Yes, Yes, I am Dramas And this is the Street Stoic Podcast, bringing you your daily dose of timeless stoic philosophy, a remix for the hip hop generation. We're combining philosophy with lyrics in quotes from some of the greatest to ever grace a microphone. Now, with that in mind, let's get things started with your daily shot of inspiration. Now today we're gonna be talking about the stoic idea of focusing on what you can control, but more specifically when it comes to being judged by others, and also accepting the role that we inevitably play in that. Right now, today we are going to be pulling from fifty cent and this is actually from the book The Fiftieth Law. He co wrote it with Robert Green. In the book, he says, quote, understand, people judge you by appearances, the image you project through your actions, words, and style. If you do not take control of this process, then people will define you the way they want to, often to your detriment. And then he's saying so much in here, but I think that that last line right when he's talking about that if you don't take control of this process, people will define you as they see fit. Right, So it's really, you know, thinking about who you are and how you want to be presented to the world. And of course, you know, this kind of goes against the idea that we can't control the thoughts of others and others perceptions of us and this, that and the third. But I don't think that's what we're really talking about here. I think we're talking about kind of stepping into your power and understanding that you're in so much control over how others can or can't take advantage of you. Right. You know, if you are focused on the way that you are being portrayed, right, the way that you are portraying yourself to others, right, be it as somebody who is powerful and somebody who can't be screwed over. Right, If you are very careful about the actions that you take and the words that you speak, again, people are are going to know that they can see you as somebody who is you know, trustworthy, that they can count on you because of the actions that you continuously take. Right. And again, not everybody is going to see you the way that you think you're presenting yourself. But this is how we begin to kind of take action and control how we are treated by others in the outside world, you know, of course, to the best of our ability. And this leads to a quote from one of the stoics, Marcus Surrealius, where he says, if you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but your estimate of it. And this you have the power to revoke at any moment. And I want to focus on that last line, basically saying, at any point you have the power to take control over your life, any particular situation. And to me, what I get away from from that quote is you know that that people will do with you what you allow them to get away with. Right, We've all kind of heard that's saying in some way, shape or form. You know, if you are somebody who doesn't stick up for yourself, you don't voice your opinion, you know, people are inevitably going to take advantage of you. That's that's just kind of the unfortunate way of society and the world. And you know, at the end of the day, you know you have nobody to blame for that but yourself. Of course, you know, it sucks that people are that way, and it shouldn't be that way. But if that's the reality of life, it's that's the reality of this capitalistic society that we live in. You have to accept that and then focus on the part of it that you are in control of it. And that's the part that you know, portrays somebody of power and confidence that doesn't allow people to take advantage of them and forces people to treat them fairly. And this is something I relate to man wholeheartedly. I've always been a people pleaser, and particularly in the industry that I've come up in, you know, the world of entertainment and media, and we're always just supposed to be so grateful for any opportunity, right, Like it's a blessing that we're even allowed in the door, you know. Like I was always incredibly timid, you know, coming up, and as a result, a lot of people took advantage of that, right And there was a time where you know, I was doing radio shifts at a radio station and they weren't paying me, and of course it was a great, great opportunity, but eventually they just kept expecting to add more and more things onto my plate and that I would just continue to accept it. And of course I had to stand up for myself. I had to say, like, I'm at the point now where I've been doing this for a good amount of time for you, and I deserve to be getting paid. And if that's that's not what you're able to do right now, I need to move on from this situation. And that's what I had to do, right And it's the same thing with you know, djaying early on as a DJ, so many things of like oh can you can you do this? We don't have a budget to pay you. It's great exposure, all of the above, and for a little while, there are certain opportunities that you kind of have to take advantage of as you're trying to build a name for yourself, as you are are networking. But again, if you don't draw that line in the sand, they will always try and take advantage of you as somebody who doesn't deserve to get paid. Again, some of those relationships went by the wayside and others recognize that they could no longer take advantage of me and they had to start paying up right. But again it was me declaring who I was and where I was in my career and telling people you need to treat me accordingly. And of course this is not always going to work out in your favor. There are going to be people who don't believe in the way that you see yourself, right, and they're going to move on from you and tell you best of luck, And you have to be accepting of that. Right. You have to go where you are are celebrated, not where you are tolerated, right. And that is something I've always tried to remind myself in those tough moments where somebody is playing hardball and making it seem like I'm going to lose more by it by no longer being taken advantage of right. And again, you have to stick to your guns and know that you are valuable and somebody else out there will be willing to give you what you feel you are worth, but you have to first and foremost declare yourself as someone of value. Now, with that in mind, we have heard from man fifty cent, we have heard from Marcus Aurelius, one of the Stoics. I've definitely given you a bit of insight into something I struggled with for a long time on this topic. But now let's talk about how you can make it your mantra for today. But first let's take a quick break and then we'll be right back. All right, So we have heard the words of fifty cent, we have heard Marcus surreally, as I've given you some insight into how I have dealt with people judging me and then feeling like they can take advantage of me and me not taking that control, and then how I had to learn how to take matters into my own hands. Right, So let's talk about this the stoic idea of focusing on what you can control. Let's talk about how you can make it your mantra for today. Now, I think, first and foremost, you know, you can't expect to be seen as valuable or treated as such if you are not first taking control and declaring yourself as someone who is valuable. Right, Like, I've always been blown away by people who are nice people but not necessarily great at their craft. But there's a lot of people that I would watch and at best their average and their skill set, but somehow, some way, they are always out doing something right. They are getting to play some show that is definitely above their talent level, and I'd always sit back and wonder, like, how the hell is this person finessing this, and I think if first and foremost starts with this, you know, even if they talent wise our average at best at what they do, the attitude that they're walking in the room with and what they're declaring their worth is is speaking louder than that, and people, as a result are are having to sort of buy into what they're selling right because it seems like they really do believe it, and it almost makes you doubt like maybe I'm wrong about their talent level because this person is so confident in what they do, and that's how they're creating those opportunities. They're not, you know, coming in the room and so just quietly with their head down saying like, hey, yeah, I'm I'm a I'm a singer. You know, maybe i'd like some sort of opportunity that's not going to get you, you know, what you want. They're walking in there like, listen, I am crushing it right now as a singer, Like you need to have me on your show. I would kill it and listen. They're not going to always get the opportunity, but I promist you that attitude will have people buying into you far faster than if you're just kind of quietly satisfied with taking the scraps that they're willing to throw you. Again, people will only take advantage of you for as much as you're going to allow them to. If you are not declaring yourself as somebody who is a value who needs to be taking care of. Accordingly, they're going to be happy, you know, with judging you as somebody that they can take advantage of. And again, just give those scraps too. Now, let's kind of summarize what we've been talking about today. You fifty and the fiftieth ball, Like he says, if you do not take control of this process, then people will see and define you the way they want to, often to your detriment. If you don't stand up for yourself, people will take advantage of you because it benefits them at the end of the day. Right, and then a quote from one of the stoics, Marcus Surrealius. Right, he's talking about how you have the power to revoke at any moment. Right, Like any moment, you have the ability to catch yourself and say, you know what, I'm not taking this ship anymore. I know my value, I know my worth, and either you're going to give it to me or not that leads right into my own life and those examples that I've talked about with you. You know, I would still be dejaying for free had I not have said at one point in time like no, I'm farist who's talented. I've paid my dues, I'm drawing a line in the sand. People would have loved to have keep taking advantage of me and not paying me anything, because of course it brings more money in their pocket. And it was up to me to focus on the part of it that I could control, and that was declaring my status as someone who is of value and someone that needs to be thought about accordingly. Right, And as a result, not everybody you know hopped on that train. But again, moving forward, I was able to then make this a career because people understood that I was someone of value and someone that was demanding to be treated as such financially and respect wise, of course. So remember, you get to create your own value, and you have to be unafraid to declare it to each and every person that you meet and make sure they treat you accordingly or you move on to something else. Now, with that said, thank you so much for checking out the street Stoke Podcast. Do your best to apply these concepts that we discussed today and see your everyday life and I will talk to you next time. The Street Stoke Podcast is a production of Ihearts Michael Bura Podcast Network

Yes, Yes, I am Dramas And this is the Street Stoic Podcast, bringing you your daily dose of timeless stoic philosophy, a remix for the hip hop generation. We're combining philosophy with lyrics in quotes from some of the greatest to ever grace a microphone. Now, with that in mind, let's get things started with your daily shot of inspiration. Now today we're gonna be talking about the stoic idea of focusing on what you can control, but more specifically when it comes to being judged by others, and also accepting the role that we inevitably play in that. Right now, today we are going to be pulling from fifty cent and this is actually from the book The Fiftieth Law. He co wrote it with Robert Green. In the book, he says, quote, understand, people judge you by appearances, the image you project through your actions, words, and style. If you do not take control of this process, then people will define you the way they want to, often to your detriment. And then he's saying so much in here, but I think that that last line right when he's talking about that if you don't take control of this process, people will define you as they see fit. Right, So it's really, you know, thinking about who you are and how you want to be presented to the world. And of course, you know, this kind of goes against the idea that we can't control the thoughts of others and others perceptions of us and this, that and the third. But I don't think that's what we're really talking about here. I think we're talking about kind of stepping into your power and understanding that you're in so much control over how others can or can't take advantage of you. Right. You know, if you are focused on the way that you are being portrayed, right, the way that you are portraying yourself to others, right, be it as somebody who is powerful and somebody who can't be screwed over. Right, If you are very careful about the actions that you take and the words that you speak, again, people are are going to know that they can see you as somebody who is you know, trustworthy, that they can count on you because of the actions that you continuously take. Right. And again, not everybody is going to see you the way that you think you're presenting yourself. But this is how we begin to kind of take action and control how we are treated by others in the outside world, you know, of course, to the best of our ability. And this leads to a quote from one of the stoics, Marcus Surrealius, where he says, if you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but your estimate of it. And this you have the power to revoke at any moment. And I want to focus on that last line, basically saying, at any point you have the power to take control over your life, any particular situation. And to me, what I get away from from that quote is you know that that people will do with you what you allow them to get away with. Right, We've all kind of heard that's saying in some way, shape or form. You know, if you are somebody who doesn't stick up for yourself, you don't voice your opinion, you know, people are inevitably going to take advantage of you. That's that's just kind of the unfortunate way of society and the world. And you know, at the end of the day, you know you have nobody to blame for that but yourself. Of course, you know, it sucks that people are that way, and it shouldn't be that way. But if that's the reality of life, it's that's the reality of this capitalistic society that we live in. You have to accept that and then focus on the part of it that you are in control of it. And that's the part that you know, portrays somebody of power and confidence that doesn't allow people to take advantage of them and forces people to treat them fairly. And this is something I relate to man wholeheartedly. I've always been a people pleaser, and particularly in the industry that I've come up in, you know, the world of entertainment and media, and we're always just supposed to be so grateful for any opportunity, right, Like it's a blessing that we're even allowed in the door, you know. Like I was always incredibly timid, you know, coming up, and as a result, a lot of people took advantage of that, right And there was a time where you know, I was doing radio shifts at a radio station and they weren't paying me, and of course it was a great, great opportunity, but eventually they just kept expecting to add more and more things onto my plate and that I would just continue to accept it. And of course I had to stand up for myself. I had to say, like, I'm at the point now where I've been doing this for a good amount of time for you, and I deserve to be getting paid. And if that's that's not what you're able to do right now, I need to move on from this situation. And that's what I had to do, right And it's the same thing with you know, djaying early on as a DJ, so many things of like oh can you can you do this? We don't have a budget to pay you. It's great exposure, all of the above, and for a little while, there are certain opportunities that you kind of have to take advantage of as you're trying to build a name for yourself, as you are are networking. But again, if you don't draw that line in the sand, they will always try and take advantage of you as somebody who doesn't deserve to get paid. Again, some of those relationships went by the wayside and others recognize that they could no longer take advantage of me and they had to start paying up right. But again it was me declaring who I was and where I was in my career and telling people you need to treat me accordingly. And of course this is not always going to work out in your favor. There are going to be people who don't believe in the way that you see yourself, right, and they're going to move on from you and tell you best of luck, And you have to be accepting of that. Right. You have to go where you are are celebrated, not where you are tolerated, right. And that is something I've always tried to remind myself in those tough moments where somebody is playing hardball and making it seem like I'm going to lose more by it by no longer being taken advantage of right. And again, you have to stick to your guns and know that you are valuable and somebody else out there will be willing to give you what you feel you are worth, but you have to first and foremost declare yourself as someone of value. Now, with that in mind, we have heard from man fifty cent, we have heard from Marcus Aurelius, one of the Stoics. I've definitely given you a bit of insight into something I struggled with for a long time on this topic. But now let's talk about how you can make it your mantra for today. But first let's take a quick break and then we'll be right back. All right, So we have heard the words of fifty cent, we have heard Marcus surreally, as I've given you some insight into how I have dealt with people judging me and then feeling like they can take advantage of me and me not taking that control, and then how I had to learn how to take matters into my own hands. Right, So let's talk about this the stoic idea of focusing on what you can control. Let's talk about how you can make it your mantra for today. Now, I think, first and foremost, you know, you can't expect to be seen as valuable or treated as such if you are not first taking control and declaring yourself as someone who is valuable. Right, Like, I've always been blown away by people who are nice people but not necessarily great at their craft. But there's a lot of people that I would watch and at best their average and their skill set, but somehow, some way, they are always out doing something right. They are getting to play some show that is definitely above their talent level, and I'd always sit back and wonder, like, how the hell is this person finessing this, and I think if first and foremost starts with this, you know, even if they talent wise our average at best at what they do, the attitude that they're walking in the room with and what they're declaring their worth is is speaking louder than that, and people, as a result are are having to sort of buy into what they're selling right because it seems like they really do believe it, and it almost makes you doubt like maybe I'm wrong about their talent level because this person is so confident in what they do, and that's how they're creating those opportunities. They're not, you know, coming in the room and so just quietly with their head down saying like, hey, yeah, I'm I'm a I'm a singer. You know, maybe i'd like some sort of opportunity that's not going to get you, you know, what you want. They're walking in there like, listen, I am crushing it right now as a singer, Like you need to have me on your show. I would kill it and listen. They're not going to always get the opportunity, but I promist you that attitude will have people buying into you far faster than if you're just kind of quietly satisfied with taking the scraps that they're willing to throw you. Again, people will only take advantage of you for as much as you're going to allow them to. If you are not declaring yourself as somebody who is a value who needs to be taking care of. Accordingly, they're going to be happy, you know, with judging you as somebody that they can take advantage of. And again, just give those scraps too. Now, let's kind of summarize what we've been talking about today. You fifty and the fiftieth ball, Like he says, if you do not take control of this process, then people will see and define you the way they want to, often to your detriment. If you don't stand up for yourself, people will take advantage of you because it benefits them at the end of the day. Right, and then a quote from one of the stoics, Marcus Surrealius. Right, he's talking about how you have the power to revoke at any moment. Right, Like any moment, you have the ability to catch yourself and say, you know what, I'm not taking this ship anymore. I know my value, I know my worth, and either you're going to give it to me or not that leads right into my own life and those examples that I've talked about with you. You know, I would still be dejaying for free had I not have said at one point in time like no, I'm farist who's talented. I've paid my dues, I'm drawing a line in the sand. People would have loved to have keep taking advantage of me and not paying me anything, because of course it brings more money in their pocket. And it was up to me to focus on the part of it that I could control, and that was declaring my status as someone who is of value and someone that needs to be thought about accordingly. Right, And as a result, not everybody you know hopped on that train. But again, moving forward, I was able to then make this a career because people understood that I was someone of value and someone that was demanding to be treated as such financially and respect wise, of course. So remember, you get to create your own value, and you have to be unafraid to declare it to each and every person that you meet and make sure they treat you accordingly or you move on to something else. Now, with that said, thank you so much for checking out the street Stoke Podcast. Do your best to apply these concepts that we discussed today and see your everyday life and I will talk to you next time. The Street Stoke Podcast is a production of Ihearts Michael Bura Podcast Network