RSSAOG: Spread the Word
What’s your definition of a gangster?
“You have people who go to work everyday 9-to-5 that are gangster in my eyes. There’s a parallel between the CEO of a major company… and a guy who’s the boss in the neighborhood.”
–50 Cent
Vibe Magazine, March ‘08
I’m not trying to take credit, but I’m just saying.. Peep that in the latest issue of Vibe.. They need to credit TROUBL, but we’ll let that slide for the time being.. I love the word of mouth ability that we have.. There is nothing like it.. Every AG has instituted that in its marketing plan.. On the street, it could be a pigeon or a young runner that is spreading the word.. In the boardroom it’s the whispers that resonate whenever the boss is in the building.. A great feeling to have.. I still recall vividly when I was out on business and my partner from Cali came into the office.. Word traveled quickly.. Dude was treated like a king, too.. I almost felt like it was his company when I came back to the office.. But, as I recall the story, it feels good.. Dude had that power..
Gangsters aren’t made by their lonesome.. Most times, we’re carried by others in the beginning.. Others spread the word about us, and the legend spreads.. Behind every AG, there’s a great viral marketing campaign.. Remember that dude you grew up with that was knocking cats out for no reason? Or the fastest dude on the block? The cat that could grab coins off the backboard.. The chick that could jump double-dutch like no other? The girl that could beat up the other guys? Man, when I look back, I was the fastest on the block for a sec.. They hyped me up.. I mean, I was fast, but I knew other dudes could get me in a race.. When I felt the pack catching up, I knew it was time to retire.. Why get beat? Shoot, I had my rep of “I’m sick of beating y’all all the time, someone can have the crown”.. Even though I knew that next cat was one more race from beating me.. I wasn’t about to go out like Joe Louis or Ali.. Or Mike.. The bottom line, the boys and girls on the South Side of Chicago trumped me up to be bigger than I was.. Not me.. Let’s not sleep on our own abilities to make a difference..
Shout loud and long about our own gangsters.. Who were some of the gangsters that you’ve made in your lifetime? If you don’t feel like talking about it, that’s cool.. Just remember it.. Remember the power you held in making it happen for others.. Remember that we can build giants and gangsters, if we really believe in them.. We don’t have to come equipped with the gangster lifestyle.. I have a young AG in training that’s going to be on ABC tonight in “A Raisin in the Sun” (8/7c).. Justin Martin.. Peep him.. I’ve been hyping him since I first met him.. Knew he was on that path, and did all that I could to move him up the ranks ASAP.. If you hadn’t heard about him, you would’ve after I was through talking with you.. Shoot, I have business meetings in one of my clients’ establishments, just to spread the word.. AGs exist all over the place, we just need to get our marketing on..
Spread the word.. You never know, the next thing you hear could be a story about yourself! Or a feature in Vibe that says some things that you’ve already said or thought!! You never know!!
Q.
8 Comments, Comment or Ping
boosy
word up to that. Deniro & 50 have definitely done their thing and are gangsters in their own rights…Shit, Q , you’re a gangster yourself. Giving us these hot posts every week to get our gangster on. I on the other hand like getting my gangster on in the academic world, never really been a hood type cat, but i love being in the hood and Dudes looking at me like a chump- gives me motivation to go on. keep it gangster…~Duke B
[Reply]
Malia
Last night I had a telephone conversation with a friend, and while we were mulling over one subject after another, I mentioned how cool it would be if only I could win the lottery. I remember stating that I wouldn’t even mind sharing the jackpot with a few other people, as long as a couple of millions were left hanging for me.
My friend asked me what I would change about my life if I was wealthy, and that’s when it hit me: Nothing really. The only difference would be that I would not have to be concerned about paying the monthly bills anymore, and maybe that I would purchase a nice house in the hills, but the actual contents of my life and the way I have furnished it so far would not undergo any significant transformation.
This discovery intrigued me. In fact it got me mulling over it long after the conversation with my friend was over! I started wondering if the universal measure of success should not be: the degree to which a person manages to be satisfied with the general contents of his or her routine.
Just think about it for a moment: there are many wealthy people who would give away half or all of their assets if only they could obtain contentment. And there are many people balancing on the edge of poverty, but with peace in their heart, faces that smile a lot, and a set of activities that they would not want to change for the world. Now, which category of these people is really successful?
My conclusion is, that success has just as many faces as any other possible theme, depending on the society in which it is measured, and the character of the person who measures it. Wrongfully, many people confuse success with wealth: they assume that a person’s triumph can be concluded from the expensiveness of his or her watch, car, or house. They envy those in their circle of acquaintances who can financially afford more than they can. They keep comparing themselves with the Joneses and allow their happiness to depend on the level to which they can equal these people’s lifestyles. And they forget to just do the simplest thing in the world: turn inside and analyze what it is that they really like.
I think success should be more synonymous with happiness than with affluence. For it’s only when you find satisfaction with what you’re doing and don’t dread facing every new day when your task has to be embarked upon, that you are really successful. When you can move in an environment that pleases you, and when you feel at ease with the ones you deal with on a daily base; when you feel loved, cared for, understood, and valued in what you do, and you don’t have to switch personalities from one location to another: that’s when you’ve really attained success. When you see that you make a difference, if only in one person’s life; when you are confronted with gratitude, not only from others toward you, but from your outer-self to your inner-self: that’s when you are a real winner.
Success, therefore, cannot be measured by what radiates from a person’s purse or material cover, but from what exudes from his or her personality. You can feel it in one’s touch, you can hear it in one’s voice: in the way one speaks, and you can see it in one’s eyes. Successful people are self-assured, know what they want, and go for it. And what they want, they simply determine with feeling, and not with what others dictate them.
So, are you successful?
[Reply]
TROUBLMan
MALIA
I’m with you 100%. I’m very wealthy but not because I have tons of money and own land. I’m wealthy because I have so many friends. I feel special to have friends all over the world, who I know will have my back when I need them to.
This is wealth in my world because regardless of if I’m down-and-out, I’m never really down and out. My friends love me enough to help me get back on my feet. This includes letting me stay at their house if need be, giving food when I’m hungry and being there to listen when I need to talk.
From my experience, most people don’t have that and if they do they only have a few friends like that. I’ve been fortunate enough to grow true friendships everywhere I’ve been. I love my friends or rather family. They are what make my life rich with love and therefore I’m very wealthy.
[Reply]
boosy
Well , don’t get me wrong now MAILIA, i agree that wealth is a state of mind, but in this day and age, when a brother needs some chips to take care of his family. I’m about to “graduate IVY, so it can free me from the stress”. Reality is that i have loans to pay, so actually that is my stress. Funny how people think we are here b/c of “affirmative action” shit, i didn’t get no damn scholarship.
[Reply]
"a mom"
I feel the same. Most of all because I have my kids. They make me happy and strong and wealthy, becuse of their spirits. I have a lot of family also. I don’t have a lot of friends but I know their out theirs.
[Reply]
Q.
I feel successful for a number of reasons.. Many based on my own self-assurance.. I’m not wealthy, yet, though.. Although I don’t necessarily equate success and wealth, I definitely understand how both can go hand-in-hand.. Sometimes I feel that success is very fickle.. It can come and go.. We can acquire a lot of successes along the way, but many times it does nothing but provide a nice wall in my mother’s crib.. Sometimes it’s a reminder of some internal unfulfilled prophecy.. Maybe I’m getting to deep with that.. Let me pause for a second, before I become my own Dr. Phil..
I appreciate the words Duke B.. I’m going to keep grinding.. As that’s the only thing I know will bring me some form of happiness..
[Reply]
Malia
TROUBLMAN ——
You are truly bleesed! You should cherish those friendships always and never take them for granted. Life is precious and tomorrow is not promised.
A MOM —————
You have a friend in me, please believe it! I love reading your posts. You seem like an amazing woman and we have alot in common. Get my email address from Troublman and hit me up directly anytime you want. If you are on MySpace please add Malia Carter to your friends list, you can see Broken Silence and Felicia there too. Girl when I come back to Cali we can go lay out at the beach ((I miss the ocean)) and let the kids do what they do! You and me would be TROUBL with a capital “T”——-Niccas better recognize!!!!!!!!! Like Boosy always says………hate, hate, hate, LOL!!!
Holla!!!
[Reply]
"a mom"
Malia
Thanks so much I feel your warmth and passion in all that you post. With my troubl family I feel I already know you all. Believe me when I say you would be welcome in my home when you are out my way anytime. My children can tell you how close connected I am to them and all their friends I feel loved and everybody calls me mom. I don’t have a myspace page yet but my daughter is seating one up for me. So look out. Will be in touch.
[Reply]
Reply to “AOG: Spread the Word”
SEE ALSO
♦ Q - AOG: We Takin’ Over
June 4, 2008
♦ Q - AOG: Gangster Starter Kit Pt. 1
February 11, 2008
♦ Q - AOG: Gangster Starter Kit Pt. 2
February 19, 2008
♦ Q - AOG: Straight, No Chaser..
March 3, 2008
♦ Q - AOG: Take a Break
March 24, 2008