After The Walking Dead came Stranger Things and, well, I watched that in two days. In my defense, as of the time I’m writing this, there’s only one season! Don’t judge me too harshly. As expected, Stranger Things inspired me to start thinking about sci-fi themes and supernatural abilities. I immediately wanted to feature more children in my videos because apparently they’re all more talented than me. And if these shows didn’t directly inspire me to think about content differently, they definitely inspired my jokes. While I was watching these shows, I’d reference them constantly in my videos, and my audience LOVED it. They enjoyed knowing that I was as invested in the characters as they were and, more than anything, they loved knowing that we both watched the same shows. It’s made my content that much more relatable.
In addition to watching shows, I also schedule inspiration by taking breaks from my work and using that time to watch interviews of people I admire. If I’m struggling to write a comedy script, I’ll watch an interview with Rebel Wilson or Amy Schumer. If I’m struggling to write lyrics, I’ll watch an interview with Nicki Minaj or Drake. I think there’s something so inspirational about hearing about other people’s experiences and what drives them. It’s almost like they’re lending you some of their fuel or giving you a boost with spiritual jumper cables. Hearing someone so accomplished talk about their struggles and successes has definitely become crucial inspirational fuel for me. Therefore, I make time to watch a decent number of interviews every week. It’s my version of taking a break in a meaningful way—a productive break, if you will.
Sometimes we go too long with our gas light on and our car stops in the middle of the road. Everyone is honking at you and you’re just staring straight ahead in complete frustration, pretending not to hear them. HELLO, I AM NOT HERE BY CHOICE. It’s not impossible to get your car going again, but it’ll definitely take some more work. You’ll have to call a tow truck or walk to the nearest gas station, buy an overpriced gas container, fill it up, and walk back to your car.
You can expect the same to happen when you’ve been hustling for a long time without refueling. While I was planning my first tour, I spent every waking moment working on the creative for a good few weeks. One evening I caught myself feeling dead inside and I knew my hustle had halted on the side of the road. People were honking at me. And by people, I mean my production team, who were waiting for my final show script. I got up and walked away from my work. I headed straight to my room and zoned out for a bit. That night I was supposed to go out with a few friends and my brain was dreading it, since I was already so completely drained of energy. I couldn’t bear the thought of having to be social. Instead, I canceled my plans and spent the night watching the Beyoncé documentary. As I sat there alone, it was like Beyoncé was speaking to me, because so much of what she was saying was what I was feeling at the time (and also because I wish she was my BFF). In tears, I watched as Queen Bey gave me all the wisdom and knowledge I needed. Through her story, I could feel my needle moving from empty to full. The next morning, I woke up with new purpose and a reignited desire to work on my tour. Lemonade was flowing through my veins.
When you’re sick, you get into bed and allow yourself to heal. When your hustle is not feeling well, you should prescribe it some inspiration and do the same. I canceled my plans that night because my hustle needed healing. Here are a few suggestions for what to watch to jump-start your inspiration:
??The documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
??The documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me
??The documentary Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream
??A Trip to Unicorn Island, by yours truly innocent smile
Having said all of this, I now drive an electric car, so I don’t deal with the nuisance of getting gas. I don’t need to refuel my car, just my hustle, and I take that task very seriously. All I have to do now is remember to plug in my car and … crap.
HOOOOOOOOONNNNKKKKKK.
WHAT IF EVERY DAY were Christmas and you could ask Santa for whatever you wanted in life? Sometimes you’d get what you asked for because you were nice, but other times you wouldn’t because you were a naughty brat. Well, life is kind of like that except that every day isn’t Christmas; it’s an opportunity to hustle. And Santa doesn’t exist (I was paid off to say this! Keep believing, kids!), but you can still get what you ask for if you work hard enough. Every day you can close your eyes and imagine all the things you want. A Bawse doesn’t just know what they want for Christmas; they know what they want from life. They have visions.
Don’t get weirded out. I’m not going to get all sci-fi on you. And I won’t tell you to have visions about the future and predict horrific tragedies because the last thing we need is another Final Destination movie. We get it. You can’t escape death. Just like we can’t escape that story line. However, I am going to explain the importance of two types of visions: vision boards and visualization.
I’m sure this is not the first time you’ve heard of a vision board. That’s because it’s not a concept I made up. It’s a pretty well-known device that most people know from the book and film The Secret. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then yes, I invented vision boards.
A vision board is a piece of paper, a piece of Bristol board, or a chalkboard—any surface, really—that has images of all the things you want to obtain in life. The idea is to collect images that represent your goals and paste them onto the board to create a collage. Then you place the board someplace where you will see it often, reminding you of your goals. I’ve made two vision boards so far in my life and can tell you firsthand that they have positively impacted my hustle and my mind. Here are three reasons you should have a vision board:
“A BAWSE DOESN’T JUST KNOW WHAT THEY WANT FOR CHRISTMAS; THEY KNOW WHAT THEY WANT FROM LIFE.
Creating a vision board gives you clarity about what your goals are. People know they have to work really hard, so they do, but sometimes they’re unsure of what they’re really working for. What’s the goal? After all, you can’t get what you want in life if you don’t know what you want. Not having a clear understanding of what your goals are is like not putting an address into a GPS before driving. Something like “money” isn’t a clear goal. How will you ever know if you’ve made enough money to achieve your goal of making money? Does money mean a nice tux or a private jet? Set clear goals and define them with clear images. You can’t hustle toward a blurry picture because you’ll never know if you’ve gotten there. Create a vision board and be honest about what you want. If you want a nice car, put it on there. If you want a six-pack, put it on there. If you want to travel the world, put it on there too. If you want to date Channing Tatum, same—but that might not work. Everything else, though, PUT IT ON THERE! Now you know what you’re aiming for.
Creating a vision board helps you to be self-aware, which, it goes without saying, is a key Bawse quality. Success is subjective. For some people, success means owning a yacht; for others, it means being a good parent; for still others, it means running a 10K marathon. When you begin pasting your goals onto a board, you can have a better understanding of how you define success. Your vision board will be filled with all the things you think are important—and what you think is important is very telling. Taking a look at your vision board can often help you understand why you make the decisions you make. If you’re unsure why you love to work late nights at the office even though your fiancé hates it, the picture of a CEO’s desk on your vision board might be the answer. Or maybe it’s the picture of a stack of money.