Set 2 - Rep 3 with Ray Shackelford

Episode Summary

In this episode, we have the privilege of hosting an innovative, passionate, goal-oriented & entrepreneurial leader - Ray Shackelford. Ray is the National President of the National Urban League Young Professionals (NULYP). In our interview, we cover Ray’s passion for helping black people move forward to a better place. He also talks about the difference between being in the corporate race to the social service center. We also talk about fitness and it’s importance in achieving goals. Ray emphasized the importance of mental health and dropped amazing insights you really need to hear. This is an inspiring interview so please tune in!

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M-T:
What's going on, everybody, this is a boy Brother MT, and we're here with another Metric Mate Minute Podcast. On the Metric Mate Minute Podcast, we cover leaders from all over the world telling you about how they do what they do, why they do what they do, and how staying fit keeps them in their best mindset. Let's go.

M-T:
What's going on, everybody, man? We're back with another Metric Mate Minute Podcast. As you know, we try to come up with some of the best interviews from the leaders in the community talking about what they do, how they're adapting, and how they make sure they keep a sound mind and body to keep everything moving forward. And today is no different. We got my mayor, Ray Shackelford, here. He's doing amazing things out there in Texas, being a true leader, a true motivator, and a guy that is leading the charge into a better future. So, Ray, man, appreciate you for joining us, brother. And as always, tell the community a little bit about yourself, what you got going on or what you're doing, man.

Ray Shackelford:
It's good to see you, man. Good to reconnect. Always good to not only get back with my Morehouse brothers, my fraternity brothers. So we connected in many ways and now and that bond of fatherhood. So that's dope as well. Congratulations again. I mean, for people that don't know me, I guess the thing that is most prominent and top of mind is currently I serve as a national president for the National Urban League, young professionals. It is a 21 to 40 age demographic that supports the National Urban League, which is the second oldest civil rights organization in our country right after the NAACP. And we support them. And then more than 90 affiliates across the country through volunteerism, advocacy, fundraising, and developing our members not only to lead within the Urban League but within the broader community. And beyond that, I also serve you locally in Houston, where I'm based for the Houston Housing Finance Corporation. We work to provide gap financing for affordable housing projects here in the community, but also making sure that whatever those developers are building is a quality product. We don't want them to come in and just throw something together. We're making sure that not only is it affordable, but it is high quality. And they're building good projects, whether it's multifamily individual homes, education centers, wherever that may be. We just make sure that it's good for the community, that they have buy-in from the community, also serve on the board for the local Crimestoppers, which has a number of different things to help make sure that violent criminals are being kept off the streets educating kids when it comes to bullying, how they're using technology, sex trafficking, a lot of those different topics. And I think beyond that, from a personal perspective, I started consulting, doing a lot of work with public engagement. And now because of the shift in the climate, even including some things as relates as BEI, you know, getting paid to do community work has been a blessing for me over the past year, plus after my joint journey through corporate America. And, you know, now there's pretty much any and everything I do is centered around the community, moving black people forward and moving all of us forward to a better place.

Ray Shackelford:
Doing amazing, man. Freaking amazing. Like being able to take your talents, especially like you said, being able to get that corporate experience, understand the landscape, see what it looks like from that standpoint. And they may able to take that thought process and that mentality to the service industry, because a lot of people here nonprofit was like, oh, will they make a profit? No. A Nonprofit operates just like a for profit. The only difference is they got to spend all their money before the end of the year. So we need to be able to have those KPIs.

M-T:
We need to be able to have those metrics, those measurables, that foresight, that strategic plan, all of that stuff, and to be able to see people transition that into the service sector. I love and appreciate it because I worked in the service sector myself and having that profit that I will put out a good product that will make sure that I serve the people in the best way type of mentality, but also being able to make sure you stay inside of a budget and operate within the bounds of a business. That's dope. How has that transition been?

Ray Shackelford:
So it's was a rough transition, to be honest, man, because I think back to summer, it was a twenty seventeen. I was working for a huge corporation doing outside sales. I did that in corporate America for about five years, made a lot of money. But I was on a call one summer and we were talking about some of the products. And I was just honestly just thinking to myself, like, what am I doing? Because it did not resonate with me and anybody who knows me. I'm very aligned when it comes to purpose. And it just didn't make sense. As I said, I was making good money, definitely a blessing. I learned a lot from the experience, but at that stage I was like, OK, it's time to shift into a different space. So I actually took a leap of faith and ran for office, made a mutual separation in my company at the time. That was January 1st of 2018. Ran for office. Here's kind of justice of the peace precinct 72 to which is essentially a community court that focuses on addressing civil issues between neighbors but also handles foreclosures, evictions, traffic violations, very basic things like that. And I was the youngest in the race by almost a decade, raised a little over thirty thousand dollars in six weeks. And I missed the runoff by about two points in the primary. And so, you know, I don't think anybody runs for office and expects to lose.

Ray Shackelford:
And so when that happened, because I pray about a month before I was even comfortable running for office, I had to just take some time to kind of gather myself, figure out, OK, that didn't work out. But I know I don't want to go back, you know, full-fledged corporate in October. So what am I doing? I had a sit down with one of my mentors who's actually also a fraternity brother, and I'll talk to him about the direction I was trying to go. Some opportunities came about. And, you know, about a year later, I started consulting in the space where I am now, managing projects as it relates to the census, which is now over, and now get out the vote, voter mobilization. So things that I actually care about, getting paid to focus and put together strategies, plans and implement to make sure that black people are getting counted, they're getting registered, they're showing up to the polls, but educated on the process so they know how to engage consistently beyond just voting and able to make an impact for their families and for their communities and just make it overall better. So it was not an easy transition by any stretch of the imagination. So anybody tells you that is an easy thing to do. I don't think they're being forthright and honest because it was definitely challenging. But I'm thankful that I made that move.

M-T:
There you go. Shout out to Harris County. I don't know all the brothers out there in Harris County. Shout out to Chris Hollins out there doing this thing on the voting to get everybody out there making monumental strides in Texas that will never be addressed under the rug and that things will last forever out there with what they are doing out there. Man, it's amazing. That's dope. That was an awesome story. But let's be honest, we haven't talked in a while. Definitely, we're down for the get down back in college and so many things. But dude, you have lived life since those days. Man, you have been many people. You have transformed lives. You have given sparks to many a young person out there, young professionals and all. That's dope. So you've transitioned into this life of social giving, of social love, of being passionate about what you do. And as everybody knows, that is glamorous in its own right, in some ways not so glamorous in other rights because a lot of people don't see the gritty get down that goes on behind the scenes, especially when you're working on social impact projects, especially when you're working on improving the lives of people. That in some ways I forgot. Everybody doesn't see the grind that goes on behind that. How different is it from being in the corporate race to being in the social service circle?

M-T:
Well, I think the first thing to acknowledge is I'm involved in it in two different ways. My role as national president. A lot of people understand that is a volunteer role. So I do not get paid to be the national president for the young professionals. It is a labor of love, definitely something I'm passionate about. You know, I joke and say I'm a CEO for free. And I think to your point, people don't see a lot of the behind the scenes things. You know, they see the fliers, the stuff on social media. And I like man, yes, I do that. I appreciate it. But I understand it. Like you say, there's a lot of hours, a lot of work that goes into that. You know, on Saturday, this past weekend, I had to fly to Phoenix on behalf of our national CEO, President Marc Morial. I was on the ground, went out there to do a get out the vote rally with the Deltas. And of course, the press showed up in huge numbers, shout out to the Delta because they are, in my opinion, the best fraternity or sorority when it comes to how they show up in the community and their execution. I can always count on the Deltas no matter what I doing. They're going to show up. Hopefully, I don't get too much hate from the HA's. I love you to and I work with you as well, but just understand that they are the ones that are always showing up. So on the ground when they get out the vote rally, we had a barbershop talk with a lot of the brothers because one of the huge things is making sure that black men are showing up to vote, making sure that their voice is heard in this process.

Ray Shackelford:
When you come out politically and understand, you know, how can we move forward? You know, statistically, black women vote in much larger numbers than we do. And so we're just trying to get to the root of what are some of those things? What are some of those challenges and how do we make sure that we are showing up just as well and strong? No. And then we finished up the day after that conversation by actually going into the neighborhood canvassing when I'm one of his brothers, I didn't know. And at the time I found out later, he was one of my wife's brothers. But we were paired walking through the neighborhoods. We got chased by dog. He didn't get hurt, thankfully. Yeah. It's like when you canvassed in. Some of these things are kind of dangerous because when you go on house to house, you don't know what you're going to run into.

M-T:
That's true.

Ray Shackelford:
And so we said we just try to go out there to help people to get out to vote. But after that, I flew right back to Houston. And then the next day I was doing phone banking with some of our volunteers calling people to get out to vote. And then last night, I'm up doing reports that I have to submit as a trustee for the National Urban League. So, you know, and I have calls tonight, I have calls every day this week. And so that's just what it is. And don't get me wrong, I love it but there's a lot of work. And so then the other side of that is from a consulting perspective, I get paid to strategically work on some of these initiatives here at home. The national staff, that's a volunteer. But the local things, some of those things, I actually I'm getting paid to structure and map out, use my network to bring in relationships. And even now the step I'm taking and you know, because of George Floyd, all these corporations, they now want to get engaged at another level. So they're looking to people that have been in the community, have been involved, understand, have a pulse on it. And how do they shape initiatives and programs to actually make a significant impact? And so for me, somebody who's been volunteering and doing this type of work for literally over a decade, it's like, OK, that's what you want to do. I've been doing this. I can sit down with you. Look at your corporation. I have that background. I have that understanding. And we can shape something that can be substantive and not just, you know, check the box type of initiative because that's not what I'm interested in. What is something that's meaningful that we can put together? So hopefully I'll explain kind of the lay of the land fairly well, sort of. But it's definitely not what you see on social media. Like, it's so much more that goes into that.

M-T:
Yeah, man. Yeah, man. I mean, and you're putting that more into it. And that's kind of the deal. And from what do you explain, it sounds like you found that lane that allows you to be able to utilize those skills that you gain in corporate and knowledge that experience those things that you saw, as well as help translate some of that stuff over into the nonprofit sector and make sure that it's impacting. Make sure is reaching the communities that they say they're going to reach, that those funds are going to the places that they're earmarked for and actually given a return on that investment, because though it may be a social initiative, it may be given to a nonprofit, the ROI is still the main thing. What am I getting for what I'm putting in? And like you said, with all of these corporations looking to be a part of the community and engage in a different way, then making sure that they get that return on investment is what make sure that this sentiment carries on past the feeling of today, you know, saying like if they invest and now they get that proper guidance that you're providing and that consulting and to make sure that they're investing their dollars in the right way, the strategic plan to make sure that is executed in the right way. And then they get that report back saying your million dollars helped these five hundred thousand families do whatever you know, and allowed them to be able to make it through the pandemic, allow them to be able to get the education to move on to another position, allowed them to get that return on that investment that you made, the tangible return, something that you can see, something that you can put in your annual report, something you could tell your shareholders, or when they look at this line item and say, well, you gave us five hundred million dollars to charity, what do we get for it? You're a part of that pipeline making sure that those people continue to feel as though these dollars are making an impact and making a change and going to improve the future. And that translates to actually improving the future for some people. If we all pull together to to do that and to make that the focus and to make sure that they get that return is no telling what we could do. That's dope. That's dope. So the people out there that didn't know that that was a job, that is something that you could do. If you have a passion for being a part of the community and you have an understanding of the corporate landscape, you have a network of people that believe in you and that you will accomplish what you say you're going to do then being able to connect those two seemingly different sides of corporate structure, corporate America, the capitalist society that we live in, so that we can also do some good with all of this consuming that we do in this country and we know we consume. You can see some of the bellies around. That's why metric mate exists, trying to get rid of some of those consumer bellies. Then that's a place where you could definitely be utilized and utilized both of the Kambalda. So that's dope. Thank you for dropping a tidbit in my brain because that seems super awesome.

M-T:
Real quick. I was gonna say the thing about that is it's been and it continues to be somewhat trial and error, like reflecting back. And I'm even reminded of, you know, different things I've learned being in church. You know, when you going through different things, you don't know what that's preparing you for and how it's going to be able to pay dividends down the road. So now I'm looking back on different experiences. I've had different things I've learned. And it's like, OK, that's why I was doing that. That's where this now comes into play. And a lot of the skill sets that I've developed, I don't know what I was doing for that time. Like sales is probably one of the best skills you can develop in corporate America because they drill different ways of doing it. But the thing that I have found that works the best and it's translated, no matter what space I'm in, is relationships. And not being transactional in those interactions, but relationship, because that is more long-lasting and that is where you develop that equity and that good will that is able to sustain you. Because, you know, if you are just trying to get transactions, that's not going to last. You have to actually develop a rapport with people. And again, it's been a blessing for me because everything I've done to this point has been completely referral-based, based off of, you know, the things that I've done in the community. And now I'm at a point where it's like, OK, starting to formalize more of these things, building up capacity, about to actually start to put out bids and proposals. But I haven't had to do that to this point because of the work that I've done.

M-T:
A 100 percent. I've been contemplating on that for a while now. I like finding out how deep that actually goes with those relationships, the other relationships, and not being afraid to work for free. You know, I'm saying like that I can honestly attest to the fact that I gained a lot of skills and were given a lot of opportunities just for the simple fact that I was willing to, like, do for free. I wanted to volunteer. Like we said earlier, these non-profits operate like a for-profit. So they got all the same jobs, all the same opportunities, all the same people. You just work for free, you know, just to sustain.

Ray Shackelford:
That's a good point. You can volunteer and learn a lot of things. You know, at this stage, I've become a very good public speaker. But if you go back and look at some of the recordings of me when I started, I'd be up there sweating, shaking. It just was not a good look. And now I get up there and people like, man, you're good. I'm like it wasn't always like that. I'm still getting better. But these are things that I've developed over time and even from an executive standpoint, working with CEOs, having to do media, TV, all of these things, radio, etc. and I've got an opportunity. I like, you know, to fail towards success because I had mentors and people around me that saw something in me that I honestly didn't see myself and allow that to be developed and cultivated. And so it's like you said, it's a lot of grit and determination, a lot of tenacity that you have to put into it. There are some moments where you definitely have to just kind of sit down and sit in it, so to speak, to press forward. But if you persevere, man, there's no telling what you see on the other side.

M-T:
So do you say one of the best things where you fail into success, you know, that you fail into being better? Because that's the part that a lot of folks don't necessarily want to go into, is the part where they weren't that good. You know, it's like, well, everybody has to go through that. Everybody has to feel that, you know. There are some naturals out there. But then they ain't natural at everything. There are some things that you have to work. Even LeBron James had to work in shooting the three.

Ray Shackelford:
He's got way better because, you know, shot out to one of the goats. I think there are multiple goats in basketball. You got LeBron, MJ, Kareem, but we're not here to debate that today. But like you said, he did not always shoot the three well. Like he used the lightweight be trash. But now he shoot like thirty-five, almost forty percent from three. So he had to work it.

M-T:
You got to work it, you know, and a lot of that worked tirelessly for me was for free. Of course, he got a contract as he got it done and made it happen. But that's the same stuff that we're talking about here, is that you go out there and you practice and you get better and you go through the bumps in the road to get better. You say you fail to get better. And a lot of this stuff you have to actually get into the arena and do before you'll be able to get better. And if you take that opportunity, you spend a little time, you dedicate some time to building these relationships with these people in these communities, which gives you these opportunities to be able to get up there and fail forward, as they say. Then eventually you look like you've been doing this for years. you know, I'm saying but that's the part that people don't see, is that underground work in grinding, getting better. Taking the L's before you get your W, but once you get that W, everybody's like, oh my God, you've been winning forever, haven't you? If that's what you want to say,

Ray Shackelford:
I say because that's definitely not what it is.

M-T:
But now for real. For real. Well, speaking of taking L's. Getting in to work out. Getting the fitness in sometimes is definitely an L, especially when you leave in there with your brother. Brother, you've always been a big guy. When you walk around campus. So it looks like you keep it in pretty good shape, brother. How important is maintaining your physical to being able to be and do all the things that you do being a leader?

Ray Shackelford:
Is very critical, man. And as honestly and it continues to be a journey because if you go back was this is twenty-twenty, twenty fifteen. I was actually at my heaviest if you and some of the pictures I think I was over three hundred fifty pounds and it almost looks like I have like one of those fat suits or something like that. It's crazy to look back at it. And so I started this thing because one of my, he's our frat brothers as well, where one of my boys I grew up with, he started talking about roots that.

M-T:
I can't do this because we talked about so many individuals that are members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, just in these leadership talks that we're having, that we haven't made the point to talk about these people. We haven't pushed to be like we're going to include all of our brothers that we can. But in these leadership conversations that we're having in these times that we're having, this just happens to be a common thing. And that's not by mistake. It's not by design, but it's not by mistake either. So shout out to Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, all of my love. Glad to see my brother Ray and my brother Chris Hollins and my brother Aubrey Hooper, who's out there doing great things in the community as well in Texas. And my brother, Augustine Sanders, who's out in Dallas doing his thing as well. They just bought a house. All of these brothers in Texas doing amazing things and all the rest of the brothers out there that I did not mention. As you know, we are all one. We are all the brothers. Also, what I mentioned when I mentioned everybody glad, glad to see that you are all doing amazing things. Like for real and keep dropping. That is is like, yo, I love to just have friends in great places, you know what I'm saying.

Ray Shackelford:
Absolutely. One and I like you said, Lee Merritt, he's also our brother and our Morehouse brother. He's been doing a lot of work on the front lines. We talk about being a civil rights attorney in these cases that come up where, you know, either black people are being killed, their rights being infringed upon. Justin More. He's not an Omega but he is our Morehouse brother, civil rights attorney. So, again, it's a lot of people, like you said, that are doing this work in these spaces. But, you know, back to the physical piece, he kind of challenged me about working out every day. And I was like, you know because that's not as an athlete what we're taught. You're supposed to have rest days, et cetera. So I was like, alright, I'll try this. So I think it was maybe like December 16, 19. somewhere halfway through the month of twenty nineteen, I started working out every day. So I carried that into 2020. I think around February, March, this is like right before or right around the time of the onset of the pandemic, I did the whole thing where you know, you're basically cutting out all sugar, no grains. You basically eat protein and fruit and vegetables and drink water for thirty days. And I did that and I had already done the Daniel fast. And so coming out of it, I was like, OK, these are I guess two extremes to a degree. How do I do something that's more sustainable going forward? And I've been able to figure something out that kind of combines the two while still picking my days and my spots where I just eat whatever I want to, you know, in moderation.

M-T:
Right.

Ray Shackelford:
Nd being consistent with the workouts, but with the pandemic, I haven't been in the gym.

Ray Shackelford:
And so what I started doing was a lot of high-intensity stuff working out here at home, a lot of push-ups, dips, stuff like that, bodyweight exercises, and crazy enough. I'm the lowest I've been probably since I was online and undergrad. The first time, but we know we're going to talk about it. And so I actually clocked in like two thirty-seven about a month ago. And so I'd also started boxing. I like that a lot. And so I think for me at this stage it's all about staying active and being healthy. And, you know, when it comes to being able to lead like you need that energy. So if you're not healthy, it hinders your ability to wake up and do what you need to do, you know, leading your team, leading in your community, and especially with the onset of the pandemic, you know, it puts you at greater risk and. Thankfully, I've been able to avoid any major health conditions to the stage in my life, even though some of those things do run in my family, so it's just another motivating factor to make sure that I am being as healthy as possible. And it's a continual journey like it's not like I have it all figured out at this stage. I'm still experimenting and trying things, trying to figure out what works for my body. But it's it's a critical part of my regimen and making sure that, again, I'm able to lead and be the best version of myself.

M-T:
True. Speak that man. That's is a hundred percent. You know, all the major reasons why people try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, gaining energy, staving off any ailments that might run in the family or might creep up on you and just stand in fighting trim, as we say. Make sure you're ready for any of the obstacles that might come around during the day and be able to live the lifestyle that you live in, brother because you exhausted me with everything that, you know, to be honest, and I try to keep it moving. All I can do that, Phoenix, is they are running around doing things, coming back, doing stuff, still got to write reports and do the planning. That is what is called as a leader and especially a leader during these times when so many people are uncertain and that guidance in that light, in that that positive energy. And you provide it without a doubt. So we appreciate you, man.

M-T:
And I think one of the things and I don't know if you about to go this way, I didn't touch was kind of the rest of like mental health component.

M-T:
Truth.

Ray Shackelford:
That's been a whole other aspect of the journey, because when I think back to when I was the local president, I was not good about doing these things from a health perspective physically, but also taking time for myself and resting and so creating healthy boundaries. I even with my team, making sure that they understand there are certain days where, like, listen, I'm not doing any work today outside of, like, extenuating circumstances. We can't save the world in a day like I will get with you tomorrow. We'll get up to speed, we'll address it. And that has been and continues to be an important journey, especially in the pandemic. A lot of us have struggled with mental health, taking time to make sure that I'm working out or just walking outside, catching up with friends and family. You know, probably the the most uplifting thing is talking to my daughter. Like every girl is hilarious. So that is something I definitely, like, lift my spirits all the time. It's being able to hear from her, see her growth and how she kind of things through a processes things. And so that mental health piece therapy like that's something that I think is very, very critical. We don't talk about enough in our community, especially like as black men and being leaders. That is something that is needed because it's a lot of pressure. You know, you face these different decisions. You don't always know what the outcome is going to be, if it's going to be good or bad based on what you decide to do. I think as leaders, you do take in information, you take in your various experiences and you look to make the best decision possible, but you don't know. So a lot of that can weigh on you. So it's good to be able to talk through some of those things to find ways to just kind of unplug, whether that's, you know, watching a show or just kicking it with the pros. I guess this is good sometimes just to be amongst them to the best that we can in a pandemic, because even when I was down in Phoenix, everybody had en masse, you know, we physically distance to the best of our ability. And so it was just a real good experience. I think that mental health is very, very critical. It's something I've gotten a lot better about and making sure that I try to get as much sleep as possible. We ran into a bad habit about don't sleep night. You got to grind. And it's like, no, man, you will flame out and you will get sick. You will not be healthy. You have to rest. You have to find ways to restore and reenergized.

M-T:
If you all are not catching these jewels right now, you need to go ahead and get your bag, open it up and get somebody to do man, because that's critical. And that's the part that like you said, a lot of people don't talk about. We don't get into the fact that we need to take a rest day. We need to be able to rejuvenate and our bodies need to be able to rebuild. You need to be able to do its thing. It's been built over millions of years to be able to rejuvenate and rebuild itself and do what it needs to do. And if we don't give it that opportunity mentally, physically, spiritually, in every way, then like you say, we're going to flame out by easy money. And especially in this pandemic, because if you're not in good health, then you have an opportunity to contract this virus. And that could be it. That could be it. So making sure that you're taking care of your temple, making sure that your you're feeding yourself the right things to be able to prosper and continue on past what's going on right now is really important. So appreciate you putting that in the mix for everybody, making sure they got that little protein shake for the morning. I'm all about it. I'm all about it and eating well, too. That's another thing that you talked about. Everybody wants to be able to feel and look better and do what they need to do. But calorie deficit is where is that? You know, you have to work more than you eat. And that's where we're missing a lot of what all these huge portions out here in the U.S. and almost everywhere else, cause everywhere else is getting bigger, too. But being mindful of what you put it into your body, making sure that you know the fuel that you're feeding your engine, that's more important to you as well, too.

Ray Shackelford:
Absolutely.

M-T:
You raising gems brother. If you don't know them, I'll keep them all. That's what I'm recording. I'm a put it out so y'all can get it. Hopefully, you'll get it. But I got my bag open. We are here securing everything. So love it. Love it. Love it, man. But Ray, appreciate you, brother is definitely been a great conversation man. You enlightened some people with the information that you provided, doing great things out there with the National Urban League Young Professionals. I know the chapter here in Atlanta is always active, so appreciate you for being the guiding light over the entire tribe because they're doing amazing things around the country. Keep doing your thing out there in Texas. Do like super proud. When I come out there, I'm at the check out everything that's popping out, man, and see what y'all got going on. But as always, want to get you to drop one last jewel, one last major piece of information that you want to provide the community. Also give them information on where they might be able to check you out and reach out to social online website, whatever you got.

M-T:
And I think and we've touched on a lot today. I think the the last thing I was just kind of like leave people with is, you know, be careful how you speak words and speak like to others, but also to yourself. You know, one of the things that for me I've been exposed to even more is there's a lot of doubt, you know, the imposter syndrome amongst our peers in our abilities. And, you know, I'm big on faith. You know, if God put you there in that room, in that space, best believe he equipped you to lead and thrive in that space. So believe in yourself, speak life to yourself, speak life to this. And you will definitely be blessed in abundance as a result of it. For those that want to get involved with the Urban League, shout out, like you said to the Atlanta chapter president and his vice president. They were actually our national chapter the year last year. So they are the standard in the Urban League community. But you can reach out to us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, every social media platform. NUYP, NUYP.org. You can connect with me on every social media platform, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Ray Shackleford and we can rap about community. If you need help with your business creating community initiatives, I can consult you on that, whatever the need is. We want to make sure we connect and all together move us forward.

Again, y'all. Ray Shackelford. Check him out. Amazing guy. Vouch for him all the way. Appreciate you as always for joining us today. Man truly means a lot because you could be doing a million other things as you already are, doing a million other things in the world, but you decided to spend your time with us. So that's right. Root to the bros. Appreciate all the brother doing amazing things include my brother right here. And this has been another Metric Mate Minute. Check us out. www.TheMetricMate.com. Check us out of all your social media platforms. We're doing amazing things in the space of fitness, health, and the future of human prosperity in a healthy way. We're trying to make sure that we bring it to everybody across the globe, no matter where you are, to be able to achieve your goals as efficiently and effectively as possible. So this has been another Metric Mate Minute. Appreciate you all for joining us. We'll catch up next time. Peace.

M-T:
Thanks, everybody, for joining us for another Metric Mate Minute. We appreciate everybody that comes through and shows us love in the Metric Mate community. Make sure that you stopover at TheMetricMate.com to find out more information about the podcast, about what we're doing, any of our blog information, the transcript of the show, and just the show us massive support. Also, remember to follow us on social media at Metric Mate. Check us out, y'all. Peace.

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Today’s Guest: Ray Shackelford

Ray was elected as the 10th National President of National Urban League Young Professionals (NULYP) by ONE vote at the National Urban League (NUL) Annual Convention in Indianapolis. 

He has previously worked in areas of Education, Sports, Non-profit & For-Profit industries. Prior to NULYP, he was a Healthcare Account Manager for Grainger. He also worked as a Business Development Lead for The Coca-Cola company. 

Ray completed his Bachelor's degree at Morehouse College and his Master's degree at the University of Houston, C.T. Bauer College of Business.  

Key Takeaways:

  • When you are going through different things, you don't know what that's preparing you for and how it's going to be able to pay dividends down the road

  • Relationships are more long-lasting and where you develop equity and goodwill. 

  • Don't be afraid to work for free. 

  • Fail towards success. 

  • Surround yourself with people that see something in you that you don't see yourself. Allow yourself to be developed and cultivated.

  • Being healthy is a continual journey. 

  • Menta health is critical and yet it's not talked about enough in communities, especially among black men. Find ways to unplug. 

  • Take enough rest and sleep. if you're not healthy, it hinders your ability to wake up and do what you need to do.

  • Be careful how you speak words and speak like to others, but also to yourself.

  • If God put you there in that room, in that space, best believe he equipped you to lead and thrive in that space. 

Resources: 

http://nulyp.iamempowered.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayshackelford/

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Set 2 - Rep 2 with Jasmine Wilson