It has been ten years since I have lived in the United States and every time I look back it is the past ten years that has made me who I am, importantly the last five since I first started Karats – the 6 generation family jewelry business.

I am always grateful to those that have guided me and shown me the path of enlightenment for my success but I am more grateful to those that have chosen to be harsh, had an attitude of teaching me a lesson or those that I unintentionally or intentionally upset due to my actions. These individuals have taken the liberty to show me the difference between the right and wrong which in turn has only made me a better person, saying that I come back to the quote I use quite frequently “I am who I am because of my past”, I wouldn’t change anything that is my past as I wouldn’t be the individual that I am today.

Life is a wonderful learning experience, it’s a road we only walk once and as we progress each day we sometimes forget that we are here for a bigger purpose, a bigger cause and importantly to leave the world better than what we found it as. Let me ask you this, what life is worth living if we have not made a difference in the lives of others? I personally think that it is okay to be ambitious, it is wonderful to have goals and to have the ability to achieve the luxuries of life but it is vital that we take a minute and think about those souls that will sleep hungry tonight, or will freeze to death because of poverty or those that don’t have the most basic necessities of life such as clean water, food and shelter.

There are millions that live the life I just described and when I think about it, I am not only humbled and grateful for what I am blessed with but I am driven from the most inner core of my existence to make a difference.

I recently had the opportunity to visit a religious institution that had made their home base building here in Kansas City and had spent over $80 million in its formation in the name of GOD. I question those involved in the decision making that what would half the money do for a nation in Africa, or maybe in today’s realities, Haiti? How could one justify to spend the enormous amount of money that has been collected in the name of GOD to make a materialistic possession which according to them is more valuable than lives of those that sleep hungry even in the city we call home?

No matter how one thinks or how one acts but it is the moral responsibility of every living being to give back to the community, country and the world we live in so we can make the difference in the lives of those that need us more. We are blessed for a reason, we are given abundance for a reason, lets change the world for a better tomorrow.