It's no secret that DJ Khaled's 'Keys to Success' have taken off as the new pop-culture phenomenon. We've all seen the Snapchat re-creations, tweets and Instagram captions with hashtags #Major🔑, #BlessUp, #AnotherOne, and #TheyDontWantYouTo. It's become so wildly popular that fans even created a website: http://www.theydontwantyouto.win,
which features a collection of Khaled's major 🔑's. While I want to hate it, I can't. Aside from the fact that DJ Khaled is a PR genius for creating and self-promoting this trend along with his brand, while remaining hilarious and ridiculous, Khaled's 'keys to success' resonate with some real-life real-talk.1. They don’t want you to win.
It’s become something of common knowledge that when someone tells us not to do something, it makes it all the more tempting. We see this most often demonstrated in children, but it can also be a helpful tactic to challenge adults. Khaled understands that by challenging us with the idea that “they don’t want you to win” only makes us want to win more. Well, DJ Khaled... Challenge accepted.
2. The 🔑is to enjoy life, because they don't want you to enjoy life.
In life, there is constant competition. Other people are rooting for you not to succeed. But at the end of the day, if you enjoy your life, are happy with the choices you've made and the person you are, then what others think is irrelevant. And linking back to No. 1, if they don't want you to enjoy life, you enjoy enjoying life that much more.
3. In life, everyone has a choice. The 🔑 is: make the right choice.
While there might not always be a "right" or "wrong" choice, the point is, make the choice that feels right to you. Don't ignore what others say, but take it with a grain of salt. No one knows what is best for you, and the point of growing up is figuring that out for ourselves. So if you're going to learn from a mistake, at least make it your mistake.
4. The 🔑 is to be honest. Be honest, but don’t play yourself.
Honesty really is a virtue. It shouldn't be as rare as it is, but we're so afraid of telling the truth at the risk of hurting people's feelings (I hope) that we often bend the truth to fit what others want to hear. It's different for everyone, but tough love is sometimes the love we need the most. It may be the love we offer to someone else or to ourselves, but as cliche as it may be, honesty really is the best policy. But don't play yourself, I guess...
5. The 🔑 is: never fold.
The importance of resilience in the face of adversity is unmatched. Ever heard the saying, "fall down seven times, stand up eight"? Yeah, well... do that. Even when it seems like all odds are against you, remember, they don't want you to win. #BlessUp
6. When you stop making excuses and you work hard and go hard, you will be very successful.
We make excuses for others and ourselves all the time. Sure, there might be a million and a half possible other things we could be doing, but that doesn't mean we "can't"? When we suck it up and stop procrastinating is when we get sh*t done. So listen to Khaled... work hard and go hard. The man knows what he's talking about.
7. To succeed, you must believe. When you believe, you will succeed.
While most of Khaled's 🔑's to success are working hard to get there, it really is believing it's possible that makes the biggest difference. If you believe you can do something and put in the work, you're much more likely to achieve your goals.
