rate in America being 50% in typical America, but in Hollywood and the music/entertainment business, divorce rate skyrocket to 70% and above.
Now that he and Beyonce made it through that period in their lives, Jay is striving to stay on top. In order to do that, one must stay on top. And Jay does this through strategic thinking and keeping his mind sharp.
I. Meditation.
Meditation can mean a lot of different things to many different people. Spend between 15-20 minutes a day doing simple breathing meditation after each intense workout I went through. One exercise is to try to count down from 100 without thinking about anything else but the numbers.
If something else pops in your mind you have to start over again (believe me, its harder than it sounds.) Blocking out everything else and only concentrating on breathing deeply allows you to relax, stress less, and gives you the ability to ignore distractions. The more you practice this, the better your focus and concentration.
Jay had honed this craft of meditation for years by listening, being quiet and a steady stream of focus and concentration. “By the time I got to record my first album, I was 26, I didn’t need pen or paper – my memory had been trained just to listen to a song, think of the words, and lay them to tape.”
Meditation doesn’t always have to be about going out with new age music and “becoming one with nature” as you grab your energy crystals and yoga mat to head off to the nearest park. Just closing your eyes and breathing deeply works as well.
II. Re-Categorize
Re-categorizing is the ability to take a look at a problem one way, and recognize there are other perspectives to approach it–mainly positive ways. It allows you to see weaknesses that you may not have considered before giving you time to adjust.
This gives you the opportunities to see the problem(s) and the solutions.
III. Visualization
Play out all scenarios and how you would handle them. Don’t always focus on the outcome, only the process and how to adapt and respond to any situation effectively. Repetition of this can help tremendously if a stressful situation arises.
“People respect success. They respect big. They don’t even have to like your music. If you’re big enough, people are drawn to you. I’ve never looked at myself and said that I need to be a certain way to be around a certain sort of people,” Jay Z explains. “I’ve always wanted to stay true to myself, and I’ve managed to do that.”
Staying true to yourself might stand as a succinct summary of Jay-Z’s successful philosophy.