1. 06 May 2010 · 12:33 PM

    Fully Engaged

    Legendary coach Phil Jackson, who has won 9 Championships with two different teams, once said, “Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever I’m doing.” That statement is not only profound but it is also transcends the world of basketball.  It can be applied to just about every aspect of life in general. 

    Phil Jackson or any coach for that matter will tell you that the game is about playing for the entire four quarters.  With that being said, life in many ways is like a game and can be viewed in several different stages.  The important thing to remember is that you play a vital role in your own success no matter what stage of life you may be in. The ultimate victory for any person should be to live a purpose-driven life that leads to success and more importantly significance.  I would like to challenge all of us at Project Generation D to take a page out of Phil Jackson’s playbook. Let us all understand that our real joy comes from being fully engaged in whatever we are doing.  Once we understand and experience that joy as a cohesive unit, then I believe the rewards will come.  If you are a singer that means to be fully engaged in every note, harmony, or performance; if you are a producer that means to be fully engaged in every aspect of the track and being able to successfully marry that to the artist vocals; if you are a songwriter that means to be fully engaged in each lyric in order to give life to your message; if you are a rapper that means to be fully engaged in the understanding that MC means move the crowd.

    Once again, the game is about playing for the entire four quarters. As we transition from teenagers to young adults or from young adults to productive grown-ups, let us all think of the role we play in building a championship team. Let’s finish each and every quarter strong so that we may establish a rhythm for the rest of the game or in other words our lives. If we take it one game or day at a time being fully engaged in the moment, the wins will come.  For every win or achievement, that gets us that much closer to the championship. Take if from a championship coach that also said, “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.” Think about it.

    Love Life, Live & Learn,

    Hassahn  Phenomenon

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  2. 19 April 2010 · 01:41 AM

    F.E.A.R - False Evidence Appearing Real

    With this being my first official blog post for Project Generation D, first and foremost let me say thank you to Reggie “Nobody Famous” Perry for allowing me to join the PDG family.  I promise to always try to be honest, insightful, uplifting, and a positive force that inspires everyone to be the best person they could possibly be.  I aspire to inspire because I am inspired by each and everyone that I am blessed enough to  meet along this journey we call life, just as I am inspired by this PDG movement.

    With that being said, I had to chance to chop it up with Actor/Author Hill Harper at the Pepsi Refresh Project in LA and he intrigued me with an in-depth discussioin about F.E.A.R which stands for False Evidence Appearing Real.  Fear is a virus that is not only spreading through the entertainment industry, but also in urban communities across the globe. On too many occassions we fall victim to our fears because we have been taught to feed into them more than we feed into our ambition, dreams, and ourselves. Case in point, how many times are we afraid to be different musically because it doesn’t fit into the mainstream view of what is currently hot. How many times are we afraid to be our true selves in front of the “cool kids” at our school because we are afraid if we don’t act like them, then we will be teased or ridiculed for it.  These are both glaring examples of False Evidence Appearing Real. The truth is that we are all significantly brilliant if we choose to be and we are not defined by the standards of others. We can and should set our own remarkable standards for who we should be while respecting others in the process. 

    In regard to the music industry, the artists that fall victim to F.E.A.R tend to not have any longevity in the industry. Those would be artists that conform to what the industry says is hot and they afraid to rely on their true creativity.  The most successful artist and the ones that have years of success are those that believe in their own talent, value, and they create their own standards such as Outkast, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Common, and of course the legendary Michael Jackson.

    In regard to life, there are far too many of us that fall victim to F.E.A.R. How we grow up and where we live do not have to define our entire life’s existence. One of the most common statements we hear on a regular basis that feeds into F.E.A.R is that we can’t be successful because we are products of our environment. Well, that is only true if we allow it to be true. We don’t have to be products of our environment, we can be products that change and enhance our environment.  Case in point, Barack Obama is the product of a single parent home with an absentee father and now he is the President.  He is the prime example of not letting his early life determine the rest of his life. Another example would be Hill Harper, who is a close friend to Barack and the person the generated this discussioin on F.E.A.R.

    We can manifest our own destiny if we choose to. So the next time you feel that your are giving in to F.E.A.R, don’t forget that you define you and you. With that being said, let’s be creative, focused, determined, and most importantly, let’s be significant.

    Love Life, Live & Learn,

    Hassahn Phenomenon

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  3. 25 March 2010 · 11:06 AM
    [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

    Check out this interview on Cypher Lounge Radio from last night. We talked about Project Generation D!

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