(BLACK PR WIRE) – Miami, FL – Feb. 12, 2012 - Imagine the anxieties, doubt and fear that form in the belly of a young woman who has decided to become an entrepreneur. Consider the preparation and attention to detail that must be a part of a successful launch. Throw in the discouragement from nay saying family and friends who may not share the young woman’s vision.

Now add to the doubt and anxiety and lack of support the very real possibility of death, brutal beatings or jail; inflicted not because of some law being broken or regulation ignored, but because of the skin that the woman was in and the gender assignment she was given at birth.

Such was the case for Madam C. J. Walker, the country’s first female millionaire – of any color, whose success was even more remarkable because of the hatred, bigotry and life-threatening conditions she and other black entrepreneurs faced in the late 1800s for daring to live the American Dream. What role did Walker’s thoughts about who she was, what she deserved and her belief that she would succeed play in her ability to amass a fortune and train hundreds of other black women to also become entrepreneurs in her beauty supply company?

A powerful new workshop for teens explores those questions and more with powerful activities, music and art. The I AM SUCCESS workshop helps youth between the ages of 13 and 18 to explore the role that thought plays in a person’s success. The workshop’s ‘Black History Edition’ helps youth to explore the role that thought played in the achievements of some of the country’s most outstanding African Americans and how the youth can use some of the same principles to succeed today.

The I AM SUCCESS workshop: BLACK HISTORY EDITION also shows youth how to:

• Take responsibility for their success by taking control of their thoughts

• Create an easy, individualized action plan for achieving important goals

• Resist peer pressure

• Use this one practice daily to change their lives

The I AM SUCCESS workshop: BLACK HISTORY EDITION will be presented on Saturday, February 23 from 10:00 am to 2:30pm at the Purvis Young Art Museum in Miami’s Wynwood community. Tickets cost $35 per person and include lunch. Also, each student will take home a customized piece of artwork that combines Purvis Young’s visuals and his or her words. Purchase tickets at www.iamsuccessworkshop.com.