The Youth's Success Depends on Us

The Youth's Success Depends on Us: 

Refusing Mediocracy and Investing in The Future.  

         Why do some people fail and others succeed?  Sometimes there is a thin line between opportunity and being able to grasp it.  There is a big difference between seeing opportunities and making something out of them.  But what happens to the people who cannot see those opportunities even when they present themselves in plain sight?  Are they blamed for not knowing any better?  Do you discredit them for their inability to seize what was in front of them? 

         Everyone starts as an innocent child.  The way that these children are raised has a very large effect on how this world will be in the future.  According to John C. Maxwell, “even the most introverted person will influence 10,000 people in his or her lifetime.”  Take a city with a population of 1 million.  The amount of people being influenced in a lifetime would be 10 billion.  Why don’t we invest in the youth as much as we invest in our future?  We can invest in the future by investing in our children.  It is as simple as that. (How parenting affects children)

How can we invest in the youth?  By creating content geared towards loving and molding them to be the best people they can be.  Why does it seem like the content that matters is never the content that goes “viral?”  Instead, we have completely pointless video’s, music and content on TV that do not promote the well being of others.  This is why we fail our youth; because not a lot of people are investing in the well being of the next generation.  We only begin to realize our faults when we are close to dying.  We have 100 or so years to live on this earth.  The least we could do is fill our youth will perseverance, boldness, love and hope.   

I guarantee the ones who don’t succeed are the ones who don’t think they could succeed in the first place.  With technology at an all time high, reality shows flooding tv stations, radio shows that play music geared towards material possessions, children will only follow what they see and hear.  Give it another 20 or 30 years and these children will be running the economy, if there is one.  What do you want to feed the next generation? 

I am a student of the entertainment industry.  I have a Bachelors in Recording Arts and I am also earning my Masters Degree in Entertainment Business. Personally this industry needs a complete overhaul.  There is content out there that has high value and is geared towards making a change.  But the focus of the industry is on other matters.  For the focus to change, people in the industry need to help change it.  The responsibility also lies with the listeners and watchers.  We need to refuse mediocre content.

-Justin M. Black

JustinMalikBlack@gmail.com

Redefining Your Success

My personal definition of success is, "being a part of something bigger than yourself, while loving it enough not to let go for any reason."  Success is holding on to something so great, that you want to spend your whole life continuing to pursue it.  Money, fame, big record deals, and worldwide sales are not the attributes that made Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and BB King successful.  What you see is only the after effect of their individual desires and successes within themselves.  Many artists today are going on tour and getting great sales.  This does not mean that they will be remembered 100 years from now.  To explain how to survive this chaotic industry would take much more time than I have at this moment.  However, given the right insights, you can learn how those meaningful legacies are left.  This blog will highlight facts that will help you make strides in your journey of success.

Most of the time, we think success is achieved by a set of rules that will lead us to what we are looking for.  Many times, we fail take a few minutes out of our day to reflect on what the rules actually encompass.  We spend countless days following a path made up by our own thoughts, feelings and desires.  We make the rules.  This is not a bad thing.  However, if we do not recognize it while it is happening, then problems arise.  

Success starts at a deeper level than most of us tend to grasp on a daily basis.  To survive in the music industry, you have to stop looking towards the industry.  You have to look inside yourself.  What you see is only a shadow of what is happening inside the minds of these great artists.  The only difference between the ones who we never heard about is money, promotion & marketing.  Later posts will go into more detail about that concept.  

One person who has truly stood the test of time in this industry is Blues legend, B.B. King.  There is a documentary about B.B called The Life of Riley that was released not too long ago.  This documentary goes through the life of a man who has been in the industry his whole life.  As of today, B.B King is the “King of Blues.”  The best part about this statement is the fact that he is still alive.  He is a living legend.  B.B is someone who has and will continue to stand the test of time.  Explaining his journey would be very hard.  However, watching this documentary will highlight key insights about someone who has achieved a permanent spot in the music history books for years to come.  It is much deeper than music.  If you watch closely, you will assess that much of this documentary correlates with the writing in this post. B.B. King The Life of Riley Video

Michael Jackson should also be looked at in depth.  Try not to focus on his career.  Try to focus on his life.  The way he lived his life was a reflection of the thoughts and feelings that he had on the inside.  Please note how Michael stood for something a lot bigger than himself.  The music that he made was for a purpose people felt it all across the world.  Take a listen to “Earth Song,” by Michael Jackson.  

Earth Song Video

This song highlights many problems that society has laid upon this earth.  The emotion in this song speaks volumes.  If you are an avid music listener, please sit with this song and listen to it about 10 times.  Also, try to listen in a quiet environment that will allow you to get the full affect of the music.  This song is one of many that caught the hearts of people all around the world.  Why is that?  It connects with our hearts because the music was made from the heart and voices opinions and thoughts that are usually kept quiet by the average person.  It is something that the world recognizes because we all know that this earth is only temporary.  He made people focus on things that really matter in life through one song.  That is success.