I have one phrase for you. You must. Not “you can,” “you have the ability” or “you might be able to.” You are better than all of these half steps. Mama didn’t raise any half steppers. You must. You must live your passion at all times, in all ways. You must dare to have it all and have it now. You must ignore all those who tell you differently. Society in general will tell you that you cannot, that special achievement is for people more special than you. Perhaps you have listened too well. Some will give you faint praise and encourage you to “be all you that you can be.” Every time you hear that, you are left thinking, “Ok, but how?” To get started, you must answer one question.
Are you ready to be a winner? Are you ready to be “The One?” Are you ready to be free? Today is when you must start believing that you walk this planet for big reasons, that you can alter history in big ways. This very day you must accept that you have something within you that belongs to the world, something you must begin to share. You must acknowledge that you have something that the rest of us are dying to see. You have the recipe to the special sauce and our mouths are watering for a taste. You may be the doctor with the antidote. You may be the one that changes everything for everyone forever. You may be “The One” that makes us forget how it was before you arrived. But only if you are ready.
Don’t rob us of your greatness! All the great ones have won their freedom through their greatness. Everyone who is “all that” now, was “less than that” at some point. These great people had no time for “they.” “They” are all wrong about you. “They” don’t know anything about you. They have no idea that you have the heart of the champion. They don’t know that you have indefatigable will, that you have strength beyond measure, that you are the one that they will all soon talk about. They don’t know, because you have kept it hidden. You may have kept your greatness hidden behind your insecurities, behind the fear that you can’t do it. This is no longer acceptable. It’s time to put your cape on, Superman! This instant, you must begin to conquer that barrier in your mind that keeps you in a seat on the couch rather than in a seat at the Grammys, that keeps you at “who dat” rather than “there she is!” You must understand that freedom is
The Real Bling, the only bling that matters in life, and commit to getting it by the ton.
You must, not just for your sake, but also for your kin, your community, your country, your world. Right now is when you must get started. Waiting until later is unacceptable. If you start later, you will have spent more precious time in captivity. And each day spent in captivity brings you one day closer to having your will broken for good. Now is when you must admit that the reason you are not free is you. Now is also the time you must decide that you deserve to be free and that freedom is worth the fight.
Brian McClellan is the cofounder and CEO of BAMSTRONG Presentations, a career consulting firm, and the author of The Real Bling: How to Get the Only Thing You Need. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, he served as a vice president of sales with Georgia-Pacific Corporation, a Fortune 100 company at the time. A graduate of Princeton University and the Columbia Business School, Brian is a powerful motivational speaker who has mentored countless fellow professionals seeking to improve their personal and professional lives. Brian is also a former rap singer, which is evident in hip-hop sensibility with which he offers his message of self-discovery and self-determination. To learn more about Brian, please visit
www.bamstrong.com
