The One Thing You Should Retain From 'JEEN-YUHS'
Kanye really does love Kanye……
And that might not be such a bad thing.
Hear me out here.
When I watched JEEN-YUHS, I thought to myself:
If you believe in yourself a fraction of what Kanye did at the beginning of his rap career - you are bound to go far.
Watching that man play his records for Music Executives who either 1) completely ignored him, or 2) straight up walked out of the room on him, was nothing short of inspiring.
How many times have you tried so hard at something, to in return, have people show no regard for your efforts? Did you crumble at their complete and utter dismissal? Or did you disregard their cold response and keep working on what you believed in?
Kanye went in and out of those Music Executives offices until they finally listened. He had persistence. He tried over and over again. No matter what! He showed up as his full self, retainer and all. Taking it out to rap along, he continued. Even when he felt the effects of them not listening, he continued. Then he’d pop that retainer right back in, and walk out of the building with his head held high. That’s more than some of us can say or do in the same situation (even without a teeth straightening device!).
Watching this part of his story really did something to me. Witnessing his childlike abandon. I literally wanted to give the man a hug. He was relentless with his craft. Small payoffs came. And when Pharrell was absolutely wowed by what he created, it was such a moment. Pharrell could see greatness.
Even better was watching the bond Kanye had with his Mother. There is something to be said about a mother-son relationship with so much connection and affection, without appearing to be enmeshed or overbearing. She saw all the value he brought to the world and expressed how wonderful that is - directly to him. The ability for a grown man to connect with their Mother in that way was so beautiful. You could see how her influence physically came over his face and being with immense joy.
One day, when Kanye went to visit his Mother with Coodie, Donda said to Kanye: “The giant looks in the mirror and sees nothing”. She was explaining that the giant's narcissism and arrogance took over his greatness so much that it made him no longer great.
She knew her son. She was asking him - if a great person sees themselves as great, are they really that great? She knew he was prone to get caught in his own ego.
This is an interesting concept. Let’s decode it for a minute.
Most of us look at people who place themselves on a pedestal and have disdain for them. We think it’s disgusting how highly they regard themselves. But if you think about it, there is a certain amount of believing in yourself that you need at the beginning of the journey to becoming great at anything. You have to believe in your why of why you do what you do and you have to believe in what you bring to the table to make that reason come to fruition.
When you finally reach the level of success that brings you clout or leverage, that is when there should be a denouement. That is when you should be reminded to find the proper grounding. Knowing who you are and how you hone your craft. “If you remember to stay on the ground, you can be in the air all at the same time.” -Donda
But you know what else? Donda hated false humility. And I agree…to a point.
If you really are good at something, you probably know it. And that’s great!! Acknowledge that you just might be! But perhaps we can add a few other points to the conversation.
Acknowledge the:
Process - the steps that you took to get where you are.
People - that helped you.
Pace - at which you worked.
Maybe if you can acknowledge these things, it might not be so difficult to digest when you walk into a room. Then others can learn from your journey and be successful too.
Is Kanye a little crazy? Sure. But aren’t we all to some extent?
People are complicated. We can achieve so many things if only we persist and pursue loving who we are and what we bring to life. If there is anything we can learn from Kanye, it’s this. You can hold fast to who you are and retain that forever.
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