You. John hope bryant is the founder, chairman and ceo of operation hope, largest Nonprofit Organization in the United States focusing a Financial Inclusion and financial empowerment, serving over 3. 6 million youth and adult since 1992. He is also the chairman and ceo of the bryant Group Venture in the promised homes company, the largest forprofit minority controlled owners for singlefamily Residential Rental homes in the United States. In addition to that, chairman bryant was recently named by American Bank magazine for the 2016 innovator of the year and hes also served the last five United States president as a counseling, as a counselor and advisor for all of them. We are very excited to have him this afternoon and would look forward to a great conversation and book signing featuring his latest bestseller, the memo. Without further ado i i would e to invite and introduce all of you to chairman, powder, ceo John Hope Bryant at this time, and my friend. [applause] , appear, lance. Hey, everybody. Because im the founder of operation hope i can change rules a little bit. I think the honored citizen here is not become its one of our individual success stories. I prefer to her from her first, okay . Im sorry, im from a black church. Im used to our sponsor is that okay . Glance, back up to you. Yeah, part of the work operational and again as a mention John Hope Bryant is the visionary of our organization, is really Financial Inclusion and empowering youth and adults to improve their economic quality of life. One of those individuals who has been blessed by his vision and the work of operational is lavern manigault, and she has been such an inspiration to not only those of us at operation hope but the community that we serve especially here in the great city of atlanta. Lavern is going to tell you a very inspirational story about her life, her path, her journey to empowerment, but also how it could affect each and every one of us. So without further ado i would like to have ms. Lavern come up, shes part of our Small Business program at operation hope that is tied to her ebenezer location here in the city of atlanta. So without further ado lets have a round of applause for ms. [applause] hello, everyone. My name is lavern and i am from tampa, florida, and i have a 26yearold son. I am also the second oldest of three siblings and in and of one beautiful niece and two handsome nephews. But shortly i will read my speech but today i felt inspired to go ahead and speak my speech freestyle. I would only read because i do suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder, so if i paused for a moment its because im trying to recall some information. But i migrated from florida in 2015 after i had received my masters of Business Administration in 2013. Unfortunately, i was not able to utilize my degree in Corporate America back at home the way i thought that i would be able to. So i was encouraged to migrate here in 2015 and to explore some opportunities here locally. I had a nice savings nest saved, and i committed myself to a commission only physician in the insurance industry, which was very costly in the long run. So to make a long story short, i was doing very strong and well, ended up going through all of my savings, your clients started canceling. I lost my commissions and inevitably lost my apartment. So probably around in december of 2015 2015 i would end up cag my vehicle home for about three days. Afterwards i stayed at the Salvation Army from calling different shelters find find a place to secure some housing. I was compelled to start calling different shelters, and Salvation Army was kind enough to open up their doors to me for six long character building months. That is when i would receive a diagnosis of being hosted medic stress disorder, and from the crisis that i went through. The lady over at the Salvation Army, she gave me a referral for a Housing Program where im currently living at now for permanent housing, which is in the king district. So one day i was walking the neighborhood and decided to stop at the king district to see what exactly was on these grounds. Being from florida im trying to connect more with my heritage, and as i was walking to the church i saw a sign that said operation hope cafe. And i received some good oldfashioned Southern Hospitality on the step at operation hope. So i started asking questions, what is this operation hope about . So it was explained to me basically you can turn your dreams into reality. And so coming from a lot of brokenness with my finances, with housing, and everything, that really had inspired me. So i immediately connected with my credit counseling coach who started working on my credit repair. And within three points my credit score increased by 4050 points. And i was encouraged to take a homeowners Workshop Program where i had met mr. John hope at the first time. And so about this whole process im getting these coaching, these coaches that would normally cost 510,000 an hour to help you free of charge, now 500to a thousand dollars. I just graduated last week from a Small Business entrepreneur class because my aspiration is to start a nonprofit 501 c 3 40 when seven with Mental Illness and homelessness prevention. My nonprofitable Financial Support their endeavors by paying their application fees and rental deposits. For those transitioning out of the homeless situation and to permit housing. I didnt think this would have been possible because of my disability challenges, not having a financial plan, not having any support from anyone on the outside. Well, operation hope stepped in, and my business advisor was able to put together a business plan, and i also received support from a Financial Advisor on my financial, for my company. In march of this year i was able to register my companies name. Probably, not probably, but next year within six months i should be up and running off the ground because of the support that i received from operation hope. Not only that, i have a life coach is helping me literally set realistic goals and put a plan of action into place that is totally realistic for me to achieve, within the next year to 2020. Another goal of mine is to be aa home owner before 2020. With operation hope helping me with my excuse me. With operation hope helping me with my budgeting, financial planning, this will definitely be possible. And so here today what i want everybody to really take on this conversation is so many people say theyre still help out here, that we cant get anyone to help us. With operation hope they are not just talking about a dream, they are making the dream to become reality. And one of my famous quotes a very worthy history maker, mr. John hope himself is, doing good for others pays off. And i want to thank everyone for listening to me today. [applause] is that inspiring . This encompasses what John Hope Bryant latest bestseller book is about, the memo. Lavern took it upon herself to empower herself. She didnt allow naysayers to tell her that her dream was not possible. She did not allow obstacles and distractions and her life to keep her from staying focused on the goal and her dream. And so she is a great example of following through and making things happen for her life. I was able to attend her Graduation Ceremony this past week with ten other graduates, and it really just speaks to the spirit of the memo. So were very excited to have you here today, to hear directly from the author himself, John Hope Bryant, who i am proud to ive been a friend since going back to compton. Over 30 years. And recently i just moved to atlanta sun even more excited to be your personal edition of this experience with you. So again without further ado lets give a round of applause to the founding chairman and ceo of operation hope, John Hope Bryant. [applause] wasnt she amazing . Its was hard to speak publicly, and she did a great job. And didnt read one note. It was all from your heart. I want to first of all thank the manager for this wonderful store, barnes noble. [applause] women empowerment. Who said they need guys running fees . Probably why the world is screwed up. You are not running a store, youre running a part of the community. Where honor to be. Thanks for having me. I want to thank cspan for recording this and getting the word out about what we are doing, and the crew that is part of the atlanta process for cspan, which is first class and run by another woman of empowerment. I have been speaking all over the world, 100 countries, ive had a chance to travel to. Countless cities, and i get to see all of the reflections of us, all the complexions of us. And whats interesting about this book and about this message is that its universal. The last time i spoke was in new york city last week and an audience that was also filled, mostly mainstream. This audience is mostly of color. What is beautiful about this is some people would say that we dont read books. Its real talk. But the reality is that the Number One Group of book buyers are black women. I dont know if you knew that. The Number One Group of book buyers are black women. And if you look at what is propelled this book, and whats got my Facebook Page going to 11,000 followers a week, a week, Financial Literacy and Economic Empowerment is primarily, not usually but primarily people of color who decided to take their life back. And so you should be proud of sitting in a moment in history and being part of history making. History never feels this to work when youre sitting in it. It just feels like another day. So what if i told you that the new color was a black, white, red, brown or yellow . As in skin color. But the new color was green . As in the color of u. S. Currency. What if i told you that the next movement was not going to be in the streets, as in civil rights, but more so in the suites as in civil rights. What if i told you the next movement was not going to be about race and the color line really about class and poverty . What if i told you that we are stating any moment in history, but history never feels us to work when youre sitting in it, like a said, it feels like another day, but that doesnt mean history is not changing right underneath your feet. And some people would sit in the midst of all this that theres a conspiracy to keep, quote, some people down. Im going to confirm today that there is a conspiracy, but its not the conspiracy you think. Its not white people against black people. Its not like people against brown people. Its not indians and asians and others against somebody else. Its none of the things that you thought or your been told. If those who have, unconsciously being against those who dont. So nobody is getting up in the morning saying they hate you or they want to jimmy up for the want to see you as a failure. Nobody has the energy for all that. People who are making money and Building Wealth are not getting up and thinking about you, and thats the problem. Did you get that . I tell you im from the black church. I didnt know where having a conversation. Hey, tim. Are we having a conversation . Okay. You dont have to wait for the q a to talk to me. I dont have any notes you. This is my heart and from ahead write directly to you. I know what im talking about. Feel free to invite me whenever you feel compelled. There is the conspiracy but its not the one you think. The issue is not love or hate today. Its radical indifference. Nobody cares enough about you to hate you. I dont mean that literally. I dont mean, your family loves you, your friends love you but the people on the streets, those who are running companies, Building Wealth, care mostly about themselves. So theyre not waking up in the morning saying let me hurt you, let me hate you, hate on you. In fact, its a high level of private schools, private roads, private communities, private planes, private security, private lives. They dont hate you. Theyre not thinking about you. And i put this in the book. Im getting ahead of myself, let me back up until the about the rules and then we will have a real conversation. So room number one on this conspiracy that is undermining your aspiration what i see your aspiration, and i need to be clear because this of primary and audience of color but i say the same thing to mainstream caucasian audience last week in new york city and in new york city and im going to say to everybody, is such a a problem today is not that you are black or white, its that what i call the invisible class. Your invisible to power. Your invisible to wealth. Your invisible to, you dont feel like your vote counts, thats why 100 Million People didnt vote. Theres a very prominent guy any media now, i wont mention his name, i think is done a lot of great things are social justice and civil rights but he didnt vote. Hes proud he didnt vote. I have a problem with that because that increase in environment where some people become elected to office that dont represent your interests or maybe even public interest. But we endorsed that by not voting. But when you feel invisible you dont show up in your own life. Extremely important point which means a bad guys win. So i want to make clear here that theres a bogeyman in your life, but its not just your life. Its 80 everybody in america, because 70 of all all americans are living from paycheck to paycheck. So if youre living in new york city and making 70,000 a year, you are struggling to make his meager if you live in atlanta, georgia, making 50,000 a year, 40,000 a year, which is middleclass, struggling to make ends meet. Can i get an amen . I wasnt a black amen. I was in a white or latino of asian and if it was just an amen you live in a smalltown alabama making 30, 25,000 a year struggle to make ends meet. You are struggling to make ends meet. You have too much at the end of your money. Theres a third of all americans who have to sell the car to raise 3000. 65 of americans dont have 500 in savings for an hundred dollars in savings for an emergency. 65 of americans dont have 500. Thats not a racial thing. Thats a a human thing. Theres something going on in the world. This is a global issue by the way. 1 of the worlds population own half of the wealth of the world. Im going to repeat that. By the way, these are not just which caucasians. These are rich asians, rich russians. Yes, rich africans. These are just rich people from all parts of the world who got the memo. So you have 1 in the world that own half of the worlds wealth, which is a equitable and not sustainable, but theres a weight to go about the 11th of plainfield and us since that does not. People say we like socialism. Undergirding this, people hate rich people because my response, no, you dont. No, you dont. You hate rich people until you become rich. [laughing] amen. Can i get an amen . Amen. What you ate is a game system. What you write is being manipulated. What you hate if you like no matter how hard you work, you just cant prosper. You were on a treadmill and a matter how hard you work, no matter how hard you try to take your children you cant seem to get ahead if youre smart and you are intelligent and you want to get out calls to arrange everything right, you kept your nose clean and you didnt break any laws and you never went to jail and your a model citizen and you cant succeed, theres a perception thin, it must be a rigged system, correct . Im going to suggest there something else. You never got the memo. The memo is not written down anywhere. Its not in a university book. Its not in a curriculum. No one ever taught you the memo. Its not written down not just for you but for 80 of the people in world never got the memo. Go back to this concept of we want socialism. I was just with the crown prince of norway yesterday in new york, whose the future king of norway which as you probably know that part of the world is known for sort of a socialist type of approach. But its not socialism. Because even if you want to distribute the money like a socialist, shimon perez told me this, you must first collect money like a capitalist. Am i getting too deep . On going to repeat this. Im going even you you want to just distribute money a socialist, challenge everything that im saying that you understand by the way, you must first collect money like a capitalist. Before you even give it away you have to collect it. You cant give away something you dont have. So you say, explain to me norway. Its a wonderful country. Theyve got oil. They were for 100 years ago but they found oil and they took the oil and used it for goods, good purposes. Now have one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. Sweden, socialist country. Sweden has agriculture. They have four street and not a lot of people so they basically without damaging the environment are able to take enough of their Agricultural Land and sell, chop the lumber and sell it to world that needs desks, chairs and vanishes. This gets to my central point. The first rule of my book is you live in a Free Enterprise system. Embrace it. This is a first rule of the book, that you are capital. These are two things i want you to understand. Let me deal with the Free Enterprise system first. From the time you get up in the morning into the time you go to bed at night, if your life is not about money, if youre life is not about god or love, your life is about money. I want you to think about, challenge everything im saying. This is not me speaking to you. Im having a conversation so you can interrupt me anytime you like, we okay . Challenge meet the something im saying doesnt make sense to you. From the time to get up in the morning