“I have no mothafuckin’ fear… I have no fear, I have only ambition, and I want mine, and I will do anything to protect and feed my family, and these niggas represent a threat ‘cause I worked too hard on this.” – Tupac Shakur

“For me, I can’t worry about what everyone says about me…every night when I walk into that locker room, I see number 6 with James on the back – I’m blessed. So what everyone says about me off the court doesn’t matter, I ain’t got no worries” – Lebron James

I’m not a Lebron fan, but that speech compelled me to write this ventilation of soul. Now, why would I use Tupac & Lebron James quotes back to back? One had no fear; the other has no worries, and somewhere in the back of my mind, Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds is playing because of that significant message that has been following me for as long as I can remember. Everyone (athletically, professionally, socially) draws comparisons from every and anything – it’s only annoying when it gets repeated over and over again as if we didn’t hear you push to make your points the first time, and what people fail to realize is that there are different people for different times. J. Cole said it best in an interview with Elliott Wilson: “You have to allow new legends” and there’s nothing but truth to that. You can draw comparisons to whoever you want, but at the end of the day there are still major contrasts in individuals that nullify them. So when it comes down to you and your life and you’re trying to compare yours with someone else’s, I ask – what’s the point of all that?

The greatest thing someone can do for themselves is know themselves and appreciate what it is that they have to offer – not to look down with disdain because you don’t have something that they have (‘they’ being the other people you want to have the lives of). When you’ve been through certain situations, you gain confidence out of them and it helps make you a stronger person through and through, so when Lebron James stated that he had no worries after winning his 2^nd straight finals (as the bitter taste in my mouth grows), I could actually believe that he literally had none. Now, this is for the people who live paycheque to paycheque; who have to plan efficiently how to pay next month’s rent; how to put food on the table and clothes on their back – I’ve been there, it’s not easy, but the point here is that I’ve come out of those situations over and over and have witnessed it for my own eyes seeing the lives of others. Life gets crazy and it is hard not to worry about how you’re going to make that next credit card payment when letters and notifications of your missed payments keep piling up – it’s stressful, but if you at least have a plan of what you want to do, then there’s no stopping you; you only stop yourself.

Tupac was passionate about his music because he wanted to protect what was his and the fact that he was either perceived as a hero or a villain (depending on which side of the fence you were on). He spoke out to the masses through his music, but as a person you understood that he was like this wild animal that could hardly be contained. I know that there’s something inside of everyone that has doubt – it’s human nature, we all have doubt about ourselves in life regarding whatever situation. The thing is that how can you cloud the doubt with confidence and do what you have to do? If you’re heading into (or currently working in) a skilled profession, then understand that it’s you against a lot of people, but how do you differ? Why should you have the position more than the other person? It’s a mind game that you have to play with yourself, but if it’s something that you want, you’d be confident to go about getting it, right? It only makes sense. I’m still overcoming looming clouds of doubt and gaining more self-confidence, but the point is that I’m doing it – not just talking about it and having it linger on. Life is not meant for you to be stagnant – you have to always grow, and having no worries about what’s coming is something that you should take into effect if you haven’t already, because life is to be enjoyed, not feared. Embrace change and what comes with it – you’ll benefit in more ways than one.

That’s My Word & It STiXX