I’m purposely writing this to put out on a Monday. People dread Mondays. This is so prevalent that many people often can’t even enjoy a Sunday evening because they are sad that they have to go to “work” the next day. This is a cycle that happens over and over again. Week after week, month after month, and year after year. Next thing you know, you’re dead and gone.
Props and congrats to those of us who love what we do and enjoy going to work every day. For those of us that don’t enjoy what you do I encourage you to take time out this week and do some soul searching. My philosophy is that life is way too short and we only get one to live so we ought to try to enjoy it as much as possible.
Our jobs and professions take up almost a third of our daily lives. Let’s think about it. With 8 hours of work and 8 hours of sleep, that leaves 8 hours of free time each day. Take out 3-5 hours to run errands, eat, take care of kids, etc. and that only leaves 3-5 hours of free time every day and many of us don’t even get that. Imagine the time for those of us that work way more than 8 hours per day (not to mention transportation to and from work. We deprive ourselves of sleep to get things done or we miss out on important things like family, etc. This is sad especially when you do something that you know you don’t really don’t want do but are just doing it to get by. Robert Kiyosaki Calls this the “rat race” in his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. I can’t speak for you but I feel like there has to be a different way to live my life you know?
I’m working on a few writings about how to go about living your dreams. I obviously haven’t mastered this subject yet but I’m confident that I’m well on my way. In the meantime I want to encourage those that I’m lucky to be in contact with to keep their heads up. If you’re reading this then I’m talking to YOU!
So as I stated earlier take some time this week to think about what you would really like to do with your life and what it would take to get there. IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT TO LIVE!!!
More on this later.
Enjoy your week Fam!
Brian Onrea
Monday, November 14, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
TI - No Mercy - Motivation Review
Tuesday December 7, 2010 marked the release of TI’s studio Album titled “No Mercy”
Overall this is a good CD. With all of his legal troubles, TIP made a decision to stay away from the violent lyrics this time around. There does seem to be a heavy emphasis on the strong sexual lyrics. I want to point that out up front. Other than that he seems to be very motivational and self reflecting on this CD. Instead of doing a track by track review I want to focus on the songs that I found inspirational. There were four in particular that I feel can make a significant impact in your daily motivational walk.
I rate each of these songs by the beat, chorus, verses and overall motivational value (using a traditional 1-5 scale).
Track 2 - How Life Changed (feat. Mitchelle’l/Scarface)
Produced by: Lil' C
Beat- 5 Can’t even front, this is a HARD beat. Oh my...
Hook- 5
Verses- 5
This is a feel good song about his days of making it from the struggle. He reflects on how he grew up getting into trouble as a kid in Atlanta. How he came from nothing, and somehow made it to superstar status today. Scarface is perfect over this beat and compliments the track very well.
Overall this song inspires me to go hard despite difficult circumstances. Particularly if you come from a rough background like TIP did. He acknowledges some of the mistakes he made in his younger days and maybe you have made some mistakes but you can change your life. It’s all about choices...
Track 3 - Get Back Up (feat. Chris Brown)
Produced by: The Neptunes
Beat- 5
Hook- 4
Verses- 4
This is a good song for anyone that has made a huge mistake or did something that they really regret. Bad things cause us to reach a low point in life but it’s up to us to make a change or stay down in the dumps. This is a good song about redemption.
The beat is very nice and upbeat. The Neptunes are my favorite producers so I’m biased obviously but the music is good. Chris Brown is a logical choice given the mistakes that he has made. The assumption is that he is genuinely sorry for what he did and is changing his life. Overall this is a nice feel good song that should inspire.
Track 5 - Thats All She Wrote (feat. Eminem)
Produced by: Dr. Luke, Max Martin
Beat- 5
Hook- 5
Verses- 5
Now on the surface you may not find this song motivational but I do. It's probably my favorite song on this CD. First of all the beat is another upbeat/feel good vibe. This song is all about getting rid of the negative people in life that bring you down. I cant roll with people who are just bad people and will do you wrong without thinking twice about it. This happens often in relationships. Eminem highlights this with his classic wordplay in his verses as he gives his attitude on women who are no good. Again, this may seem anti-motivational but if you have ever been done wrong this is a good song to get your swagger back. Some may disagree but hey this song has helped me get through life lately.
Some of my favorite quotes from TI and Em on this song
TI
“You tell lies, get caught, n**** kick rocks
You never did blend in with the big shots
On the fast track, aint no need for no pit stops”EM
“Buy u a bag of fritos I would’nt let u eat the f****** chip on my shoulder.
If you was bleach and I was hair I would’nt die for ya..........
....so why would I buy you a teddy bear b**** you’re already bi-polar” (wow!)
Track 7 - Castle Walls (feat. Christina Aguilera)
Produced by: Alex Da Kid
Beat- 4
Hook- 4
Verses- 4
This is a reflective song about the struggles of trying to chased success and being a good person at the same time. He talks about being a good father verses being a superstar entertainer. These two endeavors sometimes conflict. He speaks of his deep care for his people and at the end he speaks of his vow to put whats most important first despite the effect it could have on his career. Alex Da Kid (he did Eminem’s Love the Way You Lie) laced this beat nice and Christina did her thing on it as well. There’s no way though you cannot feel this song and be inspired by it. There has been some talk that this would be the next single off the CD. If so great choice.
Bonus Track - Follow Your DreamsProduced by: Polow Da Don, Hollywood Hot Sauce (per wikipedia?)
Beat- 5
Hook- 5
Verses- 4
This song can only be found on a special edition of the CD. This is a motivational song all the way. Here he encourages big time. I admit it borderline corny but it works. It works really well. I would say this is probably my 2nd favorite song on here behind Thats All She Wrote. If you’ve ever seen his VH1 Behind the Music special, you recall the story of how TIP started out and how very few believed in him besides his manager. He speaks on his manager in the song.
As someone who is chasing my own dreams I find this song very encouraging and it gives me that extra “juice” I need to go even harder. We have to remember when it comes to fulfilling our destiny it’s not a matter of possibility. ANYTHING is possible. The question is will we work hard enough, do whats necessary, and not give up.
Monday, December 13, 2010
How to Deal With Difficult Circumstances
How to deal with Difficult Circumstances
We all at one point or another faced a situation or circumstance that was difficult to deal with. Losing a job, a loved one, or going through a divorce for example can be a hard thing to cope with. Sometimes we cause these things in our lives through our own actions but then there are other times where things just happen. You can live your life to the best of your ability and do the best that you can and then BAM! Something hits you and you may feel like you din’t do anything to precipitate it. Regardless of why or how these difficulties came upon you, I want to encourage you to KEEP YOUR HEAD UP (hear Tupac song playing in the background lol).
We must understand that how we deal with a negative circumstance plays a vital role in our overall outcome and quality of life. When something bad hits us, we can easily just sit there and take it. We can mope around and be depressed or whatever. Make no mistake about it, sitting around feeling sorry for yourself WILL NOT fix the problem. Tears while they can help relieve us for a moment and are often necessary for a moment, will not magically make the problem or issue go away. Many times a prolonged “pity party” is just gonna make the situation worse.
Now on the flip side, we can deal with a situation in a positive manner. After we take a moment to digest and contemplate our situation (maybe have a cry or whatever lol), we must take action. Negative situations do not have to overtake us. We can win indeed. Here are four things that we must do in order to make it through the storm. As you read them, lets reflect on our own life and see where we are at...
1. Have Faith. You have to believe that everything will be ok. This is where a belief in a higher power comes into play. Draw strength from your faith. Even if you don’t believe in a higher power, you have to understand that you were created with the ability to overcome. There is an innate resilience that we are all born with. Believe in it. Believe in yourself. You have to know that you know that you will make it. Sometimes faith is the only thing that you have.
2. Be Thankful. When things happen to us, it’s so easy to focus on the negative. However you must focus on the positive. (i.e. if you cant see, be thankful that you can hear, etc.). Remember things can always be worse. I like to look at it this way, whenever I am struggling, I have to think about the fact that there is always someone worse off than me. As long as I am alive then there is always someone who is worse off (I see dead people lol j/k). There is just something about being thankful. It can create a great feeling within!!!
3. Focus on helping others. Look at others people’s needs and make yourself useful. It’s always good when you can brighten someone’s day or improve the quality of their circumstances. They say it’s more blessed to give than to receive (actually Jesus said that) and it’s so true. If you don’t think so then you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror for real.
Another benefit of helping others is that it helps get the focus off of yourself temporarily and you can for a moment forget about your own troubles. You do this enough and you will find yourself being depressed less and feeling better overall.
4. Invest in Yourself. It’s time to work on you. Often we allow ourselves to get down in the dumps about something and this wont allow us to move forward and improve. Life is all about constantly going to the next level. If you’re not moving forward, you are going back. Many times negative circumstances attack our self esteem. We can feel like we are simply not worthy of something better than what we are currently experiencing. Working on yourself makes you feel better because you can envision yourself improving and as a consequence you do actually get better!!!
You know that dream that you always had? That hobby that you used to love to do that you just stopped. Well when you’re down or going through something, that's a good time to get back up and go after these things. Remember some of the greatest accomplishments began during dark times.
You may be hurting but you’re not alone. Other people are going through it as well. Reach out and help them! Finally forget all the stupid stuff and reach after your goals.
LETS GO!!!!!!!!!
We all at one point or another faced a situation or circumstance that was difficult to deal with. Losing a job, a loved one, or going through a divorce for example can be a hard thing to cope with. Sometimes we cause these things in our lives through our own actions but then there are other times where things just happen. You can live your life to the best of your ability and do the best that you can and then BAM! Something hits you and you may feel like you din’t do anything to precipitate it. Regardless of why or how these difficulties came upon you, I want to encourage you to KEEP YOUR HEAD UP (hear Tupac song playing in the background lol).
We must understand that how we deal with a negative circumstance plays a vital role in our overall outcome and quality of life. When something bad hits us, we can easily just sit there and take it. We can mope around and be depressed or whatever. Make no mistake about it, sitting around feeling sorry for yourself WILL NOT fix the problem. Tears while they can help relieve us for a moment and are often necessary for a moment, will not magically make the problem or issue go away. Many times a prolonged “pity party” is just gonna make the situation worse.
Now on the flip side, we can deal with a situation in a positive manner. After we take a moment to digest and contemplate our situation (maybe have a cry or whatever lol), we must take action. Negative situations do not have to overtake us. We can win indeed. Here are four things that we must do in order to make it through the storm. As you read them, lets reflect on our own life and see where we are at...
1. Have Faith. You have to believe that everything will be ok. This is where a belief in a higher power comes into play. Draw strength from your faith. Even if you don’t believe in a higher power, you have to understand that you were created with the ability to overcome. There is an innate resilience that we are all born with. Believe in it. Believe in yourself. You have to know that you know that you will make it. Sometimes faith is the only thing that you have.
2. Be Thankful. When things happen to us, it’s so easy to focus on the negative. However you must focus on the positive. (i.e. if you cant see, be thankful that you can hear, etc.). Remember things can always be worse. I like to look at it this way, whenever I am struggling, I have to think about the fact that there is always someone worse off than me. As long as I am alive then there is always someone who is worse off (I see dead people lol j/k). There is just something about being thankful. It can create a great feeling within!!!
3. Focus on helping others. Look at others people’s needs and make yourself useful. It’s always good when you can brighten someone’s day or improve the quality of their circumstances. They say it’s more blessed to give than to receive (actually Jesus said that) and it’s so true. If you don’t think so then you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror for real.
Another benefit of helping others is that it helps get the focus off of yourself temporarily and you can for a moment forget about your own troubles. You do this enough and you will find yourself being depressed less and feeling better overall.
4. Invest in Yourself. It’s time to work on you. Often we allow ourselves to get down in the dumps about something and this wont allow us to move forward and improve. Life is all about constantly going to the next level. If you’re not moving forward, you are going back. Many times negative circumstances attack our self esteem. We can feel like we are simply not worthy of something better than what we are currently experiencing. Working on yourself makes you feel better because you can envision yourself improving and as a consequence you do actually get better!!!
You know that dream that you always had? That hobby that you used to love to do that you just stopped. Well when you’re down or going through something, that's a good time to get back up and go after these things. Remember some of the greatest accomplishments began during dark times.
You may be hurting but you’re not alone. Other people are going through it as well. Reach out and help them! Finally forget all the stupid stuff and reach after your goals.
LETS GO!!!!!!!!!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Time to Change Your Life
Are you satisfied with your life? Do you want to change some things for the better? We all have areas of our lives that we want to improve (including myself). This is the time of year that most people set out goals, New Year’s resolutions, etc. with the hope of making their quality of life better. Have you ever set out to do something for yourself but didn’t accomplish your goal? How did it make you feel? Not so good I’m sure. You know many of us have set out to do things on January 1st and we have already slipped up, fallen off of the wagon, jumped out the boat and/or flat out quit altogether. DON’T GIVE UP!!! The great thing about life is that while you can’t change your past, you can always change your future. Let this be the year that things do CHANGE! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!
Here are 4 simple steps to making positive change this year!!!!!
1. Know where you are (be honest). We have to take a deep look in the mirror and analyze our situation that we want to change. For example if you want to lose weight you need to step on a scale to see what the damage already is lol. Many of us are scared to “step on the scale” so to speak because we don’t want to see where we are. It can be depressing sometimes, I admit but you must be honest with yourself and embrace the truth. Don’t go another year living in fantasyland, pretending that everything is ok and ignoring the issue. FACE THE GIANT HEAD ON!!!! If you have a clear, specific, idea on where you are you can successfully go to step 2.
2. Know where you want to be (set specific goals). This is where you look deep into your heart and find out exactly what you want. Don’t hold back. You have an imagination for a reason. Dream big. You may set goals that take more than a year(s). Some dreams may take a lifetime to fulfill. Write them down and believe that it is possible. I talk to people all the time that have beautiful dreams to make a better life for themselves but refuse to give them much thought because they believe that they are impossible to accomplish. Someone once told me that if you aim for nothing, you will get just that! Don’t aim for nothing but dream BIG. Set long term AND short term goals.
3. Know how you are going to get there (develop a plan and baby steps). Now that you have long and short term goals you can began to draw a plan or a map to get you from where you are in step 1 to where want to be in step 2. Your plan will consist of lots of small steps or “victories” so to speak. Let’s say you never graduated high school but you have a goal to be a CEO of a fortune 500 company. Small steps would include obtaining your high school diploma/G.E.D., get a college degree, obtain some relevant work experience, etc. Each of these steps may have a whole set of steps themselves. Write down every step and draw a map. Put it on a big poster board and make it look good. You have to keep your “vision” before your eyes… This leads to step 4.
4. Know what motivates you. Each of us gets excited by different things. Certain images, music, movies, people, and other things have the ability to make us smile and feel like we can do anything. Sometimes negative memories or people that hurt us motivate us because it makes us want to overcome despite what has happened. Whatever the case you must know your motivation and use it to your advantage. Music, images and people motivate me. I have certain “theme” songs to life that I listen to everyday. I love people’s success stories so I try to read autobiographies of successful people on a regular basis. Whatever your motivation is you must know it and get lots of it. I say this because life can get hard and some of our goals will be hard (they should be hard as we should constantly be challenging ourselves to go to the next level). When life gets hard we need extra “juice” to push us forward. This is our motivation. As you press towards your goals I want to leave you with this important concept. STAY MOTIVATED!!!!!
I hope this helps everyone reach higher!!!!!!!
Onrea / Mr. Motivated
Here are 4 simple steps to making positive change this year!!!!!
1. Know where you are (be honest). We have to take a deep look in the mirror and analyze our situation that we want to change. For example if you want to lose weight you need to step on a scale to see what the damage already is lol. Many of us are scared to “step on the scale” so to speak because we don’t want to see where we are. It can be depressing sometimes, I admit but you must be honest with yourself and embrace the truth. Don’t go another year living in fantasyland, pretending that everything is ok and ignoring the issue. FACE THE GIANT HEAD ON!!!! If you have a clear, specific, idea on where you are you can successfully go to step 2.
2. Know where you want to be (set specific goals). This is where you look deep into your heart and find out exactly what you want. Don’t hold back. You have an imagination for a reason. Dream big. You may set goals that take more than a year(s). Some dreams may take a lifetime to fulfill. Write them down and believe that it is possible. I talk to people all the time that have beautiful dreams to make a better life for themselves but refuse to give them much thought because they believe that they are impossible to accomplish. Someone once told me that if you aim for nothing, you will get just that! Don’t aim for nothing but dream BIG. Set long term AND short term goals.
3. Know how you are going to get there (develop a plan and baby steps). Now that you have long and short term goals you can began to draw a plan or a map to get you from where you are in step 1 to where want to be in step 2. Your plan will consist of lots of small steps or “victories” so to speak. Let’s say you never graduated high school but you have a goal to be a CEO of a fortune 500 company. Small steps would include obtaining your high school diploma/G.E.D., get a college degree, obtain some relevant work experience, etc. Each of these steps may have a whole set of steps themselves. Write down every step and draw a map. Put it on a big poster board and make it look good. You have to keep your “vision” before your eyes… This leads to step 4.
4. Know what motivates you. Each of us gets excited by different things. Certain images, music, movies, people, and other things have the ability to make us smile and feel like we can do anything. Sometimes negative memories or people that hurt us motivate us because it makes us want to overcome despite what has happened. Whatever the case you must know your motivation and use it to your advantage. Music, images and people motivate me. I have certain “theme” songs to life that I listen to everyday. I love people’s success stories so I try to read autobiographies of successful people on a regular basis. Whatever your motivation is you must know it and get lots of it. I say this because life can get hard and some of our goals will be hard (they should be hard as we should constantly be challenging ourselves to go to the next level). When life gets hard we need extra “juice” to push us forward. This is our motivation. As you press towards your goals I want to leave you with this important concept. STAY MOTIVATED!!!!!
I hope this helps everyone reach higher!!!!!!!
Onrea / Mr. Motivated
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