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What's Your Jesus Walks?

9 years ago Author By cumeadi

“I guess they was lookin’ at me crazy cause you know, cause I ain’t have a jersey on or whatever everybody out there listen here. I played them ‘Jesus Walks’ and they didn’t sign me…..”- Last Call, Kanye West

Arguably one of the best endings to a cd … ever… Last Call gives us Kanye’s extended origin story. Kanye guides the listener in an unique blend of lyrics and conversational story telling to understand  the transition and challenges on his quest from a beat maker to a rapper.

One of the pivotal points in the story for the listener is when he talks about his relationships with A&Rs (Artists and repertoire (A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and/or songwriters…..thank you Wikipedia.) and how they responded to his unique style. Kanye was trying to persuade the music industry trend setters that he was more than capable of being the rapper they wanted but on his terms. “I played them ‘Jesus Walks'” he states.

Why Jesus Walks? Jesus Walks was one of the boldest songs on College Dropout. It took a taboo topic like religion and put it right in the spotlight of hip-hop. It was such an edgy song….. A song that could be uber successful or fail miserably. Yet, this was the song he led with…. Early in his career, he led with a risky song. College Dropout had a bunch of bangers that he could have easily used instead, but he led with Jesus Walks.

3 big lessons here…

  1. Most gate keepers suck at evaluating talent. They are exceptionally efficient at maintaining status quo.
  2. Succeed amazingly or fail fantastically. It’s a waste of an opportunity to take the middle road on a big gamble.
  3. Believing is really half the battle. Kanye proves this again and again.

When it comes through the wire (you see what I did there?), what’s your Jesus Walks? What character trait, product, or service do you lead with that sets you apart from others? Are you fearless enough to share it?

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Little Things Make a Big Difference

9 years ago Author By cumeadi

I remember my first varsity football game in high school. I was a junior  and we were playing Oak Lawn High School as the first game of the season. We were in the locker room getting ready for the game and our head coach came in at the time and was furious after he noticed a couple of the players decided not to wear the team socks. Instead, they decided to wear a pair of new Under Armour long tubed socks.

He brought the team together and chewed us out. I don’t remember much of what he said, but a small clip sticks with me up till this day.

“It’s the little things, like not wearing team socks, that will get you beat.”

I remember laughing on the inside….”There’s no way not wearing team socks will lose us this game. We’ll lose for other reasons but not team socks.”

We lost our season opener. We lost because we failed to play as a team against a pretty solid school.

That game serves an as a reminder the little things matter. Our minor  inability to coordinate as a team on socks that led to major malfunctions on the field, which led fewer stops defensively and less offensive conversions.

People forget to focus on the smaller, less glamorous things in life but they fail to realize that they’re missing out on big opportunities just by doing the little things.

What are the little things? Here’s a list:

  • Returning phone calls or emails at a timely manner
  • Taking the time out of your day to listen to someone
  • Waking up a 30 minutes earlier than you need to
  • 2 extra cups of water a day
  • An extra text to tell someone you care about them
  • A phone call to check on your clients

All of the above are small acts individually, but when combined, they change people’s perception of you and how you perceive those around you.

“It’s the little things that will get you beat.”