LL COOL J: How I Became The Role Model I Never Had | GREAT MOMENTS

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2:47Hello everyone, I'm Jamie Lang and this is Great Moments. Hey everyone, I hope you're well and welcome back to Great Moments. Now if you're new here, this is the place where I'm going to bring you a standout moment from one of my favourite great comedy conversations. These are the moments that have stayed with me long after the recording and I hope you can take something away from them. Now, if today's conversation leaves you wanting more, you can find the link to the full episode in the show notes. So sit back, settle in, and here it is.

3:19I need to get into your mind when you're like a kid, right? Yeah. You're like the OG. We're talking to my team. The team, I can't tell you, are so excited, especially Jacob. He's so excited. And we're talking about what you've done and what you've created. And it's amazing. And staying relevant for so long. Where did your creative genius come from? Truthfully, where do you think? You have to have, you have to love what you do and have the ability to do it. Okay. So it's like, it's like, I don't care how many schools you put me in. I was never going to play soccer like messy. It just was not going to happen.

4:02I wear size 14s, ridiculous, tripping over my, it was never going to happen. There's no universe where I could see that happening. There's no, you know what I mean? So what am I saying? I'm saying that I was just telling somebody earlier, it's one thing to roll the dice on swimming the English Channel, but you better know how to swim. You could talk that LeBron talk. You could talk about you playing basketball all you want, but LeBron was born to do it. I would argue that not every guy who made it that far was born to do it. He was born to do it. Jordan was born to do it. Kobe Messi was born to do it.

4:38Like there are guys that were just, you know what I mean, were born to do what they do. And I think that that kind of is the difference. And now, how do you find that thing? You find it because you follow your passion and what you're truly inspired to do. And then you learn all you can about the thing that you're truly inspired to do. And you consistently educate yourself in the area of your inspiration. A lot of people don't do that. A lot of people are afraid to follow that internal North Star inside of them. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, but Alan, most people don't follow a purpose because they feel like they're too, like you said, they're too scared to do it.

5:12But you just heard what you just said? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And I totally hear, but they are too scared to do it because typically following your passion, it comes with like a lot of risk. Yeah. Like so much risk. But this is why people love sports, right? You can't win the World Cup unless you risk losing the World Cup. So what do you risk? Every time I put a project out, people could say it's trash. People could say it's stupid. Every time I put a film out, it could flop. Every time I put a book, anything you do, there's a there's a chance that the public is going to not like it. Everything I've done, I'm not even about a thousand.

5:46I've had things that were panned, things that people hated. And you know what? It didn't stop me from moving forward. It didn't stop me because I did it sincerely. It maybe it didn't hit the mark and I kept it moving. I kicked at the goal. It didn't go in the net. I kept playing. I shot the shot. It bounced off the rim or I missed it completely. I kept going. It's like Kobe back in the days. He shot those shots and air balls. You keep going. So it's like that's the thing. I think people get caught up in the idea. A lot of people get caught up in the idea of figuring out how they're going to do something perfectly so as to never have to suffer any sort of criticism.

6:25and that's like a huge mistake because you're you're basically letting the world dictate to you whether or not you're going to pursue your dreams but it's that resilience right you got to have that resilience you get knocked down eight times you get you get up 10 you just got to keep going you got to keep going and we don't have that in us we stay in like a safe lane because we're too scared right and live a life of quiet desperation right i think it was thorough who said that you live men live in quiet lives of desperation because they're not willing to go out and venture out on the road less traveled you know i'm saying and go after that thing that is that they want you know i'm saying so to me you gotta you gotta go after that thing you want but where did you learn that from was that your mom was that your grandma where where was it from so yes my mother my grandmother you know my grandmother used to always tell me if a task is once begun, never leave it till it's done.

7:20Be thy labor, great or small, do it well or not at all. Say that one more time. If a task is once begun, never leave it till it's done. Be thy labor, great or small, do it well or not at all. And my grandfather was like, you know, this is a guy who shined shoes, then worked at an airport as a baggage handler, and then went to school for engineering so one minute you know and my mother like put all of her energy into me and worked two jobs and you know was was was shot and they said she would never walk again and she walked again so you're around a lot of people that that resilience comes with it your stepfather was pretty abusive to you.

8:05Yeah, it was. And your dad, obviously you made up with him, but male role models in your life seem to not really align to maybe what they should have been. I hear you. So how do you find your blueprint to be a good dad, a good husband, a good person, as you clearly are? Because there's plenty of examples in the world. You have to make your own. What I've learned is that, But like I'll give you an example. You know how like how Bruce Lee developed Jeet Kune Do by taking various martial arts forms and putting them all together? A little Wing Chun, a little American boxing, you know, I'm saying a little jujitsu, a little judo, a little of this and that and put it all together and made, you know, the way of intercepting fists.

8:51He made his own martial art out of that. So you can look at this particular artist and this particular athlete and this particular person and that particular person and say, oh, I like the way he treats that. that and I like the way he does that and I like the way this person does that and then you make your own life and you figure it out you know I'm saying like listen pressure you know I mean it's like a pick a mix yeah amalgam is it amalgamation amalgamation yeah yeah it's an amalgamation of many people you know I'm saying and then you decide you know what you're gonna do because also you that you you then recognize what other people have as faults right so you kind of go I don't like this I don't like that here we go I'm gonna be this person and you then don't idolize It's just one person.

9:31That's right. Like, I'll give you an example. So, like, growing up, like, you know, when I was in my early teens, mid-teens, early teens, formative years, all the way to early 20s, I was in Harlem running around with guys that they make gangster movies about. I'm running around. But it's like, I'm not looking at the hustling aspects of it. I see that, but I'm looking at the kindness. I'm looking at the, oh, you know, it's funny how a lot of tough guys I knew, they were the most gentlemen. They were gentlemen. Oh, give a homeless guy, give him a 50 or give this guy, like take care of this guy. Or, you know, it's the tough guy that I learned how to.

10:08See, the thing you learn, especially for me, Queens, New York, growing up where I grew up, is you learn how important manners are. And you learn how important being a gentleman is. And you learn how important, you know, when you don't walk around with your chest poked out, you have a better chance of surviving in the community. yeah it's the guys that want to be tough guys and want to be selfish and want to be you know like i remember a long time ago this guy got really angry out of me he said to me he said you want you come up out of the store one of them 40s or something man you know saying and he was um he was an older guy and you know he got i said i kind of felt like he was trying to press me a little bit that's the way i took it so i didn't i didn't get it for him and then he wanted to fighting and one of my dudes came like, yo, blah, blah, blah, stopped him, right?

10:59You know, calmed him down. But the thing is, when I think about it, it's like I learned after that that sometimes it probably would have been better to say, yo, enjoy your beer, man. Give him some love. Because he wasn't, you know what I'm saying? Like, it's just... Funny you remember that as well. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Like, you just remember those lessons about being a gentleman and about sharing. I'm not talking about sharing where people are pressing you or extorting or doing anything where you're being weak. I'm talking about like a real manly love where you share with people in a certain way.

11:32But when you do it like that, you know what I'm saying, life is better for you, especially when you grow up in tough environments. Like, you know, this is the UK. Like, people out here can relate to what I'm saying. Dudes in the street especially know what I'm talking about. You know what I'm saying? It's like, you know, so the sharing and all that, you learn just, you know what I'm saying? So when do you feel most comfortable? Because I spoke to lots of performers and people and artists, and lots of people feel most comfortable on stage, but it feels like you feel most comfortable with yourself, with a book, whatever it is.

12:00Where do you feel most comfortable? I feel comfortable both places. Really? Oh, yeah. Because especially when you're talking about the stage and all of that, because there's a purpose to that. Sometimes, you know, with the other stuff, you just have to be mindful. I'll give you an example. A lot of people work jobs, especially back in the day. A lot of people work remotely now. But for those who go to the office, you have some people, you know, you show up on Monday and now I got to sit here with you for three hours and tell you what I did all weekend. I don't feel like doing that. You know, I don't want to talk to you about my entire.

12:34Yeah. So what did you do at noon on Friday? And what did you do at one thirty? And how was two thirty and three thirty? And what did you do? It's so that's the part of being introverted. You just want to be like, you know, how was your weekend? It's good, man. Yeah. Oh, good. That was yours. You know, OK. Like right there. Like, not because I'm into it. Just stop right there. And it's just like some people. You would hate me on the weekend. Yo, bro. Yo, bro. And then some people like, yo, hey, how was your weekend? Yeah. What you doing? Yeah. We went to this restaurant. Yeah. What you eat? Yeah.

13:04Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Why'd you choose that? Yeah. Yeah. Did you like it? Yeah. Yeah. Would you recommend it? It's just like, you know, bro, it just gets, you know, so that's the part where you get a little. So it's. But there's a big question that then what do you. because that's like a question between being comfortable with who you are and kind of not comfortable with who you are. I definitely, it is true. I'm okay with that. I'm very comfortable with that. You're comfortable with being you. Yeah. You are, because you can sit there, you can sit in silence, you can say a question, you can sit there and be happy with it.

13:36So where does that comfortability for yourself come from? I don't know. That's a big question. I don't know. I mean, I got faith in me. I got faith in high power, faith in God. I got faith in love. I grew up in a house full of books, bro. I mean, you just, you know, my mother and my grandmother is like, yeah. It's like, okay. No way. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You know, I grew up, like, they used to get these things called the world book of knowledge back in the days. You know what I'm saying? You get the world book of knowledge. I'm sitting there also, and, you know, there's a volcano, and, you know, you just learn all this, you know, Mount Fuji.

14:12Like, you know, the other day, I'm looking at, oh, Mount Fuji didn't have snow for, you know, first time. first October in a century. Like, you just become like, you know what I'm saying? Like, just having a good time with it. You know what I'm saying? With life. And so you just kind of... So you were just interested in getting knowledge. You just liked to gain all of that knowledge. You read books because that... Curious. Ah. Curious. Because Curia... Listen, if you're truly curious and you really enjoy books and you really enjoy reading and you really enjoy doing that kind of stuff, you go on journeys, man.

15:03Hi, this is Becca Moore from For The Girls, and this podcast is sponsored by Aerie, where you can find the right bra in 59 sizes, soft fabrics, and good fits. If your bra strap is digging into your shoulder right now, it's the wrong bra. We get so used to being in pain as girls that we forget it doesn't have to be this way. Your clothes should not hurt. I got to the point where I stopped wearing bras altogether. And now my life has changed, you guys. The only bras I have in my dresser right now are Aerie, and I'm not kidding. Aerie's on a mission to make you feel good, and that starts with your bra.

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