Stop Giving Crumbs to Bums

 Potential doesn't pay bills. Character does. 

Are you investing in who people ARE... or who you hope they'll become?

In this powerful episode of the Black Sheep Leadership Podcast, Athena Renee breaks down why so many people waste years, energy, money, and opportunities on potential instead of paying attention to patterns.

You'll learn:

🔹 Why potential is overrated
 🔹 The hidden cost of giving endless second chances
 🔹 How to identify people who refuse to invest in themselves
 🔹 Why character beats talent every time
 🔹 The dangerous "Benefit of the Doubt Tax"

Because the truth is:

Potential without action is just a fantasy.

 #BlackSheepLeadership
 #StopGivingCrumbsToBums
 #PotentialVsAction
 #GrowthMindset
 #Accountability
 #LeadershipMindset
 #BlackSheepMindset
 #PersonalDevelopment
 #Boundaries
 #CharacterMatters
 #NoMoreExcuses
 #SelfLeadership
 #ExecutionMode
 #MindsetShift
 #StayFocused
 #ProtectYourPeace
 #ClarityIsPower
 #MoveDifferent
 #LevelUpYourLife
 #ResultsMatter 

"INFORMATION IS EVERYWHERE EXECUTION IS RARE"

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:45

What's going on everybody? I want to welcome you back to the Black Sheep Weaver Ship Podcast. I'm your host, Athena Renee, and this is where the underdogs, the misfits, and the black sheeps come to turn pain into power so that they can build a life by design and leave a legacy behind. Now, this if this is your first time tapping in, welcome family. I'm glad you stopped by. And if you're back again, what's up? What's up? You already know what time it is. Now let's do this quick vibe check. Because if you're easily offended, sensitive, entitled, still waiting on somebody to come save you, or allergic to accountability, get your ass up out of here because it's not your safe space. So go ahead and tap out now. But if you're ready to think different, move different so you can level up different, stay locked in because by the end of this episode, you're walking away with something that you can execute immediately. All right? Now let's get to work. Today, we're gonna be talking about stop giving crumbs to bombs. Yeah, you know what? I thought about this when I was just pondering on things this weekend. It's been a heavy, heavy last couple of weeks. But we continue to push through. But you know what? Stop giving crumbs to bombs. Why? Because potential don't pay bills, potential don't mean they're gonna be loyal. Character tells you everything that you need to know about a person. Listen, as a black sheep, we are the underdogs. Y'all listen. Elon Musk just became the first documented trillionaire, right? They the company went public, the IPO, you know, in whatever terms that mean. But what am I saying? Why am I bringing it up? He was a black sheep. And when I was looking at some of the videos in 2008, that man was about to cry because it was just so much failure. And as a black sheep, we always want to give people chances. But see, the people that execute and do things, they pour into themselves and they stop giving crumbs to bombs. See, black sheep, we gotta fight and scrape for every chance we get damn near. No matter how hard we work sometimes, especially in the beginning of our journey. Right? And so we get it, so we them type of people that we get in, we want to leave the door crack for everybody else. Or guess what? We want to enlighten people on what we learn. We meet people, we like, hey, listen, man, you know what? Let me give you a few gems. We meet people, they on their way or they down on their look. We try to help them out. But guess what? Because we see the potential in them, but that don't pay nothing. Now I know I'm not telling you nothing you haven't seen. Why? Because the main people that you done try to help out or help be the first ones that bite your hand. Be the first ones that backstab you and betray you. Okay. So what we need to do in this season, from here on out, what we gonna do? We're gonna stop falling in love with potential. Because potential without action, it's worthless. It's worthless. Potential is pennies. It's nothing. They don't even make the pennies no more. Potential is nothing if they're not doing the work. It's not nothing until somebody put the work in. A seed that never gets planted, what is that? It's just a seed. A dream that never gets executed? It's just a wish. A person with unlimited potential who refuses to use it is no different than somebody with nothing. That somebody just wants a handout or begging. That's let me tell you something. We're gonna stop giving crumb to these type of bones because these be the main ones that get jealous of the black sheep. They envy the black sheep because they had all of that potential. And they thought their potential was gonna just paint the pathway for them. See, it's just like you got people that think their ego is currency. See, black sheep, this is why a lot of people that you truly genuinely liked and supported what they was doing. The first time y'all had an argument, the first time y'all got into it, had a disagreement of any proportion. This is why y'all not cool no more. This is why a lot of people that you know that you always supported, you don't have nothing to show that they supported you. You know why? Because they thought hanging with them was everything. They think that you need to be around them so their ego is their currency. But what am I telling you? They're nothing but a bomb looking for crumbs from you because your energy is priceless. See, black sheep, this is why you continue to meet sometimes the people that just try to judge you up and they want to look you up and down and sniff you out. They don't even know you or know nothing about you, but it's your spirit, and if you're not spirit spiritual, that's your energy. Okay, and so when we meet these people, they got all the talent. Think about people you went to school with. Come on now. All them folks, they had all that talent. Some of them had all the support, they had everything, all the check marks was everything on the checklist was checked off. They was cute, had the shape, they was athletic, they was in the clubs, come from a good family, come from a two-parent household. Some came from single ones, but the single parent was still the bomb, and they didn't do nothing with it. They are crumb with bomb, they are pums when looking for crumbs. Why? How do you know? Because the first time you pull back and have some type of boundary or ask them about some piece of accountability, they're gonna feel some type of way. See, a lot of black sheep were natural encouragers. We love to coach people, we're natural coaches, and I don't even mean in a form of just trying to hey, you can do it and all of that, but we're we just tell them, shoot, man, if I did it, you can. Simple things like that. We can see what people can be, we can see what they can become because we have the light in us. We can we like wow, right? They can we can see it just like they can see it in us, but the difference is we use it as our blessing because we speak life into people, but the thing about it is it also it's also our curse because we start messing around and dating potential, we start hiring potential, we start befriending people because of their potential, we start investing in potential, partnering with potential, and I'm talking about long-term. Meanwhile, the actual person standing in front of us, meanwhile, the person who we talking about got all this potential, they're showing you every single day who they really is. They showing you this is why potential is cheap. It is potent, it can become very potent. You know, potential is almost like alchemy because you gotta take something, you gotta take something that's almost like nothing, but it is something, but you can't see it, and you gotta turn it into something that you can see. That's what potential is almost like alchemy, because everybody has potential, everybody can conjure up. Everybody has something. The question is, what are they doing with it? Because potential is common, but execution, character, consistency, they're rare, discipline is rare, accountability is rare, potential is everywhere. Results, though, that's what's not. That's why when you get the results, it's shut down. Every hater. I know Elon Musk is just like I know he's just blown away, but at the same time, I know he is having a very like emotional moment, you know, because you must understand that when you win, any type of winning, okay, and that's a huge win, but a win is a win, black sheep. A win is a win. And one thing about a win, we so excited about the victory, but we also we in tune with how much the pain, the strain that it took to even get there. Because all of that, that was potential, but he put it to action. Okay, and then you also realize I can't become comfortable at when I win, but a win is win. A win is a win, and I'm saying that because the results are not, and a lot of times these people that we're dealing with, whether it be a dating, a friend, a business partner, a customer, we are looking at potential, and that's not a result. That's just proof, that's just information that they can be this, they can do this, but if they're not currently taking the steps, what is the point? So we got to stop giving people credit for the work that they haven't done. This one thing right here, y'all. Listen a lot of people are getting credit for who they could become. They getting credit on things, not who they actually are. You keep saying they could be great, man. You know, they got a lot of talent over there. They got talent, they got gifts, they got everybody got gifts. This is why I tell y'all, as black sheep, there's no need to be jealous ever. It's it's really stupid. It's like a it's a poor man's sport, it's a lack mentality sport. Why? Because you can have one talent and still flip it out better than somebody that got five because they won't even execute it. Think about Red Bull or the five-hour energy shot. That's one product. Both of those companies are billionaires, both of those company owners are billionaires. Everybody got gifts, they got potential. Cool. What are they doing today? Because somebody's because some someday is not the day of the week. Remember that. Someday that's not a day of the week. Oh, someday I'll do it, someday I'll come see you. Um, Brian Tracy, one of the most one of the top uh motivational speakers and coaches and business coaches. He's really cool. I love his story as well. He was rolling with Bob Proctor and all of those guys. He's still around. Well, he says a lot of people they moving on someday aisle. Someday I'll do this. Oh, someday I'll go back to school, someday I'll start the business. Someday aisle. I just cut somebody off of that. Someday, someday, they was doing all these actions, they were so cool and everything. I've been doing them for a long time. I just start observing people, black sheep family. Just start observing folks. I know we don't like a lot of riff-raff going on. We don't want to ruffle the feathers and make waves, but listen to me very carefully. It's a lot of changes going on in the world on a global scale. We talk about it a lot on the different podcasts. Y'all hear the different you got the different reports. We talk about it on the YouTube channel, but we are in a different time right now, okay? And it's I'm talking about historically, okay, and I'm saying this to say this is not the time to be wasting time with people that's not showing you no results. This is why, before you do anything else, I'm so excited, guys. It's June. And the reason why I'm excited is even though I've been having a hell of a week, the last two weeks, this past weekend was real tough. Okay, but I'm saying this because listen, you can change your life in six months, and we're living in a time now where every minute is precious, and you gotta watch people as a black sheep because people want to just suck your energy, they won't give nothing to you, they want to take your time and your energy because it's something about you, of course it is. But guess what? You're not to be trifled with, and if they're not producing anything that's helping you, you you're a waste of time. You holding me back. Why? Because soon enough you're gonna start to envy me. That's just human, that's just how that's just the way it works. Because a man that don't have his own plans, he's gonna be a hater of the man that do got his own plans. So listen, this is a new black sheet principle. Every time you ignore the red flags, the lack of effort, poor character, inconsistency, broken promises, you pay a tax. You pay the tax, and I call it the benefit of the doubt tax. I told y'all the coupon was up, but guess what? Eventually, that tax becomes lost time, lost money, lost peace, and lost opportunities. Let me break it down to you. So every time you give somebody the benefit of the doubt, they didn't call you before, they didn't call you and let you know that y'all weren't going to the event. He said or she said she was gonna show up at a certain time, she don't do it. You keep giving them the benefit of the doubt. Guess what? You're gonna end up paying it, you're gonna be losing your peace. You're gonna be pissed off because you know you work more, but you won't implement no action and cut they ass off. You keep giving them the benefit of the doubt. You lose it, you wasting time, you give them the benefit of the doubt. The tax you're gonna pay is in lost time, they didn't wasted your time. You out here a precious black sheep with beautiful ideas, ready. You already acting on something. Some of y'all already in motion, and I gotta talk to y'all about something too. I want y'all to check out this upcoming episode. Um, I was just chilling at the house, and God dropped this download on me, but it's about the number one Shark Tank principle that I want y'all to jump in on. Listen to me, this is gonna help you a lot as a black sheep. And I got to thinking about uh Shark Tank because I really like that show. I didn't watch it just like all the time, guys, because I'm getting back into my mode where I'm about to stop watching TV again, right? I'm I'm about to go stupid, I'm about to go ramble mode on social media, a lot of different things, you know what I'm saying? So, anyways, but y'all check that episode out, and I'm telling you, that's gonna be the deal breaker. That's gonna definitely give you a leg up on these folks. But listen, this benefit of the uh doubt tax, you're wasting time with people, man. These folks have showed you, they showed you already. Another one that's lost opportunities. Well, I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt, you know. Well, I'll just take my time and all of this stuff, guys. Every ladies and gentlemen, you're gonna continue to lose opportunities. I'm gonna tell you another way you can lose opportunities by dealing and giving people the benefit of the doubt when they have showed you red flags. You're trying to take people in an area where they're not even ready, they're not even ready for this environment. It's like you taking out a pot a plant and you just planted it the other day. Now you're trying to root it up and take it to a big uh a huge rose garden, and it's not even a seedling yet, right? A lot of times we take the wrong people to the wrong environment, we just want to take them with us. Come on, we know you got potential. Then they get in that damn environment and they embarrass you. Now you didn't lost the deal because you got this hot head with you, somebody that don't know how to act. Oh man, I'm trying to tell you, y'all, that's the tax you pay, and that's why I say it's game over for that anyway. See, what you must understand is this people show you who they are, they show you their value system, they show you why stop listening to people's promises and start watching their patterns. See, this is all I do. That's all I do now, y'all, as a black sheep because I'm very vocal. You know, earlier on, especially in my younger day, I was vocal when I should have been shutting up. So now I'm out here like a damn ninja, a sensei. I I'm talking about I try to make sure I'm zipping my lip more than I'm speaking up about something. Why? Because let me make sure I establish a pattern. Let me establish this pattern first. I don't want to just mouth off instantly. Let me just observe you for a hot second. Because patterns reveal priorities, not words, not wishes, not excuses. The patterns do. That's just why they say if people try to talk to you real slick, you know that first time you're giving them grace. Like, you know what? Let me see. Maybe you had a bad day or something happened. Let me just make sure, right? It could be one and done. They may come back and apologize, they may not, but it might be one and done. Cool. The second time, oh, you trying me now. See, it's a pattern. You showing up late, you did it once, you didn't, you keep doing it. It's a pattern. You said you're gonna do it, you don't do it, you are showing me patterns. And guess what? I'm not trying to figure out why you're doing it. I just know you're doing it, and I know that you know you are doing this shit. So, what am I saying? We're not giving no more crumbs to bums. That's what the benefit of doubt tax is. That's for the bums that want us to keep they want to keep playing with our time because they don't value us because they don't value themselves. See, a lot of these people, they're not even working on shit. We the ones that see the value in them. Because trust and believe me, they see the value in you. People see the value in you more than you do. The difference is we out here executing, okay? We out here trying to climb. We not just talking about it, we not just being a mummy, uh a mannequin, a prop item, just standing out here thinking we cute, like I was talking earlier. How come to find out I had been running with some females, I guess they thought they ego was currency. I'm like, Bish, you got me effed up. Why would I hang out with you when you've never contributed anything? You another bum that's looking for crumbs. You cut. You cut. Okay. So listen, he go to black sheep, he go to moves as a black sheep. I want y'all to start doing immediately. Number one, audit who you're investing in. Listen to me very carefully. Who are you consistently encouraging that refuses to encourage themselves? But not only that, refuse to level up from that mother, that from that page of life they own. Think about who just wanna complain about what's going on all the time? Who wanna just keep talking about it and ain't doing nothing about it? See, this is why you know I was looking at the news, and it's the same stuff circulating: separation, division, racism, um uh hateful news, US, the war, China. I mean, it's just the same stuff going on. And yes, life is changing, things are changing. We are in the new world order, it's coming up, yes. However, we can't stop that. So, what you gonna do? You're gonna position yourself to win. You're not gonna worry about see the things that's going on, especially with specifically with America in general, and just in general for the world itself. But I'm talking about America because I'm in America and I love America, but it is what it is. In the book, The Fourth Turning, it pretty much represents how time and history, there's cycles to everything. If y'all want to know more about that, check me out on my wire to win channel where we get into numerology. Numbers don't lie, y'all. People lie, people can talk about it all they want. Numbers are used widely in the Bible. Check that that uh YouTube channel out. But listen, y'all, everything is a cycle, it's a lot of stuff going on in the world, and it's so crazy because people got so much to say about America, and America is the youngest nation out here, man. But the crazy thing is, we've had so much innovation, added so much innovation to the world. Now, we're not the only ones now. Let's be clear. There was a lot of ancient civilizations that had it, you know, that had it going on, right? But what am I saying, y'all? It's a lot of different distractions out here in the world, and this is the time for you to focus in, honey on what you want in your life. I don't care if you say, you know what, all this food out here is poison. I want to move somewhere in and whoever knows Tennessee and get me an acre or sit on a half an acre. I don't care if you say I want a uh um storage unit home or a tiny home, but I want to grow my own food and I want to be able to um teach my kids from home, be a homeschooling parent. Whatever that thing is, you might say, Effie, Elon Musk, a trillionaire. I want to I want to make a I want to be a billionaire. Fuck it. Fuck it. I'm gonna shoot real high. See, because listen, y'all, the limits are the ones that you set for yourself. The thing about it is the enemy don't have to destroy you. He has to do if he if he messes with you and your focus, if he messes with you and your focus, you're done for. And this is why you got to focus in on you and what you want out of life. Forget all that, oh, the rich keep getting richer. Well, get rich. Get rich, god dogged. Don't keep talking about it. It's a reason behind it. Here's the thing, guys, specifically in America, you know, a lot of people don't like capitalism. Hey, I don't care what it is, but whatever you got going on. But what I do know is capitalism has created more millionaires and even six-figure thousandaires than any other system. And what I do enjoy about capitalism, basically saying it's supply and demand. And if you can go get it from somewhere for the low, I can put a little tax on it and get my end. Okay, even with today's end of the technology we have, it's super cool because a lot of y'all got all kinds of talent. You know how to make bracelets, you know how to do wood sculptures. Do you know how cool it is to be able to order your products for a good price and create something and sell it because this is from your heart? Well, anyway, all I'm saying to you, there's no excuse for a person, I don't care where you're from, to level up. Because if you somewhere, I'm talking About in the US that you don't want to be in is not fruitful, get your booty on a bus and leave. Some people are like, oh, it's just too hard. Hey, listen, I don't care if you got a family of eight. It's the summertime, you can figure something out. You can figure something out, trust me. For the person that wants it, a way will be made. And I'm just saying this because as a black sheep, number one, this first move, you gotta audit who you're investing in. People gonna play with you all the time. They're gonna try you and see. This is the time to become a samurai, titanium steel, cold-hearted, badass mofo. Okay? I put that in the best words and the best way that I can. This is the time. I'm serious. I don't care if you gotta go in hermit mode, you gotta audit who you're invested in because we've already had enough van um uh energy vampires, whether they be single, married, family, or friends, they come around you to suck you dry, and when they're done, when you become a usual now, even though you're nothing usual, they disappear, poof, like magic, they gone. Guess what, black sheep? Audit who you're investing in because if they not invest in you, fuck them. Number two, stop rewarding potential. Listen, man. As a black sheep, I know y'all got some good hearts. I love y'all so so damn much. I love you. Okay. I know I said damn like I had a farm, boy, and I'm about to get one. That must be confirmation. But listen, I appreciate my black sheep people that give black sheep chances. Let me say that. It's a lot of leaders out here, managers, you don't get enough credit. It's a lot of people out here that's black sheep. You at a grocery store. Sometimes you don't even, you don't even, you might be looking raggedy, but your spirit is gold. You speak, you hold a door open of all kinds of races. I want to say thank you so much, and I love you. Do not stop, do not let nobody stop you. But what you need to stop doing, what you must fuck me, you must stop rewarding potential. We always reward potential with people when they done showed us the patterns that they're not hitting on nothing. We gotta start making sure we reward effort, and you know the first the first effort we want to see, y'all. We want to see their character, number one, and number two, consistency. Consistency. If they're not showing us no consistency, y'all, we not messing with it. We gotta see actions, make them put their money where their mouth is. We ain't he we ain't with all that yah yeah yeah, and that blah blah blah. That's why I told y'all as a black sheep now. I'm quiet now. Don't get me wrong. I thank God that I've always been a woman that will talk, but I always backed it up with action, but I definitely talked way more. I spoke way more than I needed to, and it wasn't always down. Sometimes it was just me being straightforward, telling the truth, and you have to know you learn with wisdom. Just because you know us, just because you know something don't mean you need to disclose it right away, right? That's why I don't like this old exposed ass um culture we got. Oh, they've been exposed. Oh, you don't even know what the what behind the what was, and you just want to put it out for what? For what? Because at the end of the day, everybody got to answer for what they're doing and what's what they got going on. Okay, but as a black sheep, listen, action, we gotta see consistent action. That's the damn that's the fee now, that's the standard with everything and everybody consistent action towards the goal that will benefit me. No, I'm not being selfish. Guess what, black sheep? If you never gave nothing to nobody except the creator, you will be okay for the rest of your life. You will continue to eat off of it. It might trickle in slow here. Sometimes we all have our ups and downs, but we didn't give plenty. Everybody else from here on out that gets in your circle, your good graces, because everybody don't deserve your goodness. Guess what? They gotta show you character and consistent action. Period. All right. Number three, start believing them patterns. Your eyes ain't lying to you. Your eyes ain't lying. Start believing the patterns, not the promises. Oh, I promise I ain't gonna do that no more. Okay, show me, boy. You ain't gotta promise nothing, not the possibilities. Oh, well, you know, it could, it's a possibility. You know what? Let's be 100. When we say it's possible, that's bit, that's just a soft no. And don't get me wrong, it is sometimes. I I did use that with somebody today. I say it's a possibility, but the possibility depends on them showing me action consistent because I'm not doing nothing. If you want to be in my circle, you gotta prove it. Why? Because I'm moving, I'm making moves, I got momentum. Sometimes it's slow, sometimes it's fast. But one thing about it, I'm not sitting on my ass bars. Okay, so listen, black sheep, you cannot want somebody's future more than they want it. Have you ever tried to help somebody along more than they even want to do it? I mean, it's just like a no-brainer, and they just steady going the other way. Fuck them. You cannot save people from decisions they keep choosing. That's another one, black sheep. People be out here making horrible decisions. Black sheep, we've already made a lot of boobal decisions. We don't need nobody else around us making bad decisions. Get them people up out of here. I I ain't gonna I'm gonna keep it a buck with you. I really been want to look for people that's really good at making decisions. I'm now looking for people that are brilliant, cool, with a good sense of humor. We might be completely different, but when you with people, they got different thought processes. Man, that makes you so sharp. Oh, it makes you so sharp. Forget all these people that's making just outright dumb decisions that you should have been you should have passed that test in third grade. That's just like people out here that don't brush their teeth. We learned that in kindergarten. How you not brushing your teeth? You ain't passed that test, and you out here trying to date. No, we good. So listen, understand, black sheep. At some point, you have to stop investing in potential and start investing in the proof because potential is cheap. The character of the person is valuable, discipline is valuable, consistency is valuable. And if somebody refuses to use their gifts, their potential is nothing more than pennies sitting in a jar. Stop giving crumb to these bones, stop handing out grace where accountability accountability should be at. Stop financing foolery and fake friends with a fake ass energy and all them excuses they give you, and start investing in people who actively are actively building something. And guess what? They're building something with what they've been given, and they want to share with you, they want to benefit with you too. Okay, that's it. No more crumbs and them bums. Because until the next time, keep in mind information is everywhere, but execution is rare. I'm signing off, y'all.