So yes, about a couple of weeks ago I tried out for a rap battle league called GrindTime. Lo and behold, I’ve been asked to battle again this July 25th and have been very excited about it. Not only it is a sign of The Law Of Attraction working for me, it is also one of those things where I feel as if I am pretty decent at this. And it’s fun as hell ! GrindTime is a written, acapella rap battle league so we know who we are gonna battle usually 2 – 4 weeks before.  So preparation plays a big role. Of course, like any sports we play, there is a winner and a loser. Someone is gonna die and someone is gonna live. And there’s such a simple beauty in that.

The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing

Instead of worrying about this and that, I know that the most important thing I need to keep my mind on is the actual battle itself. When we are about to compete, everything just kind of calms itself down. It doesn’t matter if I was late for work, or some girl won’t go on a date with me or someone cut me off in the road. The battle is all that matters. That’s it. Most of the time, the victory goes to the person who has prepared the most. Which is why it’s important to remind ourselves, get back to practicing !

The Joy Of Repetition

It is so true when they say practice makes perfect. Every elite athlete will tell you they’ve spent thousands and thousands of hours doing the same thing over and over again. That’s really the secret to their greatness. The discipline that comes with being able to produce amazing results is usually it’s own reward. It’s fun having a purpose! And doing it over and over again. And you better believe I am going to be prepared.

The Awesomeness Of The Actual Moment

Getting in the zone, the flow or whatever else people like to call it is one of the best joys we can experience in life. Just playing the game we’ve worked so hard to get really good at makes all those hours we spent worthwhile. Nothing compares to the people watching, enjoying what we’re doing. A moment just so simple and satisfying. When we compete, we actually did something that day. Think of all the days when it felt like we just kinda let it pass by. Well, there’s that feeling after a game when we feel, “Allright! I did something worthwhile today!”

Winning

Of course, I love winning. Winning is the culmination of hard work we’ve put in whatever it is we’re trying to accomplish. It is proof that we went for something we want and got it. And seriously one of the best feelings in the world!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uASVzkrEKgs

There are so many things going on with this speech! I love it! Not only do I feel as if I was meant to hear this, mostly because it was on a good friend’s cd, but I feel this speech perfectly encapsulates everything a person needs to succeed.

Let me tell you something you already know….

The World Ain’t Sunshine And Rainbows.

Aint that the damn truth!  Bad things will happen, people will disappoint us and everything will feel pretty hopeless sometimes. It’s very easy to think that we can never get what we want. Never feel like a winner at anything we try because it just feels whatever we try doesn’t seem to work. But the REAL truth is, we can have whatever it is that we want. The world will test us over and over again on just how badly we want something. When we fail, people just need to realize there are just TEMPORARY DEFEATS. keyword is temporary. And as long as we understand, then it makes a lot easier to deal with what needs to be done.

It Ain’t About How Hard You Can Hit. It’s About How Hard You Can Get Hit And Keep Moving Forward!

So yes, people will throw every criticism at you. Really bad things will happen that will make it seem like whatever your want is completely out of reach. And at times, you just feel like you don’t even know what your doing anymore. But if we study the life of every successful person, there is an endless amount of temporary defeats that they had to overcome to get where they are at. That’s why it’s so important to have the right goals and do something you love doing. We gotta make sure we’re taking these hits for the right reason.

Now If You Know What Your Worth, Go Out and Get What Your Worth! But You Gotta Be Willing To Take The Hits! And Not Pointing Fingers Saying You Ain’t Where You Wanna Be Because Of Him Or Her Or Anybody!

So yes, the simple truth is we can have whatever it is we want.  The number one thing we have to remember is we are responsible for everything in our lives. The very moment we start blaming outside circumstances, we give away that power.  There are some things we just can’t control, but we can always control how we respond to it. And the more we accept our ability to respond, then we find things just start falling into place. and we start getting what we want and what we deserve.

so yea, this speech is awesome!

and everyone download the homie Ideal’s mixtape, Just A Sample !

Spontaneity has ALWAYS been a challenge for me.

Planning has always been something I’ve had to do. Its comfortable. It’s nice. And everything feels like it’s under control. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve had the idea about this one particular post for a while.

But whenever thoughts of it came to my mind, I pushed it away. Knowing the blank textpad will be there to greet me. Waiting for whatever I need to say.

I am scared.

Don’t analyze. Don’t analyze anything. Don’t even have a point. So many rules to everything.

What if I wrote about nothing?

Who exactly am I writing for?

Is everything gonna be ok?

Should I write about how LOST only has 4 hours left? How awesome this comedy book by Mike Bent is?

or should I be more direct. Reaching out to embrace the random. Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

I think the most important thing has always been the writing. and the struggle to not do this for anyone else. Only me. That by putting the words down, I know I am doing exactly what I need to be doing at this moment. No need to help anyone.

Because just maybe everyone’s life is going exactly the way it needs to be.

That it’s ok to rest. No plans. Just saying exactly what is on my mind. No need to correct anything.

That it’s ok to not know.

I love that Brother Ali quote from the song Life Sentence.

It’s so true!

If your doing something you love and not trying to be the very best, WHY EVEN DO IT AT ALL?

Seriously?? Why bother? I mean its cool to have side hobbies that enrich our lives, but there should always be that one thing. That one thing that we choose to do that we know we can do better than anyone else in the ENTIRE world.

And I mean JUST STRAIGHT UP CRUSH EVERYONE ELSE!!!!

The kind of thing that when we wake up, it’s all we want to do.
The kind of thing we go to work, we come back home, it’s all we want to do.
The kind of thing that we know if we do it enough, it will become our work!
The kind of thing we go to the bars and clubs, we come back, it’s all we want to do.
The kind of thing we want to share with everyone.

And by sharing, I really mean competing with other people to see how far we’ve come. But at the same time, we know doing it is simply the only thing that matters.

Competition brings out the very best in us. Respect. Dedication. Life. Achievement.

To me, it really is the best way to see how far we’ve come and to be able to share that one thing with others who are after the same goals as you.

You know you’ve found that one thing your suppose to do when it’s all you can think about.

You just know in your bones.

Studies show it takes 10,000 Hours to get AMAZING at anything. So instead of being jealous of other people, gossiping, or complaining about how bad you think you have it (you dont, trust me), you should go find that one thing.

And be the best at it.

So even with the truth that life is suffering. And that holding on to anything is the cause of suffering. There is a reason to smile.

The third noble truth of Buddhism states that there is an end to suffering and that happiness is VERY possible.

That’s it. Simple as that!

WHAT GREAT NEWS!

This literally means we have nothing to worry about! We can say, ‘ENOUGH!” That the fact everything changes can work for us. Anything that’s been bothering us need not to define us in a permanent way.

There is  a way to be happy =)

Everyone deserves to be content and living the life they want to live. Starting with ourselves.  The Buddha was saying that with work and continually asking the right questions, we can all be free.

Until of course we realize the one answer that matters.

That we are all capable of answering.

We are here and now.

Having this kind of optimistic view allows us to change the quality of our life in so many ways.

What We Deserve

The simple truth is, this might be the only life we have and sometimes it doesn’t help to take too much time contemplating what happens after. THIS IS IT! (like the Michael Jackson movie) Everything that’s ever existed deserves to be happy. Simply because we exist.

There Is Always A Reason

Everywhere we look, there is always something going on and a reason to celebrate. The Buddha tells us if we take the time to REALLY pay attention to what is going on, no matter where we are, then we will find something to be thankful for.

Giving

Knowing there are infinite amount of reasons to be optimistic, it’s a lot easier to share it. It just feels good to help another person realize that they are deserving to be content and happy too. That sharing what we have is the best way to exist.

We realize that happiness is VERY possible, for others and ourselves !

Most people would rather be unhappy than to risk being happy.

I guess I just don’t get it.

They stay at their dead-end jobs, are too afraid to tell the person they like how they actually feel, and/or drown themselves in whatever helps them forget about their situation.

Change is scary.

We can come up with the most terrifying scenarios in our mind.  “I’m gonna lose all my money.” “She’s gonna say no.”  “All my friends are gonna think I’m an idiot for going for this.”

But ask yourself, “what’s the worse that could happen?”

seriously.

We’re scared of change because we don’t think we can handle the consequences. But the truth is, as long as we’re alive, we will always bounce back if we want to. No matter what it is.

The second noble truth of Buddhism states that holding on to anything IS the cause of suffering.

People sometimes hold on to this perfect idea of how everything should go in their heads. We should say this and our lives should be like that. And we get caught up in our heads and don’t take the risks we should be taking.

so how do we slowly de-attach ourselves from being so afraid of taking risks??

By taking little ones day by day.

A simple hello to a stranger. Telling someone how we really feel. Even trying out something different from the fastfood menu. And from there you keep going and going. we accept we’re scared as hell! keep going. fall. and then keep going.

How does this help?

Because we slowly learn to accept the simple truth.

That we really can handle ANYTHING that comes our way.

I am trying to be one of the greatest of all time.
If you ain’t doing that, your just wasting your time

-BROTHER ALI  “LIFE SENTENCE”

A lot of my closest friends think I am delirious. And trust me, I’ve given them lots of reasons throughout the years to believe it.  Maybe years of being bombarded with success quotes, movies like The Matrix, and TOOL songs have completely warped my mind.

I kinda compare it to the same way girls got their ideas of Prince Charming through Disney movies.

People settle for so little. Whether its their jobs. their relationships. They get stuck in their own little cubicle and wonder where their life went.

Sometimes, I just don’t understand why you shouldn’t shoot for your own personal Super Bowl, your own Dark Tower, your own Prince Charming or Mary Jane Watson.

Your own personal slice of heaven. Fuck it!

Why stop at a slice when the universe is willing and abundant??

There Is Every Reason To Accept Our Own Greatness

The problem is, most people do stop. They’re scared. Failure “might” be too much to handle. But the truth is, unless whatever your afraid of actually kills you, then the situation has only made you stronger by experiencing it. So embrace every event, whether big or little.

Most people are actually afraid of their own potential.  It takes work.  Most people are actually worried that success will drive people away or yikes…. the fact that we’ve had the power to better ourselves 5 – 10 years ago. Or…. that we can actually set this change in motion….right now !

We’re made to be awesome !

Fortune Favors The Bold

Successful People = crazy people.
Successful People = knowing what we want
Successful People = surrounding yourself with people who push you to keep going
Successful People = SuccessFul People

Keep My Prize On The Eyeballs (slug from atmosphere)

One of the greatest traits about people who don’t settle is the fact that not a lot seems to bother them.  They wake up everyday with a purpose. When you don’t settle and go for what you want, you start to develop a lazer like focus that will shield you from negative emotions that plague normal people. When you go for what you want, you truly are spending time doing what you love and made to do.

A Life Worth Living

One great exercise that I got from Stephen Covey is looking back at your own funeral. When your examining the event with your third eye, what is that you see? What is it everyone that is saying? Is everyone there just to be there or is everyone talking about someone that really went for it and achieved things?

Are You Happy?

There is a certain satisfaction you get from going for what you really want to.

Whatever it is.

But of course, only people who go for it…. actually know the feeling.

———SPOILER ALERTS ——-

I have to admit, the ideas of the post came to me while I was in the shower.

Some of my initial thoughts beforehand included

“DAMNIT ROCKY! what am I gonna write about??!”

“I gotta make it good, it’s my first post of the year!”

“But it’s no big deal I mean come on, my new year’s resolution is simplicity so what the hell?! why am I making such a big deal out of this.”

I knew I wanted to write about The Hangover. Why? Because I just did. I felt the sudden urge to rent and write about it. Great movie! Definitely had its moments and an awesome storyline. But after watching it, I was still like “oh oh…. what’s this movie trying to tell me??”

Then it hit me.

sometimes you just have to use what’s given to you

Those guys got into some really funny shieet.  One of the best things about the movie is the way they try to put the pieces back together to figure out where their missing friend is. I mean come on we’ve all been in those situations (God…. I can write a whole other blog about the adventures of The Incredible Rocky) where we wake up after a night of drinking and we’re just like “oooohh no….” Sometimes, when we’re given a task, all we can really do is see what’s around us and make the best of it.

always be aware of what’s there for you

One of the subplots of the story was how Stu married Jade. yea I am a sappy romantic. I mean come on Stu was about to fall into a terrible situation with his current girlfriend, but due to fate, he meets Jade who really likes him. warms my heart =)

it’s just gonna come to you

I wish it was easier to sit back and let the ideas come to us. I know I am definitely a person who will worry themselves to death trying to look for something, when all of a sudden, BAM!!!! There’s the idea I was looking for. After things seemed hopeless, the whereabouts of their missing friend came to them just like that. I know some of my best ideas always come out of nowhere, all we gotta do sometimes is go on an adventure with our friends and see where the nights take us.