Success Advice
(Video) What Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From Jay-Z

In his book, “Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from the Street Corner to the Corner Office,” author Zack O’Malley Greenburg traces Jay-Z’s success at amassing wealth and influence. Greenburg describes Jay-Z’s story as “the American dream in its purest form, a model for any entrepreneur looking to build a commercial empire.” He spoke with BNET about what entrepreneurs can learn from Jay-Z’s rise.
Read on for some Awesome Entrepreneurial Advice from Zack O’Malley Greenburg as he shares what he has learnt from the King of Hip Hop “Jay-Z”.
(Video) A Look At Jay-Z’s $450 Million Empire with Author, Zack O’Malley Greenburg
What Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From Jay-Z
BNET: Why write a biography of Jay-Z that focuses on business, not music?
Greenburg: Jay-Z was one of the first to really realize the potential to turn yourself into a lifestyle. People give Martha Stewart credit for creating a lifestyle brand, but Jay-Z has done the same thing, only with a different lifestyle. Jay-Z, along with Puffy and a few other major hip-hop figures, has managed to monetize celebrity in ways that popular artists in other genres haven’t.
BNET: What is one of Jay-Z’s most shrewd business moves?
Greenburg: Jay-Z used to shout out Iceberg Apparel in his songs, which sent sales of Iceberg products soaring. He saw that happening, so he went to the executives of the company and said, “Hey, I’m making you all this money. Why don’t we formalize this with some kind of endorsement deal or equity stake?” The guys at Iceberg weren’t having it, so Jay-Z and his partner Damon Dash started their own clothing line, Rocawear, which became incredibly successful. Within 10 years, Jay-Z sold it for $200 million.
BNET: What’s the key to his business success?
Greenburg: First, there’s the music. He wouldn’t be where he is without being a talented wordsmith. But starting with Rocawear he had a template: Instead of rapping about other people’s products, he could rap about his own.
He also tends to take on mentors, learn everything he can from them, and then discard them and move on to a new mentor. During his early career, you see this with Jaz-O and Damon Dash. He discarded mentors like these and kept moving on to the point where his mentors are now people like Warren Buffet and Oprah.
And Jay-Z has something that people want: coolness. That’s valuable for a company like Microsoft, which has problems with coolness — its rivals make fun of it for being nerdy. When Jay-Z put out his book, Microsoft gave him $1 million worth of marketing and formed a partnership with him. Microsoft was basically providing a valuable service for Jay-Z in exchange for being associated with his coolness. It’s pretty bizarre, but wonderful for Jay-Z.
BNET: He’s a hustler, which any good entrepreneur needs to know how to do.
Greenburg: One of the things that Jay-Z retained from the streets to the boardroom was the idea that he wasn’t going to give anybody any discounts on anything. If a crack rock was selling for $10, you weren’t going to get it for $9.95 — even if you were his best friend. That’s something that stuck with him throughout his career. He wasn’t going to take any less from anybody than what he thought he was worth.
His background prepared him in another way too: When you’re used to operating under the intense pressure of the streets, where anything could go wrong and your life is on the line, going into a boardroom with a bunch of guys in suits is a lot less intimidating.
This post originally appeared at BNET.
Success Advice
5 Things You Can Learn From The 5am Club by Robin Sharma

It has been said by Robin Sharma, “5 AM is the time of least distraction, highest human glory, and greatest peace.” This also happens to be the central idea or the core value he has discussed in his book, ‘The 5 Am Club.’ Speaking of early mornings, at what time do you wake up? Are you annoyed by the fact that you wake up on the edge of time and then rush to work in haste?
The life lessons put forth by The 5 AM Club are exactly the learning and motivation you need to challenge your complacency. In your race against time, you may not have the time to read this fabulous book. So, we have summed up the key book’s takeaways for your convenience.
1. The vigor of waking up early
This is what the book’s most fundamental advice to everyone is. Waking up at 5 am every day can work wonders to avert failures and make success a natural habit. When we wake up at 5 am, we have more time on our hands than others. Besides, this is when we have minimum interruptions and maximum powerfulness of the mind.
To add, the early morning peace is priceless! You can schedule your most important tasks of the day between 5am, and 8am. This book teaches us in the simplest way, how we can train our mind and strengthen it to deliver the highest productivity by waking up early. This energy that you have when you wake up in the morning and the few additional hours in your day are what serve as perfect ingredients for success.
“The secret to productivity is simplicity.” – Robin Sharma
2. The power of finding the right balance in life
The book talks about a precious lesson of finding the right balance within. We often talk about the need for mindfulness and achieving the right mindset to perceive things. But this book goes a few steps ahead of our usual approach to life. It highlights the vitality of mindset and introduces the concepts of heartset, healthset, and soulset.
These terms may seem new, but they are self-explanatory. The idea of heartset endorses the essentialness of emotional stability and well-being. Next, the perspective of healthset indicates the need to look after physical health. At last, soulset is an attribute of spirituality. As explained in this book, success prospects can be enhanced big time by achieving the right balance between these internal virtues.
3. The iconic 20/20/20 modus operandi
What is the first thing you will do if you start waking up at 5 am every day? Did you ever spare a thought about it? This book has the answer to this question, and you will be convinced that it is a great way to begin your day!. The author suggests that you should split the first hour of the day into three equal parts of 20 minutes each.
In the first 20 minutes of the day, you should prioritize your physical fitness and exercise. In the next 20 minutes, you should energize your soul and spirit via self-reflection and soulful meditation. This will prepare you for the rest of the day and will enable you to bolster your commitment and focus. In the last 20 minutes of the first hour, you should read and learn. But what are you going to read about in those 20 minutes? Read about successful people and their inspiring journeys to the pinnacle of success.
4. The significance of a proper sleep schedule
In this book, there is a mention of ‘a ferocious global sleep recession’, which is intriguing and enlightening. It hints at the state of sleep deprivation that this world is sinking into gradually. We often associate success and hard work with the notion of staying up all night and testing our endurance beyond limits. But that is not the right approach to accomplishing success, or rather, it is a flawed methodology.
Sometimes even if we do not have any critical work, we keep whiling our night time on social media or television. What are we gaining from it is the real question, and I am afraid the answer is nothing! We learn from this book that it is critical to look after your sleep cycle and start your day at 5 am afresh. Sleep and rest are indispensable for mental and physical well-being, or your productivity will decline.
5. The art of evolving
The book sheds light on the need to be spiritual and master self-reflection. However, do you realize the purpose that the routine of reflection each morning serves? The idea is to keep learning, keep reflecting on the mistakes and keep evolution an ongoing process. You should evolve every day and strive to be a better version of yourself every day. So, one of your primary goals after waking up should be to reflect on your actions and missed opportunities of the previous day.
To recapitulate, The 5 AM Club is a must-read book if you are a passionate reader. It has the prowess and charm to refurbish your perception of life altogether. Even if you cannot read the book for some reason, make sure you incorporate the above key takeaways into your life. By starting your day at 5 am, you can rediscover your lost soul and enthusiasm, and you would not have complaints to make about the lack of time. If you can own your mornings, you can go places on the ladder of success, for excuses are only for those who are not committed to their goals.
Success Advice
Prepare Yourself for Prosperity With These 6 Success Habits

Success stories don’t come from naturally successful people. They come from ordinary people with starry eyes and big dreams who stayed true to their end goal and consistently put in the work. They are just like you and me. What sets them apart is their mindset — a success mindset. (more…)
Success Advice
How to Overcome the Emotional Rollercoaster of Success

If you’re reading this, I’ll let you in on a little secret: you’re a human being. You have feelings, emotions, beliefs, complexity, and a mind that’s always racing. Your feelings at any given moment in your life have the power to affect what you do and how consistently you do it. (more…)
Success Advice
5 Important Choices that Make Life Worth Living and Success Taste Sweeter

As we start another year, you’re probably thinking about your life goals, dreams, aspirations, and what you want to accomplish. We know that New Year’s resolutions have gotten a bad reputation because most people lose focus after the first few months and the first signs of resistance. (more…)
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Joshua Sherron
Aug 5, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Jay Z is the man
momo
Oct 23, 2011 at 1:45 am
damnn i luv this one