The Tupac Method
There is no doubt that hip hop icon Tupac Shakur was a man who made an everlasting impact. His words and music have touched millions both during his life and after his death at the age of 25. Had his life not been cut short, Tupac would have turned 44 today, on Tuesday June 16th, 2015.
I grew up with my older brothers always blasting Tupac’s music and I liked him, because they did. It wasn’t until I was older that I truly fell in love with the legacy he left behind in his music, his interviews and his writings.
He’s one of my biggest inspirations and I keep my copy of his book of gritty poetry The Rose The Grew From Concrete on my shelf next to Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.
Why?
Because it’s my personal reminder that Tupac was a visionary and philosopher who understood what it takes to be successful on a higher level than most people.
One of my favorite Tupac Quotes is from a Vibe interview he gave where he said,
“I find any great man, black or white, I’m going to study him, learn him so he can’t be great to me no more. That’s what I did with Machiavelli… it’s not like I idolize this one guy Machiavelli. I idolize that type of thinking where you do whatever’s going to make you achieve your goal.”
So what does that mean?
What Tupac is talking about is a principle of success called Modeling, which I have nicknamed The Tupac Method.
Modeling is a form of copying or mirroring the behavior of another person to get a certain result that they have.
Tupac knew that one of the best things you can do for yourself, should you want to improve, is to model greatness.
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Tupac knew that one of the best things you can do to improve yourself, is to model greatness.
He studied those he believed to be great and he modeled their behavior. The great philosopher and political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli, a man who had been renowned for his book about political rulling The Prince, was one of those people.
This is just one of the factors that made Tupac a legend, but it is one that has always resonated with me. The key now is to apply this principle in your own life.
Time to Bless Your Own Hustle
Below are 3 basic keys to model success which I call The Tupac Method.
1. Determine a result you want to instill in yourself and find someone great worth modeling that has that result.
2. Study them and their behavior. Study what they do to achieve that result. Figure out their beliefs and values, what thoughts they have, what their emotional energy is like, their physiology (how they are breathing and posture).
3. Install this in yourself through imitation of the behavior.
The trick is to really adopt the mindset and energy of the person you are modeling. Repeat and improve. If you want to be great, model great people.
Happy Birthday Tupac!