The Foundation...

Lateef was born in the South Bronx. His mother was 1 of 12 and his father was 1 of 5. He enjoyed being close with the large close-knit extended family even though he only had one older brother. As a baby his nuclear family would move to Miami which his grandparents had roots in. However, his family would move back and forth quite a bit between these two cities over the years until 8th grade which would be the last time Lateef lived in Miami. While both cities had their challenges, Miami was much more Suburb-ish at the time compared to the projects of the South Bronx. Both came with their pros and cons however. 

In the South Bronx of New York City, Lateef would have to face poverty, crime, drugs and bullies. Yet on the positive side, he also got to see the birth of hip-hop from its purest form all the up to a billion dollar industry. As a young kid in Miami, Lateef got to live in single family homes, play in the backyard, make friends, ride bikes and skateboards and have some of his best memories at Christmas time caroling door to door not to mention great Halloweens and Thanksgivings with the extended family. In the same breath, he remembers walking down the street as a kid and being called the N-word by delinquent White kids driving by. On the flip side, the South Bronx taught him to be tough, develop a fashion sense and some swag. He learned how to breakdance and put pen to paper as a rapper to eventually become an underground artist by the name of A.L.I.A.S. Miami showed him he could one day own nice homes, cars and have a family of his own one day.

Yet while surrounded by family members with good hearts, Lateef also didn't necessarily have the best role models. Crime, drug selling, skipping school and stealing seemed like ordinary ways to survive and thrive. However, Lateef was also exposed to spiritual teachings at an early age of 12. In fact, his mother says she had a spiritual curiosity at an early age so by the time she was pregnant with Lateef she was already into metaphysical, new age and eastern spiritual teachings. So even as a developing teenager, Lateef had the odd juxtaposition of spirituality and street life.

While Lateef had functional family members, they also had substance abuse issues that may not have seemed to have a direct impact on his life but certainly laid the seeds for future tribulations. Right after completing eleventh grade in high school, his parents divorced and that summer gave Lateef (unintentionally) essentially complete freedom. He was able to run the streets with his friends, get into street hustling, lose his virginity and have the enjoyments of an adult without the responsibility. 

By the end of the summer, Lateef had the option to remain in New York to finish his last year of high school or to relocate to Atlanta where his father had settled to finish his last year of school. Lateef made the mature decision to leave all of his friends and fun in New York to start over fresh in Atlanta. He's not sure what made him make this decision but something inside him felt like if he stayed in New York on the path he was on, things would no work out well. His instincts proved to be right as most of his friends never graduated high school and even did some bids. This fork in the road moment proved to be a pivotal moment setting the stage for his future to come.

The Pivot...

Before there was an Outkast, Ludacris, T.I. or any other famous rapper representing Atlanta, Lateef had planted roots in College Park of Atlanta attending his last year of high school at North Clayton High School. Jermaine Dupri and Shy-D (an original Bronx native) were the only ones representing the ATL at this time. It was here that Lateef began to buckle down and try to figure out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He was missing his New York crew and decided what was the point in building new close relationships with friends at a new school where he would most likely only know these people for a year.

Instead, he did what he had to do in school and worked part time at a nearby Wendy's. It was here that he met the young lady who would become his first wife and mother of his first child. Ironically, a year prior his NY friends were talking about joining the military. Lateef scoffed at the idea and said he would never join the military. Fast forward a year and one day near the end of the school year, a teacher tempted students with getting the rest of the school day off by simply taking a test. He doesn't recall what the test was by he couldn't resist the idea of getting out of school early. 

It wasn't until the recruiters started calling his home that he realized he had taken the ASVAB which was test for those seeking to join the military. He began avoided these calls until his father persuaded him to at least talk to the recruiters. He immediately knew he was interested in the Army or Marines so he agreed to talk to the Air Force and Navy. The Air Force recruiter attempted to sway his decision with his nice BMW but unfortunately the Air Force wouldn't put much in writing.

The Navy instead said "you did well on the ASVAB" and we want you to take one more test. That test would be the NQT which was the Nuclear Qualification Test. He did well and the Navy wrote out a game plan for him to not only join but to get the highest rank possible along with promotions, bonuses and benchmarks for success.

He would go on to join the Navy two weeks after high school, become the Master At Arms in Boot Camp, complete the two-year nuclear training program, make the rank of Second Class Petty Officer (E-5), get accepted for an Officer program, go to college at Armstrong-Atlantic State University and Savannah State University, pledge Alpha Phi Alpha, get accepted to pilot school, attend Supply Corps and ultimately serve 10 years in the Navy before deciding he was ready to test civilian life.

The Entrepreneur...

While in many ways Lateef was like a fish in water in the Navy, he excelled, got accepted into essentially any program he applied for, make rank quickly, got an education, learned leadership traits and leveled-up his life, he ultimately was never passionate about the lifestyle. Instead, he began soul searching for what he really wanted to do with the rest of his life. At the time, Lateef was meeting people from "football country" who were going on to play sports on a professional level and techies who were thriving in that field.

He began to question "was there something unique he was a natural fit for?" He convinced himself that there was... it was called Hip-Hop! As we mentioned earlier, Lateef got to see the birth of hip-hop in the South Bronx from the likes of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambataa and the Zulu Nation, KRS-One, Ultramagnetic MC's, Nice & Smooth and so many more. Hip-Hop was in his DNA. He understood the culture firsthand; the DJ'ing, the Emcees, the breakdancing, the graffiti and the hustle.

So he decided to take a stab at it, partner with his brother, cousin and some South Bronx friends to create his own record label Worldz Finest Enterprises. He would assume the stage name A.L.I.A.S. which was an acronym for "Another Life Is Another Story." Lateef felt like his times in New York, Miami, Atlanta, the streets and the military helped him to develop and outsiders perspective and to not become a product of any one environment. He instead became more like a chameleon learning to adapt to many environments and situations.

He felt A.L.I.A.S. helped to codify these many personas into one. He wanted to share a story of how one navigates from the struggles of the streets to finding there's another world out there beyond the hood. Yet he understood this would be no easy task for any one no matter how much they may want a change for themselves. This world is unforgiving and difficult to overcome the foundation of who we are but it can be done. Lateef learned some business skills as a Supply Corps school in the Navy as well as leadership, management and teamwork.

Worldz Finest would become his first entrepreneurial effort. While it never achieved mass success, it was enough to create his first album "The World Ain't Ready," some original music with label mates - A.D., Chunk Jewelz, Artie Cordel and Nat-I-Nel and a respectable street buzz. He still to this day gets to enjoy royalties by owning his masters due to his songs streaming on all platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, YouTube Music and SoundCloud. However, Lateef felt conflicted with continuously being surrounded by the hood, thugs, gangsters and what he considered a poor work ethic. There is a lot of musical talent out there in the world but much of these talented individuals lack the focus and discipline to make the transition to becoming a rap star. 

Lateef had attained the level of local recognition, signing a few autographs and getting some acclaim from local DJ's and some radio personalities. All he had to do next was take his show on the road to increase his fame but Lateef had taken primary responsibility for raising his daughter at this point and determined disappearing to a road life was too high of a price and walked away from the rap mogul dreams.

The Author...

While pursuing the rap career in New York, Lateef took a job which exposed him to the investment world. He turned down a job opportunity for a role in the World Trade Center in Jan/Feb of 2001 deciding instead to relocate back to Atlanta. Roughly 7 months later after moving, the Twin Towers were struck on that fateful day of Sept. 9th, 2001. Lateef realized he couldn't been in those buildings if he had stayed. His lesson from this experience was to always follow your heart and not chase the money.

After hanging up his mic and retiring his studio, Lateef would go on to have his second child (first son) with an ex 15 years after the birth of his first child (first daughter). While trying to sort through these significant life changes as well as the purchase of his first house, he would ultimately meet the woman that would become his future wife. The evening of the same day in which he successfully passed his last licensing exam to become a licensed financial advisor celebrating with some friends, he would ask for the last phone number from a woman of romantic interest.

Roughly after 7 months of dating, this inseparable couple decided to relocate to San Antonio TX to accept a job offer and start a new life together. While Lateef thought his entrepreneurial days were over, his jotting down of ideas as a reaction to the nastiness of the times being displayed toward Middle Easterners and Muslims would become the foundational pieces of his first book "Know Thyself." 

Lateef saw not just irate strangers but many of his friends and former shipmates express hateful messages vilifying an entire group of people for what some terrorists did. See since his childhood interest in spirituality, Lateef learned there was a common thread amongst all of the world's major religions. In an effort to show these similarities, his writings evolved into a book. He decided to self-publish and created his own book publishing imprint under the name of 1 S.O.U.L. Publishing which was an acronym for "One Source Of Universal Love."

This would lead to his second book "The Golden Egg" which expanded the concept much-abused idea of the Law of Attraction. Lateef believes that there is certainly power in our thoughts but that is only one level of how we create. Our words also have power and ultimately our actions carry heavy weight. So Lateef wrote this book from a holistic approach of body, mind and spirit combined with the knowledge and voices of his life as a financial advisor and coaching skills developed from his military career. Lateef borrowed from principles of Samkhya Yoga to create his 10 Quantum principles for manifesting along with financial investment smarts and successful behaviors.

In his effort to uplift and inspire others, Lateef would go on to create Onassis Krown along with the Seven Jewels codified in his third book "Wear Your Krown" which consist of: 1. Financial Wellness, 2. Asset Ownership, 3. Holistic Living, 4. Strategic Education, 5. Family/Work-Life Balance, 6. Spiritual Growth and 7. Paying It Forward. His holistic lifestyle brand along with his diverse experiences, book writings and continued desire to be the best version of himself would lead to greater refinement and personal growth to become a certified life coach and marriage counselor.

The Coach, Counselor & Consultant...

One thing Lateef has learned over the years is that he must do work he finds rewarding, fulfilling and satisfying and that comes mostly as a result of helping others. After separating from the Navy, Lateef did a brief stint as a 7th grade Math & Science teacher. While this was his first time ever teaching children, he felt he learned some valuable skills as a leader in the Navy providing various types of training. While his school Principal disagreed with his approach, he tried to make learning fun for the kids. He took them outside to learn when the weather was nice, he split the class into two teams and created competitive games that got loud and rambunctious.

He gave them freedom to chew gum in his class and get up and sharpen their pencils as needed as long as they didn't abuse it. He wrote daily inspirational words on the board at the beginning of each class which oftentimes silly but the class got used to seeing them and would remind him if he forgot to put it up there. He motivated the kids to get through the daily assignment and if there was free time left over then they could discuss music, nonsense or whatever. He didn't know if his tactics would work but it just felt right. By the end of the year, his kids had the highest growth in their end of grade exams compared to their peers. 

As a financial advisor, Lateef realized many of his clients' issues weren't the dollars and cents but rather their mindsets and behaviors. To better address these concerns, he became a Certified Life Coach to hopefully address the matters that weren't directly financial. This would lead to him moonlighting and working with clients for their personal growth. This experience would lead to working with clients in their relationships as many of them were having difficult challenges in their love lives. He would become a Marriage Counselor to help these couples with improving their communication and love life. Upon working with many clients and working in many groups including Toastmasters, local Chambers of Commerce and BNI, Lateef would have many opportunities to speak to large groups as a Keynote Speaker.

As a financial advisor, Lateef also had the opportunity to become a manager and supervision principal to help other advisors achieve greater success. He would also take on opportunities to go from working with individuals to teaching financial wellness to small to medium sized companies to colleges & universities. Lateef would have the pleasure of consulting for large Fortune 100 companies as well like Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan & Chase, Principal, Prudential, Farm Bureau, Modern Woodmen of America, Allstate, BB&T and Truist.

Upon losing his mother to a drug overdose of fentanyl, Lateef decided to try and help others and determined to incorporate the non-profit goal of helping others coping with substance abuse issues and domestic violence. After dealing with the loss of other loved ones, Lateef pivoted his career to become a Senior Healthcare Consultant. In this role, he is able to help many lonely seniors without good support systems work with a healthcare provider and medical center determined to provide value-based care in helping these underserved groups. Lateef loves helping these people while still having the flexibility to incorporate his other passions of helping the broader masses in self-improvement in body, mind and spirit!