3 Lessons on Living Life With Heart
Picture this: Your sitting in your last class, of your last semester, of your last year in college.
All your friends are already done and waiting for you at the campus bar to celebrate. (Actually, scratch waiting. They already started celebrating.)
You’re watching the clock, itching for the professor to say “Class Dismissed!”
You’re starting to wonder why you didn’t just ditch. I mean what else can you really learn on the last day of class?
That was me. Three years ago.
And today, I’m sharing three lessons I learned from that college professor about how to live life with heart.
The Professor was Stacy Smith from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and she closed the last class of the semester with a little life advice. Check out the lessons below, and how I interpreted each one through a Notorious Big song.
1. Stay optimistic
Life is full of suprises and yet, no matter what happens, it’s crucial that we stay optimistic. You see, when it comes to our energy, we attract what we put out into the world so we need to put out positive vibes. We must also accept that not everything works out the first time and failure is inevitable but if we keep pushing on, things will work out.
Que Biggie’s Song, The Sky’s The Limit,
“Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on // Just keep on pressing on // Sky is the limit and you know that you can have // What you want, be what you want.”
2. Follow your passion
We should look for and find that ‘thing’ that just makes us want to keep on doing it. The ‘thing’ that we can’t help but love and feel as those it completes us.. The ‘thing’ that satisfies us and never feels like work. Or as Biggie Says,
Stay far from timid. Only make moves when your heart’s in it and live the phrase sky’s the limit.
This is one of my favorite lessons. It’s also part of what prompted me to found Bless My Hustle.
I’m all about passion. I love asking people about their passion. I love immersing myself in the things that I’m passionate about. I love talking about my passions. I’m just all about passion!
I personally believe that figuring out what your hustle is, is literally figuring out how your passions can be combined with your purpose for a profit. Stay tuned for my upcoming course on doing just that!
3. Maintain your integrity
This one is all Stacy:
“Your name is the best thing you’ve got.”
Always, always protect your name and reputation. How do you do that? It’s called being honest, having good intentions, being authentic, and being accountable. Everyone makes mistakes. The important part is taking responsibility for those mistakes and growing from them.
If the game shakes me or breaks me I hope it makes me a better man // Take a better stand // Put money in my mom’s hand // Get my daughter this college grant so she don’t need no man.
In the last stanza of The Sky’s The Limit, Biggie talks about wanting his experiences to make him a better man. He doesn’t sugar coat the fact that he got mixed up in some negative enterprises early on and is authentic intalking about his struggles and intentions for his mother and daughter.
Time to Bless Your Own Hustle
Three questions to think about, write about (feel free to write in the comments)— or talk about with a friend.
1. Optimism is key to keep the positive vibes coming into your life. If you’re having trouble staying optimistic, try this gratitude exercise to get your mind in a positive place. Whenever you are feeling down, ask yourself:
What are 5 positive things you are greatful for right now?
2. Sometimes, we get so caught up in pleasing others, we forget about pleasing ourselves and we say Yes to things we aren’t truly invested in with our heart and soul. Are you filling your life with things you aren’t fully passionate about?
What’s 1 thing you can say ‘No’ to today so you can free up time to say ‘YES’ to something you are passionate about?
3. We talked about how integrity is all about authenticity and taking responsibility for our mistakes even when it’s hard.
How do you keep yourself authentic? Do you admit when you make a mistake? How can you make this a daily practice in your life?