I began the moment I stopped hiding from where I came from. Written by Dennis Harvell The Day I Stopped Being Ashamed There was a time when I carried my past like something I needed to hide. Growing up in the Mott Haven Houses felt like a mark I had to outrun, a story I… Continue reading The Day I Stopped Being Ashamed
Tag: Resilience
The Hustle Hierarchy, Episode 5 – JAPAN: The “Wabi-Sabi” and the “Kintsugi” Grind
Written by Dennis Harvell The Hustle Hierarchy: JAPAN – The “Wabi-Sabi” and the “Kintsugi” Grind We are shifting gears. If Chutzpah was the loud, front-door energy of Israel, our next stop is about the quiet, high-level wisdom found in the wreckage. We’re heading to Japan. In the Bronx, if something is broken—a window, a car… Continue reading The Hustle Hierarchy, Episode 5 – JAPAN: The “Wabi-Sabi” and the “Kintsugi” Grind
The Mirror in the Gym: Finding a Brother in Jacinto Bonilla
Written by Dennis Harvell The Mirror in the Gym: Finding a Brother in Jacinto Bonilla They say everyone has a doppelgänger somewhere in the world, but I never expected to find mine in a viral photo of a legendary athlete. When someone first showed me a picture of Jacinto Bonilla, I had to stop. I… Continue reading The Mirror in the Gym: Finding a Brother in Jacinto Bonilla
The Hustle Hierarchy, Episode 2 – INDIA: The Science of “Jugaad”
Written by Dennis Harvell The Hustle Hierachy: INDIA: The Science of “Jugaad” Next up, we’re heading to the subcontinent. If Brazil is about the “smooth move,” India is about the “unbreakable spirit” of a tinkerer. If you’ve ever walked past a construction site in the Bronx and seen a guy using a piece of discarded… Continue reading The Hustle Hierarchy, Episode 2 – INDIA: The Science of “Jugaad”
Motion Over Memory
Written by Dennis Harvell Motion Over Memory There’s a gravity to the past that gets heavier as we get older. When the house is quiet and the mind starts to wander, it’s easy to get pulled into the orbit of what we’ve lost. I think about my brothers, gone too soon. I think about my… Continue reading Motion Over Memory
The Hustle Hierarchy, Episode 1- BRAZIL: The Art of “O Jeitinho”
Written by Dennis Harvell The Hustle Hierachy: BRAZIL: The Art of “O Jeitinho” If you grew up in the Bronx, you know the “Standard Procedure” is usually a polite way of telling you get lost. The system is a wall. Most people see the wall and stop. The hustler sees the wall and starts looking… Continue reading The Hustle Hierarchy, Episode 1- BRAZIL: The Art of “O Jeitinho”
The Ascent of the Steady Heart
Written by Dennis Harvell The Ascent of the Steady Heart The Encounter The building was an architectural paradox, a cathedral of movement where the floor didn’t simply exist — it climbed. I stepped onto a motorized path that tilted higher the further I walked. To my left, a traditional staircase overflowed with people sprinting upward,… Continue reading The Ascent of the Steady Heart
Undeniable: Ursula Burns — The Corporate Disrupter
Where you are is not who you are.” — Ursula Burns” Written by Dennis Harvell Undeniable: Ursula Burns — The Corporate Disrupter The Forge Ursula Burns grew up in the Baruch Houses on the Lower East Side, raised by a Panamanian immigrant mother who ran a home daycare and ironed clothes to keep the lights… Continue reading Undeniable: Ursula Burns — The Corporate Disrupter
Bronx Stories: The Borough Finally Breathes, Part 7
Written by Dennis Harvell The Borough Finally Breathes There’s always that one Saturday — the one that hits 55°F out of nowhere — where the borough feels different. The heavy parkas get thrown over chair backs, people step outside without bracing themselves, and the survival mindset finally loosens its grip. It’s not spring. It’s not… Continue reading Bronx Stories: The Borough Finally Breathes, Part 7
The Legend of Dennis — The Titan and the Bulldog of the South Bronx
Written by Dennis Harvell The Legend of Dennis — The Titan and the Bulldog of the “South Bronx” In the Bronx, they tell a story about a craftsman — a man who knew every brick, every wire, every shortcut in the neighborhood. He worked for a Chief who treated him like an architect. Life was… Continue reading The Legend of Dennis — The Titan and the Bulldog of the South Bronx