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Though cultivating powerful mindsets is emphasized in this blog, don’t be fooled into developing mentalities without the proper action to compliment them. Swagger specifically – defined by me as simply self-assurance (not arrogance) – has to be built by something in order for it to be real.

Eric Thomas to college students (00:31) – “… So you don’t really know how to grind. Like you talk grind, like I love it – I go into the weight room and y’all playing like Pac, y’all playing Biggie like y’all all in it. You like Pac, but you don’t have the spirit of Pac … You like to talk about the grind, but you don’t really know what the grind is like. I know what the grind is like. I started from the bottom … You will not out-work me.“

Similar to the ideas I explained in Honor your Cocoon Time, Viktor Frankl Inspired – Part 2, ET honors his adverse experiences by using them to strengthen himself and build his swagger. From an adverse grind – that’s one way to build swagger. But because it’s foolish to pursue adversity just to build your swagger, the main way to build your swagger is through a self-imposed grind. Or in other words as I explained in Honor your Cocoon Time, Ray Lewis Inspired – Part 1, honoring the pursuit of goals, greatness, or glory.

That’s the main source of my swagger. Though my health issues – which I touched on a bit in a previous post – is a very real daily adversity I face, that’s nothing compared to what could happen to me. So for me, putting my humility aside – my efforts stemming from my real pride is ultimately how my swagger is built. One example – and just one example to avoid braggadocio – is that I studied harder than maybe anybody in high school + college. I can’t articulate my efforts fully ’cause it’s not just about the quantity of studying/work, but also the quality of it. I didn’t even enjoy studying or my particular coursework in college really, yet I still disciplined myself and honored the process to get A’s because that was the goal in front of me at the time.

“If that’s what they put before us, let’s go get it.” – Ray Lewis (1:24)

Where people go wrong is they have an outward (fake) swagger, but it’s not built from anything they have gone through or done. People must seek to do something to develop swagger, or else it won’t last or even be real. The tables in front of you every day – to achieve something, show your character, etc. – you can’t shy away from. How you honor the process of grinding through adversity or grinding toward greatness – is how swagger is built.

So think. Where does your swagger come from?

Eric Thomas to college students (04:00) – “Everybody wants to be a beast until it’s time to do what beasts do … Everybody got the lion thing they’re tweeting out – Roar! But when it’s time to practice you’re not on beast mode … Most of y’all think a lion is who he is because of how ferocious he is when he catch that gazelle or when he catch that zebra. Can I be real with y’all? A part of being a beast just ain’t eating the gazelle; a part of being a beast is the hunt. It’s the hunt to get excited about! … ‘Cause real lions like to hunt. They love the process – the process – just as much as they love the prize. And some of y’all just want to score. You don’t like the process. You not in love with the process. A real man in the dark when nobody’s watching he’s putting in work … He loves the process. If you will be a champion, if you will be a beast, you gonna’ have to go through something.“