The Pattern Nobody Sees |Why Smart People Keep Getting Played

The Pattern Nobody Sees | Why Smart People Keep Getting Played

Welcome to Black Sheep Black Ops™, a brand-new season of Black Sheep Leadership focused on strategic intelligence for the modern Black Sheep.

In Intelligence Briefing #001, Athena Renee introduces the foundation of the season by revealing why intelligent people often repeat the same mistakes—not because they lack information, but because they fail to recognize patterns.

You'll discover the difference between reacting to events and recognizing recurring behaviors, learn the new Black Sheep operating system—Observe. Understand. Execute.—and receive your very first Black Ops Mission designed to help you make better decisions in every area of life.

If you're ready to stop reacting and start thinking strategically, this briefing is where your next chapter begins.

strategic thinking

leadership mindset

decision making

pattern recognition

behavioral psychology

personal growth

strategic intelligence

life lessons

emotional intelligence

Black Sheep Leadership

self-improvement

critical thinking

discernment

modern leadership

mindset transformation

"INFORMATION IS EVERYWHERE EXECUTION IS RARE"

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Welcome to the Black Sheep Leadership Podcast. I'm Athena Renee, and this is where the underdogs, the misfits, and the black sheep come to turn pain into power so that they could build a life by design and leave a legacy behind. Now, if this is your first time tapping in, welcome in, family. Pull up a chair. We're so glad that you're here. And if you're back again, what's up, family? Welcome back. I want to thank you so much for rocking with me and trusting me with your time. I promise you, I don't take that lightly. 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. This is not your safe space. So go ahead and tap out now. But if you're tired of average, good. Average is overcrowded. But if you're ready to think bigger, move smarter and not harder, and refuse to live beneath your potential, stay locked in. Because by the end of this episode, you're walking away with something that you can execute immediately. Now let's get to work. Before we hop into today's episode, I want to take the time to congratulate you. If you've been rocking with me since season one, congratulations. You've already done what most people never will. You've challenged your thinking. You have stepped outside of the box, you've broken the mold that people tried to place you in, and you've started building your life by design. And that deserves a big old congratulations. But now everything is about to level up again. Because season one was about transformation. We spent an entire season talking about your identity, your purpose, your mindset, discipline, and becoming the person that your future requires. But here is the raw truth. You can build all of those things. You can build confidence, discipline, you can find your life purpose and become a better leader, even if you're just leading yourself to the next level and still keep getting blindsided by the same types of people, the same type of opportunities and situations, and the same mistakes. Why? Why does that happen after you've done all this work? Because becoming stronger and becoming more strategic are not the same thing. And that's why season two exists. See, this season isn't about changing who you are, it's about changing your lens on how you see the world. Because the way you see the world, it determines the way you move through it. See, if you only notice events, you will spend your whole life reacting. And you see it every day. You see people reacting to all types of things. And you know, when you react to life, life will throw a curveball when you thought you did everything right. Life will throw you a lefty when you thought you dotted all your I's and crossed your T's. So what we're going to be doing in season two, we're going to show you how to change your lens on the role, on the world, and start by showing you how if you recognize patterns, you can begin anticipating. And anticipation, when you're ready for something to happen, when you're anticipating something, that changes the game. So this season, we're installing a new operating system. One that sits underneath every decision you make, every conversation you have, and every opportunity that you evaluate. And it's built on three simple commands. Observe, learn to notice what other people overlook. Number two, understand, learn to ask why things happen instead of only noticing what just happened. Get the answer behind the why, the why behind the why. And number three, execution. You know, we've been talking about executing. This is all about making your next move from intention rather than impulse. That's the operating system. Because from this point forward, we're not just about becoming better people, it's all about the strategy. With that being said, welcome to the Black Sheet Black Ops season two. Today, we're gonna have an intelligence briefing number one. And our mission, our objective today is simple. We are installing a new way of seeing. Because information don't change your lives, perspective does. We talked about a little bit in season one. When you change your perspective, you can change your life instantly. When you change your when you do something as simple as changing your perspective, you can go be from becoming the victim of something to the victorious one. And it's so powerful, you will start to see why things happen, why the news always wants to put negative stuff on there, why people love to be very divisive, why folks come at you on a negative mindset. They want to dull out your perspective, they want to dull out your confidence because they understand who's they? Anyone that opposed your ascension. Anyone that opposed your ascension. That could be family, friends, co-workers, I don't care who. Anybody that gets in the way of the black sheep's, the misfits, the underdogs, anybody that gets in your way of your ascension, they the ops. That's they, that's them, they, and all of the other acronyms, whoever, right? Because you must understand, people want you to feel hopeless, they don't want you to have confidence, they want you to feel like the victim. You will know why? Because your energy is tampered down, your go-getting powers is dull. But when you, the black sheep, change your perspective and say, you know what, I could choose to be the victim, but I'm gonna use this hate as fuel, you become unstoppable, you become unfuckwittable, and that's just what it is. All right. So, again, today our mission is simple. We're installing a new way of seeing things, and this is going to change the game. All right, let's get into it. So, the name of this intelligence briefing is you cannot change what you don't recognize. Okay, see, most people think when we talk about intelligence and briefing and strategy, most people think intelligence is about knowing more. But I think intelligence is about noticing more. See, when you put on this hat of a strategic intelligence mastermind, okay, just say you're a mastermind. See, when you are a mastermind, it's not about knowing everything, it's about noticing, right? And those are two completely different skills. See, we've met people, we've all met people that know a lot of stuff. They know everything, right? They read all the books, they got more degrees than a thermometer, right? They go to the conferences, they got great credit, they marry, they stay in a nice neighborhood, they come from a two-parent household, but somehow they keep fumbling the ball, fumbling the bag, right? They keep doing the same things over and over and over again. Why? Because information is not the problem. Pattern recognition is. See, successful people don't simply remember experiences, they don't remember what happened, they remember patterns. They ask questions like, dang, haven't I seen this before? What normally happens after this? What am I missing? Something, I'm missing something. That single shift changes everything because you are no longer just in the environment looking at what happened. You are noticing, you're not trying to be, you're not trying to know everything, you are noticing the small things and the details that can change everything. Okay, now listen, let me warn you because I want you guys to understand something. My life was created to help the underdogs, the black sheets, and the misfits to level up. Okay, and what I need you to understand is everything that I discuss on this podcast, whether you find this on Spotify, uh iHeartRadio, Buzz Sprout, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, I want you to understand that I'm speaking to you from a point of reference that I have experienced it, done it, or about to do it. Okay. And this episode is so powerful because number one, not only are we have we reached a milestone of 50 episodes for the Black Sheep Leadership Podcast, in which I'm so excited. Um, first and foremost, we don't even have a huge audience, but the reason why I'm excited is because I am setting my flag in the ground per se. I am drawing a line in the sand to let you know if you identify with being a black sheep underdog with a misfit of your family, you got a place to come to, you got a place to come plug in and get power back up to this world that want to bring you down. And we're here to say, we're not in tomorrow, we're not in today and gone tomorrow. Many, many people start things. We've all been this type of person at one point in our life where we start something and we don't finish the mission. I'm just saying, this milestone is for you to understand when life gets hard, you don't have anybody to talk to, you don't have anywhere to go. I want you to understand that Athena Renee and the Black Sheep Leadership Podcast, we're gonna be here with you until the end of time, until it's game over for me. Okay, that's number one. But this is what I need you to understand as we're going into season two. And this is really important because this past weekend, I took a trip to get away and to celebrate the milestone for the podcast. Um, a lot of folks don't really realize and understand that when you get these content creators out here, I don't care if they're making a podcast, a YouTube channel, or have a blog, to consistently show up every day, every week, every month, it's a lot. Why? Because just because you are creating content for the world to see, whether it be good or bad, life is lifing for everyone. Okay, and so I went out of town and I said, you know what, let's have a celebration. All right. I had just got back from Colombia, had a beautiful time. When I tell you I had a beautiful time, I had a wonderful time. Shouts out to the people in Colombia. We also went to Punta Cana. Shouts out to the folks in Punta Cana, those two places. Listen to me very carefully, y'all. If you want to go somewhere and you feel like you are an underdog, a misfit, or black sheep, I don't care what race you are, you know, we black sheep. But specifically, if you feel like people look at you funny and crazy, or you are a melanated person. Personally, guys, I really don't get a whole lot into race, but it is a thing. It is right, but as a black sheep, we're so tough. We're not letting nobody hold us down. But I want to say this Punta Cana and Colombia, the people are so effing beautiful, not just physically, right? Because we're going over this physical stuff, right? You got to give with people that got the right spirit and want to see you to win. And Punta Cana in Colombia, y'all. The people were so beautiful. I'm talking about with a beautiful spirit. I was so upset because I wanted to give out 50 and 100 bills for our butlers that we had for our room service. So I really first of all want to give a shout-out to those folks. Listen to me, black sheep. I want you to become filthy rich so that you can help the people that help you, so that you can serve the people that serve you and show them that their work has not gone unnoticed. Okay, so yes, black sheep family, for the sake of stun out and being a baller for I don't care if it's for your community, I don't care if you buy a hundred hot dogs and bags of chips for wherever you're from for the kids that need hope. Get rich for things like that. But what I need you to understand today is something that I experienced last weekend, and that is the cost of the upgrade. Black Sheep family, I promise you that I'm going to research and dig out all of the tactical and strategies and mindset shifts and everything that we need as the underdogs of the world to level up. I promise you that to the day that I'm up out of here, okay. But what I need you to understand is this I can give you all of this information and you can put it all into practice, but you need to know the cost of the upgrade, okay. I talk a lot about the cost of being the boss. That's the cost that you must pay, okay? But there is another cost that you must be prepared for. I covered it lightly in season one, but after this past weekend, it's way more the tax and the re and the cost is way more heavier, is heftier than what I thought. Okay, so I need you to understand that the most important personal development thing that you're gonna learn, you must understand is that every upgrade is going to cost you something heavy. Okay, now I want you to think about your phone for a second. I don't care what type of phone you got, iPhone, Android, off-brand, I don't care what kind of phone it is. But I want you to think about whenever your phone is about to go through a major software update, or whenever it can't becomes available, your phone gives you a warning, right? Your phone gives you a warning and it says, Hey, some settings may change, some applications may not work, may no longer work, some files might need to be updated. Sometimes it'll tell you you have so many hours to save your work or whatever you're doing before this upgrade is either one forced on you or you'll be working with outdated software. Now, why does this happen? It happens because every upgrade that you will have on any kind of device creates incompatibility. Okay, it creates incompatibility. The new operating system wasn't designed to preserve everything from the old system, it was designed to improve it. But guess what? The same thing happens in your life. See, many people say they want a new life, but very few people are willing to become incompatible with the old one, and I really feel like a lot of folks that speak on leveling up in success, they don't talk about this enough. Okay. I know they don't want to deter you from leveling up because a lot of people decided, you know what, well, forget about all the trouble. I'll just stay where I'm at, right? Some people say they want new habits, but they keep the old routines because when they figure out what's what it takes, some people say, I want new confidence, I want more confidence, but they remain around the people who benefit from their insecurity. Have you noticed that people treat you differently from when you were insecure compared to when you leveled up in your security and your confidence? Because they benefited from that. Some people say they want greater discipline without giving up the distractions. See, the opposite of discipline is distractions. Some people say they want peace, but they still hanging around the chaos. Transformation doesn't work that way. Think about a lot of the folks that leveled up, specifically if you're from the bottom of the basement. I always talk about being from the bottom of the basement. I need you to understand that no matter how high I go, and I thank God for allowing me to be around seven and eight-figure people. Um, my clients that I've had has some of the top performers in the world as their clients. I have been blessed to be around people. I'm talking about these folks can buy a 10,000 square feet home in cash. Forget going to the bank. They want it, they get it. Now, I'm not telling you that to impress you, I'm telling you because I still will always tell you I started at the bottom. Most people do. But I need you to understand because we won't talk about big things. It's time to think big and get around environments that support your big ideas because the black sheep at the end of the day are the ones to change the world. Who do you think Elon Musk is? Elon Musk, even some people say, Oh, yeah, Elon Musk came for money. We saw Elon Musk cry on TV, just like we saw Michael Jordan and LeBron James. We saw these folks cry on TV because their heroes or people they looked up to did not believe in them. And Elon Musk today has been accounted to be the world's first trillionaire. Elon Musk is an outsider, regardless if he comes from money or not, because you must understand you can come from money, but your personality and or your calling can still make you an underdog. Okay. So understand that underdogs, the misfits and the black sheep, we are the ones here to change the world. But I want you to understand that every meaningful upgrade that you make in your life requires a sacrifice. And most of the time, let me just keep it a stack with y'all because I love y'all so much. The sacrifice that is going to be the most costly is going to be the people that you are around. And this is not because life is unfair, it's because growth has requirements. They're not. They're gonna because they profit from you being holding your head down, they profit from you being a victim, they'll criticize your transformation, right? You you get your body together, they're gonna crit. Oh, who you think you are? You're arrogant all of a sudden, you get you a new house, a new car. Never mind if you was in a ghetto with rats and roaches at the bottom of the basement, laying on a bed with bed bugs, who knows where you come from, right? But as soon as you decide to get up, they'll criticize it. It is not because you've become arrogant, it's because your growth reminds them of everything they've been saying but not doing. Another thing you must understand is if you resonate with being an underdog or a black sheep, quiet is kept. A lot of people don't believe in you anyway. So when you sit there and prove these fools wrong, do you really think they're gonna give you a standing ovation? Like, oh man, you did it. Yay, no, you have literally made them a liar. Y'all know people don't want to be wrong. I've told you guys right now, when you encounter people that act like they're never wrong, get away from around them, folks. Period. Why? Because we're humans, nobody is always right. So, how can you sit in somebody's face and act like you're always right? That's one of the biggest flicks that you'll you'll see, and this is how you'll know these are not your real people. Because when you're really real about leveling up and transforming your life, you can admit to where you misjudged, miss you misstepped, you misspoke, and you say, you know what? Hey, my bad. And you recorrected and you move on. Of course, you're not gonna let anybody just live in your mistake. That's another thing. When you meet people that want to continue to remind you of your past, family. You know what that means? That's where they ass belong in the past. You understand that? See, because the moment people start reminding you of your past, it just confirms. They want to keep you in a box, they want to keep you in a certain place to make them comfortable. As soon as somebody says, because you're getting healthy or you start dressing up and you're not saving that outfit for nothing, you just coming out the house on a regular, you might just be going to check the mailbox and you're looking like you're going to a job interview. And somebody say, Oh man, you be doing too much. You come to work, you're dressed up, you're wearing a suit, you're wearing a dress. You know what I'm saying? Everybody else wearing leggings and long shirts or jeans and crocs or whatever. You coming in, you clean, you dress for the next. They're talking about oh, you're doing too much. No, you're not doing too much. You doing what it takes to walk into your next season. So, what I'm telling you is this the moment that you see those things, it is proof positive. If they reminding you of your past, and you gotta defend who you are today because the fact the past, we can't go back to that, we can't change the past, we can only study it and move on. But if somebody keeps trying to push you back to your past, that is proof positive, that is where they belong. Okay, see, a while back, guys, I you know, before I took this trip, I was hanging out with someone. This is someone that I've known in grade school, and we've always kind of had different personalities, but I'm one of those people that can see the good in folks, right? We may not get along all the time. I'm cool with that. Um you're not gonna get along with anybody all the time, right? But it was certain characteristics that I just was not feeling, but at the same time, I still respected this person because number one, it wasn't infinity to it because they knew me when I stayed with my grandmother. But I don't not only that, I saw them grow up in a two-parent household that went from that, that went to a one parent household to being a drug addict to going to prison for conspiracy to murder and still leveling up, right? So I seen, I said, Man, this person, wow, this is really good. I see that they went through this. Keep in mind, we were children, okay? But as we became adults, it wasn't love there, it was more about compassion. Comparing, competing, comparing, and everything. And so I said, I don't think so. I'm not going to be able to deal with this. Because if I am cheering you on and holding you up through your moments, why is it that when you see me coming up, you want to bring me down or you want to remind me of my past, like you brought me through? Because, see, black sheep family, one thing that I want you to understand is I don't care what these weirdos is talking about in the world with all this divisive ass shit they got going on, black sheep family, the price you paid for your survival, I don't care what you went through. Maybe you had abusive parents like I did, maybe you didn't stay with either one of your parents like I did. Maybe you just come from the slums and your both of your parents had to work uh 20 hours a day and you raise yourself with you, whatever your scenario is. Maybe you were an orphan, right? Whatever the scenario is, maybe you came up in a gang and fested environment the way I did, and you still wanted more. Regardless of what it is, if you listen to the sound of my voice, you pay the price to even come up and come out. I don't care if you're listening to my voice from an extended state hotel, you pay the price. Don't you dare let anybody tell you what you shouldn't be, what you can't be, or try to put their foot on you like you are not good enough to level up. Don't you ever? Why? Because everything you went through, black sheep, you know the pain, you know the rain you was in. Somebody else, I want you to never forget this black sheep family. Somebody else that went through the same stuff you went through, they deleted themselves. Maybe it's with drugs, alcohol, who knows? But they're not here anymore. Nevertheless, you are. You deserve good things and good people to be around you that love you for you in every piece of your story and your journey. It's not that you got to tell everybody your journey because everybody don't deserve to hear everything you went through. However, regardless of where you're at and what piece of the journey you tell them, your soul knows. See, your your soul keeps tab, your soul keeps score of everything you've been through. This is why we're talking about changing your perspective. Because if you held on to that story like you were the victim, that's where depression and drugs come in. But the moment you say I'm gonna use that as a lunch pad to help other people, everything changes. And that's why I'm telling you, Black Sheep Family, number one, you deserve everything, the best of the best that you want for yourself. It may not be to have a gazillion dollars, it might be just to have six figures, it might be just to be able to send your school to private school, your kids to private school to be able to be in a better neighborhood. Regardless of what it is, you've already paid the price. Number one, you already have in you what it takes to make it to that next level. So don't you ever accept subpar treatment from anybody? I don't care how long you've been knowing them. So, like I said, guys, I went on this trip and the young lady was just taking shots at me, y'all, the whole weekend long. Was just talking about, you know, because I try to be healthy, guys. Um, you know, I talk a lot about getting that bag. I'm not gonna lie. I mean, I grew up poor. I grew up poor. Why wouldn't I want to talk about getting money and having the options that wealth brings? But let me tell you this first and foremost: wealth, the first part of wealth is health. Health is wealth. You don't want the bag and can't spin it. What's the point of having money and you can't even walk a half a mile if you needed to? So I really have started to focus a lot on my health and eating, and I've always been this person, but you know, sometimes we kind of hang out in the balance. Well, long story short, I took it serious and I went on vacation and hadn't seen this person. Uh, it wasn't super long, but you know, when you do drastic measures, meaning you might go on a fast or whatever. When, like I said, guys, when you buckle down to do what's important to you, people start to notice before you do. So we're on this trip, and this girl just starts hammering in, talking about what have you been doing, your body. I mean, just going on and on and on about it. Would not let it down. Meanwhile, they're over there looking big like a can of biscuits, right? Shaped up like a French Bulldog. If you've seen a French Bulldog, pull it up, okay? Pull up the French Bulldog so you can see what I'm talking about. Keep in mind, I've never been the person to body shame anyone unless we're roasting. Guys, I'm from the hood, so yeah, they'll roast you. But one thing with me is I'm not that person that's going to be talking about someone because again, I always told you guys, there's people that also have been through what you've been through and they leveled up with it. There's people that are 250 pounds, they don't care about Ozimpic, they don't care about low-carb diet, keto, and working out. They took their fatness and they went to the next level. Don't believe me, ex Lizzo. Don't believe me, think about Gabby, right? Gabby is married with twins now, right? So I've never been that person to necessarily be out here body shaming or talking about someone, even in a car. You know what I mean? Just because I you have a new car now and you see someone else, they're in their bucket, we've all rode in buckets, and maybe you haven't, but I know I have right. So I'm not looking down on nobody on that type of stuff, right? But if you come for me, now listen, guys, I'm from uh the outside the outskirts of Chicago. Let's keep it above, guys. A lot of comedians come from there, and not just about comedians, it's just in me because a lot of times, like Kevin Hart says, you laugh at your own pain. So if I've laughed at my own pain to keep my spirits up, you know I don't mind getting roasting somebody else if they're talking about me. But guess what, guys? Trying to be more like Christ, I let it go. I just looked upside her head, and you know, don't get me wrong, guys, I'll be honest, I'm not perfect. So I barked back a little bit. I said a few things, but I let it go because in that moment, Black Sheep family, I decided this is one of the sacrifices that I must make. She could not stand that I was just putting my clothes on with ease. She could not stand I was taking care of myself, I wasn't waiting on nobody to back me up. I was outside. I was at the seminar in the front row. We went to the department store. I wasn't waiting on the group to back me up to walk, I was walking by myself. And you must understand, Black Sheep family, people will get offended by your newfound confidence. And so, as I wrap up this particular portion, I want you to understand, Black Sheep Family. One of the largest costs of your upgrades before I start teaching you this tactic specifically for today, you're gonna keep a lot of stuff out, it's just gonna start coming to you naturally. You're gonna realize that you're gonna have to pull a move like a meme that I saw. Well, it was a video, and the guy said, Have you ever been around somebody? And in your mind, you said, This is the last time I'm gonna see this person. This is the last time I'm hanging out with this person. Why? It's because you finally realize they cannot go. And if you keep trying to drag them with you, it's gonna, it's going to um, it's going to infect. Contaminate is the word, it's gonna contaminate the new software. It's like a virus to the software. What it do is slow you down. When you when you get that virus on your phone, what it do? It slows it down, it put all type of weird information in there. You can't even be clear on the screen without something popping up or somebody saying something. Why? Because when you're around people that infect a new person, they infect a new software that you've installed to become the new version of yourself. You'll start thinking about the little bull crap they said. They'll be sprinkling, they'll sprinkle salt. That's what that is what the meaning of sprinkle salt is. When people sprinkle salt, they'll say little things and you'll be moving along, and then it'll pop up in your mind, right? So, what I want you to understand, black sheep family, as you learn this first tactic, this first briefing that we're about to go through today, please understand, do not be alarmed when you literally start looking at folks and saying to yourself, This is the last time you'll see me. Just know the things that they're doing, there's a good chance they've been doing it for a while, but because you're a black sheep, you probably just looked over it. But what I need you to understand is the person you're becoming, the new software downloads that you're about to get starting today, is going to require for you to choose this software upgrade, the sacrifice that you want to you're gonna have to really think about it if you really want it bad enough. Because I can guarantee you, a lot of folks that you had with you in your last season, they're not going to be able to go. Okay, so let's talk about why smart people keep getting played. Okay, so let's just say, for instance, if you're one of those people that's talking about, oh, I'm gonna stay loyal, I'm staying loyal to my people, I'm gonna stay in, right? Well, see, a lot of times, have you noticed how a lot of us, a lot of good people, they always end up getting in some of the same things all the time. And you like, man, what are they on? What keeps going on? Is it bad luck? A lot of people like to talk about it being bad luck. But this is why we're talking about strategic intelligence today. We're talking about collecting strategic intelligence, and we're starting off with observation of this new software that we're going to be installing. Observation, think about it. Most people live their lives collecting memories. Observation is all about collecting patterns. Think about a detective. A detective doesn't solve a case because of one clue, right? They're not solving nothing because of one clue, they're solving it because they got connected, they've connected dozens of other clues until a full pattern emerges. Right? So you got a friend, they've been sprinkling salt every time you come over there, whether it be a you that you got a you in a new car, you looking good, you lost pounds, you gained muscle, right? You got a new haircut, you changed the hair color, whatever it is, they got something negative to say. Those are the dozens of clues that they have been putting together for you all of this time, and until you realize that the pattern has emerged that they are a hater in your life. Okay? Now, think about how many clues have you ignored? How many times has someone shown you exactly who they are, and then you talked your own self out of believing it? How many times has your intuition whispered, man, this don't feel right, something ain't right about this? But your emotions say, eh, you're overthinking it. Give them another chance. Go on, you just you're thinking too much. Right? How many red flags have you ignored? Because one of the biggest lessons I've learned is people they don't really surprise us, they usually repeat the same patterns, the same things they've been doing, they keep doing them. They just keep doing them. This is why Maya Angelo's famous saying she has a quote that has endured for decades. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. Believe them the first time, family. Notice she didn't say when they tell you, she said when they show you. See, when they show you, forget about that intel. See, when I was telling you guys, I always tell you if you've been with me in season one, what do we say? We say information is everywhere, but execution is rare. Why? Because actions speak louder than words. Information is just words, but when somebody puts it into action, that's when it becomes knowledge, wisdom, and that is a pattern. When they're consistent doing that same thing, and you got those patterns together, that's where intelligence comes from. See, events might lie, it could be a one-time thing, right? An event is one thing, one conversation, but a pattern is 50. A pattern is multiple things, an event is one time. Somebody lose their temper. They're like, man, this is crazy. But a pattern is someone who refuses accountability every single time. Do you see the difference? Right? They'll do something, you like, okay, bad, it's all good, man. Don't worry about it. And they come right back around and do it again. But see, most people make the mistake of making permanent decisions based on temporary events. See, we don't want to do that. Because black sheep, sometimes when we've been through a lot, we don't want to be bothered no more. So we're ready to cut somebody off like a ninja. We're gonna cut your ass off with a ginsu. Why? Because we don't want to be bothered with the crop no more. But I want you to be careful because this is not about just cutting people off like a butcher, this is about strategic, making strategic long-term decisions based on recurring patterns, and that's where we're gonna really be getting to the nitty-gritty, we're gonna be getting deep into this season. We're gonna be exploring things that help you make long-term decisions, playing to win, so that you can always make your next move your best move. Now, how do we start? See, it's easy to analyze other people. You notice how people always got something to say about other folks? But guess what? The biggest pattern that you'll ever study is yourself. See, it's harder to analyze yourself, but guess what? This is where your greatest wealth will come from, your greatest internal wealth and value we come from. Why? Because when you analyze yourself, you'll see where do I keep quitting? What happens when I'm always quitting? Why do I always procrastinate? What are the things that make me procrastinate? Right? If you are always having excuses, where do these keep coming from? What are the situation and occurrences or the environment where I continue to find excuses? Am I out with certain people? When I'm procrastinating, is it a certain type of event? What is the reason? Right? Some of you, you know, you have good life work to do, and you keep on choosing your comfort zone. Your comfort zone could be a job that you hate. Why do you continue to choose a job that you hate over your calling? See, when you start to analyze yourself, true, you get the true answers, but this is where true wisdom starts. Because here's something that I learned the hard way: the patterns that hold you back is rarely outside of you. A lot of times it's the inner you, it's your own operating system, whether that be your beliefs, your habits, your reactions. Some of you have huge dreams. You think you need a new dream. You might be saying, Oh, this is too small, but it's not. You just need new patterns. Your new patterns could simply be hanging around different people, okay? But that's exactly what we're going to be building in this season. So here is your first field mission. Because I don't want today's intelligence briefing to become just another podcast and you forget it by tomorrow. Okay. Information without application is just entertainment. Transformation happens when information becomes implementation. Okay. And that just pretty much says the transformation happens when you put into play what you learn. So for your very first black ops mission, okay, this is field work. This is not busy work, this is not homework, okay. But this is field work because from this point forward, you're no longer just living life, you're gonna be studying it and transcending to new levels on a regular basis. You're just gonna keep on leveling up day after day. So for the next seven days, I don't want, don't try to change your life or anything like that. I want you to observe it. Carry a notebook around if you have to. Or sometimes what I like to do is I discover the room that I'm in a lot, whether it be the kitchen, my office, the living room, put a notebook in that area. And every time you go to that area, take notice to the different patterns that you're observing in your phone. If you don't want to write things down, open up your phone and use one of those voice memo apps and write down recurring patterns, not isolated moments, the patterns, and then ask yourself where do I keep saying yes to people or things when I know I should have said no? Start to observe what conversations leave me energized, like I can go do anything, and which ones leave me drained. Okay, think about it. Observe who always call you when they want something only. What situations consistently bring you peace? What situations consistently create chaos in your life? What thoughts keep repeating inside your own mind? Okay, remember, you're not reacting anymore. You are collecting intelligence of the patterns of your own life so that you can go to the next level. Okay, now listen, I'm always going to give you the three black sheep moves so that you can continue to level up and implement what we're talking about. So, first and foremost, observe yourself, right? So that you understand, you want to make sure you're setting yourself up first and foremost. Why, guys? Because you are your sometimes you can be your own worst enemy, but at the same time, you are the person that should always be voting for you. At the end of the day, nobody should be treating you better than you. I run into so many people, and they're like, Oh, my mate is leaving me, or oh, I love my maid, and all these different things. And then when their mate pulled the plug, they don't have anything going. Why? Because your mate was treating you better than you were treating yourself. It's game over for all of that. So, number one, I want you to start to observe before you react. The next time something frustrates you, don't immediately respond. The way you make a hater mad and things different going on, you just don't even say nothing. You just observe them, just observe. Ask yourself, is this an event? Or is this a pattern? Ask yourself that. Number two, replace assumptions with questions. Instead of saying, I already know what's going on, ask yourself, what might I be missing? See, curiosity is one of the greatest forms of intelligence, but a lot of times, guys, we already have made up the answer in our mind before we get all the information. Okay, ask yourself, damn, is there something I might be missing before you just snap off and go off? Because you can change your whole emotions just with one thought. You can get 38. Have you ever got mad about something? And then when you found out more context of the story, you like, oh man, I was really mad about nothing. This is why I want you to say, What am I missing something here? Before you just go off at the handle. Action move number three. Make one strategic decision this week. Not an emotional one, not convenient, a strategic one. One decision. Black sheep family. I've always told you guys, like when you're making moves, make them in silence. Don't say nothing. Make it strategic. Make it like you in a CIA or something. Don't say nothing. See, a lot of times, black sheep, you piss people off when you announce everything and then you do it. Don't say nothing because one thing about a black sheep family, you have a very unique energy and people will feel it. They're gonna feel the shift. They know when you ain't dealing with them no more, and you know what that's gonna do? That's going to trigger them to think back on what they did. But see, if you instantly come yanking a plug and telling them about what you're gonna do, they are instantly gonna put it off on you. Don't get me wrong, black sheep. I know some of y'all at the point where you don't even give a crap anymore, and I feel you because that's where I'm at. But what I've realized is when you move different, move in silence, don't say nothing, it catches them off guard and it forces them to face the person who they are. They'll know then, right? So, listen, over the next few weeks, like I said, guys, that one decision of um making that strategic move, think about it as one decision that you can make that your future self will thank you for. Okay, so over the next few weeks, we're going deeper. You're gonna learn how to read the room, read people, recognize hidden agendas. You're gonna we're gonna talk about negotiations, mastering timing. We're gonna be spotting manipulation before it happens, so we can just shut it down. We're gonna be recognizing emotional traps, almost thinking like a chess player, right? You're gonna be leading with discernment, you're gonna be protecting your peace, okay? And most importantly, it's all about you learning how to make your next move your best move. Because that's what black ops is all about. Now remember, when we started today's briefing, I told you this season was a software update. Well, guess what? Every software update always asks you before it installs, install now or remind me later. Black Sheep family, go ahead and install it now. Because life asks you the same question every day. Will you install the lesson or will you postpone your growth? I'm gonna leave you with this, Black Sheep family. Your future isn't hidden. It's pattern. Learn the patterns and you'll change your future. One decision at a time, one strategic move at a time. Starting off with protecting your focus, protect your momentum, and protect your peace family. Because distracted people, they will waste your time. They will waste years. And then they will act confused when they realize a black sheep has leveled up and seceded. Okay? So remember, my friend, until next time, keep in mind information is everywhere, but execution is rare.