I was the archetypical B-Boy, from the baseball cap on my head to the
trainers with fat laces on my feet, I absolutely lived for Hip Hop and
I could quote you lines from my favourite Rapper like others can quote
from a favourite author and for me it was all about Rakim. I listened
to the words from this man like some people read their Bible, and I
was always listening out for the gems or jewels as we used to call the
turn of phrase or lines that he would say and I was seldom
disappointed.

But it's now 22 years on from those glorious teenage years and
recently I was listening to a track from Eric B & Rakim called Paid in
Full when it suddenly hit me what was being said and how the words
echo my own thoughts and attitude towards life, so I felt I should
show and prove my understanding of a timeless thought.

So now I learn to earn cause I'm righteous,
I feel great so maybe I might just,
Search for a 9 to 5,
If I strive then maybe I'll stay alive,
So I walk up the street whistling this,
Feeling out of place cause man do I miss
A pen and a paper a stereo a tape of,
Me and Eric B and a nice big plate of
Fish which is my favourite dish,
But without no money it's still a wish,
Cause I don't like to dream about getting paid
So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made,
So now's a test to see if I got pull,
Hit the studio cause I'm paid in full.

Well I hear you say what's the big deal with what he said, nothing
special I hear you saying and what's a verse from some long time ago
rapper doing on a page concerned with abundance, well lets just take a
look for a minute. The initial thought is you must learn to earn and
if you want to be wealthy that's the easiest way to get there which is
the old fashioned way and note that there is no desire to make money
because as somebody once pointed out to me only people who work in a
mint make money the rest of us have to earn money and when you do it
really does feel great, we can all testify to how good payday feels so
no explanation is needed there.

Now this is where it really becomes interesting as obviously you can
just search for a regular job or that good old 9 to 5 which will pay
your bills and you can manage to stay alive and eek out an existence
but deep inside of the author he feels out of place with that thought,
the yearning to do something for which he feels born to do is still
inside of him and it won't go away, the realization of this fact and
his current lack of funds (always a major motivator along with love)
provides him with the necessary motivation to take action as he sees
that your dreams will always remain dreams without action and promptly
decides there and then to see if he can achieve his goals and become
not just paid but Paid in Full.

There's a subtle difference between being paid and being paid in full
because anyone can get paid and most of us do as it's not that
difficult, but real success is when you get paid in full not just
materially but from a mental standpoint as well, as the satisfaction
that comes in achieving your goals will outweigh the monetary rewards
you gain despite what you might think.

Don't get me wrong you're it's great to receive that fat cheque with
the x amount of zeros in it but it's not the reason behind your
happiness trust me on that, money is just the result of your hard
work. Surprising though it may seem most of your lasting rewards in
life will come not from your leisure time but through the achievements
that you justly earn for yourself through work and for this as in all
aspects of life, you need to have the right attitude or state of mind
to increase the odds of you being successful because success as with
anything in life can be predicted to a large degree by the efforts
that you put forth and the clarity behind those thoughts which means
that you need to have a plan to get to where your going and it is
interesting to note the first 5 words of paid of full are.

Thinking of a Master Plan............ Interesting indeed.

Carl Mason is a Mentor, Coach/Life Consultant and CEO of On Point
Solutions. A passionate and dedicated individual with a commitment to
promote the means by which you can live The Life of your Dreams and BE
the person who you WILL to be.