February 23, 2023 • 11 mins
Taking lyrics from Jay Z's "Heart of the City", Dramos takes on the importance of avoiding a scarcity mindset, and relates it to a Stoic quote about how worrying can prevent a person from doing anything useful.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Yes, Yes, I am Dramas and this is the Street
Stoic Podcast, bringing you your daily dose of timeless stone
(00:23):
philosophy remix for the hip hop generation. Now, with that
in mind, let's get things started with your daily shot
of inspiration. Now today we're gonna be focusing around the
stoic idea of focusing on what you can control, but
(00:45):
specifically the idea of avoiding having a scarcity mindset. And
a lyric that I was man listening to over over
the weekend or a song I should say, and it
just jumped out at me was was jay Z Heart
of the City and classic of course. And in that
that record, the line that jumped out of me in
regards to what we're talking about was Jay saying, what
(01:08):
you eat don't make me shit. And he's talking about,
you know, the idea of how the actions of others
don't have any effect on him, or at least they shouldn't, right,
And it's one of those lines that, like, when you're
listening to the record, it just jumps out at you.
Is as obviously funny, but so incredibly profound and such
(01:31):
a simplified, you know, message in a life that I
think we make far too complicated, right, because uh, this
this is advice that all of us, you know, should
be be listening to, right, like myself included, I think
we're all guilty of at times watching what others are
doing and thinking that their success or their idea. You know,
(01:51):
that it takes away from our ability to do something right,
you know, thinking that someone else's achievement, that it takes
away from your achievements or your ability to achieve something
in the first place. And of course you know this.
This relates directly to a stoic quote from Marcus Cerelius,
and he says, don't waste the rest of your time
(02:11):
worrying about other people unless it affects the common good.
It will keep you from doing anything useful. Right, And
Marcus is talking about, you know, not concerning yourself with
what someone else is doing because of the mere fact
that it drains your energy. Right, It takes your energy
away from something you could be doing and putting it
(02:33):
on on giving attention to what someone else is doing
that again has little to no effect on you. And
I love the stipulation that he puts in there, Right,
unless they are harming others, you know, unless it affects
the common good is what he specifically said. But you know,
of course it doesn't mean here's a free past to
you know, sort of not be a moral person and
to look past injustices because it doesn't directly affect you.
(02:56):
Of course, if there is something that is harming others,
you know you should be devoting time and energy towards
helping in whatever way you can. But anything other than that,
you know, it's not worth your time nor your energy.
You know, their success the the people out there who
were watching on social media, or the people we have
in our lives, you know, their successes do not take
away from yours. And this is something I have to
(03:18):
constantly check myself on, right, Like, I relate to this idea,
on this principle so much. You know, there have been
so many times where you know, I saw someone launch
an idea or find success, you know, occupying a similar
space to me, and then I thought to myself, shit,
I guess I got to give up on this idea, right,
I guess I was too slow to bring it to market.
(03:39):
You know, somebody else has that idea, and now I
just have to move on from it, right, And it
took me a long time to realize and to you know,
come up with the fact that I don't have to
be the first to do something right. And that's because,
just by proxy of my own life experience, whatever I
do will be different from anyone else, right, because no
(04:00):
two people think the exact same way. So as long
as I'm being authentic in whatever I do or create,
it will inherently be original and new because once again,
nobody is going to think exactly like I do. No
one is going to interpret a concept or an idea
the exact same way that I do, right, and no
(04:21):
one else is going to have the same exact vision
as I do. Right. And I think even diving further
into this, you know, I would, I would take it
even a step further, you know, like for a long time,
I would kind of create these like these these like
villains in my head, right, and it would be people
that I would I would kind of name as my
arch nemesis, right. And the irony is that some of
(04:42):
those people I didn't even know, you know, or if
I did, like, we had no actual problem with one another, right,
we had a cordial relationship, But in my head I
built them up to be this arch nemesis of mine
because they they occupied a space that was similar to me,
or or they were doing something that was similar, and
they were automatically my nemesis as a result. Right, we
are automatically in competition with one another because we have
(05:04):
some sort of common interest or common goals. And then
the result of that was that every time I would
see them post about a new accomplishment, you know, a
new achievement, a new door that they are locked, I
would then inherently feel bad about myself, thinking that this
was somehow harming me and what I do, you know,
And it took me a long time to realize just
(05:26):
how toxic this mentality is, especially in the world that
we live in with social media and everybody is giving
you their highlight reel, right, And if you have this
negative mindset of thinking that you know what others are
doing has some sort of direct effect on you, it
is an incredibly toxic and just hellish place to live
when everyone is laying out their their accomplishments and you're
(05:48):
continuing to kind of be hit with this feeling of man,
I can't do what I want to do because someone
else has already thought of it, or they're doing it
right again. We have to kind of let go of
that notion and realize that our authenticity are our ability
to think of something in a very specific way, will
always be unique. And that means that we should never
(06:09):
stop doing or never stop striving for the things that
we want just because someone else maybe has achieved something similar,
or someone else has a similar idea. Right, what they
do does not affect us directly. Now you have heard
some of how this mindset and this idea have affected
my own personal life. Of course, we kick things off
with jay Z and Marcus Surreally as one of the Stoics. Now,
(06:32):
let's talk about how you can actually adapt this right,
How can you apply this practically and shift your mindset
in your everyday life. 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
(06:57):
have heard the words of jay Z, we have heard
from one of the stoics, Markers Surreally is. I've given
you my own take and my own personal attachment to
the Stoic idea of focusing on what you can control,
more specifically, avoiding having this sort of scarcity mindset that
plagues you know, so many of us, right, And I
think we have to first and foremost realize that it's
(07:18):
not about being first, you know, it's more so about
being great. And a part of greatness is being unique, right,
and that is your authenticity once again, the way that
you think is unique, and that is what inherently makes
something great. And let's take like a real world example.
You know, something as simple as soda. Right, that's something
(07:38):
you know, we've all grown up probably drinking. It's a
part of our everyday lives. And of course, you know,
Coke is arguably the most recognized brand in the entire
world for soda. Right. We even call other things coke,
even if they're not actually Coca Cola. Right, When you
go to a restaurant, you say, can I have a Coke?
And you're not concerned necessarily if it's actually Coca Cola? Right,
But they know what you mean. But did you actually
know that you know historically when you go back, I
(08:01):
did a little bit of research on this that Doctor
Pepper is actually recognized as one of the first soda
brands in the world and Coca Cola wasn't even made
for a year after Doctor Pepper launched, Right, So had
you know, the founders of Coca Cola thought to themselves,
oh man, somebody already came up with the soda idea.
I guess we should pack it up. They would have
(08:23):
deprived the world and themselves of one of the most famous,
you know, man items suits to ever be invented, right,
And that's what we have to remember when it comes
to all of our ideas and all of our concepts. Again,
it's not about being first. It's about creating something great.
At the end of the day, the marketplace, the world,
you know, your your life, the people in it will
always create space for something or someone who is great. Again,
(08:47):
it's not about being first, you know. We need to
adapt a new mindset and get rid of the scarcity
mindset that so many of us are plagued with. And
I think that rather than seeing someone else's success as
asking away from yours, you have to begin to retrain
your mind to instead view it as confirmation that what
(09:07):
you want is actually possible, right, Like, that's the ultimate motivation,
you know. And that's what I've begun to do and adapt,
you know, And it's been incredibly freeing for me, right
because if I see somebody else doing something similar to
what I want to do or occupying a similar space. Again,
that is tangible proof that the idea that I have,
the dream that I have, the goal that I'm chasing
(09:29):
after isn't all that crazy because I'm seeing somebody else
able to do so and do something at least similar
to that. Right now, to summarize, you know, we have
one of the goats, jay Z you know, point blank
period talking about what you eat. Don't make me shit,
you know. And it's him declaring that he's not concerned
with what others are doing because it has no tangible
(09:50):
effect on him. Right And and Marcus Aurelius, you know,
talking about the idea of you focusing or worrying about
other people, you know, takes you away from doing anything useful.
And again the caveat of of course, if somebody is
doing harm to the common good of people, you should
push back and do something against that. But that is
the only exception other than that what someone else is
(10:12):
doing is not worth your time nor your energy. And
for me, you know, I created these villains. I created
these problems in my mind based upon what someone else
was doing. And the second that I realized that nobody
can recreate the way that my mind thinks, the way
that I see the world. And as long as I
view and man put myself out there authentically and put
(10:32):
you know, my heart and my honest self into whatever
I do, it will inherently be unique. Right. As long
as I realize that I'm good to go, I don't
have to worry about anyone else. Right, So it's not
about being first, It's about being great. And what makes
you great is being authentically you. No one else can
truly replicate that. Remember that. Now. With that said, thank
(10:55):
you so much for checking out the Street Stove Podcast.
Do your best to apply these concepts that we've discussed
into your everyday life, and I will catch you next time.
The Street Stoke Podcast is a production of Ihearts Michael
Tura Podcast Network
Yes, Yes, I am Dramas and this is the Street
Stoic Podcast, bringing you your daily dose of timeless stone
(00:23):
philosophy remix for the hip hop generation. Now, with that
in mind, let's get things started with your daily shot
of inspiration. Now today we're gonna be focusing around the
stoic idea of focusing on what you can control, but
(00:45):
specifically the idea of avoiding having a scarcity mindset. And
a lyric that I was man listening to over over
the weekend or a song I should say, and it
just jumped out at me was was jay Z Heart
of the City and classic of course. And in that
that record, the line that jumped out of me in
regards to what we're talking about was Jay saying, what
(01:08):
you eat don't make me shit. And he's talking about,
you know, the idea of how the actions of others
don't have any effect on him, or at least they shouldn't, right,
And it's one of those lines that, like, when you're
listening to the record, it just jumps out at you.
Is as obviously funny, but so incredibly profound and such
(01:31):
a simplified, you know, message in a life that I
think we make far too complicated, right, because uh, this
this is advice that all of us, you know, should
be be listening to, right, like myself included, I think
we're all guilty of at times watching what others are
doing and thinking that their success or their idea. You know,
(01:51):
that it takes away from our ability to do something right,
you know, thinking that someone else's achievement, that it takes
away from your achievements or your ability to achieve something
in the first place. And of course you know this.
This relates directly to a stoic quote from Marcus Cerelius,
and he says, don't waste the rest of your time
(02:11):
worrying about other people unless it affects the common good.
It will keep you from doing anything useful. Right, And
Marcus is talking about, you know, not concerning yourself with
what someone else is doing because of the mere fact
that it drains your energy. Right, It takes your energy
away from something you could be doing and putting it
(02:33):
on on giving attention to what someone else is doing
that again has little to no effect on you. And
I love the stipulation that he puts in there, Right,
unless they are harming others, you know, unless it affects
the common good is what he specifically said. But you know,
of course it doesn't mean here's a free past to
you know, sort of not be a moral person and
to look past injustices because it doesn't directly affect you.
(02:56):
Of course, if there is something that is harming others,
you know you should be devoting time and energy towards
helping in whatever way you can. But anything other than that,
you know, it's not worth your time nor your energy.
You know, their success the the people out there who
were watching on social media, or the people we have
in our lives, you know, their successes do not take
away from yours. And this is something I have to
(03:18):
constantly check myself on, right, Like, I relate to this idea,
on this principle so much. You know, there have been
so many times where you know, I saw someone launch
an idea or find success, you know, occupying a similar
space to me, and then I thought to myself, shit,
I guess I got to give up on this idea, right,
I guess I was too slow to bring it to market.
(03:39):
You know, somebody else has that idea, and now I
just have to move on from it, right, And it
took me a long time to realize and to you know,
come up with the fact that I don't have to
be the first to do something right. And that's because,
just by proxy of my own life experience, whatever I
do will be different from anyone else, right, because no
(04:00):
two people think the exact same way. So as long
as I'm being authentic in whatever I do or create,
it will inherently be original and new because once again,
nobody is going to think exactly like I do. No
one is going to interpret a concept or an idea
the exact same way that I do, right, and no
(04:21):
one else is going to have the same exact vision
as I do. Right. And I think even diving further
into this, you know, I would, I would take it
even a step further, you know, like for a long time,
I would kind of create these like these these like
villains in my head, right, and it would be people
that I would I would kind of name as my
arch nemesis, right. And the irony is that some of
(04:42):
those people I didn't even know, you know, or if
I did, like, we had no actual problem with one another, right,
we had a cordial relationship, But in my head I
built them up to be this arch nemesis of mine
because they they occupied a space that was similar to me,
or or they were doing something that was similar, and
they were automatically my nemesis as a result. Right, we
are automatically in competition with one another because we have
(05:04):
some sort of common interest or common goals. And then
the result of that was that every time I would
see them post about a new accomplishment, you know, a
new achievement, a new door that they are locked, I
would then inherently feel bad about myself, thinking that this
was somehow harming me and what I do, you know,
And it took me a long time to realize just
(05:26):
how toxic this mentality is, especially in the world that
we live in with social media and everybody is giving
you their highlight reel, right, And if you have this
negative mindset of thinking that you know what others are
doing has some sort of direct effect on you, it
is an incredibly toxic and just hellish place to live
when everyone is laying out their their accomplishments and you're
(05:48):
continuing to kind of be hit with this feeling of man,
I can't do what I want to do because someone
else has already thought of it, or they're doing it
right again. We have to kind of let go of
that notion and realize that our authenticity are our ability
to think of something in a very specific way, will
always be unique. And that means that we should never
(06:09):
stop doing or never stop striving for the things that
we want just because someone else maybe has achieved something similar,
or someone else has a similar idea. Right, what they
do does not affect us directly. Now you have heard
some of how this mindset and this idea have affected
my own personal life. Of course, we kick things off
with jay Z and Marcus Surreally as one of the Stoics. Now,
(06:32):
let's talk about how you can actually adapt this right,
How can you apply this practically and shift your mindset
in your everyday life. 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
(06:57):
have heard the words of jay Z, we have heard
from one of the stoics, Markers Surreally is. I've given
you my own take and my own personal attachment to
the Stoic idea of focusing on what you can control,
more specifically, avoiding having this sort of scarcity mindset that
plagues you know, so many of us, right, And I
think we have to first and foremost realize that it's
(07:18):
not about being first, you know, it's more so about
being great. And a part of greatness is being unique, right,
and that is your authenticity once again, the way that
you think is unique, and that is what inherently makes
something great. And let's take like a real world example.
You know, something as simple as soda. Right, that's something
(07:38):
you know, we've all grown up probably drinking. It's a
part of our everyday lives. And of course, you know,
Coke is arguably the most recognized brand in the entire
world for soda. Right. We even call other things coke,
even if they're not actually Coca Cola. Right, When you
go to a restaurant, you say, can I have a Coke?
And you're not concerned necessarily if it's actually Coca Cola? Right,
But they know what you mean. But did you actually
know that you know historically when you go back, I
(08:01):
did a little bit of research on this that Doctor
Pepper is actually recognized as one of the first soda
brands in the world and Coca Cola wasn't even made
for a year after Doctor Pepper launched, Right, So had
you know, the founders of Coca Cola thought to themselves,
oh man, somebody already came up with the soda idea.
I guess we should pack it up. They would have
(08:23):
deprived the world and themselves of one of the most famous,
you know, man items suits to ever be invented, right,
And that's what we have to remember when it comes
to all of our ideas and all of our concepts. Again,
it's not about being first. It's about creating something great.
At the end of the day, the marketplace, the world,
you know, your your life, the people in it will
always create space for something or someone who is great. Again,
(08:47):
it's not about being first, you know. We need to
adapt a new mindset and get rid of the scarcity
mindset that so many of us are plagued with. And
I think that rather than seeing someone else's success as
asking away from yours, you have to begin to retrain
your mind to instead view it as confirmation that what
(09:07):
you want is actually possible, right, Like, that's the ultimate motivation,
you know. And that's what I've begun to do and adapt,
you know, And it's been incredibly freeing for me, right
because if I see somebody else doing something similar to
what I want to do or occupying a similar space. Again,
that is tangible proof that the idea that I have,
the dream that I have, the goal that I'm chasing
(09:29):
after isn't all that crazy because I'm seeing somebody else
able to do so and do something at least similar
to that. Right now, to summarize, you know, we have
one of the goats, jay Z you know, point blank
period talking about what you eat. Don't make me shit,
you know. And it's him declaring that he's not concerned
with what others are doing because it has no tangible
(09:50):
effect on him. Right And and Marcus Aurelius, you know,
talking about the idea of you focusing or worrying about
other people, you know, takes you away from doing anything useful.
And again the caveat of of course, if somebody is
doing harm to the common good of people, you should
push back and do something against that. But that is
the only exception other than that what someone else is
(10:12):
doing is not worth your time nor your energy. And
for me, you know, I created these villains. I created
these problems in my mind based upon what someone else
was doing. And the second that I realized that nobody
can recreate the way that my mind thinks, the way
that I see the world. And as long as I
view and man put myself out there authentically and put
(10:32):
you know, my heart and my honest self into whatever
I do, it will inherently be unique. Right. As long
as I realize that I'm good to go, I don't
have to worry about anyone else. Right, So it's not
about being first, It's about being great. And what makes
you great is being authentically you. No one else can
truly replicate that. Remember that. Now. With that said, thank
(10:55):
you so much for checking out the Street Stove Podcast.
Do your best to apply these concepts that we've discussed
into your everyday life, and I will catch you next time.
The Street Stoke Podcast is a production of Ihearts Michael
Tura Podcast Network
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