Author Carl Michel believes inspiration is the greatest gift you can give or receive. His new book, 365 Hip-Hop: Daily Motivational Quotes is Michel’s way of paying it forward to other young people struggling to find their identity, but open to the obvious influence of hip-hop. “I was looking for a way to connect with the youth through inspirational messages. The biggest connector is music. I love hip-hop, love the music but hate the messages,” Michel says.
Growing up in Stamford, Connecticut, Michel says he had a great foundation with loving parents but admits he was a follower growing up. “I was a follower growing up. I had great parents that did all they could, they worked two, sometimes three jobs, but I found myself looking to others for an example. It didn’t take two or three jobs to pay bills in the streets. I was a naturally bright student, but I would not do my school work so that I would fit in better or be more like the street guys,” Michel recalls.
Even after receiving a scholarship and heading to college, Michel was still being influenced by the wrong crowd. He admits drinking and driving and getting into a bad accident. The car accident cost Michel his car, his cellphone and his scholarship. It was an expensive lesson, but it was well worth it as it ended up being a wake-up call for him.
After his accident, Michel connected with a group of male mentors through Legal Shield. The mentors made all the difference in helping Michel get his life together and focus on being a positive example for other young men.
“It was life-changing because I was learning from guys that looked like me that were millionaires; and they were doing things the right way. These men were making legit money; and their priorities were in order. The correct order is faith, family and then finance. I’d been doing things all wrong,” Michael says.
It was while going through hard times of his own that Michel read a quote that said, “Make sure your smile is always bigger than your problems.” The quote was enough to shake Michel out of his funk and it showed him the power of reading something inspirational and powerful. He started sharing inspirational quotes with his friends and soon they were looking forward to Michel’s text messages on a daily basis. He realized that if he could uplift his own friends this way, surely he could encourage other young people the same way. He decided to do a book of motivational quotes that would inspire and uplift young people as they dealt with various pitfalls throughout their transition to adulthood. Michel decided to use the wisdom given from various hip-hop and R&B artists as a landscape for 365 Hip-Hop Daily Motivational Quotes.
Using the abstract wisdom of some of music’s biggest voices, Michel was able to take an industry that often promotes disrespect and glorifies superficiality, and flip it into an opportunity to motivate and inspire youth. Michel took 365 motivational quotes from some of hip-hop and R&B’s biggest names and created daily devotionals based on their premises. One of his favorite quotes is by his favorite artist, Jay Z. “I’m different. I can’t base what I’m gonna be off of what everybody else isn’t.”
This quote was special to Michel because it supports his biggest message to young people. “It’s OK to be yourself. We try so hard to impress people so much that we lose ourselves. We try to gain money and forfeit our integrity and our values, don’t be afraid to be yourself. Even a professional actor playing a character gets exhausted. Imagine trying to live a life that isn’t true to yourself. Stop worrying about trying to impress the wrong people or thinking that people won’t like the real you. The right people will,” Michel says.
Aside from self-esteem issues, Michel says the book addresses every issue present in the urban community. He is excited that the book has been received well and is currently one of Amazon’s top-sellers.
For more information on 365 Hip-Hop: Daily Motivational Quotes or to learn more about Carl Michel, visit www.youngexekutive.com or follow him on social media at @youngexekutive.
