NOTG: Chess in Real Life

01/16/2024

This? This was FUN! Here is the full interview that I had the HONOR of doing with my brotha Emmanuel Glaze to promote my first book. Could not have picked a better person to kick this off with! I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I enjoyed filming it. (Link for the book: https://a.co/d/h6EeE4b)

Mr Jackson sits dow with us to discuss his love for , where did he learn the game, teaching the chess, the creation of NOTG: Chess in Real Life program...

05/11/2022

Lessons from the 64 squares...

Was playing chess with one of my chess buddies the other day and we had a pretty good battle. About halfway thru the game, I made a serious error and lost my queen, my most powerful piece. We both kinda knew it was over and I started to lay my king down and give him the game. But I decided, "Nah, I'm not gonna resign because I made a mistake or something bad happened. Let's keep going." At that point I focused and battled more ferociously than I previously had...and almost checkmated him. He still won the game but we shook hands and BOTH congratulated one another on a game well played.

There is a video currently circulating of a young girl running the 200m in a track meet who lost her shoe at the beginning of the race. She stopped, turned around, put it back on, and then started her race. With her opponents having a tremendous lead, she had every right to give up...but she didn't. Go find the video. You'll love it.

The first Pillar of NOTG Chess is "Persistence". Do not let circumstances cause you to give up, not external or self inflicted. Push yourself to be the best version of you. Sometimes you may get checkmated. Or you may cross the finish line first. Either way, never give up. THAT is where the victory lies.

05/10/2022

Lessons from the 64 squares...

"Never mistake movement for progress and never confuse stillness with stagnation."

One of the MANY things I love about chess is the discipline of having to embrace the stillness of the moment. Sitting at the board across from your opponent, the BEST thing you can do is get still, get quiet and focus. Often, you will find yourself so lost in thought, everything else around you disappears. Chess Zen Meditation if you will. Yeah, there are times we talk a little smack with one another over the board. But when it gets serious, it is the quiet stillness that we run to in order to find the answers were looking for. Such is chess...such is life.

12/12/2021

https://fb.watch/9RTx_eD1Bh/
When I tell you that the Name of the Game is "PERSISTENCE, DEDICATION, CONSISTENT MOTIVATION, RESISTANCE TO STAGNATION AND INFORMATION", there may not be another school on the PLANET that represents the 5 Pillars of NOTG like Morris Brown College! 🖤💜✊🏿

11/11/2021

Lessons from the 64 squares...

Chess is an extremely mental game. Your opponent will often play fast to confuse you. They will also play slowly to irritate you. They will set traps for you, seemingly making mistakes in order to draw you in to a bad move. Or they will concentrate their pieces on one side of the board while setting up attacks on the side you're not paying attention to. They will bait you, confound you, trick you and deceive you. But ultimately, it is YOUR job not to fall into these ploys. If you allow yourself to get checkmated, blaming your opponent's tactics is a futile argument. They are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. Your job? Ignore the baiting, stay composed and continue to play for the win.

I have caught this message three times today, from three separate sources. But the last version from my sista hit me square in the mouth: "Sometimes you ARE a victim...but never without your cooperation." No one can hold you down without your consent. Fight...and keep fighting until you have won! Kill the self pity and go get that which you desire!

10/27/2021

Lessons from the 64 squares

"...but you will not summon me."

Y'all can have Kanye. Dave Chapppelle is my entertainment genius. If you happened to catch his Instagram post where he talks about being "cancelled", the quote above was the shot of bravado that only comes from walking in your freedom. The tone of the 5 min snippet, though slightly comedic, was quite melancholy, replete with platitudes for the LBGTQA+ community and an almost air of contriteness...almost. 😏

After all is said and done, after Dave bemoans the fact that festival after festival and distributor after distributor are pulling him off shows and won't show his film that won hearts at the Tribeca Film Festival (and here it comes!), Dave will be showing the film INDEPENDENTLY at 10 major arenas around the US and Canada.

This was 400 level marketing! He pulled off this heist like Heath Ledger's Joker, sucked the world in behind the clown mask and made off with the cash like the world's greatest anti-hero! Standing ovation, Mr. Chappelle. Would certainly love to sit at the chess table with this guy one day.

10/21/2021

Years ago, a dear friend of mine Minister Djehuty asked me, "If money was not a part of the equation, and you knew you couldn't fail, what would you do?" My response: I'd travel the world teaching and speaking about Name of the Game. His response? "Then why aren't you doing it?" Damn...good point.

I love what I do. I love hearing from current and former clients about how they have used the pillars of NOTG to elevate themselves professionally, to get them in and out of situations socially, and to catapult them into a bright and prosperous future! This has been a great ride and it is truly just getting started! Great things are happening and greater things are on the horizon. Stay tuned, "amazing" is right around the corner!

08/20/2021

Lessons from the 64 squares...

"It is the greatest achievement of a teacher to enable his students to surpass him."- John G. Kemeny

I am a NOTORIOUSLY competitive individual, especially when it comes to chess. When I'm giving lessons, I want my students to understand what we are studying and how to get the win, so I play loosely and not as harshly. However, once it is test time and they have to play with no assistance, I take the gloves off and play as competitive as I can. I do this, not to embarrass or belittle them or to puff my chest out. No, I want them to EARN the win.

My students know early on that 1 of 2 things will happen when they sit at a chess table: you will win...or you will learn. We all take "Ls". It's a part of life. But when they finally get that W. When they can look across the table as I lay my king down, they will know that they have earned every molecule of the pride that they are feeling.

Don't shirk the lessons. Don't duck the hard work because you don't wanna feel the sting of the "L". Remember: that win you so desperately seek is right behind that "L" you are scared to take.

This post is dedicated to one of my longest running students who, after numerous Ls, got...no, EARNED her first solo checkmate against me the other day! TC, I am extremely proud of you! You are NOTG personified, on AND off the board.