Successful Failures: Lil Wayne

Sometimes failure is good.  Failure often leads to success when the right lessons are learned from the failure.  Many of today’s successful people were considered failures at some point in their lives.  But they learned from their mistakes and continued to strive towards their goals. Where ever you are in your business endevours don’t be afraid to fail because it brings you closer to success…

The other night I was flipping channels and I happened upon the VH1 Behind The Music episode that profiled Lil Wayne, the Grammy award winning hip hop artist. I didn’t intend on watching the whole show but I glad I did. I have a couple of Wayne’s song on my ipod and I think he’s a talented artist. I thought I knew Wayne’s story. I figured it was the typical story of an inner city kid that wassurrounded by drugs and violence and eventually turned to music to make it out the ghetto. While that is certainly part of Wayne’s story there was so much more. As I watched the story unfold I could see that there were clear lessons for anyone chasing their destiny could learn from this 27 year multi-millionaire.

Road To The Top

Born as Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. on September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Dwayne Michael Turner and Jacinda Carter, who was then 19 years old, Lil Wayne was forced to bid goodbye to his father who abandoned him and his mother right after he was born. During that time, he and his mother were forced to survive by themselves in the criminal-infested community at Hollygrove division of New Orleans. -www.aceshowbiz.com

During the Behind The Music profile, Wayne described how his father was verbally and physically abusive to his mother before abandoning them.

From www.allmusicguide.com:

[H]e was a straight-A student but never felt his true intelligence was expressed through any kind of report card. He found music was the best way to express himself and after taking the name Gangsta D he began writing rhymes. Combining a strong work ethic with aggressive self-promotion, the 11-year-old convinced the Cash Money label to take him on, even if it was just of odd jobs around the office. A year later, in-house producer Mannie Fresh partnered him with the 14-year-old B.G. and dubbed the duo the B.G.’z. Although only B.G.’s name appeared on the cover, the 1995 album True Story has since been accepted as the B.G.’z debut album both by fans and the Cash Money label.

…rumors began flying about Cash Money’s financial troubles and possible demise. The rest of the Hot Boys had defected and Wayne’s planned 2003 album was scraped, coming out instead as an underground mixtape called Da Drought. Wayne became enamored with the mixtape world after Da Drought drew so much attention from the hip-hop press. He used these underground releases to drum up anticipation for his next official album, the breakthrough effort Tha Carter. Released in 2004, the album seemed familiar on one hand with Mannie Fresh’s production, but the Wayne on the cover was a dreadlocked surprise, and the rhymes he laid on the tracks showed significant growth. His marketing skills had become sharper too…

the number one hit "Lollipop," Tha Carter III arrived in May of 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release. An appearance on Saturday Night Live and four Grammy Awards — including Best Rap Album – spoke to Wayne’s mainstream acceptance. He also performed at that year’s Country Music Awards with Kid Rock, but rather than rap, he played guitar. The guitar playing was part of Wayne’s new involvement with rock music

Born Into Failure

I decided to profile Wayne for Successful Failures because he was born into failure and refuse to accept it. How many people do you think are born into similar situations everyday and go on to let the drugs, violence, and despair that surround them keep them locked into perpetual poverty? A better question to ask yourself: how many people have been born into a vastly better life and they find themselves in dead end jobs and locked into perpetual just getting by?  Can you count yourself in that group? At the age of 12 Lil Wayne was actively and aggressively pursuing his passion.  At age_____, what are you doing to go after your passion?  At age 14, Wayne shot himself in the chest while he was home alone.  He drag himself into the living room and dial 911, he held on until help arrives and spent two weeks on life support. He worked his way back and by the time he was 17 he has a double platinum album. Are letting obstacles that you face stop your progress towards your goals or are you pushing them aside and continuing to reach for the gold?

5 Lessons That You Can Learn From Lil Wayne’s Story

1. You Can Come Back From Anything. Lil Wayne is proof that you can take a bullet point blank to the chest (strongly not recommended) and go on to win a Grammy. If you’re starting a business and you’ve made mistakes it’s not end of the world, or even the end of your business. Learn the lesson of that mistake, regroup and figure out what you need to do to get back on track, and get up and do it!
2. You Have to Work Harder Than Anyone Else. The scene of Behind The Music episode that caught my attention was when Wayne was detailing how he finished a 3 hour concert, watch a couple hours of Sports Center, and then when to work producing another song–at 3 AM in the morning! He’s a workaholic (in 2007 GQ Magazine gave him the title of  Workaholic of the Year). There’s always going to be someone out there with more talent than you or someone who is more knowledgable on a subject. But a strong work ethic evens the playing field and could even give you the edge.
3. Change the Game. Wayne incorporated the use of mix tapes into marketing hype for his upcoming albums. Others had certainly done the same thing to a degree but Wayne change the game by making it such an intergal part of the promotion process. Conventional business wisdom says you should stick the tried and true methods of doing business because they’ve been proven to work. I don’t disagree with that but keep in mind, we live in a crowded world. And collectively our attention span isn’t what it used to be. Sometimes you have to stick out from the crowd and sometimes that means changing the way the game is played.  
4. Do You. Now, Mr. Carter does have his faults. He has been arrested for drug and weapon charges and he has needed to go to rehab for substance abuse. Wayne freely admits to his faults and makes no apologies for who he is. He accepts himself, flaws and all, and continues to do the things that have made him successful. Are you letting your flaws hold you back? There are 3 things you can do with your shortcomings: You can work to improve them, you can hire somebody to cover those areas (i.e. not good with numbers? hire an accountant), or you can let them keep you from going after what you want in this life and stay miserable.  
5. Never Assume. This is the lesson I learned the most from watching Lil Wayne’s biography. Because I knew a few his songs and seen a few of his videos, I assumed I knew enough about Lil Wayne and I could probably guess at the rest. In truth I knew very little about him. Don’t assume anything, always take a look behind the surface. This goes for your business as well as  your personal relationships and friendships.