Written by Ali Abbas. Apprx. read 3 min.

How is it that a college dropout was able to become a world-renowned music producer, rapper, songwriter, record executive, and one of the top 100 most-influential people in the world?

When asked why he dropped out of college, West said, “I dropped out of school because I wasn’t learning fast enough… I learned from real life better.” Kanye realized that experience was the key to becoming good at something. But that was  actually his second step to success.

Enter Kanye West

His first step was finding that idea he wanted to pursue. It was finding something he was passionate about. He knew that he loved to produce music, so he dropped everything else and moved to New York in 2001. West produced beats tirelessly, eventually forming his own signature style, which involved speeding up old soul records, and remixing them with hip hop drumbeats. It was this tireless desire for success that propelled the quality of his music above the average, eventually catching the eye of respected rapper at the time, Jay-Z. West was hired to produce Jay-Z’s 2001 album, The Blueprint, which went on to sell 420,000 copies in its first week, and opening a world of opportunity for West who was then hired to produce for a handful of stars including Ludacris, Nas, and Beyonce.

So how are we supposed to find that thing we’re passionate about?

Explore.

How can you become a great investor? Study music. How can you become a great musician? Study business. Why? Ideas are like living things. They are born, they communicate, they evolve, and sometimes they die. In order to find an idea that you love and want to dedicate your life to, you need to explore. Try new things, meet new people, see new places, learn more. Learning about what is available to you is the first step to finding what you want. It wasn’t until West had made a name for himself as a producer that he decided to pursue a rapping career. His continual study of music allowed him to discover a new passion, and he decided to work tirelessly at that as well until the release of his debut studio album, College Dropout, which went on to become triple platinum. If you plan on being successful at something, first explore until you find that thing you are passionate about, and then work on it.

Practice.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book “Outliers,” proposes something called the “10,000 hour rule.” If you really want to become the best in the world at something, you pretty much need to put in your 10,000 hours of practice. The Beatles, when they first started, were just like any other band trying to break into the limelight. They were average. They would have never gotten to where they did if they just studied music. Learning can only take you so far. It wasn’t until they played 24 hours a day for a few years in Germany, sometimes playing at random strip clubs, that they were able to become great at what they did. They failed for years, but that was part of what made them great. They were able to improve themselves by learning from their mistakes.

Failure.

Nothing catapults you through the learning curve quicker than failure. Learning from your mistakes is one of the biggest keys to your success. 99% of people give up at something after their first failure. West struggled to find a record deal when he was first starting off as a rapper. When West stopped by the office to pick up his producer checks, he would regularly drop off demo tapes of his raps and play them for Chris Anokute, then A&R at Def Jam. He would do this on a regular basis despite doubt and criticism from the record labels. This is what makes failure so powerful in determining your success. You will know that you have found your passion if failing at it makes you want to pick yourself back up and try again. But before trying again, you need to analyze your mistakes and then try differently.

Self-analysis.

Think about what you are doing and how you can do it better. Trying to do something over and over again won’t make you better at it if you do it the same way every time. The best poker players in the world continually analyze the hands that they were dealt and think about how they could have played them differently. In 2002, West was involved in a near fatal car crash while driving home from his recording studio. He suffered multiple broken bones and his mouth was wired shut for six weeks. Instead of accepting that he would not be able to rap for over a month, he used the crash as inspiration for his first single, “Through the Wire,” which went on to peak at number 15 on Billboard’s Hot 100, gained a Grammy nomination for best solo rap performance of the year, and won music video of the year. West rapped even when his mouth was wired shut and made a hit out of it! This is just one example of why it’s important to analyze the hand that you are dealt, and find ways to play it to your success.

Y’all don’t know my struggle

Y’all can’t match my hustle

You can’t catch my hustle

You can’t fathom my love dude

Lock yourself in a room doin’ five beats a day for three summers

I deserve to do these numbers

-Kanye West

Success is not supposed to be easy. We are all dealt different hands in life, so analyze how you play them, and then think of ways you can play them better the next time. Put in your 10,000 hours, work tirelessly at what you love, and you may find yourself living the life you have always wanted.

Take care, love,

Ali

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