085: Thug Life Mentality (Lessons Learned from Tupac Shakur)

I’m a huge Tupac junkie. I own all six movies Pac starred in on DVD. If there was a Tupac lyric recital competition, I’d 1000% win. I’ve been listening to Tupac since I was a pre-teen for Pete’s Sake. Tupac was without a doubt the most polarizing figure in rap and hip-hop ever. Raised by a Black Panther, he had REVOLUTIONARY in his blood! Pac was an inspiration to many, and way ahead of his time. Quincy Jones said it best: “The tragedy of Tupac is that his untimely passing is representative of too many young black men in this country . . . If we had lost Oprah Winfrey at 25, we would have lost a relatively unknown, local market TV anchorwoman. If we had lost Malcolm X at 25, we would have lost a hustler named Detroit Red. And if I had left the world at 25, we would have lost a big-band trumpet player and aspiring composer--just a sliver of my eventual life potential.” I’m 26 years old now, and while I’m proud of everything I had accomplished by age 25, I’d probably just be remembered as the kid from Long Island who is always preaching motivational quotes and sells soda and sticky notes!  Quote: “Every time I speak I want the truth to come out. Every time I speak I want a shiver. I don’t want them to be like they know what I’m gonna say because it’s polite. I’m not saying I’m gonna rule the world or I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee you that I will spark the brain that will change the world.” Tupac left behind a ton of wisdom for us to learn from in his entire body of work. It doesn’t matter if you’re an actress, writer, entrepreneur, musician, athlete or WHATEVER; living by a few of these life lessons can benefit ANYONE! Embrace Change: Change . . . SHIT, I GUESS Change is GOOD for ANY of US . . .  Promote Unity: “It’s time for us as a people to start making some chances, lets change the way we eat, lets change the way we live, and let’s change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn’t working so it’s on us to do what we gotta do, to survive.”  Smile Often: “Through all the rain and the pain, you gotta keep a sense of humor. You gotta be able to smile through all this bullshit.” Make a Difference: Be the change that you wish to see in the world. Speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves.  THUG LIFE BABY! https://mruddo.com