That’s a tough one…
I wake up in the morning believing that I have something positive to give back to the world. It’s the only reason why I get up.
That’s it.
As some of you already know; I grew up with my grand parents.
My grandpa had Parkinson’s disease throughout the time that I lived there.
I remember seeing my grandma running around for him. Literally running. Waking up early in the morning to wash him down, dress him up, help him out, prepare his medicine, feed him, even prepare food for us and take care of that small apartment we lived in.
She was 80 and still running to the grocery store while carrying a bunch of bags; she did that with no f%#!n problem. Strong as a bull; waking up with a purpose:
“If you’re doing something today Lennie, make sure it’s something good” – she would say.
The intent behind the move was always what really counted.
The day my grandpa passed away, me and my brother had already moved out; my grandma was left alone. No reason to wake up in the morning anymore… her lover was gone.
I was gone.
My brother was gone.
No more getting out of bed.
She started smoking, lost a part of her mind and slowly let herself die.
No more purpose. No more spark keeping her beautiful soul alive.
I remember being alone with her on the morning before she passed. I was playing a “Charles Aznavour” playlist on my phone. She couldn’t talk but I just knew what she was saying to me:
-Looking at me with a soft smile like: “Lennie, I’ve served my purpose, you’re a big boy now, it’s time to serve yours; everything will be ok”.
Even with my fists clenched and my eyes blurry; I’ve learned something that day.
The things I’ve seen, the things I’ve lived and the blessings I’ve received made me the man I am today.
They’re here to be shared. They’re here to inspire the world and to help the people around me.
And I believe this to be true for most people.
Behind everyone’s presence; there’s a story.
Why would anyone want to take that away? That’s all we have; ourselves, our story.
Why would you enter the doors of a corporation at 9am, act a certain way, leave at 5pm and act a different way? Now I’m not talking about bringing the pain and the excitement of your life in the office; I’m saying that being true to your values and who you are must be brought everywhere you go: including at work.
Whether it’s in the form of a dream, a position, a business transaction, a partnership, a speech, a sport, a song, a music video, a fashion statement, an opinion, it’s all part of the same person. All of it. Not just the business position.
There’s so much more to a person than a simple title.
Even in my world, sometimes I’ll hear things like…
“is Lennie a serious CEO?”
“Why is Lennie putting any energy in music? What’s up with the talks he’s giving?
“What’s with the tatts, the earrings? The videos? Where’s the suit at?”
I feel that life is like the stock market: The pundit will speculate on misinformation, the average investor will bet accordingly, and the shark will get rich by betting big at the right time holding the right information.
How can you find the best employees or bet on a Founder if you only look at the first layer of the onion; especially if you’re betting on something as complicated as a human being.
Society created this complicated algorithm to keep most of us numb and burn anyone that’s stirring away from the mold.
Why do people get so shocked if they can’t put a label on you?
-Does it defy your comfort zone?
-Is someone capable of doing more than one thing successfully?
-Would you like to see me fail based on your own fears and limitations?
Maybe, maybe not.
The chains of the world are placed so tight around our creative compass and our critical thinking that we’ll often forget about all the positive things that can be achieved by “letting loose” and being ourselves.
I’ll admit; it’s not always easy for me to be all out creative and fully let loose. It’s tough; for real, for real.
The level of responsibilities I have often gets me to tackle heavy challenges on a regular basis. Even during my Sunday Recording Sessions; I’ll receive an email or a call which will completely chop my flow in half. It’s challenging, no doubt.
Sometimes it even comes as close as discouraging me from pursuing.
But sometimes, it will inspire me… Like I’ll hang up the phone and have like 16 bars in 15 minutes.
Life has this amazing ability of pulling you in different directions until you snap out of it and realize that after all; you remain the master of your own journey.
You know, I wasn’t always like this; it took some time for me to start accepting myself, presenting it to the world and do the things I love while still co-existing with the “sometimes-more-traditional” business world.
I guess what I’m trying to say is this:
· You sleep 8 hours.
· You wake up.
· You put on a costume and go to work.
· You play a character in the matrix for another 8 hours.
· You come back home, play a game, watch YouTube or Netflix until you’re numbed enough that you can peacefully escape reality and fall asleep.
· Rinse and repeat. You’re in the presence of a pattern.
I did that.
I promise you one thing; patterns can be broken and must be broken to embrace who we really are.
I’ll try putting things in perspective:
· You sleep 8 hours.
· You wake up.
· You put on a costume and go to work.
· You play a character in the matrix for another 8 hours.
· You come back home, play a game, watch YouTube or Netflix until you’re numbed enough that you can peacefully escape reality and fall asleep.
· You go back to work the next day and they’ve cut your position. You’re out.
· You just failed in something you never really enjoyed playing a character all this time.
All that for what? Financial security? Social status?
Let’s keep going…
· You come back home and take off your costume; Halloween is over ☹
· You’re now searching for your identity. Your purpose. Your real intentions.
· If you’re to fail again, why not try something you’re passionate about where you can truly be yourself?
· All the energy wasted on gaming, YouTube and Netflix can now be invested in your dreams.
· Your creative side starts coming out; I see more colors on your shirts now, fresh kicks, wait, what? Is that a tattoo? Damn, that’s a cool project that you’re working on…
· You get to understand yourself better but most importantly to love yourself better.
Putting your true self out there will attract the right people.
Put your real intentions forward and the right opportunities will appear.
Money will only account for a small part of the results;
Inner peace will be sitting all the way at the top.
Anyways, what do I know...
