Hip Hop Affirmation of the Day#49
Ambassador’s Note: This one is a little bit longer than most, but it’s how I was feeling at the time. Only the best for my Hip Hop Affirmations followers. If you haven’t done so already, subscribe at www.hiphopaffirmations and receive a free gift.
“WE NEED TO TEACH IT AT EVERY SCHOOL, IT’S THE A-B-Y, ALWAYS BE YOU” – Mos Def (Undeniable)
Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81IV5Ll0CEQ
I sold out and didn’t even know it. Somewhere along the journey from Brooklyn to Massaschusetts I done changed (I know it’s not proper English).
Several years back when I was training to be a certified professional life coach I found myself at the center of the class being coached because I felt a training client of mine needed a few curse words to get him moving but I did not do it. In fact, I felt like I couldn’t do it! So my coaching leaders called me to the center circle and had a couple of my peers coach me and provoke me to curse. I threw out a couple of curse words, but no emotions were attached. Coach after coach–in training–tried to spark some kind of anger in me, but it just wouldn’t work, until….
One guy pulled a chair to the center, sat in it backwards and looked me dead in the eyes and said, “Mike are you trying not to do anything that is stereotypical of a Black man?” Wow, it took a moment to sink in but he was right. I never gave it much thought but I had been working extra hard not to be the one Black dude the T.V. news reporter would decide to interview even though there were tons of other people around– you know the one i’m referring to; the one who embodied only one part of our blackness = dew-rag, gold fronts, pants way pass sagging and throwing out, “What had happen was…”
I wanted to be different; I don’t know if it started after I was robbed at gunpoint about 1 block away from my house during my junior year in high school or after I interned at the Black Enterprise Golf and Tennis Challenge and their Ski Challenge in Vail, Colorado. I wanted to be different, but all the effort was stunting my range. After that coaching experience I realized that I am the same guy who can hangout with the homies, recite Jay-Z lyrics as if it were my job (hey you never know, i’m still trying to connect with him) and the following day rock a bowtie to a business meeting.
Range allows you to fully express yourself. Think about it this way, if you owned a basketball team would you want the guy who could only dribble with his right hand and only make lay-ups or would you want the guy who could dribble with either hand, make lay-ups, shoot freethrows, jump shots and three-pointers. No contest right? When you allow yourself to be fully expressed you have increased range and are much harder to stop.
In the words of my favorite basketball player, Shea Gordon, when talking about his offensive game: “If you take one step back, i’m running right by you; if you take two steps back, i’m gonna shoot the ball right in your eye.” Now that’s range!
Affirmation of the Day: I am multifaceted and have unbelievable range to flow in any crowd.
Question of the Day: In what situations do you feel you cannot be yourself?
Action of the Day: Sign up for an acting class so you can explore your range.
Run the Point; from where you are, with what you have!
Your Ambassador,
Mike Bruny
