I Just Wanna Be...

Successful.

Damn. Don't we all wanna be successful? But I think we all want it in different ways. Some keep the bar low, some know that they're greatness is real and the sky's the limit. Wherever you set the bar, the truth is the bar doesn't exist.  The sky ain't even the limit to what you're capable of. But I digress.

It's so easy to forget how free we really are, and so we hold back our own dreams with fear and doubt in ourselves. I still have many fears about being successful, but I'm no longer ignorant of them. I've seen them for what they are and so now I can conquer them one by one.

I'm inspired by artists who've accomplished much for themselves, in the name of success... the good old-fashioned way too. Hard work. Dedication. Perserverance. Belief in one's self. And all for the sake of:
"Money. Money and the Cars. Cars and the Clothes... I suppose." - Drizzy. AKA Successful-M*tha-F*c*a

I hadn't really heard of Aubrey Graham as a rapper until the release of his hit single "Successful" with Trey Songz. So in my mind, this is the song that made this actor/singer/rapper blow up.

There's something about the way this track speaks to everybody. At first listen, you might shrug it off as another MC talking about all the superficial crap he wants to get his hands on. But when Drake says it, you realize the song is about you! We all want something (and probably, a bunch of somethings), and that includes the things we 'shouldn't' want. Like Money. Cars... clothes... power... sex... success. Right or wrong, if there is even such a thing, we all can relate to that on some level. On Successful, Drake told us he wanted it all, and how much he strived for it. He craved the good. The bad. The unknown. Just like the rest of us. Except, he got it.

Which is why this is still my favourite song by the Young Money millionaire, so many years and hit singles later (this track was released in 2009). It has all the elements; tight vocals (by both Drake and Songz), the right hook, percussion you can feel... and a music video with a badass quote on the last frame.

"Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere." - Barack Obama

So in some way, even Obama is on side with Drake's sentiments ;-). "Making your mark" and "Having it all" are synonymous phrases, to me. Just different ways to measure success.

Take it in:

 xox
~LM