1 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: Yes, Yes, I and dramas and this is the stream 2 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: Stoic podcast, bringing you your daily dose of timeless stoic 3 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: philosophy remixed for the hip hop generation. Now, with that 4 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: in mind, let's get things started with your daily shot 5 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: of inspiration. Now today we are going to be focusing 6 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:45,159 Speaker 1: around the stoic idea of practicing resilience when faced with obstacles, failure, 7 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:53,240 Speaker 1: or tragedy, right and more so understanding at times the 8 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: best response needed to get what you want. Right. And 9 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: I'm gonna one of my go to hip hop philosophers here, 10 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: Nipsey Hustle, of course, the late great rest in peace. 11 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: But he had a quote that has always resonated with me, 12 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: and he says, sometimes you have to take two steps 13 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: back to take ten forward. And to me, he's he's 14 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: talking about big picture thinking here when when faced with adversity. 15 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: And I know I've done a ton of Nipsey quotes 16 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: on the show before. He might have even kind of 17 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 1: talked about this one a bit, but but I wanted 18 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: to do it from a different angle again, from that 19 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: idea of like big picture thinking and the idea of 20 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: him kind of in this quote talking about acceptance and patience, right, 21 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:47,199 Speaker 1: and understanding the fact that it's not always about trying 22 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: to push forward, right, trying to push through a difficult moment. 23 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: Sometimes you actually just kind of have to chill for 24 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: a second. You gotta stay in place, or like he says, 25 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: you got to take a couple of steps back and 26 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: kind of reevaluate, kind of rebuild, if you will, right, 27 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: And then once that happens, you're able to kind of 28 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: go ahead and then go back on the offensive, go 29 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,119 Speaker 1: back on the attack. You know, like it's not always 30 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: just brute strength barreling through the door. Sometimes you gotta 31 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: you gotta finesse a little bit. You gotta you gotta 32 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: be smart about the next move that you're you're making, right. 33 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: And this kind of reminds me of a quote from Seneca, 34 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: one of the Stoics, and he says, it is a 35 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: rough road that leads to the heights of greatness, right, 36 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: And he's talking about that you just have to accept 37 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: the fact that it's not going to be easy, and 38 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: the reality is anything worth achieving will never be easy. 39 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:45,679 Speaker 1: But more specifically in the context of what we're discussing 40 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: with this quote from Nip and the kind of pulling 41 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 1: it all together. It's not always going to be a 42 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: straight line right. Your way forward, your way towards your 43 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: dreams is not always going to be some sort of 44 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: straight lines, some sort of straight paths. Sometimes zags, it 45 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: goes backwards, it goes forward. That's just the nature of life. 46 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: We have to be able to adapt to it and 47 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: be accepting of whatever strategy makes the most sense in 48 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: that moment. Sometimes it is to use that brute strength, 49 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: you know, and to push forward and to barrow through. 50 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: Other times, though again it requires some patients, some finesse. 51 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: You have to look at each situation and apply what 52 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: works best for that particular goal that you are trying 53 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: to move through. Right and and for me, this has 54 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: kind of been my life for the last two years, really, right. 55 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: I've taken the last two years to really just kind 56 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: of exist in my own bubble, you know, and I 57 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: do things here and there. You know, I'm getting my 58 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: name out there through through certain things, but I've also 59 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: been kind of keeping my head down and building things 60 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: more so behind the scenes. Maybe from a particular vantage point. 61 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: I'm not as I don't know, successful to some or 62 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: I'm not doing as much to others, you know, But 63 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: I had to be unafraid of of stepping out of 64 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: a particular spotlight to just kind of focus on doing 65 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: the work right, to focus on building a real foundation 66 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: rather than sort of just lazily building the facade of 67 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: what a foundation might look like. You know, like, had 68 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: I kept going a million miles an hour ahead, I 69 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't really have much much to stand upon, you know. 70 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: And for me, it took these last couple of years 71 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: of again keeping my head down, being unafraid of the chatter, 72 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: and being unafraid of trying to be visually impressive to 73 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: anybody watching, and really just to solidify, you know, the 74 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: ground that I'm walking on, and to work on things 75 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: behind the scenes, knowing that they're going to pay off, 76 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: but knowing in the short term I'm gonna have to sacrifice. 77 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: You know, the appearance of ultimate success right and listen 78 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:00,799 Speaker 1: is not going to be easy when you know people 79 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: who were once like calling you all the time or 80 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:04,919 Speaker 1: hitting you up or doing this or that, like you know, 81 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: for me personally I'm speaking of you know, you don't 82 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: seem like you're as in demand anymore. But you have 83 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: to define what success means for you, and that's what 84 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: you know I've come to realize is that the outward 85 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: facing validation is not success at the end of the day, 86 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: you know, it is actually having a real career, it's 87 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 1: real fulfillment, real happiness like that is actual success. And 88 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: sometimes in order to achieve that, you have to take 89 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: a step backwards. You have to remove yourself from the spotlight, 90 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: whatever it might be, whether it's your friend group going 91 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,840 Speaker 1: out all the time, whatever that that spotlight might be 92 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: for you. But again, you know, you have to figure 93 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:49,559 Speaker 1: out what strategy is working best for what you're trying 94 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: to achieve in the moment. And I think that's a 95 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: bit of what I've been been doing again for these 96 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: last couple of years, and really just taking the time 97 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: that I have and not spending it doing things for 98 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: the sake of being seen, but more so spending it 99 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: for the sake of actually creating something that my future 100 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: self is going to benefit from, right, And that's been 101 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 1: my mindset as of late. Now we have heard the 102 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: words of Nipsey Hustle, you've heard from one of the 103 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: stoic Seneca, you've heard from myself. Now let's talk about 104 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: how you can make it your mantra for today. But first, 105 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,720 Speaker 1: let's take a quick break and then we'll be right back. 106 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: All right, So we have heard the words of Nipsey Hustle, 107 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,039 Speaker 1: you've heard from one of the stoic Seneca. I've given 108 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,039 Speaker 1: you some insight into my own journey over the last 109 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: couple of years, all surrounding this notion of practicing resilience 110 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: when faced with obstacles. But I think more specifically, what 111 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: we're talking about today is knowing the right plan of 112 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 1: action when those obstacles hit you. Right. And a story 113 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: that comes to mind for me on this topic, it's 114 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: the artist Russ. He's famous for, you know, building his 115 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: kind of career off of releasing one song a week 116 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: for like an entire year. Right. But you know, Russ, 117 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: in order to make this strategy happen, he had to 118 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,599 Speaker 1: take a step back because prior to doing this, his 119 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: other strategy was just like dropping album and mixtape after mixtape, right, 120 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: And what he saw was that it wasn't getting the 121 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: response that he was hoping for. So he took a 122 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: step back, recalibrated, figured out what would be the next move. 123 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: And then even after he decided what was the next move, 124 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 1: he also understood what it took to make that happen. 125 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: He didn't then just go write one song, drop it, 126 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: and then expect himself to be doing that same pace, 127 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: you know, every week for a year. He sat back 128 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: for a couple months, recorded a bunch of songs, had 129 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: them stockpiled, so that when he then put action to 130 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 1: this strategy that he had in his head, he was 131 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: in good shape where he was already ahead of the game. 132 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: You know, he didn't have to worry about, you know, 133 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: the release schedule, and it wasn't a burden to him. 134 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: And I think, to me, that's what I kind of 135 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: think about what Nip is talking about, taking him two 136 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: steps back at time so you can move ten forward, 137 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: right Like I think that at times you have to 138 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: go into your building phase, whatever it is that you 139 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: want in life. If you are trying to switch careers 140 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 1: so you can make more money, maybe that means going 141 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: back to school. Maybe if you were trying to get 142 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: into real estate, you know, maybe it means that, you know, 143 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: while you're working your other job, you kind of have 144 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: to put pause on your social life a bit so 145 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: that you can, on your free time on the weekends 146 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: or at night, be studying for your real estate exams 147 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: so that you can then go dive into that new field, 148 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: you know, or for me, taking a step back from 149 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: being visible and spending all my time trying to be 150 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: seen by others so that I can kind of create 151 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: this notion of success. I had to actually stop and 152 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: build a foundation that would provide me with real success. Right. 153 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: I had to figure out how to give myself the 154 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: opportunity to have a sustainable career in an industry that 155 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: it's very difficult to make any money whatsoever in right, 156 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,199 Speaker 1: and again, for me, that meant the last two years 157 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: building and doing things that left me behind the scenes 158 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: and doing things that might take a year or two 159 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 1: years to actually show any rout, but again understanding that 160 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: in the long run, that is what would pay off 161 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: for me. So to recap this idea of practicing resilience 162 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: when faced with obstacles, that practice and your reaction has 163 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: to be appropriate for the situation. You can't just always 164 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: think it's about taking action taking the straight line path. 165 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: There is no right way. Sometimes again you have to pause, 166 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 1: like Nip said, sometimes you have to take two steps 167 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: back to take ten forward. Those two steps back he's 168 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: talking about sometimes are stockpiling like rusted or building like 169 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 1: I've been doing, and then that is what lunges you 170 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: forward and accelerates you right. Or like Seneca said, you know, 171 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: it's the rough road that leads to heights of greatness. 172 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,199 Speaker 1: And that road again is not always a straight line. 173 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:47,839 Speaker 1: It's not always one that makes sense. It zigs, it zags, 174 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: it goes backwards, it goes forward. You have to embrace 175 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: that and understand adapting a strategy that makes sense for 176 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: where you are. And again for me, I've been in 177 00:09:55,840 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: my bubble head down building my foundation before. For I 178 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: then emerge with, you know, moving in a way that 179 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: I'm kind of living with my foot on the gas 180 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: essentially right. But I had to be okay with stepping 181 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: back out of my particular spotlight so that I can 182 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 1: set myself up to have a life of success and 183 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 1: what is my own definition of success. So again, when 184 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: practicing resilience, you have to take into consideration the big 185 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: picture and then choose accordingly what your plan of attack 186 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: should be. Now, with that said, thank you so much 187 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,959 Speaker 1: for checking out the Street Stoke podcast. Do your best 188 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: to apply these concepts that we've discussed today and see 189 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: it everyday of life and I'll catch you next time. 190 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:44,680 Speaker 1: The Street Stoke Podcast is a production of Ihearts Michael 191 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:46,199 Speaker 1: Pura Podcast Network.