1 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: Yes, Yes, I am Dramas and this is the Street 2 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: Stoic Podcast, bringing to your daily dose of timeless stoic 3 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: philosophy remix for the hip hop generation. We are combining 4 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: ancient philosophy with lyrics and quotes from some of the 5 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: greatest to ever Grace and Microphone. Now, with that in mind, 6 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: let's get things started with your daily shot of inspiration. 7 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: Now today we are going to be focusing around the 8 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: stoic idea of focusing on what you can control and 9 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: today's quotes. Does it come to us from a hip 10 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: hop artist? I mean, I guess technically he tried to. 11 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: But we know him best as one of the great 12 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: basketball players to ever walk this earth, and that is 13 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:08,919 Speaker 1: the late, great Kobe Bryant. Right. I've just kind of recently, really, 14 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: I think, dove into Kobe's story and just really becoming 15 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: a fan of his philosophy and his mentality and what 16 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: made him so great. And a quote that I came 17 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 1: across was, why do you think I'm the best player 18 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: in the world? Because I never ever get bored with 19 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: the basics. And I think this tells you so much 20 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: about Kobe Bryant and what he values and his dedication 21 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: to greatness, right, because he's placing the utmost value on 22 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: all of the small things that really wouldn't be very 23 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: impressive to anybody from the outside looking in, right, and 24 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: those little things choosing to focus on them, Right, he 25 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: created the incredible, amazing basketball player that we all know today. 26 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: But again, it was his focus on doing all of 27 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: the small things that would make him great. And it's 28 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: also the acceptance of the things that he's not in 29 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: control of. Right. He can't control his size or his 30 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: natural athleticism, right, but he can control the amount of 31 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: time and effort he puts into the fundamentals of the 32 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: game of basketball. Right. And this leads to one of 33 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: the quotes from one of the stoics, Zeno, and he says, 34 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: well being is realized by small steps, but it's truly 35 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: no small thing. And I love this this quote because 36 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 1: the idea of them being small steps, I think at 37 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: times cheapens their value or their worth. Right. But the 38 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: things that we look at as small, oftentimes they end 39 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 1: up being the big moments that end up shaping our 40 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: lives as we know them. Right, Like we'll be rewarded. 41 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: I feel like in this life in accordance with the 42 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: effort that we've put into mastering and embracing these small 43 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: steps right. And I think for me, I've been just 44 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: on like a very reflective journey as of late, and 45 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: really a trying to remind myself of all that I've done, 46 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: how far I've come, and really live in that place 47 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: of gratitude, and I think also just sort of get 48 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: a grip on how the hell I got here, right, 49 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: And in reflecting on that, I recognized that it was 50 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: there were so many small steps that helped me turn 51 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: around my life. And specifically what I was thinking about 52 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: recently was financially right, because I'm fortunate enough now that 53 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: I have owned properties, I have investment property, you know, 54 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: that is yielding me income, and that is all, you know, 55 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: a dream come true for me. I get to be 56 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: my own boss. I don't have to really answer to anybody. 57 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: I'm getting to live that lifestyle that I was hoping for. 58 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: But all of that was created based upon a lot 59 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: of really small steps and steps that really took place 60 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: not too long ago. You know, I was reflecting back 61 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: on it, and five years ago, I was living paycheck 62 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: to paycheck. I was making fifteen dollars an hour, at 63 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: the radio station and I had a credit score it 64 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: was like five forty or five seventy right either way, 65 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: not good. And two years after that, I was under 66 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: contract for my first property. But it was a lot 67 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: of little and small steps along the way that got 68 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: me to sort of getting my life together financially right. 69 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: It was fixing my credit and that was, you know, 70 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: getting in touch with the right people who were experts 71 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,679 Speaker 1: on that, and then paying off those bills little by little, 72 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: and then learning how to save my money rather than 73 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: just recklessly spending it right, and also unlearning trauma that 74 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: I had around money right, limiting beliefs I had around 75 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: my ability to create money and wealth right. And those 76 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: little steps that I took were very specific. Right I 77 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: mentioned fixing my credit, it's learning how the credit game works, right, 78 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: knowing about good debt versus bad debt, knowing what brings 79 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: down my credit score and what brings it up, and 80 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: then playing the game accordingly right, getting some credit cards 81 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: that were positive for me that then allowed me to 82 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 1: bring up my credit score right, and then paying off 83 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: those bills that then increase my credit score because I 84 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 1: wasn't in as much debt right, And also understanding you 85 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: know about collections and things like that is Listen, I 86 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:12,919 Speaker 1: had really messed up my finances and I had some 87 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: things in collections, so understanding that beyond just paying them off, 88 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: I also needed to make sure they remove those things 89 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: from my credit score. Right. And then when it comes 90 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: to learning how to save, right, I had to dedicate 91 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,239 Speaker 1: myself and make a commitment and really do the math. Okay, 92 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: if I want to save X amount of dollars in 93 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: the next year, how much do I need to be 94 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: putting away a week? Right? And I stuck to that. 95 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: And if I needed to make more money, Okay, what 96 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: other hustles do I have at my disposal that I 97 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: can put more effort into. Right, And at this point 98 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,039 Speaker 1: in time, I was probably djaying three and four nights 99 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: a week. Right. I invited every extra gig, every opportunity 100 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: that came my way. I told anybody who would listen, 101 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: I will take it. Right. I just knew that I 102 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: just want to keep making more money to help get 103 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: me to that goal that I was building towards, right, 104 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: the ultimate goal of wanting to own something. And I 105 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: understood I had to make all of these little steps 106 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: along the way before I can get to that place. 107 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: So now we've talked about all of that, let's focus 108 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: in on how you can make it your mantra for today. 109 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: But first let's take a quick break and then we'll 110 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: be right back, all right, So today focusing around the 111 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 1: stoic idea of focusing on what you can control and 112 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: specifically through the lens of not devaluing the small steps 113 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: along the way and in fact realizing that those are 114 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 1: the big moments in life. Right. And we've heard from 115 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: Kobe Bryant, we've heard from Zeno, one of the stokes myself. 116 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: Now let's talk about how you can make it your 117 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: mantra for today. Now, I think first and foremost, slow down. 118 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 1: We're all in a rush to go nowhere, and oftentimes 119 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: that rush has us taking shortcuts, right, it has us 120 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:00,919 Speaker 1: maybe at times feeling like we're getting ahead, but in 121 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: the long run, we're not actually taking these steps that 122 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: lead to us having solid grounding. Right. So we just 123 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: have to, you know, I think, have a reframe about 124 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: what life actually looks like, what success, what progress actually 125 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: looks like. Right, And we have to understand that life 126 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 1: is is not a series of huge leaps. Right. Sure, 127 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: those things will happen. Every once in a while, you're 128 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: gonna get lucky and you're gonna get put in a 129 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: position to have a great opportunity that really just changes 130 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: things for you almost immediately. But generally speaking, those things 131 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: are few and far in between. Right. You know, maybe 132 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: if you're lucky enough to hit the lottery once, you're 133 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: probably not gonna hit the lottery tomorrow. Right, It just 134 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: doesn't happen that way. It's not something that you should 135 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: be relying on each and every day. But you can 136 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: focus on those little things you do have control over, 137 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: those little steps day by day. Right, Those are things 138 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: that are easy, that are tangible for you to actually 139 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: get your hands on and begin to put yourself in 140 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: a position where you are walking down the path that 141 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: gets you to where you want to go. Right. And 142 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: I think at the end of the day, when we 143 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: look back on our lives and all the little things 144 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: along the way that happened, right, and the goals we've 145 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: achieved and the places we ended up, We're going to 146 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: look back and realize, Wow, those small things that we 147 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: sort of took for granted or didn't place much thought upon, 148 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: those were actually the things that had the greatest impact 149 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: on us and our lives, right. And I think it's 150 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: trying to have the foresight to not wait until your 151 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: life is behind you, the best years are behind you, 152 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: to recognize their importance. Right. I think to summarize all 153 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: that we're talking about here today, you have Kobe Bryant 154 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: talking about why he's the best player in the world, 155 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: and he says, because I never got bored with the basics. 156 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: And he's saying, even when he was getting all the credibility, 157 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: all of the pats on the back, he never allowed 158 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: himself to take the basics for granted. He understood that 159 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: the fundamentals that laying down that groundwork is in fact 160 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: what is helping him achieve that pinnacle of greatness that 161 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 1: he was upon, right, and one of the stoic Zino 162 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: talking about small steps, but recognizing that those small steps 163 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: are actually not anything small, right, They're nothing to laugh at. 164 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: Those are actually the big moments. Right. And then even 165 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: in my story, you know, talking about kind of getting 166 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 1: my financial stuff together, I didn't have some gigantic leap 167 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: where all of a sudden I was making you know, 168 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 1: half a million dollars a year, and now all my 169 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: problems were solved. No, I had to put in the 170 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: work little by little and figure out each and every 171 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: avenue that I could go down to eventually get me 172 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: to my larger goal. But it was tedious, it was 173 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: time consuming. Right. It was me having a lot of 174 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 1: intention and focus behind how I spent my money where 175 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 1: I put it, and also learning about financial things that 176 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: I was never taught in my entire life. Right again, 177 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,079 Speaker 1: understanding that all of those little things, when I added 178 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: it together, were eventually going to get me to the 179 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: place that I was hoping for. Right now, with that said, 180 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: thank you so much for checking out these streets. So 181 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 1: podcasts do get best to apply these concepts that we've 182 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: discussed in today's show, and I'll catch y'all next time. 183 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: The Street Stoke podcast is a production of Iheart's Michael 184 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:16,960 Speaker 1: Dura podcast Network.