church. He practices that ministry first at home with his wife, Mitzi, and their daughters, MiKayla and Madisyn. Everything else, the brand, the newsletter, the systems, follows the decision he settled a long time ago: to make with what God put in his hands for the glory of Christ. ## Posts ### A Different World, the official trailer URL: https://www.chearis.org/dopeboard/a-different-world-the-official-trailer/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T04:46:07.000Z Why it's here This has piqued my interest. Love how they're honoring the roots while doing something new. Credit Posted by Netflix [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8jMEXwErvk&ref=chearis.org) ### Mahogany, double exposure URL: https://www.chearis.org/dopeboard/mahogany-double-exposure/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T04:46:15.000Z Credit Digital creation by Karsten Chearis ### What You Got Coming URL: https://www.chearis.org/what-you-got-coming/ Last updated: 2026-08-17T12:00:08.000Z I introduced the concept of **Intentional Compound Creativity** in [Essay 04](https://www.chearis.org/what-you-got/) and expounded on it in [Essay 05](https://www.chearis.org/what-you-got-left/). Now I want to give you something practical to use. Let's start with a reminder of what it is. **Intentional Compound Creativity** is the practice of putting everything you've made back to work, so its value increases instead of expiring. Consider the two most common portfolios: a financial portfolio and a career portfolio. A financial portfolio keeps working whether or not you put anything into it today. What you invested years ago has the potential to continue earning while you sleep. A career portfolio, built the way most of us build one, does the opposite. It records work that already stopped. Company, title, project, receipts. It becomes a shoe box proving that you once earned. Intentional Compound Creativity brings the two together. You move beyond the work without moving beyond the lesson, and what you learned at one stop becomes material for the next one. It's intentional because using what is in your creative portfolio never happens automatically. It's compounded because the value of what you *have* created and what you *are* creating increases over time. Intentional is the requirement placed on the maker. Compound is the return the maker collects. No one drifts toward being deliberate with their time and distinguished in their creativity. Getting there means you give attention to your intention. ## The job Don't settle for understanding this theoretically. Decide to use this purposefully. I'll give you two ways to use it, starting with your job. Let me show you how I used it. I work in cybersecurity in an area called Managed Detection and Response (MDR), which is a subset of Security Operations, or SecOps for short. I started my career in Information Technology Operations, often shortened to ITOps. Those two fields are related in that SecOps secures what ITOps maintains. Before jumping into SecOps, I made it to ITOps leadership. Here's the process that helped me grow. Project → Program → Product. Part of ITOps is onboarding new employees, which means provisioning the accounts, granting the access, and deploying the software and hardware that a new employee will need for their job. I did different parts of that at various jobs, but I made it to a point where I was responsible for the entire life cycle. I realized that this process is more complicated than it sounds. My employer had a hiring spree, and I had to do this repeatedly with one problem: I received the requests in multiple disparate ways. Sometimes a senior vice president would tell me in passing in the break room. Other times the hiring manager would walk to my desk to tell me. Other senior directors would email me, and some executive assistants would send me a direct message. Those different channels meant more ways for my team and me to get it wrong. So I stopped the work to build a plan. I began a project where I created a New Hire Onboarding Document. That document had to be completed by the hiring manager (or their assistant), and I included drop-down menus, radio buttons, and checkboxes to make it easier for them to make requests. That allowed my team to script and automate the provisioning. It worked, and the project ended. But I used the knowledge to move to phase II: the program. The program took that project and added another one: the off-boarding process. Just as people were hired, they would also eventually leave the department or the company. Ensuring access is removed is often more important than granting the access, because access to systems that are no longer needed becomes an attack surface (a place where cyber criminals can attack). Adding a few more projects meant that I built a full employee lifecycle program: every step of an employee joining a department in the company, moving around in the company, and eventually leaving it was documented. That meant that I could move to phase III: the product. When I eventually left the company, my previous team and their next leader could continue to use what I built. But I also took what I learned to the next employer, which meant I could implement the same system in less time and add improvements sooner. That didn't just help me provide value sooner, get promoted earlier, and earn raises faster. It also gave me better stories to tell in interviews. You can do the same. Steal my process: A project is a thing you finish. A program is a thing you run. A product is a thing people use. A project usually helps you solve your problem. A program is the result of you solving the problem in a way where it can be repeated. But a product requires someone else's problem. For your next interview or discussion around promotion, think about how you solved a problem you or your team faced. Consider how you made it repeatable and scalable, and then how you were able to implement it in a way that can be used by the team even after you've left. If you don't have one yet, start working on it today. That's the job, but the joy example is more rewarding. ## The joy I was bullied as a kid. I used to stutter and my voice was high-pitched. I was also the opposite of cool: having low self-esteem and being intimidated by others meant I lacked the one thing swagger needs: confidence. While I was too timid to speak up and defend myself, I learned that my mom was a lioness to her cub. She didn't play about me, and she refused to let anyone harm me, even if it was me. Bullies at school eventually grew tired of verbal assaults and it escalated to physical ones. I was punched, but I didn't fight back. I came home and told my mom, whom I called Muh. She told me that I needed to defend myself. My granddaddy told me the same. The next day, the same thing happened: the bullies struck and I took the blows. I came home, told Muh, and she told me the same thing: I needed to defend myself. The third day repeated the same cycle: I was punched, I was pitiful, and I had to confess to Muh. This time she said if I didn't defend myself she wouldn't use words to correct me anymore. My granddaddy told me the same. If you're not familiar with Black culture, that meant that I should expect a whooping, which is a different type of spanking. I would rather face an arrogant bully than an upset Muh. Guess what happened the next time the bullies punched me? The pacifist became the punisher. They didn't attack again. But bullies came in all sizes, and that also meant grown ones, namely, teachers. They didn't put their hands on me, but they found a way to pick on me nonetheless. Racism was alive and well in the South, and some teachers and administrators found a way to make life harder for all kids, but Black kids felt it more. Those I couldn't fight; I was taught to respect adults, even if they didn't deserve it. I came home to tell Muh. I couldn't address the teachers, but she could. The next day, Muh was late for work so that she could have a talk with the offending teachers and staff. Guess what happened after she left? The bullying staff knew not to bully me. They would sometimes slip up, and each new year of school meant I would encounter new bullies. Each time I told Muh, and she addressed it. Muh knew how to use her words, and she only got better with it as I grew older. What Muh ultimately taught me was the program of the ferocious fight of faith: use what I had to protect what I have, and escalate when it became too big for me. Muh was a representative of Messiah. I told you that bullies come in all sizes, and I still face them. Bullies are present in politics. They're meticulous in management. They're persistent in police forces. They're sanctioned in schools. They're hidden in hospitals. They're laboring in legal firms. They pass laws and judgment in the same breath. They're charismatic in cults, and they're covered in churches. I have to defend not just myself, but now I'm charged with doing that and more for my household. I have to protect my teams in my career. I share the responsibility of helping my pastor protect the congregation. As a Foundational Black American, I am my brothers' and sisters' keeper. As a Believer, I'm a part of Christ's Church, and the Body should protect the Body. For much of this, God has equipped me. But for even more, God calls me to bring my concerns to Him. > Hebrews 4:14-16 CSB > Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. I'm not gon' lie to you, reader. Seeing my mom defend her son to adults who knew better put a grin on my face. But I quickly learned that Muh didn't play, and if these teachers didn't stop picking on her son, it would **not** be pretty. So I learned to pray for the bullying teachers, because if I had to tell Muh one more time… sheesh. But do you not know the joy I have as a son of God to know that when things get too big that I can go to a God Who is bigger? Do you not understand the confidence that I have when I fall on my knees, knowing that Jesus walked this earth, too, and He knows how people can be? He does not play about His kids. Jesus said it is better for someone to have a heavy stone tied to their neck and drown in the sea than for that person to cause one of His children to stumble (Luke 17:2). The project of defending myself became the program of going to my Defender when the fight got too big for me. Running that program is what a faithful Christian life is, and it gives me a product I can hand you: the Gospel. Repent of your sins, trust your Maker, and your Maker will protect you. Implementing Intentional Compound Creativity means that you will have a process of repeated success. That process becomes a map, and the map hands you a compass. When you use what you've got, even when part of it is stolen and you have to be faithful over what you've got left, you obtain joy knowing what you've got coming: protection on this side of Glory and paradise on the other side. In the Black community, hearing "what you got coming" is usually a threat. You don't want to know what you've got coming, because it's usually something bad. But in the household of faith, it becomes a treasure. You look forward *to* it because you're being kept *by* it. Maps point to treasure. Compasses show you direction. Christ is both. --- **Receipts** 1. [Desegregating Fayette County Schools](https://www.memphis.edu/tentcity/issues/desegregating-schools.php?ref=chearis.org) — University of Memphis — Tent City: Stories of Civil Rights in Fayette County, Tennessee, accessed 2026-08-16. 2. [Some fear that Fayette County's schools could resegregate without a court order](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/05/17/some-fear-fayette-county-schools-could-resegregate-sans-a-1965-court-order/?ref=chearis.org) — Chalkbeat Tennessee, published 2024-05-17, accessed 2026-08-16. 3. [The Color of Discipline: Sources of Racial and Gender Disproportionality in School Punishment](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ663870&ref=chearis.org) — Russell J. Skiba, Robert S. Michael, Abra Carroll Nardo, Reece L. Peterson — The Urban Review, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 317–342, published December 2002, accessed 2026-08-16. ### What You Got Left URL: https://www.chearis.org/what-you-got-left/ Last updated: 2026-08-11T01:45:57.000Z ## The day the internet stopped Imagine you have an early morning flight. You packed your bags two days earlier, verified that your liquids meet the 3-1-1 standard, and your TSA PreCheck is active. You arrive at the airport two hours early, sit by your gate, and you don't get in line until your boarding group is called. You make it to the front of the line, smile when you hand the gate agent your boarding pass, knowing what is between you and your flight is a front line agent, and... He says no. You ask why. You inquire about the validity of your boarding pass, even though you know it's fine. You look around him and see the plane parked outside, pilots onboard, and flight attendants ready. His answer is still no. You turn around, looking for someone in leadership. You see them, but another gate agent blocks your path and tells you no. You turn to your right, and see a coffee shop. This is too much, and it calls for caffeine. Another gate agent appears and tells you no. You're surrounded by gate agents, and they all say the same thing: No. You did everything you were supposed to do. You had everything in place. But you were still denied access to the plane, and now most of the airport is also blocked. Now imagine that happening to the majority of the people on the internet. That's how many of us felt on November 18th, 2025. You may not have heard of the company Cloudflare, but you use it every day without knowing it. Here's what they do and how their solution works. When you open an app or visit a website, your request doesn't go directly to the company that owns the service. It first passes through a middle layer. Cloudflare is that middle layer for a significant portion of the internet. About one in five websites sit behind it. The middle layer is present for protection and speed. Cloudflare stands between you and the website or app like a security team at the front door. It's their job to verify that you're a real person and not a bot, which is software that abuses websites. They block countless floods of malicious traffic daily, while allowing you to get to your requested page faster by serving it to you at a location closest to you. If you've ever used sites like Shopify, ChatGPT, Spotify, and X (formerly Twitter), then you've experienced Cloudflare. Those websites pay Cloudflare so they don't have to build all the security and redundancy themselves. While you never see it, sign up for it, or think about it, it works. And it does it quietly, in the middle of everything, so that you can get to virtually anything. That's what makes what happened to Cloudflare on November 18th matter. When the middle layer fails, it doesn't matter that the websites are operational. You can't get on the plane because the gate agent is causing the jam. ## Everything went wrong trying to do one thing right Cloudflare has a database that can be likened to an internal records office. It holds raw data about bot behavior on the internet: what attack traffic looks like and which signals matter. It sits in Cloudflare's back office, *not* in the path of web traffic. That's important to know, because your request to get to Spotify never touches this database directly. There is also a file: a report generated from that database. Every five minutes, a program asks the database a set of questions and writes the answers into one compact file. Think of this as a fresh briefing: "here's what bot traffic looks like right now, and this is what you should be monitoring." That file is the courier between the back office and the front lines. The software is the front line. It runs on every Cloudflare server around the world, and *this* is what sits directly in the path of traffic. Every request to every website sitting behind Cloudflare must first pass through it. It reads the briefing sheet, holds it in memory, and uses it to score each request: this is a bot, so it's denied; this is a person, so you're granted access. So the relationship flow looks like this: **database → file → software.** The database knows things. The file carries what the database knows. The software acts on what the file carries. Congratulations. You're now a cybersecurity expert. Now let's use that expertise to go through what went wrong that day. Cloudflare engineers made a routine change to the database to enhance Cloudflare's protection capabilities. Unfortunately, that change caused an unforeseen error: the program wrote each line in the file twice. That doubled the file size. The software is designed for speed and efficiency, so it sets aside a fixed amount of memory for the file. That is a deliberate safety and performance choice. When the file was double its intended size, the software didn't skip the extra. It hit its limit and stopped entirely, because that is what it was supposed to do. But because all traffic flows through that software, when it stopped, everything behind it became unreachable. In other words, a change in the records office made the briefing sheet twice as thick, and the guard at the door was built to stop working rather than work from a bad sheet. The hard limit that caused the crash was itself a protective decision. Cloudflare built the software to fail rather than run on data it couldn't trust. Even the crash was the system trying to be safe. Protection stacked on protection, and there was still failure. ## Request unfulfilled This is what it meant practically. For close to six hours, some of the most popular websites and services in the world couldn't be reached. - X wouldn't load for most users. It showed an "internal service error" pointing at Cloudflare. - ChatGPT was down. Millions of daily-workflow users were locked out, and OpenAI (the company that owns ChatGPT) had a status page blaming its third-party provider. Anthropic's Claude was also impacted. - Spotify couldn't stream. - People couldn't work: designers were unable to use Canva and Figma, corporations couldn't access Dropbox, traders couldn't use Coinbase, and job hunters couldn't access Indeed. - McDonald's self-order kiosks were impacted. - Downdetector, the website where people go to see if websites are operational, also couldn't be viewed. The place to go to see if something was down was down. Most of these sites had Cloudflare-branded error pages. This means that the unfulfilled requests and outages had a face and a name. If you hadn't heard of Cloudflare, you did now, and your first impression was that it wasn't working. The errors that were presented are known as 5xx errors, which means the website's server failed to fulfill a valid request. It's not that your request was wrong; it's just the entity responsible for granting it couldn't. Cloudflare owned the disruption and didn't shift blame. Cloudflare's CEO told the public, "We know we let you down today." Cloudflare had good intentions, had layered protection, and earned the trust of the bulk of the internet. But they still failed. You can plan to do everything right and still get everything wrong. ## Request fulfilled I'm not bashing Cloudflare; I'm a customer of theirs as well. I've worked at organizations that have had their own disruptions. But there's a somber lesson in all of this: things built by people will eventually fail, whether or not someone does something wrong. And so will the people who love you. The thing about love is that it is shown in power. I tell my daughters that I love them, but I show them in power. If they're hungry, I use the power I have to feed them. If they're scared, I use the power I have to protect them. If they're unsure of themselves, I use the power I have to remind them of who they are. But my power has limits. While I can give them medicine, I can't heal them when they're sick. When they're at school, I can't be there with them. And if I'm honest, there have been times when they needed me to be patient and I was agitated. Like Cloudflare, people depended on me and I failed them, even when I did my best. Dear reader and fellow maker, will you be honest? You've failed, too. Someone had a request for you that you couldn't fulfill. You've given a 5xx error code, too. The request was valid, so nothing was wrong with what was asked. It's that the one asked couldn't deliver. You may have loved the requester, you may have loved to grant the request, but your power wouldn't let you. Only Jesus has power that can match His love. > Colossians 1:15-17 CSB > He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. A significant chunk of the internet runs on Cloudflare, and things fell apart when they couldn't deliver. But in Christ Jesus, "all things hold together." Even with all the brokenness in the world, the Son of God is holding things together for Him to return. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when I was 18\. The symptoms started when I was almost 400 miles away from my support system (my mom and grandparents), but it was Christ who kept me. It is because of Christ that I am in remission. My mom lost her husband before Christmas in 2025, which meant that we had to face our first Christmas, our first New Year, my mom's first birthday, and countless other holidays without the man who received me as his son. It has been tough, we have broken down, but it was Christ Who kept us. This is not saying that everything is fine in the world. We know it's not. But it is saying that God is a helper who is always found in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1). Part of Intentional Compound Creativity is not just intentionally using and learning from what you've accomplished. The larger part, however, is consistently trusting in the Creator Who never fails. Cloudflare caused the internet to have 5xx errors saying that valid requests couldn't be fulfilled. But this is said of Christ: > 2 Corinthians 1:20 CSB > For every one of God's promises is "Yes" in him. Therefore, through him we also say "Amen" to the glory of God. Every request made to the Father in Jesus' Name is yes. Every request is fulfilled in Him, whether it is on this side of glory or the other. Either way, they are not denied. When life denies you, remember what you got left. Or maybe I should say Who never leaves you. Jesus. --- **Receipts** 1. [Cloudflare outage on November 18, 2025](https://blog.cloudflare.com/18-november-2025-outage/?ref=chearis.org). Matthew Prince, CEO, Cloudflare. Official postmortem, published 2025-11-18. 2. [Cloudflare global outage, November 2025](https://www.ilert.com/postmortems/cloudflare-global-outage-nov-2025?ref=chearis.org). ilert, citing W3Techs. Accessed 2026-08-10. 3. [X down for thousands amid Cloudflare outage](https://www.aol.com/articles/x-down-thousands-amid-cloudfare-135455132.html?ref=chearis.org). The Hill, via AOL. Published 2025-11-18. 4. [Cloudflare outage: what happened and what it means](https://leanware.co/insights/cloudflare-outage?ref=chearis.org). Leanware. Accessed 2026-08-10. 5. [Cloudflare outage November 18, 2025](https://pinggy.io/blog/cloudflare%5Foutage%5Fnovember%5F18%5F2025/?ref=chearis.org). Pinggy. Accessed 2026-08-10. 6. [The Cloudflare outage explained](https://trainingcamp.com/articles/cloudflare-outage/?ref=chearis.org). Training Camp. Accessed 2026-08-10. ### What You Got URL: https://www.chearis.org/what-you-got/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T18:00:38.000Z Did you know that 2Pac the rapper and Paul the apostle preached the same message? Don't believe me? Bet. Let's start with one of my favorite passages penned by Pac. > Dear Mama, by Tupac Amaru Shakur > And I could see you comin' home after work late, > You're in the kitchen trying to fix us a hot plate > You're just workin' with the scraps you was given > And mama made miracles every Thanksgiving In his letter to his mother, 2Pac called us to nod our heads at a scene many of us knew by heart. A mother, weary from a day's work, made full meals from an almost barren pantry and refrigerator. That was the result of traditions passed down from generation to generation, originating from enslaved Africans who were shipped to the South. The enslaved were given leftovers and the parts of animals that the slave owners refused: such as the ears, skin, intestines, and feet of pigs. The quality and quantity of rations would vary, so slaves had to think carefully about their meals. After slavery ended, the impact of it remained. Time progressed, and economic hardships were introduced. Black people didn't have the same financial opportunities and assistance as their White counterparts. This is not to say that all White people were rich; they were under the same economic climate as all Southern Americans, but Black people were hit harder. This meant they were bound to what they could afford, which was still the less desired meat and produce. So we couldn't waste what we had, and we had to find a purpose for what was left. Soul food was born. Now let's flip to one of my favorite passages penned by Paul. > Ephesians 2:10 CSB > For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul causes us to bow our heads at a scene many of us would experience in our heart. The Creator purposefully made all that we see by speaking and crafting. He saved His greatest creation for last: children who were made in His image and in His likeness. And at the time He was making the first man and woman, He was thinking about you and me, and He architected work for us to do that He would call good. Everything God does is intentional, and nothing He has ever thought to make is wasted. God does not waste good works or situations, and if we're His workmanship, then we shouldn't either. Pac preached about his mom making miracles with what she was given, and Paul preached that God created us by the Son Who was given. Pac's mom prepared him to make a dollar out of fifteen cents, and God prepared us to produce fruit of His Spirit. Same message: don't waste what you have and find a way to make more from it. As creators, we must be faithful inside the work while we are in it, because our best work is aligned to the good works God intended. ## Don't leave it There's an ugly truth to this beautiful story: some of our best work comes from our worst situations. Paul also wrote: > Galatians 5:22–23 CSB > But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. The good works that God intended for us are connected to Him. We are to produce fruit, but not just any fruit: we're called to produce fruit of the Spirit. That fruit consists of nine characteristics that any sane person would value. Who wouldn't want to work with someone with those qualities? But look at what stands opposite the fruit. | The Fruit We Want | The Opposition We Avoid | | ----------------- | ----------------------- | | Love | Hatred | | Joy | Despair | | Peace | Strife | | Patience | Outbursts of Anger | | Kindness | Cruelty | | Goodness | Corruption | | Faithfulness | Betrayal | | Gentleness | Harshness | | Self-control | Excess | A child doesn't want a mother with hatred in her heart and no love. People appreciate working under the guidance of a manager with patience but don't want to tolerate one with outbursts of anger (because, first of all, who you yelling at?). A dude wants a best friend who is faithful, but he'll avoid a guy who is known for betrayal. Patrons appreciate sitting next to someone with joy, but no one wants to hang around someone full of despair. Unless your name is Misery, because that's the only person who loves that company. But do you know what is needed at the table where harshness rules? Gentleness. Patience isn't patience until someone is testing it. Gentleness is valued when it's given to someone who doesn't deserve it. A board of corrupt business people is desperate for a director who is full of goodness. The characteristics in the table above sitting opposite to the fruit can't be the people we avoid; it's the working conditions. Unlike a farmer's produce, the fruit of the Spirit does its best growing when it is planted in the soil of an otherwise unkempt garden. Jesus said, "you *will* have suffering in this world" (John 16:33). Your love is going to be met with hatred. Your self-control will be surrounded by people who deliberately live in excess. In order to achieve good works, we sometimes have to endure undesirable circumstances. But we *will* get through it, because Jesus ends that verse with, "Be courageous! I have conquered the world!" But I have learned that whenever we go through something and we achieve something, even if we move beyond the work, we don't move beyond the lesson. Because the lesson we learned is what can be used in the future. That mother preparing a dinner where the family was full and couldn't eat anymore was normal. Throwing away the leftovers instead of saving it would be the waste. Moving on from a job, a season, or a role is normal. Moving away from what the job, season, and role taught you is the waste. You work, you learn, and then you work what you learn. Learn from it, but don't leave it. That's called a creative portfolio. ## The two portfolios and the third option A financial portfolio shows money that is currently at work. It shows what was invested, where, and what it has gained or lost. That portfolio has worked, is working, and will continue to work. Even if the person who owns the portfolio is not actively taking funds from their checking account and putting it into an investment opportunity, the work is still happening. The defining property is that it keeps working whether or not the owner is adding to it today. A career portfolio, as most people have built it, does the opposite. It's but a record of work that has stopped. This portfolio is the testament of "While I worked at this company, I achieved this status by implementing this project, and here are the receipts." The portfolio becomes that: a glorified shoebox of receipts. It shows what we previously did. Portfolio. Same word, but two behaviors. One keeps earning while you sleep. The other sits in a box in a closet, proving that you once earned. I'd argue that we should take a hint from the financial portfolio and build a career portfolio that continues to work for you. That is the third option. If we know that our best work is aligned to the good works that God intended, we will strive to continue to do our best work. Not because we are working for acceptance; we're working *from* acceptance. God already planned for us to do them, and He knew they would be activated through faith in Christ Jesus. That makes us already worthy. So we can create boldly, and we create in the image of a God who does not waste. Practically it looks like this: - We do the work - We face opposition in doing our best work - Our best work was intended to overcome that opposition - We learn as we overcome - We move on to new work once the opposition has been resolved - We apply what we learned to make our work even better - We do better work ![intentional compound creativity diagram](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3a/68/3a68fb4f-d949-4404-be7f-9c1c860d75d8/content/images/2026/08/intentional-compound-creativity-diagram-4.png) That system is called Intentional Compound Creativity. It's intentional because that is what we have to be in using what is in our creative portfolio. It's compounded because over time, the value of what we have created and what we are creating will increase. Intentional is the requirement placed on the maker. Compounded is the return that the maker collects. ## Drifting towards being deliberate and distinguished I end this essay with the toughest pill to swallow. It takes work to do the best work God already intended. Predestined work doesn't mean it will feel like it's yours while you're walking towards it. Facing opposition is hard, overcoming it is harder, and growing better instead of bitter is the hardest. You grow better and not bitter by learning and making yourself apply what you learned. You have to find reasons and ways to use what you've learned. Doing so will not only bless you, but you'll ultimately uncover additional lessons in the lesson. I called a customer ugly because she chose to fight me instead of let me help her. The lesson was that I had to stay cool under pressure. I couldn't let people get under my skin and cause me to lash out, which would mean that I would lose my job. I took that principle and applied it at the next job. I faced even ruder customers, because the clientele was wealthier. But that unlocked new lessons: no amount of money in your bank account alleviates hatred in your heart. I knew that eventually I would be able to afford the clothes and goods that I sold to the wealthy, and I refused to treat the cashier who helped me like I was treated. I can see that the lessons I learned making a few bucks an hour would be the foundation on which I would stand when I received a salary of six figures. If my integrity wouldn't bend for $10 an hour, it wasn't going to bend for $100,000 a year. Integrity was the compounded interest in me investing in the lesson of patience. No one drifts towards being deliberate with their time and distinguished in their creativity. Getting there takes intention. But take heart: God always intended for you to get there. --- **Receipts** 1. [Sharecropping — History of Racial Injustice](https://eji.org/news/history-racial-injustice-sharecropping/?ref=chearis.org) — Equal Justice Initiative, accessed 2026-08-03. ### Exploring album vibes with Reve 2.1 URL: https://www.chearis.org/dopeboard/exploring-album-vibes-with-reve-2-1/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T04:45:58.000Z Credit Posted by @lloydcreates [View on X](https://x.com/lloydcreates/status/2075754417505091743/photo/2?ref=chearis.org) ### Colossians 1:15–20 (CSB) URL: https://www.chearis.org/dopeboard/colossians-1-15-20-csb/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T04:45:49.000Z > **The Centrality of Christ** > **15** He is the image of the invisible God, > the firstborn over all creation. > **16** For everything was created by him, > in heaven and on earth, > the visible and the invisible, > whether thrones or dominions > or rulers or authorities— > all things have been created through him and for him. > **17** He is before all things, > and by him all things hold together. > **18** He is also the head of the body, the church; > he is the beginning, > the firstborn from the dead, > so that he might come to have > first place in everything. > **19** For God was pleased to have > all his fullness dwell in him, > **20** and through him to reconcile > everything to himself, > whether things on earth or things in heaven, > by making peace > through his blood, shed on the cross. [Read at BibleGateway](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+1%3A15-20&version=CSB&ref=chearis.org) ### Just Got Saved, live on Sway in the Morning URL: https://www.chearis.org/dopeboard/just-got-saved-live-on-sway-in-the-morning/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T04:45:49.000Z Credit Set by DJ CANVA$ Aired on Sway in the Morning [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKlqbZzK2rQ&t=643s&ref=chearis.org) ### Top two moments of the mix. URL: https://www.chearis.org/dopeboard/top-two-moments-of-the-mix/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T04:45:39.000Z [Watch on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/Dasz9mTuA8s/?ref=chearis.org) ### Stop being so hard on yourself. URL: https://www.chearis.org/dopeboard/stop-being-so-hard-on-yourself/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T04:45:31.000Z Why it's here This was a bop, an encouragement, and a mood. I've had it on repeat. Credit Written by @\_jahbee Shot by @deezy2blessed Posted by @wearethe\_community [Watch on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DbDuXrVBLZX/?ref=chearis.org) ### That Man's Making Moves URL: https://www.chearis.org/that-mans-making-moves/ Last updated: 2026-07-27T18:00:29.000Z > We've been rerouting our whole lives around a road nobody was using. When I started driving, I had to rely on printed maps. GPS was not as commercially available as it is now, which meant that I was limited to what was printed on the map. I was also confined to possibly outdated information, because infrastructure could evolve from the time the map was printed and when it sat in the passenger's seat next to me. The saving grace was that the more familiar I became with an area, the more alternate routes I could unlock to get me where I wanted to go. So while the map may only outline a straight path, I could take side streets not listed on the map when traffic or road closures called for it. Then GPS became available. That meant my attention wasn't fighting between a static map next to me and the road in front of me. Now I had a blip on a dynamic map, and I could see where the next turn would be. Unfortunately, GPS was limited to satellite data, which meant it was a glorified map to give directions in real time without the context of traffic or construction. While we advanced from physical maps, I was still encouraged to learn the area and not be dependent on a map, even if it was a digital one. A straight path with a 10-minute commute becomes a complete stop with a 45-minute wait if you leave the house at the wrong time. Enter Google Maps. It coupled highway layout information with real-time traffic analytics. Google Maps would not only show you the way, but it would redirect you if you missed your turn. Getting lost had never been harder, because, let's be honest. How many times have we heard the Google Maps Lady say "Recalculating" after we've missed our turn…again? Google Maps, and other modern navigation systems, accurately told us when traffic would cause a slow down and provided alternate routes. We trusted it. Until someone showed that it couldn't be trusted. At least not fully. In February of 2020, one artist in Berlin tricked a global organization known for the volume and validity of its data. Simon Weckert calmly walked down quiet streets, pulling a small red cart with 99 used mobile phones. The phones' location and movement data was reported to Google's servers. To Google, it appeared as a slow-moving traffic jam. To those on the road, it was a man with a cart. Google Maps would tell its subscribers to take a different path because the one they would normally take was too crowded. In reality, a driver would make it to their destination on time, but ponder why a grown man was pulling a wagon in the middle of the street. Google's arguably strongest asset would prove to be a risky weakness: crowdsourced data. If you rely on what the crowd tells you, you're hitching your wagon to stats that can be manipulated. How many times have you been told that the way to get to your destination was blocked, only for you to see that it was not once you were brave enough to make the drive? The unsettling truth about the journey of many creatives is realizing that some of the traffic you've been trying to avoid was staged. Many of us have been rerouting our entire lives around a road that nobody was actually using. From printed maps to digital ones to satellite-powered ones to crowdsourced versions, we are still encouraged to go, learn, and see for ourselves. What Weckert did with false traffic data, HOLC did with misleading value data. Between 1935 and 1940, a federal agency called the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) sent examiners across the country to grade American neighborhoods on lending risk. They called them Residential Security maps. Green meant that the neighborhood was best, blue meant it was still desirable, yellow meant declining, and red meant that it was considered hazardous. Red is where we get the word *redlining*. A red grade told banks the ground wouldn't hold its value, and the examiners counted Black neighbors among the things that made ground lose value. So a respected, employed, middle-class Black family didn't lift a neighborhood's grade. Under that math, they were the reason for it. Those examiners didn't arrive at the grades on their own. They sat with local bank loan officers, appraisers, and realtors, and they wrote down what those men already believed. The map compiled the crowd. Same as the phones in the wagon, the data was only as honest as whatever fed it, and what fed it was every man in town who counted your presence as a liability. Banks read the red and closed the road. No mortgage meant no house, no house meant no equity, and no equity meant nothing to hand your children. Repairs didn't happen. Businesses didn't come. When the National Community Reinvestment Coalition laid those old maps over census data in 2018, 74 percent of the neighborhoods graded hazardous were still low-to-moderate income, and close to 64 percent were neighborhoods where most residents are people of color. Weckert's traffic jam disappeared when he pulled his wagon home. The red never lifted, and the numbers caught up until the map looked like it had been right all along. Crowdsourced data carries whatever bias the crowd already had. That is more reason to ask yourself four questions as a creative: 1. Where am I actually going? 2. What's the traffic (how is everyone else doing this)? 3. What's my alternate route, given *my* constraints? 4. What can't change no matter which route I take? Let me tell you about a time when I didn't consider number 4 and I was almost fired for it. After leaving [my first job](https://www.chearis.org/that-boys-working/), I worked at a department store in customer service. Customers have a tendency to use retail workers as the target for their frustration. A tough day at work for them meant that they would make a tougher situation for the sales associate. And, to be honest, some people were just mean. Such a woman came to my register, asking for assistance with an exchange for overalls she ordered for her husband. After telling her that I would be happy to help, I asked for her phone number, located her order, and began to process the exchange. "What's the reason for the exchange?" I asked. "They're the wrong size," she answered. "Got it! And what size would you like?" was my response. "They're the wrong size." was hers. "Yes, ma'am. Understood. What size would you like for me to order?" I patiently responded. "They're the wrong size." came condescendingly from her lips. This continued for three or four more rounds. I glanced from her to the growing line of customers, back to her and the overalls. At my wit's end, I plainly told her, "Ma'am, I can't help you if you don't tell me which size you need for me to order." She snarled and told me, "I don't like your attitude. It's ugly." I rolled my eyes and sighed, "I don't like your face. It's ugly, too. Next customer." The rude lady stepped to the side with her gasters flabbered. The next customer giggled as she walked towards me and I solved her issue in record time. My response worked. The line cleared, the next customer laughed, and the route was efficient. But efficient routes do not mean the absence of wrongdoing. The interesting part of this story is that the customer ran a broken script on a trafficked path where she couldn't recalculate. "They're the wrong size," was on loop. I had one route, too, and it was to match her energy. Two people were stuck on the only road they knew, or at least claimed to know. Overalls lady found a department manager, but I don't know if she ever ordered the right size overalls for her husband. I'd imagine he ended up working in the garden with overalls that couldn't be fully strapped because they were too small. Or, maybe he tripped and fell in the peonies he wanted to plant because they were too long. That manager later talked to me and asked for my side of the story. I told her the truth, and she did her best to hide the grin on her face as she asked me if I really called the lady ugly. I answered truthfully with a straight face. She told me that despite what the customer does, I can't call them ugly. She never told my immediate manager, or the general manager. Maybe she should have, but I'm glad she didn't. The grace she showed me was the result of my track record: I consistently did great work, helped customers, and had a pleasant attitude. Well, until my kindness was depleted after multiple frustrating customers. What I learned is a system that I use almost 30 years later. You can't pay me enough money for me to discard my integrity. That also means you can't pay me so little that I forget my integrity. Proving that someone is wrong is not worth me being anything but righteous. I had to learn that behind a register before I could use it leading teams at global cybersecurity firms. Makers must learn lessons and make the lessons work for them. That's the portfolio that increases in value. Now the people who knew me behind that register see me in cyber, and they all say the same thing: *That man's making moves.* John penned the words of Jesus and tells us: > “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” - John 16:33 (CSB) Read that with a systematic understanding of the Bible, along with what Paul writes: > “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” - Ephesians 2:10 (CSB) Jesus told His disciples plainly that a time was coming when Christ would be left by His disciples, because they would be scattered. The world would rejoice, but God's people would know grief. But soon after, the roles would be reversed. The disciples would see Christ again, and they would have joy. He promised them two things: that in this world, trouble is guaranteed. But there was a reason to find peace *and* joy, because the trouble-filled world was overcome by a victorious Savior. Paul furthers this cause for joy, because he tells us that Believers are a part of the work that God did. That perfect work involves us to do good work in Jesus, and we are guaranteed to win. The fight is fixed; God prepared the good works before we were even born. So, fellow maker, we have a working navigation system with three things: 1. **A read on the road**: where we're going, where the traffic is, and what alternate route our constraints allow. 2. **A vehicle that improves with mileage**: your creative portfolio is the car, not the record of trips taken. Every route you navigate should make the next one less expensive on your efforts. We learn as we move. 3. **A fixed reference point**: as we move, we also learn, and the learning gives us integrity from God that will keep us from breaking character even when opposing forces attempt to break our maps. Already worthy means you don't need permission to take a different road. Create boldly means that you take it, but you take the road with your integrity. From printed maps to digital ones to satellite-powered ones to maps drawn red on purpose, we're still encouraged to go, learn, and see for ourselves. Hacked maps can't block hopeful makers. ## The receipts (sources cited) - The Guardian, "Berlin artist uses 99 phones to trick Google into traffic jam alert," February 3, 2020 — [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/03/berlin-artist-uses-99-phones-trick-google-maps-traffic-jam-alert](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/03/berlin-artist-uses-99-phones-trick-google-maps-traffic-jam-alert?ref=chearis.org) - National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Bruce Mitchell PhD and Juan Franco, "HOLC 'Redlining' Maps: The Persistent Structure of Segregation and Economic Inequality," March 20, 2018 — [https://ncrc.org/holc/](https://ncrc.org/holc/?ref=chearis.org) ### That Boy's Working URL: https://www.chearis.org/that-boys-working/ Last updated: 2026-07-20T12:59:59.000Z My mom [gave me the outfit](https://www.chearis.org/that-boys-fresh/) that caused people to notice my style because she was my provider. She helped me get my first job, because that was my provider’s way of teaching me to provide for myself. ## The system that got me in the door We’ll come back to my job in a moment, but let’s first talk about the system that got me the job. My mom (whom I call Muh) previously worked at a small retail store in Fayette County, TN, so she knew the hiring manager. Her work earned her his ear, and when I was old enough to work, she introduced me. While the small town of Somerville, TN and its even smaller shop of Fred’s Dollar Store didn’t have a sophisticated hiring system, I was able to forgo any formal interview because my momma knew the manager. Muh’s hard work gave me an avenue to do hard work. A 16-year-old Karsten walking next to his mom heard the sentence that began the working portion of my life. “If you think I was a hard worker, then let me introduce you to my son!” Muh used that phrase and that system, just like other Black creatives did before her. That process is called the relationship network, and that process is an example of a system. I told you that Chearis is a creative system for Foundational Black Americans, and we make for those who are already building something, intentionally or not, and never needed permission to begin. Let’s define “system.” > A system is two or more steps that, when done together in the right order, with the right resources, for the right purpose, to the right audience, produce change. Let me be clear. “Produce change” is not always a good thing. If I just gave you the definition of a system, I also have to give you two caveats. - Systems are not *morally* good or bad; why they exist and what they produce decides that. - Systems are not *effectively* good or bad; a righteous system can fail, and an evil one can run flawlessly. The system of relationship networks has been used to help many Black people not *thrive*, but simply *survive*. Who we know has kept us alive long enough to receive things that all people should have, like freedom. The Underground Railroad was a network of routes, places, and above all, *people* that guided [\~100,000 enslaved people](https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/underground-railroad/?ref=chearis.org) to freedom. The [Underground Railroad](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/what-is-the-underground-railroad.htm?ref=chearis.org) is the receipt. But systems have also been used to keep us down. Affluent cultures have used their relationship networks to keep their people thriving while keeping Black people, along with other marginalized communities, out of the neighborhood of success. That system is called nepotism. How many times have you had to work harder because someone higher in the hierarchy didn’t work at all? If you asked a peer how that leader is still employed despite constant failures, you might hear, “You don’t know? That’s one of the chief officers’ nephews.” The C-Suite’s bloodline gets richer while those who do the work can’t afford to be in C-Suite’s neighborhood. Nepotism has a cousin called “opportunity hoarding.” Racial inequality persists less through overt discrimination and more through White people favoring their own social networks for jobs “[protected from market competition](https://www.russellsage.org/publications/book/american-non-dilemma?ref=chearis.org).” Different name; same result: it’s tougher for Black people to survive. ## The systems that were thrown at me My first job had a starting wage of $5.00 an hour. After a year, I received my first raise: ten more cents. A year of showing up daily, priced at a dime. Hold that number, because this story is more about *what* I earned than it is about how much. I showed up to this five-bucks-an-hour job in corduroy dress slacks, a long-sleeve button-down shirt, and a necktie. Despite my nerves, I was prepared to help what I deemed “high-profile customers” make the best choices to spend their hard-earned money. Instead, my manager put me in the back. My first responsibility was to stand in the “stockroom,” open totes, and add pricing stickers with a label gun. I think the dials ran from zero to $99 with no third digit. My employer’s equipment topped out before making it to triple-digit costs, which should tell you something about the merchandise we sold and the town in which we sold it. It should also help you understand why I use the word stockroom in quotes. It was a glorified room with stacks of mostly unorganized stuff. Isolation was a part of the job. Everyone else worked in the front. My manager didn’t lie at least, but instead told me that I would be by myself and that I would occasionally be responsible for showing people where the bathroom is. That, plus seeing coworkers head to the break room, was the only time I saw anyone. A Black kid from Fayette County working his first job, and I was told to go in **the back** where no one would see me. But don’t think that all I did was open totes and add tags. The bathrooms I mentioned? I was tasked with cleaning them, too. And mopping the store floors with a sour mop and a bucket with squeaky wheels, coupled with emptying the stale trash cans from the registers at the end of the day. I did eventually interact with customers, however. It was when I asked them to excuse me while I squeezed past to gather the mismatched carts scattered across the parking lot. My manager didn’t show me how to do any of this, by the way. He was too busy sitting in the front office, counting money, barking orders, and making jokes at my expense. A 16-year-old kid in his first job is bound to make mistakes, especially when no one shows him the right way to do something, let alone the better way. That became the never-ending system of his comedy routine; look at how the kid with the S-Curl is struggling to get three different types of shopping carts into one cart corral. Thank God for a few decent coworkers who had pity and taught me a few tricks. Despite the lack of glamour and recognition, I had an important job. How can people become customers if they don’t have shopping carts to fill? What customer wants to walk on dirty floors and occasionally have to use filthy bathrooms? How can they make buying decisions if things are not priced properly and visibly? How can cashiers work at registers with trash cans full of garbage? I had an important job indeed, but I definitely wasn’t appreciated. But I did it for a year. For five bucks and a dime. ## The system that was missing So I had to figure it out. Each mistake that earned a verbal jab from my manager became a lesson I would commit to memory. Each time I spilled mop water down the aisles, it showed me how to not just push the wheeled mop bucket, but also where the floor was uneven. Learning that merchandise arrived before it would be in season taught me what to expect in the totes, and that helped price items faster. Hearing louder commotion while I was in the back let me know what times of the day more customers would arrive, which enabled me to empty register trash before it was full. And after a profusely sweating stranger asked for the bathroom, spent 45 minutes in it, and left the entire stockroom reeking of bad dietary decisions, I learned to tell certain people the bathroom was out of order. I think I burned my clothes after that day. My manager gave plenty of orders but offered no guidance. That meant I learned things the hard way. Out of everything I learned at Fred’s, there’s one thing I’ll never forget. While my first manager was my worst manager, he imparted one of the first systems that I found valuable. **Instructions are not teaching.** Telling someone what to do as a leader does not excuse you from showing them how to do it. If I were a betting man, I’d bet you five dollars and a dime that the most painful lessons you learned are not because you didn’t listen to what you were taught, but because no one thought enough of you to teach you. That manager eventually moved to a different position in the company, but he would stop by from time to time to shop. I remember my new manager telling him, right in front of me, that I was doing a good job. I replied, “One day, I’m going to be the store manager” with a smile. My old manager waited until I walked back to work to crack one last joke: “That day will never happen, and if it does, I wouldn’t want to shop at his store.” I never saw him again. But here’s what I did see: Every part of the store. My faithful execution of getting things out of totes, properly priced, and staged to go to the front of the store made my new manager’s job easier. She moved me from the back to the front. But not just to the front without purpose: I had my own aisle. Aisle 4 was food and grocery, and it was my responsibility. I had the chance to train new employees, showing them what my first manager never showed me. Next, my new manager realized that she occasionally needed help at the registers. Our responsibilities were clear-cut: stockers (typically guys) worked the floor, and cashiers (typically gals) worked the registers. But everyone eventually needs help, and my manager couldn’t be a manager and work the registers, so she came to me. I had the new responsibility of learning to be a cashier. Just like stocking shelves, working registers has a system. Imagine my surprise when I had to relieve a cashier who didn’t follow a system. She had five-dollar bills in the same stack as hundreds, silver dollars scattered with nickels, and unsigned checks folded and tucked under coupons. This brought a new responsibility: helping seasoned cashiers teach new ones. Fred’s had five registers, with the fifth register being the most important one. Register five was where you could pick up layaways, drop off film and retrieve prints, process returns, and receive customer support. The head cashier usually worked register five, but even the head cashier needs a lunch break. And not every cashier could work register five. Stockers definitely didn’t work register five—until my manager asked me to work it. Eventually, my manager would need help making store decisions about signage, product placement, and ideas to attract more customers. Guess who she called? The same guy who started in the back. When my classmates and other people I knew would stop by the store and see me, they all said the same thing: “That boy’s working!” Through all of this, I built the systems no one gave me, taught systems that no one taught me, which figuratively and literally moved me from the back to the front. I did all of that with a manager who didn’t invest in me. Imagine what I could have done if I had one who did. But that didn’t really matter. My first manager didn’t accept me, but he didn’t have to. Muh did. Muh showed her acceptance by teaching me how to handle my responsibilities, and that taught me how to help others create responsibly. But don’t think for a moment that any of this was done without pain. Jokes hurt. Failing to impress others (and having a desire to impress them in the first place) is heart breaking. My mom was there before and after the job, but at the job, I felt alone. I wanted to excel, but I also made mistakes. The system that kept me wasn’t even a system. It was a Savior. This is why the writer of Hebrews proclaims: > Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” - Hebrews 13:5-6 If the isolation and bullying were expected, Christ’s presence was promised. That system shows that God is the one Who will give instructions while teaching us along the way. So, when I saw the new employee struggling with the pricing gun, I didn’t laugh at them. I showed them a better way, which allowed me to eventually laugh with them. When I saw a new cashier tossing money carelessly in the register, I would shut down that register to show them the right way. When I saw the new guy fighting the urge to throw up because he had to clean the bathroom after that same person who violated the bathroom when I was responsible for cleaning it, I…well, I ain’t gon’ lie. I told him to suck it up and clean the bathroom. I’d been promoted beyond cleaning toilets. But I poured from a cup that was intentionally left empty by my first manager but faithfully filled by the Messiah. I showed others the systems so that they could work until completion, not exhaustion. I wouldn’t consider myself an anomaly. You’ve had a Fred’s Dollar Store experience, too. You’ve had to learn systems that no one taught you, and you’ve had to fight against the systems that never considered you. But won’t God keep you, even when you feel like no one else wants you? To my manager’s credit, I never became the store manager. But I have led global teams. I have created and implemented systems that enterprises have used globally. I have mentored leaders who have become greater leaders. I have given keynote presentations and have had my work read and heard across the whole world. I have implemented the processes that help cybersecurity companies sell to retail establishments much larger than my first job. I did that through systems inspired by the grace of a Carpenter. Not bad for a kid from Fayette County. Already worthy. Create boldly. ## The receipts (sources cited) - National Geographic Education, “The Underground Railroad” — [https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/underground-railroad/](https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/underground-railroad/?ref=chearis.org) - National Park Service, “What is the Underground Railroad?” — [https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/what-is-the-underground-railroad.htm](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/what-is-the-underground-railroad.htm?ref=chearis.org) - Nancy DiTomaso, *The American Non-Dilemma: Racial Inequality Without Racism* (Russell Sage Foundation, 2013) — [https://www.russellsage.org/publications/book/american-non-dilemma](https://www.russellsage.org/publications/book/american-non-dilemma?ref=chearis.org) ### That Boy’s Fresh URL: https://www.chearis.org/that-boys-fresh/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T15:59:40.000Z Blasting 8Ball & MJG, over-spraying Curve cologne, and rocking oversized sweatsuits. That’s my teenage years in a tricolon. Every era of Black style has its uniform, and that uniform was baggy in my high school years. Kids pestered their parents with pleas to purchase clothes that were two sizes too big to achieve this coveted look. My mom (Muh) approved the baggy. She denied the sag. I had to miss that part of growing up, but I say that with a teenager’s grievance coupled with a grown man’s gratitude. Like most fashion trends, this introduced economic problems. Purchasing new clothes that were deliberately the wrong size cost money that most households in Fayette County didn’t have. That was a shared reality amongst Foundational Black Americans. [In 1999](https://www.heritage.org/welfare/report/understanding-differences-black-and-white-child-poverty-rates?ref=chearis.org), 33.1% of Black children lived below the poverty line, compared with 13.5% of White children. We found the cheat code, though; we went shopping in our parent’s closets. A teenage boy in his daddy’s extra-starched work clothes meant you met the fashion standard for free. You were able to brag that you were rocking Dad’s clothes when compliments and roasts were exchanged in the hallways. That was the bonus level: the kid was fresh *and* he had a present father. But that was the part of the game I couldn’t play. My dad left Muh and me when I was two. To this day, I don’t know what size clothes my dad wears. ## Hope Boy Fresh So I couldn’t shop in my dad’s closet, but I did have my mother’s jogging suit. My mom’s sweatsuit was true to size for her but a bit oversized on me. Many sweatsuits were unisex, and I’m almost certain that my mom bought her sweatsuit from the men’s section. So now I have the baggy sweatsuit, I coupled it with my fat-laced sneakers, and finished the look with a (fake) gold chain and a watch. Other guys claimed their father’s clothes, but when someone complimented my fit, I smiled and said it’s my mom’s. My response was met with the silence of judgement followed by the laughter of ridicule. A boy in his mom’s clothes was comedy, and showing the tag that said “men’s” or “unisex” wouldn’t save me. I was the target of bullying and joke punching bag the majority of my childhood. Many of the words my peers said hurt me. But being judged for sporting Muh’s sweatsuit did not. Why? Because I found joy in my mom’s love. She was there when my dad was not. Yes, the threads looked good on me and the fit was fashionable. But more than that, they were **the mark of the first woman who showed me real love**. You can’t roast a son out of his mother’s love. Some kids wore clothes in hopes that peers would admire them. Others wore clothes that were “good enough” in hopes that bullies would ignore them. I wore clothes from the hope that was found in an accepted son. I was hope boy fresh. ## The loop This story has theology mixed in fashion. My mom loved me and accepted me, so much so, that she let me wear her clothes. I loved her, so much so, that I didn’t mind wearing what she wore. Acceptance is a road that runs both directions, and it can produce something that neither charity nor pride can produce on its own: boldness. Because I was accepted, I could boldly accessorize the attire. With the right sneaks and the right accessories, any good outfit becomes a head turning one. But when you put on the overcoat of loving acceptance, it becomes the dopest thing you could ever wear. Working from acceptance, rather than for it, positions you to create boldly. Across every culture, ethnicity, and region studied for a research paper in 2012, [about 26%](https://csiar.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/494/2014/02/INTRODUCTION-TO-PARENTAL-ACCEPTANCE-3-27-12.pdf?ref=chearis.org) of the variation in a child's psychological adjustment is explained by how accepted or rejected they feel by a parent. It is one of the most consistent findings in the field. It’s also a statistic that I have lived. This essay is the introduction of my brand: Chearis. It’s only fitting that the first thing I publish is inspired by the woman who published me. Chearis is launching for those who are desperate to create. This post that you thought was about a jogging suit is my company’s entire architecture: acceptance that can be received without striving for it, which then funds the boldness to create on top of it. The accessories were me creating. The suit was me being declared worthy. **Already worthy. Create boldly.** If my tagline ever needed an origin story for the record, it has one now. | What the school saw | What it actually was | | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | A boy in his momma’s clothes | A unisex suit, and proof that someone stayed | | A kid who couldn’t sag | A mother’s boundary found in love with rules attached | | Accessories on a hand-me-down | Boldness sponsored by acceptance | | A confession worth roasting | A badge of honor, worn on purpose | ## What’s next Muh, like Black people before her, knew how to make more with less. This is the clause that carries generations. It’s how Virgil Abloh could make words and whitespace fashionable. It’s how entire cuisines were built on what master’s house threw away. It’s how Memphis rap was able to change the game from pawn-shop equipment. And now, it’s how I am changing the world. The creativity I have, the persistence that I use, the love and the faith and the joy that’s in my heart—it came from my mom. My life is possible because she accepted me and gave me space to create without shame. Now I want to show you how to do it, too. Already worthy. Create boldly. --- ## The receipts (sources cited) - Heritage Foundation / U.S. Census Bureau, "Understanding Differences in Black and White Child Poverty Rates" — [https://www.heritage.org/welfare/report/understanding-differences-black-and-white-child-poverty-rates](https://www.heritage.org/welfare/report/understanding-differences-black-and-white-child-poverty-rates?ref=chearis.org) - Rohner, Khaleque & Cournoyer, "Introduction to Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory, Methods, Evidence, and Implications," University of Connecticut — [https://csiar.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/494/2014/02/INTRODUCTION-TO-PARENTAL-ACCEPTANCE-3-27-12.pdf](https://csiar.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/494/2014/02/INTRODUCTION-TO-PARENTAL-ACCEPTANCE-3-27-12.pdf?ref=chearis.org)