No child should have to wonder whether loving one parent will hurt the other.
Playing Your Position: Help Children Stay Whole
Family court tests who can endure. Playing Your Position teaches you how to keep your child whole while the system takes its time.
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Campaign Progress
$3,475.00
pledged of $15,000.00 goal
23.17%
Funded
38
Backers
33
Days to go
Worcester, MA, United States (US)
When the child is at the center, every adult has a position to play.
The moment that started this book
My son saw me across a basketball court and ran straight into my arms, the way little boys do when their world still feels simple. Then his mother’s voice came from behind him, and I felt his small body hesitate — like his heart was trying to solve a problem his brain didn’t have the language for yet. In that pause I felt the question he couldn’t ask: Am I in trouble for loving my dad?
That question is the reason this book exists.
Pre-Sale & Funding
What the Book Does
Playing Your Position helps you go from feeling outmatched by a slow, adversarial system → to staying steady, child-centered, and clear-headed no matter how unfair the game gets.
Stay calm under provocation — protect your children instead of feeding the conflict.
Recognize false narrative parenting — see how a distorted story forms, travels, and hardens into “official” reality.
Document like game film — keep records that protect the truth without becoming consumed by the fight.
Keep children out of the middle — stop the schedule, the “help,” and the paperwork from turning kids into leverage.
Lead with a child-first standard — make decisions from what your child needs to stay whole, not from what you can win.
What it costs to stay stuck
I walked into my first hearing believing the truth would organize the room. Four years and nearly $400,000 later, I learned that procedure organizes the room. Family court doesn’t only test who is right — it tests who can endure, who can keep paying, who can stay steady while the process stretches out. And while the adults learn the system, the children keep growing. A missed season is gone. A missed birthday is gone. Delay is never neutral for a child living in real time.
The promise of this book
Playing Your Position names something I call false narrative parenting — when one parent constructs, repeats, and enforces a distorted version of reality until the child begins to live inside it. This book is my attempt to stop that: not by pretending fathers are perfect, not by making mothers the enemy, but by telling the truth about what happens when systems move slowly and children carry the emotional cost. It argues that 50/50 should be the starting point when both parents are fit, safe, willing, and present.
Why now
Divorce, custody conflict, child-welfare concerns, mental-health struggles, and financial pressure are affecting families everywhere. Conflict does not have to be encouraged by the courts. It can be reduced through awareness, better systems, and laws that put children first. This campaign turns that belief into a book — and a movement.
CHOOSE YOUR POSITION IN THE MOVEMENT
Whether you’re a parent navigating the court system, a leader fighting for reform, or a advocate giving back to children—there is a place for you here.
READ & REPRESENT
Individuals, parents, and advocates wanting the book and apparel.
FIRST EDITION PAPERBACK
Get a signed first-edition copy and the core tools to share the message.
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Signed First-Edition Paperback of Playing Your Position
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Seed Collection: 3 Custom Die-Cut Stickers & "Stay Whole" Bookmark
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Digital Workbook & Game-Plan Checklist (Printable PDF)
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Access to the Virtual Author Q&A & Pre-Launch Event
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Free U.S. Shipping
“Every movement begins with a single seed. This is where we start turning court battles into child-first clarity.”
Signed books: 0
· Limit: Unlimited
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BOOK & APPAREL BUNDLE
Wear the message and help expand the reach of the movement.
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Signed First-Edition Paperback of Playing Your Position
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Official "Stay Whole" Apparel: Premium Graphic T-Shirt or Snapback Hat
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Bloom Sticker & Patch Pack: 3 Die-Cut Stickers + 2 Embroidered Patches
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Digital Workbook & Game-Plan Checklist
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Access to the Virtual Author Q&A & Pre-Launch Event
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Free U.S. Shipping
“Wearing this message isn’t just about apparel—it’s a commitment to keeping children out of the middle.”
Signed books: 0
· Limit: Unlimited
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EXPERIENCES & STRATEGY
Entrepreneurs, coaches, and local supporters seeking connection.
VIP STUDIO TOUR & MERCH BUNDLE
Go behind the scenes with Ulysses at Major Bloom and the Infused Influence studio.
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2 Signed First-Edition Paperbacks (One for you, one to gift)
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Harvest Merch Collection: Stay Whole Hat, T-Shirt, 2 Patches & Bookmark
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VIP Private Tour of Major Bloom & the Infused Influence studio in Worcester, MA
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In-person meet-and-greet, commemorative photo, and Q&A session
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Free U.S. Shipping
“Come see where business, community, and advocacy intersect. Let’s talk strategy in the room where it happens.”
Signed books: 0
· Limit: Unlimited
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1-ON-1 STRATEGY SESSION
Direct access and strategic counsel on leadership, resilience, and navigating complex systems.
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5 Signed First-Edition Paperbacks
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1-on-1 Strategy Session (60 Mins) with Ulysses Youngblood (Virtual or In-Person)
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Full "Stay Whole" Merchandise Bundle (Hat, Shirt, Sticker Pack, Patches)
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Priority guest pass for all future live events and book tour stops
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Free U.S. Shipping
“Whether you are building a business or keeping your family steady through a storm, strategy beats panic every single time.”
Signed books: 0
· Limit: Unlimited
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COMMUNITY & LEGACY IMPACT
Businesses, leaders, and benefactors building long-term impact.
SPONSORSHIP & COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTION
Sponsor books directly for parents, advocates, and youth programs in need.
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10 Signed First-Edition Paperbacks
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10 Donated Copies gifted in your name to local family support groups or libraries
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Name/Logo listed on the official website Founding Supporters Wall
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VIP Invitation to the Book Launch Gala & Networking Reception
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Complete "Stay Whole" Merchandise Collection
“When you sponsor this book, you put a practical playbook directly into the hands of a parent fighting for their child’s peace.”
Signed books: 0
· Limit: Unlimited
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EXECUTIVE LUNCHEON & BULK DONATION
Protect children beyond your own community with direct bulk distribution and leadership engagement.
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25 Signed First-Edition Paperbacks
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25 Donated Copies distributed to family courts, mediation centers, and youth organizations
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Private Executive Luncheon & Roundtable with Ulysses and fellow community leaders
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Prominent recognition on the website Founding Supporters Wall & book acknowledgments
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VIP Access to all campaign events & podcast guest consideration (Infused Influence)
“Delay is never neutral for a child. Your support ensures this playbook reaches court professionals and parents when they need it most.”
Signed books: 0
· Limit: Unlimited
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CORNERSTONE BENEFACTOR
Become a foundational backer driving systemic change and child-centered family reform.
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50 Signed First-Edition Paperbacks customized with a special bookplate
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50 Donated Copies to family law clinics, fatherhood initiatives, and community centers
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Keynote Speaking Engagement or Private Workshop by Ulysses for your team, organization, or event
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Top-tier Founding Circle recognition on the campaign site, book front matter, and event signage
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Lifetime VIP access to all Playing Your Position initiatives and future releases
“This isn’t just backing a book launch—it’s laying the cornerstone for a movement that helps children stay whole for generations to come.”
Signed books: 0
· Limit: Unlimited
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DIGITAL
DIGITAL ACCESS
Get immediate digital access to the playbook and join the conversation from anywhere.
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E-Book Copy of Playing Your Position (EPUB & PDF)
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Digital Workbook & Game-Plan Checklist (Printable PDF)
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Access to the Virtual Author Q&A & Pre-Launch Event
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Digital "Stay Whole" Supporter Badge for social media
“When you know the rules of the game, you can stop reacting and start protecting what matters most.”
Signed books: 0
· Limit: Unlimited
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● ACKNOWLEDGMENT WALL
FOUNDING SUPPORTERS
Choose your reward package · Preorder your signed copy · Join the movement
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If you’ve ever watched conflict pull a child apart, this is your chance to help pull that child back toward safety.
This book began with a boy hesitating inside a hug. It ends with a prayer that no child has to hesitate like that again. Your support helps produce the book, launch the audiobook, and build a movement for children who deserve to stay whole.
Back the campaign today. Preorder your copy. Choose a reward package. Share it with someone who needs this message.
And remember this: when it feels like the court, the conflict, or the other parent is against you — fight hate with love. Love your children. Love yourself. Love the people around you. That is how we help children stay whole.
Who is Ulysses Youngblood
Through Playing Your Position and the Stay Whole Campaign, Ulysses is working to advance child-centered family reform by encouraging equal access to fit parents, stronger communities, and systems that help children stay whole.
Ulysses Youngblood is a father, entrepreneur, educator, youth coach, and advocate for child-centered family leadership. He is the Founder and President of Major Bloom, an award-winning Economic Empowerment cannabis company in Worcester, Massachusetts, recognized for advancing entrepreneurship, education, and community impact. An MBA graduate and adjunct faculty member, he brings executive experience in sales management, entrepreneurship, innovation, and the regulated cannabis industry, and has spent more than fifteen years helping build organizations across family business, renewable energy, and the emerging cannabis sector — firsthand experience navigating industries shaped by changing laws, public policy, and cultural transformation.
He hosts Infused Influence, a livestream and radio program on entrepreneurship, leadership, cannabis, culture, and systems change, broadcast for nearly five years on NPR-affiliated 90.5 WICN. Away from business, he has coached hundreds of children throughout New England in football, basketball, and soccer, reinforcing a lifelong commitment to child development, teamwork, discipline, and positive leadership.
Ulysses also experienced firsthand the emotional and financial impact of a four-year, nearly $400,000 custody case — an experience that inspired years of research into father involvement, child development, family systems, and opportunities for child-centered family law reform.
Combining lived experience, academic research, business leadership, coaching, and public advocacy, he offers a practical framework that helps parents protect children, strengthen families, and promote systems that allow children to remain emotionally whole during family conflict.
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