The How To Make Loot Seminar promotes the FBI or Four Basic Ideals. Today we’ll go over some bullet points relating to the second basic Ideal which is ‘Hard Work’.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it takes hard work to achieve certain goals. Successful business owners know this. That’s why they typically require their employees to work a full eight hours every day. Workers that cannot follow this simple rule are quickly demoted or laid off.

If you are thinking about starting your own business and being your own boss, you should demand no less from yourself than a regular day job would demand of you. What is the alternative? Sure, you could possibly win the Lotto, or get discovered (saved) by some rich bankers that sign you to a multi-millon dollar record deal or movie contract overnight but what are the odds?

Hard work is the best way to reach your goals despite what lazy people and non-believers might tell you. A motivated person with average intelligence and a steady work ethic will almost always be in better shape financially than a unmotivated genius.

Ah yes, motivation…

What an elusive concept! Successful business owners all have this intangible in common. They share a desire to win that drives them to work harder than everyone else. Their motivation might be helping others, or seeing their creative vision come to fruition. Whatever it is, they use this inner drive to go hard, and they do it EVERY DAY. Of course they end up making a lot of money along the way, but money is simply a byproduct of superior effort towards a goal and not the goal itself.

Being the best at what you do should be the goal. And you are the only one who can make that happen for yourself. Which leads us to Part 3 of the Seminar on how to take responsibility for your own actions by “Not Making Excuses.’

Never let it be said that Allah won’t test the believers. I was taught long ago that I’m no better than the prophets who came before me, so why should I expect to have it any easier than them? That’s why I promote the platform everywhere I go, and that’s why I believe self help and self determination are so ubiquitous in today’s tough financial climate. I’ve done numerous speaking engagements on the power of the FBI or Four Basic Ideals. Sometimes spoken word, other times in more informal settings like a movie set, or on the streets hustling mixtapes. In every case the person I was talking to was more than willing to hear the positive message I was bringing especially when I related it to everyday circumstances they were going through.

The fact is, there is so much negative propaganda and subliminal hatred being force fed the public through the media, that it can be nearly impossible to wade through the bullshit to find something useful. It’s no coincidence that celebrity gossip shows and (un) reality television are the greatest sources of entertainment along with their counterparts in cyberspace. People need escapism and celebrities provide a glimpse into another world in which the bills aren’t piling up and luxury cars and million dollar homes are the norm. Even the so called serious cable news like CNN will frequently derail themselves with ignorance about the latest Kanye West stunt, or whatever minutiae they can dig up about non-celebs like the Kardashians and similar black holes of personality. Any environment where a toxic show like TMZ can flourish ain’t a healthy one.

The common thread in all this obsession however is the vitriol the average citizen holds in their stomach for these people they follow so religiously. The greatest thing going on the internet for example is not checking for creativity or excellence, but lurking around to witness the latest epic FAIL or meltdown. People take a certain perverse pleasure in seeing their fellow humans degraded and humiliated in the most public manner imaginable. (Yung Berg and Charles Hamilton being some of the more obvious examples, but we’ll throw Joe Budden in there to round it out). Even the music biz which once had an element of journalistic integrity has deteriorated into a feeding frenzy where shock bloggers and petty individuals that normally wouldn’t have had a voice eek out a meager existence taking shots at those more courageous than them who actually try to contribute to the artform.

The problem with this overdose on the hate germ is that it’s a temporary crack high that diminishes rather quickly and leaves everyone feeling lethargic and depressed. No amount of hate directed at the latest celebrity embarrassment on YouTube or World Star Hip Hop is going to fulfill your existence, only the creator and self meditation can do that. If we want to stimulate the economy and bring America back to some form of prosperity we’re going to have get off our ass, log off the computer for a change and stop hating if at all possible. Energy is a powerful thing, and negative energy only serves to rob others of their power, but it also robs you of yours in the long run. You can’t possibly effect the kind of change in your life that generates income and wealth if you spend all day being petty online or wasting your time watching Maury to see who is or is not the father. I’m not saying I’m innocent in all this, I’m saying that I’m at least trying to present an alternative despite how contradictory it may seem coming from me. That’s the essence of self help, taking stock of who you are as a person and making the EFFORT. Positive energy elevates and motivates people to build, not destroy. Let’s build with the Four Basic Ideals. One.

According to the big homie Felipe Smith’s blog on Myspace the first 2 volumes of his (Japanese language!) Manga are out in Nippon Land where he’s been locked in for the last couple years producing what looks to be some magnificent work. I met Felipe at Comic Con a few years back, and he told me I inspired him on some level to create. Well let me just say the tables have turned and I’m bigging the brother up right now. All aspiring homegrown (read: American) manga-ka need to check for this cat’s work ethic and stop crying and start drawing, cause dude is a beast! Keep the hits coming!