Lyrically Speaking-XIV

“I want the money, money and the cars, cars and the clothes … I suppose… I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful…” –Trey Songz, “Successful” What is your definition of success? Is it something you continuously strive to attain or the product of any reached goal? Do material possessions, such as cars, jewelry, clothes, houses, and gadgets, act as symbols of your accomplishments? If you performed something that freed your soul, but no one clapped, would you still feel successful? Whether you measure it by status, possessions, monetary wealth, or emotional satisfaction, your definition of success, like your fingerprint, is unique to you. Similarly, reaching that level, however high or low it may be, also lies within your own hands. Although others can assist you with your achievements, the first steps must be made with your own feet. But, keep in mind that the road to success isn’t an easy one. There are many things and individuals who would love nothing more than to see you fail. Unbeknownst to many, I was serious about acting all throughout elementary and middle school. I’ve played the role of both Queen Elizabeth and Cleopatra and took part in a selection of Neil Simon pieces. But, my favorite role was as the jealous Rose in “Flowertown Ball”. I believe this role is what ignited my interest and support of villains in feature films, but I digress… As much as I loved acting, somewhere around the end of middle school, I chose to give it up for what I seemed to believe would be forever. Why? Because both of my parents had told me on separate occasions how excited they were and how they couldn’t wait to tell people, “My daughter bought me a house!” All my young mind heard was, “You have to buy me a house. You cannot fail. You must be the best. You must be successful,” and the pressure became too much for me. So, I gave up the stage. That is, until my senior year of high school when I became introduced to Spoken Word. “It’s funny when you coming in first, but you hope that you last. You just hope that it lasts…” –Drake, “Lust for Life” I was never so nervous acting as I am doing Spoken Word. I believe it’s because it is my words and personal thoughts as opposed to memorizing someone else’s ideas that I may or may not even agree with. Regardless of how calm and confident I appear at a venue, signs of anxiety show before I take the stage (if you look closely). I have grown to realize that if I take a deep breath and let the words take over, everything will be fine. I view each time that I speak to an audience (and often when speaking to an individual, especially an artist I am interviewing) as a new chance to overcome social anxiety. And when the experience is over, I give myself a mental smiley face sticker and congratulate myself on my success. Recently, a co-worker who I’d shown the method of completing Sudoku puzzles, shouted in shock when she was able to complete a “hard” puzzle. She had been practicing on “easy” and “medium” ones for about two weeks and it had finally paid off. Though she felt silly for being excited about a mere puzzle, I congratulated her with a supportive “Yay!”, commenting how we have to celebrate even the littlest things in life. She had accomplished a goal that she had set in a world where it seems most people lack motivation to even set goals in the first place. Shouldn’t that be cause for a “We just figured out Blue’s Clues!” dance or a Dora the Explorer “We Did It!” sing-along (which we sort of did during lunch after solving a complex riddle)? Of course, it should! As 2009 is gradually coming to an end, remember to celebrate the “easy”, “medium”, and “hard” accomplishments in life. Don’t buckle under pressure. Set weekly or even daily goals and acknowledge your progress. You do not have to be a multi-billionaire in order to consider yourself a success. Success could be as simple as finally completing the editorial that initially refused to be written… “Dream chaser, risk taker, no favor, though haters… they might want me to drown… holdin' me down, but the throne and the crown is all I ever wanted… all I ever needed… if I'm the only one and don't nobody else believe it, then keep it a secret and watch me achieve it… ‘cause I know what I want now… so, if you want the money… if you gotta make… if you the only one and don t nobody else believe it… then, tell ‘em to beat it and watch you achieve it… sing it if you want… I want the money…” –Trey Songz, “Successful” ***Lyrically Speaking-XIV Written by: Ccep J. Dew, West Coast Editor as published in eXcape the matriX magazine www.eXcapethematriX.com