5 things Nipsey Hussle's legacy taught us

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— By Dontaira Terrell

Before his untimely death, Nipsey Hussle (born Ermias Joseph Asghedom) was a staple in South Los Angeles, but his legacy permeated communities nationwide. In his 33 years, the widely known and respected “Neighborhood Nip” created a blueprint involving the community, building generational wealth, and economic development. More importantly, Nip served as an inspiration to own the power of your success. One of his most celebrated attributes was his love, desire, and dedication to move the needle forward for the culture. To honor him, a Nipsey Hussle Tower is under construction in the block he bought in his hometown, and a memorial basketball court was built in his honor. Nip lived a life of positivity igniting a light for all of us to follow.

As a walking embodiment of his mantra, “The highest human act is to inspire…” it is one of the many reasons the late rapper is celebrated by audiences and revered by his contemporaries as a powerful representation of change, culture, and identity for our community. Although our hearts yearn for his physical presence, Nipsey left us with invaluable lessons on how to conquer the art of being self-made through planning, perseverance, brand building, taking calculated risks, and so much more. REVOLT TV breaks down five life and business lessons from Nipsey Hussle “Tha Great.”

1. The Power of Community

Nipsey Hussle was an advocate for creating a narrative around change within the community and as he continued to climb the ladder of success, he made it his mission to give back and build up the neighborhood in which he grew up in. As he led by example, Nip paved a way for his legacy that helped transcend music by showing us the importance of reinvesting into our communities.

2. Step into Your Greatness

Mastering your energy means living in positivity to elevate yourself to the next level. The Los Angeles native stated before his untimely death, “Thought is powerful in all phases. Even in my career… things ended up exactly how I visualized them.” Nipsey believed in the power of manifestation and being mentally strong, which often encouraged his audience to use visualization to achieve their greatest desires.

3. Value is Everything

Authenticity and creating value are essential to building your brand. Without either, what are you bringing to the table? These are the most important elements behind negotiating, securing the bag and leveraging opportunities. In an interview with Forbes, Nipsey explained why he decided to take the independent route:

“When you say, ‘Follow me on Twitter’ and you get 10 million people to follow you, you just leveraged your influence to add value to an app that you have no ownership in. Each of those users is worth around $21. When the owners of Twitter go to their evaluation in order to sell 50% of the company… you’re the person who added 10 million people to the platform, [but] the owners are the only ones getting a huge payday.”

4. Assets vs. Liabilities

In a society fixated on materialism, the father of two schooled us on the importance of investing and building worthwhile assets, instead of depreciating materialistic goals. During one of his earliest interviews in 2006, it was obvious that Nip was a man about his business. When asked about rocking diamonds and gold chains, he insisted that he would much rather “invest in some assets as opposed to trick off my money on some liabilities like diamonds or cars that lose value as soon as you drive them off the lot. Between his entrepreneurial endeavors including the launch of a co-working space called Vector90, owning the masters to his music, and real estate investments; Nipsey created a diversified portfolio while staying true to what he believed. He also created a paradigm effect to cultivate, uplift, and inspire legions of young men and women.

5. Run Your Own Race

What’s a success story without roadblocks, failures, and setbacks along the way? Nipsey Hussle “Tha Great” was extremely vocal about his grind, grit, and insatiable work ethic. From selling mixtapes on the street to taking center stage, he dropped several gems about practicing patience, perseverance, honing your craft, and trusting the process. On songs such as “Dedication,” “Grinding All My Life,” and “Hussle and Motivate” from the critically acclaimed album Victory Lap, Nip lived as the prime example of sticking to the script and never folding.

If you love Los Angeles stars and hip hop, you’ll definitely want to join us and AT&T in L.A. on Oct. 24 – Oct. 26 for our three-day REVOLT Summit, which was created to help rising moguls reach the next level. Head to REVOLTSummit.com for more info and to get your passes now!

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