No matter your opinion of Hip-Hop, specifically from the 90’s, there are some masterful lyricists out there that have the ability to deliver a powerful message rapped in an analogy that invites you to see things differently. Strip away the stigma, the personification, the flash, and you come down to the realization that at the fundamental level, it’s simply poetry in motion. Artistry in any form is a gift, whether it’s painting a picture through brush strokes or a succession of words. It’s definitely a lost art in today’s soulless mumble rapping style, where artists rely exclusively on the beat because they have little substance to add otherwise.

One of my favor songs of all time is Sky’s the Limit, by the Notorious B.I.G. It’s a testament to a culture that embodies hustle and determination. It’s an ethic I believe in. If you want to be successful, you have to show up everyday to do the work, because can only get you so far.

The song starts off in a situation that the majority of us can identify with at some level — being born on the wrong side of wealth and opportunity. It transitions into how we are all initially embarrassed by our station in life, but this is what sparks the initial drive to better our life. Sometimes, we must fake it to make it, fitting in where we can. The most successful among us learn from those encounters and use them as teachable moments. Mistakes will always be made along the way in an effort to figure out the best path forward, to elevate ourselves out of the position we originally found ourselves in. As we transform, so does our environment and the people around us. And, because we are the sum of that environment and those people we are surrounded by, it is responsible for changing us, just as much as we change it. In other words, surround yourself with elements that define where you want to go, not where you came from. We always need to be looking forward, even if it scares us because everything we want is on the other side of fear. Therefore, thinking about what needs to be done to fulfill that process is both the toughest and best decision we can make, as it will allow you to get to the next stage in your life.

Without the foresight of a growth mindset, we’ll never be more than what we started with. Call it hustle, hard-work, determination, grit, or persistence. It’s simply a choice that we must make to be the person we want to be. You have to know that the sky is the limit, as the hook repeatedly says. You have to keep pressing on, to get what you want and be how you want. Anything else is settling. Once you figure out how to master the mindset that will lead you to success in whatever you choose, there’s really no stopping you because you are only limited by the restrictions you place upon yourself. There will be setbacks, speed bumps, obstacles, failures, and apparently even a pandemic, but all these are ways to not only strengthen your resolve to what you ultimately want to become, but can help you readjust your direction and narrow your focus. And, as Biggie recites the Hustler’s Prayer — “if the game shakes me or breaks me, I hope it makes me a better man, [to] take a better stand” — it’s important to understand that everything we encounter on our journey is simply meant to serve us along the way because the sky is the limit.