As it concerns a new album from hip-hop Money Lessons favorite Big Sean, well, we’re waiting, too. Big Sean will release his sophomore album Hall of Fame “soon.”
But as much of a perfectionist as he is, and his regret that he didn’t take more time with his debut project, we all understand why he might be hesitant.
We’ll take today to cull financial lessons and ideas from his hit ‘Higher” which is produced by hip-hop wunderkind Key Wane.
1. Maximize your time. There are only so many hours in the day. What can you do in the down time that you have to gain an edge? Can you review your budget? Can you work on your sales pitch? What about that lingering addition you haven’t made with your special freelance project? When he raps, “Today if I don’t earn, best believe I’m gon’ learn,” it’s a lesson that whatever time you have needs to be used to the max. It’s something entrepreneurs understand, and the quicker you get it, the better off you’ll be.
2. Treat yo’ self. “Man, I made myself a boss and then I gave me a promotion,” is the line out of the song where we see Sean’s self-determination to create opportunities for himself and then for others. Depending on what you value, by creating opportunities for others you formulate a wealth of participation that can’t be taken away, wealth that is often tangible and intangible. Again, it depends on what you value. But if you’re the boss, it’s your obligation to make a way for people who come behind you.
3. When you get money, your tastes change. As much as he talks about Benihana, you’d think Big Sean has some kind of endorsement deal with the chain of hibachi restaurants. “Benihana [is] my McDonald’s” is his clever (some would say) way of illustrating how selective he is about what he eats. It’s natural that your tastes change. What’s not natural is the idea that you live beyond your means at any cost — or that you live without the discipline of a budget.
4. “There’s more to the world than trying to make a living.” That’s verbatim. And, you know, you’d think that this should go without saying, but it really doesn’t — especially amid the hustle of trying to maximize every minute of every day, staying disciplined to budgets and charts and stocks and investments, and being obsessed with not making enough. Sometimes you should really sit back, and evaluate what’s meaningful to you and spend some of your energy following through on it. And then get back to the grind.
5. Follow always the principles of partnership. What’s better: one or two? Actually, don’t answer that. But folks who are successful know something about how collaboration can have a positive effect on building wealth, a business, or profitable side hustle. In the case of this song, it’s the relationship between producer Key Wane (born Dwayne Weir) and Big Sean, which goes back to their days at Detroit’s Cass Technical High School. The pair recently entered into a co-publishing deal, which ensures they’ll make plenty of music — and money — down the road. Find out who you work best with, and how you complement each other. The rest will take care of itself.