Whether everybody or nobody’s watching, whether I’m in the dark or the light, whether there’s gold at the end of the journey or not – it’s all irrelevant. I’m gonna’ go get It regardless.
This approach is foreign to many people. I do what I do for me. I don’t rely on anything on the outside to get me going. And this “do what you do for you” concept is not egotistical in the least; it’s just about being committed to yourself and values. Whatever those values are – kindness, hard work, courage, etc. – it’s about honoring them regardless of ____________. That’s what real pride is and too many people need to re-discover it.
Don’t just hear – Listen to the perspectives below:
Eric Thomas (5:15) – “I don’t come here and do what I do so [Person] can affirm me. So he can give me a pat on my back. I care more about me than I care about what [Person] thinks about me. I have standards! I have values! I don’t care how much you pay me. If I speak at an elementary school for 300 dollars, I chose to do that for 300 dollars. If I chose to speak at a prison for free, I chose to do that. And I will not go in there giving those prisoners less than what somebody pays me 100 thousand. Why? Because I value myself enough to give 120% or don’t do it!”
Inky Johnson (6:13) – “I never cheated! Like my conscious still to this day won’t let me cheat. Like I can’t cheat. I can’t look myself in the mirror and say, ‘Ink you did a good job today’, knowing that I cheated. I can’t cheat … That is why I tell you the process is more important than the product. It’s not even about the outcome for me. It’s about can you take pride in what you do as an individual and every night when you look in the mirror knowing that you gave everything you had to it.”
Regardless of the monetary reward he earns, Eric Thomas puts high intensity/effort into his speeches. His real pride gets him going. In the same way, Inky Johnson is committed to not cheating his efforts in anything regardless if there’s an opportunity to or not. Think of all the opportunities daily to cheat – teacher/boss isn’t watching you so you can slack off, you’re tired so you can stop short before workout fatigue/failure, there’s a fast food place nearby so you can let up on your disciplined diet, etc. This cheating extends outside of just effort – You can always be less kind, honest, courageous, etc & nobody would really know … Except yourself, and that is what I’m getting at in this post. If you’ve got real pride, you take issue with cheating of all kinds simply because your values are not honored.
Like for me, I don’t cheat writing. I’m gonna’ go hard with these posts because I’ve got real pride in everything I do. It’s irrelevant if I’ve got one subscriber or this blog blows up & I got the ears of the world. In the past, I’ve written stuff that only I have seen or one other person has seen anyway and I didn’t cheat my efforts despite that. That mindset is hard to understand for many people, and that’s unfortunate because truly living as your best self should take precedent over anything else. When I hear motivational speakers like Eric Thomas & Inky Johnson talk I recognize their mindset. These are dudes I look at. Real pride recognize real pride.
Commit to your truest/greatest self no matter what. Jim Brown once said, “Validation is rejected by a true [wo]man” (4:04), which emphasizes this rely on nothing else mentality to remain committed. You should be appreciative of appreciation but nothing – no reward/congrats/appreciation – should be necessary to get yourself going. That’s what having real pride is – Going after It simply led by the breathe in your body …
Inky Johnson (00:21) – “Can we be committed to the process of what we do but not emotionally [attached] to the result of what we do, understanding that every day I get up and give everything I got to everything that I’m a part of simply because this is who I am? Like the only thing I need everyday of my life is 86,400 seconds. That’s it. Like I don’t need, ‘Hey. You go hard, you’ll get this.’ Like I don’t need some reward. The only thing I need is breathe in my body and Imma’ flat out go and get it.”
This really touches mah on so many different levels. I’m a young black single teenage mother and I have a daughter that is 3 years old that needs mah and needs mah to be there for her every which way possible, to show and teach her how to become a successful woman in life. Reading this and realizing that I’m not really being true to myself is upsetting because that means I’m showing mah daughter that that is okay and its really not. I want and I will be better than what I am. I realize that for mah to raise mah daughter the correct way in life and to show her that being true to who you are and what you are and being committed to what you do in life, I need to be committed to my true self. I’m realizing that it all starts with me. So is this what the true meaning of “Mind over matter” is or is that something different? I really want to know! This is really opening my eyes to what I never knew in life. I’m taking notes on how to become a better person, mother,wife (someday)etc. If I have to eliminate certain people out of my life then so be it.I want to become a better person and mother so I can pass knowledge on to my daughter and one day she will be able to do the same to her kids in the future and so far our future is looking good now that I have learned something new.