I was with my wife’s family on New Year’s Day and we had a little seafood fest right at her mother’s house. The food was good and the conversation was even better. I really enjoyed the conversations we all had with my wife’s younger cousin, who is a sophomore engineering major at Virginia Tech. He’s a smart kid but he still has swagger. I’m about 13 years older than him but he’s really the product of the influence of my generation- he watched and listened to guys in my age group who passionately chased ambition when he was just a kid. We were old enough to be the voices of authority to his impressionable ears but young enough to still have “cool credibility” with him and his friends.
My wife’s cousin is well on his way to doing some really special things in his life in the future. But what I admire about him is how full of life he is right now. When he talks, you can hear confidence, intelligence and ambition in his voice. You can see the hunger and thirst for success in his eyes. You can feel the energy of his hustle. The truth is: this is his era. This is his moment in time; he’s just a couple of years out of high school and a couple of years into young adulthood. These years are the best time of his life and you can tell from the moment he walks into the room.
People have asked me why do I think Jay-Z’s music has resonated with me so much. Well, I think... my wife’s cousin’s lively conversations explain the connection. I was around the same age he is now (19 years old) when Jay-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt came out. That album had the greatest impact on me than any album before or since its release. Why? I think it’s because that album was about chasing ambition, which is exactly what I was doing when it was released when I was 19 years old in the summer of ’96.
I was the most ambitious from the mid 90’s through the early 00’s (18-25 years old). It was during this period that I had so many goals and thought I had so much time to accomplish them. I was confident and convinced that I would be rich before I turned 25! It didn’t happen, but I was the most optimistic about happiness and success during this time period and my friends all seemed to be the same way. While I was chasing ambition in my late teens and early 20’s, Jay-Z was making his mark in the rap game and his music was a big part of the soundtrack of my life.
Think back to when you were in your late teens through your early 20’s: what music by which artists was prevalent in the soundtrack of your life? If you’re in your late teens or early 20’s now, who and what are you currently listening to on a day-to-day basis? Do these artists and their music have the voice of ambition and can you relate to that voice?
I think music plays a very significant role in your life especially during certain periods. If you listen to music with a purpose, as I do, it sets the tone during moments throughout your life’s journey.
Here’s my theory of why that 7-year period, between ages 18-25 is the best time of your life. It’s during this period that you are the most confident in the midst of your naiveté. It’s also the time when most people have the most fun in their lives. Before this period, you enjoy life but with the confinements of parental prison, I mean, supervision (smile). After this period, you enjoy life somewhat restrained by the realities of commitment and responsibility (getting married, having and caring for children, dealing with debt, etc.).
Don’t get me wrong; you can enjoy life before you’re 18 and after 25 and life can be (and most likely will be) a struggle between the ages of 18 and 25. But personal ambition is the greatest asset of young adulthood and vice versa.
When I think back to that 7-year period of my life, chasing ambition was the central theme of my life’s “movie” and Jay-Z’s music made up much of its score. In his lyrics, Jay has said that he is “the voice of the young people” and “mouthpiece for hustlers”. Jay’s music reflected my mindset and described my level of hustle during this period of ambition and innocence in my life. (I think it’s worth noting that Jay released two albums widely considered to be classics during my “7-year period of great ambition”, Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint).
Now that I’m 33, if Reasonable Doubt came out today in 2011, I don’t think I would hear it the same as I did back when it was released in 1996 when I was 19. I’m still confident and I’m still ambitious, but my mindset is more cautious than daring. My hustle still “moves” but sometimes I feel like I’ve “lost a step”. My uncle laughs at this because he tells me that I’m way too young to feel so old (he’s 50). He’s right, but when your failures outweigh your successes, before long you’re no longer asking, “Can I Live?” (My favorite record from Jay’s Reasonable Doubt album), instead you start wondering “When Do I Die?” (Of course I’m being facetious).
My wife’s cousin’s conversation on New Year’s Day reminded me of the ones I had with whomever would listen to me when I was his age. I found out-as he will, that the things you want to do (regardless of how smart and ambitious you are) are much easier said than done. But how can you not respect his mind and his hustle? (To be clear, he is much more focused than I was when I was his age) Frankly, too many people his age are all swagger with a dull intellect and a lackadaisical hustle. So it’s always refreshing to see younger hustlers not just talk a good game but also show and prove that they are what they say they’re worth.
In 2011, I’m chasing ambition as if it’s 1996 and Reasonable Doubt just came out. But because I’m older, wiser and more experienced-in my early 30’s, I believe that I can properly channel my ambition and turn it into strong, solid and sustainable success in ways that I was unable to do in my early 20’s.
As we start this New Year, I would like to encourage you to chase ambition regardless of your age. If you’re older than 25, renew that hunger for success and use your knowledge and experience to give your ambition a greater chance of coming to fruition. If you’re living that 7-year period right now, this is your time, BUT you won’t shine if you don’t grind.
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Comments
Jay is the living example, really the living example, forget all the cliche stuff. You people saw Jay's white Mercedes with the ROC logo right. He was putting out that cd my niccas.
Nowadays times is hard, people are sick, everything over saturated, so you gotta hustler harder then Jay did. Its your time now. The best thing to do is to find something negative in your mind and use that as petrol to gain positive shit.
I will also be dropping some stuff on how to make money and other fun things. The year has begun!
Iceberg Slim niccas!
Rob