~Prince~

When the whole world has been affected by a single man, you can say that man has changed the world. He was humble. Kept his personal life private. His works of charity held private but generous. He lived a full life and seemed to do what he loved, always. He was a genius, humble, a talented musician, giving and loved by many.

Here is a snippet into his philanthropic life:

That's when Jones learned about Prince's secret other gig: philanthropist. Since Prince's death last Thursday, Jones has learned just how involved Prince was in philanthropic causes. In recent years, the artist – who worked with Jones on the organization Green for All, which creates green jobs in disadvantaged communities, and #YesWeCode, an organization that educates urban youth about technology – worked to raise awareness for movements like Black Lives Matter and sent money to the family of Trayvon Martin. Prince's ex-wife, Manuela Testolini, met him through doing philanthropic work for his foundation and he encouraged her to start her own charity; she's now building a school with her In a Perfect World organization in his memory. In a statement after his death, she described him as a "fierce philanthropist."

He then focuses on Prince's mission. "His cause is humanity," Jones says. "He cares a lot about people. Nobody went to a Prince concert and said, 'I don't belong here. I'm not black. I'm not white. I'm not cool. I'm not straight. I'm not whatever.' His cause was empowering and uplifting people. That didn't stop when he walked off the stage or out of the studio. It was a current of genius trying to move the human heart."

As an example, Jones explains how the murder of Trayvon Martin inspired #YesWeCode. While people were debating whether the 17-year-old was a "thug or a victim" and whether George Zimmerman was a "racist or a hero," in Jones' words, Prince zeroed in on the hoodie Martin wore. "He said, 'Hold on a second: If a black kid wears a hoodie, you say he's a thug, and if a white kid wears a hoodie, you say it's Mark Zuckerberg. Why is that?'" Jones recalls. "And then of course, I say, 'Because of racism.' And Prince goes, 'Well, maybe. Or maybe we just haven't produced enough black Mark Zuckerbergs. Why don't we focus on that?' Complete genius.

"He's trying to create something that everybody can dance to," he continues. "Politically, poor kids putting up solar panels? Everybody can dance to that. Kids wearing hoodies in the hood, but they're learning how to upload apps, rather than download them? Everybody can dance to that."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/prince-the-secret-philanthropist-his-cause-was-humanity-20160425#ixzz46tVqZW9U

I think we can all learn from his life. Here was a man that could of been self-centered, greedy, selfish, and not care about the world he lived in. He chose to give back. Gain knowledge. Sought to understand how he could change the world he lived in and did.  By doing so he enriched many lives, that otherwise would of not known kindness.

Think about how Prince has changed the world we live in.

He created much more than music. He leaves behind a legacy that we can all learn from.

How will you create something that everybody can dance to?

Until next time,

~It is what it is~