The Benefits of Starting Early

As someone who has listened to a sh*t ton of hip hop music, I’ve pretty much heard it all. However, one of the lines that comes to mind often is not from Jay Z, Kanye, or Nas, but from a local artist in my area, whose name I will not mention.

The line is “before you know it you’re 30, rent due and your hurting, now you’re thinking about shit that you should’ve been doing early”. He goes on to comment on the struggles of then having options limited to “going back out to the block” or working a “petty ass 9 to 5”.

As a young artist, these are things that I think about often. In the case of the artist above, he is a guy who seems to have done all the right things. He put out projects with big names in the industry. He relocated to work with other big name producers. However, at the end of the day I guess he just didn’t get enough of a head start to really be able to follow through. Afterall, the older you get the more other pressures and factors come into play, and the more baggage you take on that starts to get in the way.

Talents That We Never Got To See

In listening to a “Mind the Game” podcast with LeBron and Steve Nash recently, one of the topics I found fascinating was hearing them talk about how many great talents that may have been out there that never got that lucky break. This is coming from two of some of the greatest players of all time, and it’s coming from a place of genuine love and appreciation for the sport. They go on to talk about how much they enjoyed watching those classic 80s and 90s matchups growing up, and about how much watching those players impacted their own game.

As an artist, athlete, or human being in general, it is interesting to think that there are people out there that may have been disappointed to miss out on what you have to offer. In moments of rejection or pressure, sometimes it can almost be easy to relish in this thoughtform. “If they don’t want me, then they can’t have me, and they’re going to miss out”. The problem is, when this is your mindset, the one that really misses out the most is not them, but you.

When you hold yourself back from the world, you miss out on all the things that were rightfully yours and there for the taking. Things that had your name on them all along. As hard as it is to believe sometimes, the things that you want may want you as well. The thing is, wanting and wishing isn’t going to get you anywhere.

Going In Without The Baggage

Of those athletes and artists that never got that chance, the factors that play into that can be various. Some of them got tied up in negative situations within their environment, or had the wrong people around them. Some of them grew up in areas that were overlooked and didn’t get enough recognition. Others got tied up with a family early on, and whatever their true passion was just didn’t pay the bills.

The earlier you start, the less these factors have a chance of getting in your way. Even though it is still possible to make it regardless, and people do all the time, it’s always going to be easier when you can just block a lot of that stuff out, put your head down, and work.

I was blessed to get started early on, and thankfully I am still young, but the truth is that I could’ve started even earlier. I can relate to what the artist that I mentioned in the opening paragraph says, especially as I’m starting to reach 30 myself.

Having Time On Your Side

As a young teen, especially around 18 or 19, I was writing songs fairly frequently and getting them done. But, I wasn’t very organized about it, and the majority of them never got released. For the most part I didn’t think they were good enough, and I didn’t think that as an artist it was the right move to put music out that wasn’t as fully polished as it could be.

I started taking the music more seriously just a few years later around 21-22. Getting in studios, going to freestyle cyphers, putting content out online. Even though it might have been nice to get fully going even sooner than that, I still feel like I did well considering that I was also juggling being a full time college student and working a job.

The good news is that even with where I’m at now at 28, there is still plenty of time. I’m much better off than if it was the other way around, and I was just getting my initial start here at 28. Thankfully I have years of experience under my belt, and I’m able to translate that into my work on a daily basis.

It’s Always Better To At Least Try

Even if you don’t make it, the whole mission is to at least minimize regrets for down the line. The truth is that as Benny the Butcher says on his album “Everybody can’t go and you probably won’t make it”. However, if you put your all into something and it still doesn’t work, you can at least rest assured that you gave it your best and it truly wasn’t meant to be. You can sleep better knowing that you worked hard and enjoyed yourself along the way.

The real reward is just being able to sink your teeth into something and grow as an individual. I remember as a young hooper learning that through the older guys in the neighborhood. They would pull me aside and explain that the things you do on the court translate into other areas of life as well. The hard work, the discipline, the patience. Even if what you’re currently doing doesn’t turn out to be it, there is always the chance that it will lead you into something else that will be.

Start Early

The benefit of starting young is that you give yourself time to try those things out and work through those kinks. When you’re young and haven’t accomplished anything, no one is expecting anything of you. If you try something and it flops, no one is going to hold it against you in the long run.

As you get older people start depending on you more and expecting more out of you. Most specifically if you take on a wife and a family. That’s why sometimes the best thing is to cut a lot of those things out of the equation as much as you can. Otherwise you’ll just end up like one of the countless others who got tied up and let others get in the way of what they really could have been.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you have enjoyed and I will see you on the next one.