Black Men Smile at InvestFest: Words That Change Everything
They say the most powerful words you can offer to someone else are often the very words you need to hear yourself. At InvestFest 2025 in Atlanta, surrounded by thousands of brilliant Black minds focused on wealth, legacy, and community, we put that idea into action.
Created by Troy Millings and Rashad Bilal of Earn Your Leisure, InvestFest is the world’s largest financial literacy festival—a space where people come together to learn, grow, and build toward prosperity. This year, the Black Men Smile team joined the celebration to do what we do best: engage, uplift, and amplify the revolutionary power of Black joy.
Instead of simply asking people what inspired them, we flipped the mirror. We asked:
“What words do you need to hear right now?”
Black Men Smile Creator, Carlton Mackey reacts after hearing powerful words from Marcellus Griffin, professional speaker and wealth mentor, at Invest Fest 2025.
We invited attendees—men, women, speakers, and everyday people alike—to look into the camera as if it were a mirror and speak life to themselves. The results were powerful. Some shared affirmations of strength and resilience. Others voiced reminders of patience, self-love, and perseverance. Each message was deeply personal, but what made it extraordinary is how universal those words became.
When someone says, “Bro, you’re going to be okay” or “You’ve got everything you need inside of you,” they may be speaking to themselves, but those words ripple outward, reaching every person who hears them.
Our InvestFest video captures these voices, these moments, and this energy. It is a reminder that in a community rooted in financial empowerment, we must also nurture our emotional and spiritual well-being.
Because sometimes the greatest investment you can make… is in yourself.
What About You?
Now we turn the question back to you: What words do you need to hear today?
Drop them in the comments, share them with a friend, or simply whisper them to yourself in the mirror. However you do it, remember that your words carry power—and that power can change everything.
Fashion Model and Entrepreneur Justyn Burgest-Graham shows off Rooted in Joy shirt at Invest Fest 2025 in Atlanta, GA