You Want to Become Your Own Boss? WATCH THIS! | Damon Dash | Top 50 Rules

failing is never failing it's always a learning experience I stopped living according to what people wanted me to do I could call it living according to what actually made me happy independence is priceless it's just people that have never had it don't even understand the motivation watch it's often with leave nation what's that belief nation it's Evan I believe in you and this channel is designed to be a part of your daily success routine so let's get your motivation to attend and get you believing in you grab a snack and chew in today's lessons from a man who went from hustling newspapers as a kid so that he could buy sneakers to becoming the co-founder of Rockefeller Records and a successful entrepreneur he's Damon Dash and here's my take on his top 50 rules for success also if you want to know what Damon Dash and other successful entrepreneurs have to say about building unstoppable confidence check out my 250 for confidence series where every day for the next 250 4 days I will send you a morning video for free to help you build your confidence to link to join is in the description below knowing the one thing you have to really never do is compare yourself to other people absolutely that's the one thing you can't do it judge this exists to someone else's okay let's kick it off with rule number one get out of the nine two five nine two fives aren't good because you look you hustle fourth weekend but when you do something that's for yourself and your family it never feels like work I hustled for my house fulfill my last name I don't hustle for my first rule number two be patient I've learned over the years that you know with anything you have to be patient not in five years patient or five you know five months patient you know you could be ten years patient if you want to you know empires aren't built overnight you know they mean like I always tell you by the great wall was a 2000 year old plant mm your main life times that is at one plant you know and getting people to to to kind of you know do the same have the same exact agenda for lifetimes the generations that's crazy so you know you have to be patient when you want to do something significant no matter what and a lot of time that means you know not reaping the benefits of something immediately and that's the test rule number three put your own money up I don't think my approach on business is with the average person would advise like most I hear people say never put up your own money and I'm saying put your own money up work harder than everyone be patient and just know that if you're gonna do something on your own you're gonna have to feel some pain rule number four pay your bills you know you always have to have something that's paying your bills so that whatever you're creating can breathe so you don't have to rush it you don't have to make it push it to make money when it's not ready you know what I mean like you kind of always have to have something solid and then you that's paying your bills if you know cuz even as an artist to me as a man you still have the responsibility to take care of your woman to take care of your children and to take care of yourself and you know almost in that order it's like children your woman and then yourself you know what I'm saying but all of that should be able to be taken care if that's a real man you know and as an artist you can't say alright well I'm not going to take care of my children or take care of my woman or even take care of myself well to protect my artistry then that's not artistry to me that's just being lazy you know I'm saying I think as an artist you have to fight for that artistry you know what I'm saying like you have to figure out how to pay your bills so that the artistry can breathe you know what I mean and it also you know that's how you feel like I'm a real man remember five embrace pain did you ever watch a James Bond movie where it doesn't look like he's losing at some point and then he wins or Batman or Iron Man or any superhero there has to be some diversity for you to you know overcome to win you know it can't be a champ unless you uh you know are in a place where you look like you're gonna lose and then you win the pain that's gonna come with being independent you have to embrace it because it's gonna happen and also know that the more successful you get the more problems you're gonna have the more not you're gonna have that time being a boss does not mean smooth sailing it means having the ability to care about other people before yourself and to untie problems untie knots that's all it is there's it's not business if there's not problem there's nothing good without struggle it just doesn't happen and all my experiences there hasn't been one thing that's been successful without me feeling some pain before it was successful so now when there is pain I embrace it you know I've been embracing it I Maji about it because I know that must mean that if I'm cool that you know what awaits me tonight the darkest before the dawn I don't I don't want to like sound corny but that's really what that's that's what has to happen rule number six lay bare I'm always gonna play fair you know what I mean like I don't believe in doing anything unless it's fair because I believe there's always karmic repercussions from doing things unfair so what could appear to be a win or something that appears to be a fast you know fast money and I don't know in the long run I'm gonna suffer but you know it's always a test quick anything quick as a test you know I can get it quick if I don't have to cheat but if it you know if I gotta cheat to get it fast I don't want it rule number seven be independent my parents haven't bought me clothes since I was about 14 my parents had me I haven't had nobody buy me nothing let's say that no one's taking care of me since I was 14 years old and I didn't want nobody taking care of me because they couldn't what they was trying to buy me I wasn't trying to win rule number eight higher intentionally taste talent and work ethic you know I mean and all of it I need all of it you know taste talent were catfish you know well perspective so when I interview or my even when my the people I work with find more talent they have to bring me I have to get a mixtape from them can't even know what music they're listening to cuz tasted music tells a lot about a person it really does um I got to know who the best their favorite designer is what's the last book they read favorite artist and it's funny that sometimes you know you get those the answers are hilarious but people will be trying they don't have you know but you know you honestly have to have your like I look for all your senses to be activated you know I mean like I need you have good taste in music I need your work ethic I need you to be a good person I need you have a good taste in clothes you know I need to be you need to be able to be savvy and more than just one thing like everyone that my staff can do like there's not one job that anyone does in my staff rule number nine stop caring what others think I make a regular business that doesn't touch pop culture doesn't make history than to some people that could be considering going back that's not a pressure for me because I could care less what people think and I don't think there's anything about my career where you would think I did it for someone else I'm just constantly trying to impress myself like I've accomplished you know relatively speaking a lot of things and because of that I've been able to do exactly what inspires rule number ten don't be lazy everyone has the ability to take care of themselves you can always be a hunter you can always eat the food you kill it's just about how lazy you are you know there's a theory it's all about your effort rule number eleven do what you love motivated not get burned out I only do what I love you got to do what you love you can't get burnt out and I do get burnt out you know once I'm in a business and I don't enjoy it no more that's the thing I can't it's hard for me to stand in business for a long period of time because the people tend to make me sick so as soon as I start to get aggravated you know it's like I'll be on the block if the block starts to make me mad I go to another block even if I got the block click and it's just like I won't compromise my quality of living your autumn sample like right now what I'm doing is you know I'm building things that I could pass to my kids but only things that I love them and my family so I love making movie I'll make it movies I love it I don't think I'm gonna be burnt out with that any time soon you know and then also when you're in the business of making money off other people that person could make you sick and you don't want to make money off them no more so that's the reason why I try to only make money off myself these days and also do things that you know my girl and my wife rocky if she's inspired then we'll do that business I'm like some revolving my children I like that business but I worked hard to put myself in that position rule number 12 make things happen was there some pivotal moment for you in your life where you just really got it and and something happened a fire ignited inside you that made it so that you had all the moving parts to make this amazing career unfold I think the death of my mother probably got me really focused and I understood that there wasn't gonna be anyone there to take care of me had to take care of myself and just out of respect for her life and all the things she did to make me a better person I had to apply all those things so you know at like 17 my mother died when I was 16 or 17 you know I was running the streets so heavy and it was getting so critical then I put myself in boarding school you know I figured out how to get a scholarship and because of the ability that my mother gave me to articulate what's on my mind to read to write you know cannot be afraid and also I was you know boxing so I got went to the boys club and they were given our scholarship for you know you took a test I passed the test and you know I made it and I was just always able to put myself in a better place I never let anybody else control my destiny my mom's taught me to make things happen on my own not to depend on anybody and if I have an opinion to speak on it rule number 13 be consistent the only way to be a professional is to work harder than everybody a professional like a professional baseball player boxes someone that's better than everyone else that's why he gets paid so much to do it that means work it ain't nothing professional going to give in to you there's some sacrifice there's always pain and you know it's always gonna be dark times because that's part of business every time you create a new business you got to struggle a little bit and it takes a while to build a brand it takes about five years to be consistent like my first five years you know I'm not saying nothing different I've been saying the same exact stuff if you go look at backstage and any kind of argument I had it's always been consistent it's just people weren't ready for it they didn't trust it but after I've been saying it for 10 years a five you know five to ten now it's a brand I have a brand for time consistent I back it up I'm still here I'm still up even when you know being an independent man looking like you was down rule number fourteen finished the fight failing is never failing it's always a learning experience soldier the thing about businesses is how deep your pocket is I always say that like if you got a lot of money you could sustain these losses until they turn into gains but if you have a short paper if your money's not long if you don't have enough you have to make sure that those losses don't kill and compromise your pocket and that's the point you got to get creative but when you do anything to get better at it the more you do it and the first time you do anything you usually don't do it correct so it's not failure it's learning experience if you could get up and it's like in a fight the first round you might get knocked out but by the last round you get up and knock that person now won't you might lost around but you win the whole fight you might you gotta lose some rounds in business but at the end of the day you want that unanimous decision you gotta keep going you gotta to fight the question is do you have the stamina to finish rule number 15 be fearless but you get on the web and you did check out whose Dame - and there's so much crap how do you deal with that and how do you suggest other people deal with it when they reach a certain level of celebrity I mean when you sign on to being a certain level of celebrity you got to know they're gonna say things and you know things are going to get eyeballs and get people to buy you know it's in and you know I just I really don't care and one of the reasons why I think I've been successful is because I didn't care if I cared I probably would be too scared to promote people that people don't want to promote you know it takes fearlessness to be first you know to not move with a crowd to move alone you know and you get scrutinized by people that do move with a crowd because they gotta make you look bad to make themselves look good it's all part of the game it's like a guy that's in high school that gets all the girls the rest of the dudes hate him in high school so my whole life has been being that guy in high school that everyone hates cuz I keep taking their girls good understand that not a bad life so that's how I look at it but the price of success is unsuccessful people don't like you who cares for us successful people don't care about what another person is doing cuz successful people want everybody else does bcz exactly that's my no that's this whole mindset that people don't understand right so it's usually a bunch of unsuccessful bitter bitter people and you know I was a guy in school that you know was got kicked out of every school I was the class clown you know I wasn't the guy that you would traditionally think would be go this far so me making it made all my teachers look stupid every principal that kicked me out of school look stupid you know I went to South Kent in Connecticut on scholarship I didn't come back the next year the next time I came back was on a helicopter and I landed it on the soccer field you know that when I got kicked out of Dwight in the seventh grade you know my son came back and they were asking me you know I put my son duty I paid full tuition plus extras for tutoring and they asked me to build a library I'm like the same principal that kicked me out is asking me to build a library so it's egg on all their faces you know my success makes a lot of people look like they were wrong because a lot of people articulated the fact that I wouldn't be what I am today and either way either way I didn't care but I think it's kind of funny it's egg all over face scramble rule number 16 be a boss is in everyone but not everyone has a discipline for that anyone could be an entrepreneur but not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur some people rather depend on other people because they feel like they don't have to work as hard but being at the preneur means working hard it means embracing struggle it means being a leader then we're never sending somebody to do something that you wouldn't do yourself a real boss will never send somebody to do something with it do themself a boss that tell somebody to do some of the things we do is not a boss he's a cow and I that both principles came to me from the people I knew in this treaty right so somebody like rule number 17 use your money I didn't want to do so much that every dollar goes back into the street like I just paid my bills and I wanna buy some I buy it but you know I'm generally trying to independently financed all my all the things that inspired without compromise so every time I pay for like I already know I'm not holding no money like I you know how I'm spending my first billion i'ma buy a football team you know saying like I have no intention on holding any money and the only way to get to a billion is to keep putting money back into the companies and flipping and I'm gonna just be flipping my whole life you know that's just my game was I got cash flow I'm cool you know I don't really believe a hold of no money I think that's for suckers rule number 18 do new things it's hard you do a lot and it's all relative you know what I mean like the first time I heard a record on the radio I was excited the first time I saw my video on television I was excited the first time I saw a movie at if the optical level was very excited you know first times of anything are exciting and I tend to have a lot of first times you know what I'm saying yeah that's absolutely incredible so I try to recreate that first time feeling by doing new things you know traveling the world is important opening up art galleries all over the world has been fun you know opened up an art gallery in Hong Kong was dope as well as Charleston as well as the Lower East Side as well as Tribeca all of those first times were great you know I'm saying being in different neighborhoods moving and not being scared to you know have growing pains and thanks to that nature so it's all been really fun it's been a blast rule number 19 have a plan a business plan get a lot of business that doesn't exist is a lot because you can't you can't say like who do your facts based on because it hasn't happened yet you can't really determine who's going by what and how much this cost sell you can't say I make a million this year there's no right you know what what I'll do is put together what I it's like a script I put together how I make the goods I'm gonna market the goods how much just want us to buy the goods but we have with my margin and then when I'm gonna sell it and then how much I'm gonna put back into the business and how much I'm gonna put in my fire you know if that kind of thing you know I write things that like if you look the one that look gonna put that on the wall right there right this is you see you see a piece of paper while I don't know under one it that's it I got a do you know I like to put things on the wall I can't even know what I've got to do I need to look at it and it cross it out I don't consider that a business plan per se or but I have a plan you know I'm saying like I have a plan plus you want other people to understand the plan because you can't do anything on your own so you want to be able articulated to them away they understand and if they could look back in because I've talked quick and like you said a lot of times I say [ __ ] you like I didn't understand that until a year later you know so you want to have something someone makes you look at that and they can see you crossing it off and then they can kind of get it by absorbing or you know by watching what you're doing rule number twenty serve others you know I support the arts and I give people platforms you know what I'm saying like to me a real person that it is it's supposed to be a leader is supposed to serve the people you know what I'm saying that's what you're supposed to do you're not supposed to be worried about yourself you know what I was I've been thinking about lately you notice that in the music business traditionally it's the businessman that's robbing the artists and they always the artists ends up with the with the behind the stories the way they now I would add now nobody did I ever touch a rich they'd be doing well and I'm the one that's always looking for a while doesn't that way it is cuz I give it all the way I'm not trying to take the artists happen in my pocket for his life and jerk him and have him resent me you know I'm saying I'm ready to get him out my pocket be like look man go win go eat go be yourself we'd leave me alone rule number 21 stand out from the crowd at a young age I remember getting yelled at in in nursery school when I was four or five and I felt this feeling of embarrassment and at that moment I was able to identify that feeling and I was like I will never let myself feel embarrassed again so from then on nothing young in age yeah that I would just you know I didn't like the feeling I felt funny I felt like I was shrinking like you know what Fred Flintstone gets yelled at and you get smaller yeah I didn't like anybody making me feel smaller just put by the energy of their voice so it was almost like I put this repellent on where nothing could embarrass me you know I'm saying so I just never really kid and I never wanted to be a part of a crowd I always wanted to be an individual I hate it when everybody looked the same so it was like it was corny to meet it like to like something cuz somebody else like this so I was like that guy that was like if you like it I'm not gonna like it you know I always wanted to be first never be last I never wanted to like follow a trend I've always wanted to start it and I think that comes from the Harlem swag and all that and that confidence is what made me not really care so when I would speak about things that no one else was speaking about if I was gonna do something that no one else did I embraced that loneliness you know because it meant I was doing something right where other people right and and as a result of it because I would always give 100 fearlessly and stand behind my point of view I'll got the reception that I thought that I deserved which was you know being able to have the life that I want it rule number 22 take control again recognize what really makes you happy if you feel like you lose and you lose it it doesn't matter what other people feel so I know how it feels to be perceived as winning and be feeling like I'm losing I stopped living according to what people wanted me to do I could start living according to what actually made me happy like if you in a situation that don't make no sense then get out of it don't make it make sense one plus one always equals two if you not happy change your life rule number 23 be independent you got a kid from the streets coming up and they're trying to make you incorporate but they don't necessarily have you're not gonna make it incorporate right he's gonna create his own corporate he's gonna have to buy things like you did in the street like a t-shirt right you're a $5 and go sell it for twenty and the reason why I can do a lot of it is cuz of the internet you could do it on its own as a Instagram or one is a website and that's it it's a flip there's no difference the only difference between corporate and independence is corporate doesn't use their own money it's always a fun another fun and another fun that throws into another fund then the person that that that finds all that money gets a fee and acts like it says you know I mean you know the game that's corporate yeah corporate is a facade but it's not yours you can't give it to nobody you can't give it to your family you know I'm saying a true man wants to make his life easier for his children not himself right so I can just have a job where I get fired or I'm I'm done my kids don't get it I'm a hustle for pension panel not in the company cell I don't get nothing what you working for if it's not chores how hard you gonna really work for it if you don't only think about it you working for a paycheck you're gonna do at least amount of work as possible unless you really believe there's a future in it that's why what everyone I work with and you can ask anybody in there as soon as I get it in I know the ideals and the principles if you help me I'm gonna help you my thing is I make people independent I don't make them dependent so if you notice all the people I put on they still doing it so you've got jay-z you got Kevin Hart you got Lee Daniels you got Rachel Roy I didn't teach them how to be dependent on me I taught him how to rob I taught him how to cut the connector basically I'm the dumbest person in the world if I'm for free I teach you how to get it without me and I'm getting paid to be the middleman so once I teach you that you don't need a middleman you get rid of it I'm mad at you for that that's why I taught you because once that make your dream come true I'm off to make my own now I'm gonna sit around in your pocket all day rule number 24 work hard on your craft fight expect expect to be uncomfortable and if you're not devoting between eight and twelve hours a day on your craft then you're not really trying to be a professional like you got to realize you trying to be competitive being a professional means being the best in the world that doesn't just come with skill that comes with discipline you know that means you have to have a certain kind of work ethic that means you're doing things that most won't people really don't understand it like they think they got skill so everything is going to come to them skill is actually like a curse I've seen people with no skill that realize that and understand that they had to work hard to get this skill worked so hard that they do better than the people that have skill and that are arrogant and entitled that feel that it should just come to them and then they just become a waste you know having potential is [ __ ] if you don't realize it it becomes corny like you're the cool guy when you have potential but like ten years later if you don't realize it they need a corny guy you know I'm saying and I never want to ever be that guy rule number 25 leave your comfort zone what does it truly mean to be independent just to be able to do whatever I want to do whenever I feel like it you know I understand like I couldn't imagine like that's why I hate his school I just ain't on and I'm not saying people shade school but I just couldn't stand a teacher that I didn't think was cool or smarter than me telling me what to do and then I had to sit there and listen but for anybody who actually has that fear like that wakes up and they deal with that fear and they go into a job and they're in between deciding if they're just gonna go out and be independent or not like what are your words for them I would say blindly do it wait and figure it out the more uncomfortable that makes me feel the better cannot be great comfortable grabber remember 26 make good products I don't believe I should have to be nice to get somebody to give me something if my product is good no matter how I act you will pay for it you know that's another principle that I learned in the street when people want their drugs they'll line up but get told what to do they'll be yelled at they'll be talked to get in the back of the line I'm only taking 20s don't even coming in with a dollar that kind of thing no one's nice today the drug dealer don't have to be nice his work got to be good and that applies exactly in real business as long as your work is good people will come when your work isn't good you have to have gimmicks right so in the street you got two four five three dollar bottles and chicken bags but usually the works not good right so in this world when you overcompensate when you don't have good work you overcompensate with the tension you start to become like you sell celebrity that's what you leverage so now your game becomes going outside being a slave to what everybody else thinks and that's another rhythm that I didn't want to abide by as well like I wasn't going to be about that celebrity all I want to do is be about good product good work be respectful make an honest living and work with honest people and all and the Internet has made it really possible to do that because again you can make your product you could promote your product you could sell your product you collect the data and have that relationship directly with your consumer rule number 27 be selfless you know one thing Abbas has to realize is your job isn't to take care of yourself your job to take care of other people so that means you have to completely be selfless if you're selfish at all you're not a boss if you don't have the ability to care about other people before yourself you're not a boss people practice being bosses every day because they're parents you know you care more about your child and you care about yourself that's like your business that's what the boss does you know I've had to pay my staff before I pay my own bills because they did the work you know what I'm saying that's what the boss does rule number 28 do it all so people who take the leap and they make that first they take that first passion and build a business or they start something but they have other talents or other disciplines that they want to build things around how have you managed to build multiple companies or take that blueprint and apply it to different areas and manage that it's because I look at all the little companies as marketing for one company when I make a movie I got to make the movie right so I got to do that but also after I make the movie I got to distribute the movie so I built the platform like Dame their studios or whatever app I'm a distributed you understand then while you're watching the movie like you gotta wear clothes I wear clothes I like to make clothes I have the ability to do it I was in the fashion business still am so I make all the clothes it's a commercial for the clothes I like music but not in a traditional sense I don't want to monetize and then exploit artists but I do have a deep catalog of music that I've made while I was just inspired in the moment I could use the music in the movie so now you can sell the music you sell in the fashion people drink right so why won't you drink to look at it I make I make the liquor so then now you can you know drink to look but I'm just saying so everything you see I feel like I want to make because I have the ability to do it you know what I'm saying so I do it so I basically leverage the things that people pay for that's what I use for marketing so I've always looked at looking at rock with look at the state property when I have a movie called state property then you got clothing called state property you have album called state property state property that 20-something million and clothes that year just because of the commercial that the movie presents why would I pay somebody to do something I could do myself like well I'm gonna pay a bodyguard when I can fight rule number 29 architect your life the thing is you got to think about your future at all times what do you want to look like in 10 years what is your day what do you want your day to look like so at 35 I'm like at 45 I'm definitely not going to be trying to be getting up and going to a office and running behind artists I'd rather be sitting by the pool yeah so then I started investing that's called art detecting I started it didn't take like overnight but I had to know what I wanted and had to visualize it to make it happy be able to also work on me like I was sick of investing in other people yeah making money off other people making other people's dreams come true and then it has to be a be fun I don't feel like hanging around yeah you know what I'm saying I got to look like this you know meals whatever we're fighting for people that just you know the crazy thing is the more you fight for people the more people try to make it look like you're fighting for the wrong reasons and I don't care what people think so it doesn't matter but if I'm gonna do all that I was like if I'm a fight I'm gonna do that for me I'm gonna do it for my family I'm gonna do that for people that are gonna give back see there's givers in this world and his takers in this world so when you get givers together it's just a love fest you're gonna get a giver with a taker it's a lopsided relationship and usually the taker always feels like they deserve more and don't give gifts and stuff you feel what I'm saying yeah so I've been able to heart detect it down to that like the kind of people I want around the way I want the body you know get but just the intent of the people of it have you always created your 10-year vision is that something neither you know it are doing yeah oh it's holy so you always knew he liked crystallized in your mind like exactly like where you were gonna be ten years from where you were yeah yeah that's cool you have any tricks or tips that you can help again visualize what you want yeah and work toward it if you don't have a script it's kind of hard to shoot the movie yeah yeah rule number 30 learn everything when I try to do when I start companies is learn every single job before we start hiring so for example with damn dance studios I have to got booty running game - videos and Raquel you know editing and posting and doing the things so that when they hire somebody don't know what to tell you to do I don't know how long it takes and they'll know if that person is doing their job and that it's more just like I gotta work the cash register first rule number 31 be independent independence is priceless it's just people that have never had it don't even understand and I'm an expert I'm sure you know and independence means using putting up your own go have to put up your honor that's independence if someone else is putting up the money that's dependence you understand what I'm saying now you gotta move when they say you have to ask you have to be nice you have to laugh at jokes that aren't funny you know I mean you have to be around a racist and let them say little things little few things a nerd square that wouldn't survive in the street and independence is like being let me tell you their perspective of something that's independent if there's like a wild dog he has to literally eat the food he kills he cannot eat unless he kills something that day and then there's a girl that's changed lives in the house but he has three square meals a day he got to do tricks he gets tired he just kicked out and gets beat you gotta give walk he walks on a leash when that dog comes in the room with the wild dog wild dog is the last thing he doesn't care that you're in a mansion he doesn't care that you eat steak every day he still thinks about her he knows he can take from you because he knows he has to kill every baby you know I mean and that's a confidence that's a rockstar and that's the one thing that I know I would never give up you know the ability to be that act like I laugh at anyone that's a cage dog you know walk on a leash told when to eat and those tricks and rolls over check rule number three to embrace pain why is it so hard to bet on yourself for a lot of people like what's the heart of it why why is that so hard for people to do to put up their own money and bet on themselves when they see it really works out eventually because because your money that's a struggle and a lot of people don't just want to walk into a struggle almost like some people don't even though they can fight they're not really you know have the discipline to go to a training camp and really focus and see it through and flecked I don't want to walk into the to the struggle to win you have to it to wanna win it means you have to embrace pain you have to embrace stroke you don't know saying like you have to know that nothing's gonna be easy you voted to be the best at it in the world you have to do it and push yourself from those people want you know what I'm saying you gotta be up for that yeah you know what I'm saying like you if you up for it you could do it but not everybody's up for it not everybody really the infant conceptually they want it for doing what the pain it takes to go get it and I have a lot like these people that I like there's things about them I don't like but I respect the fact that they're gonna fight to get what they want the fight and all this to whether that our perspective is different or not they're fightin well every time whether it's wrong right the person that fights the hardest plants you really ultimately know that if you really believe in yourself and you work hard at it you'll achieve it the question is am I ready to work so hard that I'm better than everyone else you understand what I'm saying and you have to answer that question within yourself am I ready to embrace all the pain that nobody else wants to embrace yeah am I ready to really work harder and do it so much that I'm better at it than everyone that does it it's really about the work ethic really it's a professional work ethic you can't just be good at something you have to be able not to see things too and do the things that you don't enjoy it's not really about the things that you enjoy that's the easy part it's the things you don't enjoy that's the things that people usually shut down about they just don't like it it's just because you don't like something doesn't failure rule number 33 be the plug not the customer what I do is I'm a businessman right in any business the more crowded it is the harder it is to do it so I never want to hustle on the crowded block so regardless to what I'm always looking to do something that nobody's doing so all I was looking at was what's the next wave logically it was just logically I was paying attention you know what I'm saying so once I realized I'm like I said I met this freedom was ridiculous and plus like it was like damn if I know how to make this myself like content is like currency it's the thing that makes money forever and ever it's over it looks like it's like when somebody smokes a joint the weed is going you got to grow more weed when somebody looks at something you can pay over and over again to see it and you ain't got to keep making it I just look at what people pay for and do it myself I'm the plug I'm never a customer do it yourself and leverage your own celebrity right so instead of letting somebody else make it we make it and then we don't have to pay for the marketing it's easy so now that I'm a brand for doing that I can now completely invest in myself but there's two games one is making good work and one is leveraging celebrity right the good work Dwayne gotta move good work they find you you ain't got to promote your destination when you ain't doing so good that's when there's the overcompensation you start have red carpets every day and do another to distract the fact that you have no talent you can say I wanna marry number 34 be confident confidence and not giving up is the it makes you so lean like the don't give a factor that makes it way you don't care what people think you never feel like you're being judged you never want to be a part of a crowd and you just you know you just feel this about the way you feel about things you know and then also you got swag you know you just you just do what you want regardless of what people think and it feels good rule number 35 find real wealth you know what's time initially when you when you're brand new to independence my state is honestly it's a tough - what you value as wealth right like if you value and your happiness is ultimate wealth or if you value perception and physical things is important that wealth do you dig on like physical things is temporary so you go hustle for the temporary yeah well you gotta help hustle for the forever yes all this absolutely you don't want to catch that up you know I'm saying except for everything for physical you know I mean I think that's the ultimate test it's like yo you're gonna really be wealthy I mean are you gonna be happy are you gonna look at heroes then I'm gonna worry about how people see you and buying physical things that make you look better than you are what do you really want to really feel good rule number 36 be obsessed with your craft how do you want to make money I just know this is what I do right take yourself to five years where do you want to be in five years see the thing about it is to shoot a movie you need a script right you can't just restyle it you can't say I want to say this or kind of like that you got to be very direct and then you put all your energy to what you want you visualize it and then it has to happen I'm a filmmaker so I'm gonna make movies yeah I want to make I mean I've done that but I want to do it to where I don't have to worry about a regular job yeah this is the way I would do it so I would make as many short films as I can just so people can start seeing that you're good I would star in the movie if I want to be anyone in this short film like a real artist is someone that's damn near obsessed with it like a painter should be painting eight hours a day but a band should be rehearsing eight hours a day if you're a business man you should be doing your business eight hours a day so if you're focused on something and you're doing it eight hours a day then you're doing it at a professional level but you got to know what you focused on and then you can take things into your own control it doesn't happen overnight it's not easy expect pain expect anxiety expect everything to go wrong and just be cool breathe easy and then just see it out because a lot of people start but don't finish when things don't happen the way it's never gonna happen the way you want it to happen ever and if it does do not trust it it's the devil rule number 37 do positive things so many amazing talented performers that came out of New York in the late 80s and jeez Mary Jay Vicky jay-z and give her a big part of that did you realize other time how big that movement was going to be and then what it was going to mean for the rest of the world the rest of the music scene yeah I did I did you could feel that at the time yeah every I knew that that's why I was the person that was documenting everything because I knew everything I was doing in that moment was legendary for the way I would look at it would be like damn could you imagine if you had Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie and John Lennon before they cracked or Mick Jagger in like a studio or just kicking it before they got famous and then imagine when they did so because I was so confident in everything I was doing and all the people around me I knew that what we were doing would probably set the stage for history you know saying I didn't think anybody was cooler than us and I knew it actually and you know turned out I was right you know in all them I'm from Harlem he had a crew called the best out and we said those parties and at the Cotton Club yeah I kicked a pre DJ and we used to make t-shirts and we had our names on them we've got basketball games and a lot of people tried to do what we were doing we were emulate it like I remember when we were throwing our basketball games would be like us the best outbursts kept child's crew they would call boss and it was crazy at the Gaucho gym and then the next thing I would see puff do a basketball thing but you know it ended up being tragic but I knew that he was influenced by what we was doing so I've always seen how my influence has been on the rest of the world from day one and it still is like that people still you know take what I do and they're influenced by it that's why I think at this point my life at 46 it's important to do things that are positive so people can emulate what I'm doing there emulating something positive like eating healthy like taking care of yourself but being good to women and taking care of your woman being a good dad like loving your children like to me that's altima wealth rule number 38 be loyal and respectful she's not convenient if you only can this be loyal when it's like easy for me like if there's a bag of money what you got to do the wrong thing to beat this little somebody we will get a lot of want my friends yeah you know I mean and just you know so sometimes but you know respect to me guide you and protect you from everything if you if you leave with respect on anything the right things will happen you understand I've never seen respect put anyone in arms way I've only seen respect they've always always protect you and then also the ultimate test is always like to disrespect the people you love to get something physical like some play you understand what I'm saying that's a test run I mean and tests aren't meant to be easy you know like that's what my test was always be able to be like I'm I don't play one culture and I won't get that down you understand I just couldn't do it my family has made it sound as I'm sure you could have play the ball in Chatham all the time you know that was my problem with the music business because it was such a such a disloyalty on my culture to exploit it the way it was being exploited and letting other cultures explain it in that same and being like aside just cuz I'm making money just cuz I'm alright mix it up you know cuz I I fought through it it still didn't make it alright to just sit there watch them all the rest of the culture to me that's probably sport you know it was like guilt with it always you know it means you're being around people I didn't want to be around rule number 39 approach things differently but people make me the underdog it's funny because they don't understand what the game I'm playing just cuz I'm not playing your game what just cuz I'm not moving at the pace you moving they don't mean I'm wrong you know I'm saying you already the same when it's mine and it's never been like what I've always like what someone thought of record via was dull I was like a lay with you if you ever late you my have a TV show Network you know that they have both thoughts I'm always thinking of all sports this I don't know any other language but boss Boston you know and say so when people don't talk in Boston me I don't know they say you know I'm saying it's a language it's a process language it's like like people are posting like bosses and people approach things like for this a lot of people don't want to be Boston because it's so much just want to go in there come with it you are saying they scared of it and I always say that you understand what I'm saying what but boss only can think about it in force terms so if someone says they want to get in business some people might say well I need somebody to give me a job that's not a 4-story right a horse's if I'm getting my four days if I'm gonna get in business I'm gonna create the business the business but I'm not trying to be hired my approach is always going to be bossy you know someone that's not used to being the boss your thought process ain't boss we don't have lost cause fluent boss you know say what I'm saying around here before winning boss and if you don't talk to me and boss I don't understand what I'm saying I'm not celebrating that that you got your lost dog is like I speak that yeah let's be that lame you should tell what somebody else told balls just by the other folks one thing and someone that talks boys doesn't speak any other language only talk balls rule number forty put family first the minute I had daughters I was like I got us changed everything I can't do anything to a girl that I don't want another man to do to my daughter that was a real turning point yeah the daughters for sure my daughter's changed my life in my arm second or the Cholula was born I decided to quit everything to make sure that anything I did I put her first not not the business she before I was like business first cuz I got to pay for the kids but it's like if you're not there to spend the money with your kids it really doesn't matter they need you and your company so and and I saw all the things I was missing so you know we think I'd rather do be on a yacht pouring champagne or a girl at taking my daughter to get a cupcake it's nothing better than taking your daughter to get a cupcake you know there's nothing better than watching your baby smile you know so it's true but I it's like seems obvious but you know lotto is really like energy it's love it's not like physical money which really doesn't mean anything it's just how good you make someone feel it's how good your woman feels how good your children feel like you have as much money as you know billions of dollars but if you want happy and you're lonely you broke if your kids are unhappy you broke you know if your woman is unhappy you broke rule number 41 do what makes you happy it's all about effort and what you could visualize in your mind you know if you can't think it can happen and if you don't have confidence that it's going to happen it ain't gonna happen so if you doubt yourself like you know our box or at least I used to I'm not getting in a ring unless I know I'm gonna win or else I already lost and I look at everything I do like that I'm winning and there is nothing it's 100 percent everything is about perspective and what you consider a win you know some people think they're winning because other people think they're winning even though they don't feel good about what they're doing they're like oh you think I'm winning so that must mean I'm winning but I feel like that's not winning you know you have to know what makes you happy what you consider aware not everybody's win is the same you know I'm saying but people like to fit in with aw I mean I know what my w's are rule number 42 be the boss the reason why people take jobs is because they got to pay their bills when you say be a boss to be independent everybody should be an entrepreneur it's everyone has an apartment right you're the boss in your apartment right no matter what no matter how little it is if it's whether it's a big house or a little house that space right there you have the boss that's what your business is that's what your life is you create the space so you can control it you control your environment but you have to art detect that you want to live in the house build it you know I'm saying am I gonna give it to you but once you get in that house I don't care if the President or whoever it is anyway he walk in my house Obama you still gotta listen to me in this house people think it's safe to have a job but if somebody can find you how is that safe period like you got to be nice to somebody if they don't like you they can fire you and if they the people that can fire you don't be owned enable maybe supervisors so then it becomes like political if there's no politics with you in the boss it's my way or no way because I believe that you see that at any point no matter how much you contribute that whole thing can be taken away at any particular time right so how does somebody then go and just make that shift to the same scripts they're doing for somebody else do it for yourself right if you got paid editor edit your own movie you a paid writer right it's home magazine you know it's like the thing is nobody ever gave me anything no one gave me real no record deal I had to do it myself so imagine if I were to waited for a deal for jay-z did B know jay-z there be no Kanye there be no Lee Daniels there be no Kevin Hart there'd be no Rachel boy none of that you know I'm saying none of them any I had to build all that like no one's gonna hire me to direct you know I mean no one's gonna hire me to beat of a CEO of a company I made the company I'm the CEO of it period rule number 43 believe in yourself what I find is a lot of people have really insecure about themselves they don't think there is interesting as they are so many people be so quick to make money of other people's experience I mean you know when you got your own like what's the purpose today there's no say that again yeah and that's what I had to do that's what you had to do are once we started to believe in ourselves we just work a little harder but you end up reaping all the benefits on it on your own terms and it feels 100% good and you catch all the people you own and it makes the most sense rule number 44 love the game I wanted to capitalize capitalize off everything I thought I was the best so I thought I was the best at dressing I didn't think I could dance better than me so I thought new records I knew I had the best more authentic experiences so I know I make the best movies and I just wanted to do all those things but in hindsight I just like to do cuz I like to do [ __ ] it's fun I'm really creative you know what I mean I just like to be artistic freely and you know it's like I don't know I just I just I just like don't I just thought you know I think I just I'm having so much fun and you know when you get success relatively young it's like you know get settled but then you go get bored so you know I was a mogul when I was in my 20s so I was like I want to go do fashion I want to go I want to run around the world I wanted everything I see or hear about I want to see it personally I want to live it I want to know what I want to touch it rule number 45 invest in yourself so looking back that how do you feel about Rockefeller today it doesn't same attitude that I think it's a shame it doesn't exist anymore you know I think the way that it dissolved was kind of selfish but I'm not gonna get into that you know I'm saying but it would have been nice to see everybody doing well as opposed to one person and that's the way I want it Rockefeller I'm a you know I believe in the circle of success where everybody gets rich I don't want to make employees I want to make bosses well it was you know but then it turned out to be one person stayed rich and everyone else had to work for him and that's not how I looked at Rockefeller and what I realized is I need to make an invest in things that I could pass to my family so I had to invest more in myself as opposed to investing in other people because not everybody has the same idea idea idea a lot of ideology as me you know I'm saying not everybody you know looks at things the same way so you know I should have probably paid a little more attention than making assets that I owned as opposed to making other people because my thing was I was putting people in power so that they could put us in power but every time I put somebody in power they would shut the door and they just wanted all the power it's just human nature is how men are is the testosterone and that's why I also surround myself more with women because men women don't tend to be so jealous do you think that's more of an exclusively male thing than females on as the hungry when they get in that position I think males are so supremely insecure that they turn into clowns rule number 46 don't cut corners a lot of people would she cut corners but I don't consider that a win you know what I'm saying like if I know the game I'm playing and I saw going to it that's the only way I want to win at it I don't want to cheat to get there if then I didn't win at my game I actually lost you actually lost on exam but you know I'm not gonna play your game I only play when we cheat we you don't fully believe in your abilities in the first place yeah it's overcoming city official mood but then that's like a different kind of wing you know you're playing a different game rule number 47 dream bigger you know I have bigger dreams than trying to be getting a salary from some company you know I need to own something and I needed legacy you know like the dashes are gonna be they are I already know what we're gonna be like the Kennedys and and the Van de PUE no we're gonna be an upstanding family yeah that's what I wanted to be that's what I mean but that's what I'm saying I wanted it easy for my kids and I want to easy for my kids kids and that's all I'm doing right now we're just making sure that the company could run when I'm not around you know I'm saying family and company that's what that's what you know it has to be able to sustain rule number 48 don't operate out of fear everybody says they want to be the boss but people who stand to be the boss most people are scared to put up their own money most people are scared to tell people to work when they don't want to most people are scared to even ask for the money you know what I'm saying like people I've seen people that are uncomfortable about asking about their own business like asking for change get paid or when am I gonna get paid or where's my money I have never felt uncomfortable about asking for my bread and I've never understood people that were uncomfortable for asking for their bread and I really don't understand people that are offended by you asking for your bread yeah you ask somebody they're like what you asking like I'm not supposed to ask my money am I supposed to ask about my money like the money and the business this motion with asking about it because it's business there should be no fear you should never be ashamed to ask for your change ever you know or to scrutinize a bill rule number 49 stay ahead of the curve after my daughters were born I shut down everything I was doing I bested all my money into at Rachel Roy and then I just opened up art galleries where creative people could come in coexist and make things happen without compromise the quality of living so I opened up didi 172 which was a 10,000 square foot gallery in the most expensive real estate in Manhattan and Tribeca and you know I had people like most def and Jay Electronica and Wiz Khalifa and currency and it just goes on rock and roll the Black Keys you know the Holy Ghost Erykah Badu or performing I had and in that television station called creative control this was in 2009 I'm always added occur you want to know the future just asthma and rule number 50 the last one before a very special bonus clip is attack your bucket list we have chapters in I like this you know the cool about the way I post thing is I always have like an ill bucket list you know I'm saying and there'll be there's a bunch of things that I want to do in my life and eventually I don't know imma do it so young I wanted to hustle I got that off my bucket list quick you understand I wanted to be a music mogul off my bucket list I wanted to be a fashion mogul off my bucket list I want this soil or my bucket list I want that art galleries off my bucket list and the things that were like all my bucket list but things like I'd be like even though you saw it in the book one day I'm gonna do a diabetes Network I'm gonna do something that's just about that beans I did it yeah it's all [ __ ] this you understand what I'm saying one of the things on my bucket list is the owner football team one of my things on my bucket list is to have a network you know a real channel to have a hotel so there's always like a chapter of my life where I attack that bucket list one of the things are not bucket list is to dwell lay it you understand what I'm saying and to be able to have a farm I will try to grow cotton make the clothes in the car and the driver that's what we're trying to do in North Carolina now I've got a bonus special clip from Damon - on how to play the game right that I think you're gonna really enjoy but before that except for the three-point landing questions time to move from just watching another video to actually taking action in your life or your business and if you're feeling bold leave your answers in the comments below here we go question number one what's the biggest thing on your bucket list that you want to attack number two how would you do it if you weren't operating out of fear and number three how would you do it if you dreamed even bigger people that think that the only way you can make it especially in our business the entertainment industry that you know you can't be an honorable honest hard-working person you've got to be willing to do whatever it takes regardless of how you compromise your own ethics to get to wherever it is you want to get and I've never believed that and it doesn't sound like you believe it either no you know I don't consider that a win I consider that cheating and I can't live with myself if I don't play the game right but other people don't like to go into different cultures and especially in business it's like yo you got to win any way you can if somebody's slipping and you don't take advantage of it you're dishonouring your family like I've been in cultures like that mm-hmm you know we're lying is okay for your business you know you're supposed to do that or else you're a sucker so you know it's just a matter of perspective and the cloth you're cut from and you know it's a rougher world when everyone is cheating and you're playing the game right you know it's a tough world but at the end of the day it's worth it because you know there's nothing more valuable than your soul your integrity your freedom you know just being proud of yourself I just don't feel like you know when you you can't call yourself a winner if you're cheating you know you're a cheater you know I just how I feel and you might not get caught in the human form but God will get you you think I forgot or whatever the supreme being is if you had to think of one word that's most important to you or that sums you Apple that would be like a little beacon if you want to learn how to become your own boss like diamond - check out the video I made right next to me I think you'll enjoy it continue to believe and I'll see you there people think it's safe to have a job but if somebody can find you how is that safe period like you got to be nice to somebody if they don't like you they can fire you

Channel: Evan Carmichael

Views: 236,099

Rating: 4.8971848 out of 5

Keywords: entrepreneur, damon dash top 10 rules for success, damon dash motivation, damon dash speech, damon dash interview, damon dash advice, success advice, hip hop mogul, famous businessman, man who started jay zs career, advice for entrepreneurs, business advice, how to make it in business, motivation for success, dame dash, how to be a boss, damon dash top 50 rules for success

Id: kVrUqP6WhR0

Length: 54min 18sec (3258 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 02 2018