12 Notes

As I’ve learned throughout my lifetime, personal growth is just a journey from mind pollution to mind solution. In other words, you have to sift through the dirt of whatever situation it is that you find yourself in, so that your future isn’t polluted before you’ve even had a chance to create it.

With the inevitability of hardship in this often broken world, it’s important to understand what fills your voids and also where you are projecting yours.

I’m convinced there are two kinds of people: those who have been properly nurtured and those who haven’t. There’s really nothing in between. When you’ve been nurtured, you know it, and when you haven’t, you really know it. The after effects start rearing their ugly head through the ways in which you see and treat others, and maybe even less apparently, the ways in which you see and treat yourself.

There will be plenty of moments in which the work you do goes unnoticed, but hear me when I say that someone is always watching.

I may not be able to control the exact opportunities I am presented with, but the part of the equation that I do have control over is whether or not I have prepared myself enough to accept whatever opportunities come my way.

For as long as I can remember, my daddy would tell me every day, “Once a task has just begun, never leave it ‘til it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” It didn’t matter what the task was, I just knew that I needed to complete it to the best of my abilities.

Talent comes with responsibility, and managing your gifts can become a burden if you have yet to identify how you will respond to external pressures.

Everything we do is an extension of the history that came before us, and if we don’t recognize it, we’re in danger of repeating some of the same nonsense that went down in the past. It’s a beautiful thing to reflect and learn, rather than to reject and repeat.

We’re all thrown different curveballs, and some may hit harder than others; however, I truly believe that with the proper attitude, the very thing that was intended to destroy you can become the thing that makes you stronger.

Over the course of my lifetime, it has seemed as though God has guided me with an internal feeling that my encounters weren’t meant to destroy me. Rather, they were meant to provide me with the empathy I needed to be able to relate to and help others in similar positions, to give me an undeniable drive that has propelled me into arenas of life that I never could’ve possibly dreamed of, and to generate the deep level of emotion that has been poured into every one of my musical creations.

In the midst of adversity, it’s easy to let disappointment or anger take center stage, but I have found that my purpose is so much greater than my problems, although it’s incredibly easy to place an emphasis on the latter.

Flavors of food and fundamentals of music are very closely related, and it taught me to cook like an orchestrator and orchestrate like a chef. The deeper I got, and the more I understood how to mix different flavors and sounds, the more combinations I was able to play around with.

Hope may be presented in different forms, but it’s always in the fine print. It’s not about starting out on top, but it’s about realizing how far you have to climb and then never giving up. And when I say never, I mean it. I don’t believe you ever reach the top, and well, if you do, you might not be dreaming big enough.

It’s evident that disadvantaged children are not the victims of some kind of natural disaster, but often, of mankind.

Also, when you do a job well once, there’s almost no doubt that you’ll get it again, or get referred to someone else. Everything in your life is a chain reaction, and your ability to deliver will usually be judged based on your last encounter.

A great work ethic is an asset that will undoubtedly carry you through every phase of life because it is ultimately what sets you apart from the rest of your peers who are satisfied with getting a job done, but not very well.

With technology and social media making it easier than ever to grow your own following, our society has placed an incredibly alarming amount of emphasis on surface-level matter, often neglecting the individual person as a whole. Now that such platforms are here to stay, there’s an added layer of scrutiny to every situation. Not only are the embarrassing moments or failures of life dealt with on a personal level, but they are also publicly magnified. That’s enough to destroy anyone without a foundation.

I see way too many cats out there getting caught up in the excitement of fame, only to be met with all-consuming depression on the other side, often because they’ve lost sight of who they are and why they even started creating in the first place.

We can’t afford to raise a generation of creators who think they’re the only people on the planet or the first ones to inhabit it. People who don’t know their history, or how to celebrate cultural differences, are simply left with stereotypes and preconceived ideas, which is a large part of why racism still exists today.

On one hand, we were celebrated entertainers, but as soon as we stepped offstage and put our trumpets and saxophones down, we were once again reduced to the color of our skin. My daddy always used to remind me of the phrase “Not one drop of my self-worth depends on your acceptance of me.”

Hear me when I say that this doesn’t only apply to my economically disadvantaged brothers and sisters; it applies to each and every human being. You could have it all, in a material sense, but if you’re assimilating to the wrong crowd or not allowing the right things to come in, then you only block yourself from your potential.

Whether you believe in God, or karma, or the law of attraction, or don’t believe in any of it, the common denominator of all of it is that when you act on principles, you attract those who carry themselves in a similar manner.

Don’t do things as a way to get something in return. Do it because it is the right thing to do. It might not feel like you get anything out of it, but that’s exactly the point. It’s not for you. It’s the right thing to do.

You may not be able to do everything on your own, but by being the spark that ignites the flame, you just might be the impetus for change that you never thought was possible, helping to prevent the “firsts” from being the “onlys.”

It’s important to not give up on yourself before you’ve even tried, so keep dreaming and putting in the work to back up those dreams. Don’t expect them to get accomplished on their own.

This world needs your gifts and talents. If you don’t step up to the plate, then who will? Giving yourself the permission to dream and do what’s never been done before gives others permission to do the same.

Oftentimes, what people don’t realize is that everything, even physical health, starts in the mind. It’s the most powerful thing you own. It can bring you to an evergreen pasture, but it can also take you down the darkest of roads.

So, when you look at someone and think, “He’s got tremendous experience,” or “She’s super successful,” that just means they’ve already made a lot of mistakes to get where they are, and you need the opportunity to do the same.

Regardless of your desired field, your first few steps tend to be the most daunting because you have to face a steep learning curve, and establish yourself as a figure of authority, without having any prior experience.

I’ve seen plenty of people ruin relationships and opportunities before they’ve even had a chance to properly establish them.

It’s easy to go with the flow and do things the way others do; it’s much harder to go against the grain and act with a moral compass.

Careers are volatile and status comes and goes, but when it’s all said and done, what legacy will you be proud to leave behind?

it was essential to learn from those who had walked the road before me, so that I could take in as much knowledge from them as possible, and learn what not to do.

As I said before, you never have to make a comeback if you never leave, and building a career on firm morals will allow you to do so. It’s a marathon, not a race.

I’ve been asked, “How do you have so many friends?” Well, simply put, I try not to be a bad one.

When you treat people poorly, they will do the same with you. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but the majority of the time, it holds true.

Believe me, I know that doing the right thing isn’t always publicly celebrated, but what you do when no one is watching is the foundation that you build your life and career on. Build it on solid ground and you’ll be around until the end of time. But build it on sand, and you’ll sink before the clock strikes twelve.

What you do in your personal life affects how you are perceived in your professional life, and what you do in your professional life affects how you live your personal life. It’s an important distinction to make, because what you do off the clock matters just as much as, if not more than, what you do in the office or studio.

I have to warn you though: Big dreams don’t come without big failures. Things will get tough and you will make mistakes. Repeatedly. We’re human and we’re going to flounder, but it’s what you do to get back up that matters.

I sure didn’t know where my aspirations would take me, but in a way, I’m glad I didn’t. If I had known, I may not have ever applied myself to the fullest extent, as a result of seeing how daunting the tasks ahead were.

One of the things he repeatedly reminded me of was the concept of Ubuntu, a word that derives from the Zulu phrase “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,“ which basically means the collective is always greater than the individual.

People often ask me when I’m going to retire, but my only response is, “I’m just starting. Retired? You take the ‘re’ off of that and it’s ‘tired.’ I’m not tired yet.” If you never leave, you never have to make a comeback, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing.

You can try to ideate all day long about what you want to add to your art, but if it doesn’t have a solid foundation on its own then you’re bound to create on sinking sand. Forcing yourself to create a product that you think people want rather than letting it flow from a place of truth, only prevents you from achieving true connection with your audience.

. This foundation served me well because I’ve created some of my best work on a time crunch. Remember “Soul Bossa Nova” from Note C? You know, the track that became the theme song for the Austin Powers franchise? I wrote that in twenty minutes.

Creativity is informed by what you feel, not what you think, and learning to tune into those feelings is what is ultimately going to carry you through when distractions come.

Purposeful practice only leads to improvement, and you simply can’t have one without the other.

if you don’t understand the ins and outs of your discipline, your passion will only get you so far. Because without taking the time to fine-tune your skills, your efforts will be built on a foundation that is bound to crumble once it is put to the test.

Learning to place weight on my ambitions was an important lesson to learn because it’s what has kept me motivated for such a long time and allowed me to do all that I’ve been able to.

if people place high expectations on you, the pressure of trying to avoid failure can become a significant distraction to your progress. If there are no, or low, expectations placed on you, then you have the freedom to create without scrutiny.

Having endless amounts of time to work on a project is a luxury, but it can also be a breeding ground for paralysis from analysis because you allow yourself to overthink.

Music, and art as a whole, is a strange beast. You can’t see it, taste it, touch it, or smell it, but you sure can feel it. I can never predict the outcome, or how people will react, but I can tell when a piece of music gives me goosebumps.

the sooner you acknowledge that the quality of your output is directly proportional to the input of your effort, the closer you will be to unlocking your fullest creative potential.

Having done this time and time again, I’m tellin’ you: If you want to create art that invades the subconscious mind and leaves a long-lasting impact, you’ve got to have the proper blend of soul and science. You’ve gotta do it right!