The 1 Single Crazy Thing Every Rapper Needs To Be Successful

your rap artist super power

What are the best habits of successful rappers daily?

Reading this and implementing it will change your life with in a week. I promise you.

Once you build a habit it no longer draws on your will power. It doesn’t take self control to do it. There is no second thought, there is no stress over it, there is no “Ughhh, I don’t want to do that right now” there is only “Cool, time for doing ____”.

The most powerful tool in your artist arsenal is your habits.

It’s very simple. If you have bad habits, like always playing video games, or always eating a lot of sugared out foods, what happens?

Well if you are playing video games all day, you are doing NOTHING to grow your brain or excel in life. Video games are there to pass the time, they don’t teach you anything. Let’s look at it like this REALLLLY REALLLY quick!

Let’s say you spend 4 hours a day playing video games, right? Out of habit! That is 28 HOURS a week. Even 2 hours a day is 14 HOURS a week. Bare with me…

Do you know what you can do with 14 hours? Or 28 hours?

What Can You Do With 2 Hours A Day? A LOT! 

If you spent that same 2 hours a day writing a song, you’d have 1 new song A DAY. Or at least a great song idea with lyrics written to it you can add to your catalog. Above all else, that is practice towards mastering your skill. You are now 2 hours better than your friends who rap. And at the end of the week you are 14 hours better.

You can watch ANY TUTORIAL on Youtube in 2 hours. You can probably watch more than 10 Tutorials in 2 hours on any music software, how to write better songs tutorial, how to use photoshop tutorial to do your own graphics, how to edit music videos, lighting for photography and music videos, how microphones work, etc.

The list is endless.

You can start learning ANY skill and be a better artist EVERY DAY. Why the hell would you waste time doing things that aren’t going to make you better?

Don’t get it confused 

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Video games, but I made it a habit to never play them. Because they are completely useless. (Unless you are a guy who wins national tournaments or gets millions of views on each video game video on Youtube.)

I used to play video games from the moment I woke up around NOON until 4AM the NEXT day.

But one thing I wish I learned when I was 15 or even younger is that, knowledge truly is power. All these corny ass sayings always turn out true.

I’d be twice as intelligent as I am today and be way further along in my career and life if I simply didn’t play AS MANY video games as I did.

 

A Sudden Realization I Had While Typing 

OMG I just realized this…. I forgot this even happened, this is classic. And it’s the PERFECT example of a life changing decision.

I was delivering pizzas during the winter when I worked at Papa Johns. That week, because it was snowing and so cold in Chicago, I made $650 CASH delivering pizza because it was so icy and cold no one wanted to leave their house AND they tipped twice as high as usual. That was my best week EVER! That wasn’t normal.

Of course I spent a little money on useless other things, but I remember having $300 left. I sat on craigslist and was looking to buy an XBox because I’d have Halo and could play it everyday when I got back from work.  But something inside me moved me towards going to the music store instead.

I remember having a weird feeling inside NOT to buy the video games, thank god!

I spent that $300 on music gear and that is actually when I bought my first DECENT Microphone, preamp and microphone stand. This was the moment that I started writing and growing WAY more. Three years later I had a solid fan base!

Unfortunately the guy at the store got commission and he sold me a pre amp I didn’t even need because the Microphone was a USB microphone you just plug into the computer and it works.

I returned the preamp but I still have the microphone stand and mic!

I can guarantee you RIGHT NOW that if I had bought that Xbox instead of a microphone that I would not have the fan base I have today. I can 100% Guarantee. Because that one little decision made me start working on ALL my music skills.

 

After all that, what I’m saying is, I used to have a BAD HABIT.

Here is another great example.

If you’re always eating food that isn’t good for you, what happens?
You start gaining weight, your skin starts breaking out, your energy levels are super low and more.

But what happens if you are always eating food that IS good for you?
Your body stays lean and muscular, your skin looks vibrant and clean and you always have more energy than a 6 year old during recess. 

 

The Habits You NEED To Build
As An Artist

Now that you know you NEED habits let’s talk about building them and I’ll show you tools I use with my habits!

 

 

Knowing Food Is Information

Long story short, with out explaining food enzymes and break downs of food structures, Food is information. The information you give to your body to adapt and build.

If you are giving your body the wrong information, from useless, processed foods, then your body looks and makes you feel like you are eating the wrong, useless, processed foods.

You are what you eat, another corny saying but it’s true. Eat healthy foods, be healthy, eat unhealthy foods, be unhealthy.

Eating healthy will allow you to look and feel better. Start eating healthy cleaner foods for 2 weeks and I bet you feel at least 5 times better and more energetic than you do RIGHT NOW.

To start, for energy to work on music you can try the method I recommend in the ‘How To Beat Writers Block’ Part

 

Exercising

Exercising is a HUGE part of what allows me to: 

1) Be so confident in myself.

2) Feel INCREDIBLE so I can get up early and get MORE work done.

3) Makes me WANT to eat right so I can FEEL HEALTHIER, go to the gym and FEEL even MORE healthy.

4) Inspire others to better their health through example.

5) Lift Midgets.

6) Gets the ladies 😉

 

Getting into a work out routine is a HABIT. The first couple weeks in a gym most people just quit because they are lazy. You can’t do that! You have to over come any type of fears, laziness or over thinking. Why do you think Nike’s slogan is ‘Just Do It’? lol

 

Keep A To Do List 

Benefits of a To-Do List

1) The MAIN benefit is you can keep your mental pool open for ideas. You don’t have to keep wondering and worrying “What do I have to do today?! I feel like I’m forgetting something!” That doesn’t happen if you have a to do list. You just add everything to the list and you don’t forget!

2) You know what you are doing the next day before you even go to sleep. This takes A LOT off of your mind and helps you go to sleep feeling more accomplished because you already know you are going to wake up with a purpose and not feel confused as to what you’re supposed to do.

Before I kept a to do list, I used to be all over the place!

3) It helps you get MORE DONE! I know you have gone to the grocery store and told yourself “I don’t need a list!” and then your ass gets there and you forget the peanut butter. You spend an extra 5 minutes WANDERING around the store because you feel like there was something you forgot.

This wasted time doesn’t happen if you have a to do list! This is also another reason to have a Jot pad in your phone so you can write down anything you need to do and any ideas you have.

 

Here Is My TO DO List From Today So You Can See

Aside from my normal DAILY SCHEDULED activities, here is my to-do list. 

best habits of successful rappers

 

Have A Day By Day FULL Schedule / Have A Daily Routine

There is a reason the CEO’s of companies have strict schedules. They are busy and need to get as much done in a 24 hour day that they can. These people are important because they had this type of habit system LONG before they became CEOs. You need to show the world you are just as important and make yourself a schedule you follow to the Tee. This way you get MORE music done, you get MORE information and knowledge daily and you get MORE out of your entire LIFE.

 

Here is an example of my MUSIC DAYS SCHEDULE When I’m in writing mode. 

daily schedule of successful rappers


NOTE
Because I knew I had to shoot over 60 videos for this guide AND make this website to completion. Just building this entire smartrapper website I had to make a different schedule for an entire month. But the above is my normal Music Work Day. You can see why I have written over 5,000 songs. Habit, Persistence and Dedication.

 

This only shows to 3pm, there is much more all the way to bed time. Notice how I have everything that I NEED that is productive in the day, and also how I introduce habits such as smiling, push ups and jumping jacks to make eating a meal a reward for myself.

I wake up everyday and get my mind going, I tell myself my goals so I wake up knowing the direction in life I am headed in and I smile in the mirror to see I am happy and build my smiling and posture habit.

Then I go to the gym then I come home and shower and eat and WORK.

This is my MUSIC WORK DAYS Schedule, I have other schedules in case other days have plans.

Also notice it is only Monday-Thursday, because Friday-Sunday I am out networking and building my social skills 🙂

Don’t Knock My Hustle. mmm mmmm hmmm

 

Major Note

One thing I did learn is that you can’t just ADD 50 habits into a daily routine. You won’t do ONE because it’s too new and then you’ll say fuck the rest because I already missed that ONE. So slowly build up habits, add one new thing a week or even a month. Right now I have introduced exercising before meals. I exercise to deserve my meal.

The Positive Mind Set

Make it a habit to always think POSITIVE thoughts. There is NO reason to be negative, EVER.

Tell yourself you’re great, because you are. Keep your head up for yourself because others won’t always do that for you.

When you get negative you go into a spiral, get more negative, it leads to anger, you get frustrated, then you sit there and I’m not even going to say the things that happen when you get that low. But I can tell you that I spiraled so hard at one time I literally thought I had cancer, considered suicide and a lot of other things I can’t mention openly with out people thinking I’m nuts lol. But I’m just being honest with you! You have to stay positive.

I NEVER let negative thoughts touch me. It took me a LOOOOOONG time to make it a habit to just stay positive. But I am so thankful to God/The Universe (or whatever you believe in) that I made it a habit. It is what carried me through everyday and allows me to move forward.

 

I’m not going to get into meditation and affirmations with you guys because I am assuming that is a little above most people’s mind frames. If you said meditation or affirmations to me when I was 20 I would have thought you were a nut job. So I’m not even explaining them here, maybe later haha 😀

 

The ‘Just Do It For 2 Minutes’ Habit 

If you have something to do and REALLLLLLLY don’t feel like doing it, just do it for 2 minutes. As soon as you start, with in 60 seconds you realize it’s not even hard to do and you just continue the task.

I think of the name of the habit and then use it pretty often when I don’t feel like doing something I know I have too.

 

How To Build Good Habits

I’m not going to explain to you how to build habits, this article is already long enough lol. But what I can do is recommend a book I read that really puts building habits into perspective. It is called ‘The Slight Edge’

Basically it says that if you do something everyday and make it a habit, you slightly get better everyday. So if you are writing songs everyday and you get .10% better everyday, after 10 days you are 1% better than you were at the skill 10 days earlier. Eventually you are 100% better.

But also, slight changes in bad habits into good ones.

The slight edge book insert

 

I recommend you get the AUDIO Book for like $9 on Amazon. Get it by clicking here.

You can listen to the entire thing in a couple hours. And honestly you only need to listen to the first couple chapters. The rest just tries to pound the same stuff into your head.

I listen to audio books and pod cast about things I want to learn about EVERY SINGLE DAY. Which brings us to my next habit you need to build

 

Constantly Learn
To Be A Super Human
 

As I discuss later in Level 6, knowledge will boost you more than anything in the industry.

I always thought it was so nerdy, stupid and lame to read books. That’s actually the dumbest fucking mindset I EVER had. And that’s kind of how the ‘Cool’ society culture portrays it.

LISTEN… CAREFULLY. 

In 2013 I read a book, I learned SO MUCH FROM THE BOOK, I felt like a complete dumb ass for not reading books before that. I got so mad at myself wondering why I wasn’t reading and constantly learning.

I then read ANOTHER BOOK, and I LEARNED JUST AS MUCH! I was like HOLY SHIT! Why wasn’t I READING BOOKS!

Then I got smart and started LISTENING to the books! Because I was able to listen while I drove somewhere or while I was at the gym. NOW I WAS GETTING 2 BOOKS A MONTH DONE AT LEAST! So I was learning more and more and more and more.

These books changed my entire brains wiring. It is what has allowed me to grow 50 times faster in my life in the last 2 years than I grew the first 20 years of my life. I started looking at things differently and absorbing information differently. I started looking at people differently, understanding people, their behaviors, their actions, their methods, their reasoning for their actions.

And from that I started learning about myself and how to build myself into a better person. I always wanted to inspire people but now I understood how I could do it. By making myself a better person. The thing is, if you have read my life story, you know I started at A MUCH MUCH MUCH lower level than 99.99999% people in society started.

I was completely socially underdeveloped with friends, the outside world and especially females and I had absolutely NO confidence outside of that microphone I used to express my hard work of writing and recording. I was just some angry south side Chicago misfit with the ability to write witty punchlines.

The books gave me the knowledge to be greater and grow into a man.

This may all sound stupid to you, but I don’t know how else to explain to you how important learning is.

 

Below is a list of books I recommend you read or listen to in exact order. 
You can sign up for the Audible link on any of those pages and get all the books.

The Slight Edge

48 Laws Of Power

Mastery

The 50th Law

Think And Grow Rich

How To Win Friends And Influence People

The Tipping Point

The Magic Of Thinking Big

Living The 80-20 Way

The Power Of Now

The 4 Hour Work Week

Rich Dad Poor Dad

 

There are soooooo many more I can recommend…. But I don’t want to scare you with too many options. 

 

How To Learn EASILY With Barely Any Effort

It may seem that READING is absolutely insane, you are thinking “I hate reading and I don’t have time for that.” well thats fine… That is why they make audio books! Like I said above… I listen in the car when I’m driving and when I’m at the gym lifting or doing cardio.

The only thing you have to do…. Is turn off the music…. and turn on the Audio Book. THAT’S NOT EVEN HARD AT ALLLLLLLLLLLLL. THAT IS SO FUCKING EASY! JUST DO IT!

That is like the easiest habit change you will EVER make!

Check some numbers with me here. 

My drive to the gym everyday is 12 minutes there and 12 minutes back

On the way there I get 12 minutes of an Audio Book done, On my way back I say my Affirmations and then get about 8 more minutes of the Audio book done. That is 20 Minutes of an audio book ALREADY PER DAY. Not including any other places I drive too.

THAT’S 2 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES OF AN AUDIO BOOK A WEEK JUST FROM DRIVING TO THE GYM!!!!! THAT’S ALMOST AN ENTIRE AUDIO BOOK! 

WHY WOULD YOU NOT DO THIS? 

You don’t even have to listen to the Audio book anywhere else BUT the car if you don’t want too!

 

I ran out of books and started listening to Pod Cast on things I wanted to learn about. Things like Business and being a better entrepreneur to help me further my reach and ideas to inspire people!

Don’t Knock My Hustle 

Not all rappers have insane dedication like this. Because most rappers aren’t doing it all on their own like me and you are. But if you want to be great, these are the best habits of successful rappers

 

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