thoughts of a predicate hustler collection vol 1

8/10/2019 Thoughts of a Predicate Hustler Collection Vol 1

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Thoughts of a

Predicate Hustler

Collection:

Volume One

16 insightful tips on how to better the hustler inside YOU!

Copyright 2009 CZA Industries, All Rights Reserved.


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P: O P B, O P , A G ................... 4

PH #1: O D ........................................................... 6

PH #2: I F ......................................................... 9

PH#3: H H NAD I L C ................ 12

PH #4: N H A D ........................ 19

PH #5: H I A D O? ................. 22

PH #6: ............................................. 26

PH #7: O B ..................................................... 28

PH #8: K P ............................... 32

PH #9: E M .......................................................... 35

PH #10: L D C ......................................... 38

PH #11: F ..................................................... 40

PH #12: L . M ................................... 43

PH #13: M P K ................................... 46

PH #14: D I ............................ 48

PH #15: N B D P. 1 ..................... 53

PH #16: N B D P. 2 ..................... 59

E: H H C! ............................ 63

A A .................................................................. 64

.............................................................................. 65

E

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O: B H .................................................. 67

? .................................................. 67

A ? ............... 69

C ? ........................................... 70

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D ? .................... 73

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#1:

I hope everyones had a productive week and now

that its the weekend, are looking to blow off a little steam

by whatever device is at your disposalmine just so

happens to be a little Xbox 360 and Fallout 3. As I sat here

and blasted away at Ghouls with a ridiculously big missile

launcher, something came to mind that I felt I needed to

share with all yall.

How much time are you spending NOT being

productive? Not the celebratory drink after work or the re-

watching of Steel Magnolias (hey, its somebodys thing)


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on Friday night, I mean the valuable time during the day or

night you know deep down you SHOULD be doing

something conducive to your future, but arent. I cant

throw stones because Ive done it, and theres no guarantee

that I wont ever do it still, but all my CEOs know that

theres a time and a place for everything and theres no

time during go time for nothing.

Nothing has helped me more in the past couple

weeks than the realized notion of buying and using a daily

planner and if you dont have one already, I totally

encourage you to pick one up for yourself because they are

invaluable. Coming from someone who used to fly by the

seat of his pants and wait for the thought to come to mind

before it came to grind, the time saved is more than worth

the $3.00 I paid for it. (Thanks LJ for the idea.)


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Of course, if you dont want to go buy a physical

one, there are many other applications that do the same

thing for free: Gmail has a calendar and to do list that you

can use pretty easily as well as Ta Da List

(www.tadalist.com) which is pretty dope and worthy of a

checking out. Lifetick (www.lifetick.com) isnt free but its

a good look as far as goal setting goes, and you can try it

out without laying down a dime. Its in-depth, easy to use

and you can opt for an email reminder.

Alright yall, Im going to get back on the game but

I want all my CEOs out there to keep in mind that now is

for the taking and the game dont wait (Facet #8 if youve

read my bookwhich I hope you have) so get on the ball

and get all your ducks in a row.

Stay up. Stay focused. Stay grinding.


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-CZA

#2:

Whats the biz, yall? All my NBA heads are sure to be

neck-deep in action and I cant blame them because Im

pretty sure that this is what Sundays were made for. Ima

keep this one kinda short because Im bumping some that

Bubba Sparxxx Deliverance album right now and its got

me in tier two of my grind mode and Im tryna make as

much use of it as I can before I lay it off for the rest of the

day

I find that, in life especially, there are certain things that

were just born naturally with the penchant to do, some call

it natural ability, others call it a gift, me, I just call it a

natural grind. Some spend their whole lives trying to find

what it is that they were meant to do while for others, it

just clicks when the opportunity arises for the first time to


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do it. Notwithstanding the essential need to practice and

further develop and hone your talents, everyone has

something that they can use to get on.

Growing up, all I ever wanted to do was be a writer, you

know, being 15-16 and heavy into the literary classics like

Bacon, Shakespeare and, I didnt know what my calling

was, but I knew it had to be something with the written

word. At one point I thought it was being a journalist with

the biggest hip hop magazine in the world, but the thing

was, after I did it, after I got on and worked with them, I

wasnt as content as I thought I would be. Writing for the

hip hop bible wasnt everything I had imagined it would

be. For too many, reaching the highest height is as good as

it gets but I couldnt let achieving my boyhood dream slow

my progress.


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I considered everything from public relations work to a

fiction novelist but at the end of the day, I turned to what

most people knew me for havinga very solid mouthpiece,

conviction and a self-made understanding that the basic

principles in life were applicable to hip hop and people

would want and need that in a manner they loved.

Long story short, every person Ive met, will never meet

and havent met yet has a quality about them that is special,

not just to them but the world around themand more

importantly, can be used to financially make themselves

independentbecause not only are the traditional 9-5s

scare (thanks to big brother recession) but unattractive (do

you REALLY want to be chained to a desk all day?) as

well.


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Facet #5 (Keep Your Options Open) deals with this in

detail and would be a good way to brush up on the idea.

Now I return you to your regularly scheduled Sunday

Stay up, Stay focused. Stay grinding.

-CZA

#3:

5 things I can see hip hop do without in 2009:

5. iBeef on Monday, cool on Thursday, new diss tracks out

on Friday.

Do people really get that much entertainment from

rappers pawing at each other digitally? The first response to

that is usually it goes back to battling, a foundation in hip

hop to which I say you never see country or techno artists


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beef with each other. So either pop off when you see each

other (if indeed it is genuine) or shut up and make music.

4. fans/rappers being overly critical of an artist. Soulja

Boy is the reason

Attention hip hop: Soulja Boy did not create the poor music

vacuum that has sucked all the good from the game. He

isnt an instrument of the devil to body snatch us nor is he a

product of the nwo trying to control our minds. Hes a kid

who got on using what he could. Those that feel this way

secretly wish theyd come up with Superman or Turn

My Swag On and rake in a lil cash. If KRS-One can

extend a hand, why cant you?

3. Rappers dropping a single, getting a deal and then

starting their own boutique labels with no product or artists.


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I wont name any one rapper in particular but its a

growing trend it seems for rappers to have a semi-hot song

out that gets them effectively on, and then turn around

wants to start up a boutique label. While that in itself could

be a good move, for young artists, it may not be the wisest

choice. in an industry where longevity is the single greatest

yardstick for success, having a 2 deep or 3 deep label under

a universal or Interscope usually means little to no support

in the marketing promotion. Especially when you have a 50

cent on the roster who commands almost the whole

building for his projects. Youll be so wayside youre

kicking it in bayside.

2. People reflecting on the good old days with bitterness

at the new school.

Im sorry that acts like Big Daddy Kane,

Granddaddy I.U. and company are 2 decades removed from


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what hip hop is now and you cant quite relate to whats

going on. Im sorry that youre more into a rhyme scheme

than swag and you preferred when sampling consisted of

more than one sample in the songactually, no Im not.

There are plenty of choices for people who grew up on the

old school stuff; you just have to search for it. If it seems

like theres no new music coming out that fits your tastego

back in time to your favorites then. Much like the

regurgitation answer youve heard time and time again, the

industry is a business and unfortunately, there are way

more kids to sell to then adults when it comes to hip hop.

Sure, Id like to see a more balanced playlist, but as long as

PDs have to eat (and want to eat better), payola isnt going

anywhere soon. There are plenty of backpackers who do

odes to the old school out right now so if you can

compromise a little bit, you can still be part of the current

state of hip hop.


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The #1 thing I could see hip hop do without in 2009 is:

Hip hop elitism.

seems like no matter where I turn Im seeing

disgruntled rappers, fans and stans crying because the

music they specifically like isnt getting as much shine as

theyd like and saying that all of the worlds ills comes

from the southern region. Being that Im from Texas, I

have to throw my two cents in about this one. I have friends

all over the world but really what stirs my soul is the

bigotry and hatred I see from my very own constituents!

People who claim hip hop as their lifeblood speaking ill of

southern artists as if were all out to get them or something.

Nothing can be further than the truth.

I remember hearing Phonte of little brother talk a

little on the DJ Drama mixtape Separate but Equal about


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how its just music and how people tend to have a

misconception on what southern music and artists are

supposed to be about. Sure, we have dances, snap routines

and a love of the 808, but were also driven to make music

reflective of our mind states at that moment.

For example, Rocko had the album self made

come out a while back and people started the Jeezy

comparisons right from the gate and wrote him off as a

clone. He dropped Umma Do Me and people wrote him

off. He dropped Dis Morning and people wrote him off.

This is one of my favorite albums right now because of not

only the banging beats, but the message he has in a lot of

the material on the album which is hustle because you can

succeed. Its motivational to me, and Im sad that more

people didnt give it a chance. In the south, our delivery is

different but the struggles and strifes we face are the same.


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Our lights get cut off too. We have a new president just like

you do in New York and Cali. If anything, the one thing

that makes us better than the other regions is our sense of

family. Sure, we have tiffs down here too, but beyond that,

theres a sense of brotherhood that extends past the silliness

of theatrics. Bar none, if you hate on the south, youre weak

and jealous or a follower and in all three cases, I feel badly

for you. You have Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, we have

Scarface and UGK. We appreciate the other regions

because it sounds just as good screwed and chopped and

Juelz Santana sounds good next to Lil Wayne. The next

time you prep your mouth to say something derogatory

against the south (or Texas for that manner) remember this:

Preemo was born in Houston.

Stay up, stay focused, and stay grinding,

-CZA


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#4:

I gotta admit that today is my favorite holiday of the

year even though most people have never even heard of it.

Better than Christmas. Better than any holiday that got me

free from the shackles of paid wage servitude and even

better than 4/20 (for my tokers out there, a brother dont

smoke) all rolled in one. The little known holiday is one

that Ive been celebrating since, well; I made it up about 20

minutes ago.

You wont find it on any calendar or text book but

to me, I couldnt think of a better day to show my

appreciation to the moguls, entrepreneurs and hardship

endurers who paved the way so that I can get paid for my

own creativity and not for my physical labor. With each

passing year, I notice theres one or two who fall into this


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category, which go far beyond the call of duty in creating a

property, whether intellectual or tangible, that expands the

mind of the world around us. I couldnt possibly list all of

my heroes here, but there are a few that I do want to make

mention of.

George Washington Carver is someone I admire

because he took something as simple as the peanut and

soybean and found hundreds of different uses for them.

Ranging from axle grease to linoleum to paper, I would like

to think of him as the archetype for 50 Cents

diversification strategy.

Another hustler Id like to recognize (this time a

little more forward in time) is television writer/producer

Michael G. Moye. Chances are, youve never heard of him

by name, but you have heard of some of the shows hes

been behind such as The Jeffersons, Diffrent Strokes and


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most importantly MarriedWith Children (by far the

funniest sitcom that Ive ever seen, even 10 years later

there hasnt been a show as good) which is important to

note because that was the show that jumpstarted the FOX

network. If that show had failed, the network probably

wouldnt be around today.

The last person I wanted to talk about today is

somebody youd easily recognize if you happen to have

your television dialed in on the USA network Monday

nights around 8pm. This guy took his fathers small time

business to one worth hundreds of millions of dollars and in

the process decimated almost all of the competition. Yep,

Im talking about Vince McMahon, the chairman of the

World Wrestling Entertainment conglomerate. Its not me

being a fanboy (although I was back in the day) that has me

admiring this mans hustle, its how he is constantly


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evolving his game and updating his business skills to stay

on top. Im sure he has advisors, but it all came from his

mind. He literally has built an empire, and I consider

myself lucky to have been able to soak up some of the good

game I learned from him.

Who are some of your favorite hustlers? Who tread

the way for your grind today? That, to me is what this

holiday is about and I hope that it spreads so that we can

celebrate it every year.

Stay up, stay focused and stay grinding.

-CZA

#5:

?

First off, good Saturday morning to everyone out

there (speaking relatively of course, its 4:13 in the


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morning over here in LA as I write this) and I hope you get

a moment to reflect on the week past as well as soak up the

day and get some relaxation in. This time around, I want to

address something thats critical to your success but the

way I want to do it is a little different (all my CEOs can

pick it up pretty easily Id think) than the norm. I want to

use a metaphor to talk about whats on my mind right now.

Youre a drop of water in the Pacific Ocean.

As a drop of water, in what way are you different

and unique from the others? What sets you apart and gives

definition to your individuality and recognizes your

singularity? You are all the same color unless influenced by

outside materials, you weigh about the same and act in just

the same manner as your brothers and sisters, so what

makes YOU stand out? From the onset, absolutely nothing.


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When thinking about it like that, it takes your mind

to a new plateau, one that you probably havent been to

before or in a while (when you were younger and clueless

to what a brand was) but its a very necessary perspective

to attain because it will help you shape how the world sees

you. Your main objective is to make the world see you as

you want them to see you. Sound confusing? Keep reading.

As a person who is striving to step into the arena of

business, there are two things that must be fundamentally

understood from Jump Street. The first is that no matter

what youre doing, youre a salesman. (A topic well cover

later.) The second is creating and maintaining your brand or

persona (Facet #1 in my book for a reason). Having a

persona is good because it clearly states the boundaries of

who you are and what you stand for as well as what your

products are for. It creates a sense of tangibility to your


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name and makes it easier for those that would use your

product to remember to use it. Kleenex is tissue-in-a-box

and Maybach is every rappers fantasy car. See how having

a brand can help?

My brand is about empowerment and advancement

through hip hop motivational products. Its simple yet

complex enough to leave the door open for future additions

to that. I know that I cant be everything that is in my head

right now, so I focus on one core component and bring that

to life in a way that potential investors and sponsoring

companies can see and deal with. By the way, 10facets.com

is coming super soon so be on the lookout. I think Im

going to get my zazen on and will catch up with yall in a

minute.



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-CZA

#6:

The reason for this title is for most people, the one

thing that scares them the most about anything is being

decisive (myself used to be included) and dealing with the

consequences of said decisions so they straddle the fence

not going one way or the other. Its the urge to not want to

make a wrong choice that fuels that fear and in truth it

limits more than it helps. Someone on top of their game

realizes that theres only few circumstances that cant be

rectified somehow and even then second-guessing yourself

should be done sparingly.

Shoulder to the wheel is a saying that I picked up

from an episode of one of my favorite shows right now

Dollhouse and in the scene where it was said, a psychotic

huntsman chased after Eliza Dushkus character for sport


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after being romantic with her earlier. As he chased her, he

kept saying it and even though he eventually got knocked

off, the saying stuck with me. If you can paint a mental

image of driving an old school big, bulky 18 wheeler with

no power steering and having to turn, youd have to put

everything you had into it and literally put your shoulder to

the wheel to turn it. My interpretation of the saying is that

you have to commit yourself to your decision 100% or it

wont happen the way you want it to.

One of my favorite books Hagakure, written by

Nabeshima Mitsushige, speaks on the process a samurai

might use when facing choices (paraphrased mind you):

think deeply and within the span of seven breaths decide.

After the seventh breath, whatever your decision is the one

you stick with. In practicality, seven breaths may not be

long enough but I remember Jay-Z saying something along


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the same lines with pondering something for a while and

deciding quickly without worry of second guessing. When

you practice this, it becomes easier to do and you learn to

trust the inner CEO speaking to you. The line that Launch

pad from the show Duck Tales said best, Any good crash

is one you can walk away from. You live; you learn and

you learn to live with your decisions. Always waiting for

the sure thing is the sure way to not get anything done.


-CZA

#7:

I just wanna say good morning to all my fellow

hustlers and CEOs out there getting it in mad earlyits

3:13 am out here in LA and Im getting my second wind

right now. Quick updates are 10 Facets of a CEO has


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broken the 200,000 downloads mark and Im seeing a lot of

love for what Im talking about in it. If you havent picked

it up yet, go ahead and do so now. (Heres a new zShare

link: http://www.zshare.net/download/571777448c09ed68/)

My second bookHustle Harder: the Definitive Guide to

Upgrading Your Grindis on the way.

Shameless plug aside, I hope everyone had a great

weekend and is looking forward to a productive week filled

to the brim with grinding and success. With most people

that we collectively look up to, they werent given a silver

spoon and had to claw their way up to where they are today

and that in itself is a reason to respect them but at the same

time sometimes I believe people forget what their influence

is really capable of. Let me explain.

Back when I was a simple journalist for The Source

magazine, sometimes Id be awestruck by the rappers,


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actors and executives Id get the opportunity to meet and

interview. Being a (somewhat) professional guy, I kept my

eagerness in check when I spoke with them and conducted

the interview like I was supposed to. Id ask all the

questions required of me and a few extras that wouldnt see

the light of my keyboard and more often than not, they

would recognize that I genuinely wanted to learn how to

get my foot in the door. Most of the time it was the same

recycled work hard or meet people response I got,

which was cool, but not helpful because Id already been

doing both to no avail.

One person who gave me something I could really

use was Bun B when he told me that Simply working hard

isnt enough anymore; they have machines that can work

faster and more efficient. Work and be smarter than the

algorithm and you have an edge. While the context of the


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question and response wasnt in line with the article here, I

took it to heart regardless and adapted it to my

circumstances. I saw that there were a billion other writers

out there trying to get into hip hop journalism and I was

fortunate enough to see the proverbial glass ceiling before I

hit it. Me thinking outside of the norm helped develop the

path Im on today with being the first ever hip hop

motivationalist. No matter what your industry, try thinking

in an unorthodox manner every once in a while to see a

different perspective on things. The change may not be as

dramatic as mine where youll leave your chosen field (Im

sure mom and dad arent happy about shelling out all that

cash for school and I dont use the degree!) but it will

definitely help solidify what youre doing.


-CZA


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#8:

Its Friday and maaaaan am I looking forward to the

weekend. I know all my CEOs out there are feeling the

same way and I want yall to loosen your ties or flip your

hoodies up as we get into more real spitIn any

organization, from the legion of car window washers to

multi-million dollar conglomerates, there has to be a level

of trust in the next man within it. There has to be a sense of

brotherhood and camaraderie between Co-Ds, affiliates,

employees and the people they serve. Without it, the

predatory instincts that the average person possesses would

rage unchecked and eventually the whole operation will

begin tumbling down.

I happened across an article about Alfa Mega co-

operating with the DEA while he was in prison some time

ago and thought to myself, Oh yeah, its about to go


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down. No sooner than the very next day did I see not only

DJ Drama but T.I. himself made a statement about it, the

latter saying that Alfa was getting the boot because he

wasnt honest about his past dealings. If you read into what

dude was saying beneath what he said verbally it was

something like We dont associate with snitches. but in a

politically correct manner.

There are always two sides to every story and I

cant judge Alfa really, I havent ever caught a 110 month

bid before (knock on wood) and I cant say that diming the

other guy out for a reduced jail sentence was right or wrong

because there had to be other factors involved but when it

came to getting signed, he messed up by not divulging all

the facts.

He mightve thought that it was just going to go

away or get swept under the rug and unfortunately for him,


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it didnt. For T.I., hes in a predicament already by himself

with people looking at him sideways for having those types

of guns and just receiving a year so hes got to hang on to

what credibility he has and oust anyone that would make

his organization look bad. Rick Ross was a CO but narcing

is about the worst thing you could be in hip hop and Id be

surprised if this doesnt roll into something bigger. If Alfa

had told everything up front, he might not have been signed

but at least he wouldnt have been so unceremoniously

fired.

Back to what I was saying before about trust and

this situation fits that perfectly. Know your business

partners as well as your homeboys (Mike Jones got

robbed by his) and know the type of character they have.

Loyalty is a frivolous as the paper checks are printed on

and can be gone just as fast if youre not smart. Watch your


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circle and get rid of anyone playing by a different set of

rules. Its too costly these days to be naive.


-CZA

#9:

Top of the game to all my hustlers, bosses and

CEOs out there, Im checking in live from the block for this

one so bear with me, this is straight from my thoughts to

your ears with no spell checkalways trying to get it, right?

I stopped by a local bagel shop (one that Ive been

frequenting for the last year or so pretty regularly) and got

my good morning jumpoff of a toasted bagel and a

Monster energy drink. When I first went in there, it was

empty except for a couple school kids so I was pretty quick

on getting my order taken.


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Seems like no sooner than that happened 15 million

people walked through the door at the same time, and the

cat behind the counter didnt even bat an eyelash. Im sure

he was used to the rushes but this one looked EXTRA thick

and the general consensus was that they probably needed

their jumpoffs a little bit more than mine. Still, dude didnt

trip at all; in fact his service got faster AND better! Dude

was by himself back there but in a matter of minutes he had

all the orders taken and half of them back out, including

mine. Thats what made me think of this entry youre

reading today.

Nothing beats having good customer service from

the jump because thats the first thing your customers will

notice when interacting with you besides your presentation

and keeping them happy means youll keep them. If dealing

with a service is problematic, whod honestly care that


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youre giving stuff away for free? All theyd remember is

how crappy it was when they wanted to buy something.

Once you set up your customer base, the focus

moves to retention and keeping them in your pocket. You

can do this by doing a little more than what they expect or

faster than they expected. The term is under promise and

over deliver and 90% of the time itll keep heads on the

rebound and even bring MORE people in because of word

of mouth. Im sure you know of a dope restaurant that isnt

all over the newspaper or on TV. That youve been going to

for a minute because the food was good and the prices were

better. Same ideal. They had a good product that was under

promised (no network advertising) and over delivered

(bomb grub).

Stay up, stay focused and stay grinding,


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-CZA

#10:

What up to my fellow CEOs, hustlers and grinders,

its your man CZA with another edition of TPH and I came

up with another nickname yall can call me: Mr. Better

than Christmas because Im dropping gifts all throughout

the year. Aight, DJ Drama moment aside, I wanted to talk

about something really important when it comes to your

grind.

Im not talking about that dope joint 9th did (and

subsequently Jeezy did) when I say let the dollars circulate;

Im saying that you have to spend money to make money

and in an age of free social networking and with the

guerilla marketing explosion people are always looking for

free means to pop off with. Im not mad at that whatsoever;

matter of fact its best for the young entrepreneur to keep a


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low profile but you gotta have the realization that

everything isnt going to be free and you will have to drop

some duckets.

Sit down and draw up a realistic budget of your

finances and what you can afford to spend. If youre using

cash from your regular 9-5 to power your dreams, make

sure that youre not dipping into the bill money too much (I

know, Ive been there) and if you do, know that you have a

way to get that back before the first of the monthyou cant

be successful without a base of operations.

Now that you know youre gonna plant a few beans,

the next logical question would be about quality over

quantity and how to get the best deal for your buck. The

best way to do that is to compare as many outlets as you

can and go from there so crack open the yellow pages or

pull up Google and look for suppliers. Got your list right?


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Contact them and see what kind of offers theyre working

with. Most of the time you can get materials cheaper in

bulk and for being a repeat customer. Definitely something

to check out to save some money.

Once you have a dba up and going, be sure to save

all of your business related receipts for tax time and also

look into using the tax-deductibility of some of the stuff

you buy anywaysif youre operating out of your apartment

or home theres a good chance you can get some love from

it.

Stay up, stay focused, and stay grinding.

-CZA

#11:

Memorial Day is the day to honor all our fallen

soldiers and reflect on the fact that freedom aint that free


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to begin with. Not to mention fire up the grill and get it in

with some burgers and suds and love the fact that you

arent in the office right now (I feel bad for those that are).

Either way, itd be a good idea to think about applying

some of the good game that those that fought and perished

gave to us.

The game that Im referring to is having the ability

to face their biggest fears and overcoming them. Leaving

loved ones to travel to distant locales with less than

hospitable conditions in order to protect an ideal (Im not

going to get into the political aspect here) and fight for

freedom. Thats a very big and a very hard thing to do but

it gets done and so can you getting the best out of your own

particular situations if you apply the same techniques.

I learned of this technique from a homeboy of mine

who came home (and subsequently AWOL) from Iraq and


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Ive been using it ever since because it works. He called it

OPW or Organize, Plan and Work. When approaching any

obstacle, organize all the tools youll need to solve the

problem in small, bite-sized steps. The next step is to set up

a realistic timeframe that you can follow to the end. Life

doesnt really care too much about your plans and will

interject itself all throughout but with a plan at least you

have something to get back on track with.

The last part of the OPW method is to work it.

Sounds simple and it can be if you work at working

faithfully. Nothing about OPW is new or revolutionary; it

just outlines the thought process that many dont connect

together. My boy told me that this is what is taught in the

Army to increase cognitive awareness and to help the

troops react better in stressful situations (like being dumped

at).


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Facing your fears is invaluable to becoming that

CEO that you need to be and doing that should be on your

to do list. Crack a brew for ya boy and make my burger

extra juicy (pause).


-CZA

#12: .

Jermaine Dupri has the Lifers and I have my

CEOs. What up to everybody out there on the grind tryna

get it in early this Monday morning! Looks like its gonna

be the Lakers AGAIN this year, huh? Im glad we get to

see some new talent get a ring but man I dont need to see

another reference of Kobe to MJ; thats just not balling to

me. The world thrives on competition, comparison and

contrast, I get it. Moving on


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The focus of this THP is knowing the difference

between short term and long term money. While both arent

bad if you can get it, you should be able to recognize which

is which and plan accordingly. The old school mobsters

used to know this and because they knew this, they could

plan an exit strategy for themselves. Even now, you see

guys on the corner trying to pitch until they get pinched by

the laws because they arent thinking about the long

game.

I used dboys and mobsters as examples (I hope yall

arent on the illegal tip) for what every CEO should be

thinking about when getting your respective hustle onIs

what Im doing going to help me in the long run? Or should

I get this little money and make tracks? If youre planning

on hitting a stain and getting ghost, know that from the

jump and plan for what youre going to do next. Theres


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nothing worse than doing good and then landing into a dry

patch due to no forethought. Short term hustles are usually

easy to set up and require little resources but after the initial

return, dont expect too much more. A good example

would be the IGetMoneyBlog.com scam that is floating

around the internet claiming that you can make money

from posting ads on Google. Its a 2.0 version of the classic

pyramid scheme and while I dont recommend you using it,

it can be profitable. Hey, I cant knock anyones hustle.

Long term hustles are a little harder to get into

because they take time to set up, more resources and some

know-how. Home-spun businesses would fall under this

category and can get you broke off if you know what

youre doing. Youll have to deal with state and federal

laws to get the business end set up right but once you do,

getting to the money will be that much easier.


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-CZA

#13:

What, you thought I wasnt going to hit you again

with a new episode of TPH? Come on, now! Right about

now its 6:31 in the morning and since Im such a strong

believer in the old adage about early birds getting worms, I

had to get it cracking ASAP. Congrats to the Lakers for

taking the NBA championshipagain and I hope next year

we can get a new set of colors in the finals besides the gold

and purple.

In our day to day lives were bombarded with

sounds that are a little too loud and images a bit too graphic

in hopes that well curve our spending to that particular

brands product. Specific colors are supposed to illicit


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different emotions and certain sounds get associated with

actions. Why is every food commercial you see insistent on

using red when they drop their fat burgers down in front of

the camera? Why do we think of Michael Myers every time

we hear chee-chee-chee-chee-ha-ha-ha-ha? Because of

brilliant marketing.

When it comes to us, we dont have the million

dollar budget or the extensive catalog of talented marketing

people so we have to do what we can for ourselves by

ourselves. That is why branding is so important; without a

proper way to display yourself to the public, you will get

slept on absolutely. Even if you have a decent brand image,

if you have poor customer service every potential sale you

might have will evaporate because no one wants to deal

with you. You have to make the people know you, simple

and plain.


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How do you do this? By doing the two things

mentioned above and also by actively engaging the people

whenever you can. Host events in your area in which you

have expertise. Contact non-profit organizations that could

use your skills. There are plenty of free ways that you can

get the multitudes to understand what youre about and not

break the bank and do more than sit around twittering all

day (unless its business related.)


-CZA

#14:

Its not often that I touch on a particular person

when I write (outside of interviews of course) but Drake is

a different kind of artist and one that definitely caught my

attention. Sure, he works closely with Lil Wayne and hes


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been co-signed by everyone from Jay-Z to your babys

mother but thats not what is so intriguing to me about

dude. He sings, he raps and is currently one of the hottest

commodities in the industry right now because of how he

played the game and thats what I wanted to go in about to

highlight how all my CEOs can use the same techniques to

get further along.

Create a Hot Product

The first and most important thing Drake does is

create hot product. In his case its music but this same rule

can be applied within any industry, you can dress it up

however you like but if your product isnt quality your

customers will know it and keep it moving. You should

spend time honing your hustle to the point where you can


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make something of value to someone else. A good looking

package is cool but people know when theres no substance

beneath and in all honesty would you pay for something not

worthy of your buck? Me either.

Have Your Persona Right

I talked about creating your persona in 10 Facets of

a CEO and its evident that Drake knew something about

that rule because he did exactly what I outlinedcreated

himself the way he wanted the world to see him. Sure, he

was on Degrassi and some may not call that gangsta but

thats okay because he never put himself out there like that.

The reason why we have so many copycat rappers out now

is because they came to their respective labels just wanting


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to rhyme. Many of them had no idea of what image they

wanted to portray so the label might suggest sound like

Young Jeezy or dress like Jim Jones which effectively

kills all the creativity the artist may have had because they

didnt take the time to understand who they are and instead

opting to jump on the swag wagon.

Drake looks like he is his own artist with his own

style, something that people can appreciate. His dress is

different, his flow is different and even his songwriting is

differentdude freestyled from his blackberry and cats

couldnt even get madthats what I mean by having his

persona right. He took a taboo thing and made it cool.

Dont believe me? YouTube how many other cats whip out

their pda and go in.

Consistency is Key


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Once you have hot product and a dope brand image

whats next? If you want any type of lasting success you

have to keep the people happy and nothing does that better

than by having an ample amount of quality goods for them

to check out. Drake has a catalog already because of the

mixtapes that hes put out (I dont even know if all of them

were put out by him but in either case hes good) that line

many an iPod.

He consistently hustles by working with different

artists, writing and recording songs and while doing this,

building his buzz even higher. A regular artist at this point

in their careers wouldnt have the pull to work with a Jay-Z

or a Lil Wayne but Drake has proven time and time again

that if youre on a track with him, youre going to not only

have a good song but someone wholl push you to be better


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because he isnt going to slack on his part. Whats crazy to

me is that without a record OR a record deal dude is on tour

with some of the biggest acts in hip hop. Thats simply

unheard of in the current state of microwavable artistry

were in. Be consistent and people know that they have

someone that if no one else is on their job, you are and that

will make you the go-to guy. In his case itd be the guy to

feature.


-CZA

#15: . 1

Before I get into the topic at hand, before I even

give praise and honor the King of Pop I want to give a

special shout out to all the rappers, authors, businesspeople


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and analysts who feel that this is the most opportune time

to cash in on his passingfeel free to feel ashamed of

yourselves. As I bounce from one of my favorite blog sites

to another or glance at the new press releases made

available I cant help but feel a little nauseated at just how

far people will go to capitalize on not just a celebrity but a

person passing.

I see myriads of Best of compilations filled with

Michaels music with some asinine DJ yelling or tagging

all over the songs or internet rappers dropping tribute

mixtapes supposedly in honor of dudethats bogus

because you couldve just as easily done this when he was

alive but now its Im going to drop this and slap his name

on it, hopefully itll make my name hot too. Nah man, it

simply doesnt work that way in my eyes. Thats just one

side of it, Ive seen (and I kid you not) companies


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advertising how you should learn from MJ and buy

software that will allow you to preserve your legacyare

you serious right now? I mean, really, are you serious right

now?

I completely understand grieving for the man, he

was one of the biggest influences to a lot of peoples

childhood but if you are trying to market, sell or otherwise

garner attention for yourself through him dying, do us all a

favor and look up the word morality because its obvious

youre deprived.

Okay, post-rant status and flight on schedule, I

wanted to break down the core components of network

building. Being that my background is entertainment

journalism, I know a thing or two about relationships and

have made tons more than I lost because the first thing you

have to understand about having a relationship with, and in


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this aspect I dont care who, anyone you have to understand

what it is that you both are getting out of it. It could be

exposure, money or some other gratification but without

some end result youre going to quickly forget them and

vice versa. If they can somehow help you out, you dont

want that. To help you not burn a bridge that you might

potentially need later, Im going to walk you through some

of the more intermediate rules of the game (assuming that

you have already been introduced to the contact

beforehand).

Besides the end result, you should understand that

there are certain limitations that come along with knowing

someone, especially if theyre a little further on in their

career than you are. For one, dont blow up the contacts

phone, Twitter and Facebook about updates on whatever it

is you want them to do for you. The fact that they are even


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considering what you asked should be a confirmation that

you did things correctly so dont mess it up by dropping

notes every few days. One follow up should be enough,

given about 3-4 days and if really necessary, one more a

week afterwards. If theyre as interested in what youre

saying as you think they are, they will find time to hit you

back. In rare cases it may take a little longer but if two

weeks goes by with no response, push that aside and pitch

elsewhere. Theres never one way to do anything and

theyll remember you once you can do something for them.

The next thing to remember and it goes with the last

point perfectly, is that in networking you have to be honest,

reliable, accessible and willing to do exactly what it is you

said you would. Nothing will sink a partnership faster than

overstating your abilities and under-delivering, being

harder than hell to get in touch with or not holding up your


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end of the bargain. Perfect example: a good friend of mine

who does publicity was working with a young artist who

had a somewhat moderate hit out a couple years back and

was looking to bounce back with a vengeance. He dropped

a new record (which Im sure you heard if you hit a club in

the past few months) with a music video featuring a larger

artist from NY and it was looking very good for him. He

landed some face time with the possibility of him having

his own reality show with the networks and everything

looked like it was going to roll, right? Not long after he

dissed one of the games living legends, got ghost and

pissed her off so badly she didnt want to work with him

anymore. Long story short, he didnt do what he was

supposed to and it definitely hurt his comeback chances.

Treat your contacts like royalty and if theyre quality,

youll get the same in return.


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Check back next week for part two of Networking for

Dummies.

Stay up, stay focused and stay grinding

-CZA

#16: . 2

Thanks for checking back in with your man as we

knock off the second part of Networking for Dummies and

for those that are just tuning in, heres part oneto get you

up to speed. Sometimes I think people either forget or

theyre just unaware that every single successful person in

the industry is successful because of their contact list. You

can put in the hard work and the dedication to get you

noticed but if you dont know the right person to get you

through that door and into those meetings youll soon grow


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stagnant because there is realistically only so much that you

can do by yourself. Be at the right functions for your

industry and dont over promote yourself; DO have sample

material ready if asked for it but dont be that guy who

ruins moods for the sake of business. Business cards (yes,

even rappers can have business cards) are the general

standard as you can strike up a conversation, hand them a

card, wish them an enjoyable evening and keep it moving.

Something else that you have to take into account

(and I said this before in my Drake is Important for a

Reason special) is that even if you treat your contacts like

kings and queens, if you have mediocre product you are

doing yourself a big disservice because they arent going to

want to attach their names and reputations to something

that could be haphazard to the hard work they put in

becoming taste makers or the go to guy. When I say hot


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product, I dont mean just co-signed by your crew or your

moms, I mean verifiably hot. Selling thousands from your

trunk hot. Packed shows hot. Rave reviews from reputable

people hot. See the difference? When people that you dont

know personally are as excited about your project as you

are is what begins buzz and more importantly, more people

wanting to work with you, which brings me into my next

point

When you have a buzz going, it makes it easier for

people to pay attention to what youre trying to do and

makes them want to see how they can help (and profit

from) you. I know it sucks and the game shouldnt be this

way but it is and the sooner you realize how it works, the

sooner you can harness its power. When you become a

commodity to someone else, they can tangibly estimate

your worth and that will get people on board faster than


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anything else. If youre MC Nobody with a hot song and no

buzz, it doesnt matter if youre the greatest rapper ever

because people will pass you up for someone whos shown

they can fill seats and sell CDs.

Finally, one of the most important (and similarly

often overlooked) parts of the game young cats mess up is

staying humble even if they personally feel like Kanye

should be their number one fan. Nothing and I mean

absolutely nothing, turns people off faster than dealing with

an over-bloated sense of self and foul dispositions. Ive

come across many an entrepreneur who had promise only

to have it fly out their mouths, right along with every praise

they deem worthy to bestow on themselves. If you ever met

me, I dont brag or boast much even though my resume is

pretty robust I understand that trying to hype myself

doesnt add anything to the fire, it makes people want to


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shield their eyes. Attention is what a great publicist is for.

(What up Dylan and CJ!) I didnt want to delve too deeply

on this networking issue, only scratch the surface hard

enough that all my young CEOs can digest it and get back

to the grind.


-CZA

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Im going to keep it brief, I promise. If youre

reading this, thank you because most never take the time to

read them and these are the people responsible for helping

me write in the first place. Mom, Dad, April, WendyBest

fam ever. Darrious, keep those notes playing homie, youll

make it just fine. LJ, thanks cant really describe it but its a

start. To the haters, thanks for making this look good,

couldnt do it without you! Thanks to the creator came last

because I wanted to do it on its accordtoday is the best


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day because you have allowed it so. Cant fit everybody

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thoughts of a predicate hustler collection vol 1

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