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Fame and Hustle: 30 Life Lessons from Hip Hop's Elite

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    HUSTLEHARDERBLOG.COM PRESENTS

    FAME

    &HUSTLE30 LIFE LESSONS FROM HIP

    HOPS ELITE

    CHARLES THE CEO2010-2011 CEO INDUSTRIES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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    Table of ContentsIntroduction .............................................................................................. 4

    Young Guru ............................................................................................... 6

    Kenny Burns .............................................................................................. 8

    David Banner .......................................................................................... 10

    Nike ......................................................................................................... 12

    Tariq Elite Nasheed ............................................................................. 14

    Slim Thug ................................................................................................ 16

    Diddy ....................................................................................................... 18

    Pharrell Williams ..................................................................................... 20

    J. Cole ...................................................................................................... 22

    Tyrese Gibson ......................................................................................... 24

    Lil Wayne ............................................................................................... 26Chris Rock ............................................................................................... 28

    Robert Greene ........................................................................................ 30

    Will Smith ............................................................................................... 32

    Master P ................................................................................................. 34

    Jason Geter ............................................................................................. 36

    Ludacris ................................................................................................... 38

    Fabolous ................................................................................................. 40

    Soulja Boy Tell Em ................................................................................. 42

    Jas Prince ................................................................................................ 44

    Floyd Mayweather .................................................................................. 46

    Ice-T ........................................................................................................ 48

    Daymond John ........................................................................................ 50

    50 Cent ................................................................................................... 52

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    Birdman .................................................................................................. 54

    Dame Dash.............................................................................................. 56

    Kanye West ............................................................................................. 58

    Dave Chappelle ....................................................................................... 60

    Michael Jordan ....................................................................................... 62

    Jay-Z ........................................................................................................ 64

    Thanks ..................................................................................................... 66

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    IntroductionIt used to be that, our teachers and advisors were the only

    ones who gave us advice on matters of great import such as

    business and life lessons. Then, as our consciousness shifted to a

    reality that praised celebrities like kings and queens and yearned

    for a daily dose of their seeming wisdom, the very same wisdom

    that catapulted them into the limelight in the first place, we began

    to ask of them their words to those who wished to follow similarly

    in their footsteps. And thus, the first celebrity quote focused on

    how to succeed in real life was recorded. Even those who reacheda certain stature away from the screen and recording studio had

    something to say, a nugget of information that would ultimately be

    taken out of context and absorbed by the success hungry, and we

    began to see two distinct types of advice given: the somewhat

    useful kind and the drivel that had absolutely grounding in the

    world around us.

    Some celebrities have prospered from their own advice

    giving abilities via seminars and self-help books, even so in the hip

    hop realm like Damon John, Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles.

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    The fact remains that we who live the hip hop lifestyle and imbibe

    upon the waters of its culture enjoy hearing some real talk just as

    much as those who sign up for a Tony Robbins 5 day seminar. We

    just dont have to go to that far a length to get what were looking

    for.

    What youll find here is a collection of quotes from those

    influential in the hip hop culture with my take on the deeper

    meanings behind them. Theres a good chance you wont find

    anything life changing or truly thought provoking hereno grand

    assessments or any madness like that, just a simple overview of the

    game from some of its most successful players. Sound good? Well

    then lets get to it.

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    Young Guru

    I expect ME to be progressive for me.

    There is no one, not your mother, father, spiritual advisor

    or deity him/her/itself that will walk your path for you. Some have

    high expectations for you, others could care less if you get up off

    your ass and make something of and for yourself. Cold as that

    sentiment may come across, its the truth and youd be the wiser

    for learning early on that the gold stars and smiley faces you

    received on your in class quizzes back in the eighth grade doesnt

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    account for much once youve crossed the threshold into your

    adulthood.

    Just as Young Guru mentioned, the only person you should

    be readily relying on is yourself so why would you allow yourself

    the disappointment of not getting what you want from life? Being

    progressive for yourself means that when you realize that there is

    more to be done and youre worn down to the bone, you either

    forge on or figure out how to get it done within a reasonable

    timeframe. Being progressive for yourself means youll never have

    to apologize for going in half assed or sideline wishing. Progress

    begins in the mind and manifests outwards.

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    Kenny Burns

    You can only create brands if you become

    the brand itself.

    The buzzword right now is brand. Im sure that most saw

    the episode of Entourage where Ari Gold was serving that I can

    make you a brand like Coca-Cola pitch hotter than a Little

    Caesars $5 pizza to each and every client that came in the room

    and got inspired. The downside of the term is that it is often

    misconstrued. There is no such thing as a personal brand. You can

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    use expressions like creed, motto or slogan that defines your life

    goals and ambitions but unless you have a product to push, there is

    no brand.

    In the entertainment sector, its no different. Unless you see

    that the actor or rapper actually owns the company that produces

    the product, they are little more than cheerleaders and spokesmen

    for it, paid a salary to endorse. Thats part of the reason why I

    dont believe these cats on records boasting of multi-million dollar

    deals. If it isnt being reported on showing them in the drivers

    seat, their carefully crafted and maintained brand is meaningless.

    Rather than worry about how loud your brands image is being

    broadcast, create a quality service or product that cats can get

    behind. Theyll do all the positive brand enforcement youll ever

    need.

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    David Banner

    You have to stop waiting and begging for opportunities. Make your own.

    Looking for a deal or to get put on got played out in the late

    90s. No more do we have to stand outside the record labels office

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    trying to slide a demo into the grasp of an intern. You dont have

    to pound Craigslist all day long looking for a low paying (dont get

    it twisted either, EVERY job is low paying when you calculate

    what your time is REALLY worth) gig either. Now is the time to

    put yourself in the game by your own wits. Cant think of any

    hustle that fits you? Copy somebody elses and tweak it until you

    have your own spin on it.

    Like David Banner said, you have to take a chance on

    yourself. There is no other way to be successful in this world. If

    you are unwilling to do so, then youve already lost and should

    think about hanging it up right now. Youve seen people who have

    already and if no name comes to mind, look no further than the

    office. See that elderly lady whos been with them for the best part

    of 20 years? She gave up and gave in. She didnt realize the

    potential she had within herself and allowed herself to fall victim

    to the false security in exchange for her life. Nothing is more

    inspiring and depressing than this. Go get yours not because of

    some ass backwards capitalistic want but because you deserve it.

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    Nike

    Yesterday you said tomorrow.

    Excuses are like opinions and assholeseveryone has one,

    no one really wants to hear about yours and at the end of the day

    all you are left with is a lump only good for flushing. The number

    one reason things dont get done is procrastination, the feeling that

    youll do it later that comes up every time that later becomes

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    now. Trust me, when you look back at all of the opportunities

    wasted due to not wanting to get started, youll be kicking

    yourself. In the ass. Where that poor excuse resides.

    Wake up each day with a revamped sense of purpose,

    driven to see that day and only that day, as successful as you can

    make it. Your boys want to go hoop? Tell them wait until you

    polish off your to do list. The boyfriend want some QT (quality

    time if you didnt know), tell him to cool his jets; youve got some

    things to wrap up first.

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    Tariq Elite Nasheed

    Its not about how many times you hear

    no, its about how many times you ask.

    People are born with the word no on their lips it seems.

    Partly its due to a vested interest in their own comeuppance that

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    makes them tune out whenever you have a request. Instead of

    stopping every time someone turns you down, probe deeper and

    ask what about your pitch or product is unappealing to them and

    offer ways to fix it or at the very least fix it in time for the next

    person. Only the man who never hungers never opens his mouth

    constantly and as a young cat on the rise, that is something you

    simply cannot do.

    WIIFM or Whats In It For Me is old sales jargon that

    basically means that you could be offering the sky but make sure

    you mention the rain to the guy looking skyward. Everyone likes

    their interest met and youd do well to put that before your cause.

    Learn from the no you receive and apply that game to the next

    door you knock on.

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    Slim Thug

    Instead of buying diamond chains, go

    invest in something. You never see those

    outside hip hop wearing gaudy jewels.

    Thats damn true. I wont front though: in my youth I

    wanted a jewel encrusted medallion as much as anyone else (not

    the diamond kind though, I never liked diamonds that much) but as

    I got older and got into the game a bit more, I saw that the iced out

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    chains, grills and earrings were symbolisms of the terrible money

    choices made by not just rappers, but people in general. While the

    trinket may be different, the upside down home loan is just as

    useless as the leased Phantom. Instead of trying to keep up with the

    Joneses, create a prosperous situation by having a good yet not

    overly expensive car, a good, yet not too upside down residence

    and above all a modest mindset who values real value over the

    implied.

    Its okay to spend a little money on yourself and enjoy your

    success in a material sense. The problem comes in when you

    unbalance yourself financially, which will in turn unbalance you

    mentally and spiritually as you scramble to try to cover the

    quicksand like downward spiral.

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    Diddy

    Count your pennies. At first read youre thinking Diddy got jokes but this is a

    primo piece of game right here that many of us forget. Counting

    your pennies means you wont discount sources of income even if

    they are not your main ones. Actively keep tabs on every money

    route youre involved with and as you progress, keep tabs on themwith even greater scrutiny because they built the foundation for

    you to advance and honestly, every penny does count.

    Another way to look at it is by counting your pennies; you

    are consciously keeping yourself grounded. This in itself can be

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    difficult to do when youre seeing chips starting to roll in but

    remember nobody likes a big head.

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    Pharrell Williams

    Always be curious.

    Youd be surprised at just how many people arent.

    Theyve given in, given up or given out, too exhausted by the

    rigors of everyday life to entertain the idea of letting their mind

    explore. The left side of the brain becomes so heavily used that thelogistics it provides goes on autopilot and the dream no longer is

    deferred, but buried under car notes, daycare costs and egg shell

    appeasements of their bosses. Even if youre not the

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    entrepreneurial type, find a part of your day each and every day to

    let your mind wonder on things outside the norm.

    Creativity is a healing of the soul that needs to be there;

    without it, what separates us from the mechanical drones? Is there

    something on the back burner that has been there forever? Try

    tossing around ways to get that started. I promise it wont hurt and

    youll even be better for it. Find a nice quiet spot or lace up your

    walking shoes and just GO. Unsheathe the inner child in your head

    that would like nothing more than just to dream, just to create and

    innovate. I can think of few things better for your health than that.

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    J. Cole

    Have belief in yourself and put in hard work.

    Simple words that have been quoted and re-quoted so many

    times it would be impossible to count. What sets J.Cole apart from

    everyone else whos said something to that effect is how young he

    is and just how much you believe him when he says it. Why? Hes

    young, ambitious as hell and driven to deliver the best music he

    possibly can. Those two thoughts, complete in themselves but

    better together, make up the foundation that every good hustler that

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    has walked Gods green Earth has used to catapult him or herself

    skyward.

    No one will believe in you more than you, end of story. No

    one will work harder for you than you, again, end of story. If this

    comes across as a repeating theme, good, because it needs to be as

    solidly embedded in your subconscious as possible so that you will

    never forget, not even for one moment, that working hard will bear

    a positive fruit. Beyond a good result, doing both of these things

    builds a failure proof way of thinking that will spur you to action

    again and again.

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    Tyrese Gibson

    Employees who hang with other

    employees will only further their

    career as employees. Learn to hang

    with bosses and you will become one.

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    We tend to seek out comfort in those like us when, like

    Tyrese mentioned, we should be seeking out those in higher

    stations than our own. Ass kissing isnt necessary when you can

    offer genuine insight or good company. Either way, being around

    poor and broke minded people will yield no gold so look for ways

    to better your circle at your first available opportunity.

    I believe that Tyreses definition of a boss is similar to my

    own; someone who understands the ebb and flow of the game and

    is unwilling to get caught up in a negative tide. They would rather

    wade in a pool that would allow them the freedom to do as they

    want; nothing else will do and the same should go for you as well.

    There is no reason to be around those that look towards the Earth;

    not when theres so much to gain in the sky.

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    Lil Wayne

    School should not be optional but

    mandatory. I dont like unintelligent

    people.

    Aside from the fact that school is somewhat mandatory,

    Lil Wayne has a point with the disinterest in unintelligent people.

    I believe he alludes to not those that are book or street smart but

    world smartunderstanding that the only true progression is

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    within yourself and you cant do that if youre hanging on the

    block all day, the blogs all day or in the Xbox multiplayer mode all

    day. There has to be that intelligent spark within you that yearns

    for something better even if you dont know exactly what that

    something is.

    Unintelligent people do unintelligent things and the

    harshest part of it is that they dont care. They know that there are

    rules to the game but they dont care enough to implement them.

    They dont care enough to say, Waynes in the studio all day long

    learning how to make better music, as one of his entourage

    members, maybe I could learn a skill that could bring a new

    element to the table. And you wonder why that dude from the St.

    Lunatics got booted from the group. You dont work, you dont

    eat. You dont grind, you dont shine.

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    Chris Rock

    The difference between being rich

    and being wealthy is the ballplayer

    versus the owner.

    One of the few Jay-Z lines I remember went something like

    this: Fuck rich, lets get wealthy/ Who else gon feed we? You

    see that, to me, sits in the same vein as the Chris Rock quote

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    above. Youll find a billion and one books, seminars and

    motivational tools whose titles either begin or end with the word

    rich and I dont understand why anyone would want that flash in

    the pan status. Big Tymers epitomized it for me with their album

    Hoodrich ; theres no true staying power behind getting rich

    because until you cross over to wealth, real wealth, youre only a

    few bills away from being back in the red.

    The object of the game is to create a sustainable wealthy

    attitude first, one or more profit centers (or as we like to call them

    in the hood money routes) that will continuously cover your

    expenses second, and lastly funnel the excess cash flow into a main

    hustle that will put you over the top. Getting rich has no

    infrastructure behind it to continue it later on. Wealthy does. See

    the difference?

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    Robert Greene

    Events in life are neither good nor

    bad; theyre neutral.

    Im sure youve heard people praying for fate to bless them

    with good luck. Well, good luck on that. The same could be said of

    whatever deity you subscribe to having enough time to place

    his/her/it/their thumb(s) on your life and effect whether or not you

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    have a good day. Superstition and centuries old unfounded belief

    systems have taught us to praise when the favorable happens and

    reconcile when the bad comes around.

    To hustlers, there are only two periods in their lives that

    makes any difference at all: the opportune and inopportune times.

    The opportune times means that it is time to act and the

    inopportune times call for a roundabout way to do the former and

    still act. There is no better time to do what you need done; only

    that the time for it to happen hasnt yet approached fully. Good or

    bad favor is irrelevant when youre checking cheddar. If anything

    at all, be wary of the karma you release.

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    Will Smith

    Greatness lies on the edge of

    destruction.

    I certainly hope that greatness comes before you self

    destruct like 50 Cent but the sentiment behind the statement holds

    water. My take on it is that you have to be willing, mentally,

    physically and spiritually ready, to damn near exhaust yourself to

    get where you want to be. Sometimes, it takes that. More often

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    than not, it doesnt. Still, that youve conditioned yourself to the

    point where youre okay with the ultimate sacrifice is something

    within itself that must be commended, especially when you have

    guys telling you that it takes less than five hours a week to get

    there. Ive never seen it happen that way but maybe Im wrong.

    As fatalistic as Wills quote might come across, I see it as

    the greatest sense of hope and optimism to your future because

    win, lose or draw youve made peace with yourself and the end

    result whatever it may be. Angling for a positive return on this

    grand investment obviously is the goal but the secondary prize of

    totally appreciating your efforts is nothing to sneeze at either.

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    Master P

    You have to know your business and

    be everywhere you need to be to be

    effective in it.

    Knowing your Hustle as intimately as possible means that

    youre able to anticipate change; youre at the forefront of your

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    business, even if youre not the industry leader. Think of yourself

    as an independent artist even if you arent one. What angles must

    be covered? What person in what position do you have to make

    nice with in order to leap from your current plateau?

    Being in the game and being effective in it are two different

    things entirely and the latter is determined by how well you know

    your thing. Hustle was my thing so I became a master student in it.

    Whats yours? Better yet, what can you do right now to become

    more effective today than you were yesterday? Those are the kinds

    of thoughts that should be swimming in your head constantly.

    There is no room at all to rest on your proverbial laurels; press

    forward and like Master P said, be everywhere you need to be to

    see the greatest return.

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    Jason Geter

    Know your worth.

    This might just be my new favorite saying of all time. The

    majority of people never actually know their worth so they trade it

    for what others will pay for it.99% of the workforce in fact is made

    up of people like this and to me its sad. Its sad that they never

    took the time to look within themselves to see what theyre really

    amounting to. Not just in money, but in quality of life as well.

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    This is precisely why good enough is subpar. Perfection,

    while very hard to attain, at least gives you something to shoot for.

    Constantly redefining what youre worth, year by year, will ensure

    that youre never on the lowball end of the stick. One year, you

    may be worth $1M. The next, $1. Make your worth relevant to

    your current needs and wants but be as objective as possible

    because you are the last currency you want to inflate. Know your

    worth.

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    Ludacris

    If you dont take [your business]

    seriously, people have the right to

    criticize. If you do, they dont.

    Some might ask what right people have to criticize anyway.

    I believe in this instance, Luda was referring to just basically

    having your shit tight enough that others cant pry a nail in it.

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    That comes from being well versed in your Hustle, exercising a

    never learn enough attitude and being humble.

    Weve seen it before: the guy who struts around bragging

    and boasting is the one who unknowingly paints a giant red target

    on his forehead. Theres no reason for that behavior and if youre

    serious about these duckets, you need to keep a lower profile than

    normal because, as Snoop famously said, the game is to be told,

    not sold. Being the buffoon talking all wild out the side of his

    neck will get you zero respect.

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    Fabolous

    Swag doesnt pay the bills; better

    turn your Hustle on!

    Although weve officially left the age of swag, the

    sentiment is still very much true. There is far too much posturing

    and posing in the game right now and that, more than anything

    else, is what is getting cats caught up. Its okay to spend some

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    money on stuff that doesnt matter; it makes us feel good about the

    long hours spent to get there however if you arent handling your

    financial business smartly, what the hells the point?

    Pay your bills and taxes on time. Keep that damn credit

    card at the crib and only spend a small percentage a month on

    disposable happiness. I say this because the luxury taxes are just

    thattaxing you something fierce. That 3 dollars you spend on

    ATMs not tied to your bank adds up over time. Remember that.

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    Soulja Boy Tell Em

    If you weed out all the negative

    thoughts and focus on what you want,

    it doesnt matter how old you are, you

    will attain it.

    Negativity is the biggest killer of ambition anyone can

    have. So potent are the thoughts that you could have a PROVEN

    hustle that you second guess just on the strength of the negativity.

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    Its bad when you get it from friends, family and colleagues but

    absolutely detrimental when it comes from inside your own head.

    Looking at it analytically, there are two types of negativity that

    come up most often: pre-failure negativity and post-failure

    negativity.

    With pre-failure negativity, you could be however long into

    the process; just starting out or a couple feet from the goal line and

    that heavy, dark weight will sit on your shoulders until you either

    topple it from you by winning or you yourself fall. Post-failure

    negativity comes from the thinking that you will either not succeed

    the second time around or not be able to repeat the victory that

    came before. In either case, I dont care if you have to encase

    yourself in a Kanye West like artistically arrogant bubble or

    disassociate with those who would poke holes in your confidence,

    whatever you have to do in order to keep pushing, do it . All that

    can happen is theyll understand or they wont.

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    Jas Prince

    Wait broke the wagon.

    Theres a lot of emphasis on waiting for the right moment

    when in Hustle, EVERY moment is the right moment for

    something! Sure, there are times where a particular piece of the

    game is in the pocket of someone else and you have to wait on

    them to do something for you. Most of the time, if they themselves

    understand the Hustle, they wont be trying to hold you up and will

    get to it as quickly as possible because they know how it feels

    when it happens to them.

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    My thing is, there should always be some angle that you

    can work right now to help push everything along. If there isnt,

    then you have a real problem that will also come with a quick

    answer: either find someone else to do it faster, learn how to do it

    yourself to a degree that you will see progress, or leave it as is and

    work on option B. There should never be a discernable lull in your

    movements. Ever.

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    Floyd Mayweather

    If youre bullshit, youll be at the

    bottom with your kind.

    As blunt as that statement comes across, theres a ton of

    validity there. I almost see it as a double entendre of sorts; if

    youre bullshit about the way that you handle your business, youll

    have none. Whether it is a lack of caring or an outright swindlers

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    tendency, being bad for business is the worst thing you can be

    hands down. People understand being inexperienced as the natural

    order of things dictate that before you walk, you have to crawl a

    bit. No one is born with the game already thorough; it is up to you

    to care enough to learn the ropes.

    First you get into it, then you get effective, then you get

    efficient. Those out for the fast buck by any means necessary are

    the ones that become dream merchants eager to sell crap to the

    dumbest bidder. Think of the guys who offer MLM pyramid

    schemes and late night swap meet jewelry pseudo businesses.

    Theyre all grouped in together in the hell no section. The

    second part of what Floyds saying to me is that if youre bullshit

    in your work ethic, you will be classified as unreliable and tossed

    away into the pit of non-useful people.

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    Ice-T

    If you loan money to a friend, expect

    to lose one or the other.

    Money to me is like alcohol in that it acts as a gateway to

    peoples truer selves. All day long people can tell you that they

    love you and are down to beat the blockas long as theres no

    equity from them involved. It is when you introduce having to

    match sweat or money that cats get real funny style, real fast. If

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    money and time are the two gauges we use to evaluate everything,

    being in the red on both because of someone else is a cut too deep.

    In the literal sense, I hate loaning money to people a little

    bit less than I hate asking for it, which is something I near flat out

    refuse to do. You see, I dont like knowing exactly how much

    someone is worth and when they borrow an amount only to be

    slow on paying me back or not paying me back at all, theres only

    two ways to handle it. Either they pay me back slowly with reason

    (which I can understand, things do happen), or they pay me back

    slowly without reason (which I never understand). In the case of

    the latter, I will usually charge the debt to the game along with our

    relationship and move on. That same amount, be it a dollar or a

    dozen, determines to me just what worth they have and I rarely, if

    ever, forget debt owed.

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    Daymond John

    The status quo will get you nowhere.

    Truer words may not have ever been spoken. I talk a lot

    about being average in hustle+harder and on my blog but the

    language is universal: fence straddlers never get to where they aim

    for because they never make a decision on the side they favor.

    Doing just enough will get you just enough and in 2011 enough

    just isnt going to cut it. The status quo is no life to lead, especially

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    considering that you only have about 70 years on this rock. Do

    more, see more, be more than you were yesterday and reapply that

    same tone of thought every day you wake up.

    The reason I think for the majority of the mid-life crisis

    cases we see stems from the unhappiness that people foster when

    they arent following their ambitions. The new motorcycles, the

    affairs, theyre all linked to this truth that we never see before us,

    only in hindsight and its a shame. Seriously, never make do; do

    make.

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    50 Cent

    Who you know will put you on. What

    you know will determine how long you

    last.

    The only time you should be looking to get put on is in an

    internship. Outside that, supply a product or service to either be

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    bought, resold or cooperatively pushed. Thats it. Being in the

    correct circles will take you to the point where your audience is

    more influential than ever before. The time then is for you to use

    the identity you have to make your own moves. Everyone loves a

    good henchman but respects a good boss because of that same

    idea. Be wise to the business and apply information youve learned

    in and outside of it to further your cause.

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    Birdman

    Never hold on to old money; find new

    ways to flip it and make new money.

    This is the basis of bucket hustling; making chips using one

    means and investing it into another. The problem with most is they

    tend to blow the incoming profits on the things they want off top

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    instead of making it work for them further. Im not saying that you

    shouldnt have fun with your money however it shouldnt be ALL

    your money. You tithe the church right? Tithe yourself up to the

    same amount you would them and let the rest of the cash go back

    to work making you new cash. Diversifying your portfolio makes

    sense to a degree in other ways too because by doing so, youre

    spreading the risk of losing out. Hustles get old and die; your job is

    to not put all your eggs in one basket and lose it all.

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    Dame Dash

    No one is better than anyone else at

    anything. Its just effort.

    Like I was saying earlier, were all born with a clean slate

    and anyone can do anything if given the chance. Its the effort that

    separates the love from those that say they do it and definitely

    something to take to heart is no matter your deficiency, if you want

    it bad enough, you will find a way to compensate and make it

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    work. Theres a thousand different ways to say it, only a few ways

    to do it, and only one way to do it your way.

    Some might call Dame a terrible businessman. Hes had

    everything from record labels to film companies to clothing

    operations and a large number of them werent as successful as his

    initial go around with Roc-a-wear. I would call Dame an astute

    one; not because of the successesanyone can succeed. I think

    highly of the guys Hustle for one reason only: he keeps trying.

    And what powers his steam engine? Its his love of the game and

    his undying effort.

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    Kanye West

    To be used is necessary. To not be

    useful means youre useless.

    There it is. Your goal in Hustle is to be useful enough to be

    used by someone whether in your service or product. I actually get

    pretty into this one in a chapter of my new book so I wont bash

    this against the dash here. What I will say is that there should never

    be a time when you are not a commodity. Commodities are useful

    all day long, all year long, and your profession? No matter what

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    you do, it is customer service. And the customer is always right,

    even if theyre badly wrong.

    Sometimes I like to take a walk and as I pass people, I look

    at different ways that I might be able to serve them. Can I make

    something easier for them? Quicker? More interesting? Use that

    right side of the brain, the creative side for a while and see what

    you get.

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    Dave Chappelle

    Name your price. If it ever gets more

    expensive than that, get out.

    Besides the working hard ideology that gets put out there,

    youll come across people saying that theyll do whatever for the

    dough, literally anything it requires to facilitate the success theydream of. When you say that to yourself, does it sound okay? That

    there is no real boundary of morality that holds you from doing the

    same things you whisper about these other cats doing?

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    Naming your price means that no matter what the trend is,

    no matter what super secret society there is, no matter what other

    weird shit people are willing to do, you will not conform. Setting

    your price before that makes the judgment calls a little easier

    because you know yourself, what youre capable of and what you

    want to achieve. If it ever comes to the point where you have to do

    something youre not comfortable with, you can reject it. The

    object of the game is to get where and what you want and still at

    the end of the day be able to be satisfied when you look yourself in

    the mirror.

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    Michael Jordan

    Limits, like fears, are often illusions.

    Said from one of the most flyingest (I know its not a word,

    sue me) cats to ever touch a basketball court. Im pretty sure that

    the idea of him NOT succeeding in a venture crossed his mind, like

    most people, but unlike most people, it never resonated long

    enough to make traction. A man whos played basketball, baseball

    and golf on a professional level, joined the owners box and

    heralds one of the most profitable clothing companies ever is kind

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    of like a big deal. Hell, Id be surprised if he didnt ask his staff on

    the regular to come up with something he couldnt possibly do,

    only to get his fingers in on it.

    You should never limit what you can do by what you cant.

    If youre cognizant of it being probable, at the very least you

    should view it as possible from a less than involved standpoint.

    From there, you research it until you know enough to get started. If

    you can get started, you should change that possible to an able.

    You will never touch your goals if you never outstretch your arm.

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    Jay-Z

    Focus on the process, not the result.

    When you focus more on the result than the process, you

    get sloppy. Making a million dollars should never be the goal; I

    know it wasnt for Bill Gates when he worked his voodoo for

    Microsoft. He wanted to create the worlds best computing

    solution (another result) so he made sure that the processes he

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    would go through to get there were thorough. His successes were

    byproducts of his Hustle. The same applies to you.

    The spoils will always be there. Let me say that again. The

    winnings, earnings, dividends paid, golden chalice of immortality

    and boundless prosperity was there before you came and will be

    there after you take dirt nap. Thats precisely why working the

    angles are more important than what you get out of it because you

    begin to appreciate it more. Want to be a movie star? Learn how to

    act and work the business. You being a fashion plate has so little to

    do with it that its almost funny but somehow, people still think

    that being beautiful alone is the key to that lock.

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    ThanksThanks to everyone who purchased this eBook, youre the

    best in the world. Go get yours. Now. Be sure to check me out athustleharderblog.com!


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